Deck 10: The Islamic World

Question 1

The vault in the Hall of the Abencerrajes is meant to symbolize ____.

A)the dome of heaven
B)Paradise
C)the fusion of Islamic and Byzantine motifs
D)Allah's blessing on the Nasrids

Answer 1

A

Question 2

Critical of the polytheistic religion of his fellow Arabs, Muhammad had all the idols destroyed, but he preserved the Kaaba. Which of the following supports the reason for this preservation?

A)It is the Islamic world's symbolic center.
B)It is the home of Muhammad.
C)It the site of Muhammad's ascendancy into Paradise.
D)It is the location of Muhammad's divine inspiration.

Answer 2

A

Question 3

The ____ was the greatest achievement of the court architect, Suleyman the Magnificent.

A)Great Mosque, Isfahan,
B)mosque complex of Sultan Hasan
C)mosque of Selim II
D)Madrasa Imami, Isfahan,

Answer 3

C

Question 4

Too tall to call Muslims to prayer, the Malwiya minaret in Samarra may have functioned as a symbol of the ____.

A)house of Muhammad
B)conquest of Spain
C)defeat of the Byzantine emperors
D)triumph of Islam in the Tigris valley

Question 5

The Great Mosque at Córdoba has a hypostyle prayer hall with horseshoe-shaped arches adapted from which of the following?

A)Byzantine Egypt
B)Visigoths
C)Carolingians
D)Rome

Question 6

The design of Islamic Korans has parallels in ____.

A)medieval manuscripts of Britain and Ireland
B)Carolingian Gospel books
C)Ottonian bronze doors
D)early Christian mosaics

Question 7

The mihrab, a semicircular niche set in the qibla wall, possibly honors the place where ____.

A)Muhammad stood when leading communal worship
B)Muhammad received divine inspiration
C)Muhammad ascended into Paradise
D)Muhammad wrote his revelations

Question 8

At the Cordoba maqsura, the architects experimented with ____.

A)calligraphic inscriptions
B)figural representations
C)fortifications
D)decorative, multilobed arches

Question 9

Islamic religious architecture is closely related to ____.

A)Christian basilicas
B)Muslim prayer
C)Roman temples
D)Indian tombs

Question 10

The ____ is the leader of collective worship who preaches from the minbar.

A)maqsura
B)mihrab
C)qibla
D)iman

Question 11

How is interior architectural space defined in the Muslim world?

A)By having no interior walls
B)By rearranging the courtyard fountains
C)By moving the walls around to increase or decrease the space
D)By rearranging the carpets and cushions

Question 12

The practice of ____ was considered a holy task and required arduous training.

A)binding manuscripts
B)calligraphy
C)meditation
D)the maqsura

Question 13

The coming of a new religion to Jerusalem, a city sacred to both Jews and Christians, is marked by a monument known as the ____.

A)Rock of Ages
B)Kaaba
C)Dome of the Rock
D)Rock of Muhammad

Question 14

In the seventh century, the capital of Islam had been transferred from Mecca to Damascus by the ____.

A)Ottoman Turks
B)Mamluks
C)Arabs
D)Umayyads

Question 15

The positioning of all mosques, no matter period or country, must be oriented toward which of the following cities?

A)Medina
B)Mecca
C)Damascus
D)Jerusalem

Question 16

The structural foundation of the Great Mosque of Damascus used a ____ as its foundation.

A)Roman forum
B)Roman precinct walls
C)Roman bath
D)Roman arch

Question 17

Which of the following is built over the place from which Muhammad began his miraculous journey to heaven?

A)Great Mosque, Damascus
B)Dome of the Rock
C)Dome of Masjid-i Shah
D)Great Mosque, Kairouan

Question 18

The Saminid mausoleum from Bukhara can be said to be which of the following structure types?

A)Dome-on-a square form
B)Dome-on-a cube form
C)Basilican form
D)Octagon

Question 19

The event called the Hijra, which was ____, marks the beginning of Islam.

A)the Islamic conquest of Egypt
B)Muhammad's flight from Mecca
C)Muhammad's vision of Gabriel
D)the rock in the mosque at Mecca

Question 20

The supposed precursor of the hypostyle designed mosques, such as Kairouan, is ____.

A)Muhammad's house in Medina
B)Muhammad's house in Mecca
C)Muhammad's divine inspiration
D)the house from which Muhammad ascended into Paradise

Question 21

How did the Mongols impact Islamic art?

Question 22

Briefly describe the Saminid mausoleum and its contribution to Islamic architecture.

Question 23

The new style of mosque developed by the Ottomans can be described as ____.

A)rectangular and simple
B)circular and formalistic
C)geometric and formalistic
D)geometric and simple

Question 24

Describe the Alhambra and its impact on the West.

Question 25

Briefly describe the Abbasid contributions to Islamic culture.

Question 26

In the 10th century, Caliph al-Hakam II undertook major renovations of the Great Mosque at Córdoba in imitation of his ____ predecessors in Jerusalem and Damascus.

A)Mughal
B)Ottoman
C)Nasrid
D)Umayyad

Question 27

In the mid-13th century, the Mongols conquered much of the eastern Islamic world. The center of Islamic power moved from Baghdad to Egypt. The lords of Egypt at that time were Mamluks. The definition of the word Mamluk translates to ____?

A)slave
B)noble Turk
C)Christian
D)barbarian

Question 28

Why were monumental tombs virtually unknown in the early Islamic period, and how did this change?

Question 29

What decoration is on the carpet from the funerary mosque, and what did it symbolize?

Question 30

What are the essential tenets of Islam?

Question 31

Describe muqarnas decoration.

Question 32

An ancient Arab proverb proclaims "Purity of writing, is purity of soul" and describes which of the following?

A)Poetry
B)Story telling
C)Painting
D)Calligraphy

Question 33

How did the city plan of eighth-century Baghdad reflect Islamic power and culture?

Question 34

Describe the importance of calligraphy and the Koran.

Question 35

Describe the cultural contributions made by Islam to western Europe.

Question 36

The sacred book of Islam is the Koran, or recitations. The recitations or instructions were given to Muhammad by the ____.

A)Holy Spirit
B)Prophet Jeremiah
C)Archangel Gabriel
D)Prophet Isaiah

Question 37

The Abbasids overthrew the Umayyad caliphs and established a new capital at ____.

A)Damascus
B)Baghdad
C)Medina
D)Isfahan

Question 38

How does the Great Mosque of Damascus owe much to Roman and early Christian architecture?

Question 39

What is the Koran?

Question 40

Umayyad palaces included elaborate bathing facilities, which were an inheritance from ____?

A)Byzantium
B)the Abbasids
C)Roman influence
D)the Ottomans

Question 41

Compare and contrast the mausoleum of the Samanids in Bukhara and the madrasa-mausoleum complex of Sultan Hasan. How does each structure reflect not only its period but also its culture? Include in your essay the political overtones as well as any other artistic influences. Use examples to support your essay.

Question 42

Explain calligraphy as an art form, both as the written word and pure decoration and pattern. How does it express the nature of Islam as a religion? How does it express the political and artistic needs of Islam? Use examples to support your essay.

Question 43

Describe the significance of and political messages of palaces in Islamic architecture. What similarities or differences existed among them?

Question 44

Compare and contrast the Great Mosque in Córdoba with the Great Mosque in Isfahan. What are the stylistic differences, and how does each mosque reflect its period?

Question 45

Evaluate the work of Sinan. Consider his training and what effect, if any, this had on his work. Include his knowledge of the Christian West and its artists and architects, as well as his knowledge of Byzantium. Use examples to support your essay.

Question 46

Discuss the effects the religious beliefs and practices of Islam had on the art of the Mediterranean and the Middle East. Use examples to support your essay.

Question 47

Compare and contrast the luxury arts of Islam. How do they respond to their respective creating cultures? What are the political overtones found in the work? How did these luxury arts influence the West? Use examples to support your essay.

Question 48

How did the Mosque of Selim II become Sinan the Great's ultimate expression?

Question 49

Describe the development of the mosque and identify its significant architectural traits. How does it relate to the worship of the faith? How does it reflect the political change initiated by Islam? Use examples to support your essay.

Question 50

Compare and contrast the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem with the Mosque of Selim II in Edirne. What are the differences? How do you account for them? Include in your essay the political overtones as well as Western artistic influences. Use examples to support your essay.

Question 51

Compare and contrast the "shared" heritage of the Christian West and the Christian East with Islamic culture. Consider the motifs borrowed and adapted to fit within the tenets of Islam. How were they modified to illustrate this new religion and political ambitions of subsequent generations? Use examples to support your essay.