AP World Unit 2

“Throughout its history, Central Asia has provided the ancient civilized empires on its borders with new Shahs, Sultans, or Sons of Heaven. These periodic invasions by the nomads of the steppe, whose khans ascended the thrones of Changan, Luoyang, Kaifeng, or Beijing*, of Isfahan or Tabriz**, Delhi or Constantinople, became one of the geographic laws of history. But there was another, opposing law which brought about the slow absorption of the invaders by the ancient civilized lands. The civilizations of China and Persia, though conquered, would in the long run vanquish their conquerors, intoxicating them with the pleasures of settled life, lulling them to sleep, and assimilating them culturally. Often, only fifty years after a conquest, the culturally Sinicized or Persianized former barbarian would be the first to stand guard over his adopted civilization and protect it against fresh nomadic onslaughts.”

*capital cities of various Chinese dynasties

**capital cities of various Persian dynasties

René Grousset, French historian of Central Asia, The Empire of the Steppes: A History of Central Asia, 1939

Which of the following demonstrates the assimilation of nomadic conquerors into conquered societies during the period circa 1250–1450 ?

• The rulers of the Mali Empire converting to Islam through the influence of North African merchants and missionaries

• The rulers of the Yuan dynasty adopting Chinese court culture and methods of rule

• Trading states in Southeast Asia such as the Khmer and Srivijaya empires adopting syncretic Hindu-Buddhist practices

• Chinese, Persian, and Indian artisans expanding their output because of a rising demand for luxury goods in Afro-Eurasia

Which of the following developments in the period circa 1250–1450 represents a situation that did not lead to conquerors assimilating into the cultures of the conquered societies?

• Invading armies establishing and maintaining a separate community, as illustrated by the European crusader kingdoms in the Middle East

• Merchants establishing diasporic communities and introducing their own traditions into the indigenous cultures, as illustrated by South Asian Muslim merchants spreading Islam to the islands of Southeast Asia

• Settled societies successfully resisting nomadic encroachments, as illustrated by the Mamluks of Egypt defeating the Mongols or Muscovy expelling the Golden Horde from Russia

• Conquering states fragmenting into several units because of political and social friction, as illustrated by the breakup of the Mongol Empire into individual khanates

“[Between the eleventh and fifteenth centuries] . . . Muslim maritime traders from Egypt sought goods coming from China and Southeast Asia [and] purchased these items on India’s southwestern coast. . . . Sea voyages between Egypt and India were still dangerous and still involved long voyages, as well as long stays in harbors where they waited, sometimes for several months, for the winds to shift direction. . . .

To protect themselves, Muslim merchants organized karim, convoyed merchant fleets. The rulers of Egypt began providing an armed escort for the fleets and succeeded in making the trade between the Red Sea and India a government-protected, regularly accomplished endeavor.

The karim merchants were organized in large family firms with substantial assets and clients in markets all over the trading networks. In the Indian Ocean trade, Muslim traders not only dealt with other Muslims, but also Hindus, Zoroastrians, Christians, and Jews. Traders of various religious backgrounds boarded the same ships or stayed in the same caravanserai. In Egypt, many Jewish traders actually operated their businesses within the framework of Muslim business networks.”

Xinru Liu and Lynda Norene Shaffer, historians, Connections across Eurasia, published in 2007

Based on the pattern of trade described in the third paragraph, the Egyptian karim merchants were most likely directly involved in which of the following broader developments in the Indian Ocean in the period circa 1200–1450 ?

• The establishment of diasporic merchant communities

• The transfer of European scientific knowledge to South Asia

• The creation of new monotheistic religions

• The introduction of new financial innovations such as paper money

“[Between the eleventh and fifteenth centuries] . . . Muslim maritime traders from Egypt sought goods coming from China and Southeast Asia [and] purchased these items on India’s southwestern coast. . . . Sea voyages between Egypt and India were still dangerous and still involved long voyages, as well as long stays in harbors where they waited, sometimes for several months, for the winds to shift direction. . . .

To protect themselves, Muslim merchants organized karim, convoyed merchant fleets. The rulers of Egypt began providing an armed escort for the fleets and succeeded in making the trade between the Red Sea and India a government-protected, regularly accomplished endeavor.

The karim merchants were organized in large family firms with substantial assets and clients in markets all over the trading networks. In the Indian Ocean trade, Muslim traders not only dealt with other Muslims, but also Hindus, Zoroastrians, Christians, and Jews. Traders of various religious backgrounds boarded the same ships or stayed in the same caravanserai. In Egypt, many Jewish traders actually operated their businesses within the framework of Muslim business networks.”

Xinru Liu and Lynda Norene Shaffer, historians, Connections across Eurasia, published in 2007

The pattern of trade described in the passage was most characteristic of which of the following types of goods in the period 1200–1450 ?

• Daily food staples such as bread or milk

• Bulk commodities such as grain or coal

• Luxury goods such as spices or porcelain

• Livestock such as pigs or cattle

The spread of Islam into sub-Saharan West Africa in the period circa 1200–1450 was mostly a result of the conversion of the rulers of which of the following states?

• Mamluk Egypt

• The Mongol khanates

• The Ming dynasty

• The Mali Empire

In the period circa 1200–1450, which of the following most directly enabled merchants to bring salt and other bulk products to markets in sub-Saharan Africa?

• The diffusion of new maritime technologies such as the lateen sail

• The adoption of innovative practices in overland trading, such as the use of camel caravans and saddles

• The transfer of East Asian technologies to western Afro-Eurasia during the period of Pax Mongolica

• The shared use of the Arabic language and common practice of Islam by both North African and sub-Saharan merchant communities

“On several occasions, Ghazan Khan^* went to the observatory at Maragha^** and watched the Muslim, Christian, and Chinese astronomers make their observations. He looked at all the operations and instruments, studied them, and asked about their procedures, which he understood in spite of their difficulty. He also ordered the construction of a dome in order to investigate the Sun’s motion and he spoke out with his astronomers about it. All of them said that although they had never seen such an instrument, it was reasonable and sensible.

He gave orders for the construction of an observatory next to his tomb in Tabriz in Persia. He explained how to construct the observatory with such clarity that local wise men marveled at his intelligence, because such work had not been done in any era. Those wise men said that constructing the observatory would be extremely difficult. He guided them, whereupon they commenced building it and they finished it following his instructions. Those wise men and all the engineers agreed that nobody had done such a thing before nor had imagined doing it.”

^*ruler of the Mongol Ilkhanate, whose territories included most of the Muslim Middle East; reigned 1295–1304

**an astronomical observatory in present-day Azerbaijan, established by a grant from the first Ilkhanid ruler in the mid-thirteenth century

Rashid al-Din Hamdani, Persian Muslim historian and government minister in Ghazan Khan’s court, excerpt from a universal history commissioned by Ghazan Khan, completed circa 1316

Which of the following best describes the author’s purpose in the passage?

• To provide detailed descriptions of the instruments used at the Maragha and Tabriz observatories

• To evaluate the importance of the astronomical discoveries made by Ilkhanid scientists

• To portray his patron as a generous supporter of the sciences and a man of unusual intelligence

• To criticize Ghazan for his vanity and remind him to focus on religious and spiritual pursuits

“On several occasions, Ghazan Khan^* went to the observatory at Maragha^** and watched the Muslim, Christian, and Chinese astronomers make their observations. He looked at all the operations and instruments, studied them, and asked about their procedures, which he understood in spite of their difficulty. He also ordered the construction of a dome in order to investigate the Sun’s motion and he spoke out with his astronomers about it. All of them said that although they had never seen such an instrument, it was reasonable and sensible.

He gave orders for the construction of an observatory next to his tomb in Tabriz in Persia. He explained how to construct the observatory with such clarity that local wise men marveled at his intelligence, because such work had not been done in any era. Those wise men said that constructing the observatory would be extremely difficult. He guided them, whereupon they commenced building it and they finished it following his instructions. Those wise men and all the engineers agreed that nobody had done such a thing before nor had imagined doing it.”

^*ruler of the Mongol Ilkhanate, whose territories included most of the Muslim Middle East; reigned 1295–1304

**an astronomical observatory in present-day Azerbaijan, established by a grant from the first Ilkhanid ruler in the mid-thirteenth century

Rashid al-Din Hamdani, Persian Muslim historian and government minister in Ghazan Khan’s court, excerpt from a universal history commissioned by Ghazan Khan, completed circa 1316

Which of the following best describes the historical situation in Eurasia at the time the passage was written?

• Frequent warfare limited the opportunities for cultural, scientific, and artistic innovation.

• Political upheaval and reorganization increased cultural and scientific exchanges across regions

• Revived long-distance trade spread pathogens and infections to regions that had not been previously affected by them.

• The invention and spread of new weapons and military tactics radically transformed the global balance of power.

“On several occasions, Ghazan Khan^* went to the observatory at Maragha^** and watched the Muslim, Christian, and Chinese astronomers make their observations. He looked at all the operations and instruments, studied them, and asked about their procedures, which he understood in spite of their difficulty. He also ordered the construction of a dome in order to investigate the Sun’s motion and he spoke out with his astronomers about it. All of them said that although they had never seen such an instrument, it was reasonable and sensible.

He gave orders for the construction of an observatory next to his tomb in Tabriz in Persia. He explained how to construct the observatory with such clarity that local wise men marveled at his intelligence, because such work had not been done in any era. Those wise men said that constructing the observatory would be extremely difficult. He guided them, whereupon they commenced building it and they finished it following his instructions. Those wise men and all the engineers agreed that nobody had done such a thing before nor had imagined doing it.”

^*ruler of the Mongol Ilkhanate, whose territories included most of the Muslim Middle East; reigned 1295–1304

**an astronomical observatory in present-day Azerbaijan, established by a grant from the first Ilkhanid ruler in the mid-thirteenth century

Rashid al-Din Hamdani, Persian Muslim historian and government minister in Ghazan Khan’s court, excerpt from a universal history commissioned by Ghazan Khan, completed circa 1316

Which of the following best describes the historical circumstances of Rashid al-Din’s career?

• His career illustrates the destructive impact of the Mongol conquests on many established urban centers.

• His career illustrates the possibilities for diffusion and intermingling of cultures brought about by the Mongol conquests.

• His career illustrates the Mongols’ success in preserving their nomadic and tribal culture despite the growing diversity of their subjects.

• His career illustrates the importance of traveler accounts written by foreign visitors to the Mongol court

Based on the information in the table, the Black Death outbreak of the bubonic plague struck Essex County in which of the following periods?

• Before 1320

• Between 1320 and 1350

• Between 1350 and 1400

• After 1400