Prehistory to around 650 CE
A characteristic of the human species before the advent
of civilization was:
 A) the ability to spread to various geographic settings
and climate zones.
 B) the ability to organize large political units.
 C) the inability to communicate about abstractions
such as death.
 D) that all tasks were shared equally by men and
women.
 E) land ownership was equal.
 A) the ability to spread to various geographic settings
and climate zones.
The Paleolithic Age refers to:
 A) the period at which agriculture was developed.
 B) the period in which simple stone tools were
developed.
 C) the period before the full development of the homo
sapiens species.
 D) the period before people learned how to
communicate.
 E) the latest of the two stone ages.
 B) the period in which simple stone tools were
developed.
3) Hunting and gathering societies:
 A) are not able to produce art.
 B) are always warlike.
 C) organized rather small groups into political units.
 D) could not survive after Middle Eastern people
developed agriculture.
 E) generally produce a food surplus.
 C) organized rather small groups into political units.
4) The development of agriculture caused important
changes in all of the following EXCEPT:
 A) population size and life expectancy.
 B) male-female relations.
 C) the tendency to believe in many gods.
 D) the stability of human settlements.
 E) the development of complex social patterns.
 C) the tendency to believe in many gods.
5) The tenth century B. C. E. refers to:
 A) 999–900 years before the birth of Christ.
 B) 1099–1000 years before the birth of Christ.
 C) 1049–1000 years before the birth of Christ.
 D) 1199–1100 years before the birth of Christ.
 E) 1299–1200 years before the birth of Christ.
A) 999–900 years before the birth of Christ.
6) Why did the original inhabitants of Australia not
develop agriculture?
 A) Australian soil was too barren to grow crops.
 B) The Australian climate was too severe.
 C) The first Australians were too isolated to learn of
developments elsewhere until recently.
 D) Australia was too crowded to permit land use for
agriculture.
 E) They were prevented from doing so by the Neolithic
Revolution.
C) The first Australians were too isolated to learn of
developments elsewhere until recently.
7) The Neolithic revolution occurred first in:
 A) Egypt.
 B) the Middle East.
 C) Central America.
 D) China.
 E) India.
B) the Middle East.
8) Once developed, metal tools were preferred over
stone tools for all of the following reasons EXCEPT:
 A) they were easier for ordinary people to make at
home.
 B) they were sharper and more precise.
 C) they permitted more diverse shapes.
 D) they made more accurate weapons.
 B) they were more durable.
A) they were easier for ordinary people to make at home.
A society is almost certainly a civilization if:
 A) it is agricultural.
 B) it involves tool use.
 C) it has cities.
 D) it has some political structure.
 E) it gathers food to survive.
A) it is agricultural.
10) Egypt differed from Mesopotamian civilization by
stressing:
 A) well-organized, durable empires.
 B) extensive trade.
 C) firm religious beliefs.
 D) greater social equality.
 E) more modest building projects.
A) well-organized, durable empires.
11) Sumerian civilization produced the first:
 A) written law code.
 B) monotheistic religion.
 C) examples of warfare among people.
 D) mass literacy.
 E) coined money.
A) written law code.
12) Which river-valley civilization was most completely
destroyed by invasion?
 A) Hwang Ho
 B) Indus
 C) Nile
 D) Tigris-Euphrates
 E) Mekong
B) Indus
13) The characteristic political organization of the TigrisEuphrates civilization was:
 A) democracy.
 B) large, durable empires.
 C) village-level government.
 D) regional city states.
 E) hunting bands.
D) regional city states.
14) Jewish monotheism:
 A) was spread actively by Jewish missionaries
throughout the Middle East.
 B) emphasized the power and abstraction of God.
 C) included worship of various lesser gods.
 D) emerged at the high point of Sumerian civilization.
 E) influenced no other religions.
B) emphasized the power and abstraction of God.
15) The development of writing:
 A) resulted from new technologies, notably the
invention of paper.
 B) helps explain why agriculture could develop.
 C) helps explain why governments could become more
formal and bureaucratic.
 D) resulted from the needs of the various river-valley
civilizations to communicate with one another.
 E) was unusual in an agricultural society.
C) helps explain why governments could become more
formal and bureaucratic.
16) Chinese art featured:
 A) frequent shifts in style.
 B) careful craftsmanship and detail work.
 C) monumental temples and stadiums.
 D) emphasis on God and the holy family.
 E) images of perfectly proportioned humans.
B) careful craftsmanship and detail work.
India’s political tradition:
 A) involved the renunciation of violence and warfare.
 B) stressed the importance of regional and local units.
 C) emphasized the emperor as Son of Heaven.
 D) insisted on religious uniformity.
 E) required frequent wars of expansion.
B) stressed the importance of regional and local units.
The Aryan conquerors brought to India:
 A) its first civilization.
 B) distinctive religious ideas.
 C) admiration for India’s earlier inhabitants.
 D) new agricultural techniques.
 E) political democracy.
B) distinctive religious ideas.
The Mauryan dynasty differed from the Gupta dynasty in
that:
 A) it was imposed by conquerors from Greece.
 B) it ruled a larger territory.
 C) it attacked Buddhist beliefs.
 D) it refused to develop a strong army.
 E) Mauryan rulers opposed the caste system.
B) it ruled a larger territory.
The Indian caste system served to an extent as a political
institution by:
 A) enforcing rules about social behavior.
 B) unifying the subcontinent under a single
government.
 C) creating widespread interest in constitutional
issues.
 D) promoting a belief in individual rights.
 E) causing unrest and rebellion.
A) enforcing rules about social behavior.
Hindu ethics involved:
 A) a detailed set of prohibitions on sexual activity.
 B) emphasis on an individual carrying out the
obligations of life.
 C) attack on all opposing religious faiths.
 D) condemnations of money-making.
 E) finding ultimate happiness.
B) emphasis on an individual carrying out the
obligations of life.
“Nirvana” meant:
 A) full union with the divine essence.
 B) reincarnation in a higher caste after a good life.
 C) the Hindu holy book.
 D) obedience to the rules of the caste system.
 E) acquiring earthly wealth.
A) full union with the divine essence.
Buddhism differed from Hinduism by not believing:
 A) in the caste system.
 B) in holy leaders.
 C) in nirvana.
 D) in the importance of moral obligations.
 E) in spreading the faith.
 A) in the caste system.
India’s trading network involved direct contact with all
of the following EXCEPT:
 A) southeast Asia.
 B) the Middle East.
 C) China.
 D) Russia.
 E) central Asia.
D) Russia.
Hinduism urged that:
 A) withdrawal from the world was the only path to
holiness.
 B) Brahmins would automatically gain nirvana after
death.
 C) all living creatures participated in the divine
essence.
 D) worship of nature’s spirits and images was
blasphemous.
 E) monotheism was superior to polytheism.
C) all living creatures participated in the divine essence.
Which of the following does NOT describe important
features of Indian art?
 A) sensual
 B) linked to religious beliefs
 C) opposed to the use of animal figures
 D) influenced by styles from other cultures
 E) showed human figures
C) opposed to the use of animal figures
Compared to China, Indian social and economic
structure:
 A) showed greater interest in technological
innovation.
 B) made it easier for a peasant to rise to higher status.
 C) relied on conquest of foreign territories.
 D) gave greater latitude to merchants.
 E) tended to discourage commerce.
D) gave greater latitude to merchants.
Compared to China, India:
 A) lacked regional diversity.
 B) had greater contact with other societies and
civilizations.
 C) had a more flexible social structure.
 D) was more secular in outlook.
 E) had much more recent origins.
B) had greater contact with other societies and
civilizations.
Confucian and Hindu values both:
 A) focused attention on the afterlife.
 B) helped justify and preserve social inequality.
 C) urged the importance of political activity.
 D) tried to outlaw war.
 E) resulted in the building of magnificent temples.
B) helped justify and preserve social inequality.
In the classical period, both China and India:
 A) showed considerable tolerance for different
religions.
 B) attempted to conquer the most territory possible.
 C) developed a lasting tradition of strong, centralized
government.
 D) welcomed influences from other cultures.
 E) created cultural traditions which rapidly died off.
A) showed considerable tolerance for different religions.
In contrast to the situation in China, the values
developed in classical India:
 A) promoted considerable equality between men and
women.
 B) encouraged greater emotional spontaneity.
 C) urged that children not be required to work.
 D) discouraged scientific research.
 E) led to great political expansion.
B) encouraged greater emotional spontaneity.
Which of the following does NOT help explain why
India was more often invaded than China?
 A) geographical position
 B) hostility to warfare
 C) regional diversities
 D) political tradition
 E) lack of a military culture
 B) hostility to warfare
If the Greek genius was politics, the Roman genius was:
 A) engineering.
 B) poetry.
 C) science.
 D) democracy.
 E) music.
A) engineering.
Greek and Roman agriculture:
 A) exported grain to Asia.
 B) concentrated on vegetables and dairy products.
 C) employed only a minority of the population.
 D) tended to develop large, commercial estates.
 E) ignored grape and olive cultivation.
D) tended to develop large, commercial estates.
Compared to modern American ideas about democracy,
Athenian democracy was distinctive:
 A) urging that the state adopt policies to benefit
ordinary citizens.
 B) separating foreign residents from citizens.
 C) naming experienced leaders as military generals.
 D) urging that all citizens participate directly in lawand policy-making.
 E) in its concept of citizenship.
D) urging that all citizens participate directly in law- and
policy-making.
The Socratic method emphasized the importance of:
 A) faith in authority.
 B) laboratory experiment.
 C) questioning.
 D) harmony.
 E) respect for elders.
C) questioning.
The Senate of republican Rome particularly represented:
 A) the landed aristocracy.
 B) the emperors.
 C) the urban workers.
 D) the merchants and businessmen.
 E) the non-native Romans.
A) the landed aristocracy.
The Greek and Hellenistic approach in science:
 A) stressed the importance of practical applications.
 B) stressed the regional regularities of nature.
 C) heavily influenced China’s scientific approach.
 D) emphasized the mysterious forces of nature.
 E) was purely theoretical.
 B) stressed the regional regularities of nature.
Roman emperors tried to content the masses by:
 A) dividing the great landed estates.
 B) granting the vote.
 C) abolishing slavery.
 D) organizing food supplies and distribution.
 E) enlarging the empire.
D) organizing food supplies and distribution.
Hellenistic society registered special advances in:
 A) science.
 B) Latin literature.
 C) democracy.
 D) religious thought.
 E) warfare.
A) science.
Roman slaves were used for all of the following EXCEPT:
 A) work in the mines.
 B) agricultural labor.
 C) household care and tutoring.
 D) military service.
 E) entertainment.
D) military service.
The Roman Empire:
 A) tolerated local political and religious diversity.
 B) insisted that all inhabitants become Roman
citizens.
 C) prevented foreigners from trading within the
empire.
 D) set up a military draft to supply the Roman legions.
 E) allowed no political participation.
A) tolerated local political and religious diversity.
Republican Romans and democratic Athenians would
have agreed that all of the following were politically
important EXCEPT:
 A) proper worship of the gods.
 B) a strong military.
 C) division of powers within the state.
 D) splendid public buildings.
 E) an involved citizenry.
C) division of powers within the state.
Greek politics resembled Indian politics in:
 A) the wide interest in diverse political theory.
 B) the role of slave labor in providing revenues.
 C) the inclusion of women as political leaders.
 D) the tendency of regional fragmentation.
 E) the use of military rulers.
D) the tendency of regional fragmentation.
From a Confucian viewpoint, the Roman Empire might
have been criticized for placing too much confidence
in:
 A) divine backing for the emperor.
 B) public works functions.
 C) laws rather than trained officials.
 D) harsh punishments of criminals.
 E) religious conviction.
C) laws rather than trained officials.
Compared to Chinese architecture, Greek and Roman
architecture:
 A) was particularly devoted to government buildings.
 B) featured monumental styles.
 C) emphasized tall towers and steeples.
 D) avoided the use of color and decoration.
 E) did not emphasize balance.
B) featured monumental styles.
Which of the following were the most venturesome
sailors in the classical world?
 A) Romans
 B) Vikings
 C) South Indians
 D) Northern Chinese
 E) Huns
C) South Indians
The spread of Buddhism to China is an example of:
 A) the end of Daoism in China.
 B) technological determinism.
 C) cultural diffusion.
 D) the cultural superiority of India.
 E) religious intolerance.
C) cultural diffusion.
After 200 C. E., an increasing number of people in Asia,
Europe, and North Africa began to adapt faiths
characterized by:
 A) scientific rationalism.
 B) monotheism.
 C) animism.
 D) secularism.
 E) ancestor worship.
B) monotheism.
One important early symptom of Rome’s decline was:
 A) the drop in population.
 B) the use of slave labor.
 C) the replacement of republic by empire.
 D) the weakness of the eastern portion of the empire
compared to the west.
 E) acceptance of Christianity.
A) the drop in population.
The end of the Gupta empire differed from the decline of
Rome in that it did not involve:
 A) a change in political institutions.
 B) outside invasion.
 C) the introduction of a new religion for the majority.
 D) the weakening of central government.
 E) big cultural changes.
C) the introduction of a new religion for the majority.
The eastern portion of the Roman empire experienced
less decline than the west for all the following reasons
EXCEPT:
 A) the east had older traditions of civilization.
 B) the east resisted the spread of Christianity.
 C) the east faced less pressure from barbarian
invasions.
 D) the east had more active trade.
 E) the east was more wealthy.
B) the east resisted the spread of Christianity.
By 600, looking at the entire world, a good definition of
“barbarian” would be:
 A) someone who fights better than a peasant-soldier.
 B) someone who is not Christian.
 C) someone who is not part of a civilization.
 D) someone who is illiterate.
 E) someone who is a knight.
C) someone who is not part of a civilization.
Nomadic invaders often had military advantages over
the armies of empires because:
 A) they had larger forces with more soldiers.
 B) they developed better supply lines.
 C) they believed they were fighting inferior cultures.
 D) they were more skilled as horsemen.
 E) they had smaller distances to cover.
D) they were more skilled as horsemen.
Which of the following best survived the Hun invasions
in India?
 A) Hindu beliefs
 B) Political unity
 C) Nationalist beliefs
 D) Buddhist beliefs
 E) Aryan traditions
A) Hindu beliefs
Despite major differences, Christianity, Hinduism, and
Buddhism all show interest in:
 A) strong priesthood.
 B) clearly organized church structures.
 C) absolute hostility to the worship of religious images
and spirits of nature.
 D) life after death.
 E) polytheism.
 D) life after death.
Compared to Hinduism and Buddhism, all of the
following constitute distinctive features of late-Roman
Christianity EXCEPT:
 A) intolerance for competing beliefs.
 B) belief in a divine trinity.
 C) belief that an evil life will be punished.
 D) a strong hierarchy of church officials.
 E) a strong evangelizing impulse.
 C) belief that an evil life will be punished.
Everywhere it spread, Buddhism stressed
 A) worship of Buddha as a god.
 B) strong church organization.
 C) meditation and ethical behavior.
 D) the impossibility of attaining nirvana except by
multiple reincarnations.
 E) the worthlessness of all competing religions
C) meditation and ethical behavior.
The first kingdoms in Africa below the Sahara showed
the influence of:
 A) Egypt and Hellenism.
 B) Rome and Phoenicia.
 C) Indian merchants and missionaries.
 D) the flight of Jews from Israel.
 E) Persia.
A) Egypt and Hellenism.
The “lessons” of late Han China and the late Roman
empire are that the decline of a civilization, whether
temporary or permanent,:
 A) is not simply the result of attack by outside
invaders.
 B) follows inevitably from centralized,
unrepresentative government.
 C) results from undue dependence on slavery.
 D) results from social rebellion in which the poor
attack the rich and tear down their institutions.
 E) results from a lack of religious conviction.
A) is not simply the result of attack by outside invaders.
Compared to Hinduism, Christianity is more likely to:
 A) see humans as superior to the rest of nature.
 B) believe that women are morally superior to men.
 C) approve of sexual pleasure.
 D) tolerate other beliefs.
 E) be polytheistic.
 A) see humans as superior to the rest of nature.
By 600 C. E., an early civilization was beginning to take
shape in:
 A) Central America.
 B) Brazil.
 C) the west coast of North America.
 D) Russia.
 E) the West Indies.
A) Central America.
Islam means:
 A) “dedication to Allah.”
 B) “victory.”
 C) “submission.”
 D) “peace.”
 E) “people of the book.”
C) “submission.”
Which of the following areas was NOT affected by Islam
in the millennium after 600 A.D.?
 A) Africa
 B) Europe
 C) Asia
 D) South America
 E) China
D) South America
The Arabic camel nomads were referred to as:
 A) Hashim.
 B) bedouin.
 C) mawali.
 D) ayan.
 E) fellahin.
 B) bedouin.
Which of the following statements most accurately describes
the extent of sedentary agriculture in the Arabian
peninsula?
 A) There was no sedentary agriculture in the Arabian
peninsula because of the extreme aridity of the climate.
 B) In the far north along the borders with the Persian
empire sedentary agriculture was common.
 C) In the far south on the Yemen and Hadramaut coasts
extensive sedentary agriculture developed in ancient times.
 D) Sedentary agriculture was distributed throughout the
peninsula as the result of the construction of extensive
irrigation systems.
 E) The area around Mecca was characterized by sedentary
agriculture.
C) In the far south on the Yemen and Hadramaut coasts
extensive sedentary agriculture developed in ancient
times.
Which of the following cultures found in the Arabian
peninsula was most significant in shaping the
development of Islam?
 A) bedouin
 B) urban
 C) sedentary agricultural villages
 D) hunting and gathering
 E) medieval
A) bedouin
Which of the following statements concerning bedouin
society is NOT accurate?
 A) Bedouin herders lived in kin:-related clan groups.
 B) Bedouins lived in highly mobile tent encampments.
 C) Clans were commonly congregated together in
larger tribal groupings.
 D) Arabian society fostered strong dependence on
loyalty and cooperation with kin.
 E) Bedouins were rarely found living in urban areas.
C) Clans were commonly congregated together in larger
tribal groupings.
Leaders of bedouin clans were called
 A) shaykhs.
 B) wazirs.
 C) mawali.
 D) dhows.
 E) imams.
A) shaykhs.
Which of the following groups was NOT a component of
bedouin society?
 A) shaykhs
 B) free warriors
 C) artisans
 D) slaves
 E) herders
C) artisans
Which of the following statements concerning inter-clan
relationships in bedouin society is most accurate?
 A) Clans within the same tribe almost never engaged in
warfare, but violence between different tribes was
common.
 B) Arabic society was too mobile to result in many contacts
between clans, therefore violence was minimal.
 C) Inter-clan violence over control of water and pasturage
was common.
 D) Inter-clan violence was regulated by a universally
recognized code of law imposed by the Quraysh in Mecca.
 E) Violence in Bedouin society was generally limited to
slave uprisings.
C) Inter-clan violence over control of water and
pasturage was common.
What was the result of inter-clan rivalries?
 A) It kept population down in a region that could support
few people.
 B) It weakened the bedouin in comparison to neighboring
peoples and empires.
 C) It allowed for intermarriage between clan groups, thus
preventing social isolation.
 D) It prevented mobility and migration that would have
debilitated efforts at more complex social organization.
 E) It strengthened them and enabled them to challenge
their neighbors.
B) It weakened the bedouin in comparison to
neighboring peoples and empires.
What clan was responsible for the foundation of Mecca?
 A) Umayyad
 B) Abbasid
 C) Aghlabid
 D) Almoravid
 E) Turks
A) Umayyad
What was the Ka’ba?
 A) the tribe that dominated Mecca
 B) the name given to Muhammad’s flight from Mecca
 C) the port of Mecca
 D) the religious shrine that was the focus of an annual
truce
 E) the belief in holy war
 D) the religious shrine that was the focus of an annual
truce
What was the major difference between Medina and Mecca?
 A) Political dominance in Medina was contested between a
number of Jewish and bedouin tribes.
 B) Mecca was established in an oasis, and Medina was in a
mountainous region.
 C) Medina was engaged in long-distance caravan trade,
while Mecca was not.
 D) Medina was located on the western side of the Arabian
peninsula, while Mecca was located on the Persian Gulf.
 E) Medina was controlled by Coptic Christians
 A) Political dominance in Medina was contested
between a number of Jewish and bedouin tribes.
Which of the following statements most accurately describes
the status of women in bedouin society prior to Islam?
 A) Women were regarded as little more than property with
neither rights nor status.
 B) Descent in bedouin tribes was strictly patrilineal.
 C) Women were the equal of males in the rugged society of
the desert bedouin.
 D) Women in pre-Islamic bedouin culture enjoyed greater
freedom and higher status than those of the Byzantine and
Persian Empires.
 E) Women were permitted to take more than one husband.
D) Women in pre-Islamic bedouin culture enjoyed
greater freedom and higher status than those of the
Byzantine and Persian Empires.
What was the nature of the material culture of bedouin society?
 A) The bedouins constructed numerous temple complexes
featuring monumental architecture in the form of pyramids.
 B) Although their nomadic lifestyle did not permit the
development of monumental architectural forms, the bedouins
were skilled painters and sculptors.
 C) Mecca was a major center for the development of art and
architecture, but the desert bedouin produced little of cultural
value.
 D) Except in the sedentary agricultural communities of the
south, there was little art or architecture; and the chief focus of
cultural creativity was oral poetry.
 E) The bedouins preserved the learning of classical cultures.
D) Except in the sedentary agricultural communities of
the south, there was little art or architecture; and the
chief focus of cultural creativity was oral poetry.
What was the nature of pre-Islamic bedouin religion?
 A) Most of the bedouin were Christians.
 B) Most of the bedouin were Jews.
 C) Bedouin religion for most clans was a blend of
animism and polytheism focusing on the worship of
nature spirits.
 D) The bedouin were strictly monotheists who
worshipped Allah.
 E) The Bedouins had no religious beliefs.
C) Bedouin religion for most clans was a blend of
animism and polytheism focusing on the worship of
nature spirits.
Which of the following represents a mounting pressure
for change in pre-Islamic society?
 A) invasion from sub-Saharan Africa
 B) greater Byzantine and Sassanian control over Arabic
tribes of the peninsula and Arabic migration to
Mesopotamia
 C) influence of Hindu animism
 D) increasing influence of polytheism
 E) population pressure from the sub-Saharan tribes
B) greater Byzantine and Sassanian control over Arabic
tribes of the peninsula and Arabic migration to
Mesopotamia
What was the clan into which Muhammad was born?
 A) Umayyad
 B) Abbasid
 C) Almoravid
 D) Banu Hashim
 E) Sassanid
D) Banu Hashim
When did Muhammad receive the first revelations that
were eventually written down in the Quran?
 A) 550 C.E.
 B) 610 C.E.
 C) 622 C.E.
 D) 632 C.E.
 E) 711 C.E.
B) 610 C.E.
What was the initial response of the Umayyads to
Muhammad’s new faith?
 A) They regarded him as a threat to their wealth and power
as he questioned the traditional gods of the Ka‘ba.
 B) They sought to protect him from a plot on his life by the
Banu Hashim.
 C) The Umayyads immediately accepted Muhammad as
their religious and political leader and the chief power in
Mecca.
 D) The Umayyads simply ignored Muhammad as an
insignificant member of a powerless clan.
 E) They sought him as an ally against the Christians.
A) They regarded him as a threat to their wealth and
power as he questioned the traditional gods of the
Ka‘ba.
Which of the following statements concerning
Muhammad’s flight to Medina is NOT correct?
 A) Muhammad fled because of the threat of
assassination in Mecca.
 B) He fled because he was invited to mediate a dispute
between the tribes of Medina.
 C) Muhammad fled from Mecca with nearly one
quarter of the city’s population.
 D) Once in Medina, he attracted new followers to his
faith.
 E) Muhammad fled to Medina in the year 622.
C) Muhammad fled from Mecca with nearly one quarter
of the city’s population.
The Umayyads were threatened by all of the following
developments EXCEPT:
 A) Muhammad’s destruction of the Ka’aba.
 B) the development of a new religion under
Muhammad’s direction.
 C) the growing power of Medina.
 D) raids on their caravans.
 E) disputes between rival families.
A) Muhammad’s destruction of the Ka’aba.
What was the date of Muhammad’s flight to Medina
from Mecca?
 A) 570 C.E.
 B) 610 C.E.
 C) 622 C.E.
 D) 635 C.E.
 E) 711 C.E.
 C) 622 C.E.
What was the Umayyad response to Muhammad’s migration
to Medina and subsequent success there?
 A) The Umayyads eagerly converted to Islam.
 B) The Umayyad rulers of Mecca ignored Muhammad as
long as he was content to remain in Medina.
 C) War broke out between Mecca and Medina resulting in
the eventual victory of Muhammad and the Medina clans.
 D) War broke out between Mecca and Medina resulting in
the eventual victory of the Umayyads.
 E) Reluctantly but peacefully, the Umayyads were
converted to Islam.
B) The Umayyad rulers of Mecca ignored Muhammad as
long as he was content to remain in Medina.
What was the principle advantage of the Islamic concept of
the ummah?
 A) It provided a clear principle of political succession that
would provide the basis for an Islamic state.
 B) It provided for an annual treaty that would restore the
trade routes of Arabia.
 C) It provided dietary restrictions that allowed for more
equitable distribution of food in Arabia.
 D) It transcended old tribal boundaries and made possible
political unity among Arab clans.
 E) It emphasized the value of individualism and fostered
self-reliance.
D) It transcended old tribal boundaries and made
possible political unity among Arab clans.
Which of the following statements concerning the
ethical system of early Islam is NOT correct?
 A) Islam stressed the dignity of all believers and their
equality in the eyes of Allah.
 B) Islam stressed the responsibility of the wealthy and
strong to care for the poor and weak.
 C) A tax for charity was obligatory in the new faith.
 D) The teachings of the Prophet and the Quran were
not formally incorporated into a body of law.
 E) It recognized the truth of similar ethical ideas in
Judaism and Christianity.
D) The teachings of the Prophet and the Quran were not
formally incorporated into a body of law.
What was Muhammad’s teaching with respect to the
revelations of other monotheistic religions?
 A) Muhammad accepted the earlier Christian revelations,
but rejected completely any influence from Judaism.
 B) Muhammad accepted the earlier Judaic revelations, but
rejected completely any influence from Christianity.
 C) Muhammad accepted the validity of earlier Christian
and Judaic revelations and taught that his own revelations
were a final refinement and reformulation of earlier ones.
 D) Muhammad stressed that only his own revelations had
merit and that others were works of the devil.
 E) Muhammad taught that monotheistic religion was
compatible with polytheism.
C) Muhammad accepted the validity of earlier Christian
and Judaic revelations and taught that his own
revelations were a final refinement and reformulation
of earlier ones.
Which of the following is NOT among the “five pillars”
of Islam?
 A) a confession of faith
 B) hajj
 C) zakat
 D) pilgrimage to Medina
 E) fasting
D) pilgrimage to Medina
What happened after Muhammad’s death in 632?
 A) Many of the bedouin tribes renounced Islam.
 B) Islam ceased to exist until it was reestablished
under the Umayyad dynasty at Damascus.
 C) After a lengthy period of grief, the tribes selected a
new leader based on the established principle of
succession in the Quran.
 D) A military commander, Khalid ibn al-Walid, was
chosen as leader of Islam.
 E) Islam remained unified.
A) Many of the bedouin tribes renounced Islam.
The wars to defeat rival prophets and restore the unity of
Islam were called:
 A) Ridda.
 B) dhow.
 C) Karbala.
 D) the first fatwah.
 E) Rihla.
 A) Ridda.
The office of the political and religious successor of
Muhammad was called:
 A) wazir.
 B) Caliph.
 C) Ayan.
 D) dhow.
 E) Karbala.
B) Caliph.
Which of the following was NOT a reason for the early
expansion of Islam beyond Arabia?
 A) the desire for booty
 B) the sense of common cause and united strength
 C) the desire to convert new populations to Islam
 D) a means to release the energies of the bedouin
tribes against others than themselves
 E) the weakness of their adversaries
C) the desire to convert new populations to Islam
Why did the Arab warriors not want to convert large numbers
of people to Islam?
 A) Muhammad specifically stated that Islam could only be
spread among the Arabs.
 B) They would have had to share their booty and would
have lost tax revenues.
 C) They lacked the political organization to govern them
and feared insurrection by non-Arabs.
 D) Conversion would have slowed down the process of
conquest.
 E) They wanted to keep high religious offices among
themselves.
B) They would have had to share their booty and would
have lost tax revenues.
Which of the following areas of the Byzantine Empire
was NOT conquered by the Muslims by 650 C.E.?
 A) Palestine
 B) Egypt
 C) Syria
 D) Asia Minor
 E) Iraq
 D) Asia Minor