Name _____________________________________ Date ________ Period ____ Class _______
The Dark Ages...How Dark Were They, Really?
Directions: Watch the Crash Course World History video by John Green on the Dark Ages in Europe and
around the world, and answer the questions below using content from the video. The video can be found on
MrCaseyHistory.com or through a link in the assignment description on PupilPath. Captions can be turned on
for those who find them helpful, and a transcript is available as well.
1. How was life in Europe during the Middle Ages worse then under the Roman Empire? How was life in
Europe during the Middle Ages better than under the Roman Empire?
2. Describe the (1) political, (2) economic, and (3) social organization of the feudal system.
3. Why did the Arab rulers of the Umayyad dynasty have conflict with their non-Arab Muslim subjects?
4. In what ways were is the Abbasids influenced by Persia? Give at least one example.
5. What is the "strategy that has been tried over and over again and has worked exactly zero times" that
John Green mentioned? What other empire from history do you know of that used, and failed at, this
approach?
6. "The developments and successes of the Islamic Golden Age where entirely indigenous and original.
The Muslims deserve all the credit." Use evidence from the video, at least three examples, to disprove
this statement.
7. In what way did religious beliefs and practice of push forward the development of science and
mathematics during the Muslim Golden Age?
8. What city was the center of the Islamic Golden Age in Al Andalus, AKA Islamic Spain? What was one
major development that arose from that city?
9. In what ways was the Tang Dynasty a Golden Age for China? Give three examples.
10. In what ways was the Song Dynasty a Golden Age for China? Give three examples.
11. Should describing the period between 600 and 1400 CE as “The Dark Ages” be considered
Eurocentric? Why or why not?