a. Judaism | ||
b. Christianity | ||
c. Islam | ||
d. Buddhism |
a. Many of the following leaders in the region tried to emulate him. | ||
b. He was born and raised in Western Anatolia. | ||
c. He conquered most of Southwest Asia. | ||
d. All of the above |
a. The New Testament describes the decisive battle in 1125 B.C. at Megiddo; this battle was fought at the Hills of Megiddo, which was the origin of the word "Armageddon." | ||
b. The old chronicles talk about a warrior by the name of Meggido, who came to symbolize destruction. | ||
c. There is no connection between the two. | ||
d. Armageddon was the name of a city where the battle of Meggido was fought. |
a. The laws of Moses derived from Babylonian ruler Hammurabi. | ||
b. Great architectural achievements that include the Hanging Gardens derived from the Babylonian Empire. | ||
c. There are many mentions of the empire in the Old Testament, dealing with the Hebrew Babylonian Captivity. | ||
d. All of the above |
a. The physical description of Babylonian nature and geography | ||
b. Chaldean people and their habits | ||
c. Assyrians' war preparations | ||
d. Great military inventions in Anatolia |
a. The Byzantium Empire was not able to maintain a navy to protect themselves from attacks that come from the sea. | ||
b. A strong enemy emerged from the east in the 11th century. They were the Ottoman Turks, and they caused the final destruction of the Byzantium Empire. | ||
c. The First Crusades weakened the empire greatly. | ||
d. Italy's stronghold of the Byzantium economy undermined the financial affairs of the empire. |
a. Hittites wrote extensively in cuneiform about their relations with other civilizations. This has allowed us to draw a better picture about the region. | ||
b. They were the first culture with a monotheistic belief. All others copied the Hittites. | ||
c. Their warlike culture made them the most dominant empire in the 10 century BC. | ||
d. None of the above |
a. It was situated around the Tigris River in present day Iraq. | ||
b. It waged war against the kingdom of Urartu in the north. | ||
c. It was defeated by the Babylonians. | ||
d. All of the above |
a. It remained the foremost nation in the Mediterranean world for almost 30 centuries. | ||
b. Its pyramids and temples have inspired innumerable artists, writers, poets, and architects from the Roman period to the present day. | ||
c. It invented zero. | ||
d. Its pyramids inspired Greek mathematicians. |
a. It was located around Baghdad. | ||
b. It was an Anatolian city, Hattusa/Bogazkoy. | ||
c. It was Constantinople. | ||
d. It was located in a place where the present day Jerusalem stands. |
a. They invented the number zero. | ||
b. They developed the writing. | ||
c. They originated in what is now Iraq. | ||
d. They were the first civilization which talked about the "Great Flood." |
a. They were mainly warriors who lived in landlocked areas of Mesopotamia. | ||
b. They were master sea traders of the ancient Mediterranean Sea. | ||
c. They were well-known by the irrigation canals they invented. | ||
d. They were the only power that defeated Alexander the Great. |
a. Verses in the Quran are words of God. | ||
b. Muhammad is the prophet of God. | ||
c. There is only one God. | ||
d. All of the above |
a. The title given to generals in Islamic armies | ||
b. The head judge who presided over conflicts between Muslims and non-Muslims | ||
c. The head of the Muslim community, and his primary responsibility was to continue in the path of the Prophet | ||
d. The prayer leader who also delivered sermons |
a. Mecca | ||
b. Medina | ||
c. Karbala | ||
d. Jerusalem |
a. He was born in 570 around Baghdad. | ||
b. He was 40 years old when he received his first revelation. | ||
c. Muhammad received all revelations in one day. | ||
d. After Muhammad died, his successors continued to receive revelations. |
a. The formation of the first Islamic state under the leadership of Muhammad united many different and warring tribes under a religion. | ||
b. It created a community of believers or "Muslims," as a political and military force. | ||
c. It immediately became the major military force that captured Constantinople, the capital city of the Eastern Roman/Byzantine Empire. | ||
d. It brought a sophisticated law for the population in a place where lawlessness was the norm for centuries. |
a. Nomadic tribalism in the early phases of the Islamic state was seen as a hindrance for the unity of the state which tried to control them. | ||
b. Nomadic tribalism in the early phases of the Islamic state was encouraged, because tribal forces constituted great fighters. | ||
c. Nomadic tribalism in the early phases of the Islamic state was not a major issue that Muhammad and his followers concerned themselves. | ||
d. None of the above |
a. Shi'as are the majority in the Islamic world. | ||
b. Shi'as are the majority in Iran. | ||
c. Sunnis are the majority in Iraq. | ||
d. Both Sunnis and Shi'as have a similar number of followers. |
a. Shi'as do not consider the Quran as authentic. | ||
b. An overwhelming majority of Sunnis do not regard Shi'as as Muslim. | ||
c. The main difference between the two is political, not theological. | ||
d. Both have arguments over the legitimacy of Muhammad as the Prophet of Islam. |
a. They were all elected. | ||
b. They were called rashidun caliphs. | ||
c. Ali, the prophet's son-in-law, was one of the four. | ||
d. All of the above |
a. Sadaqa was levied on non-Muslims. | ||
b. Jizya was levied on sedentary population of Jewish or Christian faith. | ||
c. Zakat was levied on sedentary Muslims. | ||
d. Nomad, Muslim or not, had to pay an extra tax. |
a. In order to establish the new faith, Muslims needed to destroy other faiths. | ||
b. The state needed revenues that could be collected from conquered people. | ||
c. Muslims aimed at destroying the rivaling Byzantine Empire. | ||
d. This was the only way to spread their faith and to covert others. |
a. Two of the three holy cities are located there. | ||
b. Muhammad created the very first Islamic state in the peninsula. | ||
c. The first model Islamic community was formed in Medina. | ||
d. All of the above |
a. By preserving and translating the ancient books, they paved the way for the emergence of the Renaissance in Europe. | ||
b. They invented windmills and irrigations channels that were used by Europe. | ||
c. Their administrative practices became models for Western countries. | ||
d. They forbade slavery, which was considered revolutionary by some European thinkers. |
a. They both used slave soldiers. | ||
b. Their caliphs were elected. | ||
c. They were both defeated by the Sassanian Empire. | ||
d. Their main aim was to convert as many people as possible. |
a. They were originally the governors of Syria, and then they moved the capital to Damascus. | ||
b. They created the city of Baghdad and made it their new capital. | ||
c. They remained in Mecca and ruled the empire from this holy city. | ||
d. None of the above |
a. The foundation of the city Baghdad in the 8th century CE | ||
b. Expansion of the empire in a great speed | ||
c. Changing the capital city from Medina to Damascus | ||
d. Establishing the "House of Wisdom" for translation of ancient books |
a. Abbasids were Shi'a. | ||
b. Umayyads were Shi'a. | ||
c. Abbasids and Umayyads were both Sunni. | ||
d. None of the above |
a. The Umayyad house was one of the major clans of the Quraysh tribe. | ||
b. The Umayyad Caliphate emerged in the mid-600s CE following the rashidun caliphs. | ||
c. Umayyad caliphs were the only elected leaders of the Islamic world. | ||
d. They were not very tolerant towards non-Arab Muslims. |
a. There was already a sizable Muslim community living there. | ||
b. They established a Muslim empire and converted most Christians and the Jews. | ||
c. They created a unique culture melting Muslim, Christian, and Jewish traditions. | ||
d. They destroyed the Western tradition in favor of the Islamic one. |
a. Muslim forces in Spain were also called Moors. | ||
b. Andalusia (Al-Andalus) became one of the greatest Islamic cities in the world. | ||
c. Umayyad caliphs based themselves in Spain from the 8th century to the 11th century. | ||
d. All of the above |
a. Their weakness led to the rise of the Umayyads. | ||
b. The Abbasid Caliphs presided over a multicultural empire where conversion was a relatively peaceful business. | ||
c. They favored Arab Muslims. | ||
d. The Abbasid caliphs were elected. |
a. Because of the material wealth they encountered in Spain | ||
b. Because of the cultural, artistic, achievements, and religious tolerance | ||
c. Because of the advancement in the goldsmith trade | ||
d. None of the above |
a. Because Christians outnumbered Muslims, mass conversion or execution was not practical. | ||
b. Outlawing or controlling the beliefs of so many people would have been massively expensive. | ||
c. Passages in the Quran said that Christians and Jews should be tolerated if they obeyed certain rules. | ||
d. All of the above |
a. They taxed the Arabs more than other Muslims. | ||
b. They privileged the Arab Muslims in the levels of the empire. | ||
c. Non-Arab Muslims respected their Arab genealogy. | ||
d. They pretend to come from an Arab background. |
a. It is too long compared to Bible. | ||
b. Its organization looks puzzling as it does not follow a recognizable order. | ||
c. The content of it radically differs from The New and the Old Testament. | ||
d. The language is too mysterious to comprehend. |
a. Medicine | ||
b. Mathematics | ||
c. Astronomy | ||
d. All of the above |
a. Turkey | ||
b. Saudi Arabia | ||
c. Iran | ||
d. Syria |
a. Sayings and doings of Prophet Muhammad | ||
b. Literally it means "the way" of living as a believer | ||
c. Verses in the Quran | ||
d. Decisions by Islamic scholars |
a. Malikiyya | ||
b. Shafi'iyya | ||
c. Jafariyya | ||
d. Hanafiyya |
a. The Fivers | ||
b. The Seveners | ||
c. The Niners | ||
d. The Twelvers |
a. Shi'as believe that Ali was a prophet, while Sunnis do not believe this. | ||
b. Sunnis and Shias disagreed on who should be the leader of the Islamic community after Muhammad's death. | ||
c. Sunnis do not recognize the four rightly guided caliphs, while Shi'as recognize the caliphs. | ||
d. The main distinction between the two is theological in nature, not political. |
a. The oneness of God | ||
b. Muhammad's divinity | ||
c. Significance of prayer | ||
d. None of the above |
a. Because there is no clergy or priesthood in Islam, no central authority hands out binding final judgments. | ||
b. Because the interpretation of Quran differs, so do opinions produced by Muslim jurists. | ||
c. If need be, jurists can overrule hadith or the Quran. | ||
d. Jurists derive their authority from the people who recognize them. |
a. It is the second most authoritative source in Islam. | ||
b. The Quran contains many hadiths. | ||
c. It is the exact words of God. | ||
d. None of the above |
a. Muslims believe that it is the word of God. | ||
b. It is the ultimate source for the Islamic law. | ||
c. It was revealed to Muhammad and the rightly guided caliphs. | ||
d. The first revelation came to Muhammad through Archangel Gabriel. |
a. The Quran was issued from a mouth of a single person (Muhammad) as God's commands. | ||
b. The Quran is an interpretation of God's will by some scholars. | ||
c. The Quran immediately emerged in print and spread through oral tradition. | ||
d. The Quran was revealed only for those who did not have monotheistic beliefs. |
a. Islam | ||
b. Christianity | ||
c. Judaism | ||
d. None of the above |
a. They did not mix with the locals and were always seen as enemy. | ||
b. They did not receive sufficient support from Europe. | ||
c. They were constantly threatened by the hostile surrounding states which drained their power. | ||
d. They were in fierce competition with each other. |
a. To heal the rift between the Roman and Byzantine Empires | ||
b. To drive the Turks out of Anatolia | ||
c. To conquer the Holy Land for Christendom | ||
d. None of the above |
a. Mongols were nomadic; the Seljuks were not. | ||
b. They were both Turkish speakers. | ||
c. They both migrated from Central Asia. | ||
d. Mongols were Muslims prior to their arrival in Southwest Asia; the Seljuks were not. |
a. Internal rivalry, which became very intense among the Seljuk princes in the 12th century, caused the empire's collapse. | ||
b. The Abbasids defeated the Seljuks soundly, and the Seljuks could not recover. | ||
c. Many revolts in Asia Minor drained the Seljuk Empire's treasury. | ||
d. Assassins killed many abled Seljuk rulers, which then caused a power vacuum. |
a. They were defeated many times by the Muslim armies. | ||
b. They captured Baghdad in the 15th century by destroying the city. | ||
c. The Islamic world could not fully recover from the destruction caused by the Mongol invasion. | ||
d. The Mongols immediately converted to Islam. |
a. They were militarily superior to others, because their battle tactics grew out of their natural lifestyle. | ||
b. They developed remarkable ability to coordinate armies separated by great distances by using dispatch riders. | ||
c. Their religious belief in Buddhism enabled them to fight fearlessly. | ||
d. The Mongols were extremely ruthless in battle and displayed extraordinary military discipline. |
a. The defeat of the Byzantine army in 1071, hence opening the gates of the Christian heartland to Muslim invasions | ||
b. The total destruction of rival Turkic tribes in Central Asia | ||
c. The sound defeat of the Second Crusades | ||
d. None of the above |
a. The final weakening of the Byzantine Empire | ||
b. Expulsion of the Turks from Anatolia | ||
c. Rise of the Mongols to counter the Crusades | ||
d. All of the above |
a. They were Persian speakers before they entered the Middle East. | ||
b. They were mainly nomads and were originally hired by the Islamic armies as mercenaries. | ||
c. They were Christians before they converted to Islam. | ||
d. All of the above |
a. Saladdin | ||
b. Muhammad | ||
c. Sulaiman | ||
d. Nur al-Din |
a. Because it added a third dominant ethnic group in the Islamic territories in addition to the Arabs and the Persians | ||
b. Because the Seljuks entered the Asia Minor by defeating the Christian Byzantine armies | ||
c. Because it triggered the Crusades | ||
d. All of the above |
a. Europe | ||
b. Asia | ||
c. Africa | ||
d. None of the above |
a. "Dead man walking" | ||
b. "Sick man of Europe" | ||
c. "Dying father of Islam" | ||
d. "Crippled patriarch of the East" |
a. A band of warriors in the frontiers | ||
b. A form of tax collection | ||
c. An ethnic group living around the Aegean Sea | ||
d. Name of the first Ottoman capital city |
a. The autonomy of Jewish and Christian citizens of the empire in their internal affairs | ||
b. The commercial activities of the non-Muslims within the empire | ||
c. The system of taxation for non-Muslims | ||
d. A system of military recruitment |
a. Increasing internal weakness and deterioration in the machinery of government | ||
b. Sustained external pressure by the Great Powers | ||
c. Introduction of a Western mode of government in the form of constitutional monarchy | ||
d. All of the above |
a. They were a small frontier Seljuk principality before they became an empire. | ||
b. They first emerged in the Balkans and spread through Asia Minor. | ||
c. The ruling elite of the Ottomans were the Mongols. | ||
d. The empire was entirely on the Byzantine state tradition. |
a. Their government took over the empire after World War I. | ||
b. They were responsible for forcing the Sultan to declare the constitutional monarchy for the second time. | ||
c. They signed secret treaties with the Russians during World War I. | ||
d. They dethroned the Sultan after World War I. |
a. Military and economic superiority of the Western powers | ||
b. The empire's inability to reform its institutions | ||
c. The rise of the Safavids in the East as a military and economic rival | ||
d. Rise of nationalism especially among the Christian population of the empire |
a. It began with the seasonal movements of Turcoman nomadic groups into the Byzantine coastal plains. | ||
b. It was intensified by the organization of small raiding groups for booty raids or for employment as mercenaries. | ||
c. It gradually had definite political and economic aims, in the regional struggle for supremacy in the Aegean and in the Balkans, the previously undirected thrusts of the war bands became focused on new goals. | ||
d. All of the above |
a. It took place in the 16th century. | ||
b. Despite the magnitude of this event, the Byzantine Empire survived. | ||
c. The city became the new Ottoman capital. | ||
d. The entire population of the city was slaughtered. |
a. Stock raising | ||
b. Slave trade | ||
c. Pirating in the Mediterranean Sea. | ||
d. Carpet making |
a. Sultan Sulaiman | ||
b. Sultan Mehmed II | ||
c. Sultan Murad | ||
d. Sultan Ahmad |
a. As a militant Sufi order | ||
b. As a pacifist religious movement | ||
c. As an intellectual movement centered on the madrasas | ||
d. As a rebellion to the Sunni overlords |
a. Naser o Din | ||
b. Fath Ali | ||
c. Reza | ||
d. Muhammad |
a. Prostitutes | ||
b. Those engaged in arts and crafts | ||
c. The married wives of those in the upper reaches of society | ||
d. All of the above |
a. Early Safavid painting combined the traditions of Timurid Herat and Turkoman Tabriz to reach its peak. | ||
b. Persian paintings were mainly miniatures drawn by artists in Herat and Bukhara. | ||
c. One of the main innovations of the Bukhara miniaturists was the introduction of plant and animal motifs in the margins of their miniatures. | ||
d. All of the above |
a. It is a census taken in the Safavid Empire. | ||
b. It is a "national epic of Persian kings." | ||
c. It is the Safavid code of law. | ||
d. None of the above |
a. Shahnama | ||
b. Baburnama | ||
c. Kashi | ||
d. Timurnama |
a. Russia and Great Britain divided the country into sphere of influences for themselves. | ||
b. Great Britain forced the Shah to declare a constitution in the 19th century. | ||
c. France declared Persia as her protectorate before World War I. | ||
d. None of the above |
a. It is established in the 16th century. | ||
b. As a Shia empire, it became a significant rival to the Sunni Ottoman Empire. | ||
c. Its official language was Persian. | ||
d. All of the above |
a. Qajar shahs and aristocrats deeply believed in Europe's superiority in civilization. | ||
b. Europe was influenced from Persia as much as the reverse, especially in the field of government. | ||
c. Qajar shahs invited European politicians, travelers, and artists to his court, and sent several groups of students to Europe to study. | ||
d. Abbas Mirza, a Qajar crown prince, reorganized the army based on the French military. |
a. Safavids | ||
b. Mughals | ||
c. Afsharids | ||
d. Zands |
a. Women are portrayed but placed in a space separate from that of the men. | ||
b. In the palace scenes, women attendants used to wear white headscarves and worked with men in two separate kitchens. | ||
c. The poets wrote of an ideal world of love, gardens, and princes, in which the women played a huge role. | ||
d. Many oil paintings by local artists depicted the daily lives of Safavid farmer women. |
a. European Powers always bullied Persia for their own interests. | ||
b. Persia welcomed European intervention, seeing it as an effective way for modernization. | ||
c. Russia and Great Britain were united in their dealing with Persia. | ||
d. All of the above |
a. Lifelong celibacy was an acceptable state, regarded as pureness. | ||
b. Divorce was available to both the male and the female, and remarriage was easy. | ||
c. Some women acquired power and wealth by being prostitutes, whose activities included singing and dancing, in addition to providing sexual gratification. | ||
d. Arranged marriages were usually done by an attorney between people of a compatible temperament and comparable social status. |
a. Napoleon invaded Egypt in 1798. | ||
b. Russian forces challenged Ottoman control of the Caucasus region and forced the Ottomans to open the Black Sea to international shipping. | ||
c. Russian and British forces challenged Iranian control of the Caspian Sea region and forced concessions from the Iranian government. | ||
d. Internal modernization and developments efforts funded by European investors helped the Ottoman and the Persian Empires recover from their economic dependence on Russia. |
a. It guaranteed all Ottoman subjects security for life, honor, and property. | ||
b. It established a regular system of assessing taxes. | ||
c. It regulated the Ottoman Empire's relations with England. | ||
d. It established a regular system of military conscription. |
a. That Arabs and Jews would be encouraged living side by side in Palestine | ||
b. That all necessary measures would be taken to stimulate immigration of Jews into Palestine on a large scale | ||
c. That the Zionist Organization would use its best efforts to assist the Arab State in providing the means for developing the natural resources and economic possibilities | ||
d. All of the above |
a. It is about negotiations between England and Sharif Husain as the leader of the Arabs for the formation of an Arab kingdom in exchange for a rebellion against the Ottoman Empire. | ||
b. It is a memorandum of understanding Indian Muslims' treatment in the British Empire. | ||
c. It is about a significant military intelligence obtained by the Arabs against the Ottoman Empire during World War I. | ||
d. None of the above |
a. England | ||
b. Germany | ||
c. France | ||
d. Russia |
a. Iran | ||
b. Iraq | ||
c. Jordan | ||
d. Israel |
a. Modern boundaries of the Middle East emerged from the war | ||
b. The collapse of the Ottoman Empire, which ruled the area for 600 years before the war | ||
c. Europe's establishment of a permanent foothold in the Middle East | ||
d. All of the above |
a. Arab resistance movements emerged to challenge European dominance. | ||
b. European Powers wanted immediately to leave the area after realizing that governing the region was costly. | ||
c. The Zionist movement succeeded in creating the Israeli state. | ||
d. The Ottoman Empire was replaced by the Republic of Turkey. |
a. The Sultan was encouraged by his Arab subjects to declare war against Great Britain. | ||
b. The Sultan issued a decree of jihad, calling on Muslims throughout the world to rally to the defense of the empire against the Triple Entente. | ||
c. The Ottomans first declared war against the German Empire. | ||
d. The Muslim bond played a significant role in Ottoman Empire's defeat of Germany. |
a. It is written by the Ottoman parliament and promises a Western style of government in the Ottoman Empire. | ||
b. One of its main aims was to give equal rights to non-Muslim citizens of the empire. | ||
c. It declared the new regime as a constitutional monarchy. | ||
d. All of the above |
a. It triggered the subsequent British invasion of Egypt and laid the ground for the British protectorate. | ||
b. It caused the complete destruction of Mamluk patronage. | ||
c. It paved the way for the rise of Muhammad Ali. | ||
d. After this invasion, Egypt became independent. |
a. Distribution of land to the Greeks after the formation of the state | ||
b. Dealing with 2.5 million Greeks living outside of Greece | ||
c. Interference of European Powers in her internal affairs | ||
d. Constant military threat of the Ottoman Empire |
a. It was a secret understanding concluded in May 1916, during World War I, between Great Britain and France, with the assent of Russia, for the dismemberment of the Ottoman Empire. | ||
b. It led to the division of Turkish-held Syria, Iraq, Lebanon, and Palestine into various French and British-administered areas. | ||
c. The agreement took its name from the area where it was signed. | ||
d. The agreement contradicted with some of the pledges given to Sharif Husain. |
a. The original French plan was to seize Egypt as a colony. | ||
b. Napoleon wished to promote French culture in the Islamic lands. | ||
c. Egypt invited France to help them to get rid of the Ottoman control. | ||
d. France wanted to preempt a looming British invasion. |
a. It marks the beginning of a period in which the Ottoman Empire began introducing the Western style of government. | ||
b. After this imperial decree, the Ottoman Empire surrendered its sovereignty to Europe. | ||
c. It caused many uprisings and contributed to the collapse of the empire. | ||
d. None of the above |