AP World History Practice Test Questions (Period 1)

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. **Key Terms: Period 1 (1200-1450)** Remember that the AP World History exam tests you on the depth of your knowledge, not just your ability to recall facts. While we have provided brief definitions here, you will need to know these terms in even more depth fo...

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. **Key Terms: Period 1 (1200-1450)** Remember that the AP World History exam tests you on the depth of your knowledge, not just your ability to recall facts. While we have provided brief definitions here, you will need to know these terms in even more depth for the AP exam, including how terms connect to broader historical themes and understandings. ***Cultural Developments and Belief Systems*** - - - - - ***Civilizations in the Americas*** - - ***Civilizations in East Asia*** - - - ***Islamic Golden Age*** - - - ***Europe during the Late Middle Ages*** - - - ***Nomadic and Traveling Empires*** - - - ***Civilizations in Africa*** - - ***Interregional Economic and Cultural Exchange*** - - - - ***Recovery and Renaissance in Asia and Europe*** - **REVIEW: 600 - 1450 C.E.** =========================== **Some major events and developments that characterized this era were:** ======================================================================== · Two nomadic groups - the Bedouins and the Mongols - had a huge impact on the course of history during this era. · A new religion - Islam - began in the 7th century and spread rapidly throughout the Middle East, Northern Africa, Europe, and Southeast Asia. · Major empires developed in both South America (the Inca) and Mesoamerica (the Maya and Aztec.) · China grew to have hegemony over many other areas of Asia and became one of the largest and most prosperous empires of the time. · The Islamic World - Islam began in the Arabian Peninsula in the 7th century CE, impacting political and economic structures, and shaping the development of arts, sciences and technology. **THE SPREAD OF ISLAM** ======================= · Well-disciplined armies - For the most part the Muslim commanders were able, war tactics were effective, and the armies were efficiently organized. **THE SUNNI-SHI\'A SPLIT** ========================== **THE CHANGING STATUS OF WOMEN** ================================ **ARTS, SCIENCES, AND TECHNOLOGIES** ==================================== **INTERREGIONAL NETWORKS AND CONTACTS** ======================================= **AFRICAN SOCIETIES AND EMPIRES** ================================= · Mali - During the 11th century, the Almoravids, a Muslim group from northern Africa, conquered Ghana. By the 13th century, a new empire, called Mali, dominated West Africa. The empire began with Mande-speaking people south of Ghana, but it grew to be larger, more powerful, and richer than Ghana had been. Mali too based its wealth on gold. New deposits were found east of the Niger River, and African gold became a basic commodity in long distance trade. Mali\'s first great leader was Sundiata, whose life inspired an epic poem -The Legend of Sundiata - that was passed down from one generation to the next. He defeated kingdoms around Mali, and also proved to be an affective administrator. Perhaps even more famous was Mansu Musa, a 14th century ruler. He is best known for giving away so much gold as he traveled from Mali to Mecca for the hajj that he set off a major round of inflation, seriously affecting economies all along the long-distance trade routes. Mali\'s capital city, Timbuktu, became a world center of trade, education and sophistication. · The Swahili city-states - The people who lived in trade cities along the eastern coast of Africa provided a very important link for long-distance trade. The cities were not united politically, but they were well developed, with a great deal of cultural diversity and sophisticated architecture. The people were known collectively as the Swahili, based on the language that they spoke - a combination of Bantu and Arabic. Most were Muslims, and the sailors were renowned for their ability to maneuver their small boats through the Indian Ocean to India and other areas of the Middle East via the Red Sea and back again. **THE CHRISTIAN CRUSADES (LATE 11TH THROUGH 13TH CENTURIES C.E.)** ================================================================== **THE IMPORTANCE OF THE MONGOLS** ================================= **THE RISE OF THE MONGOLS** =========================== **THE MONGOL ORGANIZATION** =========================== **TWO TRAVELLERS** ================== · Marco Polo - In the late 13th century, Marco Polo left his home in Venice, and eventually traveled for many years in China. He was accompanied by his father and uncle, who were merchants anxious to stimulate trade between Venice along the trade routes east. Polo met the Chinese ruler Kublai Khan (Genghis Khan\'s grandson), who was interested in his travel stories and convinced him to stay as an envoy to represent him in different parts of China. He served the khan for 17 years before returning home, where he was captured by Genoans at war with Venice. While in prison, he entertained his cellmates with stories about China. One prisoner compiled the stories into a book that became wildly popular in Europe, even though many did not believe that Polo\'s stories were true. Europeans could not believe that the fabulous places that Polo described could ever exist. · Ibn Battuta - This famous traveler and prolific writer of the 14th century spent many years of his life visiting many places within Islamic Empires. He was a Moroccan legal scholar who left his home for the first time to make a pilgrimage to Mecca. After his hajj was completed, he traveled through Mesopotamia and Persia, then sailed down the Red Sea and down the east African coast as far south as Kilwa. He later traveled to India, the Black Sea, Spain, Mali, and the great trading cities of Central Asia. He wrote about all of the places he traveled and compiled a detailed journal that has given historians a great deal of information about those places and their customs during the 14th century. A devout Muslim who generally expected fine hospitality, Ibn Battuta seldom kept his opinions to himself, and he commented freely on his approval or disapproval of the things that he saw. **CHINA\'S HEGEMONY** ===================== **THE \"GOLDEN ERA\" OF THE TANG AND SONG** =========================================== **ECONOMIC REVOLUTIONS OF THE TANG AND SONG DYNASTIES** ======================================================= · Increasing agricultural production - Before this era, Chinese agriculture had been based on the production of wheat and barley raised in the north. The Tang conquest of southern China and Vietnam added a whole new capability for agriculture; the cultivation of rice. In Vietnam they made use of a new strain of fast-ripening rice that allowed the production of two crops per year. Agricultural techniques improved as well, with the use of the heavy iron plow in the north and water buffaloes in the south. The Tang also organized extensive irrigation systems, so that agricultural production was able to move outward from the rivers. · Increasing population - China\'s population about 600 C.E. was about 45 million, but by 1200 (the Song Dynasty) it had risen to about 115 million. This growth occurred partly because of the agricultural revolution, but also because distribution of food improved with better transportation systems, such as the Grand Canal and the network of roads throughout the empire. · Urbanization - The agricultural revolution also meant that established cities grew and new ones were created. With its population of perhaps 2,000,000, the Tang capital of Xi\'an was probably the largest city in the world. The Song capital of Hangzhou was smaller, with about 1,000,000 residents, but it too was a cosmopolitan city with large markets, public theatres, restaurants, and craft shops. Many other Chinese cities had populations of more than 100,000. Because rice production was so successful and Silk Road and Indian Ocean trade was vigorous, other farmers could concentrate on specialty fruits and vegetables that were for sale in urban markets. · Financial inventions - Because trade was so strong and copper became scarce, Chinese merchants developed paper money as an alternative to coins. Letters of credit called \"flying cash\" allowed merchants to deposit money in one location and have it available in another. The Chinese also used checks which allowed drawing funds deposited with bankers. **NEO-CONFUCIANISM** ==================== **PATRIARCHAL SOCIAL STRUCTURES** ================================= **KOREA AND JAPAN** =================== **DEVELOPMENTS IN EUROPE (500-1450 C.E.)** ========================================== **COMPARATIVE FEUDALISM - JAPAN AND EUROPE** ============================================ -- -- -- -- -- -- **THE BYZANTINE EMPIRE** ======================== **THE CHURCH IN THE WEST** ========================== · Establishment of wandering ministries - Not only did the church have priests attached to almost every village, but it also had wandering priests who represented its influence. Two orders were the Franciscans, known for their vows of poverty and ability to relate to peasants, and the Dominicans, a more scholarly order who ministered more to educational needs. · The establishment of monasteries- Monasteries also spread all over Europe. These retreats from civilization were inhabited by monks who devoted their lives to study, worship, and hard work. Convents for nuns also were established, and both monasteries and convents served many vital functions: **THE LATE MIDDLE AGES -- 1000 - 1450 C.E.** ============================================ · Population increases - With the increase in crop production came population growth, with more hands available to expand agriculture. · Revival of trade - This revival started in Venice and Genoa, Italian cities that profited from trade during the Crusades. However, the growing population sparked demand for more products so that trade intensified town to town, and a new trade area in present-day northern France, Belgium, and the Netherlands. · Growth of towns/new towns - The growing trade, crop production, and population stimulated villages to become towns, and the towns became centers for craftsmen, merchants, and specialized laborers. · Commercial Revolution - Once European towns connected to the long-distance trade routes, they learned to use financial innovations developed elsewhere, like banks and bills of exchange **EARLY RUSSIA** ================ **THE AMERINDIAN WORLD** ======================== **DEMOGRAPHIC AND ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGES** ========================================= · Arabs - The most significant effect of the Arab movement from the Arabian Peninsula was the spread of Islam. Arabs invaded, settled, and eventually ruled, the Middle East, northern Africa, and southern Europe. Although the political structure of the caliphate did not survive, Islam held the areas together culturally as it mixed with natively customs and religions. Despite the political disunity and the splits between Sunni and Shi\'a, the Islamic World emerged as an entire cultural area during this era. · Mongols - The Mongol conquests have been depicted as assaults by savage and barbarian people who brought nothing but death and destruction to the areas they attacked. Whereas no one can deny the brutality of the Mongols, their conquests had a much more varied impact on world history than has been acknowledged by many historians in the past. At the peak of their power, the Pax Mongolica meant that once-hostile people lived together in peace in areas where most religions were tolerated. From the Il-Khan in the Middle East to the Yuan Dynasty in China, Mongol rulers established order, and most importantly, provided the stage for intensified international contact. Protected by Mongol might, the trade routes carried new foods, inventions, and ideas from one civilization to ther others, with nomadic people acting as intermediaries. · Bantu-speaking people - Another important source of cultural diffusion during this era was the Bantu Migration, which took place in Africa. Bantu-speaking people originally lived in an area south of the Sahara, but probably because the desert was spreading southward they began to migrate to better land. They spread south and east into many parts of Africa, and their language became a basis for the formation of many later languages. The Bantu Migration is generally believed to be a major source for Africanity, or a set of cultural characteristics (including language) that are commonly shared on the continent. Examples include music, the use of masks, and scarification (permanent beauty etchings on the skin). **CULTURAL DIFFUSION AND THE 14TH CENTURY PLAGUES** =================================================== · Labor shortages - The plague was no respecter of social class, and the affected areas lost craftsmen, artisans, merchants, religious officials, farmers, bureaucrats and rulers. In many areas farms fell into ruin, towns deteriorated, and trade almost came to a standstill. Labor shortages turned into social unrest, and rebellions popped up in many areas. **IMPORTANT ISSUES: 600-1450 C.E.** =================================== · **Imperfect boundaries between areas** - If you are comparing political units with definite boundaries, the geographic differences are clear. However, in using cultural labels, how do you categorize areas of mixed influence? For example, parts of the Middle East during this era had significant numbers of Muslims, Christians, and Jews, with a mixture of customs from all three religions. Southeast Asia, a crossroads area for trade, had virtually every religion imaginable. · **Wide differences within the culture zones** - The areas are so broad that the categories often blur important cultural differences within. For example, Christendom\'s two parts were very different, and Christianity was interpreted in many ways. Muslims in Mali had only limited commonalities with Muslims in Central Asia.