Choose the letter of the best answer.

1. The years 750 to 1050 would see centralized governments in the Islamic world, the
Byzantine Empire, and western Europe
A) weaken and, in some cases, dissolve altogether.
B) grow in power to meet renewed threats of foreign invasion.
C) be replaced by one large unified empire.
D) remain in power unchanged.

2. What new mobile armies allowed the Byzantine Empire to expand outward after 1850?
A) Tagmata
B) Themes
C) Dynatoi
D) Icons

3. Byzantine commerce was largely controlled by which of the following?

A) The dynatoi
B) Arab merchants
C) The Byzantine government
D) Italian merchants

4. What form of Byzantine art most clearly combined classical and Christian traditions?
A) Manuscript illuminations
B) Palace sculpture
C) Realistic portraits of saints
D) Religious epic poetry

5. Who were the dynatoi in the Byzantine Empire?

A) Wealthy families that sired the emperors
B) Eunuchs who served in high positions in the civil administration
C) Powerful military families who became a hereditary elite
D) Poor peasant farmers who were bound to the fields they cultivated

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 6. The forerunner of the modern Cyrillic alphabet was developed in the ninth century
A) as a Greek-based alternative to the runic script originally used in Slavic lands.
B) by two Slav-speaking missionaries sent to convert the Slavs to Christianity.
C) by the Slavs, who adopted the language and alphabet of their Byzantine
conquerors.
D) by the abbot Cyril, who devised an alphabet for the Slavs who entered his
monastery.

7. Which Byzantine emperor earned the nickname “the Bulgar-Slayer” for his conquest of
Bulgaria and the Balkans?
A) Nicephorus I
B) Basil I
C) Basil II
D) Constantine Porphyrogenitos

8. Who conquered and colonized the region around Kiev in the late ninth century?
A) The Vikings
B) The Byzantine emperor Basil I
C) The Rus prince Vladimir
D) Khagan Krum

9. The conversion to Byzantine Christianity of Vladimir (r. c. 978–1015), grand prince of

Kiev and ruler of Rus, reflected
A) the ambition of popes to extend their influence by offering to anoint foreign rulers.
B) fears of the spread of Islam throughout the region.
C) a trend toward Christian pacifism among newly converted monarchs in the east.
D) geographical conversion patterns: rulers in southeastern Europe usually adopted the
Byzantine form of Christianity.

10. After the revolution of 750, the new Abbasid caliphate moved its capital city from
Damascus to
A) Baghdad.
B) Cairo.
C) Tripoli.
D) Medina.

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11. Why did the Abbasid caliphate begin to decline after Harun al-Rashid's death?
A) The Abbasids reneged on their promise to appoint Shi'ites to top government
positions, so the Shi'ites instigated civil war.
B) The Abbasids embarked on a disastrous campaign to retake northern Africa.
C) A Sunni imam raised questions about the legitimacy of Harun's claims to the
caliphate.
D) The caliphs lacked an adequate tax base to support the huge Abbasid army.

12. In the tenth century, regional Muslim rulers became independent of the caliph, relying
instead on
A) alliances with Christian powers in order to fend off caliphate interference.
B) the Muslim lack of interest in politics, which allowed the regional rulers to ignore
the caliphate.
C) armies of Turkish mercenaries, known as Mamluks, for military support.
D) armies of Christian mercenaries, known as Saracens, for military support.

13. Who were the Fatimids?

A) A series of Sunni rulers who deposed the Abbasid caliphs from their stronghold in
Baghdad
B) A group of Turks taken as slaves who rebelled against their masters and established
a dynasty of their own in Egypt
C) A group of prominent clerics who put forth legal pronouncements in Islam
D) A group of Shi'ite rulers who established a dynasty in North Africa and Arabia that
lasted for nearly two hundred years

14. How was the Spanish emirate of Córdoba in modern-day Spain created in 756?
A) Abd al-Rahman, an Umayyad, fled to Morocco during the Abbasid revolution,
gathered an army, and seized southern Spain after one battle.
B) Abd al-Rahman took the Abbasid revolution to Morocco and then launched a
five-year campaign against southern Spain.
C) Muslim advisers to the Spanish king overthrew him and took control of southern
Spain.
D) The new Abbasid caliph sent Abd al-Rahman to establish an emirate in Spain,
where he encountered little resistance in the sparsely populated region.

15. The government of which region granted freedom of worship and the opportunity to
gain employment within the civil service to adherents of all religions in 929?
A) Carolingian France
B) Kievan Rus
C) al-Andalus
D) Byzantium

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16. With a flourishing import-export textile business, the Tustari brothers were
A) non-Muslims who benefited from the tolerance of Islam and the openness of its
borders.
B) businessmen in the Islamic world who profited through their ability to open branch
offices in distant cities.
C) Jewish merchants who converted to Islam in order to pursue business interests
freely.
D) Jewish merchants whose primary business was the importation of gold from Africa.

17. Ibn Sina (980–1037), known in Christian Europe as Avicenna,

A) was a converted Jew who served as vizier to several rulers in the Islamic world.
B) taught mathematics at one of Baghdad's leading madrasas.
C) studied astronomy at Córdoba and illustrated his own treatises.
D) drew upon his experience as a physician in writing his Canon of Medicine.

18. During the Islamic renaissance (c. 790–c. 1050), rich Muslims established schools of
higher learning called
A) madrasas.
B) ulamas.
C) taifas.
D) al-jabrs.

19. How did the Islamic renaissance make learning available to social classes other than the
aristocrats?
A) Scribes used a special shorthand that enabled them to write faster.
B) Apprentice scribes whose work was checked by master scribes produced more
texts.
C) Islamic scholars used paper for their scholarly writings, making the texts cheaper.
D) Universal literacy was one of the goals of Islam.

20. What peace accord between the Lombards and the pope secured the papacy's dominions
in central Italy and confirmed the pope's independence from Byzantium?
A) The Donation of Pippin
B) The Treaty of San Stefano
C) The Peace of Westphalia
D) The Benefice of Rome

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21. Though Charlemagne was a man of tremendous contradictions, he attempted to
implement a unifying vision of
A) a Christian Europe strong enough to reconquer the Holy Land from the rule of the
Abbasids.
B) an empire that would fuse Roman, Germanic, and Christian traditions.
C) a Christian world under his command that would extend from Spain to Armenia.
D) a peaceable kingdom in which warfare would be no more.

22. How did Charlemagne unwittingly unleash a new round of invasions into his realm
before his death?
A) He insisted that neighboring states acknowledge him as emperor of the Western
world.
B) He sent Christian missionaries into the pagan kingdoms of his neighbors.
C) He destroyed the buffer states around his kingdom through his many campaigns.
D) He proclaimed that he would not leave his kingdom to his bookish son.

23. Modern historians note that Charlemagne was a complex and often contradictory
individual who
A) initially refused to use the imperial title given to him by the pope on Christmas Day
in 800.
B) won a great victory over the Lombards on behalf of the papacy but refused to
reinstall the pope.
C) conquered the Saxons in the name of Christianity but failed to convert them.
D) inadvertently initiated the Carolingian renaissance but showed little interest in
learning himself.

24. Which of the following regions did Charlemagne succeed in adding to his sizeable
kingdom?
A) England
B) al-Andalus
C) Germany
D) Russia

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25. How did Charlemagne attempt to combat corruption throughout his vast empire?
A) He adopted the Byzantine practice of employing eunuchs as senior administrators
and military advisers.
B) He continually toured his dominions, holding public audiences to hear concerns
and grievances in the major cities.
C) He sent copies of Carolingian laws to be posted in prominent locations and read
aloud once a month in all the major cities of his realm.
D) He sent special officials to pay visits to his royal governors and to listen to the
complaints and concerns of the local people.

26. How did Charlemagne resurrect old imperial models?

A) He embarked on massive building projects, established a capital, and served as a
patron of the arts.
B) He insisted on receiving the imperial crown and the title of emperor from Pope Leo
III.
C) He created a vast empire that stretched as far as Constantinople, southern Spain,
and England.
D) He began to clothe himself in purple robes, wore a royal diadem, and stylized
himself in an effort to challenge the Byzantine emperor for supremacy.

27. The Carolingian renaissance was intended not only to enhance the glory of the Frankish
kings but also to
A) resurrect the learning of the past.
B) serve as a counterpart to the scholarship of notable Islamic scholars such as Ibn
Sina.
C) extend literacy to a few religious elites.
D) reduce tensions between Charlemagne's three sons.

28. Alcuin (c. 732–804) was invited by Charlemagne to come from England to act as
A) a military general.
B) a scholarly adviser.
C) an archbishop.
D) mayor of the palace.

29. The Treaty of Verdun (843)

A) settled the borders between the Byzantine Empire and Charlemagne's kingdom.
B) established peace between the Vikings and the Franks.
C) divided the Carolingian Empire between the three surviving sons of Louis the
Pious.
D) divided the Carolingian Empire between the three surviving sons of Charlemagne.

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30. Why were the Carolingians unable to hold their empire together after the death of
Charlemagne?
A) The kingdom was divided up by Charlemagne's successors and became vulnerable
to attacks by invading Vikings, Magyars, and Muslims.
B) The kingdom was attacked by groups of invading Huns, Ostrogoths, and Vandals,
who destroyed the administrative institutions that Charlemagne had built up.
C) Charlemagne had refused to ally himself with the Roman papacy, thereby
depriving his kingdom of the unifying force of Christianity.
D) Charlemagne's three sons fought bitterly over the spoils of the kingdom, and each
allied himself with a different group of foreign invaders in an effort to defeat his
brothers.

31. A central element of Carolingian peasant life was the demesne, which was the
A) title of the lord to whom peasants owed service.
B) manse belonging to the lord, on which peasants were obligated to work.
C) name of the local church or monastery.
D) tax paid directly to the king.

32. The three-field system, an important innovation of the early Middle Ages, enabled
A) Louis the Pious to divide his kingdom among his three sons.
B) the lords of the manor to house their vassals on different sections of their estates.
C) the fallow sections of fields to regain their fertility while allowing for greater
agricultural production.
D) one-third of every estate to be turned over to the church for use as a monastery or
chapel.

33. The English king Alfred the Great gained great renown for
A) staving off Viking attacks in England.
B) his restoration of the Holy Roman Empire.
C) his defeat of Celtic invasions from Wales and Scotland.
D) his invasion of Normandy.

34. Why did the Vikings often single out monasteries and churches for destruction?
A) The Vikings were proud pagans and had bitter memories of Carolingian attempts to
convert them to Christianity.
B) The Vikings had entered into an alliance with the Byzantine Empire, which was
embroiled in a period of struggle with western Christianity.
C) Churches and monasteries offered a lucrative supply of plunder and booty.
D) The Vikings' leader in Denmark ordered them to target churches for destruction.

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35. Muslim invaders primarily attacked regions in
A) northwestern Europe.
B) southern Europe.
C) the Balkans.
D) the Baltic.

36. Modern historians believe that the cessation of Magyar raids on kingdoms in western
Europe around the middle of the tenth century is largely attributable to
A) the Magyars' transformation from nomads to farmers.
B) a series of famines that struck the Magyar kingdom.
C) Otto I's defeat of the Magyars at the battle of Lechfeld in 955.
D) the diplomatic efforts of Abbot Maiolus of Cluny.

37. Why were fiefs significant in post-Carolingian society?

A) They provided an important measure of defense against Islamic incursions into
Europe.
B) They added greatly to the number and size of monasteries.
C) They created bonds of loyalty and service in medieval Europe.
D) They effectively bound peasants to the land throughout western Europe.

38. Although much of Europe came under the control of rural leaders as a result of the
fragmentation of the Carolingian Empire, urban elites continued to control some areas,
including
A) Normandy.
B) western England.
C) southern France.
D) northern Italy.

39. The act of homage and the promise of fealty were

A) extracted from prisoners of war in order to transfer their loyalties to their
conquerors.
B) part of the ritual whereby citizens—both men and women—became vassals of a
lord.
C) expected of all new brides in the post-Carolingian age.
D) gestures of mutual respect and allegiance.

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40. How did a medieval serf's dependency differ from that of a vassal?
A) A serf's position was inherited, not voluntary.
B) Serfs, unlike vassals, could be bought and sold to other lords.
C) Serfs were required to live in isolated houses, whereas most vassals chose to live in
villages.
D) Serfs were required to provide military service to their lords, whereas vassals
served voluntarily.

41. To what does the age of the castellans, which began around 1000 in France, refer?
A) The seizure of the French throne by the Castellet family of Lombardy
B) Groups of traveling astrologers who predicted that the end of the world would
come after the turn of the millennium
C) The development of castella, a new type of armor that was lighter and harder than
earlier armor
D) Widespread, virtually independent rule by castellans (the term castellan referred to
any man who held a castle)

42. What caused the rise of youths, unmarried knightly vassals who lived with their lords
for indefinite periods of time?
A) The increasing power of local lords made it desirable to maintain a number of
household knights for defensive purposes.
B) The violence among territorial rulers created a class of unmarried knights
committed to war and prepared to enter battle with little advance preparation.
C) The introduction of primogeniture (bequeathing an entire estate to the eldest son)
left younger sons without property, unable to marry, and dependent upon their
lords.
D) The newly powerful local rulers preferred to marry their daughters to distant
nobles, and knightly vassals preferred to remain single rather than marry a social
inferior.

43. The Peace of God movement in the late tenth and early eleventh centuries threatened
excommunication to
A) end the use of religion as a means for justifying war.
B) keep peasants from revolting against their lords.
C) prevent churchmen from taking up arms.
D) keep the powerful from preying on the weak.

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44. In eleventh-century Italy, individual families were organized into economic units in
which
A) each child received an equal share of the family's wealth.
B) sons shared the profits of the family's wealth, but daughters were excluded.
C) sons got full shares and daughters got half shares of the family's inheritance.
D) a professional accountant managed the family's wealth for everyone's benefit.

45. Why, despite King Alfred's tremendous achievements, is it not accurate to speak of
England as a unified state in the tenth and eleventh centuries?
A) The court of King Alfred was not administratively or financially capable of
supporting religion, culture, and the arts.
B) The king's control was fragile, since royal officials often shifted allegiance to other
claimants to the throne when it was in their interest to do so.
C) Only the parliaments and not the king had the power to draw up a binding code of
law.
D) The king lacked the power to levy taxes.

46. What were shires and hundreds in Anglo-Saxon England?

A) Independent kingdoms
B) The estates of powerful men in Alfred the Great's kingdom
C) Administrative subdivisions for judicial and taxation purposes
D) Part of the system of weights and measures

47. What brought about the end of Carolingian rule?

A) Hugh Capet was elected king and began the Capetian dynasty at the end of the
tenth century.
B) Charles the Bald died in 877.
C) Charlemagne's empire was dissolved by the Treaty of Verdun.
D) Otto I (r. 936–973) was defeated at Lechfeld.

48. Contemporaries of the German king Otto I thought him a great hero in 955 when he
defeated the
A) Turks.
B) Magyars.
C) Arabs.
D) Vikings.

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49. Why did the German kings face difficulties in turning German dukes into loyal vassals?
A) The German kings had nothing concrete to offer the dukes.
B) German dukes tended to be pious men who saw themselves as the vassals of Christ.
C) The Germans viewed vassalage as beneath the dignity of free men.
D) German aristocrats in the eastern part of the kingdom belonged to the Orthodox
church.

50. What realm did Mieszko I place under the protection of the pope in 991?
A) Hungary
B) Bohemia
C) Slovakia
D) Poland

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Answer Key
1. A
2. A
3. C
4. A
5. C
6. B
7. C
8. A
9. D
10. A
11. D
12. C
13. D
14. A
15. C
16. A
17. D
18. A
19. C
20. A
21. B
22. C
23. A
24. C
25. D
26. A
27. A
28. B
29. C
30. A
31. B
32. C
33. A
34. C
35. B
36. A
37. C
38. D
39. B
40. A
41. D
42. C
43. D
44. B

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45. B
46. C
47. A
48. B
49. C
50. D

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