Question 1

Between 750 and 850, the Byzantines fought off Muslim attacks in Asia Minor. How did the empire expand its territories after 850?

Accepted Answer

Answer would ideally include the following. While the themes responded to attacks on Byzantine territory, new mobile armies called tagmata went on the offensive around 850. These elite forces brought new territory, and new sources of income, to the empire.

Question 2

Describe the arrangements that facilitated Byzantine trade with the Muslim East.

Accepted Answer

Answer would ideally include the following. Byzantine traders received protection while trading in Syria, which functioned as an entry point for Muslim goods. The sales tax income from the Byzantine traders in Syria was split by the two governments; even though these two governments were frequently at war, both benefited from this exchange.

Question 3

Why were eleventh-century Muslim traders able to conduct business in such far-flung places as Baghdad and Córdoba?

Accepted Answer

Answer would ideally include the following. The Islamic world was unified culturally by Arabic, the language of the Qur'an and of commerce and government. Trade was also greatly facilitated by the open borders between various Islamic regions. The Islamic world's tolerance for Judaism and Christianity made it possible for non-Muslims such as the Jewish Tustari brothers to establish vast commercial networks.

Question 4

What factors led to the decline of the Abbasid dynasty in the 800s?

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Question 5

What was the Donation of Constantine? How did it enhance the power of the popes?

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Question 6

Why did Charlemagne's empire not remain intact beyond the death of his son?

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Question 7

Describe the three-field system and its advantages.

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Question 8

Who were the Magyars, and what impact did their invasions have on Europe?

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Question 9

What was primogeniture? What were its causes? What were its effects on western European noble families?

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Question 10

Describe the use of Anglo-Saxon in written form under Alfred the Great.

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Question 11

What factors enabled the Byzantine Empire to recover from the Arab invasions between 630 and 850 and undergo a tremendous process of expansion that lasted until 1054? In your response, please also describe the stages of Byzantine expansion.

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Question 12

Analyze the political, economic, and intellectual factors that produced impressive cultural achievements between 850 and 1050 in the Islamic world. Which achievements had a lasting effect on the non-Islamic world? Explain why.

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Question 13

Why did the Carolingians enter into a partnership with the Christian church? What role did Charlemagne play in this alliance? What effect did this collaboration have on western Europe?

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Question 14

Describe the system of mutual obligation between lords and vassals that developed during the ninth and tenth centuries, the social and political conditions that supported it, and the position of peasants.

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Question 15

Why was the Peace of God formed? Explain the conditions that led to its formation, as well as its primary purpose. How does the Truce of God relate to the Peace of God?

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Question 16

How was Byzantium able to rebuild between 750 and 850?
A) They fended off attacks from Muslims.
B) They began to industrialize.
C) They discovered mines of gold that brought them wealth.
D) They developed an effective irrigation system.

Accepted Answer

Byzantium was able to rebuild between 750 and 850 largely because they successfully fended off attacks from Muslims, which allowed them to stabilize and recover.

Question 17

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

Accepted Answer

The Tagmata were elite mobile units that allowed the Byzantine Empire to project military power and expand its territories.

Question 18

In the map depicted here, which statement is justified about the Byzantine Empire around 1025?
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A) By 1025, Byzantine emperors could again lay claim to all towns central to Jesus's life.
B) Though in decline generally, it expanded its boundaries in the previous three hundred years.
C) By this time, the Byzantines were able to conquer the central territories of the Islamic world.
D) The Byzantine Empire stopped its expansion where the Roman Empire did, at the Nile River.

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Question 19

Byzantine commerce was largely controlled by which of the following?
A) The dynatoi
B) Arab merchants
C) The Byzantine government
D) Italian merchants

Accepted Answer

The Byzantine government played a significant role in controlling commerce through regulations, state monopolies, and trade agreements.

Question 20

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

Accepted Answer

The dynatoi were powerful military families in the Byzantine Empire who became a hereditary elite, often wielding significant influence both in the military and in politics.

Quiz 9: From Centralization to Fragmentation, 750-1050