1. 2013 Middle East Test
1. In what order did these three monotheistic religions come into being?
a. Judaism, Islam, Christianity
b. Christianity, Islam, Judaism
c. Islam, Shinto, Taoism
d. Judaism, Christianity, Islam*
e. Christianity, Judaism, Islam
2. Which of the following Arabic terms refers to the “community of the faithful?”
a. Hijab
b. Umma*
c. Hajj
d. Hadith
e. Mecca
3. All of the following are part of the Five Pillars of Faith EXCEPT
a. Prayer
b. Fasting
c. Reading of Qur’an*
d. Pilgrimage
e. Alms
4. Judaism, Islam, and Christianity share which of the following?
a. The belief in a single god*
b. Belief in Jesus as the Messiah.
c. Acceptance of Muhammad as a prophet.
d. The requirement of a pilgrimage to Jerusalem.
e. Restrictions of particular food items, like pork.
5. Muhammad
a. Made provisions for the future leadership of Islam
b. Established clear class distinctions for Islamic society
c. Went against established gender distinctions in the practice of his faith
d. Spoke out against military conquest as a vehicle for the extension of Islam
e. Built on the religious traditions of the Arabian peninsula*
6. The term Dar-al-Islam refers to
a. Lands that are enemies of the Muslim religion
b. Religious leaders influence in the community
c. Conquered areas that refuse to convert to Islam
d. Areas that share a common Muslim culture as a basis for society*
e. Trade routes that link the Islamic world to the non-Muslim world

2. 7. Which of the following best describes the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in the latter half of the 20th
Century
a. The international community ignored the issues of both sides
b. Both sides had religious and historic claims to the same land*
c. The conflicts between European powers in the region continued
d. The competition was over oil rights in the land
e. Both sides have consistently refused to meet with each other
8. The Twelve Tables and Hammurabi’s Code are important examples of
a. Written laws*
b. Trade agreements
c. Political treatises
d. Religious doctrine
e. Social structure
9. In the Balfour Declaration of 1917, the
a. United States supported the Palestinians right to settle their homeland and govern as they
chose
b. Russians declared the right to occupy the Middle East region in order to prevent the spread
of capitalism to the area
c. Germans occupied the former Ottoman Empire, claiming the need for “Lebensraum” for
German people
d. Ottoman Empire refused to recognize the independence of Palestine and forced the
territory to remain part of the empire
e. British government committed to support the creation of a homeland for Jews in Palestine*
10. Which city became the capital of the Abbasid Empire and a center of what has been termed an
Islamic golden age?
a. Istanbul
b. Timbuktu
c. Seville
d. Baghdad*
e. Samarkand
11. Which of the following areas of expertise or learning progressed under the rule of the Abbasid
caliphate?
a. Medicine
b. Law
c. Philosophy
d. Mathematics
e. All of the above*
12. Which three Muslim empires emerged from the wreckage left behind after the Mongol invasions?
a. Umayyad, Safavid, Mughal
b. Mughal, Safavid, Ottoman*
c. Abbasid, Ottoman, Umayyad
d. Mughal, Umayyad, Abbasid
e. Ottoman, Umayyad, Safavid

3. 13. The goal of the Christian Crusades was to
a. Retake the Holy Land from the Muslims*
b. Evangelize the Africans
c. Find a way to divide the Holy Land equally
d. Increase papal territories
e. Share Jerusalem with the Turks
14. Which is the most distinguishing characteristic of the Safavid civilization when compared to its
Ottoman and Mughal empires?
a. High levels of palace intrigue and violent fights for succession to the throne
b. Limited public roles for women
c. Adherence to Shia and not Sunni Islam*
d. Growing interaction with maritime Western powers
e. Architectural and artistic splendor
15. Why were Egyptian farmers more fortunate than the farmers of Mesopotamia?
a. The Tigris and Euphrates frequently changed course, the Nile didn’t
b. The Nile flooded at regular intervals, the Tigris and Euphrates flowed southeast*
c. The Nile flowed north, the Tigris and Euphrates flowed southeast
d. The Nile flooded more deeply than the Tigris and Euphrates
e. The Tigris and Euphrates flowed north and the Niles flowed south
16. The most sacred writings of the Jewish religion are the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, known
as the
a. Torah*
b. Qur’an
c. Old Testament
d. Ten Commandments
e. Ark of the Covenant
17. In the Hebrew tradition, a covenant is
a. A prophecy about the future
b. A law handed down by God to humanity
c. A mutual promise between God and humanity*
d. An ornamental chest for storing religious documents
e. A prediction of future by prophets
18. What was the chief purpose for constructing and using the royal road?
a. For more efficient trade
b. For more efficient transportation
c. For more efficient communication*
d. For more efficient troop movement
e. For more efficient travel
19. Calligraphy is a type of what?
a. Handwriting*
b. Map making
c. Mathematics
d. Scientific measurement
e. Law

4. 20. What does the word “Islam” mean in Arabic?
a. “one who has submitted”
b. “there is no god but Allah”
c. “submission to the will of Allah”*
d. “Muhammad is the messenger of Allah”
e. “sacrifice your desires”
21. What do Muslims believe about Muhammad?
a. He was the last and greatest of the prophets*
b. He was the only son of the one true God, Allah
c. He was the first and only prophet of Allah
d. He was a combination of god and man
e. He was human, but is not a god with Allah
22. What division of Islam believes that only a relative of Muhammad is qualified to be a caliph?
a. Sufi
b. Safavid
c. Shi’a*
d. Sunni
e. None of the above
23. What are the Five Pillars of Islam?
a. The various divisions of Islam
b. The major duties required of all Muslims*
c. The times during the day when a Muslim must pray
d. Muhammad and the four leaders who followed him
e. Muhammad and the four great prophets
24. As a new faith, Islam gained strength
a. Within portions of the former Roman Empire
b. When adherence to Arabic ethnicity was emphasized over adherence to Islam
c. First in Mecca, then throughout the Arabian peninsula*
d. Because of rules of succession established by the first caliphs
e. In East Asia
25. Why was the Hijrah important?
a. Muhammad was accepted as a political leader in Medina*
b. It was during the Hijrah that Muhammad first heard the voice of Gabriel
c. Muhammad sounded the call of prayer from its roof in Mecca
d. It was the first battle Muhammad won
e. It is the time period in which the Qur’an was received
26. How were conquered peoples treated by the Muslim Empire?
a. They were forced to give up their religions and convert to Islam
b. Their religions were tolerated, but restriction and taxes were imposed*
c. They were treated as equal citizens with Muslims
d. They were allowed to become first class citizens upon converting to Islam
e. They were forced to flee the land now conquered by the Muslim Empire

5. 27. Seljuk culture was influenced more by
a. Arabic culture
b. Jewish culture
c. Christian culture
d. Persian culture*
e. Mongolian culture
28. The Ottoman Empire
a. Weakened because its technology fell behind that of Europe*
b. Unlike the Mughal Empire, was not a gunpowder empire
c. Was unsuccessful in controlling European territory
d. Reached it’s height around 1750
e. Prohibited the use of forced labor
29. All of the following contributed to the cultural blending that created the Ottoman culture EXCEPT:
a. Trade
b. Spread of Literature*
c. Conquest
d. Pursuit of religious converts
e. Migration
30. What was the devshirme system designed to do?
a. Turn Christian boys into Muslim soldiers*
b. Do away with all possible rivals to the throne
c. Make the tax system fairer and more efficient
d. Divide political power equally between Christians and Muslims
e. Train upcoming leaders in the dynasty
31. What contributed to the decline of both the Ottoman and Safavid Empire?
a. Natural disasters
b. Disruption in trade
c. Religious rebellions
d. Incompetent leadership*
e. Lack of leaders
32. Which event best illustrates geopolitics- an interest in taking land for strategic purposes?
a. Boer War
b. Crimean War*
c. Maji Maji Rebellion
d. Sepoy Mutiny
e. None of the above
33. In 1978, the Camp David Accords were signed by
a. Egypt and Palestine
b. Egypt and the United States
c. Egypt and Israel*
d. Israel and the United States
e. Palestine and the United States

6. 34. Which event precipitated the formal creation of the state of Israel in 1947?
a. Multilateral US-Soviet-Palestinian-Jewish negotiations
b. The Balfour declaration
c. UN-sanctioned partition of Palestine*
d. Negotiated agreement between Zionist leaders and a unified Palestinian leadership
e. Arab League approval
35. What was the main reason for the Crimean War?
a. Russia wanted land on the Black Sea to gain access to the Mediterranean*
b. Russia wanted oil and other raw materials found in the Ottoman lands
c. Russia refused to pay an export tax levied by the Ottoman Empire
d. Russia broke a treaty that limited its trade through the Bosporus
e. Russia wanted to gain control of the Suez Canal
36. A long period of Ottoman territorial retreat ended with the birth of which modern nation?
a. Iran
b. Pakistan
c. Turkey*
d. Egypt
e. Serbia