World History: An Age of Exchange and Encounter

In 800, the Pope crowned this man emperor of the Romans.

Charlemagne

In 630, Muhammad returned to this city after making the Hijrah to Medina.

Mecca

In the 800s, this man wrote the first algebra textbook, which explained “the art of bringing together unknowns to match a known quantity.”

Al-Khwarizmi

In 642, the Muslims conquered this city, formally part of the Byzantine empire.

Alexandria

In the Arabian desert, these Arab nomads were organized into tribes and groups called clans.

Bedouins

This major Asian trade route was used to transport things like spices, incense, and more to the West.

Silk Road

Muslims associated this house of worship with Abraham, a Hebrew prophet and a believer in monotheism. Over the years, they introduced the worship of many gods and spirits to the place.

Ka’aba

The concept of belief in one God, called this in Arabic.

Allah

At the age of 25, Muhammad became a trader and business manager for this wealthy businesswoman, who he later married.

Khadijah

This man was born into the clan of a powerful Meccan family. When he was 40, he had an intense religious moment, when he was told he was a messenger of Allah.

Muhammad

Give the name of the angel who is said to have told Muhammad that he was a messenger of Allah.

Gabriel

Muhammad was convinced that he was the last of the prophets, and he began to teach that Allah was the one and only God. Believers of this basic principle of Islam were called this, also meaning “one who has submitted.”

Muslim

In Arabic, this means “submission to the will of Allah.”

Islam

After some of his followers had been attacked, Muhammad decided to leave Mecca in 622, and go to this town.

Yathrib (Medina)

The name for the migration Muhammad went on from Mecca to Yathrib (Medina). It marked a turning point in his life, as he attracted many devoted followers.

Hijrah

The name for the Muslim religious community.

Umma

The Dome of the Rock is the earliest surviving Islamic monument. It was completed in 691 and is part of a larger complex, which is the third most holy place in Islam. Give the city where this monument is located.

Jerusalem

The Dome of the Rock sits on top of this mountain, the site of the Jewish temple destroyed by Romans in 70 AD.

Mount Moriah

One of the five pillars of Islam, it proclaims that a Muslim has to testify to the following statement: “There is no God but Allah, and Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah.”

Faith

An Islamic house of worship.

Mosque

Five times a day, Muslims should face towards this city to pray.

Mecca

Muhammad taught that all Muslims have a responsibility to support the less fortunate. To meet this social responsibility, Muslims give this, money to the poor, through a special religious tax.

Alms

One of the five pillars of Islam where Muslims mustn’t eat during the holy month of Ramadan between dawn and sunset. It serves to remind Muslims that their spiritual needs are greater than their physical needs.

Fasting

All Muslims who are physically and financially able perform this, a pilgrimage to Mecca, at least once.

Hajj

Islam has a scholarly class called this, which includes religious teachers who apply the words and deeds of Muhammad to everyday life.

Ulama

The holy book of Muslims, containing the revelations that Muhammad received from Gabriel.

Qur’an

The Qur’an is written in this language, which Muslims consider to be the true word of Allah.

Arabic

Muslims believe that this, Muhammad’s example, is the best model for proper living.

Sunna

The guidance of the Qur’an and Sunna was assembled in a body of law known as this, which regulates the family life, moral conduct, and business and community life of Muslims.

Shari’a

Muslims refer to Christians and Jews as this, because each religion has a holy book with teachings similar to those of the Qur’an.

"People of the book”

Title that means “successor” or “deputy.”

Caliph

When Muhammad died, he had not named a successor or instructed his followers how to choose one. Relying on ancient tribal customs, the Muslim community elected this loyal friend of Muhammad as their leader, or caliph.

Abu-Bakr

Abu-Bakr and his three successors knew Muhammad and used his actions as guides to leadership, for this they are called the “rightly guided caliphs.” Their rule was called this.

Caliphate

Three caliphs elected after Abu-Bakr. All of them are known as the “rightly guided caliphs.”

Umar, Uthman, and Ali

After Muhammad’s death, some tribes denounced Islam, refusing paying taxes, and other individuals even declared themselves prophets. As a result, Abu-Bakr invoked this, meaning “striving,” and can refer to the inner struggle against evil. In the Qur’an the word means armed struggle against unbelievers, a definition used to justify the expansion of Islam.

Jihad

When Abu-Bakr died in 634 the Muslims controlled all of Arabia. This second caliph then conquered Syria and lower Egypt, which were part of the Byzantine Empire, and parts of the Sassanid Empire.

Umar

A reason for the success of the Muslim armies was due to the weakness of these two empires north of Arabia, who had been in conflict for a long period of time.

Byzantine and Sassanid

Muslims were quite tolerant of those who they conquered. For example, this chief general under Abu-Bakr conquered the city of Damascus, and told the citizens that the city would not be demolished, so long as they paid a poll tax.

Khalid ibn al-Walid

In 656, this caliph was murdered, starting a civil war in which various groups struggled for power. Ali, as Muhammad’s cousin, was the natural choice as successor, but he too was assassinated.

Uthman

After Uthman’s assassination, this governor of Syria challenged Ali to be his successor.

Muawiya

This family came to power after the assassinations of Uthman and Ali.

Umayyads

The Umayyads moved the original Muslim capital to this city, which was away from Mecca and made controlling conquered territory easier. However, many Arab Muslims felt it was too far away from their lands, giving rise to a division in the community.

Damascus

This group rejected the luxurious life of the Umayyads. Instead, they pursued a life of poverty and devotion to a spiritual path.

Sufi

After Umayyad rule, Islam split into two main branches. This branch believed that the caliph needed to be a descendant of the prophet.

Shi’a

After Umayyad rule, Islam split into two main branches. This branch did not outwardly resist Umayyad rule, with the name meaning “followers of Muhammad’s example.”

Sunni

The Umayyad caliphate fell due to religious and political opposition. Rebel groups overthrew the Umayyad in 750, with this group taking control.

Abbasids

When the Abbasids came to power in 750, they murdered the remaining members of the Umayyad family. This prince though, escaped and fled to Spain, where he set up an Umayyad caliphate.

Abd al-Rahman

When an Umayyad caliphate was set up in Spain, it had already been conquered and settled by these Muslims from North Africa.

Berbers

The name for the Muslim state in Spain.

Al-Andalus

In 732, the Berber armies in Spain were halted from advancing North at this battle.

Battle of Tours

Give the name of the French general who defeated the Berbers at the Battle of Tours.

Charles Martel

To solidify power, the Abbasids moved the capital of the empire to this newly created city in 762. The location on key trade routes gave the caliph access to trade goods, gold, and information about the empire.

Baghdad

This caliphate was formed by Shi’a Muslims who claimed descent from Muhammad’s daughter. The caliphate began in North Africa and spread across the Red Sea to western Arabia and Syria.

Fatimid Caliphate

Currency of the Abbasid caliphate, used by Muslim merchants to travel in the empire.

Abbasid dinar

Muslim money changers set up banks in cities throughout the empire. Bankers offered letters of credit, called this, to merchants. A merchant with one of these from Baghdad could exchange it for cash at a bank in any other city in the empire.

Sakk

At one end of the Muslim empire was this city in al-Andalus. It had a population of about 200,000, attracting poets, philosophers, and scientists. Many non-Muslims adopted Muslim customs, and the city became a dazzling center of Muslim culture.

Cordoba

Muslim society had a sophistication matched at that time only by this Chinese empire.

Tang Empire

In 762, this Abbasid caliph chose the site for the capital of Baghdad on the west bank of the Tigris River. Extensive planning went into the city’s distinctive circular design, formed by protective walls.

al-Mansur

The lowest social class in Baghdad was composed of these people.

Slaves

This device helped Muslims set their religious calendar. Someone would align the device while another person would record the observations. Astronomers calculated the time of day or year by aligning rings with various stars.

Armillary Sphere

This early scientific instrument had a fixed “plate” and a rotating “rete.” The plate was a map of the sky and the rete simulated the daily movement of the earth in relation to the stars. For Muslims, this tool helped determine where they were in relation to Mecca.

Astrolabe

In the early 800s, this caliph opened in Baghdad a combination library, academy, and translation center, called the House of Wisdom.

al-Ma’mun

In the early 800s, this was opened in Baghdad, a combination library, academy, and translation center. There, scholars of different cultures and beliefs worked side by side translating texts from Greece, India, Persia, and elsewhere into Arabic.

House of Wisdom

A popular piece of Muslim literature, this was a collection of fairy tales, parables, and legends. The core of the collection had been linked to India and Persia, but peoples of the Muslim Empire added stories and arranged them.

The Thousand and One Nights

The Thousand and One Nights is a collection of stories tied together using a frame story. The frame story tells of this king, who marries a new wife each day and has her killed the next.

King Shahryar

Muslims believed that only Allah can create life, images of living beings were discouraged. Thus, many artists turned to this, the art of beautiful handwriting.

Calligraphy

This type of decoration is a complex, ornate design. It usually incorporates flowers, leaves, and geometric patterns.

Arabesque

This Persian scholar was the greatest physician of the Muslim world. He wrote an encyclopedia called the Comprehensive Book that drew on knowledge from Greek, Syrian, Arabic, and Indian sources as well as his own experience.

al-Razi

This Muslim mathematician produced a book titled Optics, that revolutionized ideas about vision. He showed that people see objects because rays pass from the objects to the eyes, not the opposite way around as was commonly believed.

Ibn al-Haytham

In the 1100s, this Muslim philosopher who lived in Cordoba, was criticized for trying to blend Aristotle’s and Plato’s views with those of Islam.

Ibn Rushd

This Jewish physician and philosopher, born in Cordoba and lived in Egypt, faced strong opposition for his ideas, but he came to be recognized as the greatest Jewish philosopher in history. He produced a book, The Guide for the Perplexed, that blended philosophy, religion, and science.

Moses Ben Maimon (Maimonides)

The unified Muslim state eventually broke up, but Muslim culture continued. These three Muslim empires would soon emerge that would reflect the blended nature of the culture of this time.

Ottoman, Safavid, and Mughal

Long after Ibn Rushd’s death, this Italian painter incorporated him among the Greek philosophers in his painting, School of Athens.

Raphael

Buddhists are united in their belief in the Buddha’s teachings, known as this.

Dharma

The Buddha taught that the key to happiness was detachment from desire. This was achieved by this, a life between earthly desires and extreme forms of self-denial.

Eightfold Path (Middle Way)

Women in this city in Myanmar sweep the ground so that monks can avoid stepping on and killing any insects.

Rangoon

One of the most well-known Buddhist scriptures in this, a collection of sayings on Buddhist practices.

Dhammapada

Each year, hundreds of thousands of Christians from all over the world visit this church in northern Mexico. It is the site where Mary is said to have appeared twice in 1531.

Basilica of Guadalupe

This is the most divine spirit in the Hindu religion.

Brahman

Each year, thousands of Hindus make a pilgrimage to this Indian river, considered to be a sacred site in Hinduism. Many come to bathe in the water, an act they believe will cleanse and purify them.

Ganges River

These are the oldest Hindu scriptures, older than the sacred writings of any other major religion.

The Vedas

This is the universal symbol of Judaism, referring to a king who ruled the kingdom of Israel thousands of years ago.

Star of David

Jews celebrate many holidays that honor their history and God. This holiday is a festival honoring the survival of the Jews who, in the fifth century BC, were marked for death by their Persian rulers.

Purim

Aspect of Confucianism that refers to the respect children owe their parents.

Filial Piety

The earliest and most authentic record of Confucius’ ideas were collected by his students. Around 400 BC, they compiled Confucius’ teachings in this book.

The Analects

In 527, this high-ranking Byzantine nobleman succeeded his uncle to the throne. In an effort to regain Rome and its former glory, he sent his best general to recover lost lands.

Justinian the Great

Give the name of Justinian’s best general, who was sent to recover land in North Africa from Germanic tribes. He also seized Rome from the Ostrogoths and won nearly all of Italy and parts of Spain.

Belisarius

After unifying Byzantium and the former Western Roman Empire, Justinian set up a panel of legal experts to regulate the increasingly complex society. The panel created this uniform code, which decided legal questions that regulation whole areas of Byzantine life.

Justinian Code

This church, whose name translates to “Holy Wisdom,” was built by Justinian after a church of the same name had been destroyed by riots in 532. Upon its completion, many visitors hailed it as the most splendid church in the Christian world.

Hagia Sophia

This was the main street running through Constantinople. Merchant stalls lined the main street, and products from the most distant corners of Asia, Africa, and Europe, passed through these stalls.

Mese (Middle Way)

In Constantinople, citizens could enjoy free entertainment at this place, which could house 60,000 spectators during chariot races and performance acts.

Hippodrome

In the Hippodrome, citizens would cheer for their different teams. In 532, two fan groups sparked these citywide riots. Both sides were angry with the government, and demanded the overthrow of Justinian. Soon, Belisarius slaughtered tens of thousands of these rebels.

Nika Rebellion

Justinian’s wife, as his main advisor she convinced him to stay in Constantinople during the Nika Rebellion.

Theodora

This crisis in Byzantium broke out before Justinian’s death. An illness arrived to Constantinople from India on ships infested with rats. During the worst years of the plague, 10,000 were dying every day.

Bubonic Plague

In the seventh century, this Byzantine emperor reorganized the empire along military lines. Provinces became military districts, each of which was run by a general who reported directly to the emperor.

Heraclius

Eastern Christianity built its heritage on the works of early Church fathers, like this man, who wrote rules for the life of monks.

Saint Basil

A bishop of Constantinople from 398 to 404, this man was the leading bishop of the East.

Saint John Chrysostom

Saint John Chrysostom was the leading bishop of the East, or this.

Patriarch

In 730, this Byzantine emperor banned the use of icons, religious images used by Eastern Christians to aid their devotions.

Leo III

In 730, Leo III banned these religious images used by Eastern Christians. He viewed them as idol worship, but was soon met with resistance.

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