Dark Age Kingdoms Phase 2 Book Quizzes

What was the the organizational basis of the Byzantine thema, or theme?

rural farmland

How did the capital city of the Caliphate change in the transition from Umayyad to Abbasid dynasties?

Damascus to Baghdad

According to Rosenwein, what led to the collapse of the Umayyad dynasty?

an exclusion of various groups from power

Which of the following best describes how the Carolingians rose to power?

palace coup toppling the Merovingians

Which of the following best describes how Charlemagne became the most famous Carolingian king?

constant warfare

Which of the following was a development of the Carolingian Renaissance?

miniscule writing

Which of the following best describes how the Carolingian state worked in the 7th and 8th centuries?

loose connection of magnates that derived authority from a king

Who did Charles Martel have to fight to take power in Gaul?

his stepmother and Merovingian kings

According to Fouracre, what did Charles Martel’s grant of the villa of Clichy to the abbey of S. Denis indicate?

that he was able to dispose of royal property by the time of his death

Why did Pippin III ask Pope Zachary, a bishop from Italy, to approve his position as king of the Franks?

because Pippin sought religious legitimacy for his new royal dynasty

Which of the following best represents an overarching assessment of Viking tactics between the years 790 and 840?

rapid approach, quick attack and pillaging, and then rapid dispersal

Starting around the year 843, how did Viking tactics change, according to Coupland?

they wintered near the sites they targeted

How did the size of the “Great Army” change after 843?

became much larger

Which of the following best represents the composition of the Viking raiders?

different leaders with different men every season

How did the Vikings impinge upon the internal politics of the Franks and Anglo-Saxons after 843, according to Fouracre?

they exploited internal conflict and supported rebel factions

Which of the following represent the most common tactic deployed by regional Frankish and Anglo-Saxon leads for dealing with the Vikings?

payment of tribute and fortification

What was the primary motivation for the Viking raids, according to Coupland?

loot

What was the principal outcome of the third and last Viking phase, from 876-911?

permanent settlement of occupied territory

What innovative tactic was used by king Alfred of England against Viking incursion?

he created fortresses and organized an ever-ready standing army

According to class on 10/28, what gift did Harun al-Rashid send to Charlemagne, “just because he asked for it?”

an elephant

According to Kennedy, why had Bukayr traveled across the Middle East to the house of Muhammad ibn Ali?

Because Muhammad was related to the family of the Prophet, Muhammad

What sort of discussions occurred between Bukayr and Muhammad ibn Ali?

to overthrow the Umayyad dynasty

Geographically speaking, where did most of the Abbasid loyalists live?

the Khurisan region of Iran

Which of the following best describes the type of leadership Mansur excelled at, making him fit to be caliph?

charismatic unifier

Which of the following best describes the role of the barid?

local intelligence post

What was Mansur’s reply when his son asked him why he was patching his clothing, despite being a caliph?

because winter is coming

The rebellion of Muhammad against Mansur was staged where?

Medina

Who were the chief administrators of the Abbasid caliphate in the time of Mansur and Madhi?

members of the family of Madhi

According to the lecture on 10/30, what was the name of the legislation that Charlemagne used to increase the number of schools and scriptoria across his empire?

Admonitio generalis

According to lecture on 10/30, what was the name of the only blueprint from the early Middle Ages?

Plan of S. Gall

Why did the Byzantine emperor, Basil create his own personal Varangian Guard, made up of troops from the Rus’?

to combat local dynatoi who challenged him

Under which leader did the Rus’ convert to Christianity?

Vladimir

According to Rosenwein, what caused the fragmentation of the Abbasid caliphate in the 10th century?

regional fragmentation and loss of revenue

According to Rosenwein, what were the two most important characteristics of Vassalage in the 10th century?

voluntary and public

Which of the following best describes the relationship between Lord and Vassal?

personal dependency

Why were bishops and archbishops the “backbone of Ottonian rule” according to Rosenwein?

they were appointed by the king and not hereditary

Which family displaced the Carolingians on the throne of France, according to Rosenwein?

Capetians

According to lecture on 11/18, what principle shaped the geography of duchies in eastern Francia?

tribes or ethnicities

According to lecture on 11/18, from where did the Magyar come from before settling in the Carpathian Basin in the 9th century?

Eurasian Steppe

Around which river system did the Varangians congregate?

Volga