World History Review: Medieval Europe, Islamic Civilizations, and Pre-Columbian Americas

Fill-in-the-blank practice flashcards covering the Hundred Years' War, Islamic sects and the Golden Age, pre-Columbian civilizations (Mexica, Inca, Anasazi, Maya), and key historical concepts from medieval Europe and the Islamic world.

When King Charles IV died without a male heir in 1328, French nobles rejected Edward III's claim to the throne and justified their decision using __________, which held that the crown could not pass through a woman.

Salic Law

The Hundred Years' War officially began in 1337 when King Philip VI confiscated the English-held duchy of __________ in southwest France.

Gascony

England secured major early victories in the Hundred Years' War at Crécy in 1346 and __________ in 1356 because English longbowmen could overpower mounted French knights.

Poitiers

The turning point of the Hundred Years' War arrived in 1429 when Joan of Arc relieved the siege of __________ and paved the way for Charles VII to be crowned at Reims.

Orléans

The Hundred Years' War concluded in 1453 at the Battle of __________, where French artillery and cannons decisively defeated English forces.

Castillon

As a result of the Hundred Years' War, the French monarchy strengthened its authority by establishing the first standing army in Europe and instituting a permanent direct tax known as the __________.

taille

Following their defeat in the Hundred Years' War, England surrendered all continental territories with the exception of the northern port of __________, which was retained until 1558.

Calais

Sunni Muslims recognize the first four 'Rightly Guided' caliphs: Abu Bakr, Umar, __________, and Ali.

Uthman

The tragic death of Ali's son Husayn and his followers at the hands of Umayyad troops in 680 took place at __________, an event commemorated annually on the day of Ashura.

Karbala

Adherents of Twelver Shi'ism believe that the twelfth imam entered occultation in 874 and will eventually return as the __________.

Mahdi

Sufi mystics seek an intimate, personal experience of divine love through devotional practices such as __________, the rhythmic chanting or repetition of God's name.

dhikr

The prominent Islamic scholar __________ (d. 1111) legitimized Sufism within orthodox Islam by demonstrating that mystical practices were fully compatible with Islamic law.

Al-Ghazali

Papermaking technology spread into the Islamic world from China following the Battle of __________ in 751.

Talas

Under the patronage of the Abbasid caliph al-Ma'mun, the research and translation institution known as the __________ in Baghdad gathered scholars to translate classical Greek, Persian, and Indian works into Arabic.

House of Wisdom

The Persian scholar Ibn Sina (Avicenna) compiled the __________, an authoritative medical compendium that served as a core textbook in European universities until the 1600s.

Canon of Medicine

In 1325, following the prophecy of their god Huitzilopochtli, the Mexica established their capital city of __________ on an island in Lake Texcoco.

Tenochtitlan

Mexica farmers cultivated intensive wetland agriculture on artificial island plots constructed from mud and plant matter called __________.

chinampas

In Mexica society, commoner boys were trained for warfare in schools called the telpochcalli, whereas noble sons attended the __________ to learn statecraft, religion, history, and calendrical systems.

calmecac

Specialized long-distance merchants in the Mexica Empire who also acted as clandestine scouts and spies for the state were called the __________.

pochteca

Rather than relying on currency or open markets, the Inca state mobilized labor and constructed infrastructure through a mandatory rotational labor tax termed the __________.

mit'a

Without an alphabetic writing system, the Inca recorded census figures, storehouse inventories, and taxation metrics on sets of knotted strings known as __________.

quipus

To integrate subject populations and minimize the risk of rebellion, the Inca state enforced __________, the strategic relocation of loyal or unruly communities across the empire.

mitmaq

The Nahuatl term for a sovereign city-state in central Mexico, which translates literally to 'water-mountain', is __________.

altepetl

The Anasazi (Ancestral Puebloans) constructed subterranean, circular chambers known as __________ for communal religious ceremonies and governance.

kivas

Originating from Daylam, the Persian Shi'ite dynasty called the __________ seized Baghdad in 945 and exercised secular authority as amirs while reducing the Sunni Abbasid caliph to a figurehead.

Buyids

King Alfred the Great defeated the Danish leader Guthrum in 878 at the Battle of __________, leading to the formal treaty that established the boundary of the Danelaw.

Edington

Approved by papal decree in 1216, the __________ were a mendicant preaching order founded by St. Dominic in southern France to counter the Cathar (Albigensian) heresy.

Dominicans

The Ismaili Shi'ite Fatimid Caliphate founded the city of Cairo in 969 and established its renowned theological center and university, __________, around 970.

al-Azhar

In 1215 at Runnymede, English barons compelled King John to accept the __________, establishing that free men could not be imprisoned without lawful judgment and that royal power was subject to the law.

Magna Carta

During the Reconquista, Christian fighters in Spain invoked the apostle St. James under the martial title of __________.

Santiago Matamoros

Deadly friction between medieval scholars and townspeople reached a violent climax in Oxford during the 1355 __________ riot, which resulted in the deaths of approximately 63 students.

St. Scholastica Day

In the K'iche' Maya mythological text the Popol Vuh, the underworld realm of trials ruled by the Lords of Death is known as __________.

Xibalba