Unit 1 Part 1 Practice Questions

Question 1

Which of the following best explains the changes in China’s population shown in the table above?

Answer 1

Agricultural output increased as a result of the use of the new crop strains, iron plows, and expanded irrigation.

Question 2

Which of the following is a key philosophical and religious element of Daoism?

Answer 2

Emphasis on harmony between humanity and nature

Question 3

Abbasid reliance on Persian bureaucrats and the introduction of Confucianism to Japanese political institutions both illustrate which of the following processes?

Answer 3

The synthesis of foreign political traditions in the formation of new states

Question 4

All of the following were part of the Confucian social order EXCEPT

Answer 4

chastity by husbands

Question 5

Source 1:

“[In the sixteenth through the eighteenth centuries] Europeans derived more profit from their participation in trade within Asia than they did from their Asian imports into Europe. They were able to do so ultimately only thanks to their American silver. . . . Only their American money, and not any ‘exceptional’ European ‘qualities’ permitted the Europeans [to access Asian markets]. . . . However, even with that resource and advantage, the Europeans were no more than a minor player at the Asian, indeed world, economic table [until the nineteenth century].”

Andre Gunder Frank, ReOrient: Global Economy in the Asian Age, 1996

Source 2:

“The societies of Europe had been at the margins of the great trading systems, but they were at the center of the global networks of exchange created during the sixteenth century because they controlled the oceangoing fleets that knit the world into a single system. Western Europe was better placed than any other region to profit from the vast flows of goods and ideas within the emerging global system of exchange. . . . [European states] were keen to exploit the commercial opportunities created within the global economic system. They did so partly by seizing the resources of the Americas and using American commodities such as silver to buy their way into the markets of southern and eastern Asia, the largest in the world.”

David Christian, This Fleeting World: A Short History of Humanity, 2008

Which of the following earlier developments contributed most directly to the importance of the Asian market during the early modern period as described by both passages?

Answer 5

The commercialization of the Chinese economy under the Song and Ming dynasties

Question 6

“Women leave their families to marry, and the husband is the master of the household they marry into. . . . The husband is to be firm, the wife soft; conjugal affections follow from this. While at home, the two of you should treat each other with the formality and reserve of a guest. Listen carefully to and obey whatever your husband tells you. If he does something wrong, gently correct him. Don’t be like those women who not only do not correct their husbands but actually lead them into indecent ways.”

Wife of a Tang dynasty official

The excerpt above best illustrates which of the following attributes of Confucianism?

Answer 6

The virtues and duties of family members

Question 7

The Chinese concept “Mandate of Heaven” was sometimes used to justify

Answer 7

rebellion

Question 8

“Emperor Zhengzong, being deeply concerned with agriculture, came to know that the Champa rice was drought resistant and that the green lentils of India were famous for their heavy yield and large seeds. Special envoys, bringing precious things, were dispatched with a view to securing these varieties…. When the first harvests were reaped in the autumn, the emperor called his closest ministers to taste them and compose poems for Champa rice and Indian green lentils.”

Shu Wenying, Buddhist monk, China, eleventh century C.E.

Which of the following made possible the Chinese cultivation of the staple crops described in the passage?

Answer 8

The intensification of regional trade networks in East and South Asia

Question 9

“Emperor Zhengzong, being deeply concerned with agriculture, came to know that the Champa rice was drought resistant and that the green lentils of India were famous for their heavy yield and large seeds. Special envoys, bringing precious things, were dispatched with a view to securing these varieties…. When the first harvests were reaped in the autumn, the emperor called his closest ministers to taste them and compose poems for Champa rice and Indian green lentils.”

Shu Wenying, Buddhist monk, China, eleventh century C.E.

The activities of the state described in the passage are consistent with which of the following Song dynasty policies?

Answer 9

Increasing state investment in economic development, such as improving the Grand Canal

Question 10

Which of the following has the greatest manufacturing capacity during the time period 1000 to 1450 ?

Answer 10

China

Question 11

Which of the following developments best explains why many historians argue that the Song dynasty period (960-1279 C.E.) was pivotal in the development of China as an economic world power?

Answer 11

China’s population doubled and Chinese urban centers experienced massive growth during the Song period.

Question 12

“The commercial area of the capital extends from the old Qing River market to the Southern Commons and to the city border on the north. . . . Some famous fabric stores sell exquisite brocade fabric and fine silk, which are unsurpassed elsewhere in the country. . . . Most other cities can only boast of one special product; what makes the capital unique is that it gathers goods from all places. Furthermore, because of the large population and the busy commercial traffic, there is a demand for everything.”

Description of Hangzhou, capital of the southern Song dynasty, circa 1235 C.E.

Which of the following assertions in the description of Hangzhou above would be most difficult to verify?

Answer 12

That the merchandise sold in Hangzhou was of higher quality than that sold in other Chinese cities

Question 13

The image depicts a Chinese Confucian scholar and two female attendants.

In addition to China, the cultural tradition alluded to in Liu Guandao’s painting strongly influenced the society and culture of

Answer 13

Korea

Question 14

The image depicts a Chinese Confucian scholar and two female attendants.

Which of the following historical continuities is best reflected in the image?

Answer 14

Chinese art continued to emphasize traditional subjects and styles.

Question 15

TWO SCENES FROM SOWING AND REAPING, A YUAN-DYNASTY (CIRCA 1350) COPY OF A SONG-DYNASTY (CIRCA 1150) ILLUSTRATED SCROLL ABOUT THE PRACTICE OF RICE CULTIVATION IN CHINA.

Image 1:

The figure presents an image of an illustrated Song-Dynasty scroll, copied during the Yuan-Dynasty. The illustration depicts four men operating a mechanical water wheel with their feet, bringing water up to an elevated rice paddy.

Purchase, W. M. Keck Foundation Gift and other gifts, in memory of Douglas Dillon, 2005

Workers irrigating a rice field by powering a mechanical water wheel with their feet

Image 2:

The figure presents an image of an illustrated Song-Dynasty scroll, copied during the Yuan-Dynasty. The figure presents an image of an illustrated scroll. The image shows men, women, and children working in teams to cut and bundle stalks of rice.
Purchase, W. M. Keck Foundation Gift and other gifts, in memory of Douglas Dillon, 2005

Men, women, and children harvesting rice

Image 1 best illustrates which of the following features of the Chinese economy in the period 1200 to 1450 ?

Answer 15

Technological innovations increased agricultural yields.

Question 16

TWO SCENES FROM SOWING AND REAPING, A YUAN-DYNASTY (CIRCA 1350) COPY OF A SONG-DYNASTY (CIRCA 1150) ILLUSTRATED SCROLL ABOUT THE PRACTICE OF RICE CULTIVATION IN CHINA.

Image 1:

The figure presents an image of an illustrated Song-Dynasty scroll, copied during the Yuan-Dynasty. The illustration depicts four men operating a mechanical water wheel with their feet, bringing water up to an elevated rice paddy.
Purchase, W. M. Keck Foundation Gift and other gifts, in memory of Douglas Dillon, 2005

Workers irrigating a rice field by powering a mechanical water wheel with their feet

Image 2:

The figure presents an image of an illustrated Song-Dynasty scroll, copied during the Yuan-Dynasty. The figure presents an image of an illustrated scroll. The image shows men, women, and children working in teams to cut and bundle stalks of rice.
Purchase, W. M. Keck Foundation Gift and other gifts, in memory of Douglas Dillon, 2005

Men, women, and children harvesting rice

The activity depicted in Image 2 best illustrates which of the following characteristics of China’s economy before 1450 ?

Answer 16

The reliance on systems of peasant labor

Question 17

In the period 600 C.E. to 1450 C.E., states in Japan, Korea, and Vietnam had which of the following in common?

Answer 17

All were culturally influenced by China.

Question 18

“Seeing that it is a girl’s destiny, on reaching womanhood, to go to a new home, and live in submission to her father-in-law and mother-in-law, it is even more incumbent upon her than it is on a boy to receive with all reverence her parents’ instructions. Should her parents, through excess of tenderness, allow her to grow up self-willed, she will infallibly show herself capricious and thus alienate his affection.”

Kaibara Ekken, Japanese author, Greater Learning for Women, 1716

The excerpt above exemplifies the continued influence on eighteenth-century Japan of which of the following?

Answer 18

The Confucian emphasis on filial submission

Question 19

“It is not surprising that your nation [Japan] considers it its mission to unite and lead Asia. The European nations, for all their differences, are united like a single country in their attitude towards the non-Europeans. If, for instance, the Mongolians threatened to take a piece of European territory, all the European countries would make common cause to resist them.

But Japan cannot stand alone. She would be bankrupt in competition with a united Europe, and she could not expect support in Europe. It is natural that she should seek it in Asia, in association with a free China, Thailand, and, perhaps, in the ultimate course of things, a free India. An associated Asia would be a powerful force. Of course, that is to look a long way ahead, and there are many obstacles in the way, notably the absence of a common language and the difficulty of communication. But—from India through Thailand to Japan—we are, I believe, kindred peoples, having in common possession so much religion, art, philosophy.”

Rabindranath Tagore, Indian poet and Nobel Prize in Literature recipient, excerpt from a speech given while on a tour of Japan, 1916

The author’s claim in the second paragraph that Asian countries such as India, Japan, and Thailand, have certain cultural characteristics “in common possession” is most likely a reference to which of the following?

Answer 19

Shared Buddhist religious influences

Question 20

The increased food production accompanying the introduction of Champa rice into China from Vietnam during the eleventh century best illustrates which of the following?

Answer 20

The stimulation of agriculture by technological innovation

Question 21

Which of the following best supports the conclusion that Japan borrowed extensively from Tang and Song China?

Answer 21

Societal relations in Japan were based on Confucian principles of hierarchy.

Question 22

“[Under the Song dynasty], the number of men who were granted degrees [by passing the imperial examinations] suddenly rose, indicating a similar rise in the number of candidates. This was made possible by an increase in China’s productive power and the consequent accumulation of wealth. . . . A new class appeared in China [under the Song], comparable to the middle class in early modern Europe. In China this newly risen class concentrated hard on scholarship. . . .

In principle [the examination system] was open to all qualified applicants regardless of social background, which made it unusually democratic. . . . But for a candidate to continue his studies without interruption for such a long period required a measure of economic support that was simply not available to poor people. . . . [Thus] the contention that the doors of the examination system were open to all applicants was an exaggeration, of course. . . . [Yet] we must not lose sight of the historical context: the very idea that everyone should be eligible for the examinations, regardless of family background or lineage, was incomparably forward-looking in its day. . . . It is true that the examinations not only produced officials loyal to the state but also, at times, resentful rejected applicants who opposed the system. Yet, when an old dynasty was replaced by a new, the latter usually undertook an early revival of the examination system practically unchanged.”

Ichisada Miyazaki, historian, China’s Examination Hell, book published in 1963

Which of the following best describes the author’s claim about the Chinese examination system in the second paragraph?

Answer 22

The system provided limited but important opportunities for social advancement in Chinese society.

Question 23

“[Under the Song dynasty], the number of men who were granted degrees [by passing the imperial examinations] suddenly rose, indicating a similar rise in the number of candidates. This was made possible by an increase in China’s productive power and the consequent accumulation of wealth. . . . A new class appeared in China [under the Song], comparable to the middle class in early modern Europe. In China this newly risen class concentrated hard on scholarship. . . .

In principle [the examination system] was open to all qualified applicants regardless of social background, which made it unusually democratic. . . . But for a candidate to continue his studies without interruption for such a long period required a measure of economic support that was simply not available to poor people. . . . [Thus] the contention that the doors of the examination system were open to all applicants was an exaggeration, of course. . . . [Yet] we must not lose sight of the historical context: the very idea that everyone should be eligible for the examinations, regardless of family background or lineage, was incomparably forward-looking in its day. . . . It is true that the examinations not only produced officials loyal to the state but also, at times, resentful rejected applicants who opposed the system. Yet, when an old dynasty was replaced by a new, the latter usually undertook an early revival of the examination system practically unchanged.”

Ichisada Miyazaki, historian, China’s Examination Hell, book published in 1963

Which of the following statements from the second paragraph most directly supports the claim that the examination system strengthened the Chinese states?

Answer 23

The statement that “when an old dynasty was replaced by a new, the latter usually undertook an early revival of the examination system practically unchanged”

Question 24

“[Under the Song dynasty], the number of men who were granted degrees [by passing the imperial examinations] suddenly rose, indicating a similar rise in the number of candidates. This was made possible by an increase in China’s productive power and the consequent accumulation of wealth. . . . A new class appeared in China [under the Song], comparable to the middle class in early modern Europe. In China this newly risen class concentrated hard on scholarship. . . .

In principle [the examination system] was open to all qualified applicants regardless of social background, which made it unusually democratic. . . . But for a candidate to continue his studies without interruption for such a long period required a measure of economic support that was simply not available to poor people. . . . [Thus] the contention that the doors of the examination system were open to all applicants was an exaggeration, of course. . . . [Yet] we must not lose sight of the historical context: the very idea that everyone should be eligible for the examinations, regardless of family background or lineage, was incomparably forward-looking in its day. . . . It is true that the examinations not only produced officials loyal to the state but also, at times, resentful rejected applicants who opposed the system. Yet, when an old dynasty was replaced by a new, the latter usually undertook an early revival of the examination system practically unchanged.”

Ichisada Miyazaki, historian, China’s Examination Hell, book published in 1963

All of the following developments in Song dynasty China were important factors in the accumulation of wealth outlined in the first paragraph EXCEPT

Answer 24

increased Chinese involvement in the Indian Ocean trade

Question 25

After the expansion of Islam into Africa, an organized Christian presence remained in

Answer 25

Egypt and Ethiopia

Question 26

TYPICAL SAILING ROUTES AND SCHEDULES OF OMANI MERCHANTS TRAVELING TO EAST AFRICA AND CHINA FROM MUSCAT, CIRCA 1400 C.E.

Based on the maps and your knowledge of world history, which of the following best describes the effect of the spread of Islam on Indian Ocean trade?

Answer 26

It led to the expansion and intensification of commerce along already existing trade routes.

Question 27

A photo shows the close-up view of a pattern of a wall decoration. It is made up of multiple interconnected regular hexagons with a smaller hexagon at the center. The smaller hexagon consists of leaf like structures around a circle at the center. Each vertex of the hexagons consists of a star-shaped structure.

Reprinted with the permission of the Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia, Washington, DC.

The type of wall decoration illustrated above would most commonly be found in a

Answer 27

mosque

Question 28

Image 1:

OTTOMAN SOLDIERS RECONQUERING A FORTRESS IN GREECE FROM VENETIAN FORCES, MINIATURE IN A VENETIAN-PRODUCED BOOK OF HISTORY AND DIPLOMACY, CIRCA 1665

The figure presents a drawing circa 1665. The drawing depicts an army of Ottoman soldiers bearing flags and gunpowder weapons. The front row of soldiers are shooting muskets and cannons and are attacking a castle, from which cannon are firing. In the foreground galley ships are shown in a body of water.
DEA/A. DAGLI ORTI/Getty Images
Image 2:

MUGHAL FORCES LED BY THE EMPEROR AURANGZEB CAPTURE THE FORTRESS OF GOLCONDA, CAPITAL OF A RIVAL MUSLIM INDIAN STATE, IN 1687. PAINTING BY AN ANONYMOUS INDIAN ARTIST, CIRCA 1760.

The figure presents a painting circa 1760. The painting depicts a fortress in the background, being attacked by an army of Mughal horsemen and by firing canons. In the foreground the Emperor Aurangzeb is shown with a halo around his bent head. He is seated on a golden transport carried by attendants and surrounded by what appear to be noblemen as well as soldiers on horses and elephants.

The two dynasties whose expansions are illustrated by the images shared which of the following?

Answer 28

Their rulers were descended from Turkic peoples of Central Asian descent

Question 29

A photo shows the front view of the Grand Mosque of Xi’an. It shows the fourth courtyard of the mosque housing the Phoenix Pavilion, in the shape of a hexagonal gazebo. A few Chinese people, including an army man in uniform are shown in the foreground who are there to visit the site.

The photograph above shows a fourteenth century C.E. mosque in the city of Xi’an, central China. This image most clearly supports which of the following conclusions about the spread of Islam?

Answer 29

Early Muslim communities in China adopted local architectural styles for their religious buildings.

Question 30

Which of the following statement regarding the tenets of Islam is accurate?

Answer 30

Islam is a monotheistic religion.

Question 31

THE CONSTELLATION HERCULES, NAMED AFTER AN ANCIENT GREEK MYTHICAL HERO. PAGE FROM A 1430 COPY OF THE BOOK OF FIXED STARS, AN ASTRONOMY BOOK WRITTEN BY A TENTH-CENTURY MUSLIM SCIENTIST

The figure presents an illustration from The Book of Fixed Stars. In the illustration, a man is drawn extending his right arm out and holding a sickle in his left hand. The figure is bent down on his left knee and there is Arabic script written above him. Throughout the illustration, there are dots scattered across the figure with Arabic writing that indicates individual stars and their brightness as observed by Muslim astronomers.

This copy of The Book of Fixed Stars was made for the ruler of the Timurid dynasty, a Turkic state that controlled much of Central Asia during the fifteenth century. The dots scattered across the figure indicate individual stars and the symbols next to the dots indicate the stars’ relative brightness, as observed by Muslim astronomers.

The sponsoring of scholarship by Turkic dynasties, such as the Timurids, best shows that, in the period circa 1200–1450, scholarly activities in the Muslim world continued despite the

Answer 31

fragmentation of the Abbasid Caliphate

Question 32

THE CONSTELLATION HERCULES, NAMED AFTER AN ANCIENT GREEK MYTHICAL HERO. PAGE FROM A 1430 COPY OF THE BOOK OF FIXED STARS, AN ASTRONOMY BOOK WRITTEN BY A TENTH-CENTURY MUSLIM SCIENTIST

The figure presents an illustration from The Book of Fixed Stars. In the illustration, a man is drawn extending his right arm out and holding a sickle in his left hand. The figure is bent down on his left knee and there is Arabic script written above him. Throughout the illustration, there are dots scattered across the figure with Arabic writing that indicates individual stars and their brightness as observed by Muslim astronomers.

This copy of The Book of Fixed Stars was made for the ruler of the Timurid dynasty, a Turkic state that controlled much of Central Asia during the fifteenth century. The dots scattered across the figure indicate individual stars and the symbols next to the dots indicate the stars’ relative brightness, as observed by Muslim astronomers.

Muslim scientists in the period before 1450 c.e. generally participated in intellectual and scholarly exchanges with neighboring cultures by

Answer 32

expanding upon the legacy of earlier scientific works by conducting their own research

Question 33

“If it were asked, why do we accept the theory of contagion, when already the divine law has refuted the notion of contagion, we will answer: The existence of contagion has been proved by experience, deduction, the senses, observation, and by unanimous reports. And it is not a secret to whoever has looked into this matter or has come to be aware of it that those who come into contact with plague patients mostly die, while those who do not come into contact survive. And amidst the horrible afflictions that the plague has imposed upon the people, God has afflicted the people with some learned religious scholars who issue fatwas* against fleeing the plague, so that the quills with which the scholars wrote these fatwas were like swords upon which the Muslims died. In conclusion, to ignore the proofs of plague contagion is an indecency and an affront to God and holds cheap the lives of Muslims.”

*rulings on Islamic law

Lisan al-Din Ibn al-Khatib, A Very Useful Inquiry into the Horrible Sickness, Granada, Spain, 1349–1352

The passage by al-Khatib best illustrates which of the following?

Answer 33

The growth of scientific thought and innovation in Muslim Spain

Question 34

In the period 1000 to 1450, which of the following developments partially resulted from knowledge of Greek science and technology?

Answer 34

Islamic medical books in Baghdad

Question 35

I am imperishable time;

The Creator whose face is everywhere;

Death that devours all things;

The source of all things to come

The god Krishna speaks, Bhagavad Gita, Vedic sacred text, circa fifth century to second century B.C.E.

The excerpt above best represents which aspect of Hinduism?

Answer 35

The cyclical nature of death and rebirth

Question 36

As Islam spread between 1200 and 1600, it affected gender relations in which of the following ways?

Answer 36

Existing local customs regarding marriage and the role of women blended with Islamic models.

Question 37

The photograph shows an elaborately decorated ancient structure. It is rectangular in shape when viewed from above and is several stories high, with the levels stacked in a step formation. At the top are three circular levels adorned with statues and a large dome structure. A central stairway, beginning at the ground, connects each level of the building and ends at the top just before the dome.

The ninth-century monument pictured above, located on the island of Java in present-day Indonesia, best exemplifies which of the following historical processes?

Answer 37

The spread of universalizing religions beyond their places of origin

Question 38

A black and white photo of Angkor Wat, Cambodia.

The photograph above of Angkor Wat in Cambodia is an example of

Answer 38

Hindu influence in Southeast Asia

Question 39

“Let the blessings of Allah be upon Muhammad and his companions universally. In the year 1640 C.E. I wanted to behold the mystics of every sect, to hear the lofty expressions of monotheism, and to cast my eyes upon many books of mysticism. I, therefore, examined the Book of Moses, the Gospels, and the Psalms.

Among the Hindus, the best of their heavenly books, which contain all the secrets of pure monotheism, are called the Upanishads. Because I do not know Sanskrit, I wanted to make an exact and literal translation of the Upanishads into Persian*. For the Upanishads are a treasure of monotheism and there are few thoroughly conversant with them even among the Indians. Thereby I also wanted to make the texts accessible to Muslims.

I assembled Hindu scholars and ascetics to help with the translation. Every sublime topic that I had desired or thought and had looked for and not found, I obtained from these most ancient books, the source and the fountainhead of the ocean of religious unity, in conformity with the holy Qur’an.”

*Persian was the primary language used at the Mughal court.

Dara Shikoh, son of the Mughal ruler Shah Jahan, account of the translation of the Upanishads into Persian, 1657 C.E.

Based on the passage, which of the following most strongly influenced Dara Shikoh’s religious views?

Answer 39

Sufism

Question 40

“Let the blessings of Allah be upon Muhammad and his companions universally. In the year 1640 C.E. I wanted to behold the mystics of every sect, to hear the lofty expressions of monotheism, and to cast my eyes upon many books of mysticism. I, therefore, examined the Book of Moses, the Gospels, and the Psalms.

Among the Hindus, the best of their heavenly books, which contain all the secrets of pure monotheism, are called the Upanishads. Because I do not know Sanskrit, I wanted to make an exact and literal translation of the Upanishads into Persian*. For the Upanishads are a treasure of monotheism and there are few thoroughly conversant with them even among the Indians. Thereby I also wanted to make the texts accessible to Muslims.

I assembled Hindu scholars and ascetics to help with the translation. Every sublime topic that I had desired or thought and had looked for and not found, I obtained from these most ancient books, the source and the fountainhead of the ocean of religious unity, in conformity with the holy Qur’an.”

*Persian was the primary language used at the Mughal court.

Dara Shikoh, son of the Mughal ruler Shah Jahan, account of the translation of the Upanishads into Persian, 1657 C.E.

Dara Shikoh’s views about the value of the Upanishads, as expressed in the second paragraph, are most likely based on which of the following features of Hinduism?

Answer 40

The belief in an ultimate universal principle

Question 41

The founder of Buddhism developed a religion centered on

Answer 41

elimination of desire and suffering

Question 42

Which of the following was the main reason that Buddhist thought had important social implications for South Asia?

Answer 42

It challenged hierarchies based on caste.

Question 43

“O King! The city of Madurai was famed for its sweet beauty, but has now become the city of wild animals since the Muslims conquered it [in 1335]. Its famed Hindu temple has been reduced to rubble. The mighty Kaveri River used to flow in its proper channels because our noble Hindu rulers of the past had curbed it with dams. But now, the river flows without discipline like her new Muslim lords because the dams have been damaged beyond repair.

My Lord, it is hard to say whether we get more troubled by hearing the owls that now live in our abandoned gardens, or get more perturbed by the Persian language uttered by the pet-parrots from the houses of the Muslims. There is no agriculture left, as the angry Lord Indra* has stopped sending rains. My King! The Vedas have disappeared. With dharma gone, character and nobleness have disappeared.

My king, this sword that you hold is now placed into your lotus-hands by divine providence. Take it and without further delay uproot from my lands this Muslim kingdom. Go forth my dear Lord, win your victory, and establish One Hundred Victory Pillars!”

*the Hindu god of the heavens who brings thunder and rain

Speech of a female petitioner from the South Indian city of Madurai made at the court of the king of Vijayanagara, a Hindu empire in South India. The speech is recorded in a fourteenth-century poem written by a princess of Vijayanagara describing Vijayanagara’s conquest of the Muslim sultanate of Madurai in 1378.

Which of the following is a claim made by the petitioner in the third paragraph?

Answer 43

The king has the support of the gods in his efforts to drive Muslims out of Madurai.

Question 44

“O King! The city of Madurai was famed for its sweet beauty, but has now become the city of wild animals since the Muslims conquered it [in 1335]. Its famed Hindu temple has been reduced to rubble. The mighty Kaveri River used to flow in its proper channels because our noble Hindu rulers of the past had curbed it with dams. But now, the river flows without discipline like her new Muslim lords because the dams have been damaged beyond repair.

My Lord, it is hard to say whether we get more troubled by hearing the owls that now live in our abandoned gardens, or get more perturbed by the Persian language uttered by the pet-parrots from the houses of the Muslims. There is no agriculture left, as the angry Lord Indra* has stopped sending rains. My King! The Vedas have disappeared. With dharma gone, character and nobleness have disappeared.

My king, this sword that you hold is now placed into your lotus-hands by divine providence. Take it and without further delay uproot from my lands this Muslim kingdom. Go forth my dear Lord, win your victory, and establish One Hundred Victory Pillars!”

*the Hindu god of the heavens who brings thunder and rain

Speech of a female petitioner from the South Indian city of Madurai made at the court of the king of Vijayanagara, a Hindu empire in South India. The speech is recorded in a fourteenth-century poem written by a princess of Vijayanagara describing Vijayanagara’s conquest of the Muslim sultanate of Madurai in 1378.

Which of the following best describes a claim made in the first paragraph?

Answer 44

Hindu rulers had constructed irrigation works to control the Kaveri River.

Question 45

“O King! The city of Madurai was famed for its sweet beauty, but has now become the city of wild animals since the Muslims conquered it [in 1335]. Its famed Hindu temple has been reduced to rubble. The mighty Kaveri River used to flow in its proper channels because our noble Hindu rulers of the past had curbed it with dams. But now, the river flows without discipline like her new Muslim lords because the dams have been damaged beyond repair.

My Lord, it is hard to say whether we get more troubled by hearing the owls that now live in our abandoned gardens, or get more perturbed by the Persian language uttered by the pet-parrots from the houses of the Muslims. There is no agriculture left, as the angry Lord Indra* has stopped sending rains. My King! The Vedas have disappeared. With dharma gone, character and nobleness have disappeared.

My king, this sword that you hold is now placed into your lotus-hands by divine providence. Take it and without further delay uproot from my lands this Muslim kingdom. Go forth my dear Lord, win your victory, and establish One Hundred Victory Pillars!”

*the Hindu god of the heavens who brings thunder and rain

Speech of a female petitioner from the South Indian city of Madurai made at the court of the king of Vijayanagara, a Hindu empire in South India. The speech is recorded in a fourteenth-century poem written by a princess of Vijayanagara describing Vijayanagara’s conquest of the Muslim sultanate of Madurai in 1378.

A historian would most likely cite which of the following claims made in the second paragraph to demonstrate that Hindu teachings influenced the development of South Asian societies?

Answer 45

The absence of dharma has caused nobleness and character to disappear.