AP World History

Study Guide – Islamic Civilization

Chapters 6 – 8

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AP World History

Post-Classical World, 600 C.E. to 1450 C.E.

Islamic Civilization

Study Guide

The Kaaba of Mecca

Chapters 6 – 8

AP World History

Study Guide – Islamic Civilization

Chapters 6 – 8

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1. What set the stage for the postclassical era?

2. Explain how Central Asia will once again be instrumental in the postclassical era.

3. Identify the four overarching developments of the postclassical era.

4. Describe the spread of civilization during the postclassical era.

5. Explain why the “world religions” spread greatly during the postclassical era.

6. Describe the World Network that developed during this period, along with its

impact, and its primary location.

7. Identify the major world history themes during this period.

To prepare for the unit test, you should be able to answer the questions below.

The Postclassical Era

AP World History

Study Guide – Islamic Civilization

Chapters 6 – 8

3/13

Using the map on page 123, show the expansion of Islam from 622-750. Use colored

pencils, markers, or pencil shadings/symbols but you must include a key.

Label the following: Mecca

Medina

Damascus

Baghdad (NOTE: Baghdad located

near the old Persian city “Ctesiphon”)

Cordoba

Rome

Alexandria

Constantinople

Jerusalem

Starting with Mecca, draw an arrow to each of the succeeding capitals of Islam. (They are

listed in order above.)

1. In what direction was the “center” of Islam moving?

2. How was this related to the areas of civilization?

Chapter 6

The Spread of Islam

AP World History

Study Guide – Islamic Civilization

Chapters 6 – 8

4/13

1. Describe the condition of the pre-Islamic Arabian peninsula.

2. What conditions influenced the rise of Islam in Arabia?

3. Explain the basic tenants of Islam.

4. Describe the development of the Muslim community

5. What factors contributed to the rise and success of the Arabic Empire?

6. Explain the origins of the Sunni/ Shi’a split.

7. Explain how the Ummayyad’s changed the empire.

8. How did Islam unite and effectively rule diverse peoples and cultures?

AP World History

Study Guide – Islamic Civilization

Chapters 6 – 8

5/13

9. How did Islam and the Arabic empire change during the Abbasid rule?

10. Describe Islamic society including social classes, gender, and inequalities.

11. Describe the growth of Islamic learning.

AP World History

Study Guide – Islamic Civilization

Chapters 6 – 8

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1. What factors led to decline and collapse of the Abbasid caliphate?

2. What factors served to unite Muslims across continents and diverse cultures?

3. How did women’s social status deteriorate during this era?

4. What was the impact of Turkish migrations on Islamic civilization?

5. What motivated the Christian Crusades and how did they affect the combatants

6. What intellectual movements and divisions arose and how did they affect Islam?

7. Describe the intellectual contributions and achievements of Islamic civilization

8. Explain the rise of orthodox Islam and the rise of Sufi Islam.

9. What factors contributed to Islam’s spread to South Asia?

10. How did Islam both convert and accommodate the majority Hindu population?

Chapter 7

Abbasid Decline and the Spread of Islamic Civilization

to South and Southeast Asia

AP World History

Study Guide – Islamic Civilization

Chapters 6 – 8

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11. How did contacts between Hindu society and Islam affect their civilizations?

12. What factors contributed to Islam’s spread to Southeast Asia?

13. How did Islam adapt to Southeast Asian culture?

14. What Muslim achievements and technologies influenced other civilizations?

AP World History

Study Guide – Islamic Civilization

Chapters 6 – 8

8/13

Using the maps on page 177 & 182

Draw the boundaries of the Ghana, Mali, and Songhay Empires and label each

accordingly

Label the Niger River

Label the Nile River (the Blue Nile flows into the White Nile to create the Nile

River)

Label the city along the Niger that was within the borders of all 3 empires

Label the Swahili city-state of Mogadishu

After reading the section “The Coastal Trading Ports”, shade the approximate area

where the Swahili language was spoken.

Study the map on page 184 carefully and then answer the following: why was it

more likely for Arab dhows to arrive to trade along the east coast of Africa

between November and March?

Chapter 8

African Civilizations and the Spread of Islam

AP World History

Study Guide – Islamic Civilization

Chapters 6 – 8

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1. Describe the nature of African stateless societies.

2. What were the common elements in African societies?

3. How did the arrival of Islam and Christianity affect African societies?

4. Describe the Sudanic states of

a. Ghana

b. Mali

c. Songhay

5. What were the general themes of the political and social life in Sudanic States?

6. Describe the political structure of the Swahili coast.

7. Describe the politics and artistic style of Nok and Benin cultures.

8. Why was civilization so late in arriving to south and central Africa?

AP World History

Study Guide – Islamic Civilization

Chapters 6 – 8

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9. Describe the political structure of the Kingdom of Kongo.

10. Explain the effect of prejudice on the history of Great Zimbabwe.

11. How did religion and trade connect Africa to a larger world; with what results?

12. Describe the intellectual accomplishments of the African and Bantu civilizations.

AP World History

Study Guide – Islamic Civilization

Chapters 6 – 8

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Identify

Who? What? Where? When?

1. Quran

2. Umma

3. Caliph

4. Sunni Islam

5. Shi’a Islam

6. Sharia

7. Jizya

8. Dhimmi(-s)

9. Ayan

10. Sultan

11. Seljuk Turks

AP World History

Study Guide – Islamic Civilization

Chapters 6 – 8

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12. Crusades

13. Saladin

14. Sufis

15. Mameluks

16. Rajas

17. Sati

18. Bhakti

19. Stateless societies

20. Animism

21. Maghrib

22. Sahel

23. Sudan

AP World History

Study Guide – Islamic Civilization

Chapters 6 – 8

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24. Zanj (Zenj)

25. Almoravids

26. Jihad

27. Juula

28. Griots

29. Timbuktu

30. Emir

31. Swahili

32. Ibn Battuta

33. Mansa Musa

34. Sundiata

35. Great Zimbabwe