Dar al-Islam
This is the Arabic term for the lands under Muslim rule; it also describes the cultural and religious world shaped by Islam. What is it?
Dar al-Islam
The Song Dynasty ruled most of which modern-day country from about 960 to 1279 CE? Name the country
China
Southeast Asia includes modern countries like Vietnam, Thailand, and Indonesia. Name one geographic feature (island or peninsula) that shapes the region.
Examples: Malay Archipelago, Indochina peninsula, Java island, Malay Peninsula
This crop improvement from China increased food production and supported population growth during the Song era: high-yield strain of rice often called what?
Champa rice (or fast-ripening rice)
Name the founder or central figure of Islam
Muhammad
Name one major center of learning or culture in the Dar al-Islam during this period (for example: a city famous for scholars, libraries, or trade)
Baghdad (House of Wisdom), Cordoba, Cairo, Timbuktu (note: Timbuktu later); accept any historically significant center
The Song period is known for major economic and urban growth. Name one factor that contributed to this growth (e.g., agriculture, trade, or market innovations)
Factors: Champa rice/agrarian improvements, expanded trade networks, market towns, credit and commercialization
What was a major trade good exported from Southeast Asia that made the region important in Indian Ocean commerce?
Spices (cloves, nutmeg), timber, gold, or aromatic resins
What navigation or maritime technology helped Indian Ocean sailors travel long distances and improved trade connections?
Lateen sails, astrolabe, magnetic compass; dhow/lateen rigging improved sailing.
Give one core belief or practice common to Buddhism that helped it spread in Asia.
Examples: belief in karma and rebirth, the Four Noble Truths, or monastic communities that spread Buddhism
Explain how the Quran and Islamic law (sharia) influenced political and social institutions in Dar al-Islam. (Short answer)
Answers should mention the Quran as a guiding text and sharia shaping courts, law, taxation, and social norms
Explain one reason why the Song Dynasty developed a strong scholar-official bureaucracy. How were officials chosen?
Civil service examinations based on Confucian texts selected officials; this created merit-based bureaucracy
Explain how Indian and Chinese cultural influences reached Southeast Asia. Give one example of cultural borrowing (religion, political model, or art)
Cultural diffusion via trade and missionaries; example: Indianized kingdoms adopting Hindu/Buddhist political models and art (e.g., Angkor)
Explain how the use of paper money in Song China affected the economy and merchants
Paper money facilitated larger-scale commerce, easier transactions, and required government regulation (inflation concerns
Describe one way religion influenced law or government in any region covered in Unit 1 (Dar al-Islam, Song China, South or Southeast Asia)
Example: Islamic legal institutions shaping courts in Dar al-Islam; or Confucianism influencing Song governance and education.
Identify one technological or scientific contribution from the Islamic world that spread to Europe or Asia between 600–1450 CE
Examples: advances in medicine (Ibn Sina), algebra (al-Khwarizmi), optics (Ibn al-Haytham), astrolabe refinements, or paper-making diffusion
The Song Dynasty saw technological innovation. Name and briefly describe one major Song-era invention and its primary use
Examples: movable type printing (printing texts), gunpowder (military/fireworks), magnetic compass (navigation)
Describe the role of Srivijaya or Majapahit (choose one) in regional maritime trade and political influence.
Srivijaya controlled Strait of Malacca as a maritime trade hub; Majapahit exerted influence over Indonesian islands and trade routes
Identify one agrarian technology (other than rice strains) that increased agricultural productivity in Eurasia between 600–1450 CE and explain its effect
Heavy plow, horse collar, watermills, or terrace irrigation — increased yields and supported population growth.
Explain religious syncretism by giving one example from Unit 1 where local beliefs blended with an incoming religion and describe the result
Example: Vietnamese blending of Mahayana Buddhism with local ancestor worship; Indonesian Islam absorbing local rituals (abangan/practice variations).
Describe how Sufi missionaries helped spread Islam into South and Southeast Asia. Give one specific example of a region or kingdom influenced.
Sufi orders used local practices and personal teaching; example: spread to Indonesia via traders and Sufi missionaries.
Describe the role of Neo-Confucianism during the Song Dynasty and how it shaped society or government policies.
Neo-Confucianism reinforced social hierarchy, education, and civil service exams; emphasized moral duty and family.
Explain how local Southeast Asian political structures adapted foreign religions (e.g., Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam) while maintaining indigenous traditions.
Local rulers accepted Buddhism/Hinduism/Islam but often combined them with ancestor worship or local rituals (e.g., localized Hindu-Buddhist courts; syncretic Islam in Indonesia).
Choose one transmission route (Silk Roads, Indian Ocean, or Trans-Saharan) and explain how it spread a specific technology to a different region, naming the technology and regions involved.
Example: Gunpowder from China spread via Silk Roads to the Middle East and then Europe; or the magnetic compass spreading from China to Indian Ocean sailors and Europe.
Compare and contrast how Islam and Buddhism spread during this period: name one similarity and one difference in their spread (mechanisms, actors, or regions).
Similarity: both spread along trade routes and through missionaries; Difference: Islam often spread via merchants and Sufi orders plus some political conquest, while Buddhism spread largely through missionary monks, state sponsorship, and trade networks.