Heroes & Beginnings
Who is considered the founder (prophet) of Islam?
Muhammad
Which region did Islam first spread across after Muhammad’s death (peninsula name)?
Arabian Peninsula
Who called for the Crusades to retake the Holy Land?
Pope Urban II
In what year was the Magna Carta agreed upon?
1215
What language was commonly used by educated people across much of the Islamic world?
Arabic
What is the name of the city Muhammad left in 622 CE that marks the start of the Islamic calendar?
Medina
Besides military conquest, name one major way Islam spread to other lands.
Trade (commerce)
What name is given to the soldiers who fought in the Crusades?
Crusaders
Which English king signed the Magna Carta?
King John
Name one area (field) where Islamic scholars made important contributions.
Mathematics (algebra), medicine, astronomy, literature, architecture (any one)
What is the holy book of Islam called?
Qur’an (Koran)
What evidence was found in a 9th‑century Viking grave showing contact with the Islamic world?
A silver ring engraved with Arabic script
Did the Crusaders permanently keep the Holy Land? (Answer yes or no and one-word reason)
No — contested (or no — fluctuating control)
The Magna Carta is important to the history of law because it limited the power of whom?
The King
What artistic style is common in medieval Islamic art (hint: uses patterns, shapes — one word)?
Geometric
What is the term for someone who follows Islam?
Muslims
By the 700s–800s, name two large regions or areas that Islam reached (east and west)
East: India (or China); West: Spain (or North Africa)
Give one effect the Crusades had on European ideas about other cultures or trade.
Increased trade (or increased cultural contact/exchange)
Name one right or protection the Magna Carta helped establish (brief).
Protection from illegal imprisonment (habeas-like); limits on taxation without consent; due process for nobles (any one)
Give one specific contribution by Islamic scientists or scholars.
Development of algebra (Al-Khwarizmi); medical texts and hospitals; preservation and translation of Greek works (any one)
Name two reasons Muhammad’s message was unpopular at first.
It challenged Mecca’s leaders and traditional polytheistic practices; it criticized social inequalities (any two of these).
Explain in one sentence how trade helped spread Islamic ideas and culture.
Merchants carried goods, books, language, and ideas along trade routes, spreading religion and knowledge.
Explain how the Crusades affected Jewish communities in Europe (one or two sentences).
Jewish communities faced persecution and violence in some regions, as Crusader mobs sometimes attacked Jewish populations en route and at home.
Explain how both nobles and townspeople benefited from the Magna Carta (one or two sentences)
Nobles gained legal protections against the king’s abuses; townspeople and merchants gained limits on arbitrary taxation and more stable rules for trade and commerce.
Compare the depiction of rulers and the design of the Shah Mosque: name one way Islamic art expresses religion without using images of God or prophets (one sentence).
Islamic art emphasizes calligraphy, geometric patterns, and architectural decoration (like tilework in the Shah Mosque) rather than portraying divine figures.