AP World Prep

Multiple Choice

Which of the following was a significant continuity in the political structure of South Asia from 1200 to 1450?

• The dominance of a centralized Hindu empire.
• The fragmentation into competing regional states.
• The widespread adoption of Islamic law.
• The establishment of a unified Buddhist monastic system.

Suggested answer: The fragmentation into competing regional states.

SAQ

Explain ONE way in which the spread of Islam influenced state-building in Afro-Eurasia during the period 1200-1450. Explain ONE way in which the spread of Islam encountered resistance in Afro-Eurasia during the period 1200-1450.

Multiple Choice

Which development best illustrates state centralization in East Asia during 1200-1450?

• Expansion of the Swahili city-states
• Use of civil service exams based on Confucian texts
• Adoption of feudalism in Japan
• Spread of the Mongol postal relay system

Suggested answer: Use of civil service exams based on Confucian texts

SAQ

Describe ONE way in which belief systems shaped social hierarchies in either Europe or Japan during 1200-1450. Explain ONE similarity in how rulers in the Americas legitimized power during the same period.

Multiple Choice

Which factor most directly strengthened the tribute system in East Asia during 1200-1450?

• Mongol reliance on sea-based trade
• Chinese dominance in regional manufacturing and culture
• European naval superiority
• Islamic conquest of Japan

Suggested answer: Chinese dominance in regional manufacturing and culture

Multiple Choice

The Swahili city-states are best described as:

• Inland agrarian kingdoms isolated from trade
• Maritime trading hubs blending African and Islamic culture
• Nomadic confederations controlling desert routes
• European colonies dependent on silver mining

Suggested answer: Maritime trading hubs blending African and Islamic culture

Multiple Choice

Which Inca innovation most directly facilitated centralized control across the Andes?

• Chinampa agriculture
• Quipu record-keeping and road networks
• Gunpowder weapons
• Caravel ships

Suggested answer: Quipu record-keeping and road networks

Multiple Choice

Chinampas were primarily used to:

• Expand cattle grazing lands
• Increase agricultural output near Lake Texcoco
• Create stone fortifications
• Develop sea-based navigation

Suggested answer: Increase agricultural output near Lake Texcoco

Multiple Choice

Which statement best describes the Delhi Sultanate?

• A Hindu empire that expelled Islamic merchants
• A Muslim-ruled state that blended Islamic and South Asian traditions
• A Mongol khanate centered on Beijing
• A trading empire based in East Africa

Suggested answer: A Muslim-ruled state that blended Islamic and South Asian traditions

Multiple Choice

A key similarity between European and Japanese feudalism was:

• Centralized bureaucratic states
• Land-for-service relationships between lords and warriors
• Absence of a peasant class
• Rule by elected assemblies

Suggested answer: Land-for-service relationships between lords and warriors

Multiple Choice

Song Dynasty innovations most directly contributed to:

• Decline of Chinese trade
• Expanded commerce and state capacity
• End of civil service exams
• Isolation from neighboring states

Suggested answer: Expanded commerce and state capacity

Multiple Choice

Mansa Musa's pilgrimage to Mecca demonstrated:

• Mali's isolation from Islamic networks
• West Africa's integration into Islamic trade and learning
• The decline of trans-Saharan routes
• The end of gold production in West Africa

Suggested answer: West Africa's integration into Islamic trade and learning

Multiple Choice

Great Zimbabwe prospered primarily because of:

• Direct Mediterranean trade
• Gold production linked to regional trade networks
• Spanish plantation labor
• Wheat agriculture in the Sahara

Suggested answer: Gold production linked to regional trade networks

Multiple Choice

Sufi missionaries spread Islam mainly through:

• Forced conversion and conquest
• Trade networks and local adaptation
• Royal decrees in Europe
• Isolationist policies

Suggested answer: Trade networks and local adaptation

Multiple Choice

The civil service exam system in China was designed to:

• Reward military aristocrats
• Select officials based on Confucian learning
• Promote hereditary rule
• Replace the tributary system

Suggested answer: Select officials based on Confucian learning

Multiple Choice

Champa rice mattered to Song China because it:

• Reduced crop yields
• Allowed multiple harvests and population growth
• Ended peasant farming
• Was used for shipbuilding

Suggested answer: Allowed multiple harvests and population growth

Multiple Choice

The Byzantine Empire is most closely associated with:

• Eastern Orthodox Christianity
• Confucian bureaucracy
• Hindu caste hierarchy
• The Atlantic slave trade

Suggested answer: Eastern Orthodox Christianity

Multiple Choice

Papal authority in medieval Europe primarily affected:

• Industrial labor unions
• Political legitimacy and social life
• Maritime navigation technology
• Nomadic confederations

Suggested answer: Political legitimacy and social life

Multiple Choice

Manorialism is best described as:

• Urban factory production
• Self-sufficient agricultural estates run by lords
• State-run plantations in the Americas
• A maritime trade network

Suggested answer: Self-sufficient agricultural estates run by lords

Multiple Choice

Guilds in medieval Europe primarily:

• Regulated training and standards in crafts
• Organized slave labor on plantations
• Collected imperial tribute in China
• Led nomadic military raids

Suggested answer: Regulated training and standards in crafts

Multiple Choice

Angkor Wat reflects the Khmer Empire's:

• Buddhist-Hindu syncretism and state power
• Rejection of religious architecture
• Dependence on Atlantic trade
• Industrial urbanization

Suggested answer: Buddhist-Hindu syncretism and state power

Multiple Choice

The caste system (jati) in South Asia mainly:

• Promoted social mobility across occupations
• Fixed social roles by birth and occupation
• Abolished religious distinctions
• Created elected representative governments

Suggested answer: Fixed social roles by birth and occupation

Multiple Choice

The Mandate of Heaven was used to:

• Justify dynastic rule based on moral governance
• Promote hereditary feudalism in Europe
• Explain the causes of the Black Death
• Authorize crusades in the Middle East

Suggested answer: Justify dynastic rule based on moral governance

Multiple Choice

Which Song-era development most directly supported commercialization?

• Expanded use of paper money and credit
• Decline of maritime trade
• Abolition of civil service exams
• End of porcelain production

Suggested answer: Expanded use of paper money and credit

Multiple Choice

Which statement best describes Vietnam's relationship to China (1200-1450)?

• Adopted Chinese writing and exams while resisting Chinese rule
• Fully incorporated into the Chinese empire without resistance
• Rejected Confucian ideas and adopted feudalism
• Became a Mongol tributary state in Japan

Suggested answer: Adopted Chinese writing and exams while resisting Chinese rule

SAQ

Explain ONE way Song economic innovations strengthened the state. Explain ONE way those innovations affected social or commercial life.

Multiple Choice

Which statement best describes Dar al-Islam in 1200–1450?

• A cultural and legal sphere linked by Islam and trade
• A single centralized empire ruled from Baghdad
• A Christian crusader kingdom
• A network limited to West Africa only

Suggested answer: A cultural and legal sphere linked by Islam and trade

Multiple Choice

The Mamluk Sultanate in Egypt was founded by:

• Enslaved Turkic soldiers who seized power
• Portuguese merchants
• Mongol khans
• Christian crusaders

Suggested answer: Enslaved Turkic soldiers who seized power

SAQ

Describe ONE way the House of Wisdom influenced later societies. Explain ONE example of Islamic scientific or mathematical innovation.

Multiple Choice

A tribute system is best defined as:

• Equal trade agreements among states
• Symbolic gifts and acknowledgment of a superior power
• Religious pilgrimages to holy sites
• Forced migration of laborers

Suggested answer: Symbolic gifts and acknowledgment of a superior power

Multiple Choice

Bushido most directly shaped:

• Samurai conduct and loyalty
• Peasant tax policies
• Hindu devotional practices
• Merchant credit systems

Suggested answer: Samurai conduct and loyalty

Multiple Choice

Calpulli in Mexica society primarily:

• Served as clan-based community units
• Controlled overseas colonies
• Managed Islamic legal courts
• Replaced the emperor with elected councils

Suggested answer: Served as clan-based community units

Multiple Choice

Griots in West Africa were important because they:

• Recorded history through oral tradition
• Led maritime exploration of the Atlantic
• Developed gunpowder technology
• Managed feudal manors

Suggested answer: Recorded history through oral tradition

Multiple Choice

Timbuktu gained prominence mainly as a:

• Center of Islamic learning and trade
• European naval base
• Mongol capital
• Aztec ceremonial city

Suggested answer: Center of Islamic learning and trade

Multiple Choice

The Yuan Dynasty is significant because it:

• Reestablished Roman rule in Europe
• Marked Mongol rule over China
• Abolished Confucian education
• Founded the Mughal Empire

Suggested answer: Marked Mongol rule over China

Multiple Choice

The Magna Carta is an early example of:

• Limiting monarch power through law
• State-sponsored atheism
• Maritime trade monopolies
• Expansion of serfdom

Suggested answer: Limiting monarch power through law

Multiple Choice

Vassalage refers to:

• Trade contracts along the Silk Roads
• Land-for-service obligations between lords and vassals
• Religious conversion policies
• Slave labor in plantations

Suggested answer: Land-for-service obligations between lords and vassals

Multiple Choice

Inca road systems primarily supported:

• Rapid communication and troop movement
• Atlantic exploration
• European crusades
• Industrial factory transport

Suggested answer: Rapid communication and troop movement

SAQ

Explain ONE way the Song Dynasty strengthened state power between 1200 and 1450. Explain ONE way Song innovations influenced societies beyond China.

SAQ

Describe ONE similarity between feudalism in Europe and Japan. Explain ONE difference in how political authority was organized in these systems.

SAQ

Explain ONE way trans-Saharan trade supported state-building in West Africa. Explain ONE cultural effect of the spread of Islam in West Africa.

SAQ

Explain ONE way the Mexica organized their empire. Explain ONE limitation or challenge the Mexica faced in maintaining control.

SAQ

Explain ONE way the Inca integrated diverse peoples into their empire. Explain ONE reason the Inca relied on labor drafts.

SAQ

Describe ONE example of religious syncretism in South or Southeast Asia. Explain ONE way syncretism helped rulers maintain authority.

SAQ

Explain ONE way the Roman Catholic Church influenced politics in medieval Europe. Explain ONE way religious authority faced challenges in Europe during 1200-1450.

SAQ

Describe ONE continuity in social hierarchy in South Asia during 1200-1450. Explain ONE change in political authority in South Asia during the same period.

SAQ

Explain ONE reason the Swahili city-states grew wealthy. Explain ONE way their culture reflected Indian Ocean connections.

SAQ

Describe ONE way East Asian states used ideology to legitimize rule. Explain ONE way that ideology shaped government institutions.

SAQ

Explain ONE way social class affected political or military roles in medieval Europe. Explain ONE way peasants supported the manorial economy.

SAQ

Describe ONE example of state-building in Africa during 1200-1450. Explain ONE factor that limited state power in the region.

SAQ

Explain ONE way trade or tribute supported the growth of a city in Asia or Africa. Explain ONE way urban growth shaped cultural life.

LEQ

Evaluate the extent to which belief systems shaped political authority in Afro-Eurasia between 1200 and 1450.

LEQ

Compare and contrast state-building strategies in the Americas with those in Afro-Eurasia from 1200 to 1450.

LEQ

Evaluate the extent to which social hierarchies were maintained through labor systems in the period 1200-1450.

DBQ

Using the provided documents, analyze how rulers used religion to legitimize authority in different regions from 1200 to 1450.

DBQ

Using the provided documents, analyze continuities and changes in urban life across Afro-Eurasia from 1200 to 1450.