SAT II World History : SAT Subject Test in World History

Study concepts, example questions & explanations for SAT II World History

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Example Questions

Example Question #64 : 500 C.E. To 1500 C.E.

The First Crusade was initiated by __________.

Possible Answers:

Pope Urban II 

Pope Innocent II

Pope Gregory VII

Pope Adrian IV

Pope Alexander VI

Correct answer:

Pope Urban II 

Explanation:

The First Crusade was initiated by Pope Urban II in 1095 with the original aim of assisting the Byzantine Empire in defending itself against the invading Turkish forces; however, the mission quickly expanded to include liberating the Holy City of Jerusalem from under Muslim control. Jerusalem was “liberated” in 1099, but this incident would mark several hundred years of competition between the Christian forces of Europe and the Islamic forces of the Near East that are collectively called “the Crusades.”

Example Question #2 : The Crusades

Which of these Popes is best remembered for initiating the First Crusade?

Possible Answers:

Pope Clement III

Pope Alexander IV

Pope Innocent III

Pope Alexander VI

Pope Urban II

Correct answer:

Pope Urban II

Explanation:

The First Crusades were initiated by Pope Urban II in 1095 with the primary goal of retaking the Holy Land and Jerusalem from the "infidels." 

Example Question #2 : The Crusades

The armies of the First Crusade were made up primarily of __________ soldiers.

Possible Answers:

Italian

Spanish

French

German

Greek

Correct answer:

French

Explanation:

The armies of the First Crusade was made up primarily of young French soldiers and nobles.

Example Question #2 : Southwest Asia

What was the primary goal of the Crusades? 

Possible Answers:

To remove Arab influence from the Iberian Peninsula

To retake the Holy Land for Christendom

To remove Ottoman influence from the Balkans

To protect Venetian trading interests in the Mediterranean

To protect the interests of the Byzantine Empire

Correct answer:

To retake the Holy Land for Christendom

Explanation:

The Crusades is the name given to a series of conflicts between Christian Europe and the Islamic Empire of the Near Middle East between the eleventh and fourteenth Centuries. The primary goal of the Crusades was to retake the city of Jerusalem and the Holy Land of Palestine from the "infidels." It had varying degrees of success. 

Example Question #3 : The Crusades

In what way did the Crusades primarily contribute to the growing wealth of Italian city states like Venice and Florence?

Possible Answers:

The cities captured in the Crusades needed constant resupplying from the merchant ships of the Italian city-states.

None of these answers is correct; the Crusades contributed to the decline of the Italian city-states. 

The Crusades provided plunder that was shipped back to the Italian city-states and and knowledge that was shared with their populations. 

The Crusades led to an alliance between the Italian city-states and the Muslim Caliphate that increased the wealth and combined knowledge of both parties immensely. 

The Crusades provided a host of slaves to use for manual labor in the development of infrastructure in the Italian city-states. 

Correct answer:

The cities captured in the Crusades needed constant resupplying from the merchant ships of the Italian city-states.

Explanation:

The First Crusade was able to successfully take Jerusalem and a few other isolated areas of the Holy Land, but the people who remained there were alone in a large area surrounded by hostile Arab enemies. They required constant resupplying from the trading ships of the Italian city-states, who subsequently grew immensely wealthy from the trading relationship.

Example Question #1 : The Crusades

The Third Crusade began when the forces of __________ conquered Jerusalem.

Possible Answers:

Harun al-Rashid

Mustafa Kemal Atatürk

Saladin

Suleiman the Magnificent

Mehmet II

Correct answer:

Saladin

Explanation:

The Holy Land and Jerusalem, captured in the First Crusade, were conquered by the Islamic forces of Saladin in 1187 CE. This led directly to the Third Crusade, waged from 1189 to 1192 CE, which did not result in the European forces retaking Jerusalem; however, it did lead Saladin to open the city of Jerusalem to protected Christian pilgrimage.

Example Question #191 : Sat Subject Test In World History

The Eastern Roman Empire, which survived the Western Roman Empire by 1000 years, was finally overcome by __________.

Possible Answers:

the Ottoman Empire

the Armenian Empire

the Egyptian Empire

the Russian Empire

the Polish Empire

Correct answer:

the Ottoman Empire

Explanation:

In the third century CE, the Roman Emperor Diocletian divided the Roman Empire into a Western Empire, centered around Rome, and an Eastern Empire, centered around Byzantium (later Constantinople, later still Istanbul). While the Western Roman Empire succumbed to barbarian invasion within two centuries, the Eastern Roman Empire continued until the fifteenth century when it was finally overcome by the Ottomans.

Example Question #192 : Sat Subject Test In World History

Harun al-Rashid was a ruler of the __________

Possible Answers:

Abbasid Caliphate

Rashidun Caliphate 

Sumerian Empire

Umayyad Caliphate

Hittite Empire 

Correct answer:

Abbasid Caliphate

Explanation:

Harun al-Rashid is one of the most famous caliphs of the long lasting Abbasid Caliphate. He ruled from 786 C.E. until his death in 809 C.E. His reign is remembered as the height of the early Islamic golden era, marked by a flourishing of arts and science and characterized by continuous expansion of Islam. A caliph, just to be clear, is a particular type of ruler within an Islamic government said to be the political and religious successor to the Prophet Muhammad. 

Example Question #193 : Sat Subject Test In World History

Suleiman the Magnificent was a ruler of which of these empires? 

Possible Answers:

The Abassid Empire

The Umayyad Empire

The Ottoman Empire

The Mongolian Empire

The Seljuk Empire

Correct answer:

The Ottoman Empire

Explanation:

Suleiman the Magnificent is one of the most famous rulers of the Ottoman Empire. He came to power in the early sixteenth century and is famous for his conquest of many Christian strongholds in Southern Europe, such as Belgrade, Budapest, and Rhodes.

Example Question #194 : Sat Subject Test In World History

Which of these cities served as the capital of the Abbasid Caliphate? 

Possible Answers:

Medina

Basra

Damascus

Jerusalem

Baghdad

Correct answer:

Baghdad

Explanation:

The Abbasid Caliphate emerged in the eighth century C.E. as the inheritors of Muhammad's Islamic Empire. At the height of its power, the Abbasid Caliphate stretched from Central Asia through North Africa. The capital of the Abbasid Caliphate, for most of its existence, was Baghdad, in modern-day Iraq.

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