history final exam

A)        In class Blue Book essay exam.  You will be given four questions from this list and you choose to write on two of the questions. (25 points each.)

1.   In what ways did Byzantium carry on the legacy of Rome?  What were Justinian's achievements and dreams?  In what ways was Byzantium different than Rome?  (Lecture notes and Bentley & Ziegler Chapter 16)

2.   Examine the rise of monasticism.  What role did monasteries play in early medieval Europe?  How important were St. Benedict and St. Scholastica to the formation of monasticism?  Also explain what role Christianity played to unify the diverse population of Western Europe.  (Lecture  notes, critical thinking question, and Bentley & Ziegler Chapter 16)

3.   Examine the growth of towns/cities and trade during the High Middle Ages. How did these cities managed to organize and rule themselves politically? How did this transformation affect the social structure both inside and outside the cities?  (Lecture notes and Bentley & Ziegler Chapter 19)

4.   Examine the technological innovations of the Tang and Song periods.  How did these innovations change the shape of world history?  (Documentary movie,

(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E8Gw39_QADk&list=PL926B077EBB8401AA&index=1), lecture notes, and Bentley & Ziegler Chapter 13)

5.   Cosmopolitan Islamic civilization in the Middle Ages as illustrated by the traveling career of Abu Abdullah Ibn Battuta.

 In reviewing The Adventures of Ibn Battuta, think about the following issues:

a)   How did Islamic civilization become so widespread in the Middle Ages, reaching from one end of the Intercommunicating zone to the other?

b)  What made Islam a unified civilization, even though it included, as Christianity did, people of many different languages and cultures?

c)   Why was it relatively easy for him to travel such long distances in the 14th century and do so in relative safety?

d)  What was the relationship between Ibn Battuta's class status, education, or reputation and the kinds of experiences he had in India, the Maldives, and West Africa?

All the aforementioned questions on Ibn Battuta will be discussed on the final exam review session.  Two out of six questions for final exam will be drawn from question # 5

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6.   The origins and spread of the Black Death (plague.)  You should be able to visualize where the plague probably started and the major "routes" of its spread.  Learn also the social and economic consequences of the Black Death in Eurasia, particularly in Europe.  (Class notes, Bentley & Ziegler Chapter 21, and Dunn’s chapter 12.)

Please write 6 full pages total without titile page. Every question for one page. Please submit an excellent work before deadline 5/7morning. Trust you and thank you!