History

Please answer the following questions based on the course readings.  Please be sure to cite all readings when necessary (lecture notes can be treated as common knowledge and need not be cited).  You may use any system of citation for this exercise, so long as it is clear and consistent.  Do not use any outside sources, only the textbooks and other assigned readings.

You will be graded on your ability to craft concise answers to the questions on the basis of evidence drawn from the reading materials.

Answers should be uploaded as a Word document by the due date on Oct. 5.

Part One:  Short Answer (20 points each)

Answer the following questions based on the readings.  Each answer should not be longer than 250 words (use the word count function under “tools”).

1.  On the basis of the Constitution of Medina and the Pact of Umar, how did the early Islamic community understand its relationship with non-Muslims?  Did this understanding change between the period of the Prophet and the Caliph Umar?

2.  How does the anonymous account of the Mongol conquest of Baghdad differ from Ibn al-Athir’s account of the Tatars (Mongols)?  Were the Mongols only agents of destruction or were they also interested in governance?

3.  On the basis of Ibn Rushd’s “Introduction” and al-Ghazali’s “Deliverance from Error,” would al-Ghazali support or reject Ibn Rushd’s defense of reason?  Why or Why not?

Part Two:  Essay (40 points)

Answer one of the following.  Your essay should be no longer than 600 words (use the word count function under “tools”).  Make sure your essay has an introduction with a clear thesis or argument, a body which supports the thesis with evidence drawn from the readings, and a conclusion which summarizes your argument.

1.  What explains the rapid rise of the Islamic community from an embattled minority during the life of the Prophet to a regional empire by the end of the Rightly Guided Caliphate (Rashidun Caliphate)?

2.  Explain the multiple waves of immigration into the Middle East between the 11th and 13th centuries:  how did they change the region politically, religiously, or culturally?

3.  Explain revelation, inspiration, and reason as paths to the divine truth.  How are they similar/different?