Long Essay
ONLY SOURCE THAT CAN BE USED “Traditions and Encounters: From the Beginning To 1500, Volume 1, By: Bentley, Jerry”
Long Essay (about 2000 words or 8 typed, double-spaced pages with one-inch margins)
Answer only one (1) question:
1. Assess the impact and importance of Islam in the period from ca. 610 C.E. to 1500 C.E. In what specific ways was Islam a divisive force in the eastern hemisphere and in what ways was it a unifying force in Afro-Eurasia? How did it influence the societies with which it came into contact and how was the Islamic world influenced as a result of its contact with new peoples and societies? What is your overall view of the impact and importance of the dar al-Islam in the first 900 years of its existence?
2. Explain the transformation of “Europe” in the post-classical era. In your answer be sure to focus on significant changes in both the Byzantine Empire and Western Europe (Italy, Spain, Portugal, France, Germany, and England). What was each of these large regions like in 500 C.E.? What major economic, social, political, and cultural developments changed each region in the subsequent thousand years? How and why did the nature and center of gravity “European civilization” move from Byzantium to Western Europe in the period between 500 to 1500 C.E as a result of these developments?
