The Mongol Empire and the Modern World/AP Exam Practice

Topic 2 AP Exam Practice

Multiple-Choice Questions

Questions 1 to 3 refer to the passage below.

“The [Russian] Duke who had spoken before gave a short account of all that had taken place since the death of [Genghis Khan], and the partition of his vast dominions. And then the younger Duke, Wsewolodovics, took up the tale.

‘Lord King!’ he began, ‘these Mongols don’t carry on warfare in an honorable, chivalrous way. They fight only to destroy, they are bloodthirsty, merciless; their only object is to plunder, slay, murder, and burn, not even to make any use of what lands they conquer. They are like a swarm of locusts. They stay till everything is eaten up, till all are plundered, and what they can’t carry off, that they kill, or reduce to ashes. They are utterly faithless; their words and promises are not in the least to be trusted, and those who do make friends with them are the first upon whom they wreak their vengeance if anything goes wrong. We are telling you no fairy tales! We know to our own cost what they are, we tell you what we have seen with our own eyes. And let me tell you this, my lord king, their lust of conquest and devastation knows no bounds! If it is our turn today, it will be yours tomorrow! And, therefore, while we seek a refuge in your land, we at the same time warn you to be prepared! For the storm is coming, and may sweep across your frontiers sooner than you think.’ ”

Baron Nicholas Jósika (1796–1865), ’Neath the Hoof of the Tartar, or

The Scourge of God, a novel about the Mongols

1. What did the Russian duke think motivated the Mongols?

  • (A) The Mongols were interested primarily in seizing wealth rather than in controlling Russian territory.
  • (B) The Mongols choose their tactics in warfare because those tacitces were used in fairy tales.
  • (C) The Mongols believed they could fool foes with rumors of atrocities.
  • (D) The Mongols wanted to be thought of as honorable warriors.

2. The most valid counterargument to the description of the Mongols by the Russian duke was that the Mongols

  • (A) had little interest in wealth so they took only what they needed to survive from people they conquered
  • (B) appreciated architecture and art and hence rarely destroyed cities
  • (C) had no reason to invade other areas west of Russia
  • (D) established political institutions and peace in the territories they conquered

3. How would the Mongols use the Russian duke’s description to their advantage if they chose to invade Hungary?

  • (A) to frighten the Hungarians into surrendering
  • (B) to persuade Hungarians to fight against other Christian kingdoms
  • (C) to cause the Hungarians to convert to Islam
  • (D) to attract Hungarian knights who admired their style of warfare

Short-Answer Questions

1. Use the passage below to answer all parts of the question that follows.

“And the Monarch of the World, the Hatim of the Age, [Mengü] Qa’an [Khan] passed away, Güyük, his eldest son had not returned from the campaign against the Qifchaq, and therefore in accordance with precedent the dispatch of orders and the assembling of the people took place at the door of the . . . palace of his wife, Möge Khatun. . . . But since Törengene Khatun was the mother of his eldest sons and was moreover shrewder and more sagacious than Möge Khatun, she [Törengene Khatun] sent messages to the princes, i.e. the brothers and nephews of the Qa’an . . . and said that until a Khan was appointed by agreement someone would have to be ruler and leader in order that the business of the state might not be neglected nor the affairs of the commonwealth thrown into confusion; in order, too, that the army and the court might be kept under control and the interests of the people protected. . . . therefore, until a quriltai [an assembly of Mongol nobles] was held, it was she [Törengene Khatun] that should direct the affairs of the state, and the old ministers should remain in the service of the Court, so that the old and new yasas [political structure or order] might not be changed from what was the law.”

Ala-ad Din Ata-Malik Juvaini, a Persian scholar from the 13th century, The History of the Conqueror

(A)(A) Describe ONE reason Mongol nobles accepted a woman’s leadership.
(B)(B) Describe ONE way in which Mongol leadership continued under Törengene Khatun and previous khans.
(C)(C) Explain ONE way in which the status of women in Islamic society in the 13th century differed from the status of women in Mongol culture during the 13th century.

2. Answer all parts of the question that follows.

(A)(A) Describe ONE example of a pattern of Mongolian expansion in the period c. 1200–c. 1450.
(B)(B) Describe ONE way in which Mongol political structures changed when they ruled China.
(C)(C) Explain ONE example of a connection between Mongolian and Chinese political structures in the period c. 1200–c. 1450.
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