Topic 1 AP Exam Practice
Multiple-Choice Questions
Questions 1 to 3 refer to the passage below.
“Throughout the sixteenth century, the Safavi [Safavid] empire remained a profoundly disturbing force in the Moslem [Muslim] world, dedicated to the defense and propagation of Shi’a doctrines at home and abroad. This policy implied a normal state of hostility with the Ottoman empire, punctuated only briefly by periods of peace. By the seventeenth century, however, when the Safavi empire reached its apogee [peak] under Shah Abbas the Great (1587– 1629), the fanaticism of the Shi’a revolution had faded, at least in court circles; and a lasting peace with the Ottomans was concluded in 1639.”
William H. McNeill, The Rise of the West, 1963
1. Which would be the most useful source of evidence to support McNeill’s contention that “the Safavi [Safavid] empire remained a profoundly disturbing force in the Moslem [Muslim] world”?
- (A) A private diary written by an Ottoman government official
- (B) A biography written in 2018 by an anti-Shi’a leader
- (C) A Hollywood movie script about Shah Abbas I
- (D) A campaign speech by Iran’s current leader on his country’s history
2. Today, Iran and Turkey are often political rivals. This passage suggests that this rivalry is based on historical conflicts over
- (A) democracy and political extremism
- (B) control of the cities of Medina and Mecca
- (C) the role of leaders such as the shah and emperor
- (D) how to practice Islam correctly
3. What brought an end to the “normal state of hostility” between the Safavids and Ottomans mentioned in the passage?
- (A) Safavid fervor for its brand of Islam slowly declined until the two empires stopped fighting.
- (B) The constant fighting increased the respect of the empires for each other, which eventually led to peace between them.
- (C) Both sides united to fight against European Christian forces that threatened them.
- (D) The Ottomans slowly weakened until the Safavids no longer saw them as a threat.
Short-Answer Questions
1. Use the passage below to answer all parts of the question that follows.
“[H]aving on one occasion asked my father [Akbar] the reason why he had forbidden any one to prevent or interfere with the building of these haunts of idolatry [Hindu temples], his reply was. . . : ‘I find myself a powerful monarch, the shadow of God upon earth. I have seen that he bestows the blessings of his gracious providence upon all his creatures without distinction. Ill [badly] should I discharge the duties of my exalted station, were I to withhold my compassion and indulgence from any of those entrusted to my charge. With all of the human race, with all of God’s creatures, I am at peace: why then should I permit myself, under any consideration, to be the cause of molestation or aggression to any one? Besides, are not five parts in six of mankind either Hindus or aliens to the faith; and were I to be governed by motives of the kind suggested in your inquiry, what alternative do I have but to put them all to death! I have thought it therefore my wisest plan to let these men alone.’ ”
Jahangir, Mughal emperor from 1605 to 1627, Memoirs
2. Answer all parts of the question that follows.