A1) The Seljuk, were a band of Turks made up of Islamic

mercenaries who moved into the Middle East from Central Asia in the

eleventh century. They occupied Persia and then slowly advanced

west defeating The Byzantine emperor and army and advancing into

Anatolia. They then advance pushed south and occupied Jerusalem

and the Holy Land and prohibited any Christian pilgrims to travel to

any religious sites including Jerusalem. Unable to stop the Turks

from advancing any further, the Byzantine Emperor Alexius I

Comnenus turned to his rival Pope Urban II for help in hopes he

would raise an army on his behalf. Acrobatiq. (2017)

A2) Pope Urban II called a council to discuss many religious issues

one of which was to free the Holy Land from the Muslim Turks.

Because of the zealous response he received, he formed an army to

march to Jerusalem for a crusade. He promised them that anyone

who died in the pursuit would go directly to heaven. Some of the first

to respond to the pope’s message were popular preachers among the

poor in France and Germany. Because they believed the were

witnessing the last days of mankind and that their faith would protect

them, thousands of ordinary people arose and marched toward

Jerusalem. Many were slaughtered or enslaved by the Turks or

starved and died of thirst once reaching the desert interior of Anatolia.

There was eventually a trained army formed under the command of

several leaders from France, Germany and Italy. They defeated the

Turks in Constantinople and then advanced on Jerusalem. Many

were massacred during the war but the city fell and the First Crusade

resulted in four Latin kingdoms being formed. Acrobatiq. (2017)

B1) The Umayyad dynasty allowed non-Muslims into the empire but

discriminated against them and would not let them hold any

command position. The Abbasid dynasty was much more inclusive

with the non-Muslims in the society and did not discriminate against

them in the society. Acrobatiq. (2017)

B2) The Umayyad dynasty relied heavily on and Arab army that was

loyal only to the governor. The Arab Muslims were the upper class

while the non-Arab Muslims were second-class and the lower class

was made up of member of the tolerated religions. The Abbasid

dynasty didn’t rely on and Arba armies and Arab aristocracy but an

imperial army, salaried officials and senior bureaucrats loyal to the

ruler. They believed in the theory of imperial divine right that ruler’s

power came from god, not anyone else. Acrobatiq. (2017)

C) The Silk Roads were the giant trade routes that made it possible

for different civilizations to use intercontinental trade. Europe was

able to get silk, spices and gunpowder. In the East they were able to

get horses, furs and trade slaves. Acrobatiq. (2017)

Acrobatiq. (2017). Survey of world history. Retrieved
from https://wgunx.acrobatiq.com/courseware/contents/wh_apr14