1. Outline and assess those events leading to the rise of Islam in the early 7th century CE. Who was Mohammed "The prophet" and what role did he play in the evolution and development of this faith? What factors account for the schism that takes place within Islam following the prophet's death? How was this schism resolved? Trace the expansionof Islam from the ascension of Abu Bakr to the end of the Ummayed Caliphate. What factors indigenous to Islam and Bedouin society combined to facilitate this expansion? Determine the overall impact of Islamic expansion on the political and social institutions of the Eastern Roman (Byzantine) state. Who was Leo "the Isurian" and what specific role did he play in regards to the Iconoclast reforms? What ultimately became of hte imperial bureaucracy he helped to shape? Assess the overall impact of Islamic expansion on those political and social institutions indigenous to Frankish Gaul. In what ways did the Islamic invasions facilitate the decline and collapse of the Merovingian monarchy? Who were the Carolingians and what steps did this powerful Frankish family take, in efforts to restore the unity and cohesion of the Western Roman state at the close of the 8th century CE?
Again, this is regarded as a single quesiton and must be answered with a minimum of 2 pages.
2. Outline and assess the events which led to the transformation of the Roman Empire between the 3rd and 6th centuries CE. What was the crisis of the 3rd century? How did Diocletian attempt to resolve the economic and administrative problems associated with this crisis? Describe the events which led to the ascension of Constantine. What was the Edict of Milan and how did it facilitate Constantine's ability to more effectively govern the Roman state? Summarize and analyze the events which led to the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century CE. Why did the Roman state divide into two component parts? Why did Rome's eastern component effectively survive the impact of the Germanic and Hunnish folk migrations?