Describe the origins and basic beliefs of Islam, including
Muhammed, the Quran, and the five pillars of Islam. To what
extent does this tradition fit the model for a universalizing
religion

1. Trace the process, including jihad, by which Islam expanded
   from a new, localized religious tradition on the Arabian
   Peninsula to a dominant political power in western Afro￾Eurasia. How did that expansion require a balancing act
   between political powers authority?
2. Although the Abbasid dynasty brought a great degree of
   integration across western Afro-Eurasia, what were some of
   the regional distinctions as well as internal divisions?
3. Identify some of the distinctive features of Christendom in
   western, northern, and eastern Europe. Compare the Roman
   Catholic Church and Greek Orthodoxy.
4. Analyze the impact of the Vikings in this period of world
   history, both in Europe and beyond.