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Muslim societies were polygynist (meaning that one man could marry multiple wives) and the Qur’an specified that a man could marry as many as four wives (in practice, many Muslim elites far exceeded that limit). After the first generation or so of Muslims, many societies borrowed a Persian and Eastern custom of secluding the wives of an elite married man into a secure location called a [BLANK-1]. While the man’s first wife tended to be free of this system, his other wives would remain forever secluded in their women’s quarters. The elite Muslim husband would visit this site for conjugal visits, but aside from his romantic visits, the women would never see another man aside from eunuchs (castrated males) who would guard the women.

While it was not the first known written law, [BLANK-1] of ca. 1755 B.C.E. is the oldest nearly complete system of laws known to historians. It was adopted by a Babylonian king of Ancient Mesopotamia, and gave great insight into daily life in Babylonia (for instance, most of the laws relate to marriage, family, agriculture, and lineage, suggesting what was important in this society). Legal penalties varied depending on one’s class and gender; however, those of the same station were famously promised “an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.” It provided Babylonia with a more uniform system of laws and served as a way for the king to justify his rule.

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An Ancient Indian cosmological concept known as [BLANK-1] was the idea of the reincarnation of souls by the continual process of rebirth. This concept was used by Ancient Indian religions such as Brahmanism, Jainism, Buddhism, and Hinduism.

An example of Ancient Assyria’s ferocity in war includes the campaigns of Assyrian king, [BLANK-1]. In the ninth century B.C.E., during his campaigns against Zamua, his soldiers slew the inhabitants of villages, destroyed the villages, and burned the villages and crops with fire.

In 1260, Muslim Mamluk soldiers defeated Mongol forces during [BLANK-1]. This marked the first time that a major Mongol invasion had been repelled. The victory also likely saved the majority of Muslim lands in Africa and Europe from falling into the hands of the Mongols.

Peter Abelard was the most famous professor at the University of Paris and his writing exemplified the intellectual movement known as Scholasticism. In his book, [BLANK-1], a classic of Scholasticism which literally means “Yes and No,” he discussed inconsistencies in the Bible. With this book, Abelard examined the inconsistencies by writing in defense of both sides of each question.

Berbers came to dominate [BLANK-1], an important overland commercial network.

[BLANK-1] were widely used by monks and others during the Crises of the Ninth and Tenth Centuries in Europe. They were considered the “weapons of the weak,” which consisted mainly of words and spiritual belief, and were used against invading Vikings, Magyars, and other raiders when they attacked the weakly defended towns and monasteries of Europe. The monks would call upon God to harm their enemies and to protect them in an increasingly violent world.

A period of dynastic hereditary rule in Persia known as [BLANK-1] lasted from 224-651 C.E. This Persian dynasty was founded by Ardashir I and this society became the chief enemy and rival of the Byzantine Empire. Ultimately, long-term wars with the Byzantines weakened this civilization and left them ripe for conquest by Muslim armies in the seventh century.