50 Arab history questions and answers
Quick answer: 50 questions on Arab history from the Umayyads and Abbasids to the modern Arab world, with answers.
Six figures to name
Tap to reveal each name. All six are in our historical figures picture quiz.
Questions 1–10
For more on the region’s geography, see 40 questions about the Arab world’s geography.
| # | Question | Answer |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | In which year did the Hijra take place? | 622 |
| 2 | Which dynasty ruled from Damascus from 661 to 750? | The Umayyads |
| 3 | Which dynasty founded Baghdad? | The Abbasids |
| 4 | Who was the Abbasid caliph of the Thousand and One Nights era? | Harun al-Rashid |
| 5 | What was the House of Wisdom? | A library and centre of learning in Abbasid Baghdad |
| 6 | Which Umayyad prince founded an emirate in Córdoba in 756? | Abd al-Rahman I |
| 7 | Which general led the Muslim conquest of Egypt in 640–642? | Amr ibn al-As |
| 8 | Which general led the conquest of Spain in 711? | Tariq ibn Ziyad |
| 9 | Which city did the Fatimids found in 969? | Cairo |
| 10 | Which mosque and university in Cairo was founded in 970? | Al-Azhar |
Questions 11–20
| # | Question | Answer |
|---|---|---|
| 11 | Who founded the Ayyubid dynasty? | Saladin |
| 12 | In which year did Saladin retake Jerusalem? | 1187 |
| 13 | Which dynasty of former slave soldiers ruled Egypt from 1250? | The Mamluks |
| 14 | Which Mamluk sultan defeated the Mongols at Ain Jalut in 1260? | Qutuz (with Baybars) |
| 15 | In which year did the Mongols sack Baghdad? | 1258 |
| 16 | Who wrote the Muqaddimah? | Ibn Khaldun |
| 17 | Which Moroccan dynasty built the Koutoubia Mosque in Marrakesh? | The Almohads |
| 18 | Which Ottoman sultan conquered Egypt and the Levant in 1516–1517? | Selim I |
| 19 | Which Ottoman sultan rebuilt the walls of Jerusalem? | Suleiman the Magnificent |
| 20 | Who ruled Egypt from 1805 and founded a dynasty? | Muhammad Ali Pasha |
Questions 21–30
| # | Question | Answer |
|---|---|---|
| 21 | In which year did the Suez Canal open? | 1869 |
| 22 | Which revolt against the Ottomans began in 1916? | The Arab Revolt |
| 23 | Which 1916 agreement divided the Arab provinces between Britain and France? | Sykes–Picot |
| 24 | Which Egyptian revolution took place in 1919? | The 1919 Revolution, led by Saad Zaghloul |
| 25 | In which year was the Arab League founded? | 1945 |
| 26 | Which Egyptian leader nationalised the Suez Canal in 1956? | Gamal Abdel Nasser |
| 27 | In which year did Algeria gain independence from France? | 1962 |
| 28 | Which king founded modern Saudi Arabia in 1932? | Abdulaziz Ibn Saud |
| 29 | In which year was the United Arab Emirates formed? | 1971 |
| 30 | Which Egyptian president signed a peace treaty with Israel in 1979? | Anwar Sadat |
Questions 31–40
| # | Question | Answer |
|---|---|---|
| 31 | Which Lebanese-American writer wrote The Prophet? | Kahlil Gibran |
| 32 | Which Egyptian writer won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1988? | Naguib Mahfouz |
| 33 | Which scholar wrote The Canon of Medicine? | Avicenna (Ibn Sina) |
| 34 | Which Andalusian philosopher wrote commentaries on Aristotle? | Averroes (Ibn Rushd) |
| 35 | Which Arab traveller visited China in the 14th century? | Ibn Battuta |
| 36 | What was the capital of the Umayyad Caliphate? | Damascus |
| 37 | Which Great Mosque in Tunisia, founded in 670, is the oldest in the Maghreb? | The Great Mosque of Kairouan |
| 38 | Which trade route brought gold and salt across the Sahara? | The trans-Saharan trade routes |
| 39 | Which empire’s capital was Timbuktu a centre of learning for? | The Mali Empire (and later Songhai) |
| 40 | Which Egyptian queen of the Ayyubid-Mamluk transition ruled in 1250? | Shajar al-Durr |
Questions 41–50
| # | Question | Answer |
|---|---|---|
| 41 | Which year saw the Arab uprisings begin in Tunisia? | 2010 |
| 42 | Which Iraqi city was the Abbasid capital before Baghdad? | Kufa (then Anbar) |
| 43 | Which city was the capital of the Fatimids before Cairo? | Mahdia, in Tunisia |
| 44 | Who was the first caliph after the Prophet Muhammad? | Abu Bakr |
| 45 | Which caliph compiled the Quran into a standard text? | Uthman |
| 46 | Which Umayyad caliph built the Dome of the Rock? | Abd al-Malik |
| 47 | In which year was the Dome of the Rock completed? | 691 |
| 48 | Which Yemeni kingdom built the Marib Dam? | The Sabaeans (Kingdom of Saba) |
| 49 | Which Nabataean city is carved into rose-coloured rock? | Petra |
| 50 | Which Phoenician city founded Carthage? | Tyre |
Frequently asked questions
Who founded Cairo?
The Fatimids, in 969.
When was Baghdad founded?
In 762, by the Abbasid caliph al-Mansur.