CLEP Western Civ I

Answer: C - In 717, the Umayyad Caliphate of the Islamic Empire made a second attempt to conquer Constantinople, but they fell to the Byzantine defense, which was aided by the Bulgars. In 680 the First Bulgarian Empire was established when the Bulgars drove the Byzantines out of a section of the Balkans and claimed it as their own. The nature of the relationship between the Bulgars and Byzantines improved then worsened again shortly afterwards, but a 716 peace agreement between the two parties proved paramount. When the Muslims laid siege to the Byzantine capital the following year (717), the Bulgars sent 50,000 troops to help defend Constantinople, which ultimately saved the city. The Bulgar Khan (the head of state), Tervel, was subsequently heralded as the “savior of Europe” for blocking the Muslims’ progress into Europe, while the caliphate was otherwise amassing one of the largest empires in world history. (Note: Several people were ultimately labeled “saviors of Europe” for blocking Muslim progress into the continent. To be fair, none of the people who receive that designation single-handedly kept the Islamic Empire from expanding beyond Spain.)