CLEP Western Civ I

Answer: A - The Siege of Baghdad in 1258 during the Mongol invasions of the Near East marked the end of the Islamic Golden Age, which lasted 500 years. Just prior to the dawn of the Islamic Golden Age, the Muslim Caliphate reached its zenith, becoming the largest empire (in terms of land area) in world history at the time. (It is the eighth largest empire as of the present day.) Three years later, the Abbasid Caliphate resumed power, but they relocated to Mamluk, Egypt and only claimed authority over religious matters. Around the time that the Mongols took hold of Baghdad, their empire became the new largest empire in world history. (Only the British Empire ever amassed more land area than the Mongols.)