CLEP Western Civ I

Answer: B - Constantinople never fell under Umayyad rule. Muslim forces attempted to take the Byzantine capital twice- in 674 and 717- but they failed both times. However, under the Umayyad Caliphate, the Islamic Empire seized control of several other major cities. In 638 they captured Jerusalem; in 643 they took hold of Alexandria; in 698 they scored Carthage; and in 711 the Muslims invaded nearly all of Spain, including Barcelona. During the Umayyad Caliphate, which lasted from 661 to 750, almost 30% of the world’s people were citizens of the Islamic Empire for at least a brief time. Though the population dipped in subsequent years, the mid-eighth century marked the beginning of a 500-year-period known as the Islamic Golden Age.