Evaluate the extent to which rulers in different regions relied on religion to legitimize their authority in the period circa 1200 to 1450.
Excerpts from historical sources. Cuts are marked with ellipses, and words in brackets were added for clarity.
Document 1
Visual source
Bayon temple, built for the Khmer king Jayavarman VII at the center of his capital city, Angkor Thom, Cambodia, c. 1200.
Photo Dharma (Anandajoti Bhikkhu), Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0Describe the image
Photograph of the stone towers of the Bayon, a Buddhist temple that stands at the center of the walled royal city of Angkor Thom. Several tall towers rise in tiers above the temple. Carved into the sides of the towers are enormous human faces, each taller than a person, with calm expressions, half-closed eyes, and slight smiles. The faces look outward in different directions. Historians have suggested that the faces represent a Buddhist bodhisattva (a being who has attained enlightenment and helps others toward it), possibly carved with the features of Jayavarman VII himself.
Document 2
William of Rubruck, Flemish Franciscan friar sent by King Louis IX of France to the Mongol court, account of his mission describing the court of the Great Khan Möngke (Mangu), 1255.
Mangu Chan had had a feast, and it is his custom on such days as his diviners tell him are holy, or the Nestorian priests say for some reason are sacred, for him to hold court, and on such days first come the Christian priests with their apparel, and they pray for him and bless his cup. When they have left, the Saracen priests come and do likewise. After them come the priests of idols, doing the same thing. The monk told me that (Mangu) believed only in the Christians but he wanted all to pray for him. But he lied, for he believes in none, . . . and they all follow his court as flies do honey, and he gives to all, and they all believe that they are his favourites, and they all prophesy blessings to him.
[From Mangu Khan's letter to King Louis IX, as recorded by William:] "The commandment of the eternal God is, in Heaven there is only one eternal God, and on Earth there is only one lord, Chingis Chan, the Son of God. . . ."
Document 3
Pope Boniface VIII, papal bull Unam Sanctam, issued during a dispute with King Philip IV of France, 1302.
We are informed by the texts of the gospels that in this Church and in its power are two swords; namely, the spiritual and the temporal. . . . Both, therefore, are in the power of the Church, that is to say, the spiritual and the material sword, but the former is to be administered for the Church but the latter by the Church; the former in the hands of the priest; the latter by the hands of kings and soldiers, but at the will and sufferance of the priest.
However, one sword ought to be subordinated to the other and temporal authority, subjected to spiritual power. . . . For with truth as our witness, it belongs to spiritual power to establish the terrestrial power and to pass judgement if it has not been good. . . . Therefore, if the terrestrial power err, it will be judged by the spiritual power . . . Furthermore, we declare, we proclaim, we define that it is absolutely necessary for salvation that every human creature be subject to the Roman Pontiff.
Document 4
Kebra Nagast (The Glory of the Kings), Ethiopian Christian text tracing the kingdom's ruling dynasty to King Solomon of Israel and the Queen of Sheba (Makeda), compiled c. 1314–1344.
And the Queen said unto her nobles: "Speak ye now, and swear ye by the heavenly Zion that ye will not make women queens or set them upon the throne of the kingdom of Ethiopia, and that no one except the male seed of David, the son of Solomon the King, shall ever reign over Ethiopia, and that ye will never make women queens." . . . And the hearts of the people shone at the sight of Zion, the Tabernacle of the Law of God, and the people of Ethiopia cast aside their idols . . . For God accepted the peoples who had been cast away and rejected Israel, for Zion was taken away from them and she came into the country of Ethiopia. . . .
And Makeda, the Queen of Ethiopia, gave the kingdom to her son David, the son of Solomon, the King of Israel, and she said unto him, "Take [the kingdom]. I have given [it] unto thee. I have made King him whom God hath made King . . ."
Document 5
Ibn Battuta, Moroccan Muslim legal scholar and traveler, account of his visit to the court of Mansa Sulayman, ruler of Mali, 1352–1353.
On certain days the sultan holds audiences in the palace yard, where there is a platform under a tree, with three steps; this they call the pempi. . . . On reaching the pempi he stops and looks round the assembly, then ascends it in the sedate manner of a preacher ascending a mosque-pulpit. . . .
On feast-days . . . the poets come in. . . . I was told that their poetry is a kind of sermonizing in which they say to the sultan: "This pempi which you occupy was that whereon sat this king and that king, and such and such were this one's noble actions and such and such the other's. So do you too do good deeds whose memory will outlive you." . . . I was told that this practice is a very old custom amongst them, prior to the introduction of Islam, and that they have kept it up. . . .
[West Africans] possess some admirable qualities. . . . They are careful to observe the hours of prayer, and assiduous in attending them in congregations, and in bringing up their children to them.
Document 6
Firuz Shah Tughluq, sultan of Delhi, Futuhat-i Firoz Shahi (The Victories of Firuz Shah), an account of his own reign, second half of the fourteenth century.
I encouraged my infidel subjects to embrace the religion of the prophet, and I proclaimed that every one who repeated the creed and became a Musulman should be exempt from the jizya, or poll-tax. Information of this came to the ears of the people at large, and great numbers of Hindus presented themselves, and were admitted to the honour of Islam. . . .
The greatest and best of honours that I obtained through God's mercy was, that by my obedience and piety, and friendliness and submission to the Khalifa, the representative of the holy Prophet, my authority was confirmed; for it is by his sanction that the power of kings is assured, and no king is secure until he has submitted himself to the khalifa, and has received a confirmation from the sacred throne. A diploma was sent to me fully confirming my authority as deputy of the khilafat, and the leader of the faithful was graciously pleased to honour me with the title of "Saiyidu-s Salatin."
Document 7
Joan of Arc, peasant woman from eastern France who led French troops on behalf of Charles VII, letter to the king of England and the English commanders besieging the city of Orléans, 1429.
King of England; and you, Duke of Bedford, who call yourself Regent of the Kingdom of France . . . give satisfaction to the King of Heaven . . . She [the Maid] is come here by the order of God to reclaim the Blood Royal. . . . And do not think in yourselves that you will get possession of the realm of France from God the King of Heaven, Son of the Blessed Mary; for King Charles will gain it, the true heir: for God, the King of Heaven, so wills it, and it is revealed to him [the King] by the Maid, and he will enter Paris with a good company. . . . And believe surely that the King of Heaven will send greater power to the Maid, to her and her good men-at-arms, than you can bring to the attack; and, when it comes to blows, we shall see who has the better right from the God of Heaven.
How it's scored
1 ptThesis or claim. A historically defensible thesis that establishes a line of reasoning, in one or more consecutive sentences in the intro or conclusion.
1 ptContextualization. Describe a broader historical context relevant to the prompt: events, developments, or processes before, during, or after the prompt's time frame.
2 ptsEvidence from the documents. One point for accurately describing the content of three documents. Two points for using the content of at least four documents to support the argument.
1 ptEvidence beyond the documents. Use one specific, relevant piece of historical evidence that appears in none of the documents, and explain how it supports the argument.
1 ptAnalysis and reasoning: sourcing. For at least two documents, explain how or why the point of view, purpose, historical situation, or intended audience is relevant to the argument.
1 ptAnalysis and reasoning: complexity. Demonstrate a complex understanding: explain nuance, consider multiple variables, analyze both similarity and difference, or qualify the argument with evidence that cuts against it.
