Khalifat Capitals Trivia Quiz

Answer: Baghdad

The Abbasid Caliphate was one of the greatest civilizations of all time! Because of the Abbasids, Christian Europe gained ideas from the Abbasids' vast body of knowledge and thought. This facilitated the Renaissance in Europe. Baghdad was at the centre of all of this.

It was there that the "House of Wisdom" stood, and practically all knowledge from known world was here. In some ways it was like the Library of Alexandria.

Answer: Damascus

Umayyads were the first Muslim dynasty and conquered all of the Middle East, parts of India, North Africa, and parts of Spain. Their capital, Damascus, was well placed to allow the caliphs to control their vast empire, as it was in the middle of their empire.

Answer: Cordoba

The Abbasid family killed all members of the Umayyad family members except one, who fled to Spain and established his caliphate in Cordoba. This caliphate grew to become one of the greatest of all, and was envied by Christian Europe.

Answer: Cairo

The Fatimids gained power in Egypt and used the old city of Cairo as their capital because it was in the middle of their Caliphate.

Answer: Ardashir-Khwarrah

Alexander the Great sacked Ardashir-Khwarrah and burned it to the ground. After the end of the neo-Persian dynasty or Safavids, the Sassandids rebuilt the capital as Ardashir-Khawarrah.

Answer: Ctesiphon

While the Safavids were in a civil war the Sassanids rose from the chaos and established their capital at Ctesiphon.

Answer: Isfahan

Isfahan was originally called Tabriz from the Timurids. The Safavids renamed their captial after re-taking their land fron the Mongol rule.

Answer: Samarkand

Samarkand is one of the oldest inhabited cities in the world. It has been around since the time of the Persian Empire and was proclaimed the capital of the Timurid Caliphate. While the caliph, Timurlane, conquered more land he brought the best of every trade to his capital making it one of the greatest cities in the world for its time.

Answer: Söğüt

Söğüt was the capital of the Seljuk Turks for a while before a powerful man named Osman I was given land in Antolia by a Seljuk caliph, Alaadaan. But then Osman tricked the man and took over his land, which included Sogut.

Answer: Bursa

Bursa is a long lasting city that served as a stronghold for anyone who holds this city. It became a center of trade and culture while under the Ottoman Turks' control.

Answer: Edirne

Edirne, in the Balkans, was chosen to be the capital of the growing Ottoman Turks. But the city has been controlled by many other civilizations and empires, such as - Rome, Byzantium, the Bulgars, and the Hungarians, and then it was occupied by the Ottomans in 1316 by Mehmed II.

Answer: Istanbul

On 29 May 1453, Sultan Mehmed II "the Conqueror" captured Constantinople after a 53-day siege against the Byzantine capital. This the first time the city was occupied by a Muslim civilization and the first time it was ever captured by opposing forces. Later on the city of Istanbul remained the capital of the Ottomans and flourished in the arts and sciences.

Answer: Cairo

The Ayyuads chose the city of Cairo for two main reasons. Firstly, it housed all of the treasures of the previous Egyptian civilization. Secondly, they chose this location because it was in the centre of their empire and it was on the Nile River.

Answer: Nishapur

Nishapur was a city that the Seljuks needed to have because it controlled the Silk Road in the Middle East. This allowed them to control most of the trade between Asia and Europe.

Answer: Tunis

Tunis was of great importance to the Hafsid Caliphate because it was coastal city so it allowed trade along the seas. It also was on the trade network in North Africa and a major destination for merchants, and that is how they became one of the most wealthy caliphates for their size.

Answer: Delhi

The Mughal Empire extended over northern India for more than three centuries and enforced Islam upon its subjects. The city of Delhi became one of the wealthiest cities in the world and the leading city in India.

Answer: Köneürgenç

Köneürgenç was a centre of culture for the Khwarezmain dynasty. The only reason that the powerful city fell was because their caliph decided to insult the trading caravan from the Mongols twice. AS result of this the Mongols destroyed the city and the dynasty.

Answer: Medina

Under the first four Caliphs, known as the Rashidun (Rightly Guided Caliphs), the Islamic empire expanded rapidly and came to include historic centres of civilisation such as Jerusalem and Damascus, and Mesopotamia. After the death of Ali, the fourth caliph, the seat of the Caliph was first transferred to Damascus and later to Baghdad. Medina's importance dwindled and it became more a place of religious importance than of political power.

After the fragmentation of the Caliphate the city became subject to various rulers, including the Mamluks in the 13th century and finally, since 1517, the Ottoman Turks.

This is the origin of the caliphate but the caliphs chose the city of Medina because of its religious importance.

Answer: Kufa

After Umar ibn Khattāb became the second caliph of the Rashidun in 634 he defeated the Roman-Byzantine Empire at Battle of Yarmouk in 636, and then Kufa was founded. Is was proclaimed the capital because it and the area around it was filled with large amounts of gold.

Answer: Ghazni

The city of Ghazi was a thriving market town which, surprisingly, was a largely Buddhist area because of the trade that went through that area. After it was proclaimed the capital of the Ghaznavids it was converted to Islam and was a very rich and prosperous. But it was destroyed by the Mongols after the Ghaznavid Caliph dishonored Chinghis Khan (Genghis Khan).