1. In approx. 200-250 words address the following: what was the status of women in the early centuries of Islam? What people and institutions helped to promote and spread the values of Islam? What is the significance of the hajj to Islamic religion and culture?

2. In approx. 200-250 words address the following: explain how China's view of itself as the Middle Kingdom shaped foreign relations. What was the extent and nature of the influence of China on Korea, Vietnam, and Japan?

3. In approx. 200-250 words address the following: how did the seasonal monsoons affect the trade of the Indian Ocean? To what extent did Indian culture penetrate southeast Asia before the arrival of Muslim traders in the eighth century? When and how did Islam reach southeast Asia? Where did Islam take root?