HIST 258 Final, Fall 1995

Time: 2 1/2 hours HISTORY 258A 28 January 1996 FINAL EXAMINATION Write a short, well-organized essay on ANY THREE of the following topics (do not forget to indicate dates and other relevant infor- mation) : 1. The origins, duration, geographical extent and historical significance of Ayyubid rule in Arabia. 2. The Rasulids and the Tahirids of the Yemen and their relations with the Mamluks of Egypt. 3. The rise and decline of Portuguese colonization and trade in Arabia and the Indian Ocean basin between the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, 4. The rise and decline of the Yemeni coffee trade and its sig- nificance in the history of South Arabia. 5. Omani trade and colonization in the Indian Ocean basin under the Ya°rubid and Bu-Sa~id dynasties. 6. The development of the system of British protectorates in Eastern and Southern Arabia, from 1819 (what happened then?) until the First World War. 7. The Wahhabi movement in the Najd and its significance in the history of Arabia.