Question

questions 1 through 3 refer to the following.
when the initial siege failed to take the city, *the ottoman sultan mehmet ii summoned
the cannon - makers and spoke to them about what cannon could be used to demolish the
northern wall of the city, along the bay of the golden horn. they assured him it would be
easy to demolish that wall if they could construct another massive cannon. the sultan
immediately provided them with everything they needed. so they constructed the cannon,
a thing most fearsome to see and altogether unbelievable. with an astounding thunder
and a flame that lit up all the surroundings, the cannon hurled stones that hit the wall with
tremendous force and velocity and immediately knocked it down.
after a long and bitter struggle, the ottomans prevailed and their entire army poured into
the city through the breach in the walls. they robbed and plundered, and the whole city
was despoiled and blackened as if by fire. the sultan then entered the city and saw its
great size, grandeur, and beauty. when he saw what a large number had been killed and
the wholesale ruin and destruction of the city, he was filled with compassion. tears fell
from his eyes as he groaned: what a great city we have given over to plunder and
destruction!
*the byzantine capital constantinople, which was conquered by the ottoman empire in
1453 and renamed istanbul
michael knovolos, byzantine noble, history of mehmet the conqueror, written in the
1460s
1 mark for review
the conduct of the siege as described in the passage could best be used to explain which
of the following processes in the period 1450 - 1750?
a the transmission of new weapons along trade networks
b the use of new weapons by expanding imperial states
c the use of new weapons to establish trading - post empires
d the development of new processes of manufacturing to create
new weapons

Explanation:

The passage describes the use of new weapons (cannon) in the siege of Constantinople. This aligns with the use of new weapons by expanding imperial states. Option A (transmission of new weapons along trade networks) is not supported as there's no mention of trade networks. Option C (use of new weapons to establish trading - post empires) is incorrect as it's about a military siege, not trading - post empires. Option D (development of new manufacturing processes) is not relevant as the focus is on weapon use in warfare, not manufacturing.

Answer:

B. The use of new weapons by expanding imperial states