Question

questions 13 through 15 refer to the following.
on several occasions, ghazan khan went to the observatory at maragha ** and watched the
muslim, christian, and chinese astronomers make their observations. he looked at all the
operations and instruments, studied them, and asked about their procedures, which he
understood in spite of their difficulty. he also ordered the construction of a dome in order to
investigate the suns motion and he spoke out with his astronomers about it. all of them said
that although they had never seen such an instrument, it was reasonable and sensible.
he gave orders for the construction of an observatory next to his tomb in tabriz in persia. he
explained how to construct the observatory with such clarity that local wise men marveled at
his intelligence, because such work had not been done in any era. those wise men said that
constructing the observatory would be extremely difficult. he guided them, whereupon they
commenced building it and they finished it following his instructions. those wise men and all
the engineers agreed that nobody had done such a thing before nor had imagined doing it.

• ruler of the mongol ilkhanate, whose territories included most of the muslim middle east,

reigned 1295-1304
**an astronomical observatory in present-day azerbaijan, established by a grant from the first
ilkhanid ruler in the mid-thirteenth century
rashid al-din hamdani, persian muslim historian and government minister in ghazan khans
court, excerpt from a universal history commissioned by ghazan khan, completed circa 1316
14 mark for review
which of the following best describes the historical situation in eurasia at the time the
passage was written?
a frequent warfare limited the opportunities for cultural, scientific,
and artistic innovation.
b political upheaval and reorganization increased cultural and
scientific exchanges across regions.
c revived long-distance trade spread pathogens and infections to
regions that had not been previously affected by them.
d the invention and spread of new weapons and military tactics
radically transformed the global balance of power.

Explanation:

The passage describes Ghazan Khan's support for an observatory, which involved collaboration among Muslim, Christian, and Chinese astronomers. This indicates cross - regional scientific exchange. Political upheaval (the Mongol Ilkhanate's rule) and reorganization (Ghazan Khan's governance) likely facilitated such exchanges as rulers might sponsor scientific projects for various reasons (e.g., prestige, practical uses like calendar - making). There is no mention of frequent warfare limiting cultural/scientific opportunities (contradicts the described collaboration), no focus on new weapons/military tactics transforming power balance, and the regions involved (Muslim Middle East, etc.) were already connected in trade (so not reviving long - distance trade in a new way for regions not previously affected).

Answer:

B. Political upheaval and reorganization increased cultural and scientific exchanges across regions.