id int64 0 18.9k | biography stringlengths 151 1.51k | qa listlengths 1 25 |
|---|---|---|
15,977 | The Han-era family was patrilineal and typically had four to five nuclear family members living in one household. Multiple generations of extended family members did not occupy the same house, unlike families of later dynasties. According to Confucian family norms, various family members were treated with different lev... | [
{
"answer": "four to five",
"question": "How many family members would commonly live in a single household during the Han era?"
},
{
"answer": "the father's",
"question": "Whose opinion on the spouse of an arranged marriage was considered to be more important?"
},
{
"answer": "nobles and... |
15,978 | Apart from the passing of noble titles or ranks, inheritance practices did not involve primogeniture; each son received an equal share of the family property. Unlike the practice in later dynasties, the father usually sent his adult married sons away with their portions of the family fortune. Daughters received a porti... | [
{
"answer": "marriage dowries",
"question": "How did daughters get their portion of the family fortune?"
},
{
"answer": "noble",
"question": "What type of title could be passed down?"
},
{
"answer": "a will",
"question": "What type of document could be produced to distribute some of ... |
15,979 | Women were expected to obey the will of their father, then their husband, and then their adult son in old age. However, it is known from contemporary sources that there were many deviations to this rule, especially in regard to mothers over their sons, and empresses who ordered around and openly humiliated their father... | [
{
"answer": "Women",
"question": "Which gender was exempt from performing the yearly corvee labor duties?"
},
{
"answer": "openly humiliated",
"question": "What emotional state would empresses commonly place their immediate family members in?"
},
{
"answer": "income-earning",
"questi... |
15,981 | Some important texts were created and studied by scholars. Philosophical works written by Yang Xiong (53 BC – 18 AD), Huan Tan (43 BC – 28 AD), Wang Chong (27–100 AD), and Wang Fu (78–163 AD) questioned whether human nature was innately good or evil and posed challenges to Dong's universal order. The Records of the Gra... | [
{
"answer": "various gentrymen",
"question": "Who had produced biographies of individuals of significant importance?"
},
{
"answer": "fu",
"question": "What type of poetry had much influence in the Han dynasty?"
},
{
"answer": "Yang Xiong",
"question": "Who had written the dictionary... |
15,982 | Various cases for rape, physical abuse and murder were prosecuted in court. Women, although usually having fewer rights by custom, were allowed to level civil and criminal charges against men. While suspects were jailed, convicted criminals were never imprisoned. Instead, punishments were commonly monetary fines, perio... | [
{
"answer": "mutilation",
"question": "What type of torture was acquired from Qin law?"
},
{
"answer": "progressively less-severe beatings",
"question": "What eventually replaced torturous mutilation as a type of punishment?"
},
{
"answer": "criminals were never imprisoned",
"questio... |
15,983 | The most common staple crops consumed during Han were wheat, barley, foxtail millet, proso millet, rice, and beans. Commonly eaten fruits and vegetables included chestnuts, pears, plums, peaches, melons, apricots, strawberries, red bayberries, jujubes, calabash, bamboo shoots, mustard plant and taro. Domesticated anima... | [
{
"answer": "staple crops",
"question": "What type of crop was rice considered to be during this period?"
},
{
"answer": "pets",
"question": "What were dogs in this era most likely to be considered?"
},
{
"answer": "Chinese bamboo",
"question": "What type of partridge was commonly co... |
15,984 | Families throughout Han China made ritual sacrifices of animals and food to deities, spirits, and ancestors at temples and shrines, in the belief that these items could be utilized by those in the spiritual realm. It was thought that each person had a two-part soul: the spirit-soul (hun 魂) which journeyed to the afterl... | [
{
"answer": "hollow clay tiles",
"question": "What could be used to prevent a door from closing in a place of burial?"
},
{
"answer": "hollow clay tiles",
"question": "What type of decoration was often seen in tombs?"
},
{
"answer": "xian",
"question": "What was the afterlife of the ... |
15,985 | In addition to his many other roles, the emperor acted as the highest priest in the land who made sacrifices to Heaven, the main deities known as the Five Powers, and the spirits (shen 神) of mountains and rivers. It was believed that the three realms of Heaven, Earth, and Mankind were linked by natural cycles of yin an... | [
{
"answer": "the emperor",
"question": "Who made sacrifices to the main deities in this period?"
},
{
"answer": "earthquakes",
"question": "What type of geological event was feared could be caused by the morals of the emperor?"
},
{
"answer": "the Five Powers",
"question": "What is a... |
15,986 | It was believed that immortality could be achieved if one reached the lands of the Queen Mother of the West or Mount Penglai. Han-era Daoists assembled into small groups of hermits who attempted to achieve immortality through breathing exercises, sexual techniques and use of medical elixirs. By the 2nd century AD, Daoi... | [
{
"answer": "achieve immortality",
"question": "What was the purpose of breathing exercises to a Daoist?"
},
{
"answer": "salvation and good health",
"question": "What could the prophet Laozi offer in return for the confession of sins?"
},
{
"answer": "Daoists",
"question": "What typ... |
15,987 | Buddhism first entered China during the Eastern Han and was first mentioned in 65 AD. Liu Ying (d. 71 AD), a half-brother to Emperor Ming of Han (r. 57–75 AD), was one of its earliest Chinese adherents, although Chinese Buddhism at this point was heavily associated with Huang-Lao Daoism. China's first known Buddhist te... | [
{
"answer": "Eastern Han",
"question": "During was era did Buddhism first appear in the region?"
},
{
"answer": "75 AD",
"question": "When did Emperor Ming of Han's reign end?"
},
{
"answer": "Buddhism",
"question": "What philosophical practice did Liu Ying believe in?"
},
{
... |
15,988 | In Han government, the emperor was the supreme judge and lawgiver, the commander-in-chief of the armed forces and sole designator of official nominees appointed to the top posts in central and local administrations; those who earned a 600-dan salary-rank or higher. Theoretically, there were no limits to his power. Howe... | [
{
"answer": "the emperor",
"question": "Who was responsible for nominations of local administrators in the government?"
},
{
"answer": "sometimes did reject the majority opinion",
"question": "Was the emperor able to reject an opinion that was made by the court conference?"
},
{
"answer"... |
15,990 | A commandery consisted of a group of counties, and was headed by an Administrator. He was the top civil and military leader of the commandery and handled defense, lawsuits, seasonal instructions to farmers and recommendations of nominees for office sent annually to the capital in a quota system first established by Emp... | [
{
"answer": "an Administrator",
"question": "What individual was typically in charge of a commandery?"
},
{
"answer": "10,000",
"question": "Around how many households was a Prefect responsible for?"
},
{
"answer": "A Magistrate",
"question": "What individual was responsible for law ... |
15,991 | At the beginning of the Han dynasty, every male commoner aged twenty-three was liable for conscription into the military. The minimum age for the military draft was reduced to twenty after Emperor Zhao's (r. 87–74 BC) reign. Conscripted soldiers underwent one year of training and one year of service as non-professional... | [
{
"answer": "male",
"question": "What gender was expected to be conscripted into the military?"
},
{
"answer": "twenty-three",
"question": "At what age could a male common expect to be conscripted into the military?"
},
{
"answer": "one year",
"question": "How long could a conscripte... |
15,992 | During the Eastern Han, conscription could be avoided if one paid a commutable tax. The Eastern Han court favored the recruitment of a volunteer army. The volunteer army comprised the Southern Army (Nanjun 南軍), while the standing army stationed in and near the capital was the Northern Army (Beijun 北軍). Led by Colonels ... | [
{
"answer": "one paid a commutable tax",
"question": "How could conscription into military service be avoided?"
},
{
"answer": "Northern Army",
"question": "What army was based near the capital?"
},
{
"answer": "Southern Army",
"question": "What army was considered to be the voluntee... |
15,993 | The Han dynasty inherited the ban liang coin type from the Qin. In the beginning of the Han, Emperor Gaozu closed the government mint in favor of private minting of coins. This decision was reversed in 186 BC by his widow Grand Empress Dowager Lü Zhi (d. 180 BC), who abolished private minting. In 182 BC, Lü Zhi issued ... | [
{
"answer": "the Qin",
"question": "Where did the Han dynasty receive their coin type from?"
},
{
"answer": "Emperor Gaozu",
"question": "Who closed the government mint?"
},
{
"answer": "186 BC",
"question": "In what year was the decision reversing the closure of the government mint ... |
15,994 | In 144 BC Emperor Jing abolished private minting in favor of central-government and commandery-level minting; he also introduced a new coin. Emperor Wu introduced another in 120 BC, but a year later he abandoned the ban liangs entirely in favor of the wuzhu (五銖) coin, weighing 3.2 g (0.11 oz). The wuzhu became China's ... | [
{
"answer": "wuzhu",
"question": "What coin replaced the ban liangs after only a year of distribution?"
},
{
"answer": "Emperor Wu",
"question": "Who introduced new coinage in the year of 120 BC?"
},
{
"answer": "Tang dynasty",
"question": "During what dynasty did the wuzhu stop bein... |
15,995 | The small landowner-cultivators formed the majority of the Han tax base; this revenue was threatened during the latter half of Eastern Han when many peasants fell into debt and were forced to work as farming tenants for wealthy landlords. The Han government enacted reforms in order to keep small landowner-cultivators o... | [
{
"answer": "landowner-cultivators",
"question": "Which group made up the bulk of the Han tax base?"
},
{
"answer": "The Han government",
"question": "Who made reductions in the taxes that landowner-cultivators were forced to pay?"
},
{
"answer": "Eastern Han",
"question": "During wh... |
15,996 | In the early Western Han, a wealthy salt or iron industrialist, whether a semi-autonomous king or wealthy merchant, could boast funds that rivaled the imperial treasury and amass a peasant workforce of over a thousand. This kept many peasants away from their farms and denied the government a significant portion of its ... | [
{
"answer": "117 BC",
"question": "In which year did Emperor Wu monopolize several industries?"
},
{
"answer": "Emperor Wu",
"question": "Who allowed industrialists to become officials in the newly state sanctioned industries?"
},
{
"answer": "Eastern Han",
"question": "During what p... |
15,997 | Liquor was another profitable private industry nationalized by the central government in 98 BC. However, this was repealed in 81 BC and a property tax rate of two coins for every 0.2 L (0.05 gallons) was levied for those who traded it privately. By 110 BC Emperor Wu also interfered with the profitable trade in grain wh... | [
{
"answer": "Liquor",
"question": "What industry was monopolized by the government in 98 BC?"
},
{
"answer": "81 BC",
"question": "In what year did the liquor industry once again become privatized?"
},
{
"answer": "price control regulations",
"question": "What was mostly missing duri... |
15,998 | Evidence suggests that blast furnaces, that convert raw iron ore into pig iron, which can be remelted in a cupola furnace to produce cast iron by means of a cold blast and hot blast, were operational in China by the late Spring and Autumn period (722–481 BC). The bloomery was nonexistent in ancient China; however, the ... | [
{
"answer": "blast",
"question": "What type of furnace was functional in China in 722 BC?"
},
{
"answer": "oxygen",
"question": "What element was used in the production of wrought iron?"
},
{
"answer": "wrought",
"question": "What type of iron could pig iron be converted into?"
},
... |
15,999 | The Han-era Chinese used bronze and iron to make a range of weapons, culinary tools, carpenters' tools and domestic wares. A significant product of these improved iron-smelting techniques was the manufacture of new agricultural tools. The three-legged iron seed drill, invented by the 2nd century BC, enabled farmers to ... | [
{
"answer": "The three-legged iron seed drill",
"question": "What was an invention that allowed farmers to place their crops into rows?"
},
{
"answer": "two oxen",
"question": "How many animals were neccessary to pull an iron plow?"
},
{
"answer": "11.3 acres",
"question": "How many ... |
16,000 | To protect crops from wind and drought, the Grain Intendant Zhao Guo (趙過) created the alternating fields system (daitianfa 代田法) during Emperor Wu's reign. This system switched the positions of furrows and ridges between growing seasons. Once experiments with this system yielded successful results, the government offici... | [
{
"answer": "the alternating fields system",
"question": "What helped insure the safety of crops from wind?"
},
{
"answer": "pit field system",
"question": "What was the name of the system that for growing crops that did not require plows?"
},
{
"answer": "rice",
"question": "What we... |
16,001 | Timber was the chief building material during the Han dynasty; it was used to build palace halls, multi-story residential towers and halls and single-story houses. Because wood decays rapidly, the only remaining evidence of Han wooden architecture is a collection of scattered ceramic roof tiles. The oldest surviving wo... | [
{
"answer": "Timber",
"question": "What building material was used primarily during the Han dynasty?"
},
{
"answer": "Tang",
"question": "What dynasty can the oldest wooden buildings in China be dated to?"
},
{
"answer": "907 AD",
"question": "What is considered to be the last year o... |
16,002 | Though Han wooden structures decayed, some Han-dynasty ruins made of brick, stone, and rammed earth remain intact. This includes stone pillar-gates, brick tomb chambers, rammed-earth city walls, rammed-earth and brick beacon towers, rammed-earth sections of the Great Wall, rammed-earth platforms where elevated halls on... | [
{
"answer": "twenty-nine",
"question": "How many stone pillar-gates survive from the Han era?"
},
{
"answer": "stone pillar-gates",
"question": "What architectural feature contained an imitation of a balustrade?"
},
{
"answer": "brick",
"question": "What building material were tomb c... |
16,003 | Evidence of Han-era mechanical engineering comes largely from the choice observational writings of sometimes disinterested Confucian scholars. Professional artisan-engineers (jiang 匠) did not leave behind detailed records of their work. Han scholars, who often had little or no expertise in mechanical engineering, somet... | [
{
"answer": "Confucian",
"question": "What type of scholars have provided proof that mechanical engineering was prominent during the Han period?"
},
{
"answer": "Yang Xiong",
"question": "Which philosopher described the invention of a belt drive?"
},
{
"answer": "Ding Huan",
"questio... |
16,004 | Modern archaeology has led to the discovery of Han artwork portraying inventions which were otherwise absent in Han literary sources. As observed in Han miniature tomb models, but not in literary sources, the crank handle was used to operate the fans of winnowing machines that separated grain from chaff. The odometer c... | [
{
"answer": "Han",
"question": "During which period was the odometer cart first created?"
},
{
"answer": "sliding metal calipers",
"question": "What item was used to make very small measurements during this era?"
},
{
"answer": "artwork",
"question": "What has allowed us to discover ... |
16,005 | The waterwheel appeared in Chinese records during the Han. As mentioned by Huan Tan in about 20 AD, they were used to turn gears that lifted iron trip hammers, and were used in pounding, threshing and polishing grain. However, there is no sufficient evidence for the watermill in China until about the 5th century. The N... | [
{
"answer": "Waterwheels",
"question": "What was used to power chain pumps to raise water to irrigation ditches?"
},
{
"answer": "Nanyang",
"question": "What commandery was the creator of the waterwheel-powered reciprocator from?"
},
{
"answer": "Wang Chong",
"question": "Who was the... |
16,006 | The armillary sphere, a three-dimensional representation of the movements in the celestial sphere, was invented in Han China by the 1st century BC. Using a water clock, waterwheel and a series of gears, the Court Astronomer Zhang Heng (78–139 AD) was able to mechanically rotate his metal-ringed armillary sphere. To add... | [
{
"answer": "Zhang Heng",
"question": "Who was responsible for the invention of the seismometer?"
},
{
"answer": "132 AD",
"question": "In what year was the seismometer first invented?"
},
{
"answer": "eight",
"question": "How many dragons were represented in Zhang Heng's invention o... |
16,007 | Three Han mathematical treatises still exist. These are the Book on Numbers and Computation, the Arithmetical Classic of the Gnomon and the Circular Paths of Heaven and the Nine Chapters on the Mathematical Art. Han-era mathematical achievements include solving problems with right-angle triangles, square roots, cube ro... | [
{
"answer": "mathematical",
"question": "What type of treatise is the Book on Numbers and Computation considered to be?"
},
{
"answer": "Three",
"question": "How many mathematical treatises have still managed to survive to this day?"
},
{
"answer": "Gaussian elimination",
"question":... |
16,008 | One of the Han's greatest mathematical advancements was the world's first use of negative numbers. Negative numbers first appeared in the Nine Chapters on the Mathematical Art as black counting rods, where positive numbers were represented by red counting rods. Negative numbers are used in the Bakhshali manuscript of a... | [
{
"answer": "the Nine Chapters on the Mathematical Art",
"question": "In what treatise did negative numbers first appear?"
},
{
"answer": "as black counting rods",
"question": "How were negative numbers first described during the Han period?"
},
{
"answer": "16th century AD",
"questi... |
16,009 | Han-era astronomers adopted a geocentric model of the universe, theorizing that it was shaped like a sphere surrounding the earth in the center. They assumed that the Sun, Moon, and planets were spherical and not disc-shaped. They also thought that the illumination of the Moon and planets was caused by sunlight, that l... | [
{
"answer": "Han",
"question": "In what era was a geocentric view of the universe adopted?"
},
{
"answer": "Wang Chong",
"question": "Who was able to describe the process of evaporation?"
},
{
"answer": "the Earth",
"question": "What object was assumed to block sunlight during a luna... |
16,010 | Evidence found in Chinese literature, and archaeological evidence, show that cartography existed in China before the Han. Some of the earliest Han maps discovered were ink-penned silk maps found amongst the Mawangdui Silk Texts in a 2nd-century-BC tomb. The general Ma Yuan created the world's first known raised-relief ... | [
{
"answer": "silk",
"question": "What textile were some of the early Han maps made from?"
},
{
"answer": "tomb",
"question": "In what type of building were silken maps found?"
},
{
"answer": "Ma Yuan",
"question": "Which individual created the very first raised relief map?"
},
{
... |
16,011 | The Han-era Chinese sailed in a variety of ships differing from those of previous eras, such as the tower ship. The junk design was developed and realized during Han. Junks featured a square-ended bow and stern, a flat-bottomed hull or carvel-shaped hull with no keel or sternpost, and solid transverse bulkheads in the ... | [
{
"answer": "The junk design",
"question": "What type of boat design was first invented during the Han era?"
},
{
"answer": "high seas",
"question": "In what areas were Han ships able to be sailed in part due to the stern rudder?"
},
{
"answer": "Junks",
"question": "What ship design... |
16,013 | Greek colonies and communities have been historically established on the shores of the Mediterranean Sea and Black Sea, but the Greek people have always been centered around the Aegean and Ionian seas, where the Greek language has been spoken since the Bronze Age. Until the early 20th century, Greeks were distributed b... | [
{
"answer": "Aegean and Ionian seas",
"question": "Which two seas have been most central to Greek history?"
},
{
"answer": "Bronze",
"question": "During which prehistoric age was the Greek language invented?"
},
{
"answer": "Constantinople",
"question": "Which city in modern Turkey w... |
16,014 | The evolution of Proto-Greek should be considered within the context of an early Paleo-Balkan sprachbund that makes it difficult to delineate exact boundaries between individual languages. The characteristically Greek representation of word-initial laryngeals by prothetic vowels is shared, for one, by the Armenian lang... | [
{
"answer": "Paleo-Balkan sprachbund that makes it difficult to delineate exact boundaries between individual languages.",
"question": "What progression coincided with the the early Greek states that makes it difficult to give credit for the language and differences ? "
},
{
"answer": "The character... |
16,015 | Around 1200 BC, the Dorians, another Greek-speaking people, followed from Epirus. Traditionally, historians have believed that the Dorian invasion caused the collapse of the Mycenaean civilization, but it is likely the main attack was made by seafaring raiders (sea peoples) who sailed into the eastern Mediterranean aro... | [
{
"answer": "the Dorians",
"question": "What group of people came with others who left the geographical and historical region in southeastern Europe, now a mutual region between Greece and Albania ?"
},
{
"answer": "Around 1200 BC",
"question": "When did these groups make the migration ?"
},
... |
16,016 | The Greeks of classical antiquity idealized their Mycenaean ancestors and the Mycenaean period as a glorious era of heroes, closeness of the gods and material wealth. The Homeric Epics (i.e. Iliad and Odyssey) were especially and generally accepted as part of the Greek past and it was not until the 19th century that sc... | [
{
"answer": "Greeks of classical antiquity idealized their Mycenaean ancestors",
"question": "How did the Greeks look upon their forebears ?"
},
{
"answer": "Mycenaean period as a glorious era of heroes, closeness of the gods and material wealth",
"question": "How did they believe their forebear... |
16,017 | The ethnogenesis of the Greek nation is linked to the development of Pan-Hellenism in the 8th century BC. According to some scholars, the foundational event was the Olympic Games in 776 BC, when the idea of a common Hellenism among the Greek tribes was first translated into a shared cultural experience and Hellenism wa... | [
{
"answer": "The ethnogenesis of the Greek nation is linked to the development of Pan-Hellenism",
"question": "What event is believed to be the ethnic basis of the Greeks society?"
},
{
"answer": "development of Pan-Hellenism in the 8th century BC.",
"question": "When did this event occur ?"
}... |
16,018 | The classical period of Greek civilization covers a time spanning from the early 5th century BC to the death of Alexander the Great, in 323 BC (some authors prefer to split this period into 'Classical', from the end of the Persian wars to the end of the Peloponnesian War, and 'Fourth Century', up to the death of Alexan... | [
{
"answer": "classical period of Greek civilization covers a time spanning from the early 5th century BC to the death of Alexander the Great, in 323 BC",
"question": "The time span that is counted as the classical for the Greeks is from eras ?"
},
{
"answer": "It is so named because it set the stand... |
16,019 | In any case, Alexander's toppling of the Achaemenid Empire, after his victories at the battles of the Granicus, Issus and Gaugamela, and his advance as far as modern-day Pakistan and Tajikistan, provided an important outlet for Greek culture, via the creation of colonies and trade routes along the way. While the Alexan... | [
{
"answer": "Alexander",
"question": "What Macedonian ruler helped to advance Greek beliefs and ways of life ?"
},
{
"answer": "provided an important outlet for Greek culture, via the creation of colonies and trade routes along the way",
"question": "How was this achievement of advancing culture... |
16,020 | This age saw the Greeks move towards larger cities and a reduction in the importance of the city-state. These larger cities were parts of the still larger Kingdoms of the Diadochi. Greeks, however, remained aware of their past, chiefly through the study of the works of Homer and the classical authors. An important fact... | [
{
"answer": "the Greeks move towards larger cities and a reduction in the importance of the city-state.",
"question": "With the secession away from the smaller communities in the Grecian world, what living situation became of great importance ?"
},
{
"answer": "larger cities were parts of the still ... |
16,021 | In the religious sphere, this was a period of profound change. The spiritual revolution that took place, saw a waning of the old Greek religion, whose decline beginning in the 3rd century BC continued with the introduction of new religious movements from the East. The cults of deities like Isis and Mithra were introduc... | [
{
"answer": "decline beginning in the 3rd century BC",
"question": "When did the religions of the past begin to dissipate ?"
},
{
"answer": "with the introduction of new religious movements from the East.",
"question": "What encouraged the change of faith ?"
},
{
"answer": "The cults of ... |
16,022 | Of the new eastern religions introduced into the Greek world, the most successful was Christianity. From the early centuries of the Common Era, the Greeks identified as Romaioi ("Romans"), by that time the name ‘Hellenes’ denoted pagans. While ethnic distinctions still existed in the Roman Empire, they became secondary... | [
{
"answer": "the Greeks identified as Romaioi (\"Romans\")",
"question": "What alternative name were the Greeks known by ?"
},
{
"answer": "the name ‘Hellenes’ denoted pagans",
"question": "What did the label of Hellenes come to stand for during the Common Era of Greece ?"
},
{
"answer"... |
16,023 | The Eastern Roman Empire – today conventionally named the Byzantine Empire, a name not in use during its own time – became increasingly influenced by Greek culture after the 7th century, when Emperor Heraclius (AD 575 - 641) decided to make Greek the empire's official language. Certainly from then on, but likely earlie... | [
{
"answer": "influenced by Greek culture after the 7th century,",
"question": "When did the Byzantine Kingdom come under the impact of the Greeks. "
},
{
"answer": "Emperor Heraclius (AD 575 - 641)",
"question": "Who ruled Rome during this time period ?"
},
{
"answer": "decided to make G... |
16,027 | The roots of Greek success in the Ottoman Empire can be traced to the Greek tradition of education and commerce. It was the wealth of the extensive merchant class that provided the material basis for the intellectual revival that was the prominent feature of Greek life in the half century and more leading to the outbre... | [
{
"answer": "the Greek tradition of education and commerce",
"question": "What did the Greeks offer to the Ottoman Empire that was a superb benefit ? "
},
{
"answer": "the wealth of the extensive merchant class",
"question": "Who held much of the wealth in the Greek society ?"
},
{
"answ... |
16,028 | The relationship between ethnic Greek identity and Greek Orthodox religion continued after the creation of the Modern Greek state in 1830. According to the second article of the first Greek constitution of 1822, a Greek was defined as any Christian resident of the Kingdom of Greece, a clause removed by 1840. A century ... | [
{
"answer": "creation of the Modern Greek state in 1830",
"question": "When was the Greece that we know today officially formed ?"
},
{
"answer": "clause removed by 1840",
"question": "Is this identifying factor for official citizens of Greece still in effect today ?"
},
{
"answer": "a G... |
16,029 | The terms used to define Greekness have varied throughout history but were never limited or completely identified with membership to a Greek state. By Western standards, the term Greeks has traditionally referred to any native speakers of the Greek language, whether Mycenaean, Byzantine or modern Greek. Byzantine Greek... | [
{
"answer": "Western standards, the term Greeks has traditionally referred to any native speakers of the Greek language, whether Mycenaean, Byzantine or modern Greek.",
"question": "What do Westerners believe it means to belong to the Greek heritage ? "
},
{
"answer": "considered themselves the poli... |
16,030 | Before the establishment of the Modern Greek state, the link between ancient and modern Greeks was emphasized by the scholars of Greek Enlightenment especially by Rigas Feraios. In his "Political Constitution", he addresses to the nation as "the people descendant of the Greeks". The modern Greek state was created in 18... | [
{
"answer": "Greek Enlightenment",
"question": "From what era is the Rigas Feraios believed to be a part of ?"
},
{
"answer": "The modern Greek state was created in 1829,",
"question": "When was the Greek state of modern times birthed into exsistence ? "
},
{
"answer": "the Greeks libera... |
16,036 | Today, Greeks are the majority ethnic group in the Hellenic Republic, where they constitute 93% of the country's population, and the Republic of Cyprus where they make up 78% of the island's population (excluding Turkish settlers in the occupied part of the country). Greek populations have not traditionally exhibited h... | [
{
"answer": "Greeks are the majority ethnic group in the Hellenic Republic, where they constitute 93% of the country's population",
"question": "In the Rupublic of Hellenic who is the ethnic majority and what percentage of the populace do they represent ?"
},
{
"answer": "Republic of Cyprus where th... |
16,037 | Greeks from Cyprus have a similar history of emigration, usually to the English-speaking world because of the island's colonization by the British Empire. Waves of emigration followed the Turkish invasion of Cyprus in 1974, while the population decreased between mid-1974 and 1977 as a result of emigration, war losses, ... | [
{
"answer": "British Empire",
"question": "Which colonial enterprise for land was the Greek Isles a part of "
},
{
"answer": "Turkish",
"question": "Who was living on with the Greeks in Cyprus s 1974 ?"
},
{
"answer": "Turkish invasion of Cyprus",
"question": "Whee these new inhabita... |
16,038 | There is a sizeable Greek minority of about 105,000 (disputed, sources claim higher) people, in Albania. The Greek minority of Turkey, which numbered upwards of 200,000 people after the 1923 exchange, has now dwindled to a few thousand, after the 1955 Constantinople Pogrom and other state sponsored violence and discrim... | [
{
"answer": "105,000 (disputed, sources claim higher) people, in Albania. The Greek minority of Turkey",
"question": "What other countries boast of a Greek populace ?"
},
{
"answer": "1955 Constantinople Pogrom and other state sponsored violence and discrimination.",
"question": "What acts have ... |
16,039 | The total number of Greeks living outside Greece and Cyprus today is a contentious issue. Where Census figures are available, they show around 3 million Greeks outside Greece and Cyprus. Estimates provided by the SAE - World Council of Hellenes Abroad put the figure at around 7 million worldwide. According to George Pr... | [
{
"answer": "total number of Greeks living outside Greece and Cyprus today is a contentious issue",
"question": "How many people that are of Greek ascendancy live elsewhere than Greece ?"
},
{
"answer": "World Council of Hellenes Abroad",
"question": "Who provided the contradictory population n... |
16,040 | In ancient times, the trading and colonizing activities of the Greek tribes and city states spread the Greek culture, religion and language around the Mediterranean and Black Sea basins, especially in Sicily and southern Italy (also known as Magna Grecia), Spain, the south of France and the Black sea coasts. Under Alex... | [
{
"answer": "the trading and colonizing activities of the Greek tribes and city states spread the Greek culture, religion and language",
"question": "What helped to advance the Greek way of life beyond its boarders ?"
},
{
"answer": "Sicily and southern Italy (also known as Magna Grecia), Spain, the... |
16,041 | During and after the Greek War of Independence, Greeks of the diaspora were important in establishing the fledgling state, raising funds and awareness abroad. Greek merchant families already had contacts in other countries and during the disturbances many set up home around the Mediterranean (notably Marseilles in Fran... | [
{
"answer": "Greek War of Independence, Greeks of the diaspora were important in establishing the fledgling state",
"question": "After freedom was won by the Greeks who was of import to forming the rules ?"
},
{
"answer": "important in establishing the fledgling state, raising funds and awareness a... |
16,042 | Greek culture has evolved over thousands of years, with its beginning in the Mycenaean civilization, continuing through the Classical period, the Roman and Eastern Roman periods and was profoundly affected by Christianity, which it in turn influenced and shaped. Ottoman Greeks had to endure through several centuries of... | [
{
"answer": "beginning in the Mycenaean civilization",
"question": "What is considered the start of the Grecian cultural world ?"
},
{
"answer": "the Roman and Eastern Roman periods and was profoundly affected by Christianity",
"question": "Which devotion of time was heavily influenced by the re... |
16,043 | Greek demonstrates several linguistic features that are shared with other Balkan languages, such as Albanian, Bulgarian and Eastern Romance languages (see Balkan sprachbund), and has absorbed many foreign words, primarily of Western European and Turkish origin. Because of the movements of Philhellenism and the Diafotis... | [
{
"answer": "other Balkan languages, such as Albanian, Bulgarian and Eastern Romance languages (see Balkan sprachbund),",
"question": "What other dialects share a thread with the Greek language. "
},
{
"answer": "the movements of Philhellenism and the Diafotismos in the 19th century",
"question"... |
16,044 | Modern Greek has, in addition to Standard Modern Greek or Dimotiki, a wide variety of dialects of varying levels of mutual intelligibility, including Cypriot, Pontic, Cappadocian, Griko and Tsakonian (the only surviving representative of ancient Doric Greek). Yevanic is the language of the Romaniotes, and survives in s... | [
{
"answer": "Modern Greek has, in addition to Standard Modern Greek or Dimotiki, a wide variety of dialects",
"question": "What is different about the use of Greek language today as opposed to the language of the past ?"
},
{
"answer": "wide variety of dialects of varying levels of mutual intelligib... |
16,045 | Most Greeks are Christians, belonging to the Greek Orthodox Church. During the first centuries after Jesus Christ, the New Testament was originally written in Koine Greek, which remains the liturgical language of the Greek Orthodox Church, and most of the early Christians and Church Fathers were Greek-speaking. There a... | [
{
"answer": "Christians",
"question": "What is the religion of the Greek majority ?"
},
{
"answer": "belonging to the Greek Orthodox Church",
"question": "What denominational variance do they adhere to for the most part ?"
},
{
"answer": "the New Testament was originally written in Koine... |
16,046 | Greek art has a long and varied history. Greeks have contributed to the visual, literary and performing arts. In the West, ancient Greek art was influential in shaping the Roman and later the modern western artistic heritage. Following the Renaissance in Europe, the humanist aesthetic and the high technical standards o... | [
{
"answer": "visual, literary and performing arts.",
"question": "What input did the Greeks have on artistry of the world ?"
},
{
"answer": "the Renaissance in Europe",
"question": "What period in Europe was full of an appreciation for earlier cultures ?"
},
{
"answer": "the humanist aes... |
16,047 | Notable modern Greek artists include Renaissance painter Dominikos Theotokopoulos (El Greco), Panagiotis Doxaras, Nikolaos Gyzis, Nikiphoros Lytras, Yannis Tsarouchis, Nikos Engonopoulos, Constantine Andreou, Jannis Kounellis, sculptors such as Leonidas Drosis, Georgios Bonanos, Yannoulis Chalepas and Joannis Avramidis... | [
{
"answer": "Greek artists include Renaissance painter Dominikos Theotokopoulos (El Greco), Panagiotis Do",
"question": "Who was one of the old masters from the Greeks ?"
},
{
"answer": "soprano Maria Callas",
"question": "Who sang in a voice that is in the high octave range from the Modern Gree... |
16,048 | The Greeks of the Classical era made several notable contributions to science and helped lay the foundations of several western scientific traditions, like philosophy, historiography and mathematics. The scholarly tradition of the Greek academies was maintained during Roman times with several academic institutions in C... | [
{
"answer": "science and helped lay the foundations of several western scientific traditions, like philosophy, historiography and mathematics",
"question": "What contribution to the scientific community have the Greeks left the world ?"
},
{
"answer": "scholarly tradition of the Greek academies was ... |
16,049 | As of 2007, Greece had the eighth highest percentage of tertiary enrollment in the world (with the percentages for female students being higher than for male) while Greeks of the Diaspora are equally active in the field of education. Hundreds of thousands of Greek students attend western universities every year while t... | [
{
"answer": "the percentages for female students being higher than for male",
"question": "According to recent research who is enrolled in the Universities in Greece in higher number men or women ?"
},
{
"answer": "Hundreds of thousands of Greek students attend western universities every year",
... |
16,050 | The most widely used symbol is the flag of Greece, which features nine equal horizontal stripes of blue alternating with white representing the nine syllables of the Greek national motto Eleftheria i thanatos (freedom or death), which was the motto of the Greek War of Independence. The blue square in the upper hoist-si... | [
{
"answer": "flag of Greece, which features nine equal horizontal stripes of blue alternating with white",
"question": "What are the representations of the Greek reference freedom or death that are held on a cloth symbol of the nation ?"
},
{
"answer": "motto of the Greek War of Independence",
"... |
16,051 | Greek surnames were widely in use by the 9th century supplanting the ancient tradition of using the father’s name, however Greek surnames are most commonly patronymics. Commonly, Greek male surnames end in -s, which is the common ending for Greek masculine proper nouns in the nominative case. Exceptionally, some end in... | [
{
"answer": "Greek surnames are most commonly patronymics",
"question": "What names are used that are typically from a father and have usually added a suffix or prefix ?"
},
{
"answer": "Greek male surnames end in -s, which is the common ending",
"question": "What letter of the alphabet do most... |
16,052 | The traditional Greek homelands have been the Greek peninsula and the Aegean Sea, the Southern Italy (Magna Graecia), the Black Sea, the Ionian coasts of Asia Minor and the islands of Cyprus and Sicily. In Plato's Phaidon, Socrates remarks, "we (Greeks) live around a sea like frogs around a pond" when describing to his... | [
{
"answer": "Greek peninsula and the Aegean Sea, the Southern Italy (Magna Graecia), the Black Sea, the Ionian coasts of Asia Minor and the islands of Cyprus and Sicily",
"question": "What are considered to be the motherland of the Greeks ?"
},
{
"answer": "Plato's Phaidon, Socrates remarks, \"we (G... |
16,053 | Notable Greek seafarers include people such as Pytheas of Marseilles, Scylax of Caryanda who sailed to Iberia and beyond, Nearchus, the 6th century merchant and later monk Cosmas Indicopleustes (Cosmas who sailed to India) and the explorer of the Northwestern passage Juan de Fuca. In later times, the Romioi plied the s... | [
{
"answer": "the explorer of the Northwestern passage Juan de Fuca",
"question": "What else is this particular captain known for doing ? "
},
{
"answer": "Cosmas Indicopleustes (Cosmas who sailed to India)",
"question": "Who was the well known sea vessel captain of the Greeks who sailed to Asia ... |
16,054 | The Greek shipping tradition recovered during Ottoman rule when a substantial merchant middle class developed, which played an important part in the Greek War of Independence. Today, Greek shipping continues to prosper to the extent that Greece has the largest merchant fleet in the world, while many more ships under Gr... | [
{
"answer": "Greek shipping tradition recovered during Ottoman rule when a substantial merchant middle class developed",
"question": "What was brought about by the Ottomans that caused and uplift in the classes of Greek society ?"
},
{
"answer": "Greek shipping continues to prosper to the extent tha... |
16,055 | Another study from 2012 included 150 dental school students from University of Athens, the result showed that light hair colour (blonde/light ash brown) was predominant in 10.7% of the students. 36% had medium hair colour (Light brown/Medium darkest brown). 32% had darkest brown and 21% black (15.3 off black, 6% midnig... | [
{
"answer": "conclusion the hair colour of young Greeks are mostly brown, ranging from light to dark brown",
"question": "What dominant hair color is to believed to be prevalent among Greeks "
},
{
"answer": "significant minorities having black and blonde hair",
"question": "Which colors lay out... |
16,056 | The history of the Greek people is closely associated with the history of Greece, Cyprus, Constantinople, Asia Minor and the Black Sea. During the Ottoman rule of Greece, a number of Greek enclaves around the Mediterranean were cut off from the core, notably in Southern Italy, the Caucasus, Syria and Egypt. By the earl... | [
{
"answer": "Asia Minor (now Turkey)",
"question": "What location did many of the Greek people decide to live in other than Greece after the 19th century ?"
},
{
"answer": "Ottoman rule of Greece",
"question": "During what period of domination were many Greeks unable to interact with it's centra... |
16,057 | Muslims believe the Quran was verbally revealed by God to Muhammad through the angel Gabriel (Jibril), gradually over a period of approximately 23 years, beginning on 22 December 609 CE, when Muhammad was 40, and concluding in 632, the year of his death. Muslims regard the Quran as the most important miracle of Muhamma... | [
{
"answer": "Gabriel",
"question": "Which angel is believed to have communicated the Quran to Muhammad?"
},
{
"answer": "22 December 609 CE",
"question": "On which date did Muhammad begin receiving the Quran?"
},
{
"answer": "632",
"question": "In which year CE did Muhammad die?"
}... |
16,058 | According to the traditional narrative, several companions of Muhammad served as scribes and were responsible for writing down the revelations. Shortly after Muhammad's death, the Quran was compiled by his companions who wrote down and memorized parts of it. These codices had differences that motivated the Caliph Uthma... | [
{
"answer": "companions of Muhammad",
"question": "Who first recorded Muhammad revelations?"
},
{
"answer": "Caliph Uthman",
"question": "Who first standardized the earliest versions of the Quran?"
},
{
"answer": "Uthman's codex",
"question": "By what name is the first standardized v... |
16,059 | The Quran assumes familiarity with major narratives recounted in the Biblical scriptures. It summarizes some, dwells at length on others and, in some cases, presents alternative accounts and interpretations of events. The Quran describes itself as a book of guidance. It sometimes offers detailed accounts of specific hi... | [
{
"answer": "Arabic",
"question": "In which language is the Quran spoken during prayer?"
},
{
"answer": "sharia",
"question": "The Quran is used in the interpretation of which form of law?"
},
{
"answer": "Biblical scriptures",
"question": "What accounts are form the basis of much of... |
16,060 | The word qurʼān appears about 70 times in the Quran itself, assuming various meanings. It is a verbal noun (maṣdar) of the Arabic verb qaraʼa (قرأ), meaning "he read" or "he recited". The Syriac equivalent is (ܩܪܝܢܐ) qeryānā, which refers to "scripture reading" or "lesson". While some Western scholars consider the word... | [
{
"answer": "qaraʼa",
"question": "From which Arabic verb might \"Quran\" be derived?"
},
{
"answer": "qeryānā",
"question": "What Syriac word might be related to \"Quran\"?"
},
{
"answer": "reciting",
"question": "The words from which the name \"Quran\" might be described are relate... |
16,061 | The term also has closely related synonyms that are employed throughout the Quran. Each synonym possesses its own distinct meaning, but its use may converge with that of qurʼān in certain contexts. Such terms include kitāb (book); āyah (sign); and sūrah (scripture). The latter two terms also denote units of revelation.... | [
{
"answer": "kitāb",
"question": "Which term used in the Quran to indicate itself means \"book\"?"
},
{
"answer": "sūrah",
"question": "Which term does the Quran use to refer to itself as \"scripture\"?"
},
{
"answer": "wisdom",
"question": "What meaning does the Quran take when it c... |
16,062 | The Quran describes itself as "the discernment" (al-furqān), "the mother book" (umm al-kitāb), "the guide" (huda), "the wisdom" (hikmah), "the remembrance" (dhikr) and "the revelation" (tanzīl; something sent down, signifying the descent of an object from a higher place to lower place). Another term is al-kitāb (The Bo... | [
{
"answer": "umm al-kitāb",
"question": "Which term meaning \"the mother book\" does the Quran apply to itself?"
},
{
"answer": "mus'haf",
"question": "What term is used in the Quran to indicate previous revelations?"
},
{
"answer": "al-kitāb",
"question": "What is the Arabic term co... |
16,063 | Islamic tradition relates that Muhammad received his first revelation in the Cave of Hira during one of his isolated retreats to the mountains. Thereafter, he received revelations over a period of 23 years. According to hadith and Muslim history, after Muhammad immigrated to Medina and formed an independent Muslim comm... | [
{
"answer": "Cave of Hira",
"question": "In which mountain cave did Mohammad experience his first revelation?"
},
{
"answer": "Medina",
"question": "Where did Mohammad move to found a separate Muslim community?"
},
{
"answer": "Badr",
"question": "Prisoners from which battle are thou... |
16,064 | The Quran describes Muhammad as "ummi", which is traditionally interpreted as "illiterate," but the meaning is rather more complex. Medieval commentators such as Al-Tabari maintained that the term induced two meanings: first, the inability to read or write in general; second, the inexperience or ignorance of the previo... | [
{
"answer": "illiterate",
"question": "What is the most common interpretation of the word \"ummi\" that the Quran applies to Muhammad?"
},
{
"answer": "earlier sacred texts",
"question": "Because Mohammed was \"ummi,\" what would he not have known about that lent credence to his prophethood?"
... |
16,066 | In 1972, in a mosque in the city of Sana'a, Yemen, manuscripts were discovered that were later proved to be the most ancient Quranic text known to exist at the time. The Sana'a manuscripts contain palimpsests, a manuscript page from which the text has been washed off to make the parchment reusable again—a practice whic... | [
{
"answer": "palimpsests",
"question": "What is the term for recycled parchments used in ancient manuscripts?"
},
{
"answer": "671 AD",
"question": "Before which year were the Sana'a manuscripts produced?"
},
{
"answer": "Uthmanic",
"question": "What version of the Quran was the scri... |
16,067 | In 2015, fragments of a very early Quran, dating back to 1370 years ago, were discovered in the library of the University of Birmingham, England. According to the tests carried out by Oxford University Radiocarbon Accelerator Unit, "with a probability of more than 95%, the parchment was from between 568 and 645". The m... | [
{
"answer": "Hijazi",
"question": "What script were the Birmingham Quran fragments written in?"
},
{
"answer": "Arabic",
"question": "Which modern script descends from the script on the Birmingham Quran fragments?"
},
{
"answer": "dots and chapter separators",
"question": "What featu... |
16,068 | Respect for the written text of the Quran is an important element of religious faith by many Muslims, and the Quran is treated with reverence. Based on tradition and a literal interpretation of Quran 56:79 ("none shall touch but those who are clean"), some Muslims believe that they must perform a ritual cleansing with ... | [
{
"answer": "56:79",
"question": "Which section of the Quran inspires some Muslims to ritually wash themselves before touching their copy?"
},
{
"answer": "buried or scattered over water",
"question": "What is done with the ashes of burned copies of the Quran?"
},
{
"answer": "Worn-out",... |
16,070 | The Quran consists of 114 chapters of varying lengths, each known as a sura. Suras are classified as Meccan or Medinan, depending on whether the verses were revealed before or after the migration of Muhammad to the city of Medina. However, a sura classified as Medinan may contain Meccan verses in it and vice versa. Sur... | [
{
"answer": "sura",
"question": "What is a chapter of the Quran called?"
},
{
"answer": "114",
"question": "How many suras are in the Quran?"
},
{
"answer": "Meccan or Medinan",
"question": "What two city-related categories divide the Quran's suras?"
},
{
"answer": "Bismillah... |
16,071 | In addition to and independent of the division into suras, there are various ways of dividing the Quran into parts of approximately equal length for convenience in reading. The 30 juz' (plural ajzāʼ) can be used to read through the entire Quran in a month. Some of these parts are known by names—which are the first few ... | [
{
"answer": "juz'",
"question": "What division of the Quran is used for a month-long reading?"
},
{
"answer": "30",
"question": "How many ajzā cover the entire Quran?"
},
{
"answer": "two",
"question": "How many ahzab are in a juz'?"
},
{
"answer": "rubʻ al-ahzab",
"quest... |
16,072 | The Quranic content is concerned with basic Islamic beliefs including the existence of God and the resurrection. Narratives of the early prophets, ethical and legal subjects, historical events of Muhammad's time, charity and prayer also appear in the Quran. The Quranic verses contain general exhortations regarding righ... | [
{
"answer": "natural",
"question": "Quranic verses concerning which phenomena are thought by Muslims to authenticate its contents?"
},
{
"answer": "historical",
"question": "What types of events are related in the Quran in support of its moral teachings?"
},
{
"answer": "Muhammad's",
... |
16,073 | The doctrine of the last day and eschatology (the final fate of the universe) may be reckoned as the second great doctrine of the Quran. It is estimated that approximately one-third of the Quran is eschatological, dealing with the afterlife in the next world and with the day of judgment at the end of time. There is a r... | [
{
"answer": "one-third",
"question": "What fraction of the Quran deals with eschatology?"
},
{
"answer": "the final fate of the universe",
"question": "What general topic is eschatology about?"
},
{
"answer": "earthquake",
"question": "Which natural disaster features in Sura 22?"
}... |
16,074 | According to the Quran, God communicated with man and made his will known through signs and revelations. Prophets, or 'Messengers of God', received revelations and delivered them to humanity. The message has been identical and for all humankind. "Nothing is said to you that was not said to the messengers before you, th... | [
{
"answer": "signs and revelations",
"question": "In what form does the Quran say God sends his messages to people?"
},
{
"answer": "Angels",
"question": "Who intermediates between God and prophets?"
},
{
"answer": "42:51",
"question": "Which part of the Quran describes God's use of ... |
16,077 | It's generally accepted that there are around 750 verses in the Quran dealing with natural phenomenon. In many of these verses the study of nature is "encouraged and highly recommended," and historical Islamic scientists like Al-Biruni and Al-Battani derived their inspiration from verses of the Quran. Mohammad Hashim K... | [
{
"answer": "750",
"question": "Nature and its phenomena are mentioned in approximately how many of the Quran's verses?"
},
{
"answer": "Quran",
"question": "Al-Battani is an example of a Muslim scientist who drew inspiration from which text?"
},
{
"answer": "Mohammad Hashim Kamali",
... |
16,078 | The physicist Abdus Salam, in his Nobel Prize banquet address, quoted a well known verse from the Quran (67:3-4) and then stated: "This in effect is the faith of all physicists: the deeper we seek, the more is our wonder excited, the more is the dazzlement of our gaze". One of Salam's core beliefs was that there is no ... | [
{
"answer": "Abdus Salam",
"question": "Which physicist quoted the Quran in his address after receiving the Nobel Prize?"
},
{
"answer": "67:3-4",
"question": "Which verse from the Quran did Abdus Salam quote at his Nobel banquet?"
},
{
"answer": "Ibn al-Haytham and Al-Biruni",
"ques... |
16,079 | The language of the Quran has been described as "rhymed prose" as it partakes of both poetry and prose; however, this description runs the risk of failing to convey the rhythmic quality of Quranic language, which is more poetic in some parts and more prose-like in others. Rhyme, while found throughout the Quran, is con... | [
{
"answer": "rhymed prose",
"question": "What description of the writing in the Quran highlights its poetic aspect?"
},
{
"answer": "earlier Meccan suras",
"question": "Which suras in the Quran are particularly rhythmic?"
},
{
"answer": "subject of discussion",
"question": "What ofte... |
16,080 | The Quranic text seems to have no beginning, middle, or end, its nonlinear structure being akin to a web or net. The textual arrangement is sometimes considered to exhibit lack of continuity, absence of any chronological or thematic order and repetitiousness. Michael Sells, citing the work of the critic Norman O. Brown... | [
{
"answer": "continuity",
"question": "What is lacking in the arrangement of the Quranic text?"
},
{
"answer": "Norman O. Brown",
"question": "To which critic does Michael Sells refer on the subject of the Quran's disorganization?"
},
{
"answer": "a literary device",
"question": "How... |
16,081 | A text is self-referential when it speaks about itself and makes reference to itself. According to Stefan Wild, the Quran demonstrates this metatextuality by explaining, classifying, interpreting and justifying the words to be transmitted. Self-referentiality is evident in those passages where the Quran refers to itsel... | [
{
"answer": "Self-referentiality",
"question": "What metatextual character does Stefan Wild focus on in his discussion of the Quran?"
},
{
"answer": "Divinity",
"question": "What quality does the Quran claim in the different ways in which it refers to itself?"
},
{
"answer": "naba'",
... |
16,082 | Tafsir is one of the earliest academic activities of Muslims. According to the Quran, Muhammad was the first person who described the meanings of verses for early Muslims. Other early exegetes included a few Companions of Muhammad, like ʻAli ibn Abi Talib, ʻAbdullah ibn Abbas, ʻAbdullah ibn Umar and Ubayy ibn Kaʻb. Exe... | [
{
"answer": "Tafsir",
"question": "What is the name of the activity of explaining what Quranic verses mean?"
},
{
"answer": "Muhammad",
"question": "Who was the first practitioner of Tafsir?"
},
{
"answer": "Tafsir",
"question": "What is the Arabic term for Quranic exegesis?"
},
... |
16,083 | Because the Quran is spoken in classical Arabic, many of the later converts to Islam (mostly non-Arabs) did not always understand the Quranic Arabic, they did not catch allusions that were clear to early Muslims fluent in Arabic and they were concerned with reconciling apparent conflict of themes in the Quran. Commenta... | [
{
"answer": "classical Arabic",
"question": "In which language is the Quran recited?"
},
{
"answer": "nāsikh",
"question": "What is the Arabic term for the cancellation of one part of the Quran by another?"
},
{
"answer": "Tafseer e Kabir",
"question": "What is the name of the Ahmadi... |
16,084 | Esoteric or Sufi interpretation attempts to unveil the inner meanings of the Quran. Sufism moves beyond the apparent (zahir) point of the verses and instead relates Quranic verses to the inner or esoteric (batin) and metaphysical dimensions of consciousness and existence. According to Sands, esoteric interpretations ar... | [
{
"answer": "Esoteric",
"question": "What is another term for Sufi Quranic interpretation?"
},
{
"answer": "zahir",
"question": "What Arabic word describes the aspects of Quranic verses that Sufism tries to push beyond?"
},
{
"answer": "isharat",
"question": "What is an Arabic term f... |
16,085 | Moses, in 7:143, comes the way of those who are in love, he asks for a vision but his desire is denied, he is made to suffer by being commanded to look at other than the Beloved while the mountain is able to see God. The mountain crumbles and Moses faints at the sight of God's manifestation upon the mountain. In Qushay... | [
{
"answer": "Sufi",
"question": "Beloved is a term for God used by which style of Quranic interpretation?"
},
{
"answer": "7:143",
"question": "Which Quranic verse describes Moses' encounter with God at the mountain?"
},
{
"answer": "longing and suffering",
"question": "In Sufi thoug... |
16,087 | Commentaries dealing with the zahir (outward aspects) of the text are called tafsir, and hermeneutic and esoteric commentaries dealing with the batin are called ta'wil ("interpretation" or "explanation"), which involves taking the text back to its beginning. Commentators with an esoteric slant believe that the ultimate... | [
{
"answer": "zahir",
"question": "What is the Arabic term for the surface-level aspects of a text?"
},
{
"answer": "ta'wil",
"question": "What Arabic term applies to interpretations aimed at the deeper, esoteric meanings of a text?"
},
{
"answer": "God",
"question": "Who is the only ... |
16,088 | The first fully attested complete translations of the Quran were done between the 10th and 12th centuries in Persian. The Samanid king, Mansur I (961-976), ordered a group of scholars from Khorasan to translate the Tafsir al-Tabari, originally in Arabic, into Persian. Later in the 11th century, one of the students of A... | [
{
"answer": "Persian",
"question": "In which language was the Quran first translated?"
},
{
"answer": "Tafsir al-Tabari",
"question": "Which work did scribes from Khorasan translate in the 10th century?"
},
{
"answer": "Abu Mansur Abdullah al-Ansari",
"question": "Whose student wrote... |
16,089 | Robert of Ketton's 1143 translation of the Quran for Peter the Venerable, Lex Mahumet pseudoprophete, was the first into a Western language (Latin). Alexander Ross offered the first English version in 1649, from the French translation of L'Alcoran de Mahomet (1647) by Andre du Ryer. In 1734, George Sale produced the fi... | [
{
"answer": "1143",
"question": "In which year was the Quran first translated into a Western language?"
},
{
"answer": "Ahmadiyya Muslim Community",
"question": "Which organization offers versions of the Quran in 50 languages?"
},
{
"answer": "Andre du Ryer",
"question": "Whose Frenc... |
16,090 | The proper recitation of the Quran is the subject of a separate discipline named tajwid which determines in detail how the Quran should be recited, how each individual syllable is to be pronounced, the need to pay attention to the places where there should be a pause, to elisions, where the pronunciation should be long... | [
{
"answer": "tajwid",
"question": "What discipline concerns the way the Quran is correctly recited?"
},
{
"answer": "pronunciation",
"question": "Tajwid deals with what aspect of the phonemes in the Quran?"
},
{
"answer": "pause in recitation",
"question": "Tajwid describes rules for... |
16,092 | Before printing was widely adopted in the 19th century, the Quran was transmitted in manuscripts made by calligraphers and copyists. The earliest manuscripts were written in Ḥijāzī-type script. The Hijazi style manuscripts nevertheless confirm that transmission of the Quran in writing began at an early stage. Probably ... | [
{
"answer": "calligraphers and copyists",
"question": "Who created Quranic manuscripts before the 19th century?"
},
{
"answer": "Kufic scripts",
"question": "What is the name of the thicker-stroked writing used for the Quran beginning in the 9th century?"
},
{
"answer": "naskh",
"que... |
16,093 | In the beginning, the Quran did not have vocalization markings. The system of vocalization, as we know it today, seems to have been introduced towards the end of the ninth century. Since it would have been too costly for most Muslims to purchase a manuscript, copies of the Quran were held in mosques in order to make th... | [
{
"answer": "ninth century",
"question": "In which century were vocalization marking added to the Quran?"
},
{
"answer": "mosques",
"question": "Where were Quran copies kept for those who could not afford their own?"
},
{
"answer": "juzʼ",
"question": "What are the parts of the Quran... |
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