Answer: 492

Context: San Diego County has one of the highest counts of animal and plant species that appear on the endangered species list among counties in the United States. Because of its diversity of habitat and its position on the Pacific Flyway, San Diego County has recorded the presence of 492 bird species, more than any other region in the country. San Diego always scores very high in the number of bird species observed in the annual Christmas Bird Count, sponsored by the Audubon Society, and it is known as one of the "birdiest" areas in the United States.

Question: How many bird species have been observed in San Diego?


Answer: Christmas Bird Count

Question: What birding event does the Audubon Society host every year?


Answer: highest counts of animal and plant species that appear on the endangered species list

Question: What is special about the animal and plant species found in San Diego?


Answer: birdiest

Question: What word describes San Diego County due to the many birds residing there?


Answer: Pacific Flyway

Question: What flyway contributes to the diverse bird population in San Diego County?


Answer: October 2003

Context: San Diego and its backcountry are subject to periodic wildfires. In October 2003, San Diego was the site of the Cedar Fire, which has been called the largest wildfire in California over the past century. The fire burned 280,000 acres (1,100 km2), killed 15 people, and destroyed more than 2,200 homes. In addition to damage caused by the fire, smoke resulted in a significant increase in emergency room visits due to asthma, respiratory problems, eye irritation, and smoke inhalation; the poor air quality caused San Diego County schools to close for a week. Wildfires four years later destroyed some areas, particularly within the communities of Rancho Bernardo, Rancho Santa Fe, and Ramona.

Question: When did California's largest wildfire of the century take place?


Answer: 280,000 acres (1,100 km2)

Question: How many acres were burned in the historic Cedar Fire of 2003?


Answer: poor air quality

Question: Why did San Diego schools close during the Cedar Fire?


Answer: four years later

Question: How many years after the Cedar Fire did additional fires destroy Rancho Santa Fe?


Answer: more than 2,200

Question: How many homes were destroyed in the Cedar Fire?


Answer: third-largest

Context: The city had a population of 1,307,402 according to the 2010 census, distributed over a land area of 372.1 square miles (963.7 km2). The urban area of San Diego extends beyond the administrative city limits and had a total population of 2,956,746, making it the third-largest urban area in the state, after that of the Los Angeles metropolitan area and San Francisco metropolitan area. They, along with the Riverside–San Bernardino, form those metropolitan areas in California larger than the San Diego metropolitan area, with a total population of 3,095,313 at the 2010 census.

Question: In the top five largest urban areas in California, where does San Diego rank?


Answer: Riverside–San Bernardino

Question: What area does Los Angeles and San Francisco merge with to form metropolitan areas larger than San Diego?


Answer: 1,307,402

Question: What was the population of San Diego at the time of the 2010 census?


Answer: 372.1

Question: How many square miles does San Diego cover?


Answer: 2,956,746

Question: What is the population of San Diego's urgan area?


Answer: 3,771.9 people per square mile (1,456.4/km2)

Context: As of the Census of 2010, there were 1,307,402 people living in the city of San Diego. That represents a population increase of just under 7% from the 1,223,400 people, 450,691 households, and 271,315 families reported in 2000. The estimated city population in 2009 was 1,306,300. The population density was 3,771.9 people per square mile (1,456.4/km2). The racial makeup of San Diego was 45.1% White, 6.7% African American, 0.6% Native American, 15.9% Asian (5.9% Filipino, 2.7% Chinese, 2.5% Vietnamese, 1.3% Indian, 1.0% Korean, 0.7% Japanese, 0.4% Laotian, 0.3% Cambodian, 0.1% Thai). 0.5% Pacific Islander (0.2% Guamanian, 0.1% Samoan, 0.1% Native Hawaiian), 12.3% from other races, and 5.1% from two or more races. The ethnic makeup of the city was 28.8% Hispanic or Latino (of any race); 24.9% of the total population were Mexican American, and 0.6% were Puerto Rican.

Question: What was the population density of San Diego in 2009?


Answer: Asian

Question: What ethnicity made up 15.9.% of San Diego's population in 2009?


Answer: 28.8%

Question: In 2009, what percentage of the population was Hispanic?


Answer: 1,307,402

Question: What was San Diego's population at the time of the 2010 census?


Answer: just under 7%

Question: What was the population increase in San Diego from 2009 to 2010?


Answer: 2000

Context: As of January 1, 2008 estimates by the San Diego Association of Governments revealed that the household median income for San Diego rose to $66,715, up from $45,733, and that the city population rose to 1,336,865, up 9.3% from 2000. The population was 45.3% non-Hispanic whites, down from 78.9% in 1970, 27.7% Hispanics, 15.6% Asians/Pacific Islanders, 7.1% blacks, 0.4% American Indians, and 3.9% from other races. Median age of Hispanics was 27.5 years, compared to 35.1 years overall and 41.6 years among non-Hispanic whites; Hispanics were the largest group in all ages under 18, and non-Hispanic whites constituted 63.1% of population 55 and older.

Question: In what year was the household median income in San Diego at $45,733?


Answer: 41.6

Question: What was the median age of non-Hispanic whites in 2008?


Answer: $66,715

Question: What did the average salary increase to at the time of the 2008 census?


Answer: 63.1%

Question: Of the population of individuals 55 and older, what percentage were non-Hispanic whites in 2008?


Answer: Hispanics

Question: In 2008, which racial group had the most individuals under the age of 18?


Answer: SANDAG

Context: The U.S. Census Bureau reported that in 2000, 24.0% of San Diego residents were under 18, and 10.5% were 65 and over. As of 2011[update] the median age was 35.6; more than a quarter of residents were under age 20 and 11% were over age 65. Millennials (ages 18 through 34) constitute 27.1% of San Diego's population, the second-highest percentage in a major U.S. city. The San Diego County regional planning agency, SANDAG, provides tables and graphs breaking down the city population into 5-year age groups.

Question: What regional planning agency offers graphs and tables of census information for San Diego?


Answer: 24.0%

Question: What percentage of San Diego's population was under the age of 18 in 2000?


Answer: 65 and over

Question: Which age group accounted for 10.5% of the population in 2000?


Answer: 2011

Question: In what year was the median age of residents in San Diego 35.6?


Answer: 27.1%

Question: What percentage of the population in 2011 were millenials?


Answer: 14.6%

Context: In 2000, the median income for a household in the city was $45,733, and the median income for a family was $53,060. Males had a median income of $36,984 versus $31,076 for females. The per capita income for the city was $23,609. According to Forbes in 2005, San Diego was the fifth wealthiest U.S. city but about 10.6% of families and 14.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 20.0% of those under age 18 and 7.6% of those age 65 or over. Nonetheless, San Diego was rated the fifth-best place to live in the United States in 2006 by Money magazine.

Question: What percentage of the population fell below the poverty line in San Diego in 2005?


Answer: fifth-best place to live in the United States

Question: What did Money magazine rate San Diego as being in 2006?


Answer: Forbes

Question: What magazine rated San Diego as being the country's fifth wealthiest city?


Answer: $31,076

Question: In 2000, what was the median salary for females in San Diego?


Answer: 10.6%

Question: What percentage of familes were below the poverty line in 2005?


Answer: beer tours

Context: Tourism is a major industry owing to the city's climate, its beaches, and numerous tourist attractions such as Balboa Park, Belmont amusement park, San Diego Zoo, San Diego Zoo Safari Park, and SeaWorld San Diego. San Diego's Spanish and Mexican heritage is reflected in the many historic sites across the city, such as Mission San Diego de Alcala and Old Town San Diego State Historic Park. Also, the local craft brewing industry attracts an increasing number of visitors for "beer tours" and the annual San Diego Beer Week in November; San Diego has been called "America's Craft Beer Capital."

Question: What type of tours attract a large number of visitors to San Diego?


Answer: San Diego Beer Week

Question: What big event takes place in San Diego in November?


Answer: Mission San Diego de Alcala

Question: What historical mission is a major tourist attraction in San Diego?


Answer: Balboa Park

Question: What popular park in San Diego is home to the San Diego Zoo, SeaWorld, and countless museums?


Answer: America's Craft Beer Capital

Question: What nickname has the city been given as a result of its extensive craft beer industry?


Answer: the San Ysidro neighborhood at the San Ysidro Port of Entry

Context: The city shares a 15-mile (24 km) border with Mexico that includes two border crossings. San Diego hosts the busiest international border crossing in the world, in the San Ysidro neighborhood at the San Ysidro Port of Entry. A second, primarily commercial border crossing operates in the Otay Mesa area; it is the largest commercial crossing on the California-Baja California border and handles the third-highest volume of trucks and dollar value of trade among all United States-Mexico land crossings.

Question: Where is San Diego's border crossing?


Answer: 15-mile (24 km)

Question: How long is the border that San Diego shares with Mexico?


Answer: the third-highest volume of trucks and dollar value of trade among all United States-Mexico land crossings.

Question: What is the volumte of trucks handled at the Otay Mesa crossing?


Answer: Otay Mesa

Question: Where is the next nearest commercial crossing at the border?


Answer: two

Question: How many border crossings does San Diego share with Mexico?


Answer: for collaboration potentially between wireless and life sciences

Context: San Diego hosts several major producers of wireless cellular technology. Qualcomm was founded and is headquartered in San Diego, and is one of the largest private-sector employers in San Diego. Other wireless industry manufacturers headquartered here include Nokia, LG Electronics, Kyocera International., Cricket Communications and Novatel Wireless. The largest software company in San Diego is security software company Websense Inc. San Diego also has the U.S. headquarters for the Slovakian security company ESET. San Diego has been designated as an iHub Innovation Center for collaboration potentially between wireless and life sciences.

Question: Why is San Diego known as an iHub Innovation Center?


Answer: Websense Inc

Question: What is San Diego's largest software company?


Answer: Cricket Communications

Question: What cellular company is headquartered in San Diego that uses the AT&T network?


Answer: security

Question: What sector does ESET fall under?


Answer: Qualcomm

Question: What cellular company is one of the city's largest private-sector employers?


Answer: University of California

Context: The presence of the University of California, San Diego and other research institutions has helped to fuel biotechnology growth. In 2013, San Diego has the second-largest biotech cluster in the United States, below the Boston area and above the San Francisco Bay Area. There are more than 400 biotechnology companies in the area. In particular, the La Jolla and nearby Sorrento Valley areas are home to offices and research facilities for numerous biotechnology companies. Major biotechnology companies like Illumina and Neurocrine Biosciences are headquartered in San Diego, while many biotech and pharmaceutical companies have offices or research facilities in San Diego. San Diego is also home to more than 140 contract research organizations (CROs) that provide a variety of contract services for pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies.

Question: What institution has contributed to the growth of fuel biotechnology?


Answer: Boston

Question: What city does San Diego come in second to in the biotech industry?


Answer: 140

Question: How many contract research organizations are in San Diego?


Answer: La Jolla and nearby Sorrento Valley

Question: What two areas have the numerous research facilities and offices for biotech companies?


Answer: Illumina and Neurocrine Biosciences

Question: What two major biotech companies are headquartered in San Diego?


Answer: Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego (MCASD)

Context: Many popular museums, such as the San Diego Museum of Art, the San Diego Natural History Museum, the San Diego Museum of Man, the Museum of Photographic Arts, and the San Diego Air & Space Museum are located in Balboa Park, which is also the location of the San Diego Zoo. The Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego (MCASD) is located in La Jolla and has a branch located at the Santa Fe Depot downtown. The downtown branch consists of two building on two opposite streets. The Columbia district downtown is home to historic ship exhibits belonging to the San Diego Maritime Museum, headlined by the Star of India, as well as the unrelated San Diego Aircraft Carrier Museum featuring the USS Midway aircraft carrier.

Question: What museum has a branch at the Santa Fe Depot?


Answer: Columbia district downtown

Question: In what district can historic ship exhibits be found?


Answer: Balboa Park

Question: Where can one find the San Diego Zoo?


Answer: San Diego Aircraft Carrier Museum

Question: Which museum houses the USS Midway aircraft carrier?


Answer: San Diego Air & Space Museum

Question: What space-focused museum is in Balboa Park?


Answer: Jahja Ling

Context: The San Diego Symphony at Symphony Towers performs on a regular basis and is directed by Jahja Ling. The San Diego Opera at Civic Center Plaza, directed by Ian Campbell, was ranked by Opera America as one of the top 10 opera companies in the United States. Old Globe Theatre at Balboa Park produces about 15 plays and musicals annually. The La Jolla Playhouse at UCSD is directed by Christopher Ashley. Both the Old Globe Theatre and the La Jolla Playhouse have produced the world premieres of plays and musicals that have gone on to win Tony Awards or nominations on Broadway. The Joan B. Kroc Theatre at Kroc Center's Performing Arts Center is a 600-seat state-of-the-art theatre that hosts music, dance, and theatre performances. The San Diego Repertory Theatre at the Lyceum Theatres in Horton Plaza produces a variety of plays and musicals. Hundreds of movies and a dozen TV shows have been filmed in San Diego, a tradition going back as far as 1898.

Question: Who is the director of the San Diego Symphony?


Answer: La Jolla Playhouse at UCSD

Question: Where can one enjoy a performance directed by Christopher Ashley?


Answer: one of the top 10 opera companies in the United States

Question: What did Opera America call the San Diego Opera at the Civic Center Plaza?


Answer: San Diego Repertory Theatre at the Lyceum Theatres

Question: Which theater is known for hosting a variety of musicals and plays?


Answer: 1898

Question: How far back to San Diego's roots in the arts and theater sector go?


Answer: Farmers Insurance Open

Context: The San Diego Surf of the American Basketball Association is located in the city. The annual Farmers Insurance Open golf tournament (formerly the Buick Invitational) on the PGA Tour occurs at Torrey Pines Golf Course. This course was also the site of the 2008 U.S. Open Golf Championship. The San Diego Yacht Club hosted the America's Cup yacht races three times during the period 1988 to 1995. The amateur beach sport Over-the-line was invented in San Diego, and the annual world Over-the-line championships are held at Mission Bay every year.

Question: What tournament used to be known as the Buick Invitational?


Answer: three times

Question: How many times were the America's Cup yacht races hosted by the San Diego Yacht Club from 1988 to 1955?


Answer: Over-the-line

Question: What beach sport was inveted in San Diego?


Answer: Over-the-line championships

Question: What yacht-related event is held annually in Mission Bay?


Answer: Torrey Pines Golf Course

Question: What golf course hosts the Farmers Insurance Open?


Answer: one

Context: The city is governed by a mayor and a 9-member city council. In 2006, the city's form of government changed from a council–manager government to a strong mayor government. The change was brought about by a citywide vote in 2004. The mayor is in effect the chief executive officer of the city, while the council is the legislative body. The City of San Diego is responsible for police, public safety, streets, water and sewer service, planning and zoning, and similar services within its borders. San Diego is a sanctuary city, however, San Diego County is a participant of the Secure Communities program. As of 2011[update], the city had one employee for every 137 residents, with a payroll greater than $733 million.

Question: How many employees are there in San Diego for every 137 residents?


Answer: 2004

Question: In what year did the city vote to change to a strong mayor government?


Answer: Secure Communities program

Question: Despite being a sanctuary city, what program does San Diego county participate in?


Answer: 9

Question: What is the number of members on the city's council?


Answer: greater than $733 million.

Question: What is the county's payroll?


Answer: voters of the entire city

Context: The members of the city council are each elected from single member districts within the city. The mayor and city attorney are elected directly by the voters of the entire city. The mayor, city attorney, and council members are elected to four-year terms, with a two-term limit. Elections are held on a non-partisan basis per California state law; nevertheless, most officeholders do identify themselves as either Democrats or Republicans. In 2007, registered Democrats outnumbered Republicans by about 7 to 6 in the city, and Democrats currently (as of 2015[update]) hold a 5-4 majority in the city council. The current mayor, Kevin Faulconer, is a Republican.

Question: Who votes in the city's attorney and mayor?


Answer: four-year terms,

Question: How long is the term for council members?


Answer: Democrats outnumbered Republicans by about 7 to 6

Question: Were there more Democrats or Republicans in 2007?


Answer: current mayor

Question: Who is Kevin Faulconer?


Answer: single member districts within the city

Question: Who elects members of city council?


Answer: Ralph Inzunza and Deputy Mayor Michael Zucchet

Context: In 2005 two city council members, Ralph Inzunza and Deputy Mayor Michael Zucchet – who briefly took over as acting mayor when Murphy resigned – were convicted of extortion, wire fraud, and conspiracy to commit wire fraud for taking campaign contributions from a strip club owner and his associates, allegedly in exchange for trying to repeal the city's "no touch" laws at strip clubs. Both subsequently resigned. Inzunza was sentenced to 21 months in prison. In 2009, a judge acquitted Zucchet on seven out of the nine counts against him, and granted his petition for a new trial on the other two charges; the remaining charges were eventually dropped.

Question: What two members of city council were convicted of extortion in 2005?


Answer: no touch

Question: What strip club-related law were the council members trying to repeal?


Answer: 2009

Question: In what year were Zucchet's seven out of nine counts acquitted?


Answer: 21 months

Question: How long was Inzunza's prison sentence?


Answer: a strip club owner and his associates

Question: Who did Inzunza and Zucche accept money from?


Answer: allegations of repeated sexual harassment

Context: In July 2013, three former supporters of Mayor Bob Filner asked him to resign because of allegations of repeated sexual harassment. Over the ensuing six weeks, 18 women came forward to publicly claim that Filner had sexually harassed them, and multiple individuals and groups called for him to resign. On August 19 Filner and city representatives entered a mediation process, as a result of which Filner agreed to resign, effective August 30, 2013, while the city agreed to limit his legal and financial exposure. Filner subsequently pleaded guilty to one felony count of false imprisonment and two misdemeanor battery charges, and was sentenced to house arrest and probation.

Question: Why was Mayor Bob Filner asked to resign?


Answer: 18

Question: How many women claimed to be sexually harassed by Filner?


Answer: house arrest and probation

Question: What was Filner's sentence?


Answer: August 19

Question: When did a mediation process begin between Filner and a city representative?


Answer: six weeks

Question: How long did Filner's trial last?


Answer: San Diego had a declining crime rate from 1990 to 2000

Context: San Diego was ranked as the 20th-safest city in America in 2013 by Business Insider. According to Forbes magazine, San Diego was the ninth-safest city in the top 10 list of safest cities in the U.S. in 2010. Like most major cities, San Diego had a declining crime rate from 1990 to 2000. Crime in San Diego increased in the early 2000s. In 2004, San Diego had the sixth lowest crime rate of any U.S. city with over half a million residents. From 2002 to 2006, the crime rate overall dropped 0.8%, though not evenly by category. While violent crime decreased 12.4% during this period, property crime increased 1.1%. Total property crimes per 100,000 people were lower than the national average in 2008.

Question: What happened to the crime rate in San Diego between 1990 and 2000?


Answer: 20th-safest city in America

Question: What did Business Insider call San Diego in 2013?


Answer: ninth

Question: In what place did Forbes rank San Diego on it's top 10 list?


Answer: 0.8%

Question: What percentage did the crime rate in San Diego drop from 2002 to 2006?


Answer: property crime

Question: What type of crime increased between 2002 and 2006?


Answer: KFMB

Context: San Diego's first television station was KFMB, which began broadcasting on May 16, 1949. Since the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) licensed seven television stations in Los Angeles, two VHF channels were available for San Diego because of its relative proximity to the larger city. In 1952, however, the FCC began licensing UHF channels, making it possible for cities such as San Diego to acquire more stations. Stations based in Mexico (with ITU prefixes of XE and XH) also serve the San Diego market. Television stations today include XHTJB 3 (Once TV), XETV 6 (CW), KFMB 8 (CBS), KGTV 10 (ABC), XEWT 12 (Televisa Regional), KPBS 15 (PBS), KBNT-CD 17 (Univision), XHTIT-TDT 21 (Azteca 7), XHJK-TDT 27 (Azteca 13), XHAS 33 (Telemundo), K35DG-D 35 (UCSD-TV), KDTF-LD 51 (Telefutura), KNSD 39 (NBC), KZSD-LP 41 (Azteca America), KSEX-CD 42 (Infomercials), XHBJ-TDT 45 (Gala TV), XHDTV 49 (MNTV), KUSI 51 (Independent), XHUAA-TDT 57 (Canal de las Estrellas), and KSWB-TV 69 (Fox). San Diego has an 80.6 percent cable penetration rate.

Question: Which television station began broadcasting on May 16, 1949?


Answer: 80.6 percent

Question: What is San Diego's cable penetration rate?


Answer: because of its relative proximity to the larger city

Question: Why was San Diego eligible for two VHF channels?


Answer: 1952

Question: In what year did UHF channels beging being licensed by the FCC?


Answer: KUSI 51

Question: What independent station is in San Diego?


Answer: two

Context: Due to the ratio of U.S. and Mexican-licensed stations, San Diego is the largest media market in the United States that is legally unable to support a television station duopoly between two full-power stations under FCC regulations, which disallow duopolies in metropolitan areas with fewer than nine full-power television stations and require that there must be eight unique station owners that remain once a duopoly is formed (there are only seven full-power stations on the California side of the San Diego-Tijuana market).[citation needed] Though the E. W. Scripps Company owns KGTV and KZSD-LP, they are not considered a duopoly under the FCC's legal definition as common ownership between full-power and low-power television stations in the same market is permitted regardless to the number of stations licensed to the area. As a whole, the Mexico side of the San Diego-Tijuana market has two duopolies and one triopoly (Entravision Communications owns both XHAS-TV and XHDTV-TV, Azteca owns XHJK-TV and XHTIT-TV, and Grupo Televisa owns XHUAA-TV and XHWT-TV along with being the license holder for XETV-TV, which is run by California-based subsidiary Bay City Television).

Question: How many duopolies does the Mexico side of San Diego-Tijuana have?


Answer: XHJK-TV and XHTIT-TV

Question: What two stations are owned by Azteca?


Answer: Entravision Communications

Question: What company owns XHDTV-TV and XHAS-TV?


Answer: XETV-TV

Question: Which station is ran by Bay City Television?


Answer: Pirate Radio San Diego

Context: The radio stations in San Diego include nationwide broadcaster, Clear Channel Communications; CBS Radio, Midwest Television, Lincoln Financial Media, Finest City Broadcasting, and many other smaller stations and networks. Stations include: KOGO AM 600, KFMB AM 760, KCEO AM 1000, KCBQ AM 1170, K-Praise, KLSD AM 1360 Air America, KFSD 1450 AM, KPBS-FM 89.5, Channel 933, Star 94.1, FM 94/9, FM News and Talk 95.7, Q96 96.1, KyXy 96.5, Free Radio San Diego (AKA Pirate Radio San Diego) 96.9FM FRSD, KSON 97.3/92.1, KXSN 98.1, Jack-FM 100.7, 101.5 KGB-FM, KLVJ 102.1, Rock 105.3, and another Pirate Radio station at 106.9FM, as well as a number of local Spanish-language radio stations.

Question: What is another name Free Radio San Diego is known by?


Answer: 106.9FM

Question: In addition to Free Radio San Diego, what other pirate station is in San Diego?


Answer: Clear Channel Communications

Question: What is the largest nationwide broadcaster in San Diego?


Answer: Spanish

Question: Which language are some local radio stations available in?


Answer: 95.7

Question: What is the exact setting for FM News & Talk?


Answer: Interstate 8

Context: With the automobile being the primary means of transportation for over 80 percent of its residents, San Diego is served by a network of freeways and highways. This includes Interstate 5, which runs south to Tijuana and north to Los Angeles; Interstate 8, which runs east to Imperial County and the Arizona Sun Corridor; Interstate 15, which runs northeast through the Inland Empire to Las Vegas and Salt Lake City; and Interstate 805, which splits from I-5 near the Mexican border and rejoins I-5 at Sorrento Valley.

Question: What major interstate runs from Tijuana to Los Angeles?


Answer: near the Mexican border

Question: Where does Interstate 805 split from I-5?


Answer: Interstate 8

Question: Which interstate directly connects the east with the Arizona Sun Corridor and Imperial County?


Answer: Las Vegas and Salt Lake City

Question: What two major cities are Inland Empire connected to via Interstate 15?


Answer: over 80 percent

Question: What percentage of San Diego's residents rely on theri automobile as a primary source of transportation?


Answer: SR 94

Context: Major state highways include SR 94, which connects downtown with I-805, I-15 and East County; SR 163, which connects downtown with the northeast part of the city, intersects I-805 and merges with I-15 at Miramar; SR 52, which connects La Jolla with East County through Santee and SR 125; SR 56, which connects I-5 with I-15 through Carmel Valley and Rancho Peñasquitos; SR 75, which spans San Diego Bay as the San Diego-Coronado Bridge, and also passes through South San Diego as Palm Avenue; and SR 905, which connects I-5 and I-805 to the Otay Mesa Port of Entry.

Question: What highway connects the I-805 with the downtown area?


Answer: at Miramar

Question: Where does SR 94 merge with I-15?


Answer: San Diego Bay

Question: Where does SR 75 flow primarily through?


Answer: 2006

Context: San Diego's roadway system provides an extensive network of routes for travel by bicycle. The dry and mild climate of San Diego makes cycling a convenient and pleasant year-round option. At the same time, the city's hilly, canyon-like terrain and significantly long average trip distances—brought about by strict low-density zoning laws—somewhat restrict cycling for utilitarian purposes. Older and denser neighborhoods around the downtown tend to be utility cycling oriented. This is partly because of the grid street patterns now absent in newer developments farther from the urban core, where suburban style arterial roads are much more common. As a result, a vast majority of cycling-related activities are recreational. Testament to San Diego's cycling efforts, in 2006, San Diego was rated as the best city for cycling for U.S. cities with a population over 1 million.

Question: In what year was San Diego rated as the country's best densely populated city for cycling?


Answer: the grid street patterns

Question: Why are older neighborhoods in San Diego popular with cyclists?


Answer: dry and mild climate

Question: What makes San Diego the ideal city to commute via bike?


Answer: the city's hilly, canyon-like terrain

Question: Why are average trip distances so lengthy in San Diego?


Answer: downtown and surrounding urban communities

Context: San Diego is served by the San Diego Trolley light rail system, by the SDMTS bus system, and by Coaster and Amtrak Pacific Surfliner commuter rail; northern San Diego county is also served by the Sprinter light rail line. The Trolley primarily serves downtown and surrounding urban communities, Mission Valley, east county, and coastal south bay. A planned Mid-Coast extension of the Trolley will operate from Old Town to University City and the University of California, San Diego along the I-5 Freeway, with planned operation by 2018. The Amtrak and Coaster trains currently run along the coastline and connect San Diego with Los Angeles, Orange County, Riverside, San Bernardino, and Ventura via Metrolink and the Pacific Surfliner. There are two Amtrak stations in San Diego, in Old Town and the Santa Fe Depot downtown. San Diego transit information about public transportation and commuting is available on the Web and by dialing "511" from any phone in the area.

Question: What areas of San Diego are primarily served by the trolley?


Answer: A planned Mid-Coast extension of the Trolley

Question: What public transportation is in the works to be completed by 2018?


Answer: two

Question: How many Amtrak stations are in San Diego?


Answer: 511

Question: What number can you dial from any phone for public transportation information in San Diego?


Answer: along the coastline

Question: Where do the Amtrak and Coaster trains primarily run?


Answer: San Diego International Airport (SAN)

Context: The city's primary commercial airport is the San Diego International Airport (SAN), also known as Lindbergh Field. It is the busiest single-runway airport in the United States. It served over 17 million passengers in 2005, and is dealing with an increasingly larger number every year. It is located on San Diego Bay three miles (4.8 km) from downtown. San Diego International Airport maintains scheduled flights to the rest of the United States including Hawaii, as well as to Mexico, Canada, Japan, and the United Kingdom. It is operated by an independent agency, the San Diego Regional Airport Authority. In addition, the city itself operates two general-aviation airports, Montgomery Field (MYF) and Brown Field (SDM). By 2015, the Tijuana Cross-border Terminal in Otay Mesa will give direct access to Tijuana International Airport, with passengers walking across the U.S.–Mexico border on a footbridge to catch their flight on the Mexican side.

Question: What is the more popular name of Lindbergh Field?


Answer: 17 million

Question: How many passengers did San Diego Internatonal Airport serve in 2005?


Answer: give direct access to Tijuana International Airport

Question: What is the purpose of the Tijuana Cross-border Terminal?


Answer: San Diego Regional Airport Authority

Question: What independent agency operates San Diego International Airport?


Answer: Montgomery Field (MYF) and Brown Field (SDM)

Question: What two general aviation airports are operated by the San Diego Regional Airport Authority?


Answer: The Merge

Context: Numerous regional transportation projects have occurred in recent years to mitigate congestion in San Diego. Notable efforts are improvements to San Diego freeways, expansion of San Diego Airport, and doubling the capacity of the cruise ship terminal of the port. Freeway projects included expansion of Interstates 5 and 805 around "The Merge," a rush-hour spot where the two freeways meet. Also, an expansion of Interstate 15 through the North County is underway with the addition of high-occupancy-vehicle (HOV) "managed lanes". There is a tollway (The South Bay Expressway) connecting SR 54 and Otay Mesa, near the Mexican border. According to a 2007 assessment, 37 percent of streets in San Diego were in acceptable driving condition. The proposed budget fell $84.6 million short of bringing the city's streets to an acceptable level. Port expansions included a second cruise terminal on Broadway Pier which opened in 2010. Airport projects include expansion of Terminal 2, currently under construction and slated for completion in summer 2013.

Question: What is the name given to the highly congested spot where Interstates 5 and 805 meet?


Answer: The South Bay Expressway

Question: What tollway connects Otay Mesa with SR 54?


Answer: Terminal 2

Question: Which terminal was expanded in the San Diego International Airport in 2013?


Answer: high-occupancy-vehicle (HOV) "managed lanes"

Question: What type of special lanes were added to Interstate 15?


Answer: 37 percent

Question: In 2007, what percentage of the roads in San Diego were considered acceptable?


Answer: Muslim world

Context: The term Muslim world, also known as Islamic world and the Ummah (Arabic: أمة, meaning "nation" or "community") has different meanings. In a religious sense, the Islamic Ummah refers to those who adhere to the teachings of Islam, referred to as Muslims. In a cultural sense, the Muslim Ummah refers to Islamic civilization, exclusive of non-Muslims living in that civilization. In a modern geopolitical sense, the term "Islamic Nation" usually refers collectively to Muslim-majority countries, states, districts, or towns.

Question: Islamic World is another way to refer to what?


Answer: those who adhere to the teachings of Islam

Question: When speaking of religion, what does Ummah refer to?


Answer: Islamic civilization

Question: When speaking about culture, what does Ummah refer to?


Answer: Ummah

Question: Community, or Nation are direct translations of what word in reference to Islam?


Answer: 622

Context: The Islamic Golden Age coincided with the Middle Ages in the Muslim world, starting with the rise of Islam and establishment of the first Islamic state in 622. The end of the age is variously given as 1258 with the Mongolian Sack of Baghdad, or 1492 with the completion of the Christian Reconquista of the Emirate of Granada in Al-Andalus, Iberian Peninsula. During the reign of the Abbasid caliph Harun ar-Rashid (786 to 809), the legendary House of Wisdom was inaugurated in Baghdad where scholars from various parts of the world sought to translate and gather all the known world's knowledge into Arabic. The Abbasids were influenced by the Quranic injunctions and hadiths, such as "the ink of a scholar is more holy than the blood of a martyr," that stressed the value of knowledge. The major Islamic capital cities of Baghdad, Cairo, and Córdoba became the main intellectual centers for science, philosophy, medicine, and education. During this period, the Muslim world was a collection of cultures; they drew together and advanced the knowledge gained from the ancient Greek, Roman, Persian, Chinese, Indian, Egyptian, and Phoenician civilizations.

Question: When did the Islamic Golden age start?


Answer: the Middle Ages

Question: What other age occurred at the same time as the Islamic Golden Age?


Answer: 1492

Question: There what is the latest year for the end of the Islamic Golden Age?


Answer: 786 to 809

Question: What years did Abbasid caliph Harun ar-Rashid reign?


Answer: Baghdad

Question: Where was the House of Wisdom held?


Answer: glazed ceramics

Context: Between the 8th and 18th centuries, the use of glazed ceramics was prevalent in Islamic art, usually assuming the form of elaborate pottery. Tin-opacified glazing was one of the earliest new technologies developed by the Islamic potters. The first Islamic opaque glazes can be found as blue-painted ware in Basra, dating to around the 8th century. Another contribution was the development of stone-paste ceramics, originating from 9th century Iraq. Other centers for innovative ceramic pottery in the Old world included Fustat (from 975 to 1075), Damascus (from 1100 to around 1600) and Tabriz (from 1470 to 1550).

Question: What type of ceramic art was popular from the 8th to the 18th century in the art of Islam?


Answer: Tin-opacified glazing

Question: Which ceramic glazing was developed by those potters which were Islamic?


Answer: Basra

Question: Where would one find the earliest examples of opaque glazes in the Muslim world?


Answer: 8th century

Question: Around when were the first opaque glazes developed?


Answer: 9th century Iraq

Question: Where were stone-paste ceramics invented?


Answer: One Thousand and One Nights

Context: The best known work of fiction from the Islamic world is One Thousand and One Nights (In Persian: hezār-o-yek šab > Arabic: ʔalf-layl-at-wa-l’-layla= One thousand Night and (one) Night) or *Arabian Nights, a name invented by early Western translators, which is a compilation of folk tales from Sanskrit, Persian, and later Arabian fables. The original concept is derived from a pre-Islamic Persian prototype Hezār Afsān (Thousand Fables) that relied on particular Indian elements. It reached its final form by the 14th century; the number and type of tales have varied from one manuscript to another. All Arabian fantasy tales tend to be called Arabian Nights stories when translated into English, regardless of whether they appear in The Book of One Thousand and One Nights or not. This work has been very influential in the West since it was translated in the 18th century, first by Antoine Galland. Imitations were written, especially in France. Various characters from this epic have themselves become cultural icons in Western culture, such as Aladdin, Sinbad the Sailor and Ali Baba.

Question: What is the most widely known fictional work from the Islamic world?


Answer: Hezār Afsān (Thousand Fables)

Question: Arabian nights was originally based upon what Persian work?


Answer: 14th century

Question: In what century was One Thousand and One Nights completed?


Answer: 18th century

Question: When did One Thousand and One Nights first get translated in the West?


Answer: Antoine Galland

Question: Who was the first westerner to translate One Thousand and One Nights?


Answer: Arabic poetry and Persian poetry

Context: A famous example of Arabic poetry and Persian poetry on romance (love) is Layla and Majnun, dating back to the Umayyad era in the 7th century. It is a tragic story of undying love much like the later Romeo and Juliet, which was itself said to have been inspired by a Latin version of Layla and Majnun to an extent. Ferdowsi's Shahnameh, the national epic of Iran, is a mythical and heroic retelling of Persian history. Amir Arsalan was also a popular mythical Persian story, which has influenced some modern works of fantasy fiction, such as The Heroic Legend of Arslan.

Question: Layla and Majnun is an example of what kind of poetry?


Answer: Umayyad era

Question: Which era is Layla and Majnun from?


Answer: 7th century

Question: In what century does Layla and Majnun originate?


Answer: a mythical and heroic retelling of Persian history

Question: What kind of story is told in Shahnameh?


Answer: Ferdowsi

Question: Who wrote Shahnameh?


Answer: Abubacer

Context: Ibn Tufail (Abubacer) and Ibn al-Nafis were pioneers of the philosophical novel. Ibn Tufail wrote the first Arabic novel Hayy ibn Yaqdhan (Philosophus Autodidactus) as a response to Al-Ghazali's The Incoherence of the Philosophers, and then Ibn al-Nafis also wrote a novel Theologus Autodidactus as a response to Ibn Tufail's Philosophus Autodidactus. Both of these narratives had protagonists (Hayy in Philosophus Autodidactus and Kamil in Theologus Autodidactus) who were autodidactic feral children living in seclusion on a desert island, both being the earliest examples of a desert island story. However, while Hayy lives alone with animals on the desert island for the rest of the story in Philosophus Autodidactus, the story of Kamil extends beyond the desert island setting in Theologus Autodidactus, developing into the earliest known coming of age plot and eventually becoming the first example of a science fiction novel.

Question: What is another name for Ibn Tufail?


Answer: Hayy ibn Yaqdhan (Philosophus Autodidactus)

Question: What Arabic book is Ibn Tufail noted for writing?


Answer: Ibn al-Nafis

Question: Who wrote Theologus Autodidactus?


Answer: Al-Ghazali

Question: What person wrote The Incoherence of the Philosophers?


Answer: Hayy

Question: Who was the main chracter of Philosophus Autodidactus?


Answer: 1213–1288

Context: Theologus Autodidactus, written by the Arabian polymath Ibn al-Nafis (1213–1288), is the first example of a science fiction novel. It deals with various science fiction elements such as spontaneous generation, futurology, the end of the world and doomsday, resurrection, and the afterlife. Rather than giving supernatural or mythological explanations for these events, Ibn al-Nafis attempted to explain these plot elements using the scientific knowledge of biology, astronomy, cosmology and geology known in his time. Ibn al-Nafis' fiction explained Islamic religious teachings via science and Islamic philosophy.

Question: What was the life span of Ibn al-Nafis?


Answer: science fiction

Question: What type of book is Theologus Autodidactus the first type of?


Answer: scientific knowledge

Question: What did Ibn al-Nafis use to explain the events in Theologus Autodidactus?


Answer: 1671

Context: A Latin translation of Ibn Tufail's work, Philosophus Autodidactus, first appeared in 1671, prepared by Edward Pococke the Younger, followed by an English translation by Simon Ockley in 1708, as well as German and Dutch translations. These translations might have later inspired Daniel Defoe to write Robinson Crusoe, regarded as the first novel in English. Philosophus Autodidactus, continuing the thoughts of philosophers such as Aristotle from earlier ages, inspired Robert Boyle to write his own philosophical novel set on an island, The Aspiring Naturalist.

Question: Which year did a translation of Philosophus Autodidactus in Latin come to be?


Answer: Daniel Defoe

Question: Who wrote Robinson Crusoe?


Answer: Edward Pococke the Younger

Question: Who first translated Philosophus Autodidactus into latin?


Answer: 1708

Question: Simon Ockley translated Philosophus Autodidactus into English, in what year did he do that?


Answer: The Aspiring Naturalist

Question: What book is Robert Boyle believe to have written after being inspired by Philosophus Autodidactus?


Answer: in 1264 or shortly before

Context: Dante Alighieri's Divine Comedy, derived features of and episodes about Bolgia from Arabic works on Islamic eschatology: the Hadith and the Kitab al-Miraj (translated into Latin in 1264 or shortly before as Liber Scale Machometi) concerning the ascension to Heaven of Muhammad, and the spiritual writings of Ibn Arabi. The Moors also had a noticeable influence on the works of George Peele and William Shakespeare. Some of their works featured Moorish characters, such as Peele's The Battle of Alcazar and Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice, Titus Andronicus and Othello, which featured a Moorish Othello as its title character. These works are said to have been inspired by several Moorish delegations from Morocco to Elizabethan England at the beginning of the 17th century.

Question: In what year was Kitab al-Miraj likely translated into Latin?


Answer: Dante Alighieri

Question: Who wrote the Divine Comedy?


Answer: Merchant of Venice, Titus Andronicus and Othello

Question: Which works by Shakespeare is believed to be inspired by The Moors?


Answer: 17th century

Question: In what century is it believed that delegations of Moors began to influence western works by the likes of Shakespeare?


Answer: episodes about Bolgia from Arabic works on Islamic eschatology

Question: What aspects from Islamic works did the Divine Comedy feature?


Answer: 980–1037

Context: One of the common definitions for "Islamic philosophy" is "the style of philosophy produced within the framework of Islamic culture." Islamic philosophy, in this definition is neither necessarily concerned with religious issues, nor is exclusively produced by Muslims. The Persian scholar Ibn Sina (Avicenna) (980–1037) had more than 450 books attributed to him. His writings were concerned with various subjects, most notably philosophy and medicine. His medical textbook The Canon of Medicine was used as the standard text in European universities for centuries. He also wrote The Book of Healing, an influential scientific and philosophical encyclopedia.

Question: What was the life span of Ibn Sina?


Answer: 450

Question: How many books were said to have been written by Ibn Sina?


Answer: philosophy and medicine

Question: What subjects did Ibn Sina mainly write about?


Answer: The Canon of Medicine

Question: What medical book is Ibn Sina most noted for in European universities?


Answer: The Book of Healing

Question: What philosophical encyclopedia is Ibn Sina known for writing?


Answer: Ibn Tufail

Context: Yet another influential philosopher who had an influence on modern philosophy was Ibn Tufail. His philosophical novel, Hayy ibn Yaqdha, translated into Latin as Philosophus Autodidactus in 1671, developed the themes of empiricism, tabula rasa, nature versus nurture, condition of possibility, materialism, and Molyneux's problem. European scholars and writers influenced by this novel include John Locke, Gottfried Leibniz, Melchisédech Thévenot, John Wallis, Christiaan Huygens, George Keith, Robert Barclay, the Quakers, and Samuel Hartlib.

Question: Which philosopher from the Muslim world influenced modern philosophy?


Answer: Ibn Tufail

Question: Who wrote Hayy ibn Yaqdha?


Answer: 1671

Question: In what year was Hayy ibn Yaqdha translated to the Latin language?


Answer: philosophical novel

Question: What kind of book is Hayy ibn Yaqdha?


Answer: al-Jahiz

Context: Other influential Muslim philosophers include al-Jahiz, a pioneer in evolutionary thought; Ibn al-Haytham (Alhazen), a pioneer of phenomenology and the philosophy of science and a critic of Aristotelian natural philosophy and Aristotle's concept of place (topos); Al-Biruni, a critic of Aristotelian natural philosophy; Ibn Tufail and Ibn al-Nafis, pioneers of the philosophical novel; Shahab al-Din Suhrawardi, founder of Illuminationist philosophy; Fakhr al-Din al-Razi, a critic of Aristotelian logic and a pioneer of inductive logic; and Ibn Khaldun, a pioneer in the philosophy of history.

Question: Which philosopher of the Muslim world is considered an important author of work on evolution?


Answer: Alhazen

Question: Ibn al-Haytham can be known by another name, what is it?


Answer: phenomenology and the philosophy of science

Question: What type of work is Ibn al-Haytham known to have pioneered?


Answer: Shahab al-Din Suhrawardi

Question: Who is considered to have been the one that founded Illuminationist philosophy?


Answer: Fakhr al-Din al-Razi

Question: Which philosopher in the Muslim world championed inductive logic in their works?


Answer: optics

Context: Muslim scientists contributed to advances in the sciences. They placed far greater emphasis on experiment than had the Greeks. This led to an early scientific method being developed in the Muslim world, where progress in methodology was made, beginning with the experiments of Ibn al-Haytham (Alhazen) on optics from circa 1000, in his Book of Optics. The most important development of the scientific method was the use of experiments to distinguish between competing scientific theories set within a generally empirical orientation, which began among Muslim scientists. Ibn al-Haytham is also regarded as the father of optics, especially for his empirical proof of the intromission theory of light. Some have also described Ibn al-Haytham as the "first scientist." al-Khwarzimi's invented the log base systems that are being used today, he also contributed theorems in trigonometry as well as limits. Recent studies show that it is very likely that the Medieval Muslim artists were aware of advanced decagonal quasicrystal geometry (discovered half a millennium later in the 1970s and 1980s in the West) and used it in intricate decorative tilework in the architecture.

Question: Ibn al-Haytham experimented with what around the year 1000?


Answer: Book of Optics

Question: Ibn al-Haytham wrote about his work around the year 1000, what was it?


Answer: Medieval Muslim artists

Question: Who is believed to have discovered decagonal quasicrystal geometry?


Answer: Ibn al-Haytham

Question: Regarding the intromission theory of light, who showed the first proof?


Answer: al-Khwarzimi

Question: Which Muslim scientist worked on trigonometry?


Answer: Tashrih al-badan (Anatomy of the body)

Context: Muslim physicians contributed to the field of medicine, including the subjects of anatomy and physiology: such as in the 15th century Persian work by Mansur ibn Muhammad ibn al-Faqih Ilyas entitled Tashrih al-badan (Anatomy of the body) which contained comprehensive diagrams of the body's structural, nervous and circulatory systems; or in the work of the Egyptian physician Ibn al-Nafis, who proposed the theory of pulmonary circulation. Avicenna's The Canon of Medicine remained an authoritative medical textbook in Europe until the 18th century. Abu al-Qasim al-Zahrawi (also known as Abulcasis) contributed to the discipline of medical surgery with his Kitab al-Tasrif ("Book of Concessions"), a medical encyclopedia which was later translated to Latin and used in European and Muslim medical schools for centuries. Other medical advancements came in the fields of pharmacology and pharmacy.

Question: What work is Mansur ibn Muhammad ibn al-Faqih Ilyas known for writing?


Answer: 15th century

Question: In what century did Tashrih al-badan come into being?


Answer: Ibn al-Nafis

Question: Who theorized about pulmonary circulation?


Answer: Avicenna

Question: Who wrote The Canon of Medicine?


Answer: Abu al-Qasim al-Zahrawi

Question: Who wrote Kitab al-Tasrif?


Answer: astronomy

Context: In astronomy, Muḥammad ibn Jābir al-Ḥarrānī al-Battānī improved the precision of the measurement of the precession of the Earth's axis. The corrections made to the geocentric model by al-Battani, Averroes, Nasir al-Din al-Tusi, Mu'ayyad al-Din al-'Urdi and Ibn al-Shatir were later incorporated into the Copernican heliocentric model. Heliocentric theories were also discussed by several other Muslim astronomers such as Al-Biruni, Al-Sijzi, Qotb al-Din Shirazi, and Najm al-Dīn al-Qazwīnī al-Kātibī. The astrolabe, though originally developed by the Greeks, was perfected by Islamic astronomers and engineers, and was subsequently brought to Europe.

Question: What field did Muḥammad ibn Jābir al-Ḥarrānī al-Battānī contribute to?


Answer: improved the precision of the measurement of the precession of the Earth's axis

Question: What work is Muḥammad ibn Jābir al-Ḥarrānī al-Battānī known for as it regards to earth?


Answer: the Greeks

Question: Who created the astrolabe?


Answer: the Copernican heliocentric model

Question: What model did the work of Muslim World astronomers contribute to?


Answer: Islamic astronomers and engineers

Question: Who is said to have mastered the astrolabe?


Answer: almonds and citrus fruit

Context: Advances were made in irrigation and farming, using new technology such as the windmill. Crops such as almonds and citrus fruit were brought to Europe through al-Andalus, and sugar cultivation was gradually adopted by the Europeans. Arab merchants dominated trade in the Indian Ocean until the arrival of the Portuguese in the 16th century. Hormuz was an important center for this trade. There was also a dense network of trade routes in the Mediterranean, along which Muslim countries traded with each other and with European powers such as Venice, Genoa and Catalonia. The Silk Road crossing Central Asia passed through Muslim states between China and Europe.

Question: which crops were brought to europe from the Muslim World?


Answer: irrigation and farming

Question: What was the windmill used for?


Answer: Arab merchants

Question: Trading in the Indian ocean was mainly controlled by whom?


Answer: Hormuz

Question: Where was an important center of Indian Ocean trading in the 16th century?


Answer: 16th century

Question: When did the Portuguese arrive in the Indian Ocean?


Answer: 7th century

Context: Muslim engineers in the Islamic world made a number of innovative industrial uses of hydropower, and early industrial uses of tidal power and wind power, fossil fuels such as petroleum, and early large factory complexes (tiraz in Arabic). The industrial uses of watermills in the Islamic world date back to the 7th century, while horizontal-wheeled and vertical-wheeled water mills were both in widespread use since at least the 9th century. A variety of industrial mills were being employed in the Islamic world, including early fulling mills, gristmills, hullers, sawmills, ship mills, stamp mills, steel mills, sugar mills, tide mills and windmills. By the 11th century, every province throughout the Islamic world had these industrial mills in operation, from al-Andalus and North Africa to the Middle East and Central Asia. Muslim engineers also invented crankshafts and water turbines, employed gears in mills and water-raising machines, and pioneered the use of dams as a source of water power, used to provide additional power to watermills and water-raising machines. Such advances made it possible for industrial tasks that were previously driven by manual labour in ancient times to be mechanized and driven by machinery instead in the medieval Islamic world. The transfer of these technologies to medieval Europe had an influence on the Industrial Revolution.

Question: How early did people in the Muslim World start using watermills?


Answer: 11th century

Question: In what century had mills such as gristmills and sawmills dominate the Islamic world?


Answer: 9th century

Question: At what point was the use of watermills common in the Muslim World?


Answer: Muslim engineers

Question: Who invented crankshafts?


Answer: Muslim engineers

Question: Who was the inventor of water turbines?


Answer: 20%

Context: More than 20% of the world's population is Muslim. Current estimates conclude that the number of Muslims in the world is around 1,5 billion. Muslims are the majority in 49 countries, they speak hundreds of languages and come from diverse ethnic backgrounds. Major languages spoken by Muslims include Arabic, Urdu, Bengali, Punjabi, Malay, Javanese, Sundanese, Swahili, Hausa, Fula, Berber, Tuareg, Somali, Albanian, Bosnian, Russian, Turkish, Azeri, Kazakh, Uzbek, Tatar, Persian, Kurdish, Pashto, Balochi, Sindhi and Kashmiri, among many others.

Question: What percentage of the humans in the world are considered Muslim?


Answer: 1,5 billion

Question: How many Muslims are believed to live on earth?


Answer: 49

Question: In how many nations are Muslims in the majority of people?


Answer: hundreds

Question: How many languages are spoken by Muslims?


Answer: Sunni and Shia

Context: The two main denominations of Islam are the Sunni and Shia sects. They differ primarily upon of how the life of the ummah ("faithful") should be governed, and the role of the imam. These two main differences stem from the understanding of which hadith are to interpret the Quran. Sunnis believe the true political successor of the Prophet in Sunnah is based on ٍShura (consultation) at the Saqifah which selected Abu Bakr, father of the Prophet's favourite wife, 'A'ishah, to lead the Islamic community while the religious succession ceased to exist on account of finality of Prophethood. Shia on the other hand believe that the true political as well as religious successor is Ali ibn Abi Talib, husband of the Prophet's daughter Fatimah (designated by the Prophet).

Question: Which Muslim denominations are the most dominant?


Answer: how the life of the ummah ("faithful") should be governed, and the role of the imam

Question: What are the two main things differentiating Sunni and Shia?


Answer: Abu Bakr

Question: Who is believed, among Sunnis, to be the political successor of the Prophet?


Answer: father of the Prophet's favourite wife

Question: Who was Abu Bakr?


Answer: husband of the Prophet's daughter Fatimah

Question: Who was Ali ibn Abi Talib?


Answer: over 97%

Context: Literacy rate in the Muslim world varies. Some members such as Kuwait, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan have over 97% literacy rates, whereas literacy rates are the lowest in Mali, Afghanistan, Chad and parts of Africa. In 2015, the International Islamic News Agency reported that nearly 37% of the population of the Muslim world is unable to read or write, basing that figure on reports from the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation and the Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.

Question: What is the literacy rate in Kuwait?


Answer: 37%

Question: In 2015 it was reported that what percentage of the Muslim World was not literate?


Answer: Organisation of Islamic Cooperation and the Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization

Question: What organizations studied literacy in the Muslim World in 2015?


Answer: Mali, Afghanistan, Chad and parts of Africa

Question: Which regions have the lowest rate of literacy in the Muslim world?


Answer: Higher Education Commission

Context: Several Muslim countries like Turkey and Iran exhibit high scientific publication. Some countries have tried to encourage scientific research. In Pakistan, establishment of the Higher Education Commission in 2002, resulted in a 5-fold increase in the number of PhDs and a 10-fold increase in the number of scientific research papers in 10 years with the total number of universities increasing from 115 in 2001 to over 400 in 2012.[citation needed] Saudi Arabia has established the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology. United Arab Emirates has invested in Zayed University, United Arab Emirates University, and Masdar Institute of Science and Technology[clarification needed]

Question: Which organization for scientific publications was established in Pakistan in 2002?


Answer: 5-fold increase

Question: How much did the Higher Education Commission impact the number of PhDs in Pakistan?


Answer: King Abdullah University of Science and Technology

Question: What science university did Saudi Arabia establish?


Answer: United Arab Emirates

Question: Where is Zayed University?


Answer: 115

Question: How many universities were in Pakistan in 2001?


Answer: the mosque

Context: Encompasses both secular and religious styles, the design and style made by Muslims and their construction of buildings and structures in Islamic culture included the architectural types: the Mosque, the Tomb, the Palace and the Fort. Perhaps the most important expression of Islamic art is architecture, particularly that of the mosque. Through Islamic architecture, effects of varying cultures within Islamic civilization can be illustrated. Generally, the use of Islamic geometric patterns and foliage based arabesques were striking. There was also the use of decorative calligraphy instead of pictures which were haram (forbidden) in mosque architecture. Note that in secular architecture, human and animal representation was indeed present.

Question: What is considered the most important work of Islamic architecture?


Answer: decorative calligraphy

Question: What type of decorations are used in Muslim world decorative art rather than pictures?


Answer: forbidden

Question: What is the definition of haram?


Answer: mosque architecture

Question: Where in Muslim architecture are pictures forbidden?


Answer: secular architecture

Question: Where is one permitted to use representations of humans?


Answer: such artistic depictions may lead to idolatry

Context: No Islamic visual images or depictions of God are meant to exist because it is believed that such artistic depictions may lead to idolatry. Moreover, Muslims believe that God is incorporeal, making any two- or three- dimensional depictions impossible. Instead, Muslims describe God by the names and attributes that, according to Islam, he revealed to his creation. All but one sura of the Quran begins with the phrase "In the name of God, the Beneficent, the Merciful". Images of Mohammed are likewise prohibited. Such aniconism and iconoclasm can also be found in Jewish and some Christian theology.

Question: Why is depicting God forbidden in the Islamic world?


Answer: God is incorporeal

Question: What do Muslims believe of the form of God?


Answer: All but one

Question: How many sura's in the Quran begin with "In the name of God?"


Answer: prohibited

Question: What is the policy in the Muslim world on depicting Mohammed?


Answer: Jewish and some Christian theology

Question: What other religions might one find depictions of God, or Prophets forbidden?


Answer: arabesque

Context: Islamic art frequently adopts the use of geometrical floral or vegetal designs in a repetition known as arabesque. Such designs are highly nonrepresentational, as Islam forbids representational depictions as found in pre-Islamic pagan religions. Despite this, there is a presence of depictional art in some Muslim societies, notably the miniature style made famous in Persia and under the Ottoman Empire which featured paintings of people and animals, and also depictions of Quranic stories and Islamic traditional narratives. Another reason why Islamic art is usually abstract is to symbolize the transcendence, indivisible and infinite nature of God, an objective achieved by arabesque. Islamic calligraphy is an omnipresent decoration in Islamic art, and is usually expressed in the form of Quranic verses. Two of the main scripts involved are the symbolic kufic and naskh scripts, which can be found adorning the walls and domes of mosques, the sides of minbars, and so on.

Question: What is the repetitive use of geometric floral designs known as in Islamic art?


Answer: pre-Islamic pagan religions

Question: Islam forbade types of art found in what religions?


Answer: people and animals

Question: Miniature paintings of the Ottoman empire featured what kind of subjects?


Answer: to symbolize the transcendence, indivisible and infinite nature of God

Question: What is one reason the art of Islam may be abstract?


Answer: kufic and naskh scripts

Question: In mosques domes may have what kind of scripts decorating them?


Answer: ordered repetition, radiating structures, and rhythmic, metric patterns

Context: Distinguishing motifs of Islamic architecture have always been ordered repetition, radiating structures, and rhythmic, metric patterns. In this respect, fractal geometry has been a key utility, especially for mosques and palaces. Other features employed as motifs include columns, piers and arches, organized and interwoven with alternating sequences of niches and colonnettes. The role of domes in Islamic architecture has been considerable. Its usage spans centuries, first appearing in 691 with the construction of the Dome of the Rock mosque, and recurring even up until the 17th century with the Taj Mahal. And as late as the 19th century, Islamic domes had been incorporated into European architecture.

Question: What are the main distinctive features of Islamic architecture?


Answer: columns, piers and arches

Question: What physical characteristics are common in Islamic architecture?


Answer: 691

Question: When did domes first appear in the architecture of the Muslim World?


Answer: Dome of the Rock mosque

Question: Which mosque is believed to be the first with a dome?


Answer: 17th century

Question: When was the Taj Mahal constructed?


Answer: The Solar Hijri calendar

Context: The Solar Hijri calendar, also called the Shamsi Hijri calendar, and abbreviated as SH, is the official calendar of Iran and Afghanistan. It begins on the vernal equinox. Each of the twelve months corresponds with a zodiac sign. The first six months have 31 days, the next five have 30 days, and the last month has 29 days in usual years but 30 days in leap years. The year of Prophet Muhammad's migration to Medina (622 CE) is fixed as the first year of the calendar, and the New Year's Day always falls on the March equinox.

Question: What is another name for the Shamsi Hijri calender?


Answer: SH

Question: What is one way to abbreviate the Solar Hiljri calender?


Answer: the Shamsi Hijri calendar

Question: What is the customary calendar of Iran?


Answer: twelve months

Question: How many months are in the Shamsi Hijri calendar?


Answer: Prophet Muhammad's migration to Medina

Question: What is the first year of the Shamsi Hijri Calender based on?


Answer: a small minority

Context: In a small minority of Muslim countries, the law requires women to cover either just legs, shoulders and head or the whole body apart from the face. In strictest forms, the face as well must be covered leaving just a mesh to see through. These rules for dressing cause tensions, concerning particularly Muslims living in Western countries, where restrictions are considered both sexist and oppressive. Some Muslims oppose this charge, and instead declare that the media in these countries presses on women to reveal too much in order to be deemed attractive, and that this is itself sexist and oppressive.

Question: How many Muslim nations require women to cover their legs, shoulders, or whole body?


Answer: sexist and oppressive

Question: What are the restrictions on the dress of Muslim women considered in the West?


Answer: women to reveal too much in order to be deemed attractive

Question: Why do some Muslims oppose allowing women to reveal more of themselves?


Answer: the face

Question: In its most strict style what must a woman cover in some Muslim nations?


Answer: Armenia

Context: Iran (/aɪˈræn/ or i/ɪˈrɑːn/; Persian: Irān – ایران [ʔiːˈɾɒːn] ( listen)), also known as Persia (/ˈpɜːrʒə/ or /ˈpɜːrʃə/), officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (جمهوری اسلامی ایران – Jomhuri ye Eslāmi ye Irān [d͡ʒomhuːˌɾije eslɒːˌmije ʔiːˈɾɒːn]), is a sovereign state in Western Asia. It is bordered to the northwest by Armenia, the de facto Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, and Azerbaijan; to the north by Kazakhstan and Russia across the Caspian Sea; to the northeast by Turkmenistan; to the east by Afghanistan and Pakistan; to the south by the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman; and to the west by Turkey and Iraq. Comprising a land area of 1,648,195 km2 (636,372 sq mi), it is the second-largest country in the Middle East and the 18th-largest in the world. With 78.4 million inhabitants, Iran is the world's 17th-most-populous country. It is the only country that has both a Caspian Sea and an Indian Ocean coastline. Iran has long been of geostrategic importance because of its central location in Eurasia and Western Asia, and its proximity to the Strait of Hormuz.

Question: Which country borders Iran to Iran's northwest?


Answer: 78.4 million

Question: How many people live in Iran?


Answer: 636,372 sq mi

Question: What is Iran's land mass in square miles?


Answer: Persia

Question: What is the unofficial name for Iran?


Answer: the Islamic Republic of Iran

Question: What is Iran's official country name?


Answer: the Proto-Elamite and Elamite kingdoms

Context: Iran is home to one of the world's oldest civilizations, beginning with the formation of the Proto-Elamite and Elamite kingdoms in 3200–2800 BC. The Iranian Medes unified the area into the first of many empires in 625 BC, after which it became the dominant cultural and political power in the region. Iran reached the pinnacle of its power during the Achaemenid Empire founded by Cyrus the Great in 550 BC, which at its greatest extent comprised major portions of the ancient world, stretching from parts of the Balkans (Thrace-Macedonia, Bulgaria-Paeonia) and Eastern Europe proper in the west, to the Indus Valley in the east, making it the largest empire the world had yet seen. The empire collapsed in 330 BC following the conquests of Alexander the Great. The Parthian Empire emerged from the ashes and was succeeded by the Sassanid Dynasty in 224 AD, under which Iran again became one of the leading powers in the world, along with the Roman-Byzantine Empire, for a period of more than four centuries.

Question: What civilizations formed in Iran during 3200-2800 BC?


Answer: 625 BC

Question: When did the Iranian Medes first unify an empire in the area?


Answer: Cyrus the Great

Question: Who found the Archaemenid Empire in 550 BC?


Answer: 330 BC

Question: When did the Archaemenid Empire collapse?


Answer: Alexander the Great

Question: Who ended the Archaemenid Empire by conquest in 330 BC?


Answer: 633 AD

Context: In 633 AD, Rashidun Arabs invaded Iran and conquered it by 651 AD, largely converting Iranian people from their indigenous faiths of Manichaeism and Zoroastrianism to Sunni Islam. Arabic replaced Persian as the official language, while Persian remained the language of both ordinary people and of literature. Iran became a major contributor to the Islamic Golden Age, producing many influential scientists, scholars, artists, and thinkers. Establishment of the Safavid Dynasty in 1501, converted the Iranian people from Sunni Islam to Twelver Shia Islam, and made Twelver Shia Islam the official religion of Iran. Safavid conversion of Iran from Sunnism to Shiism marked one of the most important turning points in Iranian and Muslim history. Starting in 1736 under Nader Shah, Iran reached its greatest territorial extent since the Sassanid Empire, briefly possessing what was arguably the most powerful empire at the time. During the 19th century, Iran irrevocably lost swaths of its territories in the Caucasus which made part of the concept of Iran for centuries, to neighboring Imperial Russia. Popular unrest culminated in the Persian Constitutional Revolution of 1906, which established a constitutional monarchy and the country's first Majles (parliament). Following a coup d'état instigated by the U.K. and the U.S. in 1953, Iran gradually became close allies with the United States and the rest of the West, remained secular, but grew increasingly autocratic. Growing dissent against foreign influence and political repression culminated in the 1979 Revolution, which led to the establishment of an Islamic republic on 1 April 1979.

Question: What year did the Rashidun Arabs invade Iran?


Answer: 651 AD

Question: What year did the Rashidun Arabs conquer Iran?


Answer: Sunni Islam

Question: What religion did the Rashidun Arabs convert the indigenous conquered peoples to?


Answer: Imperial Russia

Question: Which country took over Iran's territories in the Caucasus in the 19th Century?


Answer: 1979 Revolution

Question: What movement led to Iran becoming an Islamic republic in 1979?


Answer: natural gas

Context: Tehran is the country's capital and largest city, as well as its leading cultural and economic center. Iran is a major regional and middle power, exerting considerable influence in international energy security and the world economy through its large reserves of fossil fuels, which include the largest natural gas supply in the world and the fourth-largest proven oil reserves. Iran's rich cultural legacy is reflected in part by its 19 UNESCO World Heritage Sites, the fourth-largest number in Asia and 12th-largest in the world.

Question: What resource does Iran have the largest supply of in the world?


Answer: Tehran

Question: What city is Iran's capital?


Answer: through its large reserves of fossil fuels

Question: How does Iran effect the world economy and international energy markets?


Answer: proven oil reserves

Question: What resource does Iran have the fourth largest supply of in the world?


Answer: 19

Question: How many UNESCO World Heritage Sites does Iran have?


Answer: 3rd-century

Context: The term Iran derives directly from Middle Persian Ērān, first attested in a 3rd-century inscription at Rustam Relief, with the accompanying Parthian inscription using the term Aryān, in reference to Iranians. The Middle Iranian ērān and aryān are oblique plural forms of gentilic ēr- (Middle Persian) and ary- (Parthian), both deriving from Proto-Iranian *arya- (meaning "Aryan," i.e., "of the Iranians"), argued to descend from Proto-Indo-European *ar-yo-, meaning "skillful assembler." In Iranian languages, the gentilic is attested as a self-identifier included in ancient inscriptions and the literature of Avesta,[a] and remains also in other Iranian ethnic names such as Alans (Ossetic: Ир – Ir) and Iron (Ossetic: Ирон – Iron).

Question: What century did terms referencing Iran begin to be recorded?


Answer: Parthian

Question: What inscription referenced the term Aryan to Iranians?


Answer: *ar-yo-

Question: What Proto-Indo-European term means "skillful assembler?"


Answer: the gentilic

Question: What is attested as a self-identifier in Iranian languages?


Answer: Ērān

Question: What other term in the 3rd Century besides Aryan also refer to Iran?


Answer: Greek historians

Context: Historically, Iran has been referred to as Persia by the West, due mainly to the writings of Greek historians who called Iran Persis (Greek: Περσίς), meaning "land of the Persians." As the most extensive interactions the Ancient Greeks had with any outsider was with the Persians, the term persisted, even long after the Persian rule in Greece. However, Persis (Old Persian: Pārśa; Modern Persian: Pārse) was originally referred to a region settled by Persians in the west shore of Lake Urmia, in the 9th century BC. The settlement was then shifted to the southern end of the Zagros Mountains, and is today defined as Fars Province.

Question: Which historians referred to Iran as Persis?


Answer: Persia

Question: What has the West historically referred Iran as?


Answer: the 9th century BC

Question: When did Persians settle on the west shore of Lake Urmia?


Answer: the southern end of the Zagros Mountains,

Question: After Lake Urmia, Persis then shifted over to what region?


Answer: Fars Province

Question: What is Persis known as today?


Answer: 1935

Context: In 1935, Reza Shah requested the international community to refer to the country by its native name, Iran. As the New York Times explained at the time, "At the suggestion of the Persian Legation in Berlin, the Tehran government, on the Persian New Year, Nowruz, March 21, 1935, substituted Iran for Persia as the official name of the country." Opposition to the name change led to the reversal of the decision, and Professor Ehsan Yarshater, editor of Encyclopædia Iranica, propagated a move to use Persia and Iran interchangeably. Today, both Persia and Iran are used in cultural contexts; although, Iran is the name used officially in political contexts.

Question: When did Reza Shan request that Iran officially be referred to as Iran and not Persia?


Answer: New York Times

Question: Which newspaper reported the official name request in 1935?


Answer: Iran

Question: Which name is officially used politically?


Answer: Professor Ehsan Yarshater

Question: Who endorsed a move to use Persia and Iran interchangeably after opposition to the official name change?


Answer: the Lower Paleolithic era, c. 800,000–200,000 BC

Context: The earliest archaeological artifacts in Iran, like those excavated at the Kashafrud and Ganj Par sites, attest to a human presence in Iran since the Lower Paleolithic era, c. 800,000–200,000 BC. Iran's Neanderthal artifacts from the Middle Paleolithic period, c. 200,000–40,000 BC, have been found mainly in the Zagros region, at sites such as Warwasi and Yafteh Cave.[page needed] Around 10th to 8th millennium BC, early agricultural communities such as Chogha Golan and Chogha Bonut began to flourish in Iran, as well as Susa and Chogha Mish developing in and around the Zagros region.[page needed]

Question: How long ago were the earliest artifacts from that were evidence of humans in Iran?


Answer: 10th to 8th millennium BC

Question: When did early agricultural communities in Iran begin to appear and prosper?


Answer: the Zagros region

Question: What region of Iran did Neanderthal artifacts from the Middle Paleolithic Period were found?


Answer: The earliest archaeological artifacts in Iran

Question: What were dug up from the archaeological sites Kashafrud and Ganj Par in Iran?


Answer: Susa

Context: The emergence of Susa as a city, as determined by radiocarbon dating, dates back to early 4,395 BC. There are dozens of prehistoric sites across the Iranian plateau, pointing to the existence of ancient cultures and urban settlements in the 4th millennium BC. During the Bronze Age, Iran was home to several civilizations including Elam, Jiroft, and Zayande River. Elam, the most prominent of these civilizations, developed in the southwest of Iran, alongside those in Mesopotamia. The emergence of writing in Elam was paralleled to Sumer, and the Elamite cuneiform was developed since the 3rd millennium BC.

Question: What ancient city dates back as early as 4395 BC in Iran?


Answer: the 4th millennium BC

Question: How long ago did ancient cultures and settlements exist across the Iranian plateau?


Answer: Bronze Age

Question: During what Age was Iran the site of several of these ancient civilizations?


Answer: Elam

Question: Which ancient civilization in Iran during the 4th Millenium was the most prominent?


Answer: the 3rd millennium BC

Question: Elam's writing system had paralleled Sumer's cuneiform since what era?


Answer: the Assyrian Empire

Context: From the late 10th to late 7th centuries BC, the Iranian peoples, together with the pre-Iranian kingdoms, fell under the domination of the Assyrian Empire, based in northern Mesopotamia. Under king Cyaxares, the Medes and Persians entered into an alliance with Nabopolassar of Babylon, as well as the Scythians and the Cimmerians, and together they attacked the Assyrian Empire. The civil war ravaged the Assyrian Empire between 616 BC and 605 BC, thus freeing their respective peoples from three centuries of Assyrian rule. The unification of the Median tribes under a single ruler in 728 BC led to the foundation of the Median Empire which, by 612 BC, controlled the whole Iran and the eastern Anatolia. This marked the end of the Kingdom of Urartu as well, which was subsequently conquered and dissolved.

Question: Who dominated the area of Irea between the 10th Century BC to the late 7th Century BC?


Answer: between 616 BC and 605 BC

Question: When did this Civil War take place to free the Iranian peoples from Assyrian rule?


Answer: three centuries

Question: How long did the Assyrian Empire control and rule Iran?


Answer: king Cyaxares

Question: Who lead the Persians into a coalition with the Medes, Babylon, Scythians, and Cimmerians to fight against the Assyrians?


Answer: 728 BC

Question: When did the Median tribes unify under a single ruler to form the Median Empire?


Answer: Cyrus the Great

Context: In 550 BC, Cyrus the Great, son of Mandane and Cambyses I, took over the Median Empire, and founded the Achaemenid Empire by unifying other city states. The conquest of Media was a result of what is called the Persian Revolt. The brouhaha was initially triggered by the actions of the Median ruler Astyages, and was quickly spread to other provinces, as they allied with the Persians. Later conquests under Cyrus and his successors expanded the empire to include Lydia, Babylon, Egypt, parts of the Balkans and Eastern Europe proper, as well as the lands to the west of the Indus and Oxus rivers.

Question: Who founded the Achaemenid Empire when the city states in Iran came together in unification?


Answer: 550 BC

Question: When did Cyrus the Great found the Achaemenid Empire?


Answer: the Median ruler Astyages

Question: Who triggered the Persian Revolt?


Answer: The conquest of Media

Question: What resulted from the Persian Revolt?


Answer: the Achaemenid Empire

Context: At its greatest extent, the Achaemenid Empire included the modern territories of Iran, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia, Turkey, much of the Black Sea coastal regions, northeastern Greece and southern Bulgaria (Thrace), northern Greece and Macedonia (Paeonia and Ancient Macedon), Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Israel, Palestine, all significant ancient population centers of ancient Egypt as far west as Libya, Kuwait, northern Saudi Arabia, parts of the UAE and Oman, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and much of Central Asia, making it the first world government and the largest empire the world had yet seen.

Question: What was the first world goverment the world had seen at the time it existed?


Answer: the Achaemenid Empire

Question: What was the largest empire the world had seen at the time it existed?


Answer: the Black Sea

Question: What sea did the Achaemenid Empire control the majority of the coastal regions of?


Answer: Central Asia

Question: The Achaemenid Empire expanded into what part of Asia?


Answer: ancient Egypt

Question: The Achaemenid Empire controlled all of the significant settlements of what ancient country during its greatest extent?


Answer: the Greek city states

Context: It is estimated that in 480 BC, 50 million people lived in the Achaemenid Empire. The empire at its peak ruled over 44% of the world's population, the highest such figure for any empire in history. In Greek history, the Achaemenid Empire is considered as the antagonist of the Greek city states, for the emancipation of slaves including the Jewish exiles in Babylon, building infrastructures such as road and postal systems, and the use of an official language, the Imperial Aramaic, throughout its territories. The empire had a centralized, bureaucratic administration under the emperor, a large professional army, and civil services, inspiring similar developments in later empires. Furthermore, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus, was built in the empire between 353 and 350 BC.

Question: The Achaemenid Empire was the known enemy of what nation's histories during its existence?


Answer: 50 million people

Question: How many people lived in the Archaemenid Empire in 480BC?


Answer: 44% of the world's population

Question: The Achaemenid Empire had what percentage of the word's population in 480BC?


Answer: Imperial Aramaic

Question: What was the Achaemenid Empire's official language?


Answer: the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus

Question: What Seven Wonder of the Ancient world was built by the Archaemenid Empire in the 4th Century BC?


Answer: Alexander the Great

Context: In 334 BC, Alexander the Great invaded the Achaemenid Empire, defeating the last Achaemenid emperor, Darius III, at the Battle of Issus. Following the premature death of Alexander, Iran came under the control of the Hellenistic Seleucid Empire. In the middle of the 2nd century BC, the Parthian Empire rose to become the main power in Iran, and the century-long geopolitical arch-rivalry between Romans and Parthians began, culminating in the Roman–Parthian Wars. The Parthian Empire continued as a feudal monarchy for nearly five centuries, until 224 CE, when it was succeeded by the Sassanid Empire. Together with their neighboring arch-rival, the Roman-Byzantines, they made up the world's two most dominant powers at the time, for over four centuries.

Question: Who invaded the Archaemenid Empire in 334BC?


Answer: Darius III

Question: Who was the last Archaemenid Emperor at the time of its defeat by Alexander the Great?


Answer: the Hellenistic Seleucid Empire

Question: Who controlled the Archaemenid Empire after Alexander the Great died prematurely?


Answer: In the middle of the 2nd century BC

Question: When did the Parthian Empire rise to become the main power in Iran?


Answer: 224 CE

Question: When did the Sassanid Empire succeed the Parthian Empire in control of Iran?


Answer: Byzantine-Sassanid Wars

Context: The prolonged Byzantine-Sassanid Wars, most importantly the climactic Byzantine-Sassanid War of 602-628, as well as the social conflict within the Sassanid Empire, opened the way for an Arab invasion to Iran in the 7th century. Initially defeated by the Arab Rashidun Caliphate, Iran came under the rule of the Arab caliphates of Umayyad and Abbasid. The prolonged and gradual process of the Islamization of Iran began following the conquest. Under the new Arab elite of the Rashidun and later the Umayyad caliphates, both converted (mawali) and non-converted (dhimmi) Iranians were discriminated against, being excluded from the government and military, and having to pay a special tax called Jizya. Gunde Shapur, home of the Academy of Gunde Shapur which was the most important medical center of the world at the time, survived after the invasion, but became known as an Islamic institute thereafter.

Question: What wars in the 600s CE lead to the weakening of Iran and a subsequent invasion by the Arabs?


Answer: the 7th century

Question: When did the Arabs invade Iran?


Answer: Arab Rashidun Caliphate

Question: Which Arab Caliphate defeated Iran first?


Answer: Jizya

Question: What special tax did the discriminated Iranians - both converted and nonconverted - have to pay?


Answer: Academy of Gunde Shapur

Question: What academy was the most important medical center of the world at the time and became Islamicized after the Arab invasions?


Answer: the Islamic Golden Age

Context: The blossoming literature, philosophy, medicine, and art of Iran became major elements in the formation of a new age for the Iranian civilization, during the period known as the Islamic Golden Age. The Islamic Golden Age reached its peak by the 10th and 11th centuries, during which Iran was the main theater of the scientific activities. After the 10th century, Persian language, alongside Arabic, was used for the scientific, philosophical, historical, musical, and medical works, whereas the important Iranian writers, such as Tusi, Avicenna, Qotb od Din Shirazi, and Biruni, had major contributions in the scientific writing.

Question: What period was known for an era where Iranian civilization blossomed and peaked?


Answer: by the 10th and 11th centuries

Question: When did the Islamic Golden Age reach its zenith?


Answer: scientific writing

Question: Prominent Iranian writers during this time of the Islamic Golden Age contributed to what area of writing?


Answer: Iran

Question: Where was the main area where the peak of scientific activity take place during the Islamic Golden Age?


Answer: Turkic tribes

Context: The 10th century saw a mass migration of Turkic tribes from Central Asia into the Iranian plateau. Turkic tribesmen were first used in the Abbasid army as mamluks (slave-warriors), replacing Iranian and Arab elements within the army. As a result, the mamluks gained a significant political power. In 999, large portions of Iran came briefly under the rule of the Ghaznavids, whose rulers were of mamluk Turk origin, and longer subsequently under the Turkish Seljuk and Khwarezmian empires. These Turks had been Persianized and had adopted Persian models of administration and rulership. The Seljuks subsequently gave rise to the Sultanate of Rum in Anatolia, while taking their thoroughly Persianized identity with them. The result of the adoption and patronage of Persian culture by Turkish rulers was the development of a distinct Turko-Persian tradition.

Question: What tribes migranted en masse to the Iranian plateau in the 10th Century?


Answer: Central Asia

Question: Where did these Turkic tribes come from before the migrated into Iran in the 10th Century?


Answer: mamluks (slave-warriors)

Question: The Abbasid army replaced Iranian and Arabic men with Turkic tribesmen as what element in their army?


Answer: 999

Question: In what year did the Ghaznavids briefly control large portions of Iran?


Answer: These Turks had been Persianized and had adopted Persian models of administration and rulership

Question: How were the Ghaznavids different from the original Turkics that migrated into Iran?


Answer: Hulagu Khan

Context: Following the fracture of the Mongol Empire in 1256, Hulagu Khan, grandson of Genghis Khan, established the Ilkhanate in Iran. In 1370, yet another conqueror, Timur, followed the example of Hulagu, establishing the Timurid Empire which lasted for another 156 years. In 1387, Timur ordered the complete massacre of Isfahan, reportedly killing 70,000 citizens. The Ilkhans and the Timurids soon came to adopt the ways and customs of the Iranians, choosing to surround themselves with a culture that was distinctively Iranian.

Question: Who established an Ilkhanate in Iran after the break up of the Mongol Empire in 1256?


Answer: 1370

Question: Timur established the Timurid Empire in Iran in what year?


Answer: 156 years

Question: How long did the Timurid empire last in Iran?


Answer: a culture that was distinctively Iranian

Question: The Ilkhans and Tumrids had what type of culture when ruling Iran?


Answer: 70,000 citizens

Question: How many citizens were massacred in Isfahan by Timur in 1387?


Answer: Ismail I from Ardabil

Context: By the 1500s, Ismail I from Ardabil, established the Safavid Dynasty, with Tabriz as the capital. Beginning with Azerbaijan, he subsequently extended his authority over all of the Iranian territories, and established an intermittent Iranian hegemony over the vast relative regions, reasserting the Iranian identity within large parts of the Greater Iran. Iran was predominantly Sunni, but Ismail instigated a forced conversion to the Shia branch of Islam, by which the Shia Islam spread throughout the Safavid territories in the Caucasus, Iran, Anatolia, and Mesopotamia. As a result, thereof, the modern-day Iran is the only official Shia nation of the world, with it holding an absolute majority in Iran and the Republic of Azerbaijan, having there the 1st and 2nd highest number of Shia inhabitants by population percentage in the world.

Question: Who established the Safavid Dynasty?


Answer: Tabriz

Question: What was the capital of the Safavid Dynasty?


Answer: Shia Islam

Question: Ismail I forced a conversion to what Islamic branch?


Answer: Iran

Question: What country is currently the only official Shia nation of the world?


Answer: Ottoman Empire

Context: The centuries-long geopolitical and ideological rivalry between Safavid Iran and the neighboring Ottoman Empire, led to numerous Ottoman–Persian Wars. The Safavid Era peaked in the reign of Abbas the Great, 1587–1629, surpassing their Ottoman arch rivals in strength, and making the empire a leading hub in Western Eurasia for the sciences and arts. The Safavid Era saw the start of mass integration from Caucasian populations into new layers of the society of Iran, as well as mass resettlement of them within the heartlands of Iran, playing a pivotal role in the history of Iran for centuries onwards. Following a gradual decline in the late 1600s and early 1700s, which was caused by the internal conflicts, the continuous wars with the Ottomans, and the foreign interference (most notably the Russian interference), the Safavid rule was ended by the Pashtun rebels who besieged Isfahan and defeated Soltan Hosein in 1722.

Question: What Empire neighbored and had a rivalry with Safavid Iran?


Answer: Abbas the Great

Question: Safavid Iran peaked during whose reign?


Answer: 1587–1629

Question: When did the Safavid Empire peak?


Answer: Pashtun rebels

Question: Who ended Safavid power in Iran in 1722?


Answer: Soltan Hosein

Question: Who was the last Safavid ruler who was defeated in 1722 by the Pashtuns in Isfahan?


Answer: Nader Shah

Context: In 1729, Nader Shah, a chieftain and military genius from Khorasan, successfully drove out and conquered the Pashtun invaders. He subsequently took back the annexed Caucasian territories which were divided among the Ottoman and Russian authorities by the ongoing chaos in Iran. During the reign of Nader Shah, Iran reached its greatest extent since the Sassanid Empire, reestablishing the Iranian hegemony all over the Caucasus, as well as other major parts of the west and central Asia, and briefly possessing what was arguably the most powerful empire at the time.

Question: Who drove out the Pashtuns from Iran in 1729?


Answer: the Sassanid Empire

Question: Nader Shah expanded Iranian power to its highest peak since what Empire?


Answer: Caucasian territories

Question: Nader Shah took back what territories that were annexed by the Ottomans and the Russians?


Answer: Khorasan

Question: Where was Nader Shan from?


Answer: 1729

Question: In what year were the Pashtuns defeated and driven out of Iran?


Answer: Karim Khan

Context: Another civil war ensued after the death of Karim Khan in 1779, out of which Aqa Mohammad Khan emerged, founding the Qajar Dynasty in 1794. In 1795, following the disobedience of the Georgian subjects and their alliance with the Russians, the Qajars captured Tblisi by the Battle of Krtsanisi, and drove the Russians out of the entire Caucasus, reestablishing a short-lived Iranian suzerainty over the region. The Russo-Persian wars of 1804–1813 and 1826–1828 resulted in large irrevocable territorial losses for Iran in the Caucasus, comprising all of Transcaucasia and Dagestan, which made part of the very concept of Iran for centuries, and thus substantial gains for the neighboring Russian Empire.

Question: Whose death in 1779 led to a civil war in Iran?


Answer: Aqa Mohammad Khan

Question: Who founded the following Qajar Empire in 1794?


Answer: the entire Caucasus

Question: The Qajars drove the Russians out of what entire region?


Answer: Battle of Krtsanisi

Question: The Qajars defeated the Russians at what battle to take over Tblisi?


Answer: Russo-Persian wars

Question: Iran lost territory in the Caucasus during what wars in the early 1800s?


Answer: the 19th century Russo-Persian wars

Context: As a result of the 19th century Russo-Persian wars, the Russians took over the Caucasus, and Iran irrevocably lost control over its integral territories in the region (comprising modern-day Dagestan, Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan), which got confirmed per the treaties of Gulistan and Turkmenchay. The area to the north of the river Aras, among which the contemporary Republic of Azerbaijan, eastern Georgia, Dagestan, and Armenia, were Iranian territory until they were occupied by Russia in the course of the 19th century.

Question: What wars resulted in Iran losing control of the Caucasus to the Russians?


Answer: the Caucasus

Question: What region consisting of Dagestan, Georgia, Armenia, & Azerbaijan did Iran lose control of to the Russians?


Answer: the 19th century

Question: What century did Iran lose the Caucasus to Russia?


Answer: Iran irrevocably lost control over its integral territories in the region

Question: The Gulistan and Turkmenchay treaties between Iran and Russia confirmed what?


Answer: Between 1872 and 1905

Context: Between 1872 and 1905, a series of protests took place in response to the sale of concessions to foreigners by Nasser od Din and Mozaffar od Din shahs of Qajar, and led to the Iranian Constitutional Revolution. The first Iranian Constitution and the first national parliament of Iran were founded in 1906, through the ongoing revolution. The Constitution included the official recognition of Iran's three religious minorities, namely Christians, Zoroastrians, and Jews, which has remained a basis in the legislation of Iran since then.

Question: When did a series of protests over foreign concessions sales in Iran occur?


Answer: the Iranian Constitutional Revolution

Question: What resulted from the series of protests in Iran over foreign concessions sales?


Answer: in 1906

Question: The first national parliament of Iran was founded in what year?


Answer: in 1906

Question: The first Constitution of Iran was founded in what year?


Answer: official recognition of Iran's three religious minorities

Question: The Iranian Constitution did what for Christians, Jews, and Zoroastrians in Iran?


Answer: until 1911

Context: The struggle related to the constitutional movement continued until 1911, when Mohammad Ali Shah was defeated and forced to abdicate. On the pretext of restoring order, the Russians occupied Northern Iran in 1911, and maintained a military presence in the region for years to come. During World War I, the British occupied much of Western Iran, and fully withdrew in 1921. The Persian Campaign commenced furthermore during World War I in Northwestern Iran after an Ottoman invasion, as part of the Middle Eastern Theatre of World War I. As a result of Ottoman hostilities across the border, a large amount of the Assyrians of Iran were massacred by the Ottoman armies, notably in and around Urmia. Apart from the rule of Aqa Mohammad Khan, the Qajar rule is characterized as a century of misrule.

Question: The constitutional movement in Iran lasted from 1906 until what year?


Answer: 1921

Question: The British occupied Western Iran from World War 1 until finally withdrawing in what year?


Answer: Mohammad Ali Shah

Question: Who was defeated and forced to abdicate at the end of the Iranian constitutional movement?


Answer: restoring order

Question: In 1911, Russians occupied Northern Iran under what pretext?


Answer: Ottoman armies

Question: Who massacred many Assyrian Iranians around Urmia during World War 1?