At Panipat in 1526 Babur defeated Ibrahim Lodi, the sultan of Delhi. What does the record credit for his victory?Wikipedia, "First Battle of Panipat"; course topic 3.1
Before his siege of Constantinople, Mehmed II hired the Hungarian gunsmith Urban to build colossal cannons. The detail best supports which claim about empires after 1450?World History Encyclopedia, "Mehmed II"; course topic 3.1
Busbecq, the Habsburg ambassador to the Ottoman court, wrote between 1555 and 1562: "The fear of Persia gives us a respite, but it is only for a time." What is he pointing to?Ogier Ghiselin de Busbecq, The Turkish Letters, 1555-1562, Internet History Sourcebooks Project, Fordham University; course topic 3.1
By 1517 Selim I had conquered which state, bringing Egypt under Ottoman rule?World History Encyclopedia, "Ottoman Empire"; course topic 3.1
In 1514 the Ottoman sultan Selim I defeated the Safavids at Chaldiran. What did the Ottomans gain?Wikipedia, "Battle of Chaldiran"; course topic 3.1
In 1590 to 1591 the ruler of Morocco sent about 4,000 men across the Sahara against the Songhai Empire, whose army was many times larger. Why did the Moroccans win?World History Encyclopedia, "Songhai Empire"; course topic 3.1
Show all 46 questions (40 more)
Topic 3.1: Empires expand, continued
Safavid Iran, which lasted from 1501 to 1736, is often counted with the Ottoman and Mughal states under one label. Which?Wikipedia, "Safavid Iran"; course topic 3.4 (comparison), practiced with topic 3.1
Suleiman defeated the king of Hungary at Mohács in 1526. What happened when he moved on Vienna in 1529?World History Encyclopedia, "Suleiman the Magnificent"; course topic 3.1
What did the sultan of Morocco hope to win by invading Songhai in 1590?Wikipedia, "Battle of Tondibi"; course topic 3.1
Which empire is correctly matched with the region the course gives for it between 1450 and 1750?College Board, AP World History: Modern Course and Exam Description, topic 3.1, historical developments; course topic 3.1
Which people invaded a weakened Ming China and founded the Qing dynasty in 1644?World History Encyclopedia, "Ming Dynasty"; course topic 3.1
With its capital at Gao, the Songhai Empire replaced Mali as the leading state of West Africa. What did its prosperity rest on?World History Encyclopedia, "Songhai Empire"; course topic 3.1
Topic 3.2: Empires: administration 22
After taking Constantinople, Mehmed II ordered people from Anatolia and the Balkans moved into the city, whatever their ethnicity or religion. What was his aim?World History Encyclopedia, "Mehmed II"; course topic 3.2
Askia Mohammad I of Songhai made the pilgrimage to Mecca, imposed Islamic law and appointed Muslim judges at Timbuktu and Djenne. In this unit that is an example of a rulerWorld History Encyclopedia, "Songhai Empire"; course topic 3.2
Busbecq on the Ottomans: "No distinction is attached to birth among the Turks; the deference to be paid to a man is measured by the position he holds in the public service." Which practice does the passage describe?Ogier Ghiselin de Busbecq, The Turkish Letters, 1555-1562, Internet History Sourcebooks Project, Fordham University; course topic 3.2
Busbecq was the Holy Roman Emperor's ambassador in Constantinople from 1555 to 1562. Why might his praise of the Ottoman state leave things out?Ogier Ghiselin de Busbecq, The Turkish Letters, 1555-1562, Internet History Sourcebooks Project, Fordham University, editor's introduction; course topic 3.2
Cieza de León wrote that the tribute of each Inca province "was entered in the accounts of those who kept the quipus." What else does he say the quipus recorded?Pedro de Cieza de León, Chronicles of the Incas, 1540, Internet History Sourcebooks Project, Fordham University; course topic 3.2
The Coricancha in Cuzco held the Temple of the Sun, dedicated above all to Inti. How did Inca rulers tie this worship to their own power?World History Encyclopedia, "Coricancha", "Inca Government" and "Inca Religion"; course topic 3.2
The Duc de Saint-Simon on Louis XIV: by making expensive habits the fashion, "he compelled his courtiers to live beyond their income, and gradually reduced them to depend on his bounty." What was the king doing?Duc de Saint-Simon, "The Court of Louis XIV", Internet History Sourcebooks Project, Fordham University; course topic 3.2
How did the first Tokugawa shogun deal with the other great warrior families of Japan?World History Encyclopedia, "Edo Period"; course topic 3.2
In the Mughal Empire, who were the zamindars?Wikipedia, "Zamindar"; course topic 3.2
Inca subjects paid part of their tax in labor, and the laborers could be shifted about the empire to wherever they were most needed. What was this service called?World History Encyclopedia, "Inca Government"; course topic 3.2
James VI of Scotland, 1598: "the Kings were the authors and makers of the laws and not the laws of the Kings." Which idea of rule is he defending?James VI and I, True Law of Free Monarchies, 1598, Internet History Sourcebooks Project, Fordham University; course topic 3.2
Leo Africanus on Timbuktu, 1526: "There are in Timbuktu numerous judges, teachers and priests, all properly appointed by the king. He greatly honors learning." What does the passage suggest about the ruler of Songhai?Leo Africanus, Description of Timbuktu (1526), Internet History Sourcebooks Project, Fordham University; course topic 3.2
Shah Jahan commissioned the Taj Mahal at Agra as a tomb for his wife Mumtaz Mahal, who died in 1631. In this unit, Mughal mausolea are an example of rulersWorld History Encyclopedia, "Taj Mahal: Symbol of Love, Power, & Mughal Architecture"; course topic 3.2
The Single Whip reform of the late Ming required taxes to be paid in what?World History Encyclopedia, "Ming Taxation & the Silver Economy"; course topic 3.2
Suleiman is known to Turkish speakers as Kanuni. What does the name recognize?World History Encyclopedia, "Suleiman the Magnificent"; course topic 3.2
The Tokugawa made each daimyo alternate yearly between Edo and his own territory. What did the rule do to the daimyo?World History Encyclopedia, "Tokugawa Iemitsu" and "Edo Period"; course topic 3.2
Toyotomi Hideyoshi, 1588: "Farmers of all provinces are strictly forbidden to have in their possession any swords, short swords, bows, spears, firearms, or other types of weapons." What was the lasting effect of this "sword hunt"?Asia for Educators, Columbia University, "The Edicts of Toyotomi Hideyoshi: Excerpts from Collection of Swords, 1588"; course topic 3.2
Under the devshirme, Ottoman officials took boys from which group to be trained as soldiers and officials?Wikipedia, "Devshirme"; course topic 3.2
Under the Ottoman iltizam system, who collected the taxes of a district?Wikipedia, "Iltizam"; course topic 3.2
Which pair of practices, both named in the course, gave rulers trained servants who depended on the ruler's favor?College Board, AP World History: Modern Course and Exam Description, topic 3.2, illustrative examples; course topic 3.4 (comparison), practiced with topic 3.2
Who were the Janissaries whom Busbecq met at Buda?Ogier Ghiselin de Busbecq, The Turkish Letters, 1555-1562, Internet History Sourcebooks Project, Fordham University; course topic 3.2
With little warfare to fight under the Tokugawa peace, what did many samurai become?World History Encyclopedia, "Samurai"; course topic 3.2
Topic 3.3: Empires: belief systems 12
After his entry into Constantinople in 1453, Mehmed II went directly to the Hagia Sophia. What became of the great church?World History Encyclopedia, "Mehmed II"; course topic 3.3
Akbar's religious policies culminated in the idea of sulh-i-kul. What does the term mean?World History Encyclopedia, "Ibadat Khana"; course topic 3.3
Guru Nanak is remembered for the saying "There is no Hindu, there is no Muslim." How does the course place the faith he founded?Wikipedia, "Guru Nanak"; course topic 3.3
How did the political rivalry between the Ottoman and Safavid empires affect Islam?College Board, AP World History: Modern Course and Exam Description, topic 3.3, historical developments; course topic 3.3
In 1575 Akbar began building the Ibadat Khana at Fatehpur Sikri. What happened there?World History Encyclopedia, "Ibadat Khana"; course topic 3.3
In 1579 Akbar invited a first Jesuit mission to his Mughal court, thirty years after the Jesuit Francis Xavier had begun preaching in Japan. Both events best illustrateWorld History Encyclopedia, "Ibadat Khana" and "Portuguese Nagasaki"; course topic 3.3
Luther, Ninety-five Theses (1517), thesis 43: "Christians are to be taught that he who gives to the poor or lends to the needy does a better deed than he who buys indulgences." What lasting change grew out of the protest this document began?Martin Luther, Ninety-five Theses (1517), thesis 43, Internet History Sourcebooks Project, Fordham University; course topic 3.3
What did Shah Ismail I do for religion when he founded the Safavid state in 1501?Wikipedia, "Safavid Iran"; course topic 3.3
What did the Peace of Augsburg of 1555 decide about religion in the German lands?World History Encyclopedia, "Protestant Reformation"; course topic 3.3
What stood at the center of Guru Nanak's teaching?Wikipedia, "Guru Nanak"; course topic 3.3
Where and when did Sikhism originate?Wikipedia, "Sikhism"; course topic 3.3
Which change did the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb make to the religious policy of Akbar's time?Wikipedia, "Mughal Empire"; course topic 3.3
How this list was compiled: Our own questions, written to Unit 3 (Land-Based Empires, c. 1450 to c. 1750) of the College Board's AP World History: Modern Course and Exam Description, effective fall 2026, https://apcentral.collegeboard.org/media/pdf/ap-world-history-modern-course-and-exam-description.pdf, read 2026-10-09. Each fact was read on 2026-10-09 in the public page named under its question: the Internet History Sourcebooks Project at Fordham University (Busbecq, Leo Africanus, Cieza de León, James VI and I, Saint-Simon, Luther), Asia for Educators at Columbia University (the edicts of Toyotomi Hideyoshi), the World History Encyclopedia and Wikipedia. Licence: Own work. Short quotations from the public documents named under each question.
How it works
This AP World History Unit 3 practice test has 46 questions of our own on Land-Based Empires, about 1450 to 1750. It is unofficial: this site is not affiliated with the College Board, the owner of AP.
Read the full guide
What Unit 3 covers
The College Board's course description, read October 9, 2026, gives Unit 3 four topics, the fewest of any unit. Three have a set here: how empires expanded (12 questions), how they were administered (22) and their belief systems (12). The fourth, comparing empires, is practiced inside those sets. The administration set is the largest because the outline lists the most examples there; the counts are ours.
Where the answers come from
Each answer names the public page where its fact was read: Busbecq, Leo Africanus, Saint-Simon and other period writers at Fordham University, Columbia University's Asia for Educators, the World History Encyclopedia or Wikipedia.
For each empire keep four notes: how it grew, who staffed it, how it raised money and which faith it backed.
Pair examples across empires: devshirme with samurai, zamindars with tax farmers, Versailles with the Taj Mahal.
Questions and answers
What is Unit 3 in AP World History?
Land-Based Empires, about 1450 to 1750: how the Ottoman, Safavid, Mughal, Manchu and other empires expanded with gunpowder, how rulers staffed, taxed and justified their rule, and how beliefs changed, from the Reformation to Sikhism.
Is this an AP World History Period 3 practice test?
It is the Unit 3 test. In the course description Unit 3 shares the second of four date ranges, about 1450 to 1750, with Unit 4. The third range, about 1750 to 1900, holds Units 5 and 6.
How much of the AP World History exam is Unit 3?
Between 12 and 15%, by the College Board's course page, the same as Units 4, 5 and 6. The description suggests only 8 to 11 class periods for it, so the unit counts for more on the exam than its length suggests.
Is this the real AP World History Unit 3 test?
No. The College Board's Progress Check for Unit 3, about 10 multiple-choice questions by the description, is assigned by teachers in AP Classroom. These questions are our own, each tied to a topic of the published outline and to a named public source.