The Earth and Its Peoples 3 rd edition Chapter 9 The Sasanid Empire and the Rise of Islam, Cover Slide Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

Dome of the Rock The first important Islamic shrine to be built was the celebrated Dome of the Rock, begun in 691 in Jerusalem by the caliph Abd al-Malik on the spot where faithful Muslims believe that Muhammad began his Night-Journey as he ascended to heaven. Both the octagonal shape of the centralized plan and the lavishly ornamented interior demonstrate the influence of Byzantine architecture. The shrine is capped by a gilded dome. (Sonia Halliday Photographs) Dome of the Rock Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

Great Mosque at Cordoba, 786 When the Abbasids attempted to massacre 800 family members of the Umayyad dynasty at a dinner of peace, a few of them escaped, fled to Spain, and established Cordoba as their capital. The Great Mosque of Cordoba, begun in 786, contains all of the usual features of a mosque, but it is best known for its interior double set of horseshoe-shaped arches, one above the other, which are mounted on the capitals of granite and marble columns. (Christopher Rennie/Robert Harding Picture Library) Great Mosque at Cordoba, 786 Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

Islamic world map, 10th c Oriented with the south at the top, this copy of a tenth-century original Islamic world map was probably made in the fourteenth century. (Courtesy, Suleymaniye Library) Islamic world map, 10th c Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

Ivory casket of harvesting dates This relief from an ivory casket, given to a Cordoban prince, reflects the importance of fruit cultivation in the Muslim-inspired agricultural expansion in southern Europe in the ninth and tenth centuries. It was made in 970 C.E. for Ziyad ibn Aflah, Prefect of Police. (Louvre/R.M.N./Art Resource, NY) Ivory casket of harvesting dates Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

Mariner's compass A mariner's compass determines direction at sea. Arab traders brought this Chinese south-pointing compass to the West, probably in the twelfth century. (Ontario Science Center, Toronto) Mariner's compass Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

Mosque at Samarra, 835 A unique spiral minaret 171 feet high is the most imposing remnant of the imperial city of Samarra, which was located on the east bank of the Tigris River 65 miles north of Baghdad. Begun in 835, this spacious Abbasid capital was a model of urban planning. It was abandoned in 892 when the caliph returned to Baghdad after the outbreak of severe friction between the people of Baghdad and Turkic military forces that the caliphs had quartered in Samarra. (Cresswell Photographic Archive, Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, neg C270) Mosque at Samarra, 835 Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

Quran page from woodblock, 8th c Printing from woodblocks--such as this Quran page--and from tin plates was practiced in Islamic lands between approximately 800 and Most of the prints were narrow amulets designed to be rolled and worn around the neck in a cylindrical case. Less valued than handwritten amulets, many of the prints were made by Banu Sasan conmen. It is not known why blockprinting had so little effect on society in general and eventually disappeared. (Cambridge University Library) Quran page from woodblock, 8th c Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

Sasanid plate of Shapur II, 300s Hunting scenes enjoyed great popularity in the art of the Sasanid kingdom of Persia. The image of King Shapur II (r ), depicting the ruler with a full beard and elaborately styled hair while hunting lions on horseback, seems reminiscent of ancient Assyrian art. Carried across the Central Asian Silk Road and exchanged for Chinese silk, this gilded silver plate came into the possession of a Tang Dynasty official. Chinese desire for things Persian mirrored Western passion for Chinese silk. (Courtesy of the Middle Eastern Cultural Center in Japan) Sasanid plate of Shapur II, 300s Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

Tomb of the Samanids in Bukhara This early-tenth-century tomb of the Samanids in Bukhara has the basic layout of a Zoroastrian fire temple: a dome on top of a cube. However, geometric ornamentation in baked brick marks it as an early masterpiece of Islamic architecture. The Samanid family achieved independence as rulers of northeastern Iran and western Central Asia in the tenth century. (Art Resource, NY) Tomb of the Samanids in Bukhara Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

Women playing chess, 13th c Chess was a popular pastime in Muslim Spain. As shown in this thirteenth-century miniature, women in their quarters, without men present, wore whatever clothes and jewels they liked. Notice the henna decorating the hands of the woman in the middle. The woman on the left, probably a slave, is playing an oud. (Institut Amatller d'Art Hispanic (c) Patrimonio Nacional, Madrid) Women playing chess, 13th c Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

Map: Early Expansion of Muslim Rule Early Expansion of Muslim Rule The territory brought under Muslim rule during the Arab conquests of the first Islamic century was vast. However, the expansion of Islam as the religion of the majority of the population was much slower. In most areas outside the Arabian peninsula, the only region where Arabic was then spoken, conversion was uncommon during the first century but accelerated during the second. (Copyright (c) Houghton Mifflin Company. All Rights Reserved.) Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

Map: The Islamic World, ca. 900 The Islamic World, ca. 900 The rapid expansion of Islam in a relatively short span of time testifies to the Arabs' superior fighting skills, religious zeal, and economic ambition, as well as to their enemies' weakness. Plague, famine, and political troubles in Sasanid Persia contributed to Muslim victory there. (Copyright (c) Houghton Mifflin Company. All Rights Reserved.) Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

Map: Major Trade Routes of the Thirteenth and Fourteenth Centuries Major Trade Routes of the Thirteenth and Fourteenth Centuries Muslim merchants carried on extensive trade in Southeast Asia, Central Asia, southern Europe, Africa, and the Indian Ocean long before the arrival (in the last area) of Europeans. (Copyright (c) Houghton Mifflin Company. All Rights Reserved.) Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

Map: Rise and Fall of the Abbasid Caliphate Rise and Fall of the Abbasid Caliphate Though Abbasid rulers occupied the caliphal seat in Iraq from 750 to 1258, when Mongol armies destroyed Baghdad, real political power waned sharply and steadily after 850. Nevertheless, the idea of the caliphate remained central to Sunni Muslim political theory. The rival caliphates of the Fatimids ( ) and Spanish Umayyads ( ) were comparatively short-lived. (Copyright (c) Houghton Mifflin Company. All Rights Reserved.) Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.