ISLAMIC ACHIEVEMENTS

Essential Question: What were the important contributions of Muslim scholars during the Islamic Empire? Warm-Up Question: What are the Five Pillars of Islam? What is a “caliph”? Why did the division between the Sunni and Shi’a Muslims occur?

Islamic Achievements Muslims during the Islamic Empire developed innovations that are still used today The lands and people of the Islamic Empire were diverse, rich, and creative; Greeks, Chinese, Hindus, Arabs, Persians, Turks and others all contributed to the culture of the Islamic Empire

Islamic Achievements Muslims helped spread ideas as well as goods along their trade routes that connected Asia, Europe, and Africa

Scholars studied and preserved Greek and Roman ideas Islamic Achievements Scholars studied and preserved Greek and Roman ideas

City Building and Architecture Many large cities developed in Muslim lands that inspired new kinds of architecture

City Building and Architecture The city of Baghdad was the Abbasids’ capital and one of the most glorious cities in the world It took 100,000 workers and architects four years to build Baghdad

City Building and Architecture They built mosques (Muslim places of worship), markets, homes, and shops

City Building and Architecture Mosques usually had towers, courtyards, and prayer rooms; the designs reflected the diversity of the Empire

The common use of the Arabic language helped promote learning Study and Learning Scholars from around the world met in Baghdad to research and translate texts from Greece, Persia, India, and China The common use of the Arabic language helped promote learning

Study and Learning Ibn Sina, a Persian, became Islam’s most famous philosopher; like the Greeks, he used logic and his writings were widely translated and studied

Science and Technology Muslim scholars made great advances in astronomy, improving upon Greek ideas For example, compasses and astrolabes (a device that positions objects in the sky to figure out one’s location) could be used to find the direction to Mecca THE ASTROLABE: AN EARLY VERSION OF A GPS SYSTEM

Science and Technology Muslims restored old irrigation systems, built dams and aqueducts, and used waterwheels to help the water supply

Geography and Navigation Muslim scholars examined plants and animals in different regions and divided the world into climate zones They created extremely accurate maps that included trade routes and information about land under Muslim rule

Geography and Navigation Travelers, like Ibn Battuta, recorded information (and in Ibn’s case, wrote a book) about their journeys to the Muslim lands and beyond

Mathematics Muslims based their work in math in part on the ideas from India and Classical Greece One scholar, Al-Khwarizmi, is called the “father of algebra”, which is used to solve problems with unknown numbers

Mathematics Algebra helped make Arabic numerals popular in Europe and spread the Indian concept of zero The word “zero” comes from the Arabic word that means “something empty”

Medicine Muslims established the world’s first hospitals and based their medical knowledge on that of Mesopotamia, Egypt, and Greece Doctors treated ailments through drugs, diet, and exercise; they also used stitches after performing surgeries

Medicine The Persian philosopher Ibn Sina was also a doctor who wrote a book about the treatment of diseases

Bookmaking and Literature Muslims learned how to make paper from the Chinese and began producing books; Baghdad had over 100 bookshops

Bookmaking and Literature Arab and Persian stories and poetry were collected in books, such as “A Thousand and One Arabian Nights” In this book, a wife tells her husband a new tale each night, including the story of Aladdin and the magic lamp, Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves, and Sinbad the Sailor; these stories are well known today

The Arts Muslims developed a type of art known as “arabesque”; it used ornate drawings and geometric patterns to decorate objects and books

The Arts Calligraphy, the art of beautiful handwriting, was considered to be the best art form of its day Textiles and music were two other influential art forms that Muslims developed during the time of the Islamic Empire

Fun and recreation were also part of the Islamic culture The sport of polo was borrowed from the Persians and made popular by the Muslims; teams on horseback use wooden mallets to strike a ball through a goal

Recreation Chess was invented in India and borrowed by the Persians, but this board game (which requires much thought, smarts, & skill to play well) was spread across Muslim territory and introduced to Europe

Historians refer to this era of the Abbasids’ rule over the Islamic Empire as a “golden age”