1. The Golden Age of Islam

2. Muslim Conquests

3. Umayyad Dynasty
Islamic empire expanded from Spain to Indus River

4. Islam Splits
Believers split into Sunni (90%) and Shiia (Shiite), over who should succeed Mohammad.

5. Shii’a believe only Mohammad’s descendants should rule, they are majority in Iran and Iraq today.
The Sunni accepted Umayyad rule and are majority in world today.

6. Shari’ah Law Code Drawn up by Muslim scholars after Mohammad’s death
Provided believers with a set of practical laws to regulate daily lives

7. Golden Age-Abbasid Empire
The Islamic Golden Age began with the Abbasid Caliphate in 750 CE
The capital was moved from Damascus to Baghdad

8. Valued Knowledge
The Abbasids were influenced by the Quran and hadiths (sayings of Mohammad or things approved by him) such as “The ink of the scholar is more holy than the blood of martyrs” that stressed the value of knowledge.
Hadiths are sayings, actions and traditions of Mohammad and his companions OR narrations of his life and things approved by him. Arabs created great universities and numerous libraries before any existed in northern Europe.

9. The Muslim world became the intellectual center for science, philosophy, medicine and education.

10. Muslim scholars recovered and introduced ancient texts from Greece, Persia, and India.

11. “House of Wisdom” The “House of Wisdom” was established in Baghdad
Scholars, both Muslim and non-Muslim, gathered to translate all the world’s knowledge into Arabic
This effort preserved much the knowledge gained from the Greeks, Romans and other ancient civilizations
The House of Wisdom was an academy, library, museum, observatory, and translation center. In preserving knowledge from around the known world, in many cases only the Arabic translations remain. Translations included the writings of Aristotle, Plato, and Hippocrates, mathematics and astronomy texts by Euclid, Archimedes, and Ptolemy.

12. Golden Age Contributions
Philosophy
Medicine
Mathematics
Astronomy
Geography
Social Sciences
Art, Architecture
Literature

13. Philosophy
Ibn-Rushd (Averroes)-his work influenced medieval Christian theologians
Studied Aristotle, was also an astronomer and court physician. St. Thomas Aquinas credited him with giving him the arguments to advance for the harmony of faith and reason. Muslims saw no conflict between their faith and learning, including scientific investigations.

14. Medicine Physicians required to pass qualifying examinations
34 hospitals built throughout empire, with separate wards for different diseases
Arabic medical works translated into Latin and influenced European medicine until 17th century
Special institutions were established for lepers, lame and blind. Surgery was a specialty made possible with the use of anesthesia. Both men and women were nurses. A Persian, Ibn-Sina wrote a medical encyclopedia that described every known disease and evaluated 760 drugs in use at that time. His text was the basic medical text of the West for more than 5 centuries and was in use until the 1800s.

15. Mathematics
Al-Khwarizmi compiled oldest known Arabic works on arithmetic and algebra which was translated into Latin and used as basis for European texts until 16th century
The decimal system, concept of zero were all adopted from the Hindus and the use of Hindu-Arabic numerals were first introduced to the west by Al-Khwarizmi.

16. Astronomy
Developed compass, quadrant (measures angles), sextant (determines altitude of planets, latitude on earth), and astrolabe (locates, predicts positions of planets, determine local time, and surveying)

17. Geography Mapped Europe, Asia, and Africa in great detail
Al-Idrisi used mathematics and astronomy to create maps

18. Social Sciences
Ibn-Battuta journeyed 75,000 miles in 30 years through all Arab countries, carefully recording his observations
Ibn-Khaldun was father of modern historiography and sociology

19. Art and Architecture
Calligraphy
Arabesque
Alhambra palace

20. Art
Calligraphy-used to decorate mosques, books, carpets, and porcelain
Particularly important in mosques where pictures were not allowed

21. Art
Arabesque refers to a floral style which is not geometric, but weaves in and out of an illustration

22. Cordoba
Mix of Muslims, Christians and Jews created a cosmopolitan atmosphere in the city of Cordoba (Spain)
City attracted poets, philosophers, scientists and doctors
City became the center of Muslim culture with 70 libraries, 700 mosques and 27 free schools
Period of achievements in the arts and sciences followed

23. Alhambra Palace

24. Alhambra Palace

25. Arabic Language
Arabic became the “lingua franca” or the language of international communication in the medieval world.
Traders and merchants learned Arabic in order to conduct their business.

26. Muslims Spread Transportation Technology
Expanded trans-Saharan trade:
Camels-Muslims brought the one-humped camel
North Arabian saddle- introduced to expand trans-Saharan trade.

27. Transportation Technology….
Dhow-boat with a lateen (triangular-shaped sail) used extensively by Arab and Muslim traders.

28. More Transportation Technology…
Cartography-advanced knowledge of wind patterns and map making was recorded in books supported by Islamic governments.

29. The Hajj
Muslims were encouraged to make the religious pilgrimage to Mecca at least once in their life. This meant that people were making more contact with one another and discovering new products and ideas.
Kaaba-ancient stone structure built and rebuilt by prophets as house of monotheistic worship. Located inside Grand Mosque in Mecca and considered center of Muslim world. Has a black meteorite embedded in one corner. Inside is empty. Covered with a black cloth with gold versed embroidered on it. Koran says it was built by Abraham, but by time of Mohammad was being used by pagan Arabs for worship of their gods. Mohammad destroyed the idols and rededicated structure for monotheistic worship.

30. Standardized Coins
Pictorial designs were replaced with Arabic inscriptions and became the standard for almost all coins produced by Muslims rulers.

31. Hospitality to Travelers & the Annual Hajj Created Regular Routes
Ibn Battuta, a Moroccan Muslim legal scholar and judge became famous for the documentation of his travels.

32. Muslim Governments Protected Trade & Property for Merchants
Storehouses were guarded.
Ports and shipping lanes were guarded.
Banking and credit systems were put into place.