1. Chapter 10.3
Muslim Culture

2. Muslim Society
Very Diverse culture; Arabic traditions combined with many other traditions.
The Rise of Muslim Cities
Damascus - Ummayad
Cordoba – Al-Andalus
Jerusalem – Holy City
Baghdad - Abbasid

3. Baghdad Built by Caliph al-Mansure West bank of Tigris 762 AD
Circular design – three protective walls
Palace and Mosque in the innermost circle.

4. Four Social Classes Upper Class – Muslim by birth
Second Class – Converted Muslims
Third Class – “Protected People”
Slaves – Prisoners of war, all non- Muslim

5. Role of Women Specific Legal right from the Qur’an
Economic and property rights
Responsible for the raising of children
Lived increasingly isolated lives
Expected to veil (later)

6. Muslim Scholarship Europe lost much of its learning and scholarship
Muslim leaders preserved and used that knowledge.
House of Wisdom – Baghdad: library, academy and translation center

7. Art and Sciences Flourish
Literature – Poems, desert life, The Thousand and One Nights
Art and Architecture
Calligraphy, Woodwork, Glass, Ceramics, Textiles
Great Mosque of Damascus, Baths, Arches

9. Arts and Sciences cont. Medical Advances
Al-Razi – writes an encyclopedia and a treatise on Smallpox and Measles, believed that fresh air was important/
Math and Science Stretch Horizons
Reliance on scientific method
Al-Jabr – Algebra by Al-Khwarizmi

10. Philosophy and Religion Blend Views
Translate Plato and Aristotle into Arabic
Ibn Rushd (Averroes) Used Greek philosophy to find the truth
Moses Ben Maimon (Maimonides) Jewish physician and philosopher – blends philosophy, religion and science