History Alive Chapter 9

Muslim Innovations and Adaptations

9.3 City Building and Architecture

• Development of new cities developed Muslim lands

• New architecture• Jobs

City of Baghdad

• Caliph al-Mansur moved capital from Damascus to Baghdad

• Closer to his empire• Today, Baghdad located

between Tigris & Euphrates River

• Crossroads of trade roots connecting the empire

City of Baghdad

• Glorious Muslim cities• 4 years to build new

capital• 100,000 architects,

workers and craftspeople• Called “the round city”

The Mosque• Muslim house of worship• Inside is a prayer room • Worshippers sit on

carpets on the floor• Imam gives the sermon

from a raised pulpit called the minibar

• Niche in the wall to show direction of prayer toward Makkah

9.4 Scholarship & Learning

• Highly valued• Arabic was accepted language of Islam• Shared language and love of learning allowed

scholars (students) in Europe, North Africa & the Middle East to exchange ideas

Scholarship & Learning: House of Wisdom

• Baghdad became a major center of learning

• Caliph al-Ma’mun founded the House of Wisdom (830)

• Scholars from many lands gather there to do research

• Translated texts from Greece, Persia, India & China

Scholarship & Learning: Great Centers of Learning

• Fatimid dynasty built the Cairo capital in Egypt (similar to Baghdad)– Most advanced university in the Muslim world– Hall of Wisdom – scholars and ordinary people can

visit their library to read• Muslim capital, Cordoba in Spain became a

large and wealthy city– Jews, Christian, & Muslims studied there

Scholarship & Learning

Philosopher – scholar, teacher or thinker who seeks knowledge• Muslims studied books & ancient Greek

thinkers, such as the philosophers:– Plato– Aristotle

• Muslim philosophers used reason & logic (common sense) to try to prove important truths

Scholarship & Learning: Al-Kindi

• Al-Kindi – a 9th century Arab philosopher• Said “Humans had two sources of

knowledge: reason & revelation by God”• Use reason to understand faith• Some truths are knows only through

God’s word – need to be belief in things that cannot be

proven

Scholarship & Learning: Ibn Sina

• Ibn Sina – Persian who is Islam’s most famous philosopher– Known as Avicenna in Europe– Believed all knowledge came from God– Truth can be known through revelation & reason

• Believed soul was immortal (able to live forever)• Translated & influenced many

medieval European thinkers

9.5 Science & Technology

• Qur’an instructed Muslims to learn more about the world God made

• Muslims advanced in science & technology

Science & Technology: Zoology

Evolution – slow process of change in plants and animals from simpler forms to more complex formsZoology – scientific study of animals• Books written on structure of animals’ bodies• Studied how to make medicines from animals’

parts• al-Jahiz presented theories about the evolution of

animals• Created zoos

Science & Technology: Astronomy

Astronomy – study of objects in the universeMuslims wanted to learn about the universe• Navigational tools created to locate the direction

of Makkah• Worshippers far from the holy city can pray facing

the right direction• Found accurate times for prayer and the length of

the month of Ramadan• Realized Earth rotates rather than the Earth being

the center of the universe

Science & Technology: Irrigation & Underground Wells

• Water was scarce & land was hot and dry• Build dams & aqueducts• Improved canals & underground wells• Used water wheels to bring water up from

canals & reservoirs