Opening Discussion (4/1/11)• GET A LAPTOP AND WORK ON YOUR ISLAM WEB

QUEST…

• VOCAB – define these from your notes/binder– Bedouin– Hijrah– Minaret– Hajj– Ramadan

Sunni/Shiite still believe in some of the same things….

• Common Beliefs between Sunnis and Shiites:– All believe in Allah (Arabic word for God)– All believe that Muhammad is the prophet and

messenger of Allah– All believe that one must follow Muhammad’s

revelations (the Qur'an)– All believe in the Five Pillars– All believe in piety (being moral person), striving to

be good, and social justice• Islam means = Obedience/Submission to Allah

Islamic CultureThe Arts and Sciences of the Muslims

4/1/11

What you need to know!!! * How did Islamic civilization preserve and extend ancient Greek, Persian, and Indian learning? * What were some contributions of Islamic civilization?

* How was art and architecture influenced by the religion of Islam?

Art• Most Important thing to understand: Muslims

forbid the displaying of images of Muhammad, Allah or any other religious figures– Most of the Islamic artwork are geometrical or floral

patterns– Muslim used their writing (Arabic) to create designs

and pictures• Arabic Calligraphy – very difficult to master

– Muslims also used mosaics much like the Byzantines• Although their mosaics were created to make large

patterns and designs • Did not make religious images like the Byzantines did

Islamic Artwork that uses Arabic Calligraphy

Examples of Muslim art using geometrical patterns and

designs… notice of none of this art has pictures of people

To The Left = Patterns in a Muslim Dome

On the Bottom = Muslim Prayer Rug

Literature• The most important piece of literature to the Muslims

is their holy book the Koran (Qur'an)– Means - “Recitations” in Arabic

• Muhammad’s revelations from Allah

• Books – Arabian Nights (aka - 1001 Nights)– Story of an Islamic ruler who is set to execute his wife and

she delays her execution by telling him a story every night until he ultimately forgets• Becomes the basis of many famous modern tales

– Aladdin, Ali Baba and the 40 Thieves, Sinbad the Sailor, etc…

• Poetry – Rubaiyat – collection of Persian poems– Used popular form of rhyme patterns that became world

famous• Ex – AABB or ABAB rhyming patterns

Pictures of the Qur’an

*notice the designs and patterns*

Architecture (Mosques are Most Important)

• Mosque - At first very simple, over time became more elaborate– Building were religious services are held– No furniture or pictures in them

• Some of the most famous mosques– Dome of the Rock – in Jerusalem, Israel– Great Mosque at Mecca – in Mecca, Saudi Arabia– Prophet’s Mosque at Medina – in Medina, Saudi

Arabia– Blue Mosque – in Istanbul, Turkey (originally named

Constantinople) *same place Hagia Sophia is at!!!

Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem(HAVE TO BE ABLE TO

RECOGNIZE THIS)

Blue Mosque in Istanbul, Turkey (formerly Constantinople)

Architecture Continued… still looking mosques • Muslims used the arch just like the Romans

– Arches looked a little different though• Muslims used domes just like the Romans did

– Domes traditionally have a pointed top though (kind of like the Onion Domes we saw in Russia)

Features of a Mosque• Minaret – towers from where times for prayer are called out

– Each day they call out five times – one of the five pillars of Islam– They will call out for Friday services as well

• Mihrab – a hallow niche that indicates which direction Mecca is• Minbar – a platform where the Imam (holy man) leads prayer or delivers his

sermon

• Kaaba = Most important monument/structure in Islam – located in Mecca, Saudi Arabia – Grey stone in a box shape with a black cover– Is the holiest shrine in all of Islam– Originally housed many polytheistic statues and icons– When Muhammad and his followers captured Mecca they destroyed the states and icons and

rededicated it to Allah– Muslims take their holy pilgrimage (Hajj) to it

Minarets (basically are towers coming out of Mosques)

Islamic Domes

much like Roman ones but with

points at the top

Islamic Arches – like Roman arches with one difference (what do you notice?)

Kaaba – located in Mecca

Learning• Universities are built all over Islamic territory– The Islamic institutions kept the advances made by

the Greeks and Romans alive• They have them because of the expansion of the Hellenistic

Empire of Alexander the Great and the Roman Empire which extended into the Middle East

– First universities issued diplomas in medicine• Arabs built huge libraries in every major city– They store the knowledge of past major civilizations– Modern libraries are modeled after Arab libraries– Many of the Greek and Roman texts were translated

in Arabic and stored in Arab libraries

Geography (knowledge of the world around them)

• Knew a lot about the world because Arabs were such active traders (traveled around the world a lot)– Had a natural interest in astrology, maps, and navigation– At 1st they used Greek Maps

• Most famous geographer – Al-Idrisi– Sent men in different directions to draw out what they observed– Combined all their drawing and observations– Helped expand the knowledge of the rest of the world

• The Astrolabe - most important tool invented by Arabs for navigation– Helps calculate latitude, longitude, and time of day

• Adapted from a Greek invention• Arabs improved on it to make it better

– Will be used by every trader/traveler in Europe and the Middle East• Without it European Explorations would not be possible (ex – Christopher

Columbus)

Astrolabe

Al-Idrisi’s Map of the Islamic World

Thing the Arabs borrowed from other societies

• The Arabs, like the Romans, used the best methods/techniques/skills of other societies to better themselves…– China = Paper– Greeks = Science and Philosophy– Romans = Architecture (Domes and Arches)– India = Number System and Astrology

• They had the most advanced society in the world at one point in history

Math (Mostly from the Indians)• Learned their number system from Indians

(including the concept of “0”)– When it got passed on to the Europeans it got the

name Arabic system because the Europeans thought the Arabs created it

• Decimal system used came from India as well• The field of Algebra first came from the Arabs– Created by Al-Khwarizmi– called “Al-jabr” – which means “restoring”

“Al-Jabr” = Algebra (to restore)

Medicine• Studied the works of the Greeks• Doctors had to pass tough medical exam to practice

medicine in Islamic territories• Had several methods for surgery– Used anesthesia (used to put patients to sleep)– Used antiseptic (used to sterilize and disinfect)

• Methods found their way into Europe through the Moors in Spain

• Knew that bacteria and viruses cause disease (not known in Europe until the 1800’s!!!)

• Had free hospitals in Baghdad– Hospitals were clean and efficient compared to most during

the time period• also had the 1st pharmaceutical (drugs) school

ISLAMIC EMPIRES AND END OF ISLAMS GOLDEN AGE

OF DOMINANCE

RASHIDUN (The Rightly Guided Caliphs): 632-660

Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman, and Ali. Caliph: Head of State (Sultanate)

Governors: Sultan after Ali’s death, the caliphate became a hereditary office.

In areas which were previously under Persian or Byzantine rule, the Caliphs lowered taxes, provided greater local autonomy, greater religious freedom for Jews and Christians, and brought peace to peoples exhausted because of the casualties that resulted from years of Byzantine-Persian warfare

THE UMAYYAD DYNASTY (660-750) MOVED THE CAPITAL CITY FROM MEDINA TO DAMASCUS.

• Under the Umayyads the Caliphate grew rapidly geographically.

• Islamic rule expanded westward across North Africa and into Hispania and eastward through Persia and ultimately to modern day Pakistan.

• This made it one of the largest unitary states in history. There were numerous rebellions against the Umayyads, as well as splits within the Umayyad ranks.

• They enforced use of the Arabic language in Persia, leading to the demise of Pahlavi (an Aramaic-derived script).

• They attempted to assimilate Persians as they had "Arabized" other territories, but with much less success.

THE ABBASID DYNASTY (750-1258) BUILT A NEW CAPITAL CITY: BAGHDAD ON THE BANKS OF THE

TIGRIS RIVER.

• The caliph of Baghdad, the second of the two great Muslim caliphates of the Arab Empire, that overthrew the Umayyad caliphs from all but Al Andalus.

• It flourished for two centuries (Golden Age of Islam), but slowly went into decline with the rise to power of the Turkish army it had created, the Mamluks.

• Their rule was ended in 1258, when the Mongols sacked Baghdad.

1. WHILE EUROPEANS LIVED INSULATED IN THEIR CASTLES, MUSLIMS LIVED IN GREAT CITIES INHABITED FOR THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE.

2. ARABS TREATED THE PEOPLE THEY CONQUERED WITH RESPECT. THEY NOT ONLY KEPT THE RELIGIONS, CULTURES, AND TRADITIONS THEY FOUND IN THE OCCUPIED TERRITORIES, BUT ALSO LEARNED AND ASSIMILATED MANY THINGS FROM THEM.

3. THE ISLAMIC CULTURE BECAME A BLEND OF THE ARABS AND THE CULTURES OF MANY PEOPLE. (RECALL ALEXANDER THE GREAT AND HELLENISM).

1. BETWEEN THE 700’S AND THE FIRST HALF OF THE 1200’S, THE MUSLIM WORLD WAS THE CENTER OF WORLD CIVILIZATION.

2. DURING THE SECOND HALF OF THE 1200’S, MOST OF THE EASTERN WORLD OF ISLAM FELL UNDER THE ATTACK OF MONGOL INVASIONS

3. IN 1453, THE TURKS CONQUERED CONSTANTINOPLE (NOW ISTANBUL) AND THE OTTOMAN EMPIRE STARTED A NEW PERIOD OF GLORY FOR ISLAM

End of the Islamic Golden Age

Significant Eventsa) Disintegration of Moslem Spain 1000-1030b) Crusadesc) Mongol Conquests

Disintegration of Moslem Spain 1000-1030 CE

• Islamic Spain was intellectually lively but politically chaotic

• Dictator Al-Mansur played off aristocracy, mercenary soldiers and slave bureaucracy against each other.

• After his death, Spain collapsed into revolt and civil war, and fragmented into small states

• Advance of Christian Spain facilitated

Crusades• Perception of Crusaders as uncivilized and

inept• Set stage for Turkish advance into Europe• Reduced tolerance for Christianity in Islamic

controlled areas• Conflict between Christians and Muslims from

Late 1000’s to Early 1300’s CE

Mongol Conquests• Sack of Baghdad destroyed the greatest

remaining Islamic cultural center• Death of Caliph a shattering blow to

Islamic self-confidence• Loss of Caliphate meant loss of unifying

force in Islam

A Perspective on the Islamic

Golden Age

EXTRA HELP PAGE

• http://home.comcast.net/~DiazStudents/whistory_units1.htm