Chapter 10.3 Muslim Culture

Muslim Society

Very Diverse culture; Arabic traditions combined with many other traditions.

The Rise of Muslim CitiesDamascus - UmmayadCordoba – Al-AndalusJerusalem – Holy CityBaghdad - Abbasid

Baghdad

Built by Caliph al-Mansure

West bank of Tigris

762 AD

Circular design – three protective walls

Palace and Mosque in the innermost circle.

Four Social Classes

Upper Class – Muslim by birth

Second Class – Converted Muslims

Third Class – “Protected People”

Slaves – Prisoners of war, all non-Muslim

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)

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

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

Arts and Sciences cont.

Medical AdvancesAl-Razi – writes an encyclopedia and a treatise on Smallpox and Measles, believed that fresh air was important/

Math and Science Stretch HorizonsReliance on scientific methodAl-Jabr – Algebra by Al-Khwarizmi

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