Golden Age of Islam800s to 1400s

Chapter 10-Sec 3

Europe and Middle East around 800 AD

How Arabs and Turks Ruled Region

• Treated conquered people respectfully• Jews, Christians, and Zoroastrians were

called “People of the Book”• Non-Muslims paid tax for military

exemption• Allowed non-Muslims to be important

scholars and members of bureaucracy

How could cultural tolerance lead to advancements in math and science?

Which factor helps explain the scientific and literary achievements of the Muslims during their Golden Age (A.D. 800-1300)?

• 1. expansion of trans-Atlantic trade • 2. innovations introduced by the Europeans

during the Renaissance • 3. cultural diversity accepted by many

Islamic governments • 4. legal equality of all people in the Islamic

empire

How can learning be linked to geography/geographic location?• Trade routes (land and coastline)• Merchant contact• Religious pilgrimage

Science and Math

• Arabic numerals (1,2,3…)• al-Khwarizmi…invents algebra (Al Jabr)-

quadratic equations• Trigonometry• Hospitals/pharmacies*• Medical books• Disinfection w/alcohol

#4 Why does this matter to scientists?

House of Wisdom

• First university• Opthamology/optics• spyglass• Astrolabe/compass from China

Leads to a Golden Age Across the Empire

• Time of peace and safe for mix of cultures• Damascus, Baghdad, Granada, Cordoba

huge cities!• 4 social classes:

–Muslims by birth–Muslims by conversions–People of the Book–POW slaves…Janissaries

Without the Arabs/Turks…no Renaissance!• Crusades (1300s) opens trade again with

Asia (Mideast)• Knowledge had been preserved by Arab

and Turkish world after Fall of Rome• Europeans learn and are inspired!

#1: Based on this map, where are the trade “hubs”? What would account for this?

Contributions…Economics

• Banking system organized• The dinar* -official paper currency• Letters of credit, sakks/“checks”, offered by

banks…exchanged for cash at banks• Cosmopolitan blend of culture, religion, $

Scholarship

• Encouraged in the Quran• “Acquire knowledge…it enables possessor to

distinguish between right and wrong; lights way to heaven; guides to happiness; an armor against enemies” Prophet Muhammad

• Muslim world preserved learning• 800’s Baghdad opens House of Wisdom:

academy, library, translation center• Worked on translating texts from Greece,

India, Persia into Arabic

Advancements

• Persian scholar al-Razi compiles medical encyclopedia/smallpox treatment book

• Al-Khwarizmi invents al-jabr=algebra• Cartography• Early astronomical devices before telescope• Astrolabe• Calligraphy as text and art• Literature…1,001 Arabian Nights

Gibraltar-Muslim Spain

• Named for Berber general named Jabal Tariq

• An entire peninsula and waterway is named after him

• Jabal Tariq = Gibraltar

Muslim Spain• Known as Moors• Called Spain al-Andalus (Andalusia!)• Granada is the jewel city!• Battled the Franks battle Moors near

Paris (Battle of Tours) in 732• Halted spread of Islam to Europe

Al-Hambra Palace in Granada, Spain

Moorish Culture

Isabella, Ferdinand, and Columbus chilling at Al-Hambra Palace

After the Reconquista/Spanish Inquisition

• King-new wife every night and execute next morning

• Sheherazade great story-teller…• The King became so entranced by

Sheherazade's stories that he wanted to hear the conclusion of each one.

• Night after night Sheherazade would leave him in suspense, postponing her execution for 1,001 nights until he pardoned her!

• Ali Baba and the 40 Thieves (open sesame)• Aladdin• Seven Voyages of Sinbad the Sailor

Muslim View of the Ideal Man ~800AD

• “The ideal man should be from East Persia, Muslim in faith, Arabic in language, Iraqi education, Hebrew in astuteness, Christian in conduct, a Greek in science, Indian in interpretation, and lastly a Sufi in spiritual life”

• What does this quote imply about their culture?

4 Muslim Empires

• Arab • Spanish-Moorish –al-

Andalus(Andalusian) • Ottoman Turkish• Mughal in India

Topkapi Palace

http://www.pbase.com/dosseman/harem

http://www.pbase.com/dosseman/harem