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ISLAMIC ACHIEVEMENTS. Essential Question : What were the important contributions of Muslim scholars during the Islamic Empire? Warm-Up Question : What are the Five Pillars of Islam? What is a “caliph”? Why did the division between the Sunni and Shi’a Muslims occur? .
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Essential Question: • What were the important contributions of Muslim scholars during the Islamic Empire? • Warm-Up Question: • What are the Five Pillars of Islam? • What is a “caliph”? • Why did the division between the Sunni and Shi’a Muslims occur?
Islamic Achievements • Muslims during the Islamic Empire developed innovations that are still used today • The lands and people of the Islamic Empire were diverse, rich, and creative; Greeks, Chinese, Hindus, Arabs, Persians, Turks and others all contributed to the culture of the Islamic Empire
Islamic Achievements • Muslims helped spread ideas as well as goods along their trade routes that connected Asia, Europe, and Africa
Islamic Achievements • Scholars studied and preserved Greek and Roman ideas
City Building and Architecture • Many large cities developed in Muslim lands that inspired new kinds of architecture
City Building and Architecture • The city of Baghdad was the Abbasids’ capital and one of the most glorious cities in the world • It took 100,000 workers and architects four years to build Baghdad
City Building and Architecture • They built mosques (Muslim places of worship), markets, homes, and shops
City Building and Architecture • Mosques usually had towers, courtyards, and prayer rooms; the designs reflected the diversity of the Empire
Study and Learning • Scholars from around the world met in Baghdad to research and translate texts from Greece, Persia, India, and China • The common use of the Arabic language helped promote learning
Study and Learning • Ibn Sina, a Persian, became Islam’s most famous philosopher; like the Greeks, he used logic and his writings were widely translated and studied
Science and Technology • Muslim scholars made great advances in astronomy, improving upon Greek ideas • For example, compasses and astrolabes (a device that positions objects in the sky to figure out one’s location) could be used to find the direction to Mecca • THE ASTROLABE: AN EARLY VERSION OF A GPS SYSTEM
Science and Technology • Muslims restored old irrigation systems, built dams and aqueducts, and used waterwheels to help the water supply
Geography and Navigation • Muslim scholars examined plants and animals in different regions and divided the world into climate zones • They created extremely accurate maps that included trade routes and information about land under Muslim rule
Geography and Navigation • Travelers, like Ibn Battuta, recorded information (and in Ibn’s case, wrote a book) about their journeys to the Muslim lands and beyond
Mathematics • Muslims based their work in math in part on the ideas from India and Classical Greece • One scholar, Al-Khwarizmi, is called the “father of algebra”, which is used to solve problems with unknown numbers
Mathematics • Algebra helped make Arabic numerals popular in Europe and spread the Indian concept of zero • The word “zero” comes from the Arabic word that means “something empty”
Medicine • Muslims established the world’s first hospitals and based their medical knowledge on that of Mesopotamia, Egypt, and Greece • Doctors treated ailments through drugs, diet, and exercise; they also used stitches after performing surgeries
Medicine • The Persian philosopher Ibn Sina was also a doctor who wrote a book about the treatment of diseases
Bookmaking and Literature • Muslims learned how to make paper from the Chinese and began producing books; Baghdad had over 100 bookshops
Bookmaking and Literature • Arab and Persian stories and poetry were collected in books, such as “A Thousand and One Arabian Nights” • In this book, a wife tells her husband a new tale each night, including the story of Aladdin and the magic lamp, Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves, and Sinbad the Sailor; these stories are well known today
The Arts • Muslims developed a type of art known as “arabesque”; it used ornate drawings and geometric patterns to decorate objects and books
The Arts • Calligraphy, the art of beautiful handwriting, was considered to be the best art form of its day • Textiles and music were two other influential art forms that Muslims developed during the time of the Islamic Empire
Recreation • Fun and recreation were also part of the Islamic culture • The sport of polo was borrowed from the Persians and made popular by the Muslims; teams on horseback use wooden mallets to strike a ball through a goal
Recreation • Chess was invented in India and borrowed by the Persians, but this board game (which requires much thought, smarts, & skill to play well) was spread across Muslim territory and introduced to Europe
Historians refer to this era of the Abbasids’ rule over the Islamic Empire as a “golden age”