The Golden Age of Islam

1
The Golden Age of Islam

• Mr. Blais
• World History

2
Muslim Economy

• Merchants were honored in the Muslim world
• Between 750-1350 A.D. Muslims built a vast
  trading network throughout their empire and
  beyond.
• Common religion and language helped trade to
  thrive.
• Goods now traveled from China and India into
  parts of Europe by way of the Silk Road.
• The Silk Road was not really a road but a track
  people moved along to exchange goods such as
  silk, paper, gold, furs, cotton, and silver.

3
Manufacturing and Agriculture

• Most manufacturing was done by wage workers.
• They produced goods such as swords from Damascus,
  Persian carpets, leathers from Spain, and cotton
  goods from Egypt.
• Agriculture was practiced primarily in
  Mesopotamia and the Nile River Valley.
• Massive irrigation systems put in place by the
  Abbasids greatly increased the amount of farmable
  land

4
Muslim Art

• The Koran strictly banned idol worship and later
  religious leaders forbade artists from portraying
  human figures in their art.
• Therefore Muslims art consisted of elaborate
  geometry patterns.
• They also used calligraphy (the art of beautiful
  handwriting) extensively and used common phrases
  of the Koran in their art.

5
Muslim Architecture

• Muslim architecture borrowed techniques such as
  the arch and dome from Greek, and Roman
  structures.
• Around 690 A.D. Muslims built a great mosque in
  Jerusalem called the Dome of the Rock which
  demonstrates the use of Greek and Roman
  techniques.
• In 850 A.D. Muslims built the mosque at Samarra
  where they revolutionized the construction of
  minarets.

6
Arabic Literature

• The standard for Arabic literature is the Koran
  itself.
• Poetry had also been a long tradition among Arabs
  even before the time of Muhammad.
• Storytelling was prized by Arab writers.
• Many of their stories are still told today
• Ali Baba and the 40 thieves
• Aladdin

7
Arabic Philosophy

• Muslim scholars translated the works of Greek
  philosophers as well as Hindu and Buddhist texts.
• They put a strong emphasis on combining Greek
  ideas of reason with religious beliefs of divine
  revelation.
• Other Muslim scholars put their knowledge to the
  test through the use of reason.

8
Mathematics

• Muslims got their foundation in math from
  studying Indian and Greek texts.
• The Arabic number system was developed and spread
  throughout the Islamic empire and is used to this
  day. (0,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10)
• One Muslim scholar also developed al-jabr
  (algebra) which literally means, restoring what
  is missing

9
Muslim Medicine

• Muslims again built on the Greek knowledge of
  medicine.
• Public health in the Islamic world reached an
  astonishing height.
• Physicians had to pass medical exams before they
  could practice, and they built hospitals in major
  cities
• They had departments for quick treatment much
  like modern-day emergency rooms.
• Physicians also made regular visits to outlying
  neighborhoods and even jails to treat ill
  patients.

10
Muslim Physicians

• Muhammad Al-Razi was one of the most renown and
  respected Muslim doctors in Baghdad around 900
  A.D.
• He wrote texts that pioneered the study of
  measles and smallpox and developed the idea of
  treating the mind, not only the body.
• Equally famous was Ibn Sina, who wrote a text
  called Canon on Medicine.
• This book included all the Arabs and Greeks had
  learned about treating disease and had more than
  4,000 prescriptions to treat diseases.