Muslim Civilization

1
Muslim Civilizations Golden Age
2
Social and Economic Advances

• Muslim leaders unite many diverse cultures
• Egyptians
• Europeans
• Arabs
• Persians
• Turks
• Africans
• Mongols
• Indians
• Southeast Asians

3
International Trade Network built by the Muslims

• Merchants were honored in the Muslim culture
• They were seen as Gods trusted servants on
  Earth.
• Camel caravans crossed the Sahara.
• African, Muslim, Jewish and Christian traders
  traveled the Silk Road to China

4
Trade

• Spread products, technology, knowledge and
  culture.
• Arabic numerals became well known and helped the
  global exchange grow and thrive.

5
New Business Practices for Muslims

• Created partnerships
• Bought and sold on credit
• Formed banks for exchange of currency
• Invented bank checks
• New system of accounting

6
Highly valued manufactured goods

• Manufacturing organized by guilds
• Regulated prices, methods of production and the
  quality of the product.
• Produced steel swords from Damascus
• leather goods from Cordoba
• cotton textiles from Egypt
• carpets from Persia

7
Agriculture thrives

• Muslim leaders extended agricultural land.
• Because of scarcity of water they had large
  irrigation systems.
• Grew crops for food, made medicinal herbs and
  grew flowers to sell.

8
Social structure of the Muslims

• Muslims had social mobility
• Could move up in social rank
  by having religious, scholarly
  and military achievements.
• Muslims did not enslave other Muslims, but they
  would put people in slavery from conquered lands.
  
• Slaves were mostly used as household servants.

9
Muslim Art, Literature and Architecture

• A blending of traditions of the many people under
  Muslim rule

10
Literature

• The greatest work of Islamic literature is the
  Quran.
• The Quran banned the worship of idols so artists
  were not allowed to portray God/human figures in
  religious art.

11
Poetry

• Poems encouraged the faithful to worship God
  selflessly without hope of reward.

12
Persian Muslim writers

• Firdawsi- wrote Book of Kings which tells the
  history of Persia.
• Omar Khayyam- Muslim scholar, astronomer and
  writer.
• Later stories were about Aladdin and his Magic
  Lamp and Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves.

13
Religious Buildings

• Mosques and minarets dominated Muslim cities
• Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem (688 AD)
  decorated with elaborate patterns.
• Calligraphy is perfected- art of beautiful
  handwriting.

14
Muslims seek knowledge

• Boys and girls receive elementary education which
  emphasized reading and writing
• Needed so everyone could read the Quran.

15
Center of learning

• Baghdad is the greatest Muslim center of
  learning.
• Advances in philosophy, math and medicine.
• They also translated older texts into Arabic.

16
Philosopher- Ibn Rushd

• Put all knowledge, except the Quran, to the test
  of reason.
• His writings were translated into Latin and would
  influence Christian scholars.

17
Arab thinker- Ibn Khaldun

• Set standards for the scientific study of history
• He stressed that economics and social structure
  were the causes of historical events.
• Warned historians to watch for bias and
  exaggeration.

18
Math

• Al-Khwarizmi-
• pioneered algebra
• The original Mr. K!!

19
Medicine

• Physicians and pharmacists had to pass tests to
  practice.
• Governments set up hospitals.
• Physicians traveled to the sick and visited
  jails.

20
Muhammad al-Razi

• Head physician at Baghdads hospital.
• Researched measles and smallpox.
• Wanted doctors to treat the mind as well as the
  body.

21
Persian physician- Ibn Sina

• Wrote an encyclopedia of what the Greeks, Arabs
  and himself had learned about diagnosing and
  treating diseases.
• Book includes many prescriptions.