Transcript Arabic numerals, the importance of zero (10 digits)

Death of Muhammad, ca. 632 C.E.
 Muhammad had not named a successor or instructed his
followers how to choose one.
 The Muslim community elected Abu-Bakr as the new leader
and Muhammad’s first successor (first caliph).
He had been a loyal friend of Muhammad,
a man respected for his devotion to Islam.
Under Abu-Bakr,
the collection of Mohammad's revelations
were recorded in the Qur’an.
Illuminated Qur'an
“Rightly Guided” Caliphs
 Abu-Bakr and the next three elected caliphs—Umar,
Uthman, and Ali—all had known Muhammad and
supported his mission.
 For this, they are known as the “rightly guided” caliphs.
 By 750, from the Atlantic Ocean to the Indus River, the
Muslim Empire stretched 6,000 miles—about two times
the distance across the continental United States.
Treatment of Conquered Peoples
 Many conquered peoples chose to accept Islam.
 They were attracted by the appeal of the message of
Islam, as well as by the economic benefit for
Muslims of not having to pay a poll tax.
 Christians and Jews, as “people of the book,” were
allowed to practice their faiths freely and even
received special consideration.
 In practice, tolerance like this was extended to other
groups as well.
Sunni–Shi’a Split
 In the interest of peace, the majority of
Muslims accepted the Umayyads’ rule.
 A minority did continue to resist, and around some of
these groups an alternate view of the office of caliph
developed.
 In this view, the caliph—the person most responsible for
spreading Muhammad’s message—needed to be a relative
of the Prophet.
Sunni–Shi’a Split
 This group was called Shi’a, meaning the “party” of
Ali.
 Those who did not outwardly resist the rule of the
Umayyads became known as Sunni, meaning
followers of Muhammad’s example.
 Another group, the Sufi (SOO•fee), reacted to the
luxurious life of the Umayyads by pursuing a life of
poverty and devotion to a spiritual path.
 They tried to achieve direct personal
contact with God through mystical
means, such as meditation and
chanting.
The Umayyads
and the Abbassids
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These powerful caliphates ruled the Islamic world, expanded the Arab empire,
and brought about a golden age in Muslim civilization.
UMAYYADS
ABBASSIDS

Set up dynasty that ruled until 750

Overthrew the Umayyads in 750

Moved capital to Damascus

Moved capital to Baghdad

Conquered lands from Atlantic to the
Indus Valley

Ended Arab dominance and helped make
Islam a universal religion

Relied on local officials to govern the
empire, while the Umayyads themselves
lived in great luxury.

Empire of the caliphs reached its greatest
wealth and power through strong trade
network.

Faced economic tensions between
wealthy and poor Arabs

Muslim civilization enjoyed a Golden Age

Difficulty controlling vast empire.

Split in Islam occurs during their reign –
between Sunni, Shi’a, Sufi.
Muslim Trade Network
 The two major sea-trading
zones—those of the
Mediterranean Sea and the Indian
Ocean—linked the Muslim
Empire into a world system of
trade by sea.
 The land network connected the
Silk Roads of China and India
with Europe and Africa.
 Muslim merchants needed only a
single language, Arabic, and a
single currency, the Abbasid dinar,
to travel from Córdoba, in Spain,
to Baghdad and on to China.
Muslim Trade Network
 To encourage the flow of trade,
Muslim moneychangers set up
banks in cities throughout the
empire.
 Banks offered letters of credit,
called sakks, to merchants.
 A merchant with a sakk from a
bank in Baghdad could exchange it
for cash at a bank in any other
major city in the empire.
 In Europe, the word sakk was
pronounced, “check.” Thus, the
practice of using checks dates back
to the Muslim Empire.
The ASTROLABE
Art & Literature
Arabian
Nights
Achievements
in Islam
IBN KHALDUN
Great Arab Historian
ARABIC NUMERALS
ALBEGRA (al-jabr)
2. Medicine, math, and science
• Arabic numerals, the importance of zero (10 digits)
• Developed algebra, trigonometry in astronomy
• Charted stars, comets, and planets / constellation charts
• The astrolabe
The Astrolabe played a pivotal role in
history.
The astrolabe was highly developed in the Islamic world by
800 and was introduced to Europe from Islamic Spain
(Andalusia) in the early 12th century. It was the most
popular astronomical instrument until about 1650, when it
was replaced by more specialized and accurate
instruments.
It is doubtful the European explorers could have ever
launched the great Age of Discovery without this
device.
Astrolabes are still appreciated for their unique capabilities
2. Medicine, math, and science
• Arabic numerals, the importance of zero (10 digits)
• Developed algebra, trigonometry in astronomy
• Charted stars, comets, and planets / constellation charts
• The astrolabe
• Wrote medical reference books – Rhazes (al-Razi) and Ibn
Sina
Avicenna write The Book of Healing and
The Canon of Medicine.
The first is a scientific encyclopedia covering
logic, natural sciences, psychology,
geometry, astronomy, arithmetic and music.
The second is the most famous single book
in the history of medicine.
2. Medicine, math, and science
•Arabic numerals, the importance of zero (10 digits)
• Developed algebra, trigonometry in astronomy
• Charted stars, comets, and planets / constellation charts
• The astrolabe
•Wrote medical reference books
•Muslim scholars were re-introducing the Greek
(Aristotle’s) understanding of the importance of
proper scientific observation and experimentation.
How did the Arabs, who had no direct contact
with the science and learning of Classical Greece, come to
be the inheritors of the classical tradition? The answer
appears to be the Umayyad dynasty located in Damascus.
They had an interest in things Greek, employed educated Greekspeaking civil servants extensively, and sought to preserve Greek
science.
3. Literature and the Arts
• The Qur’an – a great work of literature.
• Poetry
• the Arabian Nights
• Arabesque art
In the visual arts and architectural
design, Arabesque art is a linear
decoration based on plant forms.
Arabesque motifs are complicated,
intertwined, flowing designs first
found in ancient Arabic art – hence
the term. They are a feature of
ancient Greek and Roman art, and
are particularly common in Islamic
art.
Check out more examples
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• Medina
• Mecca
DID YOU KNOW?
The Islamic world begins its calendar Year 1 with this event.
In other words, our year 622 A.D. is their year 1 A.H.
This year, 2013 A.D., is year 1434 A.H. in the Islamic world.
To learn the formula for figuring the Islamic year, visit www.islam.com