Transcript The Koran - Grafton School District

The Koran
• To Muslims, it is the sacred word of God
• Written in Arabic
• Muslims believe it can only be read in Arabic
The Sunna
• A set of rules used with the Koran
• Developed from the legal codes of tribes
Expansion of Islam
When Mohammed died, no successor had
been named. Muslims chose caliphs-Islamic
leaders, descendents of Mohammed
The First Four Caliphs
632-661
Abu Bakr
Karem Abdul-Kaaba
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632-634
Put down rebellion (Defeats Romans/Persians)
Brought all of Arabia under Islamic control
Collection of Koran
63 Yrs Old (one of a kind)
master of the hook shot
Omar
(Farooq)
• 634-644
• Defeated Byzantines
• Captured Jerusalem
Arabia, Egypt, Iraq, Palistine, Iran
• Master of Weapons,
Wrestling, Speaking
• Stabbed w/ dagger
Othman
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644-656
Tried to make caliph more powerful
Murdered in 656
Completed Text of Koran
Ali
• 656-661
• Cousin of Mohammed, married Mohammed’s daughter (Fatima)
• Assassinated in 661
w/ poison sword
Omayyad Dynasty
661-750 AD
Muawiya
• Made Arabic the official language
• Minted new coins, set up postal system
• Made many improvements in building
and transportation
Conquests
• Islamic armies moved west, conquered North Africa and Spain
• Made Islam the dominant power in Central Asia (present-day
Pakistan)
The Muslims broke into 2
groups:
1. Shiites
• Loyal partisans of Ali (Mohammed’s cousin)
• The believed the caliph should be descended
from Mohammed’s family
• They insisted the Koran was the only source of
guidance for Islam
2. Sunnites
• Followers of Muawiya and the Omayyad Dynasty
• They believed any spiritually qualified man could be
elected caliph
• They accepted both the Koran and Sunna
• More numerous than Shiites
Reasons for Islam’s Early Success:
1. Islamic armies led by outstanding military
leaders
Reasons for Islam’s Early Success:
1. Islamic armies led by outstanding military
leaders
2. People not satisfied with Byzantine rule
3. Weakened Persian and Byzantine Empires
The Abbasid Dynasty
750-1057 AD (1253)
Background
• Established by Abu’l Abbas
• Abbas led non-Arab Moslems against the
Omayyads – WHY?
• Preferential treatment for Arabs (i.e. nonArabs paid higher taxes)
• Rebels overthrew Omayyad caliph and
murdered 90 members of his family
Government
• Moved capital to Baghdad
• Strong centralized gov’t. similar to
Byzantine Empire
• Moslems paid only small tax to support
Islam
• Non-Moslems paid heavy taxes
Accomplishments
• Baghdad becomes a center of learning
that attracts scholars from Middle
East/India
• Great advances made in mathematics,
science, literature, and the arts
Decline of the Empire
• Territory becomes fragmented by rival
kingdoms; conquered by Seljuk Turks
Islamic Civilization
Commerce & Industry
• Muslims controlled trade routes
• Musical instruments introduced to Europe
– Lute, tambourine, guitar
Medicine
Al-Razi (Rhazes)
– Worked with sutures/casts
– Difference between smallpox & measles
Avicenna (Ibn Sina)
– Persian wrote Canon of Medicine (medical
encyclopedia)
– Diagnosed tuberculosis as being contagious
– Cancer surgery
Other Achievements
Mathematics
Advances
– Al-Jabr invented form of Algebra
– Borrowed numbers 1-9 and added concept of
zero
Al Khwarizmi
Omar Khayyam
Astronomy & Geography
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Important for religious reasons
Borrowed from Hindus & Greeks
Greek astrolabe
Improved Ptolemy’s calculations for earth’s
circumference within ½ mile of present
value
• Al-Idrisi created maps on spheres to
represent earth’s shape
Physics & Chemistry
Al Hasan
– Father of Optics
– Convex and concave mirrors and light
refraction
Jabir
– Moslem alchemist, studied oxidation,
crystallization, filtration
History
Ibn Khaldun
– Wrote 7 volume Universal History
– Included history, politics and econ, climate
and culture
Art
• Islamic art consists of geometric designs,
flowers, leaves, and stars
• No human or animal likenesses on most
work