Transcript Islamic Civilization

Islamic Civilization
• Islamic traders linked Af., Euro., & Asia
• Muslims absorbed culture from others
– Math from India; Technology from China
• Cultural umbrella (common religion & language)
I. Cultural Diffusion
• Islam combined & spread cultures:
– 1. geographic location
– 2. character of Islamic religion
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a. tolerated other religions
b. made pilgrimages to Mecca
c. had to learn Arabic
d. valued trade
A. Religious Toleration
• Other faiths lived w/out persecution &
contributed their culture to society
– Christians & Jews were employed by the govt.
B. The Pilgrimage
• The hajj brought people together (cultures blend)
• Exchanged ideas & learned about other ways of
life
• Hajji – title earned after making the hajj
– Carried ideas back to native lands
C. The Arabic Language
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Qur’an = Arabic
Official language of religion & govt.
Aided in cultural diffusion
Euros?
D. Muslim Trade
• Islamic civ. = trading activity
• Controlled the Med. Sea & Indian Ocean
– From China = spices, silk, & paper
– From India = coconuts, tin, rubies, spices, tropical
woods
• Muslims acted as “middle man” betw. East &
West
II. Muslim Scholarship
• Many excellent scholars
• “The ink of the scholar is holier than the blood of
the martyr.” (Muhammad)
• 476: Rome fell (Islam preserved knowledge)
• Scholars collected & translated scientific &
philosophical texts
• 800s: Caliph al-Ma’mun – House of Wisdom
– Combination library, academy, & translation center
A. Muslim Literature
• Literature started w/Bedouins
• Qur’an = standard for all Arabic lit. & poetry
– Sang praises of the Prophet & of Islam
• The Thousand and One Nights
– King Shahryar – married & murdered wives
– Scheherezade – began stories, never finished them
– After 1001 nights – Shahryar allowed her to live
• Collection of fairytales of Arabic, Egyptian,
Indian, E. Asian, & Persian origin = A Thousand
Tales
B. Muslim Art & Architecture
• Muslims adapted others’ architecture to suit
Islamic beliefs & practices
– Ex. Only Allah can create life, thus, no images of
living beings
• Calligraphy
• Arabesque (detailed geometric patterns)
– Architecture = major Islamic artform
• Mosques
• Textiles
– silk “taftah” (Persian) became taffeta (Euro.)
• Wool carpets (Persian, Egyptian, Turkish)
C. Music
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“the devil’s call to damnation”
Important part of ordinary life
7th cent.—Tways created Islamic music
Later influenced music in Spain & the Americas
D. Medical Advances
• al-Razi (Persian scholar) –greatest physician
– Comprehensive Book (medical encyclopedia)
– Treatise on Smallpox & Measles (infectious diseases)
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Introduced use of animal gut for stitches
Treated diseases of the eyes (cataracts)
Borrowed from Greeks, Indians, & others
Discovered healing drugs & ointments
First school of pharmacy
E. Math & Science
• Mathematics = basis of all knowledge
• al-Khwarizimi
– Mathematician (late 700s)
– Studied Indian sources
– Wrote textbook explaining “the art of bringing together
unknowns to match a known quantity”
• “al-jabr” (algebra)
• Astronomy
– Ibn al-Haytham – wrote “Optics” –revolutionized ideas
about vision
• Muslims learned decimal system from India
– “Arabic numerals”
• Ibn-Batuta
the Ka’aba
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35’ X 40’, and 50’
Built by Abraham & Ishmael
Black embroidered cloth
S.E. corner = sacred black stone
– From heaven
– Gabriel gave to Abraham
– White?
• Replica of the House of God in the 7th heaven
– Heaven = 7 levels
– Hell = 7 levels (punishment fits the sin)