Muslim Contributions To World Civilization Introduction Purpose To

Muslim Contributions To World Civilization

Introduction • Purpose- To learn about the various contributions of Muslims to world civilizations. • Students will examine images of Muslim contributions. • design a visual symbol. • This symbol will be placed on a map of the Muslim Empire. • write a summary sentence of the achievement.

Chess • Introduced to the Muslim world by the Persians. • The Persians imported it first from India. • Caliphs (rulers) would invite champions of the games to chess matches at their palaces. • Eventually, they introduced chess to Europeans. • The word rook comes from the Persian rukh, which means chariot.

Chess Match

Irrigation Techniques & Underground Wells

Irrigation • Because water was so scarce in the desert regions ways to get more water were needed. • Developed ingenious irrigation techniques and underground wells. • Dams, reservoirs, and aqueducts were constructed throughout the Islamic Empire as early as the tenth century. • Muslims perfected the Roman water wheel, or noria, a technique that could be operated by man, animals, or the wind.

Underground Wells • The word “noria, ” comes from the arabic word “na -urah, ” meaning first water machine. • Both the Umayyad and Abbasid rulers preserved and improved the series of Underground wells, called “qanats” used to irrigate fields in Syria and Spain. • Much of the agriculture of the Muslim Empire was dependent upon these irrigation techniques.

Zoology • Muslim scholars made great advances in zoology, the study of animals. • Muslim lifestyles and economy were dependent upon animals. • Al-Jahiz, in Baghdad, was the foremost scholar to explore zoology. • He wrote some 200 works about animals, the most famous, the Book of Animals. • His work was a model for later scholars.

Banking System • During the rule of the Abbasids of Baghdad, a banking system was developed that helped to end the confusion caused by the many currencies (kinds of money) that were then in use. • From this system came the word “check” from the Arabic word sakk. • There were central banks and branch offices and an elaborate system of checks and letters of credit. • This was important because international trade had expanded and goods were being marketed (sold) abroad (in foreign countries).

Calligraphy • Calligraphy, beautiful writing, is the art of elegant handwriting. • It was first used by the Arabs of the Arabian Peninsula when they began preparing copies of the Qur’an. • From there it spread from Medina, to Mecca, and from there it went to Damascus and Baghdad.

Calligraphy • Only calligraphy was considered worthy of the word of God. • The calligrapher was honored above all other artists. • Calligraphy is used to decorate ceramics, textiles, and metal works with inscriptions of worldly wisdom. • In Muslim art the words of the calligrapher were admired for their beauty. • Calligraphy was used because the use of visual images to depict humans and animals was prohibited.

Geometric and Floral Designs • Muslim art is mostly abstract. • This means that pictures do not represent subjects like humans or animals. • It was believed that the human image would distract the worshipper from praying to Allah. • As a result, Muslim artists turned to plant images or geometric designs as art subjects. • This art form flourished in the early Islamic Empire on the Arabian Peninsula and traveled to Baghdad, where it flourished during the Golden Age.

Geometric and Floral Designs • The most common design was the arabesque, which was a winding stem of leaves and flowers that formed a spiraling design. • These designs decorated everything from small objects to carpets and entire walls. • It was used to express the idea that there was unity and order in all things at all times.

Bookmaking • During the rule of the Abbasids, Chinese soldiers captured during a battle in Central Asia were discovered to be skilled artisans in paper making. • These Chinese prisoners taught their captors how to make paper, and this new skill spread throughout the empire. • Baghdad, established the first paper factory in the Muslim Empire. • As a result, books became more available and contributed to interest in all kinds of learning. • It was a status symbol to own them and the sign of a wealthy person was a well-stocked library.

The House of Wisdom • The House of Wisdom was an educational institution founded in Baghdad by the Abbasid caliph al-Ma’mun, in A. D. 830. • It was here that many scholars from all parts of the world translated into Arabic, Greek, Persian, and Indian texts on such topics as mathematics, astronomy and logic. • Scholars who came here translated Greek classics in philosophy and science into Arabic. • They helped to preserve many classical works that would have been lost during the Dark Ages.

Astronomy • Astronomy, the scientific study of the stars, was an area in which Islamic scientists made great achievements. • In Baghdad and Cordoba, Spain were some of the finest observatories. • Muslim astronomers discovered and corrected many of the mistakes made by Ptolemy. • They used an astrolabe, a device adapted from the Greeks. • Using this they could tell the time of day, measure latitude, and determine the position of the planets and stars. • They knew the earth was a globe, began to believe that the earth rotated on its axis, and that the sun was the center of the universe. • These same ideas were discovered centuries later in Western Europe.

Algebra • The Muslim scholars of the Abbasid period were very interested in furthering the developments of the Greeks in mathematics. • They spent hours trying to stump one another with difficult mathematic puzzles. • They invented the “magic boxes. ” • It was given its name by Al Khwarazmi, of Baghdad who introduced algebra to civilization. • Algebra comes from the word “al jabr, ” which means the coming together of separate parts. • In algebra the mathematician substitutes symbols such as x, y, or z for numbers in order to solve mathematical problems.

Hospitals • Muhammad stated that Allah had provided a cure for every illness. • It was in the city of Damascus that the first hospital was founded. • Baghdad built the largest hospital of its time. • It became a model for future hospitals. • It was staffed by doctors who were paid by the government. • Hospitals were designed to promote health, cure diseases, and teach, and expand medical knowledge. • Hospitals had lecture halls, libraries, pharmacies, laboratories, and patient rooms with beds. • Patients with communicable diseases, as well as those recovering from surgery were kept in a separate part of the hospital.

Herbal Medicines and Pharmacies • Muslim doctors in Damascus experimented with the treatment of disease through herbal medicines. • Plants such as coriander (an herb of the carrot family) were used for their medicinal powers. • Sedatives (drugs used to calm or tranquilize), including hashish (a strong narcotic), were used to kill pain during surgery. • Al-Zahrawi, a Muslim doctor from Spain, began using antiseptics (substances derived from herbs that kill germs) to cleanse wounds, a practice unheard of in other parts of Europe until centuries later. • Ibn Sina, a famous Persian healer, designed treatments involving the use of herbs and medicinal plants. • Pharmacies developed advances in herbal medicine in Baghdad to heal illnesses. • Pharmacies filled prescriptions much as present-day drug stores do.

The City of Baghdad • Baghdad, now the capital city of Iraq, was chosen by the Abbasid ruler, Caliph al-Mansur, to be the center of his empire in the eighth century. • Baghdad was an ideal choice because it lay between two rivers and was at the crossroads of great trade routes. • The city was built in concentric circles(each inside the other), with a deep moat surrounding three circular walls. • His palace was at the exact center of his city. • It was considered the most spectacular city in the empire.

Polo • Polo was introduced to the Muslim world by the Persians. • Polo is a fast-paced ball and goal game played on horseback by two teams of four on a grass field with goal posts at either end. • The game was a favorite among the wealthy because of the use of horses. • The Muslims adapted and improved the game, which was then introduced to Europeans. • Today it is played all over the world.

Libraries of Cordoba • In the eighth century a new and independent Muslim kingdom was established by the Umayyads in Spain. • Its capital city, Cordoba, became a center of learning and intellectual life and was widely known as a city of bibliophiles (people who love books). • The most celebrated library in Cordoba was run by Caliph al. Hakam II al-Mustanir (A. D. 961 -976). • Al-Hakam, who was an accomplished scholar, sent bookbuyers all over the Muslim Empire to find books for his library. • Library clerks, many of them women, carefully hand-copied the books while calligraphers and bookbinders created beautiful text and cover designs. • Al-Hakam’s library was said to have contained more than 400, 000 books, whose titles filled a 44 -volume catalog. • The people of Cordoba also collected their own books.

Music of Muslim Spain • The music of Muslim Spain, which combined musical styles from all over the world, was an important achievement during the Golden Age of Muslims. • Europe’s first music conservatory (school) was established in Cordoba by an Arab named Ziryad, a slave liberated from Baghdad. • Musicians from all over Central Asia and Africa were hired by royal courts to entertain royalty and important visitors, such as wealthy merchants. • These musicians developed a distinct style of music from the patterns and rhythms of poetry that combined the styles of Classical Arab and native Spanish cultures. • The origins of many instruments, including the oboe, trumpet, violin, guitar, harp, and percussion instruments can be traced to this music of Muslim Spain.