The Muslim World 273

MAIN IDEA WHY IT MATTERS NOW TERMS & NAMES

CULTURAL INTERACTIONMuslims combined andpreserved the traditions of manypeoples and also advancedlearning in a variety of areas.

Many of the ideas developedduring this time became thebasis of today’s scientific andacademic disciplines.

• House ofWisdom

• calligraphy

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SETTING THE STAGE The Abbasids governed during a prosperous period ofMuslim history. Riches flowed into the empire from all over Europe, Asia, andAfrica. Rulers could afford to build luxurious cities. They supported the scien-tists, mathematicians, and philosophers that those cities attracted. In the specialatmosphere created by Islam, the scholars preserved existing knowledge and pro-duced an enormous body of original learning.

Muslim SocietyOver time, the influence of Muslims grew as the empire attracted people from avariety of lands. The many cultural traditions combined with the Arabic culture tocreate an international flavor. Muslim society had a sophistication matched at thattime only by the Tang Empire of China. That cosmopolitan character was mostevident in urban centers.

The Rise of Muslim Cities Until the construction of Baghdad, Damascus was theleading city. It was also the cultural center of Islamic learning. Other cities grewup around power centers, such as Córdoba (the Umayyad capital), Cairo (theFatimid capital), and Jerusalem. (See the map on page 261.) Cities, which sym-bolized the strength of the caliphate, were very impressive.

The Abbasid capital city,Baghdad, impressed all whosaw it. Caliph al-Mansurchose the site for his capitalon the west bank of the TigrisRiver in 762. Extensive plan-ning went into the city’s distinctive circular design,formed by three circular pro-tective walls. The caliph’spalace of marble and stonesat in the innermost circle,along with the grand mosque.Originally, the main streetsbetween the middle wall and

Muslim Culture

Clarifying Use a webdiagram to show thekey elements of Muslimculture.

TAKING NOTES

Muslim Culture

Scienceand Math City Life

Society Arts andA t dLiteraturee

Cities, A.D. 900

SKILLBUILDER: Interpreting GraphsComparing How much larger in population was Baghdad than Córdoba?

500Population (in thousands)

1,000

Source: Tertius Chandler and Gerald Fox, 3,000 Years of Urban Growth.

Constantinople

Baghdad

Córdoba

Rome

0

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the palace were lined with shops. Later, the mar-ketplace moved to a district outside the walls.Baghdad’s population approached one million at its peak.

Four Social Classes Baghdad’s population, madeup of different cultures and social classes, was typ-ical for a large Muslim city in the eighth and ninthcenturies. Muslim society was made up of fourclasses. The upper class included those who wereMuslims at birth. Converts to Islam were in thesecond class. The third class consisted of the “pro-tected people” and included Christians, Jews, andZoroastrians. The lowest class was composed ofslaves. Many slaves were prisoners of war, and allwere non-Muslim. Slaves most frequently per-formed household work or fought in the military.

Role of Women The Qur’an says, “Men are themanagers of the affairs of women,” and “Righteouswomen are therefore obedient.” However, theQur’an also declares that men and women, asbelievers, are equal. The shari’a gave Muslimwomen specific legal rights concerning marriage,family, and property. Thus, Muslim women hadmore economic and property rights than European,Indian, and Chinese women of the same timeperiod. Nonetheless, Muslim women were stillexpected to submit to men. When a husband wantedto divorce his wife, all he had to do was repeat three

times, “I dismiss thee.” The divorce became final in three months.Responsibilities of Muslim women varied with the income of their husbands.

The wife of a poor man would often work in the fields with her husband. Wealthierwomen supervised the household and its servants. They had access to education,and among them were poets and scholars. Rich or poor, women were responsiblefor the raising of the children. In the early days of Islam, women could also par-ticipate in public life and gain an education. However, over time, Muslim womenwere forced to live increasingly isolated lives. When they did go out in public, theywere expected to be veiled.

Muslim Scholarship Extends KnowledgeMuslims had several practical reasons for supporting the advancement of science.Rulers wanted qualified physicians treating their ills. The faithful throughout theempire relied on mathematicians and astronomers to calculate the times for prayerand the direction of Mecca. However, their attitude also reflected a deep-seatedcuriosity about the world and a quest for truth. Muhammad himself believedstrongly in the power of learning:

P R I M A R Y S O U R C E Acquire knowledge. It enableth its possessor to distinguish right from wrong; it lighteththe way to Heaven; it is our friend in the desert, our society in solitude, our companionwhen friendless; it guideth us to happiness; it sustaineth us in misery; it is an ornamentamongst friends, and an armour against enemies.

MUHAMMAD, quoted in The Sayings of Muhammad

▲ In a miniaturepainting fromPersia, women areshown having apicnic in a garden.Gardens wereseen as earthlyrepresentations ofparadise.

AnalyzingPrimary Sources

According toMuhammad, whatare the nine valu-able results ofknowledge?

AstronomyMuslim interest in astronomy developed from the need to fulfill threeof the Five Pillars of Islam—fasting during Ramadan, performing thehajj, and praying toward Mecca. A correct lunar calendar was needed tomark religious periods such as the month of Ramadan and the month ofthe hajj. Studying the skies helped fix the locations of cities so thatworshipers could face toward Mecca as they prayed. Extensive knowl-edge of the stars also helped guide Muslim traders to the many tradingcities of the ancient world.

1. Recognizing Effects How did fulfillingreligious duties lead Muslims to astron-omy and a better understanding ofthe physical world?

See Skillbuilder Handbook, page R6.

2. Comparing and Contrasting Muslimastronomers developed instrumentsto improve their observations of thesky. We do the same thing today.Research how modern astronomersmake their observations and comparetheir methods with early Muslimastronomers. Write two paragraphson how their methods are similar toand different from each other.

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The device shown here is called anarmillary sphere. The man standing in the center is aligning the sphere, while the seated man records the observations.Astronomers calculated the time of day or year by aligning the rings with variousstars. This helped Muslims set their religious calendar.

Muslim observatories were great centers of learning. This scene depicts astronomersworking at the observatory in Istanbul. They are using many instruments including anastrolabe like the one shown on this page.

The astrolabe was an early scientificinstrument. It had a fixed “plate” and a rotating “rete.” The plate was a mapof the sky and the rete simulated thedaily movement of the earth in relationto the stars. Using this tool, one couldcalculate time, celestial events, andrelative position. For Muslims, theastrolabe helped determine wherethey were in relation to Mecca.

This is the plate. Theplate was etched with a map of the sky for acertain latitude.

These pointers on therete represented differentstars. At night, observerscould look at the sky,position the pointers, andmake their calculations.

This is the rete—itrotated over the plate.The rete was mostlycut away so the mapbeneath was visible.

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RESEARCH LINKS For more on astronomy, go to classzone.com

The Prophet’s emphasis on study and scholarship led to strong support of places oflearning by Muslim leaders. After the fall of Rome in A.D. 476, Europe entered aperiod of upheaval and chaos, an era in which scholarship suffered. The scientificknowledge gained up to that time might have been lost. However, Muslim leadersand scholars preserved and expanded much of that knowledge. Both Umayyadsand Abbasids encouraged scholars to collect and translate scientific and philo-sophical texts. In the early 800s, Caliph al-Ma’mun opened in Baghdad a combi-nation library, academy, and translation center called the House of Wisdom.There, scholars of different cultures and beliefs worked side by side translatingtexts from Greece, India, Persia, and elsewhere into Arabic.

Art and Sciences FlourishScholars at the House of Wisdom included researchers, editors, linguists, and tech-nical advisers. These scholars developed standards and techniques for research thatare a part of the basic methods of today’s research. Some Muslim scholars usedGreek ideas in fresh new ways. Others created original work of the highest quality.In these ways, Muslims in the Abbasid lands, especially in Córdoba and Baghdad,set the stage for a later revival of European learning.

Muslim Literature Literature had been a strong tradition in Arabia even beforeIslam. Bedouin poets, reflecting the spirit of desert life, composed poems celebratingideals such as bravery, love, generosity, and hospitality. Those themes continued toappear in poetry written after the rise of Islam.

The Qur’an is the standard for all Arabic literature andpoetry. Early Muslim poets sang the praises of the Prophetand of Islam and, later, of the caliphs and other patrons whosupported them. During the age of the Abbasid caliphate, lit-erary tastes expanded to include poems about nature and thepleasures of life and love.

Popular literature included The Thousand and OneNights, a collection of fairy tales, parables, and legends. Thecore of the collection has been linked to India and Persia,but peoples of the Muslim Empire added stories andarranged them, beginning around the tenth century.

Muslim Art and Architecture As the Muslim Empireexpanded, the Arabs entered regions that had rich artistictraditions. Muslims continued these traditions but oftenadapted them to suit Islamic beliefs and practices. Forexample, since Muslims believed that only Allah can createlife, images of living beings were discouraged. Thus, manyartists turned to calligraphy, or the art of beautiful hand-writing. Others expressed themselves through the decora-tive arts, such as woodwork, glass, ceramics, and textiles.

It is in architecture that the greatest cultural blending ofthe Muslim world can be seen. To some extent, a buildingreflected the culture of people of the area. For example, theGreat Mosque of Damascus was built on the site of aChristian church. In many ways, the huge dome andvaulted ceiling of the mosque blended Byzantine architec-ture with Muslim ideas. In Syrian areas, the architectureincluded features that were very Roman, including bathsusing Roman heating systems. In Córdoba, the Great

The Thousand and One NightsThe Thousand and One Nights is acollection of stories tied togetherusing a frame story. The frame storytells of King Shahryar, who marries anew wife each day and has her killedthe next. When Scheherezade marriesthe king, however, she tells himfascinating tales for a thousand andone nights, until the king realizes thathe loves her.

The tradition of using a frame storydates back to at least 200 B.C., whenthe ancient Indian fables of thePanchatantra were collected. Italianwriter Giovanni Boccaccio also set hisgreat work, The Decameron, within aframe story in 1335.

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Muslim ArtMuslim art is intricate and colorful but oftendoes not contain images of living beings. Muslimleaders feared that people might worship theimages rather than Allah. Thus, Muslim artistsfound different ways to express their creativity,as shown on this page.

Arabesque Arabesque decoration is a complex, ornate design.It usually incorporates flowers, leaves, and geometricpatterns. These arabesque tiles are from the JamiMasjid Mosque. Arabesque designs are also found in Muslim mosaics, textiles, and sculptures.

Geometric PatternsMuslim artwork sometimesfocuses on strictly geometricpatterns. Geometric designscan be found in everythingfrom pottery to architecture.This mosaic is from the JamiMasjid Mosque in India(shown below) and usesintricate patterns radiatingout from the central shape.

SKILLBUILDER: Interpreting Visual SourcesDrawing Conclusions What do these three artistic techniques suggestabout Muslim art?

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CalligraphyCalligraphy, or ornamentalwriting, is important to Muslimsbecause it is considered a wayto reflect the glory of Allah. Inpictorial calligraphy, picturesare formed using the letters of the alphabet. This pictureof a man praying is made upof the words of the Muslimdeclaration of faith.

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Mosque used two levels of arches in a style unknown before. The style was basedon principles used in earlier mosques. These blended styles appeared in all thelands occupied by the Muslims.

Medical Advances Muslim contributions in the sciences were most recognizable inmedicine, mathematics, and astronomy. A Persian scholar named al-Razi (Rhazes,according to the European pronunciation) was the greatest physician of the Muslimworld and, more than likely, of world civilization between A.D. 500 and 1500. Hewrote an encyclopedia called the Comprehensive Book that drew on knowledge fromGreek, Syrian, Arabic, and Indian sources as well as on his own experience. Al-Razialso wrote Treatise on Smallpox and Measles, which was translated into several lan-guages. He believed patients would recover more quickly if they breathed cleaner air.

Math and Science Stretch Horizons Among the ideas that Muslim scholars intro-duced to modern math and science, two especially stand out. They are the reliance onscientific observation and experimentation, and the ability to find mathematical solu-tions to old problems. As for science, Muslims translated and studied Greek texts.But they did not follow the Greek method of solving problems. Aristotle, Pythagoras,and other Greek thinkers preferred logical reasoning over uncovering facts throughobservation. Muslim scientists preferred to solve problems by conducting experi-ments in laboratory settings.

Muslim scholars believed that mathematics was the basis of all knowledge. Al-Khwarizmi, a mathematician born in Baghdad in the late 700s, studied Indianrather than Greek sources. He wrote a textbook in the 800s explaining “the art ofbringing together unknowns to match a known quantity.” He called this techniqueal-jabr—today called algebra.

Many of the advances in mathematics were related to the study of astronomy.Muslim observatories charted stars, comets, and planets. Ibn al-Haytham (Alhazen),a brilliant mathematician, produced a book called Optics that revolutionized ideasabout vision. He showed that people see objects because rays pass from the objects tothe eyes, not from the eyes to the objects as was commonly believed. His studies aboutoptics were used in developing lenses for telescopes and microscopes.

Philosophy and Religion Blend ViewsIn addition to scientific works, scholars at the House of Wisdom in Baghdad trans-lated works of Greek philosophers like Aristotle and Plato into Arabic. In the1100s, Muslim philosopher Ibn Rushd (also known as Averroës), who lived in

▲ This interior viewof the GreatMosque of Córdobashowed a newarchitectural style.Two tiers of archessupport the ceiling.

Córdoba, was criticized for trying to blend Aristotle’s andPlato’s views with those of Islam. However, Ibn Rushdargued that Greek philosophy and Islam both had the samegoal: to find the truth.

Moses Ben Maimon (Maimonides), a Jewish physicianand philosopher, was born in Córdoba and lived in Egypt.Like Ibn Rushd, he faced strong opposition for his ideas, buthe came to be recognized as the greatest Jewish philosopherin history. Writing during the same time as Ibn Rushd,Maimonides produced a book, The Guide for the Perplexed,that blended philosophy, religion, and science.

The “Ideal Man” The values of many cultures were recog-nized by the Muslims. A ninth-century Muslim philosophi-cal society showed that it recognized the empire’s diversenature when it described its “ideal man”:

P R I M A R Y S O U R C EThe ideal and morally perfect man should be of East Persianderivation, Arabic in faith, of Iraqi education, a Hebrew inastuteness, a disciple of Christ in conduct, as pious as a Greekmonk, a Greek in the individual sciences, an Indian in theinterpretation of all mysteries, but lastly and especially a Sufi inhis whole spiritual life.

IKHWAN AS-SAFA, quoted in The World of Islam

Though the unified Muslim state broke up, Muslim cul-ture continued. Three Muslim empires—the Ottoman, theSafavid, and the Mughal—would emerge that would reflectthe blended nature of the culture of this time. The knowl-edge developed and preserved by the Muslim scholars would be drawn upon byEuropean scholars in the Renaissance, beginning in the 14th century.

The Muslim World 279

TERMS & NAMES 1. For each term or name, write a sentence explaining its significance. • House of Wisdom • calligraphy

USING YOUR NOTES 2. Which of these elements most

strengthened the Abbasid rule? Explain.

MAIN IDEAS3. What was the role of women in

Muslim society?

4. How did Muslim scholars helppreserve the knowledge of theancient Greeks and Romans?

5. What were some of the Muslimcontributions in medicine,mathematics, and astronomy?

SECTION ASSESSMENT3

CREATING A POSTER

Research to find out how the discoveries of Muslim physician al-Razi have influencedmedicine today. Present your findings in a poster.

CRITICAL THINKING & WRITING6. EVALUATING What do you consider to be the five most

significant developments in scholarship and the artsduring the reign of the Abbasids?

7. MAKING INFERENCES What united the scholars ofdifferent cultures who worked in the House of Wisdom?

8. SYNTHESIZING What role did cities play in theadvancement of Muslim culture?

9. WRITING ACTIVITY Write a one-paragraph analysis explaining how the primary sourcequotation on this page reflects the Muslim Empire’sdiversity.

CULTURAL INTERACTION

CONNECT TO TODAY

Muslim Culture

Scienceand Math City Life

Society Arts andA t dLiteraturee

DrawingConclusions

What is theadvantage of blend-ing various tradi-tions within aculture?

Ibn Rushd1126–1198

Today Ibn Rushd is considered bymany to be the most important ofall Muslim philosophers. Yet hisviews were so offensive to Islamicconservatives that he was oncestoned in the Great Mosque ofCórdoba. In 1184, the philosopherbegan serving as physician to Caliphal-Mansur in Marrakech. Underpressure by conservatives, however,the caliph accused Ibn Rushd ofheresy and ordered some of hisbooks to be burned.

Fortunately, all of his work was notlost. Ibn Rushd’s writings had a greatimpact on Europe in the 13th centuryand played a major role in the revivalof Christian scholarship. In the 16thcentury, Italian painter Raphael placedIbn Rushd among the ancient Greekphilosophers in School of Athens.

RESEARCH LINKS For more on IbnRushd, go to classzone.com