Islam’s Golden Age
“Golden Age” A time of great achievement and wealth Everything is positive “Golden” High point for a civilization or people
Good Leadership Harun ar-Rashid – caliph of Baghdad Ruled for 23 years – very lavish “court” Was a great Patron (supporter) of the arts People in the empire were very loyal to him
Religious Tolerance Leaders were very tolerant of other religions in the empire Allowed Christians and Jews to practive their religions freely Christians had to pay extra taxes and had different rules, but were free to follow their religions
Benefits of Tolerance Did not exclude people that could contribute to the empire Christians and Jews helped bring about Islam’s Golden Age and were rewarded for their efforts Maimonides, a Jewish doctor & scientist explained how people could believe in science and religion His work led to many inventions and treatments
Intellectual Achievements Muslim scholars made contributions to science, medicine, and math during the Golden Age Many famous stories and poems were written (Omar Khayyam was most famous poet) Poetry was the “music” of their time Jalal ad-Din ar-Rumi creates the Whirling Dervishes – a traveling show