Chapter 2.3 class Notes Muslim Ways of Life I. TRADE AND EVERYDAY LIFE The expansion of the Arabic language, the provision of coins by Muslim rulers, the practice of banking were all reasons for Muslim traders being successful in the 1400’s. Mosques are Muslim houses of worship Bazaars are marketplaces where trade took place and they were very important for cities. Most Muslims lived in small villages and wealthy landowners began to take over the farms and the farmers worked for the landowners.

Muslim social classes were based on power and wealth Muslim social classes were based on power and wealth. Government leaders, landowners, and traders were in the higher class. Below were the artisans, farmers, and workers. Slaves made up the lowest class. Men ran government, society, and business while women helped run the families. In many places women had to cover their faces and wear long robes. Women could inherit wealth and property.

II. Muslim achievements: Arabic Language helped different people trade goods. Mamun was an Abbasid Caliph who founded the House of Wisdom in Baghdad. Muslim scholars preserved much learning of the ancient world. Muslim scholars invented Algebra and they perfected the astrolabe, a tool used to study the stars. Al-Razi, a Muslim chemist, developed a system for categorizing substances as animal, mineral, or vegetable. Arabs are considered the founders of chemistry.

House of Wisdom, Baghdad, Iraq

Ibn Sina, a Persian doctor showed how diseases spread from person to person. Omar Khayyam was a great poet who wrote the Rubaiyat, a poem considered to be one of the finest poems ever written. The Arabian Nights is one of the most well known works of Muslim literature. Ibn Khaldun, a great Muslim historian, was one of the first people to study the effects of geography and climate on earth.

Muslims developed a distinct form of art but do not show images of Muhammad in their art. Muslims have a unique architecture including great mosques, many with domes and minarets-towers from which a crier calls people to prayer. The Alhambra is a famous Muslim palace located in Granada, Spain. The Taj Mahal in Agra, India, was created as the tomb for the wife of Shah Jahan, a Mogul ruler.

THE TAJ MAHAL Agra, India

Alhambra Palace Granada, Spain