Chapter 10.3 Muslim Culture

Muslim Society Very Diverse culture; Arabic traditions combined with many other traditions. The Rise of Muslim Cities Damascus - Ummayad Cordoba – Al-Andalus Jerusalem – Holy City Baghdad - Abbasid

Baghdad Built by Caliph al-Mansure West bank of Tigris 762 AD Circular design – three protective walls Palace and Mosque in the innermost circle.

Four Social Classes Upper Class – Muslim by birth Second Class – Converted Muslims Third Class – “Protected People” Slaves – Prisoners of war, all non- Muslim

Role of Women Specific Legal right from the Qur’an Economic and property rights Responsible for the raising of children Lived increasingly isolated lives Expected to veil (later)

Muslim Scholarship Europe lost much of its learning and scholarship Muslim leaders preserved and used that knowledge. House of Wisdom – Baghdad: library, academy and translation center

Art and Sciences Flourish Literature – Poems, desert life, The Thousand and One Nights Art and Architecture Calligraphy, Woodwork, Glass, Ceramics, Textiles Great Mosque of Damascus, Baths, Arches

Arts and Sciences cont. Medical Advances Al-Razi – writes an encyclopedia and a treatise on Smallpox and Measles, believed that fresh air was important/ Math and Science Stretch Horizons Reliance on scientific method Al-Jabr – Algebra by Al-Khwarizmi

Philosophy and Religion Blend Views Translate Plato and Aristotle into Arabic Ibn Rushd (Averroes) Used Greek philosophy to find the truth Moses Ben Maimon (Maimonides) Jewish physician and philosopher – blends philosophy, religion and science