1. Homework
I-5 due Monday.

2. Aim #6: What were some of the intellectual and cultural achievements of the Muslim Empire?
Do Now: Currently, Sunni ISIS is attempting to take control of Shiite Iraq and part of Syria and make them part of a larger, pro-Sunni state. Based on what you read yesterday, how do you think President Trump should respond to this situation:
Continue to support Iraqi forces and others fighting ISIS with air strikes, special forces operations and military training (this is the option the Obama administration followed).
Send thousands of American ground troops into Iraq and Syria to fight ISIS directly.
Stay out of the situation completely. Conflicts between Sunnis and Shiites can’t be resolved, and westerners have interfered in this region enough.

3. 1. Who was attracted to the great city of Baghdad and why?
It was the center of learning and culture in the Islamic Empire.
The best scholars and thinkers in the Muslim world came there to study math, science, medicine and solve engineering and logistical problems in the Empire.

4. 2. What was the House of Wisdom
2. What was the House of Wisdom? What role did it play in preserving ancient texts?
Center of scholarship and learning in the city. Great minds from all over the empire (Muslims, Christians, and Jews) would study together and discuss and share ideas in the academies and libraries.
Scholars were sent all over the empire to find ancient Greek and Roman texts (like Plato and Aristotle) bring them back to the House of Wisdom, and translate them into Arabic.

5. 3. What contributions did Islamic scholars make to mathematics and science, especially in the field of medicine?
Math: Arabic Numerals (0-9), Algebra, Trigonometry.
Science- Scientific Method, Work with lenses (led to the invention of the modern camera),
Medicine – Disease was transmitted through tiny airborne organisms, creation of the hospital (to treat people with physical and mental illness), performed cataract surgery.

6. 4. What was the significance of Islamic individuals taking up the use of paper?
Spread of books, more people become literature
Development of Literature:
Omar Khayyam writes The Rubaiyat: Collection of poems on fate and the fleeting nature of life.

7. 4. What was the significance of Islamic individuals taking up the use of paper?
Arabian Nights: Romances, fables, adventures and humorous anecdotes gathered from all over the Empire. Inspiration for “Aladdin and His Magic Lamp,” “Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves.”

8. 5. Which city in Spain served as the example of Islamic culture to the people of Europe? How did it compare to European cities of the time period?
Córdoba
It had streetlights, paved roads, libraries, hospitals, running water.
In other cities of Europe (like Paris), people lived in shacks by the side of the river.

9. Concluding Question
Which achievement of Muslim civilization do you think has the greatest impact on our world today?