1. Ch. 2, Sec. 3 Notes – Muslim Ways of Life

2. Islamic Trade Caravans and merchants traveled all over Asia, Africa
Traded spices, cloth, glass, steel, and carpets for rubies, silk, ivory, gold, and slaves
Arabic became the language of business during this time

3. Islamic Cities
Baghdad, Cairo, Damascus amongst great cities of the time
Built great mosques, or Muslim houses of worship, that served as religious and learning centers
Bazaars, or open marketplaces, attracted buyers and sellers from all over the world

4. Muslim society
Divided into three social classes – upper class (wealthy businessman, landowners), lower class (farmers, artisans, and workers), and slaves
Muslims cannot be slaves, so they bought or captured slaves from non-Muslim areas

5. Islamic Intellectualism
In 830 A.D., the Abbasid caliph Mamun founded the House of Wisdom in Baghdad where countless Greek, Persian, and Indian works were rewritten in Arabic

6. Islamic Mathematics and Science
Invented Algebra and borrowed the symbols 0 through 9 from India
Al-Razi and other scientists developed chemistry
Ibn Sina theorized that diseases are spread by germs

7. Islamic Architecture
Minarets are towers from which the crier (muezzin) calls the faithful to prayer
Buildings such as the Taj Mahal and the Alhambra in Granada are Islamic