2.  While Europe was lost in the Dark Ages, Islam dominated and flourished in all aspects of society.

3.  Development of calligraphy- ◦ Beautiful writing and patterns to decorate buildings and art

4.  Used byzantine knowledge to design domes and arches  Painted people and animals in non-religious art

5.  Developed advances in algebra and geometry

6.  Astronomy ◦ Accurately recalculated the circumference of the earth ◦ Studied eclipses

7.  Medicine ◦ Required doctors to pass difficult tests ◦ Set up hospitals with emergency rooms  Studied diseases and wrote medical books

8.  Established an international trading network, connecting the Middle East, Europe, West Africa, India, China and Southeast Asia

9.  Considered the Quran (Koran) the most important piece of Arabic Literature  Created great work philosophy, poetry, and fictional tales ◦ Ex.) Aladdin, Thousand and One Nights

10.  Established universities and libraries in Cairo, Egypt; Baghdad, Iraq; Cordoba, Spain; and Timbuktu, West Africa  House of Wisdom  Scholars worked at preserving, translating, and advancing Greco- Roman, Egyptian, and Indian knowledge

11.  Crusades (1100 AD- 1300 AD)  Demonstrated the superiority of Muslim technology and the impact of Islamic culture on the Middle East in their defeat of the Christians  Long term impact: renewed trade and cultural contracts with Europeans. This propelled Europe into the Renaissance.

12.  Around 1200 AD the Abbasid Dynasty began to decline  Ethnic differences ◦ Muslim groups did not get along with Arabs, Persians, or the Turks  Crusades weakened rule  Attacks by the Mongols ◦ Captured the city of Baghdad