Warm Up

1. Warm Up In Chapter 10.1 (Pages 233-237)� Please list the Five Pillars of Islam.

2. Abu-Bakr When Muhammad died, he did not name a successor to his rule. The Muslim community elected Abu-Bakr as their new leader. He became the first caliph or �successor� of the religion.

3. Many groups around the Arabian Peninsula began to abandon Islam and refused to pay taxes to the Muslim community. Abu-Bakr used military force to reassert Muslim authority in the area. It was due to the experience of the military that the next two caliphs of Islam had enough power to conquer most of the Arabian Peninsula.

4. Also, the Byzantine and Persian Empires (neighbors of the Muslim Empire) were very weak at this time., which allowed the Muslim Empire to expand without any troubles.

5. Battle of Tours The Muslim Empire now stretched over 6,000 miles from the Atlantic Ocean to the Indus River in India. Yet the spread of Islam into France was halted 100 miles away from Paris at the battle of Tours in 732 A.D.

6. Conquered peoples The Muslims treated their conquered lands very tolerably. No one could be forced to become a Muslim, but many of the conquered people freely chose to embrace the new religion.

7. Umayyad Family After the murder of Ali (the fourth caliph) the Umayyad family took control, and began a hereditary system of succession to the Muslim leadership.

8. Sunni The Muslim community then split into two groups with the rise of the Umayyad family. The majority of the Muslim people accepted the Umayyad�s rule, and became a group known as the Sunni. Sunni�s did not resist the family succession at all.

9. Shi�a The minority group that refused the Umayyad family�s power became known as the Shi�a which means the �party� of Ali. They believed that in order to become a caliph one had to be a descendant of Muhammad himself.

10. After the Umayyad family ruled for less than 100 years; a group called the Abbasids took control and ruthlessly murdered the remaining members of the Umayyad family.

11. Cordoba The Abbasids developed a strong treasury in their capital city (Baghdad). Another massive city that they built was the city of Cordoba in the South of Spain. With a population of over 500,000; the city boasted of having over 70 libraries, 700 Mosques, and 27 free schools.

12. Damascus Another great city called Damascus became the cultural center of Islamic learning, where a fine cloth named damask was made.

13. Four Classes Muslim society was made up of four classes. The upper class included those who were Muslim at birth. Converts to Islam were found in the second class. (This class paid a higher tax that the upper class, but lower than other classes) The third class consisted of the �protected people� which included Christians, Jews, and others. The fourth and lowest class consisted of slaves.

14. Women Muslim women of this time period had more rights than other women. They had access to an education, and could become poets and scholars if they chose to do so.

15. Muhammad�s emphasis on study and scholarship led to strong support of places of learning. Many scholars began to translate the texts of the Persians, Indians, and Greeks. Others sought out the truth through Islamic philosophy, while others began to research into the maths and sciences.

16. House of Wisdom The House of Wisdom was founded during the Abbasid dynasty in Baghdad. It was here that the scholars translated, wrote philosophy, and did research into the maths and sciences.

17. Discoveries in the Maths and Sciences Some of the most important discoveries made by the Muslim scholars was the astrolabe, telescope, and precise maps The astrolabe is an instrument that measures the angle of the sun and stars above the horizon. This device helped sailors navigate across the seas. The telescope became a new device which helped astronomers calculate the time of day and year by viewing the stars.

18. Calligraphy Another interesting aspect of Islam was that people were forbidden to draw or depict living beings, based on the idea that only Allah can create life. Thus, many artists turned to the art of calligraphy, or the art of beautiful handwriting.

19. Now Please turn to Pages 238-247 and write down the Vocabulary for section 10.2 and 10.3