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

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