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The Golden Age of Islam
Mr. Blais
World History
Muslim Economy
• Merchants were honored in the Muslim world
• Between 750-1350 A.D. Muslims built a vast trading
network throughout their empire and beyond.
• Common religion and language helped trade to thrive.
• Goods now traveled from China and India into parts of
Europe by way of the Silk Road.
• The Silk Road was not really a road but a track people
moved along to exchange goods such as silk, paper, gold,
furs, cotton, and silver.
Manufacturing and Agriculture
• Most manufacturing was done
by wage workers.
• They produced goods such as
swords from Damascus, Persian
carpets, leathers from Spain, and
cotton goods from Egypt.
• Agriculture was practiced
primarily in Mesopotamia and
the Nile River Valley.
• Massive irrigation systems put in
place by the Abbasids greatly
increased the amount of
farmable land
Muslim Art
• The Koran strictly banned
idol worship and later
religious leaders forbade
artists from portraying human
figures in their art.
• Therefore Muslims art
consisted of elaborate
geometry patterns.
• They also used calligraphy
(the art of beautiful
handwriting) extensively and
used common phrases of the
Koran in their art.
Muslim Architecture
• Muslim architecture borrowed
techniques such as the arch
and dome from Greek, and
Roman structures.
• Around 690 A.D. Muslims
built a great mosque in
Jerusalem called the Dome of
the Rock which demonstrates
the use of Greek and Roman
techniques.
• In 850 A.D. Muslims built the
mosque at Samarra where
they revolutionized the
construction of minarets.
Arabic Literature
• The standard for Arabic
literature is the Koran
itself.
• Poetry had also been a
long tradition among
Arabs even before the time
of Muhammad.
• Storytelling was prized by
Arab writers.
• Many of their stories are
still told today:
– Ali Baba and the 40 thieves
– Aladdin
Arabic Philosophy
• Muslim scholars translated
the works of Greek
philosophers as well as
Hindu and Buddhist texts.
• They put a strong emphasis
on combining Greek ideas
of reason with religious
beliefs of divine revelation.
• Other Muslim scholars put
their knowledge to the test
through the use of reason.
Mathematics
• Muslims got their
foundation in math from
studying Indian and Greek
texts.
• The Arabic number system
was developed and spread
throughout the Islamic
empire and is used to this
day. (0,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10)
• One Muslim scholar also
developed al-jabr (algebra)
which literally means,
“restoring what is missing”
Al-Khwarizmi
Muslim Medicine
• Muslims again built on the Greek
knowledge of medicine.
• Public health in the Islamic world
reached an astonishing height.
• Physicians had to pass medical exams
before they could practice, and they
built hospitals in major cities
• They had departments for quick
treatment much like modern-day
emergency rooms.
• Physicians also made regular visits to
outlying neighborhoods and even jails
to treat ill patients.
Muslim Physicians
• Muhammad Al-Razi was one of the
most renown and respected Muslim
doctors in Baghdad around 900 A.D.
• He wrote texts that pioneered the study
of measles and smallpox and
developed the idea of treating the
mind, not only the body.
• Equally famous was Ibn Sina, who
wrote a text called Canon on Medicine.
• This book included all the Arabs and
Greeks had learned about treating
disease and had more than 4,000
prescriptions to treat diseases.
Muhammad Al-Razi