Arabia - Social Studies Flashcards
Arabia
The home land of the Arab people, the center/ origin land of Islam.
Mecca / Makkah
Islam’s holiest city, as it’s the birthplace of the Prophet Muhammad and the faith itself.
Muhammad
A man born into a merchant family in Makkah in 570 C.E. He was orphaned at the age of five or six. As a teenager, Muhammad worked as a caravan leader and eventually became a merchant. He was troubled by many things he noticed around him. Seeking guidance he spent time alone praying in a cave outside the city. He had a vision in a voice which called him to preach Islam. When he returned to Makkah he began preaching.
Islam
A religion based off of the teachings of Muhammad
The Qur’an
The holy book of Islam.
The Five Pillars of Islam
A set of acts that include belief, prayer, charity, fasting, and pilgrimage. It can be expressed as the belief that everything is governed by divine decree, namely that whatever happens in one’s life is preordained, and that believers should respond to the good or bad that befalls them with thankfulness or patience. Muslims pray facing Mecca five times a day: at dawn, noon, mid-afternoon, sunset, and after dark. Charity giving for the sake of others, a Muslim is fulfilling a duty to those in need and preventing him or her from becoming proud of their own generosity. Fasting is a private act of worship bringing about nearness to God, as well as a form of spiritual discipline and a means to empathize with those less fortunate. Pilgrimage is a profound spiritual experience that wipes away sins, brings them closer to God and highlights Muslim unity.
Mehmed II the Conqueror
Mehmed was a conqueror who lead siege into Constantinople and conquered the capital successfully. The fought with more than 75,000 soldiers and new powerful cannons. The Byzantines were outnumbered; thousands were killed and others captured and shipped off as slaves.
The Ottoman Empire
A set of Turkish clans that established themselves in the late 1200s. They decided on the name of the Ottoman Turks, after their leader named Osman. They conquered much of the Byzantine Empire. They renamed the capital to Istanbul, as they now owned the land. Constantinople was the last defense against Muslim invasions into Christian Europe. Istanbul had become a launching point for the Ottomans into southeastern Europe, southwest Asia, and northern Africa. The Ottomans ruled over people with a variety of religion, Islam being the most common, so Muslims got special privileges. The government made laws for non-Muslims such as paying a non-Muslim tax.
