Chapter 11 Vocab Flashcards
Abbasid caliphate
Dynasty of caliphs who ruled an increasingly fragmented Islamic state from 750 to 1258, eventually becoming little more than figureheads.
al-Andalus
Arabic name for Spain (literally “the land of the Vandals”), most of which was conquered by Arab and Berber forces in the early eighth century C.E.
Anatolia
AnatoliaAncient name of Asia Minor, part of the Byzantine Empire that was gradually overrun by the Turks and that now is the Republic of Turkey.
Battle of Talas River
Arab victory over the Chinese in 751 C.E. that checked Chinese expansion to the west and enabled the conversion of Central Asia to Islam.
Bedouins
Nomadic Arabs.
dhimmis
“Protected subjects” under Islamic rule, non-Muslims who were allowed to practice their faith as “people of the book” in return for their paying special taxes.
al-Ghazali
Great Muslim theologian, legal scholar, and Sufi mystic (1058-1111) who was credited with incorporating Sufism into mainstream Islamic thought.
hadiths
Traditions passed on about the sayings or actions of Muhammad and his immediate followers; hadiths rank second only to the Quran as a source of Islamic law.
hajj
The pilgrimage to Mecca enjoined on every Muslim who is able to make the journey; one of the Five Pillars of Islam.
House of Wisdom
An academic center for research and translation of foreign texts that was established in Baghdad in 830 C.E. by the Abbasid caliph al-Mamun.
hijra
The “flight” of Muhammad and his original seventy followers from Mecca to Yathrib (later Medina) in 622 C.E.; the journey marks the starting point of the Islamic calendar.
Ibn Battuta
Fourteenth-century Arab traveler (1304-1368) who wrote about his extensive journeys throughout the Islamic world.
Ibn Sina
One of the greatest polymaths of the Islamic world (980-1037), a Persian who wrote prolifically on scientific (especially medical) and philosophical issues; he is often known as “Avicenna,” the Latinized form of his name.
imams
In Shia Islam, leaders with high religious authority; the twelve imams of early Shia Islam were Muhammad’s nephew Ali and his descendants.
jihad
Arabic for “struggle,” this term describes both the spiritual striving of each Muslim toward a godly life and armed struggle against the forces of unbelief and evil.
jizya
Special tax paid by dhimmis in Muslim-ruled territory in return for freedom to practice their own religion.
Kaaba
Great stone shrine in Mecca that was a major pilgrimage center for worshippers of many different deities before it was reconsecrated to monotheistic use by Muhammad.
madrassas
Formal colleges for higher instruction in the teachings of Islam as well as in secular subjects, founded throughout the Islamic world beginning in the eleventh century.
Mecca
Key pilgrimage center in Arabia that became the birthplace of Islam.
Mozarabs
“Would-be Arabs” in Muslim-ruled Spain, referring to Christians who adopted much of Arabic culture and observed many Muslim practices without actually converting to Islam.
Muhammad Ibn Abdullah
The Prophet of Islam (570-632 C.E.).
Muslim
Literally, “one who submits”; the name was adopted by Muhammad and his followers to describe their submission to God.
Pillars of Islam
The five core practices required of Muslims: a profession of faith, regular prayer, charitable giving, fasting during Ramadan, and a pilgrimage to Mecca (if financially and physically possible).
Marco Polo
The most famous European traveler of the Middle Ages (1254-1324), whose travel account of his time in China was widely popular in Europe.
Rightly Guided Caliphs
The first four rulers of the Islamic world (632-661) after the death of Muhammad.
Quran
Also transliterated as Qur’án and Koran, this is the most holy text of Islam, recording the revelations given to the prophet Muhammad.
sharia
Islamic law, dealing with all matters of both secular and religious life.
shaykhs
Sufi teachers who attracted a circle of disciples and often founded individual schools of Sufism.
Sikhism
A significant syncretic religion that evolved in India, blending elements of Islam and Hinduism; founded by Guru Nanak (1469-1539).
Sufis
Islamic mystics, many of whom were important missionaries of Islam in conquered lands and who were revered as saints.
Sultanate of Delhi
Major Turkic Muslim state established in northern India in 1206.
Timbuktu
Great city of West Africa, noted as a center of Islamic scholarship in the fourteenth to sixteenth centuries.
ulama
Islamic religious scholars.
Umayyad caliphate
Family of caliphs who ruled the Islamic world from 661 to 750 C.E.
umma
The community of all believers in Islam.
