Islamic Civilisation Flashcards
Who does Islam worship?
Allah (the only true God)
Where did the word “Islam” come from? What does it mean?
Arabic; “surrender”, submitting to the will of God
Who was the founder of Islam? Where was he born?
Muhammad; Mecca
Who is Muhammad believe to be?
He is believed to be the last and greatest prophet of Allah
What does Muhammad’s name mean?
“Highly praised”
Where did Muhammad lead his followers to?
Migrate from Mecca to Medina
What did Muhammad and hist army do when they conquered Mecca?
Wiped out the idols in Kaaba and built the first mosque
What is a mosque?
A building in which Muslims worship
What are Mecca and Medina to Islam?
Holy cities of Islam
What did Muhammad’s followers do after he died?
They collected his messages into the Quran/ Koran
What is the Quran/ Koran?
The holy book of Islam
5 pillars of Islam
Faith, prayer, fast, charity, pilgrimage
How many times do Islamic people have to pray per day?
5 times
When do Islamic people fast?
During daylight hours in the month of Ramadan
How many times do Islamic people have to perform a pilgrimage to Mecca?
At least once in a lifetime
Expansion of the Islamic Empire by war
- Arabian army defeated the Persian Empire -> expend eastern border to border of China
- Arabian army occupied North Africa and most of Spain
Which continents with the Islamic Empire rule after?
Asia, Africa and Europe
When were the 7 crusades?
11th to 13th centuries
What were the crusades?
Military expeditions sent by the Pope/ Church in Europe
How can I see that the Europeans are Christians?
- religious symbol of Christianity: the cross
- lances: weapons of knights who much be Christians
How can I see that the Muslim Arabs are Islamics?
- religious symbol of Islam on the flag: the crescent (new moon)
- head-dress (turban) that some of the soldiers were wearing
Where are the soldiers going to?
Jerusalem
Purpose of the Europeans in the crusades
- to recapture Jerusalem
- stop the spread of Islam
Purpose of the Muslim Arabs in the crusades
- to capture Jerusalem, their holy city (where Muhammad ascended to heaven)
Results of the Crusades?
Out of the 7 Crusades sent off, the Muslim Arabs only lost the First Crusade
2 trade roads
Silk Road, Maritime Silk Road
Examples of cities which were the international economic and cultural centres due to the Silk Road
Baghdad
Who controlled the land routes from Europe to Asia?
Arabs
Why did Arabian merchant ships started sailing to trade (Maritime Silk Road)?
the technology of the Arabian shipbuilding and navigation was advanced
What did the Arabs bring from Asia to Europe?
tea, silk, spice
What did the Arabs from bring Europe to Asia?
jewels, glass, crafts
What was the favoured mode of transportation to travel overland? Why?
Camel, because they could withstand the harsh desert conditions through central Asia and could carry heavy goods
How did merchants and sailors move goods efficiently through oceans?
Made use of winter winds from NE and summer wind from SW to navigate the oceans
What was the period of 8the to 13th centuries called? Why?
The Golden Age of Islamic civilization, because Muslims absorbed European and Asian civilizations and developed their unique civilization and remarkable achievements
Achievements: language and writing system aspect
Arabic was popular in most European, Asian and African areas
Achievements: literature aspect
- included the elements of European and Asian history, religions, customs and myths
- many Islamic literary works were translated into different languages
Achievements: philosophy aspect
- House of Wisdom is a famous academic centre built in Baghdad
- Islamic scholars started the Translation Movement to translate many ancient Greco-Roman, Persian and Indian texts
Achievements: mathematics
- integrated with ancient Indian numeral system and ancient geometrical theories
- Arabic numerals and geometrical theories are widely used today
Achievements: medicine
- integrated with the ancient Greco-Roman, Persian and Indian medical knowledge and use both internal medicine and surgery
Achievements: architecture
- Islamic architecture integrated with ancient Greco-Roman style
- Mosque is representative of Islamic buildings
- some mosques are decorated with arabesques, which consist of infinitely repeated and extensible geometric patterns
What were the positive effects of the Crusaders?
it fostered the development of trade and indirectly favoured the formation of city-states
Example of city-states formed
Venice which controlled the Mediterranean Sea
Items the Italians learnt from the Arabs
Astrolabe, board games (e.g. chess, playing cards), new fruits, tea ware, medicine, musical instruments (e.g. violin), mirror
Knowledge the Italians learnt from the Arabs
Astronomy, navigation skills, ship-building skills, map-reading skills, mathematics (Arabic numbers), art and literature, medicine
2 aspects of the spread of ancient Greco-Roman Civilisation to Asia
Religion, astronomy
Some Christian churches sent missionaries to follow merchants to spread Christianity to India and China. What was this branch of Christianity called?
Nestorianism (Jingjiao)
What discovery did Arabian astronomers find?
Mistakes of the geocentric theory through observing the stars. They stated that the earth was actually rotating around the sun instead of the sun and other planets rotating around the earth.
What astronomical instruments did the Arabian astronomers imporve?
sundial and astrolabe
