Technology in Islamic Period

Question 1

What type of engineer were Muslims?

Answer 1

Civil Engineers

Question 2

What was the time period of the Islamic Period?

Answer 2

800’s to 1500’s, after the Middle Ages and before the Scientific Revolution

Question 3

What was the House of Wisdom?

Answer 3

The Translation Movement from the 8th to 10th centuries in Baghdad
Time when almost all Greek and Hellenistic texts were translated to Arabic

Question 4

What did Muslim scholars also do to books, besides translating them?

Answer 4

Wrote numerous commentaries to explain or criticize them
They made new observations, solved difficult mathematical equations, developed trig, and built observatories and hospitals.

Question 5

What was the concept of prestige technology?

Answer 5

Islamic fine technology
connected with gardens
connected with astronomy
automata

Question 6

What three advantages did the Islamic civilization combine?

Answer 6

Providing a direct contact with the Far East
Preserving Greek intellectual materials
Perusing scientific inquiry

Question 7

What is Muslim architecture a combination of?

Answer 7

Hellenistic, Persian, and local tradition presented in Islamic style

Question 8

What impacted Muslim architecture?

Answer 8

Religion
Local traditions
geography

Question 9

How did religion impact architecture?

Answer 9

orientation of mosques and shrines towards Mecca
Aniconism (no statues, no paintings)
Geometric Motifs/Vegetal Patterns
Calligraphy
Minarats (Towers)
Fountains/Water (for bathing)
Light (God is source of light, need light in buildings)

Question 10

What types of materials did they use for buildings?

Answer 10

stone, rubble, baked and unbaked bricks, clay, timber, mortar and plaster, and tiles (masters of tile decorating)

Question 11

Who was the Muhtasib?

Answer 11

person appointed to police the enforcement of Islamic law…exercised a close supervision over building construction
they had templates and codes to check the buildings

Question 12

What was the importance of roads and bridges?

Answer 12

Trade, warfares, pilgrimage routs to Mecca, connection to the Silk Road, state postal service (barid)

Question 13

How did they cross rivers?

Answer 13

With pontoon bridges and masonry bridges

Question 14

How did they solve irrigation problems?

Answer 14

Canals, Dams, Qanats

Question 15

How did they survey?

Answer 15

astronomical observation/calculation of latitudes (easy) and longitudes (hard)

Question 16

How did they air condition?

Answer 16

Basements had wind towers above them. Hot air flowed from outside through access shaft and cooled by qanat that eventually reached the basement