Study Guides

Unit Summary

In this unit, pupils analyse the connections that 9th-century Islamic civilisation had to the wider world. They learn about its connections to the East and West and the importance of Baghdad as a centre of learning and knowledge.

Lesson Summary

You will learn to describe the way in which scientific and artistic ideas spread across Islamic civilisation from Baghdad.

Key Notes

• The caliphs paid scholars to come to the House of Wisdom to translate Greek, Persian and Indian texts into Arabic.
• They used these texts to create new knowledge that was spread throughout the Islamic world and even further afield.
• Scholars translated the works of Greek and Roman doctors like Galen, saving and spreading this medical knowledge.
• Scientists and scholars in Baghdad made many discoveries such as how lenses and the human eye work and making compasses.
• Geometrically patterned art looking like flowers and plants spread across the Muslim world from Baghdad.

Vocabulary To Learn

• scholar: a scholar is someone who spends a lot of time studying and learning; they often become experts in their chosen areas and share what they learn with others
• Galen: Galen was a doctor in Ancient Greece, who lived during the 2nd century CE, and made many important discoveries about medicine and the human body
• compass: a compass is a tool for showing direction; a magnetic compass has a needle that points north
• abstract: abstract art is a style of art that doesn't try to show things exactly as they look in real life but instead uses shapes, colours, and patterns to express ideas or feelings

Common Mistakes To Avoid

• The House of Wisdom was exclusively Muslim.

3 Quick Questions (With Answers)

More Lessons In This Unit

• Baghdad and Cordoba Study Guide
• Baghdad's connection to the medieval world Study Guide
• Baghdad's connections to the East Study Guide
• Baghdad's connections to the West Study Guide
• Europe, the Mediterranean and Asia in the early 9th century world Study Guide