click below
click below
Normal Size Small Size show me how
Ch. 11 ID & Define
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Mecca. | The holy city of Islam. |
| Bedouins. | Nomadic herders who rode camels through the desert to trade with other Arabs who settled in oasis towns. |
| Kaaba. | The city where Muhammad returned in triumph in 630 C.E. where he destroyed the idols. Also an ancient shrine. |
| Khadija. | Wealthy widow(s) who ran a prosperous caravan business. |
| Quran. | The holy book of Islam. |
| People of the Book. | Jews and Christians. |
| Sharia. | An Islamic system of law that regulates moral conduct, family life, business practices, government, and other aspects of a Muslim community. |
| Oasis. | Fertile area(s) in the desert, watered by natural well or spring. |
| Hijra. | The journey Muhammad and his followers left Mecca for Yathrib. |
| Monotheism. | Belief in one god. |
| Mosque. | House(s) of worship. |
| Hajj. | Pilgrimage to Mecca. |
| Jihad. | Effort in Allah's service. |
| Abu Bakr. | A man who was determined to continue Muhammad's work and successfully reunited the Arabs. |
| Battle of Tours. | The Muslim advance into Western Europe against the Byzantine Empire. |
| Fatima and Ali. | Descendants of Muhammad's daughter and son-in-law. |
| Sufi. | Muslim mystics who sought communication with Allah through meditation, fasting, and rituals. |
| Umayyads. | Adapted to ruling cities and huge territories from desert life, relied on local officials, including educated Jews, Greeks, and Persians, and killed Ali & his son. |
| Abbassids. | Muslims united under Abbass and his Abbassid Dynasty. |
| Harun al-Rashid. | Caliph who ruled Baghdad from 786-809 C.E. |
| Seljuks. | Migrated from Central Asia to the Middle East in the 900's, built a large empire across the fertile crescent, and their interference with Christian pilgrims traveling to Jerusalem led Pope Urban II, in 1095, to call for the 1st Crusade. |
| Tamerlane. | A Mongol leader led his armies into the Middle East, whose ambitions led him to conquer both Muslim and non-Muslim lands, and overran Persia & Mesopotamia before invading Russia & India. |
| Caliph. | Successor to Muhammad as political and religious leader of the Muslims. |
| Minaret. | Slender tower of a mosque, from which Muslims are called to prayer. |
| Muezzin. | Mosque official who climbs to the top of a minaret to call the faithful to prayer. |
| Sultan. | Muslim ruler. |
| Omar Khayyám. | Famous Muslim scholar and astronomer best known to westerners for The Rubáiyát. |
| Avoerroes. | Ibn Rushd's European name. Ibn put all knowledge except for the Quran to the test of reason. |
| Muhammad al-Razi. | A great medical thinker who studied both measles and smallpox. |
| Avicenna. | Ibn Sina's European name. He was the author of Canon on Medicine, a huge encyclopedia of what the Greeks, Arabs, and he himself had learned about the diagnosis and treatment of disease. |
| Social mobility. | Programs to help people in need. |
| Arabesque. | Intricate design made up of curved lines that suggest floral shapes, used to decorate rugs, textiles, and glassware. |
| Calligraphy. | Fancy or stylized handwriting. |
| Sikhism. | A blend of Islamic and Hindu beliefs created by Nanak. |
| Babur. | A military genius, poet, and author of a fascinating book of memoirs. |
| Mughal. | The name of the Empire created by Akbar. Persian word for, "Mongol." |
| Nur Jahan. | Jahangir's wife. |
| Taj Mahal. | A tomb built for Mumatz Mahal by her husband, Shah Jahan. |
| Sultanate. | Land ruled by a sultan. |
| Caste. | In traditional society, unchangeable social group into which a person is born. |
| Rajah. | Elected warrior chief of an Aryan tribe in ancient India; local Hindu ruler in India. |
| Sinan. | A royal architect who designed hundreds of mosques & palaces. |
| Isfahan. | A center of the international silk trade. |
| Millet. | In the Ottoman Empire, a religious community of non-Muslims. |
| Janizary. | Elite force of the Ottoman army. |
| Shah. | King. |