ADVANCEMENTS OF
ABBASID CALIPHATE
MUHAMMAD MOHSIN.
ABBASID DYNASTY
Education
Science
Philosophy
Art
culture
CONTEXT
EDUCATION:
► He made a special effort to recruit famous scholars to come to the House of Wisdom.
► The House of Wisdom increased in use and prestige under al-Mamun’s rule, from 813 to 833.
► Muslims, Christians, and Jews all collaborated and worked peacefully there.
► Great advances were made in many areas of science, mathematics, and medicine.
► Schools of higher education and libraries were built throughout the empire.
► During the two hundred years after AD. 750, the intellectual ferment did not lessen for a single moment.
► Even limited to the names of those scholars, writers, and poets were born in Baghdad.
► In this center of universal culture were found polite manners, refinement, general education, and the
confrontation of religious and philosophical thought which made the Mesopotamian city the queen of the
world during that period.
SCIENCE
The Arabs assimilated the scientific knowledge of the civilizations they had conquered, including the
ancient Greek, Roman, Persian, Chinese, Indian, Egyptian, and Phoenician civilizations.
MATHEMATICS
Persian scientist Muhammad ibn Mūsā al-Khwārizmī significantly developed algebra in in his
landmark text, Kitab al-Jabr wa-l-Muqabala, from which the term “algebra” is derived.
The term “algorithm” is derived from the name of the scholar al-Khwarizmi, who was also responsible
for introducing the Arabic numerals and Hindu-Arabic numeral system beyond the Indian
subcontinent.
In calculus, the scholar Alhazen discovered the sum formula for the fourth power, using a method
readily generalizable to determine the sum for any integral power. He used this to find the volume of a
paraboloid.
Alchemy and chemistry
The early Islamic period saw the establishment of theoretical frameworks
in alchemy and chemistry. The sulfur-mercury theory of metals, first found in pseudo-
Apollonius of Tyana's Sirr al-khalīqa ("The Secret of Creation", c. 750–850)
In the writings attributed to Jabir ibn Hayyan (written c. 850–950), remained the basis of
theories of metallic composition until the 18th century.
Medicine
Medicine was a central part of medieval Islamic culture. Responding to circumstances of
time and place, Islamic physicians and scholars developed a large and complex medical
literature exploring and synthesizing the theory and practice of medicine.
Islamic medicine was built on tradition, chiefly the theoretical and practical knowledge
developed in India, Greece, Persia, and Rome. Islamic scholars translated their writings
from Syria, Greek, and Sanskrit into Arabic and then produced new medical knowledge
based on those texts.
In order to make the Greek tradition more accessible, understandable, and teachable,
Islamic scholars organized the Greco-Roman medical knowledge into encyclopedias.
PHILOSOPHY
Many classic works of antiquity might have been lost if Arab scholars had not translated them into Arabic and
Persian and later into Turkish, Hebrew, and Latin. Islamic scholars also absorbed ideas from China and India, and
in turn Arabic philosophic literature contributed to the development of modern European philosophy.
Ibn Rushd
Ibn Rushd, also known by his Latinized name Averroës (April 14, 1126–December 10, 1198), was an Al-Andalus
Muslim polymath, a master of Aristotelian philosophy, Islamic philosophy, Islamic theology and many more.
Averroes was born in Córdoba, Al-Andalus, present-day Spain, and died in Marrakesh, present-day Morocco.
The 13th-century philosophical movement based on Averroes’ work is called Averroism.
Both Ibn Rushd and the scholar Ibn Sina played a major role in saving the works of Aristotle, whose ideas came to
dominate the non-religious thought of the Christian and Muslim worlds.
Ibn Rushd has been described as the “founding father of secular thought in Western Europe.”
ART:
Ceramics, glass, metalwork, textiles, illuminated manuscripts, and woodwork flourished during the
Islamic Golden Age.
Manuscript illumination became an important and greatly respected art, and portrait miniature painting
flourished in Persia.
Calligraphy, an essential aspect of written Arabic, developed in manuscripts and architectural decoration.
Arabesque
Calligraphy
Architecture and Tile Work
CULTURE:
Their culture was full of innovation and literature.
Abbasids were influenced greatly by Persian culture. The stories in Arabian Nights took place mostly
in Persia.
The new states that sprang up had their own courts that supported the arts. There was a sharing of
ideas and competition to see who could produce the best stuff.
The common language and religion, Arabic and Islam, made communication easier.
Their culture was the best of both worlds, Arabs and Persians.
THANK YOU!
