Unit 1.2: Developments in Dar-al-Islam

Vocabulary flashcards covering the decline of the Abbasid Empire, the Crusades, and scientific and cultural achievements in Dar-al-Islam.

Concubine

A sex slave.

Harem

A room for concubines.

Caliph

A Muslim ruler, leader of the Abbasid empire.

Mercenary

A paid soldier.

Abbasid Decline

Caused by luxurious lifestyles, failure of succession, weak caliphs, powerful slave armies, heavy taxes on peasants, increased reliance on slavery, and curtailed women's freedom.

Buyids of Persia

Captured Baghdad in 945, took the title of Sultan, and effectively ended Abbasid rule.

Seljuk Turks

Took over the Abbasid caliphate in 1055 and encroached on the Byzantine empire.

Crusades

Eight European military campaigns (11th-13th century) against Muslims to win back the Holy Land.

First Crusade

A crusade (1096-1099) that was successful in taking Jerusalem.

Impact of Crusades on Europeans

They borrowed heavily from Muslim ideas, recovered lost Greek ideas, and learned the decimal system.

Persian Language

Replaced Arabic as the language of high culture in the 10th century, leading to a flourishing of Persian literature.

Nasir al-Din al-Tusi

Considered the father of trigonometry, known for advances in mathematics like algebra and geometry.

House of Wisdom

Developed in Baghdad in the 8th century as a library and center for knowledge collection, bringing together Arabic, Greek, Indian, and Persian ideas.

Astrolabe

A scientific invention made at the House of Wisdom.

Sufism

A form of mysticism that arose as a reaction against the impersonal nature of Allah.

Mongols

Destroyed the House of Wisdom in 1258 and killed the last Abbasid caliph in the same year.