The Islamic Culture Lecture Vocabulary

30 vocabulary flashcards summarizing key terms, places, events and figures discussed in the lecture on Islamic culture, covering its origins, major periods, and cultural achievements.

Islamic Culture

The collective religious, intellectual, artistic and social practices developed by Muslims from the 7th to the 20th century.

Origins of Islam

Began in 7th-century Arabia with the prophethood of Muhammad (570-632 CE).

Dark Ages

European period (6th–14th c.) marked by political, economic and intellectual decline, famines, Crusades and the bubonic plague.

Golden Age of Islam

Era (8th–14th c.) when the Muslim world flourished in science, art, medicine and philosophy.

Bubonic Plague (Black Death)

Deadly epidemic spread by rats and fleas that decimated Europe in the 6th, 14th and 19th centuries.

Crusades

Series of Christian–Muslim wars fought mainly for control of the Holy Land during the Middle Ages.

Hijra (Al Higra)

Muhammad’s migration from Mecca to Medina in 622 CE, marking year one of the Islamic calendar.

Andalusia

Medieval Islamic Spain and Portugal (711-1492) known for multicultural coexistence of Muslims, Christians and Jews.

Cordoba

Capital of Islamic Spain under the Umayyads; famed for its Great Mosque and intellectual life in the 10th c.

Great Mosque of Cordoba

Iconic mosque-cathedral renowned for its hypostyle hall, horseshoe arches and Mihrab dome.

Seville (Sevilla)

Andalusian city housing the Moorish Alcazar palace; a cultural center under Muslim rule.

Alcazar of Seville

Moorish royal palace noted for intricate tilework; filming site of Game of Thrones.

Granada

Last Muslim stronghold in Spain; fell to Catholic Monarchs in 1492.

Alhambra

Palatial fortress in Granada celebrated for its Islamic art, calligraphy and stucco decoration.

Generalife Garden

Recreational gardens of the Alhambra, designed to evoke a paradise on earth.

Fall of Granada (1492)

Event that ended 700 years of Muslim rule in Spain and led to forced conversions and expulsions.

Moor

Historical term for a Muslim inhabitant of Spain or North Africa of Arab or Berber origin.

Moorish

Adjective relating to the Islamic culture and architecture of medieval Spain.

Abbasid Caliphate

Islamic dynasty (750-1258) with Baghdad as its capital and a major center of learning.

Baghdad

Abbasid capital famed for scholarship, trade and cosmopolitan culture.

House of Wisdom

Baghdad institution where scholars translated and advanced works in astronomy, math, medicine and philosophy.

Ottoman Empire

Turkish-led Muslim empire (c. 1300-1922) that spanned Southeast Europe, North Africa and the Middle East.

Suleyman the Magnificent

16th-century Ottoman sultan who presided over the empire’s cultural and territorial zenith.

Topkapi Palace

Ottoman imperial residence in Istanbul housing art, holy relics and administrative offices.

Holy Relics of the Prophet

Items linked to Prophet Muhammad, preserved and displayed in Topkapi Palace.

Mustafa Kemal Atatürk

Leader of the Turkish War of Independence; first president who secularized Turkey in 1923.

Byzantine Empire

Eastern Roman Empire that survived until its fall to the Ottomans in 1453.

Fall of Rome

Collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century CE, leaving a power vacuum in Europe.

Philip Khuri Hitti

Lebanese-American historian who highlighted the Arab contribution to medieval global knowledge.

Monotheism

Belief in one God; central to Islam and contrasted with pre-Islamic Arabian polytheism.