chapter 9 and 11

sheikh

the ruler of an Arabic tribe, chosen from one of the leading families by a council of elders

Allah

Arabic for "God"; the supreme god of Islam

Quran

the holy scriptures of the religion of Islam

Islam

monotheistic religion that emerged in the Arabian Peninsula during the seventh century

Muslim

a person who believes in Islam

Hijrah

the journey of Muhammad and his followers to Madinah in 622, which became year 1 of the official calendar of Islam

bedouin

a nomadic Arab who lives in the Arabian, Syrian, or North African deserts

hajj

a pilgrimage to Makkah, one of the requirements of the Five Pillars of Islam

Five Pillars of Islam

acts of worship every Muslim must perform; this includes belief, prayer, charity, fasting, and pilgrimage

shari'ah

a law code drawn up by Muslim scholars after Muhammad's death; it provided believers with a set of practical laws to regulate their daily lives

caliph

a successor of Muhammad as spiritual and temporal leader of the Muslims

jihad

"struggle in the way of God"

caliphate

the office or dominion of a caliph

Shia

a Muslim group that accepts only the descendants of Muhammed's son-in-law Ali as the true rulers of Islam

Sunni

a Muslim group that accepts only the descendants of the Umayyads as the true rulers of Islam

vizier

a high government official in ancient Egypt or in Muslim countries

sultan

"holder of power"; the military and political head of state under the Seljuk Turks and the Ottomans

bazaar

a covered market in Islamic cities

dowry

a gift of money or property paid at the time of marriage, either by the bride's parents to her husband or, in Islamic societies, by a husband to his wife

astrolabe

an instrument used by sailors to determine their location by observing the positions of stars

arabesque

geometric patterns repeated over and over to completely cover a surface with decoration

minaret

the tower of a mosque from which the muezzin calls the faithful to prayer five times a day

muezzin

the crier who calls the Muslim faithful to prayer from the minaret of a mosque

Black Stone

meteorite placed in shrine (Kaaba) in Makkah, Muslims pay homage to it

Kaaba

the most sacred temple of Islam, located at Makkah

Muhammad

Arab prophet; founder of religion of Islam

Abū Bakr

Islamic leader after Muhammad who expanded and united the Muslim world, conquering the entire Persian Empire, northern Africa, and the Byzantine Empire by 650

dhimmitude

the provision that allows non-Muslims to live in Islamic states

Ali

Muhammad's son-in-law and cousin. Leads (some) Muslims after Muhammad's death

Umayyad Dynasty

established by Mu'āwiyah, moved capital from Medina to Damascus, that action split Islam (Shias & Sunnis)

Mu'āwiyah

a general/governor of Syria became caliph in 661. He was one of Ali's chief rivals

Hussein

led a revolt that split Islam into two groups, the Shias and the Sunnis

Abbasid Dynasty

from 750-1258 this was the 3rd dyansty of the Islamic Caliphate. They built their capital in Baghdad after overthrowing the Umayyad caliphate

Abū al-'Abbās

a descendant of Muhammad's uncle, who overthrew the Umayyad dynasty in 750. He established a new caliphate ruled by the Abbasid dynasty

Hārūn al-Rashīd

caliph of Abbasid dynasty; his reign is described as a golden age

Seljuk Turks

nomadic Turks from central Asia, who conquered Baghdad in 1055 and allowed the caliph to remain only as a religious leader. They governed strictly

Fatimid Dynasty

established in Egypt with capital at Cairo in 973

Ibn-Rushd

wrote a commentary on virtually all of Aristotle's surviving works

Ibn Sīnā

wrote a medical encyclopedia that stressed contagious nature of diseases

Ibn-Khaldūn

most prominent Muslim historian of the age

Omar Khayyám

twelfth-century Persian poet, mathematician, and astronomer; wrote the Rubaiyat

Hadith

a collection of Muhammad's sayings

Great Mosque of Sāmarrā'

in present-day Iraq, was the world's largest mosque at the time it was built

Alhambra

Islamic palace in Granada, Spain

scholar-gentry

in China, a group of people who controlled much of the land and produced most of the candidates for civil service

dowry

a gift of money or property paid at the time of marriage, either by the bride's parents to her husband or, in Islamic societies, by a husband to his wife

khanate

one of several separate territories into which Genghis Khan's empire was split, each under the rule of one of his sons

neo-Confucianism

a revised form of Confucianism that evolved as a response to Buddhism and held sway in China from the late Tang dynasty to the end of the dynastic system in the twentieth century

porcelain

a ceramic made of fine clay baked at very high temperatures

archipelago

a chain of islands

samurai

"those who serve;" Japanese warriors similar to the knights of medieval Europe

Bushido

"the way of the warrior;" the strict code by which Japanese samurai were supposed to live

shogun

"general," a powerful military leader in Japan

daimyo

"great names;" head of noble families in Japan who controlled vast landed estates and relied on samurai for protection

Shinto

"the Sacred Way" or "the way of the Gods;" the Japanese state religion among its doctrines are the divinity of the emperor and the sacredness of the Japanese nation

Zen

a sect of Buddhism that became popular with Japanese aristocrats and became part of the samurai's code of behavior; under Zen Buddhism, there are different paths to enlightenment

Theravada

"the teachings of the elders," a school of Buddhism that developed in India; its followers view Buddhism as a way of life

Mahayana

a school of Buddhism that developed in northwest India, stressing the view that nirvana can be achieved through devotion to the Buddha; its followers consider the Buddha a divine figure