2010—2011 Ms. Yi’s WCI Unit 4.1 Post-Classical Middle East: Dar al-Islam, Student Info for #7 1. House of Wisdom The House of Wisdom was an educational institution founded in Baghdad in present-day Iraq by the Abbasid caliph al- Ma’mum, in 830 CE. At the time, Western Europe was going through a “Dark Age,” when learning and literacy were lost. The Catholic Church, the sole unifying force in Europe, did not tolerate religious differences. In stark contrast, the Islamic world was going through the “Pax Islamica,” or the “Islamic Peace,” a time of religious tolerance and openness to learning. As a result, scholars from all over Afro-Eurasia—Jews, Christians, Hindus, Zoroastrians, and Muslims—flocked over to the House of Wisdom, where they learned from one another and collaborated on their collective pursuit of knowledge. These “international” scholars worked together to translate, preserve, and improve upon ancient Egyptian, Persian, Greek, Roman, and Indian learning. In this way, they helped preserve the Greek classics (such as the works of Plato, Aristotle, and Euclid) that might otherwise have been lost or destroyed. And the House of Wisdom’s extensive library, which contained religious texts and all sorts of ancient texts (on law, poetry, history, geography, philosophy, and the sciences) and which was open to the public, became a model for other large libraries throughout Dar al-Islam. 2010—2011 Ms. Yi’s WCI Unit 4.1 Post-Classical Middle East: Dar al-Islam, Student Info for #7 2. Library at Cordoba In the 8th century, a new and independent Muslim emirate was established by the Umayyads in Spain. Its capital city, Cordoba, became a second center of learning and intellectual life in Dar al-Islam (along with Baghdad’s House of Wisdom). Known as a city of bibliophiles (book lovers), its most celebrated library was run by the Spanish Umayyad Caliph Al- Hakam Il al-Mustansir (961-976). Al-Hakam, an accomplished scholar himself, sent bookbuyers all over Dar al-Islam to find books for his library. Library clerks, many of them women, carefully copied by hand the books while calligraphers and bookbinders created beautiful text and cover designs. Al-Hakam’s library was said to have contained between 400,000 and 500,000 books, whose titles filled a 44-volume catalogue. (In comparison, the largest library in the rest of Europe, the library at the monastery of St. Gall, boasted 36 books.) The people of Cordoba also collected books for their homes. Those who owned large, personal libraries were regarded as important figures in Cordovan society. 2010—2011 Ms. Yi’s WCI Unit 4.1 Post-Classical Middle East: Dar al-Islam, Student Info for #7 Scholars from all over Afro-Eurasia—Jews, Christians, Muslims, Zoroastrians—flocked to Cordoba’s famous library to study together. Great thinkers who studied in Cordoba included Maimonides(1135—1204), the author of the Guide for the Perplexed. A Jewish scholar, Maimonides explained Jewish faith in terms of Aristotle’s logic. His philosophy deeply influenced later European thinkers, including “Scholastics” like Thomas Aquinas. An even more famous scholar from Cordoba was Ibn Rushd (1126—1198), known to the Western world as Averroes. Ibn Rushd was the Islamic equivalent of Leonardo da Vinci. He was widely regarded as the “Ideal Man” who excelled in numerous fields. He wrote copiously on philosophy, politics, music, medicine, astronomy, mathematics, geography, and physics. His commentaries on Aristotle’s works became so influential in later European thought that he has been called “one of the spiritual fathers of Europe.” 2010—2011 Ms. Yi’s WCI Unit 4.1 Post-Classical Middle East: Dar al-Islam, Student Info for #7 3. Paper and Bookmaking In 751, the Abbasids defeated the Tang Chinese at the Battle of Talas in Central Asia. Among the captured Chinese were artisans skilled in paper making. These Chinese prisoners taught their captors the technique of making paper out of tree barks. Paper technology quickly spread throughout Dar al-Islam. The first paper-manufacturing plant in Dar al-Islam opened in Baghdad in 794 CE. By 891 CE, Baghdad had over a hundred booksellers. Most mosques had libraries. Many cities also had public libraries. Baghdad at the time of the Mongol invasion in 1258 had 36 libraries. According to historian Will Durant, Muslim rulers "in the 10th century might own as many books as could be found in all the libraries of Europe combined." Books became easily accessible and contributed to interest in all kinds of learning. In Dar al-Islam, a well-stocked library was a status symbol! Gradually, Europeans learned paper and bookmaking technology from the Islamic world. Paper was first used in Constantinople by 1100, in Italy by 1102, in Germany by 1228, and in England by 1309. Previously, mass production of books was not possible in Europe, who used parchment and silk to produce hand-crafted manuscripts. Introduction—by way of the Islamic world—of paper would gradually re-introduce literacy and learning to the Western Europeans and help them end centuries of the “Dark Age” which had begun with the collapse of Rome in the 5th century. 2010—2011 Ms. Yi’s WCI Unit 4.1 Post-Classical Middle East: Dar al-Islam, Student Info for #7 4. Calligraphy Calligraphy, which means “beautiful writing,” is the art of elegant handwriting. Calligraphy was first used by Muslims when the Arabs began preparing copies of the Qur’an. The words of the Qur’an were written in calligraphy because only calligraphy was considered worthy of the word of God. At the same time, the Muslim belief that Allah should never be depicted in human image spilled over to the practice of not using visual images to depict important humans. As a result, calligraphy was used not only to adorn the walls of mosques but also as decorations for textiles, ceramics, and metal works. In the Islamic world, the calligrapher was honored above other artists, and calligraphy was considered the highest form of art. 2010—2011 Ms. Yi’s WCI Unit 4.1 Post-Classical Middle East: Dar al-Islam, Student Info for #7 5. Geometric and Floral Design Muslim art was mostly abstract, which meant that the pictures did not represent real subjects like humans or animals. Not only was it forbidden to depict Allah in human image, it was generally believed that visual images of humans and animals would distract worshippers from praying to Allah. Consequently, floral patterns and geometric designs became favorite art subjects. The most common was the “arabesque,” a winding stem of leaves and flowers that formed a spiraling design. The arabesque decorated everything from small objects—metal boxes, ceramic bowls, tiles—to carpets and entire walls. Muslim artists also used geometric patterns to express the idea that unity and order exists everywhere and at all times. Interlacement, which was another type of arabesque, was made of geometric patterns drawn inside a circle and repeated several times. Despite the religious guidelines, paintings of both humans and animals did exist. They could be found in private places like bathhouses, women’s apartments, and the living quarter of the ruling classes. Persian artists particularly excelled at making beautiful miniature portraits of people. 2010—2011 Ms. Yi’s WCI Unit 4.1 Post-Classical Middle East: Dar al-Islam, Student Info for #7 6. Music of Muslim Spain The music of Muslim Spain was one of the glorious achievements of the Pax Islamica. Musical styles from all over the world combined to create the distinct sound of the music of Muslim Spain. Europe’s first music conservatory (school) was established in Cordoba by an Arab named Ziryad, a freed slave from Baghdad. Royal courts hired musicians from all over Central Asia and Africa to entertain royalty and important visitors, such as wealthy merchants. Musicians and poets worked together to create songs that combined the patterns and rhythms of poetry and musical styles from the Arab, Spanish, African, and Central Asian cultures. By the 11th century, this music was so popular that the courts of Islamic rulers all over Dar al-Islam competed to see whose musicians produced the most pleasing songs. The instruments most often used in this music included: the oud, a short-necked string instrument that is the ancestor of the guitar; the rebab, an instrument brought to Spain from the Middle East that resembles a violin; the ney, a simple wood flute; and the darbuka, a goblet-shaped drum made of pottery. The origins of many instruments, including the oboe, trumpet, violin, guitar, harp, and percussion instruments can be traced to this music of Muslim Spain. 2010—2011 Ms. Yi’s WCI Unit 4.1 Post-Classical Middle East: Dar al-Islam, Student Info for #7 7. Chess The game of chess was introduced to Dar al-Islam by the Persians, who had learned it from India. The game became widely popular among men and women because of its difficulty and intellectual challenge. Caliphs and sultans and emirs (rulers) would invite champions of the game to chess matches at their palaces. The Muslims continued to adapt and improve the game. It was the Muslims who introduced chess to Europeans, who played it widely from the 13th century onward. 2010—2011 Ms. Yi’s WCI Unit 4.1 Post-Classical Middle East: Dar al-Islam, Student Info for #7 8. Polo It is believed that the game of polo, arguably the oldest recorded team sport in the world, was first invented by pastoral nomadic tribes of Central Asia. The Persians took up the sport over 2500 years ago, probably as a training method for their famous cavalry, the Ten Thousand Immortals.