The Islamic World

The Islamic Golden Age (the eighth through thirteenth centuries CE) was one of the greatest incubators of culture the world has ever known, producing remarkable scientific breakthroughs and wonders of architecture. Use these materials as a cultural map of the Islamic world, your guide to understanding how it became so central to our collective knowledge.

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Exploration and Interconnection
Lesson 8.1
Big History Project
Expansion & Interconnection
Exploration & Interconnection
The explorations of this period linked the world zones, and the exchange of ideas, people, diseases, plants, and animals resulted in profound global changes. From what people ate to the gods they prayed to—no area of life was unaffected.
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Commerce and Collective Learning
Lesson 8.3
Big History Project
Expansion & Interconnection
Commerce & Collective Learning
Trade routes such as the Silk Roads allowed goods, religions, ideas, innovations, diseases, and people to move across Afro-Eurasia.
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Afro-Eurasia
Lesson 2.1
1200 to Present
The Global Tapestry
Afro-Eurasia
Afro-Eurasia during the years 1200 to 1450 CE was home to complex civilizations and cultures. The Mongol Empire and Song Dynasty made deep impressions, and Islam spread throughout the vast area, connecting people across geography.
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Development of Portable Belief Systems
Lesson 0.2
AP®
Intro to World History
Development of Portable Belief Systems
Islam was one of the great belief systems that spread widely as empires expanded. Like many other belief systems, Islam is both a religion and a set of ethical principles. And like other portable belief systems, it can be practiced anywhere in the world.
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Developments in Asia
Lesson 1.2
AP®
The Global Tapestry
Developments in Asia
Asia from 1200 to 1450 CE saw the continuation of the Islam Golden Age and influences of Buddhism and Hinduism. The Song Dynasty and cultural traditions of China would shape much of the territory around it.
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