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Chapter 11
I. Chapter 11.3 A Muslim Golden Age
A. The Abbasids
1. The Abbasids mainly used force in the form of a standing army to keep power. A
policy of toleration that declared all Muslims equal also helped persuade people to accept
their rule.
2. In 762, the Abbasids moved their capital to Baghdad to be closer to their power base. It
became a major trading center.
3. A healthy economy made the Abbasids rich. To display their wealth, they began to
support arts and learning. As a result, Muslim culture experienced a golden age in the
years after 800.
4. Muslim art and literature flourished. Many Muslim artists became skilled in
calligraphy, which was used to decorate everything from buildings to armor.
5. Abbasid scholars borrowed and built upon the ideas of ancient civilizations. They
created the Arabic numbering system and wrote the first book about algebra.
6. Muslim doctors also improved on the work of earlier scientists. Persian doctor Ibn Sina
wrote a reference book that organized all known medical knowledge. The Abbasids set up
hospitals throughout their empire.
7. Some Abbasid caliphs ignored the responsibilities of ruling. Several groups challenged
Abbasid rule. The dynasty ended in 1258.
B. The Umayyads
1. When the Abbasids took power, Umayyad leader Abd al-Rahman went to Spain,
splitting the Muslim Empire into two parts. He united the opposing factions there and
declared himself emir of al-Andalus, or Muslim Spain, in 756.
2. Crdoba had a prosperous economy. It was a center for culture and learning.
3. The scholars of al-Andalus extended the work of earlier mathematicians. They also
built precision instruments for viewing the skies and constructed a planetarium with
model planets that moved.
4. One scholar, al-Idrisi, contributed to the study of geography by compiling an
encyclopedia of geographic knowledge.

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5. Jews had lived in Spain since Roman times and often faced persecution. The
Umayyads welcomed them. A Spanish-Jewish culture developed. Among the many
Jewish scholars of al-Andalus, Maimonides stands out. He wrote about and taught many
subjects, and his writings influenced both Muslim and Christian thinkers.
6. By the 1200s, al-Andalus had begun to fall apart. Some Muslim factions fought for
control, while others broke away. Over the next few centuries, Christian forces slowly
regained control of the Iberian Peninsula.