Development of Knowledge
History: KS3, topic 3.3.3
Development of Knowledge
Knowledge was valued for its practical uses in the Islamic world. It made it possible to follow the teachings of Islam, alongside other scholarly fields.
The Islamic Golden Age
- The Islamic Golden Age was a period of intellectual, economic, cultural, and scientific prosperity in the Muslim world.
- This period lasted from approximately the 8th to the 13th century.
- In the 11th century, the caliph and rich citizens built madrasas, an early form of university.
- This shows how important the development of knowledge was to the centre of the Muslim world.
- This approach relied on the wealth of rich citizens, who set up organisations and funded research.
Astronomy and astrology
- Astronomy is the study of the planets, stars, and space.
- Astrology is the study of the movement of the stars and planets and their impact on the world.
- Arab scholars used ancient Greek and Hindu knowledge of the stars to calculate the direction of Makkah (Mecca) for prayer.
- Muslims often pray in this direction.
- They built upon the work of astronomers such as Ptolemy, a Greek astronomer from the 2nd century AD.
- Astronomy was used to determine an accurate calendar for navigation and religious purposes.
Mapping via the stars
- Large observatories were built to study the stars and planets.
- Scholars made detailed globes to show the position of stars and planets to Earth.
- The astrolabe was an invention that travellers used to find their position using the stars.
- Al-Masudi, a 10th-century Arab geographer, used the stars and his own travels to create great maps.
Mathematics
- Islamic scholars studied the mathematics of various countries, including Greece, India, and China.
- Geometry (the maths of points lines and shapes) and trigonometry (the maths of triangles) saw a lot of development.
- Al-Khwarizmi and Omar Khayyam, two Islamic mathematicians, helped develop algebra into its own field of mathematics.
- Al-Khwarizmi helped introduce the Hindu decimal system to the Arab world.
Engineering
- The Islamic Empire lacked water. Much of their engineering efforts went into transporting water in a safe and efficient way.
- Engineers developed and refined dams, canals, waterwheels, aqueducts, pumps and cisterns.
- This shows that the development of knowledge had intellectual and practical purposes.
- Other areas which saw development included mechanics, clocks, wind, power and chemistry.
Test yourself on Development of Knowledge
How long did the Islamic Golden Age last for?