Activities of the unit about the Islam

1. Activities Unit The Islam 1ºESO History
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ACTIVITIES UNIT THE ISLAM
1- Timeline: Islam in the Middle Ages
Create your own timeline including the following events. Summarise the information
using only the main concepts of the texts.

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2- Islamic Empire Map Activity
1. Complete the map locating and labelling the following cities and kingdoms:
Egypt Byzantine Empire
Alexandria Jerusalem
Arabia Cordova
Cairo Damascus
Persia Genoa
Medina Baghdad
Tangier Naples
Mecca Constantinople
2. Shade the boundary of the Byzantine Empire at about 750.
3. Use a different colour to shade the extent of the Islamic Empire at the time of
Muhammad’s death.
4. Use a different colour to shade the extent of the Islamic Empire during the first
four caliphs.
5. Use a different colour to shade the extent of the Islamic Empire during the
Umayyad caliphs.
6. Create a key in the blank box.
7. a.) Which cities in Arabia became part of the Islamic Empire during the time of
Muhammad?
b.) In which period did Islam spread into Europe?
c.) Describe the spread of Islam under the first four caliphs.
8. Critical Thinking: Why was Islam able to spread so widely so quickly?

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3- Muslim art
a) Copy on your notebook the typical plan of a mosque and explain the different parts of
them. What are the main differences respect to Christian churches?
b) Investigate to find some examples of the main medieval Muslim buildings (mosques,
palaces, mausoleums, etc.).
c) Do you really think it was always forbidden the representation of Muhammad in
Islamic art? In fact, we can find many examples as these:
http://tarekfatah.com/images-of-prophet-muhammad-from-islamic-art-and-history-before-the-clan-of-ibn-saud-took-islam-hostage/
Try to explain what the meaning of both pictures is.
Do you know if Christian culture had some similar pictures in Middle Ages? Try to find
some examples.

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4- Urbanism in Islamic culture: Read the following text and write a short story of 15 lines
about how your daily life could be in Baghdad city. Do you know something about this city
today?
After the death of Muhammad, Arab leaders were called caliphs. Caliphs built and established
Baghdad as the hub of the Abbasid Caliphate. Baghdad was centrally located between Europe
and Asia and was an important area for trade and exchanges of ideas. Scholars living in
Baghdad translated Greek texts and made scientific discoveries—which is why this era, from
the seventh to thirteenth centuries CE, is named the Golden Age of Islam.
A love of knowledge was evident in Baghdad, established in 762 CE as the capital city of the
Abbasid Caliphate in modern-day Iraq. Scholars, philosophers, doctors, and other thinkers all
gathered in this center of trade and cultural development.. Academics—many of them fluent in
Greek and Arabic—exchanged ideas and translated Greek texts into Arabic.
Baghdad attracted many people, including scholars, to live within its borders. To get a sense of
what living in the newly constructed city was like, here’s an excerpt from the writings of Arab
historian and biographer, Yakut al-Hamawi, describing Baghdad in the tenth century:
The city of Baghdad formed two vast semi-circles on the right and left banks of the
Tigris, twelve miles in diameter. The numerous suburbs, covered with parks,
gardens, villas, and beautiful promenades, and plentifully supplied with rich
bazaars, and finely built mosques and baths, stretched for a considerable distance
on both sides of the river. In the days of its prosperity the population of Baghdad
and its suburbs amounted to over two [million]! The palace of the Caliph stood in
the midst of a vast park several hours in circumference, which beside a menagerie
and aviary comprised an enclosure for wild animals reserved for the chase. The
palace grounds were laid out with gardens and adorned with exquisite taste with
plants, flowers, and trees, reservoirs and fountains, surrounded by sculpted figures.
On this side of the river stood the palaces of the great nobles. Immense streets,
none less than forty cubits wide, traversed the city from one end to the other,
dividing it into blocks or quarters,
each under the control of an overseer
or supervisor, who looked after the
cleanliness, sanitation and the comfort
of the inhabitants.
Tenth-century historian Yakut al-Hamawi