During the Golden Age of Islam from 750-1350, there were many advances in science, technology, and culture. Islam expanded across North Africa and Spain, with major cities including Damascus, Alexandria, and Cordoba. Under the Abbasid Dynasty from 750-900, the capital of Baghdad exceeded Constantinople in size and wealth. Muslim civilization flourished due to factors such as religious zeal, unifying Arab tribes, and allowing religious freedom. Significant advances were made in fields such as mathematics, astronomy, medicine, architecture, art, and the development of the scientific method.

1. The Golden Age of Islam (750-1350)

2. The Golden Age of Islam included advances in international trade manufacturing agriculture art architecture literature mathematics astronomy medicine

3. Islam expands during the Golden Age Added North Africa and Spain as well as Western India Main cities included Damascus, Syria, Alexandria, Egypt and Cordova, Spain Great Mosque, Damascus

4. Period of Wealth During the Abbasids Dynasty (750-900), Capital of Baghdad (Iraq) exceeded Constantinople in size and wealth

5. Reasons for Islamic Success Islam unified the tribes of Arabia Religious zeal inspired Arab armies Allowed some religious freedom to Christians and Jews Honored merchants

6. More Reasons for Arab Success Byzantine and Persian Empires were weak Islam was attractive to the conquered easy to become Muslim preaches equality (people could move up in society)

7. Art The golden age of Islamic (and/or Muslim) art lasted from 750 to the 16th century, when ceramics, glass, metalwork, textiles, and woodwork flourished. Lusterous glazing became the greatest Islamic contribution to ceramics. Calligraphy, an essential aspect of written Arabic, developed in manuscripts and architectural decoration.

8. Arabic Art An Arabic manuscript from the 13th century depicting Socrates in discussion with his pupils.

9. Literature The most well known fiction from the Islamic world was The Book of One Thousand and One Nights (Arabian Nights), which was a compilation of many earlier folk tales. The character of Aladdin is from this book

10. Architecture Architecture – Great Mosques use domes and arches

11. The Alhambra The Alhambra (Arabic: الحمراء = Al-Ħamrā'; literally "the red") is a palace and fortress, in southern Spain on the south-eastern border of the city of Granada. It was the residence of the Muslim kings of Granada and their court, but is currently a museum exhibiting exquisite Islamic architecture.

12. Science Ibn al-Haytham (ca. 965-1039), the so-called "father of optics," explained how human vision takes place He used an early form of the scientific method to explain optics

13. Scientific Method The modern scientific method was first developed in the Muslim world, where significant progress in methodology was made, especially in the works of Ibn al-Haytham (Alhazen) in the 11th century, The most important development of the scientific method was the use of experimentation and quantification

14. Scientific Advances Many other advances were made by Muslim scientists in biology (botany, evolution, and zoology), mathematics (algebra, arithmetic, calculus, geometry, number theory, and trigonometry), chemistry, the earth sciences (anthropology, cartography, geography, and geology), physics (astrophysics, optics, mechanics, and motion), psychology (experimental psychology, psychiatry, psychophysics, and psychotherapy), and the social sciences (demography, economics, history and historiography, and sociology).

15. Medicine Ibn Sina (980-1037), known in the West as Avicenna, his Canon of Medicine became the most famous medical book in the East or West, translated at least 87 times. The great Egyptian physician Ibn al-Nafis (d. 1288), discovered the minor, or pulmonary, circulation of the blood.

16. Medicine The Arabs invented the hospital

17. Math Muhammad ibn Musa al-Khwarizmi (ca. 800-ca. 847) principally responsible for the diffusion of the Indian system of numeration (Arabic numerals) in the Islamic lands and the West. Introduced algebra

18. Astronomy Muslim astronomers accepted the geometrical structure of the universe expounded by Ptolemy, in which the earth rests motionless near the center of a series of eight spheres, which encompass it,