Chapter Vocabulary and Study Guide
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Vocabulary
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Islam
Mosque
Muhammad
Qur'an (Koran)
5 Pillars
mihrab
imam
qibla
minaret
arabesque
squinch
calligraphy
jali
mecca, medina
minbar
muqaras
tessellation
Key Ideas
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Most important building for Muslim worship is the mosque.
Islamic people pray towards the city of Mecca, the most holiest site in Islam (identified by
a niche in the wall, called a mihrab)
The mirhrab is a niche in the quibla wall (MN-QW: alphabetical!)
Artworks include calligraphy with arabesques (interweaving motifs and geometric
patterns) and tessellations
Calligraphy is the most prized art form (Persian Manuscripts)
Brief History of Islam
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Founder is Islam is the prophet Muhammad and began preaching in 613 BCE.
Muhammad exclaimed that there is only one God (Allah) and that he is the chosen
messenger to the people.
Indigenous Arabs were generally polytheists
There are 5 Pillars of Islam
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Proclaim that there is only one God and that his prophet is Muhammad
Muslims should pray 5 times per day toward Mecca
Provide for the poor
Must fast during the month of Ramadan
Make a pilgrimage to Mecca
Expanded to North Africa, the Middle East, parts of Spain, India, and Central Asia by the
7th century.
After the Mongol sack of Baghdad in 1258, the Islamic world split into 2 huge cultural
divisions: East vs. West
2 principal divisions: Shiite vs. Sunni
Chapter Vocabulary and Study Guide
Questions:
1. What was the relation of Islam to the patriarch Abraham?
2. What was the shape of the Dome of the Rock influenced by and how was it decorated?
3. List four features of the Great Mosque at Damascus that show the influence of
Greco=Roman world.—Why are there no human or animal forms in the mosaics of the
Great Mosque at Damascus?
4. What seems to have been the purpose and function of early rural Moslem palaces?
Describe the decoration from the frieze from the Mshatta Palace.
5. What is the Alhambra and what were its lush gardens intended to evoke?
6. List two examples of Islamic luxury items and say who they were created for and what
purpose they were intended to serve.
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