Lesson video

Hi everyone and welcome to today's lesson.

Today we're going to be researching the subject of our essay.

In today's lesson, you will be researching early Islamic civilization in preparation for writing an essay.

Here are some keywords we're going to use.

Islam.

Early Islamic civilization.

Chronology.

Islamic Golden Age.

Baghdad.

Islam is a world religion which is followed by Muslims. Early Islamic civilization is a period of time in Islam's history, which spans from 570 CE to 1258 CE.

Chronology refers to the arrangement of events or dates in the order in which they happened.

The Islamic Golden Age was a time period when Islam and the Islamic Empire grew rapidly.

Baghdad is a city established during early Islamic civilization, which became a centre for learning and the hub of the Islamic Golden Age.

Today we're going to be researching early Islamic civilization.

We're going to start by developing our understanding of Islam.

Then we're going to move on to learning about the chronology of early Islamic civilization, and finally, early Islamic civilization's Golden Age.

What do we already know about Islam? Take a moment to have a little think.

There are some terms that we might be familiar with.

Religion.

Muslim.

One god, Allah.

Prophet Muhammad.

Five pillars.

We might have heard of some of these terms before, but don't worry if you haven't because we're gonna talk about these now.

Islam is a religion followed by Muslims. So a Muslim is a person who follows the religion of Islam.

Muslims believe in one god, and that god's name is Allah.

They believe that the prophet Muhammad is Allah's messenger on Earth.

Islam has five basic duties, or pillars, which Muslims must perform.

Many Muslims choose to follow all five of the pillars of Islam as a sign of their faith and commitment to their religion.

They believe that these guidelines help people live a good life.

Let's understand the five pillars of Islam.

Firstly, Shahadah, which means belief in one god.

Allah is Islam's one god.

Muhammad is the messenger of Allah.

Salat is prayer.

This is an action done five times a day facing towards Mecca.

Zakat is charity.

This is about giving money to those who are less fortunate.

Sawm is fasting.

This means eating nothing between sunrise and sunset to practise discipline.

And finally, Hajj means pilgrimage.

This is a journey to the holy city of Mecca.

We're going to find out a little bit more about Mecca later on in our lesson.

Match the five pillars of Islam to their meanings and pause the video while you do that.

Well done if you spotted that Shahadah means one god or Allah, and one messenger, who's Muhammad.

Salat is an action done five times daily facing towards Mecca.

Zakat is giving money to those who are less fortunate.

Sawm means eating nothing between sunrise and sunset to practise discipline.

And Hajj is a journey for those who are physically and financially able to the holy city of Mecca.

These form the five pillars of Islam.

Mecca is the holy city of Islam.

Here we can see it on a map.

Mecca is a holy city, which is in Saudi Arabia.

Islam originated in Mecca, in modern-day Saudi Arabia.

Using the key words we've learned so far, complete the paragraph summarising some information about Islam.

Pause the video while you complete your task.

Great work, everyone.

Let's read these through together.

Islam is a world religion that believes in one god, Allah.

People who follow Islam are called Muslims. Muslims follow five pillars to show their belief and commitment.

These pillars focus on prayer, fasting, pilgrimage, charity, and belief in one god.

The holy city of Mecca, which is in modern-day Saudi Arabia, is where Islam originated from.

Great work, everyone.

Now that we have developed our understanding of Islam, we're now going to learn about the chronology of early Islamic civilization.

We are now going to learn about the chronology of early Islamic civilization.

Chronology refers to the arrangement of events or dates in the order in which they happened.

Learning about the chronology of a time period helps us understand more about society and life at the time.

True or false? Chronology refers to learning about where an event or time period was set.

Pause the video while you decide.

Great work if you spotted that this is false.

Now choose how to justify your answer.

Well done, everyone.

Chronology refers to the arrangement of events or dates in the order in which they happened.

Understanding chronology gives us deeper insight into what life was like at the time.

Here is a timeline showing the period of early Islamic civilization in relation to other time periods in history.

Take a moment to read through our timeline.

On this timeline, we have got the Stone Age.

Before the Stone Age had finished, we had the period of the ancient Egyptians.

Towards the end of the ancient Egyptians was the ancient Greeks.

And towards the end of the ancient Greeks was the Roman Empire.

Whilst the Roman Empire was still ongoing, early Islamic civilization began.

Before the end of early Islamic civilization, we had the Anglo-Saxons.

And finally after that, we had the Vikings.

The reason why we've shown you this is not that you need to memorise all of the dates of these time periods in history, but understanding when in history in relation to other important time periods the early Islamic civilization took place really helps us think about what life was like in the world at that time and what other key events were going on around the world at the same time, or just before or just after early Islamic civilization.

True or false? Early Islamic civilization occurred after the ancient Greeks.

Pause the video while you decide.

Well done.

This is true.

Now decide how to justify your answer.

The correct justification is B.

Ancient Greek civilization occurred from 1200 BCE to 323 CE.

Early Islamic civilization occurred in 570 CE to 1258 CE, 247 years later.

Now we're going to learn about the chronology within early Islamic civilization.

So first of all now we thought about where in terms of other key historical periods early Islamic civilization fits in.

Now we've done that, we are going to think about the key events that occurred during early Islamic civilization.

The Prophet Muhammad was born in 570 CE.

This marked the start of early Islamic civilization.

Early Islamic civilization ended in 1258 CE.

If we think about this as a timeline, Prophet Muhammad was born, this marked the beginning of early Islamic civilization.

And the end of early Islamic civilization occurred in 1258 CE.

The Prophet Muhammad was born in the city of Mecca in a region which was at the time called Arabia, around 570 CE.

In modern days now we refer to this region or this country as Saudi Arabia.

In 610 CE, Muhammad received his first revelation from God.

He began to preach that there is one god.

This was the birth of a new religion called Islam.

In 622 CE, hostility made Muhammad and his followers move to Medina.

In 630 CE, Muhammad and his followers reclaimed Mecca during the march on Mecca.

In 632 CE, Muhammad fell ill and he died.

His followers chose Abu Bakr, his father-in-law, as their new leader or caliph.

So a caliph is just a name for a religious leader in Islam.

The rule of the first four caliphs after the death of Muhammad is known as the Rashidun Caliphate.

So when we think about a caliphate, we mean a group of leaders or an era of leaders.

The armies of the Rashidun caliphs extended Islamic rule throughout Arabia, and they began to push outwards into Western Asia and East Northern Africa.

Is each statement true or false? Take a moment to read through each statement and decide.

Pause the video while you do that.

Great work, everyone.

So A is true.

Muhammad and his followers did move to Medina.

B is false.

Muhammad and his followers did not reclaim Mecca in 610 CE.

Finally C, they reclaimed Mecca in 630 CE, so 20 years later.

And C, the first caliphate after the death of Muhammad was the Rashidun Caliphate is true.

By 661 CE, the last of the Rashidun caliphs, Ali, was attacked by a rebel.

One of the Muslim army's most powerful generals, Muawiyah, declared himself a caliph.

So he took power at this point.

Nobody was elected or chosen.

He was a very powerful general in one of the Muslim armies, and so he decided to take control at this point.

He was a member of the Umayyad family, and he was the first caliph of the Umayyad dynasty.

A dynasty is a term we would use for leaders who belong to the same royal family.

So he belonged to a very powerful royal family.

By 730 CE, the Islamic Empire had reached its greatest size.

In 100 years, Muslim armies had conquered 15 million square kilometres, which is around 10% of the Earth's land area.

Nearly one third of the world's population was ruled by the caliphs.

In 750 CE, the Umayyads were overthrown by another family called the Abbasids.

The Abbasids were deeply influenced by the Quran's teachings about the importance of education, charity, and good government.

Islamic civilization moved into what historians call the Islamic Golden Age.

This was a period of great happiness, prosperity, which means wealth, and achievement.

Match each event to its date.

Pause the video while you do that.

Great work, everyone.

The Islamic Empire had reached its greatest size by 730 CE.

The Umayyads were overthrown by the Abbasids in 750 CE.

The last of the Rashidun caliphs, Ali, was attacked by a rebel.

This happened in 661 CE.

Order the events of early Islamic civilization chronologically.

The Rashidun Caliphate followed Muhammad's death.

They extended Islamic rule throughout Arabia and beyond.

The Umayyad dynasty took over ruling the Islamic Empire.

At this point, the Islamic Empire ruled around one third of the world's population.

Muhammad and his followers reclaimed Mecca during the march on Mecca.

The Prophet Muhammad was born in Mecca.

Muhammad received his first revelation from God, and Islam was born.

The Umayyads were overthrown by the Abbasids.

The Abbasids rule prioritised education, charity, and good governance.

Islamic civilization then moved into the Islamic Golden Age.

Muhammad and his followers fled to Medina due to hostility.

At the moment, these facts are not ordered chronologically.

Pause the video now while you order these events in chronological order.

Great work, everyone.

Firstly, the Prophet Muhammad was born in Mecca.

Then he received his first revelation from God, and Islam was born.

Muhammad and his followers fled to Medina due to hostility.

Years later, Muhammad and his followers reclaimed Mecca during the march on Mecca.

The Rashidun Caliphate followed Muhammad's death.

They extended Islamic rule through Arabia and beyond.

The Umayyad dynasty took over ruling the Islamic Empire.

At this point, the Islamic Empire ruled around one third of the world's population.

However, the Umayyads were overthrown by the Abbasids.

The Abbasids' rule prioritised education, charity, and good government.

Islamic civilization then moved into the Islamic Golden Age.

Great work so far, everyone.

Now we're going to be learning about early Islamic civilization's Golden Age.

In 750 CE, the Umayyad Caliphate was overthrown by the Abbasids.

The period of Abbasid rule became known as the Golden Age of early Islamic civilization.

New dynasties, remember, those were the very powerful royal families, they often built new capital cities to signal a fresh start.

So Caliph Al-Mansur ordered the construction of a new capital city to mark the beginning of the Abbasid rule.

The new capital city was built on the banks of the River Tigris on the site of a small village called Baghdad.

We can see here on the map that Baghdad is marked out in the country of Iraq.

So we know that the holy city of Mecca, where Islam originated from, was in what is now known as Saudi Arabia.

But Baghdad, which was the capital city built by the Abbasids, was built in Iraq.

In 762 CE, the construction of Baghdad began.

It was completed four years later in 766 CE.

It had been built by thousands of architects, labourers, and engineers from all around the world.

And we think to build an entire city in four years was a huge achievement and required lots of people working in the labour force.

The city of Baghdad had four pillars or key principles: defence, community, religion, government.

So by defence, we mean that the city was difficult to penetrate.

This meant that the city was surrounded by large walls and locked with gates, which kept the people inside safe.

By community, the city was welcoming.

So Baghdad, as we'll find out a bit later, became a real multicultural community where scholars and academics were welcomed to come to the city to share their knowledge and learn from each other.

Religion meant that the actual design, the shape and the look of Baghdad was made to represent the heavens and the earth.

It was meant to look and reflect astronomy.

So Baghdad was built in a circular shape to represent astronomy and the heavens and Earth.

And finally, government.

The government was central to the city, because remember, the Abbasids felt that good governance was a really, really important factor of their leadership.

Baghdad was designed in a circle to reflect the astronomy of the sky and to symbolise heaven.

In the centre of the city was the Great Mosque, and it was surrounded by walls and a moat.

So the Great Mosque was in the centre of the city, putting religion at the forefront of the city, and it was surrounded by walls and a moat, which kept it safe.

So there's that element of defence.

Baghdad had a population of one million people.

This made it the largest city in the world at the time.

Baghdad quickly established itself as a centre for learning and trade.

The city's location meant that it had good connections to the east and the west.

Remember, it was on a river.

As a result, it became a centre for merchants who wanted to benefit from this.

So it was great in terms of location because it was on the river.

So that meant that lots of boats could access the city easily.

Remember, that was a primary way of travel at that time in history.

So lots of merchants, so salespeople wanted to be in Baghdad to make use of the heavy footfall and lots of passing trade.

And also the fact that there were one million people living within the city meant that it was a strong economy.

The city's population grew, and this led to the development of a number of schools.

The most significant school in Baghdad was the House of Wisdom.

It acted as a library, a translation centre where texts were translated into Arabic, and a school.

It brought together scholars from many different countries.

Language, ideas, and cultures were shared.

This led to Baghdad becoming a hugely significant city by 900 CE.

True or false? Baghdad was designed in a square shape.

Pause the video while you decide.

Well done if you spotted that this is false.

Baghdad was designed in a circle shape to reflect the astronomy of the sky and to symbolise heaven, or Baghdad was designed in a circle shape.

Pause the video while you decide how to justify your answer.

Well done.

The correct justification was A.

Now it's time for your task.

What was the significance of all the scholars from across the Islamic Empire coming together? Why do you think it was important? Take some time to think and use the sentence scaffold to help you.

I think this was important because.

Pause the video while you complete your task.

Well done.

So you might have lots of different ideas.

Here are some ideas I thought you might come up with.

It was important because it created an environment where experts could share their ideas.

Scholars collaborated to develop their knowledge and understanding of subject areas.

New ideas and theories unfolded as a result of these scholars coming together and working together.

Baghdad was also a hub of new inventions.

Ismail al-Jazari became one of the greatest inventors in the Islamic world.

He wrote a book in 1206 CE, which is entitled in English as the "Book of Knowledge of Mechanical Devices".

In this book, al-Jazari described and drew 50 inventions, including designs for clocks, water pumps, and self-operating machines.

Baghdad also became a great centre for astrology.

Astrology is the study of the movements of the planets, the sun, moon, and stars in the belief that these can have an influence on people's lives.

Islamic astronomers made huge breakthroughs in our understanding of the movements of planets.

The world's first modern-style observatory, which is a building that is equipped for people to be able to look out into space and observe the planets, the Shammasiyah was built in Baghdad in 828 CE.

In the observatory, measurements were made of the movements of the sun, moon, and planets, and detailed maps of the stars were drawn.

In 830 CE, a group of Baghdad astronomers worked out the circumference of the Earth.

This is the first time that this had been done.

True or false? Baghdad became an important centre of astrology.

Pause the video while you decide.

Well done.

This is true.

Now choose how to justify your answer.

Pause the video again while you do this.

Well done.

Islamic astrologers in Baghdad made huge breakthroughs in our understanding of the planets.

Now it's time for the second part of your task.

Based on what we've learned so far, what do you think life would've been like in Baghdad during the Islamic Golden Age? Use the sentence stem "I think that.

." to help you.

Pause the video while you complete your task.

Well done, everyone.

Here are some answers you might have put down.

I think that life would have been exciting.

There would have been a big focus on learning.

Curiosity would have been rewarded and lots of opportunities would have been available.

Prosperity would have been celebrated and welcomed.

Collaborative working and learning would have been common.

You might have something similar to what I've got on the screen.

So the city of Baghdad became a place where learning and collaboration and multiculturalism was celebrated.

Well done, everyone.

That now brings us onto the end of our lesson where we've been researching early Islamic civilization.

When preparing to write an essay, research is vital so that our writing is accurate and credible.

Understanding the chronology and historical context of a time period allows us to develop our knowledge of what life would have been like during that time period.

Islam is a world religion that has a rich history.

Many events occurred during the early Islamic civilization, which led to the Islamic Golden Age.

Well done everyone for all of your hard work.

I hope you've enjoyed our research lesson today.

We are going to be using all of this knowledge to help us write our essay throughout this unit.