Lesson video

Hello, historians.

My name is Ms. Krijnauw.

I'm so pleased that you have joined me for this learning adventure where we are going to explore Baghdad, a city that was once the beating heart of a vast empire, a place where ideas from around the world came together and flourished.

Imagine a city where the brightest minds from different cultures and backgrounds gathered to share knowledge, debate ideas, and make groundbreaking discoveries.

In this lesson, we'll learn about how Baghdad became a melting pot of ideas and how these ideas spread far and wide influencing the world as we know it.

This lesson is part of a unit where we are learning about the early Islamic civilization and what connected Baghdad to the wider world.

By the end of this lesson, you'll be able to describe the way in which scientific and artistic ideas spread across the Islamic civilization from Baghdad.

And it is my job to support you with the learning materials and resources so that you can attain this learning outcome.

During this lesson, we will encounter some keywords.

They are scholar.

A scholar is someone who spends a lot of time studying and learning; they often become experts in their chosen areas and share what they learn with others.

Another keyword is Galen.

Galen was a doctor in ancient Greece.

He lived during the second century CE, and made many important discoveries about medicine and the human body.

Another word is compass, which is a tool for showing direction.

A magnetic compass has a needle that points north.

Abstract: abstract art is a style of art that doesn't try to show things exactly as they look in real life but, instead, uses shapes, colours, and patterns to express ideas or feelings.

This lesson about Baghdad and the spread of ideas has two learning cycles, and the first one is entitled: Translation and preservation of knowledge.

In the ninth century, the Abbasid Caliphate with Baghdad as its capital, was one of the most powerful empires in the world.

Harun al-Rashid and his son al-Ma'mun, were two Abbasid caliphs who ruled during this time.

The caliphs valued knowledge and believe that by learning from other cultures, they could improve their own society.

They saw the importance of science, medicine, and philosophy in helping their empire grow and prosper, and that is why they established the House of Wisdom.

The House of Wisdom was a major centre for learning and knowledge in Baghdad during the ninth century.

Scholars and intellectuals from different cultures and backgrounds came together at the House of Wisdom to share their knowledge and to learn from each other.

Let's check for understanding.

Change one word in this sentence to make correct.

The House of Wisdom was located in London, the capital of the Abbasid Caliphate.

The correction is the House of Wisdom was located in Baghdad, not London, good job.

The House of Wisdom played an important role in preserving and building scientific and medical knowledge from ancient civilizations.

One of the most important goals of the House of Wisdom was to translate ancient books to Arabic, which was the language of Baghdad.

The caliphs wanted to gather knowledge from the best minds from different cultures and bring them to Baghdad.

The caliphs paid scholars to come to the House of Wisdom to translate Greek, Persian and Indian texts into Arabic.

This means they invited knowledgeable people from places like Greece, Persia, what we now call Iran, and India, to bring their books and translate them into the Arabic language.

It is said that caliph al-Ma'mun encouraged translators and scholars to contribute to the library and the House of Wisdom by offering generous rewards.

One popular story suggests that he paid translators the weight of their completed books in gold.

While historians aren't unsure if this story is actually true, it highlights how important learning and knowledge was to the calpihs of the Abbasid era.

Let's consolidate our learning.

Match the word to its definition.

House of Wisdom, caliph, scholar.

The definitions are: ruler of the Islamic empire, learned person, centre for learning and knowledge.

Let's investigate the answers.

The House of Wisdom was a centre for learning and knowledge; caliph is the ruler of the Islamic empire; and a scholar is a learned person.

Good work of you guys.

All of those correct.

Why was it so important to the caliphs that ancient texts were translated into Arabic? Well, many of the texts were filled with valuable information about science, maths, philosophy, and medicine.

By translating the texts, the scholars at the House of Wisdom preserved a lot of knowledge that might have been lost over time.

For example, they translated works by famous philosophers such as Aristotle and Plato, as well as important scientific texts on astronomy and mathematics.

One of the most important contributions of the House of Wisdom was in the field of medicine.

Scholars translated the works of Greek and Roman doctors.

For example, Galen.

Galen was a famous Greek doctor who lived in the second century CE.

Galen's writings covered many areas of medicine, including how the body works and how to treat various illnesses.

His books were very important, but they were written in Greek, which many people couldn't read.

The scholars at the House of Wisdom recognised the importance of Galen's work and undertook the task of translating his texts into Arabic.

It wasn't just word for word translation.

They added comments, explained difficult and complicated ideas, and sometimes corrected mistakes based on their own observations and experiments.

By translating Galen's works into Arabic, the scholars at the House of Wisdom saved and shared this medical knowledge.

This was a huge task, and it meant that people in the Islamic world could study and learn from Galen's writings.

Islamic scholars read the translations and made their own important contributions to medicine, adding new ideas and discoveries.

The ideas from these books didn't stay in Baghdad.

During the 12th century, scholars in Spain and Italy began translating Arabic texts into Latin.

Galen's works were translated too.

When scholars in Europe read these translated books, they learned a lot from them and used these ideas to find out more about how the body works and how to treat illnesses.

It was a very important development of medicine in Europe.

It shows how important the House of Wisdom in Baghdad was in sharing knowledge, the hard work of translators and scholars in the Islamic world made sure that important medical information was not only kept safe, but also improved and shared with many more people helping to shape modern medicine.

Let's consolidate what we have just learned.

Complete the following sentences correctly using the same keyword.

Scholars at the House of Wisdom translated the works of, mm, a famous second century Greek doctor, into Arabic.

This meant that, mm's works could be preserved and shared in other parts of the world.

Did you correctly complete the sentences with the correct keyword? And that word is Galen, well done.

We have come to the first learning task of this lesson.

It says, read Lucas's statement below.

Add more detail to his statement using the works of Galen as an example.

"One of the most important goals of the House of Wisdom was to translate ancient books to Arabic." Pause the video here.

And when you are ready for the answer, press play.

Here is an example of an answer that you could have given.

Scholars translated the works of Greek and Roman doctors like Galen, saving and spreading important medical information about the human body and how to treat illnesses.

Good work if your answer is similar to this one.

The second learning cycle of this lesson is entitled, creating and sharing new ideas.

The scholars at the House of Wisdom used the texts that they had translated to create new knowledge that was spread throughout the Islamic world and even further afield.

This means that they read and studied these works carefully then built upon them by experimenting and thinking critically.

The scholars made new discoveries and wrote about their findings.

The new knowledge was then shared with other scholars across the Islamic world and beyond.

This sharing of knowledge helped create a vibrant intellectual community that went beyond cultural and geographical boundaries.

Scientists and scholars in Baghdad made many groundbreaking discoveries.

One area of discovery was optics, the study of light and vision.

Scholars conducted experiments and they learned how our eyes see by letting light in and focusing it with lenses in the eye.

They even did experiments to show how light travels and bends.

This helped scientists understand vision much better and was a big step forward in the study of optics.

What is meant by the science of optics? Is it a, the study of sound and vibrations; b, the study of heat and temperature; c, the study of light and vision; d, the study of electricity and magnetism? The science of optics is c, the study of light and vision, well done.

Another significant invention was the development of the compass.

By understanding how magnets work, scholars created more accurate compasses, which greatly improved navigation and helped sailors and travellers find their way and travel more safely and reliably.

This, of course, allowed for better trade and exchange of ideas across long distances.

It was a very important development for trade and travel all over the world.

Let's check for understanding.

Muslim scholars created more accurate compasses.

Explain to your learning partner the impact this would've had for sailors and merchants.

Your answer could have included the following.

By developing more precise compasses, Muslim scholars improved the ability of sailors and travellers to determine direction accurately.

This meant that they could travel more safely and reliably, allowing for better trade and exchange of ideas across long distances.

Well done if your answer was similar to this one.

Baghdad was not only a centre for science and learning, but also a place where beautiful art was created and shared.

The scholars at the House of Wisdom, therefore also influenced the arts.

One of the most beautiful contributions was the development and spread of geometrically patterned art.

Geometric art is an abstract art form that uses shapes like circles, squares, and triangles to create beautiful patterns that often look like flowers and plants.

The patterns are repeated in a way that looks both organised and artistic.

The geometric arts symbolise the unity and order of the universe and became a defining characteristic of Islamic art and architecture.

The design spread across the Muslim world from Baghdad, adorning mosques, palaces, and other structures.

Even today, artists and designers are inspired by these beautiful geometric patterns.

You might see them in fabrics, wallpapers, and even in modern buildings.

The art from Baghdad continues to inspire people all over the world.

Is the following statement true or false? Islamic geometric art tries to show things as they really look.

Well, that statement is false.

Let's justify our answer.

In other words, let's give a reason why we say that statement is false.

Is it a, it is abstract art, so uses shapes, colours, and patterns to express ideas; or it is impressionism where artists tried to capture a moment in time? The justification is that the Islamic geometric art is abstract art that uses shapes, colours, and patterns to express ideas, good job.

We are now ready for the second learning task of this lesson.

It says, describe how scientific and artistic ideas spread across Islamic civilization from Baghdad.

Use the following words and phrases to help you: House of Wisdom, translate, Galen, discoveries and optics and encompasses, abstract art.

Pause a video here.

And when you are ready for the answers, press play.

Here is an example of an answer that you could have given.

The caliphs paid scholars to visit the House of Wisdom to translate Greek, Persian and Indian texts into Arabic, saving and spreading knowledge, such as the medical works of Galen.

Scientists and scholars in Baghdad made many discoveries.

In studying optics, they explained how lenses and the human eye work.

They also made compasses.

At the House of Wisdom, they developed geometrically patterned abstract art that looked like flowers and plants, which sprayed across the Muslim world from Baghdad.

Well done if your answer was similar to this one and an extra big well done if you used all the words in green.

We have now come to the end of this lesson about Baghdad and the spread of ideas.

But before we go, let's summarise what we have learned.

Scholars from various cultures were invited to the House of Wisdom to translate important texts into Arabic, to preserve and expand knowledge.

Translating the works of Greek doctors like Galen, advanced medical Understanding in the Islamic world and later influenced Europe.

Scholars at the House of Wisdom also made new discoveries, particularly in fields like optics and navigation, improving encompasses.

They contributed to the arts by developing and spreading geometric patterns that became a feature of Islamic art and architecture.

Well done on all your hard work today.

I've really enjoyed travelling back in time with you, and I hope to see you again very soon.