KEY
Red – Critical information, must be written down exactly
Purple – Great information for studying
Vocabulary
- Oases- Small springs of water usually found in the desert
- Nomads- Someone who travels constantly, never stays in one place
- Polytheism- The belief in many gods
- Kaaba- The building holding the idols in the middle of Mecca
- Qu’ran- Basically the bible, but for the muslim religion. Written by Muhammad
- Sunna- Words and deeds of Muhammad
- Mosque- A traditional place of worship for muslims
- Tigris and Euphrates- Two main important rivers
Geography
Hot and sunny deserts, Arabia is mostly a desert. It is extremely difficult to find water. The typical temperature in Arabia is around 130• F. Many people who dare to journey out to the desert most likely die in about a week from starvation or the heat. Many people were Nomads in Islam as well, so they would never stay in one place for longer than a month. It was hard to settle down, because of the deserts and how many bandits and enemies roamed the deserts, so settling in the desert with a small amount of people was dangerous.
MUHAMMAD
Muhammad was a merchant who apperently, was told by the angel Gabriel that there is only one God. Muhammad had doubted the angel’s command, because he did not know how to read. Gabriel explained to him that if God made the world, he could definitely help Muhammad to read. Later on, Muhammad is doubted by the people of Islam and disagree with his statement about God (kicked out and sent to Medina). Muhammad is kicked out of Arabia, and gathers a whole army that he would launch on the people of Islam. The war would last 3 years and Muhammad would be victorious. He destroyed the idols and the kaaba when he attacked Mecca.
Five Pillars of the Islamic Government
- Muslims MUST pray 5 times a day.
- Do NOT eat or drink during the month of Ramadan.
- Give 2.5% of your income to charity.
- Muslims must state daily their beliefs.
- Travel to Mecca at least once in your lifetime.
Islams Improvement
Arabia had to find a way to get water, without having to travel to the rivers all the time. So what did they do? They created the water wheel, which is a big wheel that was placed in the water. It was powered by the strength of the river, and it had small buckets on it to scoop up the water. The water would travel through the wheel, and then into an aqueduct which would make the water travel through it to the cities and to the people who needed the water. Kind of like how today we have pipes under our houses so we can get water for ourselves.
History Plus 