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| A journey across the Arabian desert |
The land of Arabia is the source of many adventurous tales, including the story of Aladdin. But did you know that Arabia is part of Southwest Asia, known as the Middle East, and that it is home to the largest sand desert in the world? Its climate is hot, dry, and harsh - but Arabia has been inhabited by nomadic tribes for thousands of years.
The Middle East is also home to 3 of the world's greatest religions - Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.
In this section of study, we will learn about the region, climate, people, and history of Arabia, including the life of Muhammad, the founder of the religion of Islam, and his teachings written in the holy book of Islam known as the Quran.
In this section of study, we will learn about the region, climate, people, and history of Arabia, including the life of Muhammad, the founder of the religion of Islam, and his teachings written in the holy book of Islam known as the Quran.
Islam began in the trading town of Mecca (now in Saudi Arabia), and it soon spread throughout Arabia and Southwest Asia - eventually reaching North Africa, and Spain. In our course of study, we will learn about 3 Islamic empires that greatly affected history: The Ottoman, Safavid and Mughal empires. These three empires contributed to many advancements in science, mathematics, astronomy and medicine as well as built many great cities and educational centers including Baghdad (in Iraq), Cordoba (in Spain) and Timbuktu (in West Africa).
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| The Taj Mahal in India was designed and built by the Mughal Empire |
Interaction with the West (Europe and the Byzantine Empire) provided Europeans with new ideas and technology that helped bring Europe out of the period referred to as the Dark Ages. Unfortunately, a series of wars known as the Crusades were fought between Christians and Muslims over a region in Southwest Asia known as the Holy Land, and this generated great distrust amongst the two religions, as well as brought great discrimination and persecution of Jews living throughout the Holy Land and Europe.
Here are some links you might find useful as you learn more about the history of Arabia and Islam:
