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The Islamic World in the Middle Ages: An Overview
A plain survey of the medieval Islamic world, from the early conquests through the Abbasids, Fatimids and Andalusia to the Mongol era, as one connected civilization.
The Wider Medieval World
The Islamic World and Caliphates
How the Abbasid, Fatimid and Andalusian worlds worked and what they shared with Europe.
Al-Andalus: Muslim Spain in Daily Life
A look at daily life in al-Andalus: its cities, irrigated gardens, taxes and the uneasy coexistence of Muslims, Christians and Jews under Umayyad and later rulers.
Arabic Numerals and Algebra Reach Europe
How Indian-Arabic numerals, zero and algebra moved from Indian and Arabic-language scholars into Latin Europe, and why the change was slow rather than sudden.
Baghdad and the Abbasid Caliphate
How the Abbasid caliphs founded Baghdad, ran their court, and held together a huge realm with officials, taxes and a postal network, until power slipped away.
Cairo Under the Fatimids
The Fatimid dynasty founded Cairo in 969 as a royal city and ruled a trading state that linked the Mediterranean, the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean.
Cordoba as a City of Learning
Cordoba under the Umayyads of al-Andalus: its Great Mosque, the palace city of Madinat al-Zahra, the caliph's library and the scholars who made it famous.
Ibn Sina and the Canon of Medicine
The life of Ibn Sina (Avicenna), the structure of his Canon of Medicine, and how Gerard of Cremona's Latin translation made it a core text in European schools.
Saladin: Ruler, Reputation and Legend
Saladin's real career, from Kurdish officer to sultan of Egypt and Syria and victor at Hattin, set apart from the chivalrous legend that grew up in Europe.
Sunni and Shia Divisions in the Medieval Period
A plain account of how Sunni and Shia Islam took shape after Muhammad's death, how groups such as the Ismailis arose, and how they competed for power.
The House of Wisdom and Translation Movement
How Greek, Persian and Indian works were translated into Arabic in Abbasid Baghdad, who paid for it, and why the House of Wisdom was less formal than legend suggests.
Related topics
More in the wider medieval world
Mongols and the Steppe Steppe peoples, Mongol conquests and the Eurasian links they created. Medieval Russia and Eastern Europe Rus, Poland, Hungary and Bohemia between the Latin and Orthodox worlds. Africa and Asia in the Middle Ages Mali, Ethiopia, Song China, Japan and India during the European medieval centuries. Scandinavia and the North Iceland, Norway, Denmark and Sweden after the Viking Age.