# data[].attributes.body
Here is a Mongol Longbow, that is an addition following the final project. The reason I believe this to be a relevant addition is because of the impact that new technology as well as a new type of battle and ruthlessness that Mongols brought when they moved west and into the area surrounding and in the Arabian peninsula. This was a particularly dangerous time for Islam, since it seemed it could have been wiped out with such ease.

However, in the end it was not wiped out with ease at all. In fact, it was due to the adoption of Islam by many Mongols that it flourished further and continued to grow. Thus, this Mongol bow is very important to the history of Islam.

# data[].attributes.body
I selected this trading ship to represent Baghdad because during the Abbasid dynasty there was a big movement towards further trade. A key driver of this was trade through rivers, especially the river Tigris. This contribution is from my final project of the 10 (our team chose 12 because it was slightly larger) relics/ artefacts/ items that should be placed into a time capsule now or from early Islam that signifies something about it as a religion should this history be lost.

# data[].attributes.body
The battle of Siffin was very important because it represented the battle between Muawiya and Ali. Muawiya, seeing that their army had almost been defeated, decided to propose arbitration of this dispute by use of the Qu'ran. In the end this meant that it was decided that another Caliph should be elected by a council and so in the end the battle led to the removal of both Muawiya and Ali.

# data[].attributes.body
The image above shows the trade routes during the Umayyad and then later Abbasid dynasty's. The reason Barcelona is selected is because goods such as spices would be brought all the way from the Arabian peninsula to Barcelona and even beyond. This vast network of trading routes was a key moment in the history of Islam, because it showed the Umayyad dynasty at a height of power and influence stretching across the world.

# data[].attributes.body
For our first project, we decided to look at use of a new type of coins during the Umayyad dynasty.

This was first started under the reign of Umayyad Caliph Abd al-Malik (685-705), who made significant changes to the coins in use. He reformed the coins to remove the image and replace it with text to give it a unique and distinctively Islamic style.

The use of these new coins represented a key change because it also represented the use of Arabic as not just a religious language but also an administrative one. These new coins also much better represented Islam and allowed the Umayyad dynasty to strongly establish itself.

# data[].attributes.body
I have always had some wonder towards the Caspian sea both due to its geographic location, but also simply because of its closeness to my name. However, I realized when looking at the list that I really did not know much about it.

The Caspian sea is the largest enclosed body of water in the world. Today it is strategically significant because of its abundance of resources in vast amounts of oil and natural gas that is held below and around it.

During the late Antique period, monsters from the Caspian sea would be depicted in paintings. It was also just a vast body of water difficult to understand at the time due to a lack of proper mapping and transportation options at the time.

# data[].attributes.body
The river Tigris is significant both for being a source of irrigation allowing crops to flourish and support large populations but also for religious reasons.

The Tigris is mentioned twice in the Old Testament, in the book of Genesis, where it is the third of the four rivers branching off the river issuing out of the Garden of Eden. It is also mentioned in the Book of Daniel, wherein Daniel stated he received one of his visions while he was at the great river the Tigris.

I wanted to add this river since it has this religious significance as well as just having been important to sustaining human life throughout history.

# data[].attributes.body
Egypt has been a strategically important country. Today we find this because of its control of the Suez Canal, through which around 12% of global trade passes. However, in the late antique period, it was seen to have particular importance due to the river Nile. The river Nile produced very fertile land around it, which meant that there were large amounts of crops around it. These could then be used as a breadbasket to feed a great army.

I found this shifting significance over time very important and how the perception of a country can change.

# data[].attributes.body
Constantinople was the capital of the Byzantine empire. It was founded during the late antique period as an offshoot of the Roman Empire. It was Emperor Constantine the Great who founded the city and renamed from Byzantium. He was the first to convert to Christianity, which makes it in many ways first a Christian city, despite today being in Turkey which is now Muslim.

Constantinople was very significant in the history of both Europe and the Arabian peninsula, because of its role as a trading port at the point where the European and Arabic worlds meet.

# data[].attributes.body
Aleppo is a city that in the media has received so much negative attention and is framed as almost purely a war zone. Although over the past twenty years especially there has been a lot of warfare and destruction, it is a city with one of the richest histories in the world. I chose Aleppo because I wanted to learn more about a city that has always been profiled as a place of danger and combat.

Aleppo was often considered the end of the Silk Road, which was the name given to the trade route carrying spices and silks throughout not just the Middle East but goods coming from the Netherlands that could go all the way to China.

# data[].attributes.body
Above is the Jemaa el-Fnaa square in the center of the Medina quarter (the old city) of Marrakesh.

I chose Marrakesh because I visited it when I was younger and had an amazing experience. With incredibly friendly people, a very rich culture and great food there was little I did not like about Marrakesh.

# data[].attributes.body
In Arab tradition, Petra is the location where Moses struck a rock with his staff and water came forth. The Arab name for the narrow valley at the head of the site is The Wadi Musu or "Wadi of Moses." Although Petra is not actually mentioned in the Qur'an, the Qur'an uses terms like Becca, mother of all cities, to refer to the city of Petra in Jordan.

I selected Petra because I think the site is beautiful and I have always wanted to visit it and learn more. The rest of my family recently visited without me (since I was here in California) and so this compelled me further to want to learn more.

# data[].attributes.body
Jerusalem was the most significant place in the world for religion even long before the emergence of Mecca or Yathrib as the key cities for Muhammad's movement.

The Majid al-Asqa Mosque shown above was destroyed many times in earthquakes, used as a palace during the crusade and was the  headquarters of the religious order of the Knight's Templar.

After the area was recaptured by Saladin in 1187 and was restored to being used as a Mosque. Today, the city of Jerusalem is under Israeli control, however the mosque  remains under the administration of the Jordanian/Palestinian-led Islamic Wafq.

Islamic tradition also holds that Muhammad led prayers facing Jerusalem until the 16th or 17th month after his migration from Mecca to Medina, when Allah directed him to face the Kaaba located in Mecca.

# data[].attributes.body
During Muhammad's time, Medina was still called Yathrib. The name Medina comes from what it was named after Muahamamd's death: "al-Madinah al-Munawwarah," which means the Enlightened City. It was later simplified to Medina.

Medina is a very significant city in the history of Islam because it is where the Prophet Muhammad lived and taught after the migration of him and his followers from Mecca. Above is the Mosque in Medina, called Al-Masjid an-Nabawi, in english meaning "The Prophetic Mosque."

Prior to this course I did not know much about the city of Medina and now that I have learnt about its significance to Islam I am only more interested to learn more.

# data[].attributes.body
I chose Mecca because of its utmost importance to the region and the religion of what is now Islam. It also has great importance in the story of Muhammad. When the black stone was displaced from the Kaaba it was Muhammad who came up with the solution to have the four clan leaders of the Quraysh to use a cloth to move it back to the Kaaba together. After this Muhammad was then selected to replace the stone himself, because of his effective resolve for the dispute.

Mecca is very famous for being the most important city in the religion of Islam. I had often seen images of the Kaaba, however never really knew what it was and so learning more about this has been a great experience in the course.