World History I

Chapter 10: Islamic Civilization and Byzantium
600-1300 CE

49: Wed, Mar 4, 2026

Please post in the forum for the day a short essay in response to this question:

While neither the Qu'ran nor Christian Biblical scriptures explicitly forbid art depicting visual depictions of human or divine figures, both Islam and the Byzantine empire struggled with how to use art to communicate the stories and concepts of their religions.

Consider the two depictions below:

Persian Miniature of Muhammad leading Abraham, Moses, and Jesus in prayer

Christ Pantokrator, Salermo

• How might these pictures be used by those who created them to help believers of their faith understand the teachings?
• What does the miniature reveal about Islam's attitude toward Jesus, Abram, Moses, and Muhammad?
• What does the Salerno icon reveal about Byzantine Christian attitudes toward Jesus, Mary, and the Saints?
• How can these depictions be used as historical sources?
• What conclusions might you be able to draw from the clothing, articles depicted, and materials used about how the makers of these pictures lived?

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