Later Abbasid Period:

Later period in which the Abbasid dynasty claimed the caliphate, or succession of Muhammad, lasting from  936-1258.

Abrahamic:

A religion with its roots in the Jewish tradition, namely all beginning with the biblical figure, Abraham.

Effulgence:

Radiant, shining forth.

Caliph:

Successor to Muhammad.

Indology:

The study of India.

Scholasticism:

Discipline of learning or thinking.

Hadith:

The collected teachings of the prophet Muhammad

Caliphate:

State ruled over by a caliph, successor to Muhammad's empire.

Camera Obscura:

Pinhole Camera, a dark room with a small hole or lens in one wall that projects an image outside onto the wall inside.

Ottoman:

The dynasty of the Turk Osman, and the empire that ruled over much of the eastern and southern Mediterranean from the 14th centaury to the 20th centaury.

Janissary:

A group of soldiers that made up the ottoman sultans personal guard. They had much political power and were often very corrupt.

Empiricism:

The theory that human knowledge has to come from the 5 senses, and observation and experimentation.

Optics:

The study of light and its properties.

Perspectiva:

A work by Witelo, largely a translation into Latin of Kitab Al Manazer with some commentary.

Enlightenment:

A movement of the 18th centaury focused on rational thought and empiricism 

Buyid:

the dynasty that ruled over much of Persia and Mesopotamia in the 10th and 11th centauries

Geodesy:

The study of the earth's shape, orientation and gravity

Sexagesimal: 

Relating to 60s