RISE OF ISLAM
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The Arab Empire and its
Successors
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Creation of An Arab Empire
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After the death of Muhammad, unity was difficult to maintain.
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The friend and father-in-law of Muhammad, Abu Bakr, was chosen to be
the first Caliph, or successor to Muhammad.
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Abu Bakr helped to unify the Muslim world and expanded in Arabia and
beyond.
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Under the idea of jihad, or “struggle in the way of God” the
early Muslims expanded their territory.
The believed that defensive warfare was permitted by the Quran.
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Arab
Rule/empire
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The Arabs were now united and expanded their territory instead of
fighting each other.
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They defeated the Byzantine army in 636 taking the province of Syria.
By 642 they took Egypt and by 650 they controlled the Persian Empire
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Administration
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Muslims administrators were fairly tolerant of the people they
defeated.
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Initially, both Christians and Jews were allowed to practice their
religions, with some restrictions, because they were “People of the Book” who
had written scriptures revealed to them by God before the time of Muhammad. Those who chose
not to convert had to be loyal to the Muslim state and pay a special tax.
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The
Umayyad Dynasty
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At the beginning of the eighth century Islam had expanded across
northern Africa and had converted the Berbers (a pastoral people along the
Mediterranean coast) to the faith.
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By 710 combined Berber and Arab forces crossed the Strait of Gibraltar
into Spain and had taken most of the country by 725. In 732, however, the Muslim advance into
Europe was halted at the Battle of Tours.
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By 750 the Muslim advance came to an end. The southern and eastern Mediterranean and
parts of the old Roman Empire were now Muslim territory.
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The Umayyad Dynasty was centered in Damascus, in modern-day Syria and
was wealthy. This was also a very
diverse empire as many different peoples had been conquered in new territory.
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The diversity helped lead to a split within the Islamic faith
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A Split
in Islam
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Many non-Arab Muslims resent the favoritism which the Umayyad Empire
showed toward Arabs.
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The large empire was difficult to rule efficiently and there were
financial problems as well.
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The Revolt of Hussein
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The grandson of Muhammad, Hussein, led a revolt against the Umayyad
Empire in 680.
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His solders defected and he was killed by an overwhelming
Umayyad force.
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This struggle led to a split within the faith of Islam between Sunni
and Shi’a (Shiite) Muslims.
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Sunni vs. Shi’a (Shiite)
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Sunni Muslims supported the Umayyad Dynasty.
They believe the Caliph does not need to be a direct descendant of
Muhammad.
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Shi’a Muslims supported Hussein and believe that the Caliph should be a
direct descendant of Muhammad through his son-in-law Ali and his grandson.
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Umayyad Architecture
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The
Abbasid Dynasty
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Amidst growing resentment toward the Umayyad Dynasty Abu al-Abbas, a
descendent of Muhammad’s uncle, overthrew the Umayyad Dynasty in 750 and est.
the Abbasid Dynasty.
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The Dynasty lasted until 1258 A.D.
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Abbasid Rule
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The Abbasids moved the capital of their empire to Baghdad.
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This move increased Persian influence and changed Abbasid culture.
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Under this dynasty the new heroes were judges, merchants, and
government officials.
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This dynasty did not favor Arab rule and the empire became more
culturally diverse.
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Harun al-Rashid
– The greatest of
the caliphs of the dynasty. This is called the golden age of the Abbasid
Dynasty (Caliphate)
– He was known for
his charity and was a great supporter of culture and the arts.
– His son continued
the tradition and supported the study of astronomy and began to translate
classical Greek works into Arabic.
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Trade
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Baghdad became a major crossroads for trade.
– This made the
city very wealthy.
----- This also helped spread products and knowledge from the Middle
East to parts of Asia, Africa, and Europe.
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Government
Administration
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The government of the Abbasids became more like a monarchy.
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The bureaucracy which assisted the Caliph became more complicated.
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In order to assist him the Caliph appointed a Vizier who was
like a prime minister.
– This man was the
chief advisor to the Caliph and would help him run the government.
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Decline and Division
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There was great difficulty in the Abbasid Dynasty with imperial
succession.
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There was also financial corruption.
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Caliphs began to recruit from non-Arab groups for government
administration such as the Turks and the Persians.
– These groups came
to dominate the political situation.
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Rulers of provinces began to break away and establish independent
kingdoms.
– Spain had an
independent Caliphate at Cordoba which had been established in 750 by Umayyad rulers who fled the Abbasid
Dynasty.
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Morocco became independent.
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The Fatimid dynasty was established in Egypt with the capital at Cairo
in 973.
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Seljuk Turks and the Crusades
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As the Fatimid Dynasty in Egypt became more powerful they became the
new center of the Muslim world.
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One group which came to power in this region were the Seljuk
Turks.
– The Turks played
a large role in the military and many rose through the ranks to gain a lot of
political power.
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The Turks were originally a nomadic people who converted to Islam and
were great soldiers in the Abbasid caliphate.
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As the Abbasids weakened, the Turks became stronger moving into the
areas of Iran and Armenia. They eventually took over many Abbasid territories.
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The
Sultan
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The Turks were ruled by a Sultan, meaning “holder of power.”
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While the Abbasids were still a religious authority when the Turks
captured Baghdad they were the military and political leaders of the state.
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The Turks in the second half of the 11th century kept
putting pressure on the Byzantine Empire.
In 1071 they defeated the Byzantine army at Manzikert and gained control
of Asia Minor (Anatolian Peninsula)
– In desperation,
the Byzantine Empire turned to the West for help. This led to a series of wars known as The
Crusades.
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The Crusades
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The Byzantine Emperor Alexius I sent a letter to the Pope (Urban II)
asking for help against the Turks.
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This led to a series of wars in 1096 known as The Crusades.
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At first the Crusaders were successful and took the city of Jerusalem.
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In 1187 the Muslim leader Saladin retook the city, leaving the
Christians with only a small collection of land holdings in the Middle East.
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The Crusades had a lasting impact-breeding centuries of mistrust
between the Muslim world and the Christian World.
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The Mongol
Threat
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The Mongols were a pastoral, horse-riding people who swept out of the
Gobi in the early 13th century to seize control over much of the
known world.
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The were not Muslims and find it difficult to adapt to city life.
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The spread destruction across Asia into Muslim territory.
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The Invasion began with Genghis Khan and was continued under the
leadership Kublia Khan and Hulegu.
– They seized
Mesopotamia Persia and Mesopotamia destroying the city of Baghdad in 1258
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The Mongols made it as far as the Red Sea, but were unable to take
Egypt.
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