The Arab Empire and Its Successors Ch 6 section 2

Creation of an Arab Empire Muhammad’s death left a problem –Who would succeed him? –No son, no daughter –Followers chose Abu Bakr, Muhammads father in law Abu Bakr was named caliph, or successor

Arab Empire Islam grew under Abu Bakr. Abu Bakr took part in the “struggle in the way of God” The old remnants of the Roman Empire, Byzantium and the Persian Empire soon came under Arab rule.

Arab Empire Abu Bakr’s successor were fierce fighters but were both assassinated. In 656, Muhammad’s son-in-law, Ali, became caliph but was soon assassinated. Arabs encouraged military fighting with the belief that a warrior killed in battle was assured a place in Paradise.

The Umayyads Mu’awiyah became caliph in 661, he was a rival of Ali. He made the office of caliph (caliphate) hereditary and began the Umayyad dynasty. He moved the Arab Empire from Madinah to Damascus, in Syria where he had been governor.

The Umayyads Arabs conquered and converted the Berbers, a pastoral people who lived on the coast of North Africa. Around 710, Arab’s and Berber forces took over southern Spain. By 725 most of Spain was a Muslim state. In 732 Arab forces were defeated at the Battle of Tours in Present-day France. –All Arab expansion into Europe was stopped after this

The Umayyads In 717 Muslims attacked Constantinople but were defeated by the Byzantine empire. This created tension between the Byzantine empire (parts of southern Europe) and the Islamic world (Middle East) Revolts broke out in the Umayyad empire. –Hussein, son of Ali, led a revolt –In 680 he battled against Umayyad rule, but most of his followers defected and he fought 10,000 soldiers with 72. All died

The Umayyads This struggle, caused Islam to split into two groups, the Shiite and the Sunni. –The Shiite say the descendants of Ali are the rulers of Islam. –The Sunni say that the descendants of the Umayyads are the true caliphs. The split continues today Most Muslims are Sunnis, but much of Iraq and Iran are Shiites

Why was the Battle of Tours a turning point of the Arab empire?

A new dynasty: Abbasid Resentment grew toward the Umayyad dynasty due to corruption and favoritism toward Arabs. In 750, Abu al-Abbas overthrew the Umayyad dynasty and founded the Abbasid dynasty, which lasted for 500 more years. –The Abbasids built a new capital in Baghdad, on the Tigris River –This location was very important as it took advantage of river and caravan traffic New roles –Judges, merchants and government officials were the new heroes, not warriors –The Abbasid dynasty also allowed all Muslims, Arab or not to hold both civil and military offices.

Abbasid Dynasty The ninth century Abbasid dynasty thrived. –Harun al-Rahid is considered the dynasty’s golden age. Charity, patronage of the arts Economic prosperity Baghdad became the center of trading empire Problems with succession continued and Harun al- Rahid’s sons almost destroyed Baghdad when they fought to succeed him.

Abbasid Dynasty New and vast wealth led to corruption –Non Arabs, Persians and Turks became a dominant force in the military and political scene –Soon, provinces began to break from the central government and established their own caliphates. –Cairo established a dynasty under the Fatimids in 973.

Seljuk Turks The Fatimid dynasty soon became the center of Islamic civilizations. –The Nile delta helped Cairo play a major role in trade –They created a strong army by hiring non- native soldiers such as Seljuk Turks The Seljuk Turks were nomadic people from Asia They converted to Islam and were good soldiers under the Abbasid Empire

Crusades The Turks took over part of the Abbasid Empire. A Turk sultan “holder of power” took over and held all political and military power in the Abbasid Empire –Byzantines soon challenged the Turks in 1071 but were defeated. Byzantines turned to the West (Christian Europe) for help

Crusades The Byzantine emperor Alexius I asked the Christian states of Europe for help against the Turks. Most Europeans agreed, and a series of crusades began in –Muslims at first took a defensive stance –Then a leader, Saladin took control of Egypt which ended the Fatimid dynasty. –Saladin’s army soon destroyed Christian forces in the kingdom of Jerusalem. –Centuries of distrust between Muslims and Christians had been created by the Crusades