Islamic Empires 11.2 Notes

I. The Spread of Islam  Muhammad’s successor was called a caliph, or successor to the Messenger of God.  First 4 caliphs ruled from Medina and were called the Rightly Guided Caliphs.  The Umayyad caliphs made their capital in the city of Damascus. Islam spread during their rule.  The Islamic state soon became a great empire.

 Success for several reasons Good horsemen, good with a sword, and inspired by their religion. Muslims believed that people who died fighting for Islam would go to paradise. Arabs let conquered people practice their own religion, but they made non- Muslims pay a special tax. Many conquered people adopted Muslim customs.

 The Sufis were a group of Muslims who spread Islam through teaching.  Arab merchants spread Islam throughout southeast Asia.  Indonesia is a southeast Asian country that has the largest Muslim population in the world.  Timbuktu, a west African city, became the center of Muslim learning.

II. Struggles Within Islam  After Muhammad’s death there was a split. Shiites believed that Muhammad’s son-in- law, Ali, should succeed Muhammad and that all future caliphs should be descendents of Ali. Sunnis believe that the Umayyad caliphs were the rightful leaders.  Over time these two groups formed their own customs. Shiites commemorating the death of Imam Hussein

 The Umayyad dynasty lost power and was replaced with a new dynasty called the Abbasids.  Abbasids built a new capital, Baghdad. Prospered as a trade center because of location. Cf. p.383

 The Abbasids lost control as Muslims in other parts of the world wanted their own caliphs.  The Seljuk Turks were nomads and warriors. They took control of the Abbasid dynasty. Ruler was called a Sultan  Arab Empire ended when the Mongols invaded Baghdad and destroyed it.

III. Later Muslim Empires  The Ottoman Turks were a group of Turks in northwest Asia Minor who began to build their own empire. Conquered the Byzantines and renamed Constantinople Istanbul.

 Ottomans moved into Europe, Syria, Palestine, Egypt, Mesopotamia, and parts of Arabia and North Africa.

 The leader of the Ottomans was called a sultan. The most famous was Suleiman I.  After the rule of Suleiman I, the Ottoman empire gradually fell apart.  The Ottoman empire was made up of different people who practiced different religions. Non-Muslims could practice their own religions but had to pay a tax to do so. Christian families in Eastern Europe had to send their sons to Istanbul to become Muslims and train as soldiers.

 The Moguls created a Muslim empire in India and made their capital city Delhi. Akbar was the greatest Mogul ruler. Moguls empire declined after Akbar’s rule.  European merchants used their military power to take control of Mogul territory.  Eventually Britain took over India