The Birth of Islam

The Arabian Peninsula Mostly desert Towns/cities/trade routes on outside

Bedouins Nomadic Arabs Lived in the desert A desert-dwelling Arabian ethnic group traditionally divided into tribes, or clans, known in Arabic as ʿašāʾir (عَشَائِر)

Pre-Mohammed Kaaba – Sacred Allah – Arabic for God

Muhammad Born about 570 C.E. Successful Merchant Married Khadijah (former boss) Traveled and interacted with Jews + Christians Prayed in caves a lot 610 C.E. Angel appears to him

Revelations… or messages from the Angel Angel Gabriel gives Muhammad messages for humans from God Allah – only true/all powerful God

Spreading the Revelations Begins to preach in public Many in Mecca fearful of him Flees Mecca 619 C.E.

A Growing Following Settles in Medina 622 C.E. Mecca and Medina fight, by 630 Mohammad controls Mecca

The Qur’an (or Koran) Mohammad couldn’t read or write Teachings were written down, became the Qur’an

The 5 Pillars Profess faith – “There is no god but Allah, and Muhammad is the messenger of god” 5 daily prayers facing Mecca Charity (Alms) to the poor Fasting during Ramadan Hajj – if physically/financially able, must travel to Mecca

632 C.E. Muhammad Died Abu Bakr – becomes first caliph (or successor) Keeps strong military Expands Muslim rule to the North

Caliphate – area ruled by caliph

Division Ali Uthman Cousin of Muhammad From Umayyad converted clan Umayyads only went to Islam when they had no choice Muhammad’s enemies

Conflict Uthman made caliph Killed Ali becomes caliph civil war – Ali killed Umayyad Dynasty

Two Groups of Muslims Shia Sunnis Party of Ali way of the prophet Refused to accept Umayyads Believed Allah had blessed Ali’s family Majority of Muslims accepted the Umayyad

Umayyads Unpopular Shia continue to Oppose Abbasid family lead revolts – 740s C.E. Abbasid Dynasty

The Abbasids Made Islam more universal Spread Islam from Southeast Asia to West Africa “Golden Age of Islam” “The Translation” – gathering of as much knowledge as possible, and preservation of ancient writings

The Abbasids spread Islam to Western Africa ii

And to India and Southeast Asia jjj

By the 800s Abbasids begin losing control

The Abbasids lost their empire bit by bit: Poor management of empire led to revolts Constant struggle of succession Over-use of resources By ~950 C.E. Egypt + Syria broke away …and invaders sack Baghdad

The 1st Crusade 1096-1099 Christians from Europe invade and Capture Jerusalem Islamic Armies retake all lost territory by 1291

So, massive mounted armies could not overthrow Muslim rule. Unless they were… Wait for it…

…The Mongols! uuu

Baghdad is sacked in 1258 This marks the end of the Abbasid Golden Age period The end of a single Islamic Empire Egypt and other small parts of the empire survive

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Astrolabe: instrument used to determine location by observing position of stars and planets Minaret: tower from which the crier calls for prayer Muezzin: the crier, who issues the call to prayer 5 times a day Arabesque: artwork of geometric patterns, made up of arabic letters, plants, and abstract figures Ibn-Rushd: Islamic scholar in Cordoba, who wrote a commentary on Aristotle’s works Ibn-Sina: Wrote a medical encyclopedia that became the basis for European medical knowledge Ibn-Khaldun: Islamic Historian who argued that civilizations follow a life cycle Omar Khayyam: Islamic Poet of the Golden Age Alhambra: palace in Granada, Spain which is considered the classic example of Islamic Art