Chapter 10 Section 2 Building an Empire

The Umayyad Caliphs Experienced many successes Weakness of Byzantine and Persian Empires Good war tactics Camel and horse cavalry Set up system of administration Treatment of the conquered Allowed other religions Taxation of non-Muslims Hired Jews and Christians as officials

The Umayyad Caliphs Decline Difficult to adapt from desert nomad to large cities Rulers relied heavily on local officials, while living lavishly Conquests slow in 700s, economy declines Unrest between Shiite groups, non-Arab converts

The Abbasid Caliphs Rise of Abbasid Dynasty Supported by Shiites, non-Arab Muslims, Abu al-Abbas captures Damascus Killed Umayyad family except 1  Spain Shiite Empire from 750-1258

The Abbasid Caliphs Changes Under the Abbasids Equality for all Muslims Sophisticated bureaucracy Decisions made by an administration Priority on education Moves capital to Baghdad Larger, wealthier than Constantinople b/c better trade

The Abbasid Caliphs Decline Control fragmented in 850 Seljuk Turks invaded Controlled Baghdad in 1055 Crusades began in 1095 Pope Urban II calls to drive Muslims out of Holy Land Saladin leads Turks to take back Holy Land in 1187 Mongols invaded in 1258 Genghis Khan looted Baghdad, killed the last caliph Tamerlane invaded Mongol invader in 1300s Conquered Muslim lands; Russian, Indian lands too