THE ISLAMIC EMPIRE

Essential Question: p. 36 What was the impact of the Islamic Empire under the Abbasids and the Umayyads?

Overview of Islam Around the year 600 CE, a new monotheistic religion called Islam began Islam was founded by the Prophet Muhammad in the Arabian city of Mecca After the Hijrah to the city of Medina, Muhammad gained Muslim converts and returned to Mecca, conquering the city

Muslims believe in the Five Pillars of Islam: Faith: belief in one God, Allah, and the Prophet Muhammad Prayer: 5 times per day towards Mecca Alms: 2.5% to charity Fasting: During the month of Ramadan Hajj: Pilgrimage to Mecca MECCA

They became known as the “Rightly Guided Caliphs” Islam After Muhammad When Muhammad died in 632, the Muslim community elected a new leader called a caliph (successor) The first four caliphs all knew Muhammad and promised to stay true to the Qu’ran and Muhammad’s message They became known as the “Rightly Guided Caliphs”

He used jihad to control and expand the Islamic Empire Islam After Muhammad The first caliph was Muhammad’s friend and father-in-law, Abu Bakr; his goal was to keep Muslims under his government (the “caliphate”) After Muhammad’s death people began to turn their backs on Islam (declaring themselves prophets, not paying taxes etc) Jihad means striving - Used 2 ways- the inner struggle against evil and armed struggle against non-believers He used jihad to control and expand the Islamic Empire

The Rightly Guided Caliphs The empire expanded under the next caliphs

The caliphs used the Shari'a (laws of Islam) to govern the Empire During the Rightly Guided Caliphates, the Islamic Empire expanded “Dar-al-Islam” (the areas where Islam is practiced) The caliphs used the Shari'a (laws of Islam) to govern the Empire The caliphate never forced non-Muslims to convert, especially “People of the Book” (Jews and Christians); they allowed religious tolerance as long as taxes were paid to the Empire

The Umayyad Empire After the death of the fourth caliph, Ali ibn Abi Talib, a civil war for control of the Empire began The clan that came to power started the Umayyad Empire However, the rise of Umayyads led to a division in Islam

The Sunni-Shi’a Split Before the Umayyads, caliphs were elected members of Muhammad’s family Shi’a Muslims rejected the rule of the Umayyads Sunni Muslims accepted the rule of the Umayyads The Shi’a believe that caliphs must come directly from Muhammad’s bloodline The Sunni believe that caliphs should follow Muhammad’s example, but do not have to be relatives Shi’a meant party of Ali

The Umayyad Empire The Umayyads expanded the Empire, which brought wealth and new Islamic converts Some don’t like this wealth and excess

In 750, the Umayyad Empire was overthrown by the Abbasids Under the Abbasids, the Islamic Empire grew to its greatest extent

The Abbasids’ rule over the Islamic Empire lasted from 750 to 1258 The Abbasid Empire The Abbasids’ rule over the Islamic Empire lasted from 750 to 1258 The Abbasid caliphate built a strong government bureaucracy to rule the Empire

The Abbasid Empire Muslim merchants expanded the Empire’s wealth by trading across Africa, the Indian Ocean, and the Mediterranean Sea

The Abbasid Empire Wealth from trade led to a “golden age”, a time of great Muslim achievements in science, mathematics, medicine, and architecture

“Acquire knowledge. It enableth its possessor to distinguish right from wrong; it lighteth the way to Heaven; it is our friend in the desert, our society in solitude, our companion when friendless; it guideth us to happiness; it sustaineth us in misery; it is an ornament amongst friends, and an armour against enemies.” -Muhammad

<--- Astrolabe: Interest in astronomy developed due to 3 of the pillars of Islam: Praying towards Mecca, fasting during Ramadan and performing the hajj Art focused on geometric patterns, not people

Calligraphy Architecture was a blend of different cultures including Rome, Byzantine and new elements

The Islamic empire made significant contributions to medicine and mathematics Al-Razi wrote an encyclopedia called the Comprehensive Book, it drew on knowledge from Greek, Syrian, Arabic and Indian sources Some attribute the beginnings of algebra to Al-Khwarizmi Muslim scientists conducted experiments in laboratories

The House of Wisdom was a center of learning located in Baghdad It was here that scholars translated texts and studied information from other cultures (Greeks, Romans, India etc)