Muhammad, the founder of Islam, was born in Mecca ARABIA Muhammad, the founder of Islam, was born in Mecca

MECCA Most important of the commercial cities along the Red Sea coast Had trade contacts with Africa and the Middle East Also served as religious center Contained shrine covering sacred black rock that Arabs believed the god Allah had thrown down to earth Called the Kaaba Also contained idols to other gods that the Arabs worshipped

DISUNITY East of Mecca and other Red Sea cities lay the Great Arabian Desert Tens of thousands of square miles of shifting sand Home to the Bedouins Primitive nomads who herded flocks, conducted vendettas, raided caravans, and conducted inter-clan feuds Had no use for city people and the feeling was mutual No such thing as an united Arab people at this time Divided between civilized urban people and wild desert nomads

MUHAMMAD Muhammad was born in 570 AD Orphaned while still very young and was raised by various uncles in the markets of Mecca Became semi-successful merchant when he grew up Became business manager of wealthy widow when he was 20 years old Later married her May have traveled to Syria on business and heard preaching of Christian monks Became familiar with Judaism through contacts with Jewish merchants in Mecca

VISION Muhammad began to go on meditation trips to the mountains east of Mecca when he was in his 30s. It was on one of these trips that he had his first religious vision in 610 Christian angel Gabriel appeared before him told him he was messenger of the sole God, Allah, and to spread His Word First in a series of visions that Muhammad would receive Would spend the rest of his life spreading the message he received in these visions

THE PROPHET Muhammad even wrote poetic descriptions of his visions and compiled them in a book called the Koran (or Qu’ran) Holy book of Islam For millions of Moslems (“true believers”), Muhammad’s message constitutes God’s final message to mankind They believe that Muhammad was the greatest and last prophet Their name for him is “The Prophet”

MUHAMMAD AND ALLAH Claims there is only one god and He is Allah Stresses absolute power of Allah above all else Duty of human beings is the worship Him Prayers of Islam are seldom prayers of petition They are mostly prayers of praise Also are formal, memorized prayers Arabic symbol for Allah

FIVE PILLARS OF ISLAM Koran outlines simple and straight-forward guide of conduct Stresses monotheistic worship of Allah Prayer five times a day Paradise for true believers and hellfire for infidels Fasting from dawn until dusk during holiday of Ramadan Insists on at least one pilgrimage per lifetime to Mecca to visit the Kaaba Moslem mosque with minarets

THE FINAL PROPHET Islam recognizes Abraham, Moses, and Jesus as earlier prophets Who delivered a portion of Allah’s message But it insists Muhammad was the final prophet Allah would ever send to earth And that only he possessed Allah’s ultimate and complete message to mankind

TROUBLE IN MECCA Most people dismissed Muhammad as a crackpot when he began preaching in Mecca But when he began to insist that anyone who did not accept Allah as the only god, the merchant elite who ruled Mecca turned on him Because the worship of idols at the Kaaba attracted many pilgrims to Mecca who spent lots of money They appear to have plotted to kill Muhammad to shut him up

HEGIRA Muhammad learned of murder plot and escaped to nearby city of Medina Flight known as The Hegira Represented major turning point in Muhammad’s life Found a more receptive audience in Medina and quickly converted the entire city to his new creed Organized converts into the Umma A community of true believers that transcended old bonds of clan, tribe, or city A kind of super tribe, open to all who accepted Muhammad’s message, that unified Arabs into a single unit

MUHAMMAD TRIUMPHANT Muhammad used his control of Medina to attack Mecca by cutting off all caravan routes into the city Once he had weakened the city sufficiently, he attacked it and took it over in 629 AD During the three years that separated this event from Muhammad’s death (632 AD), Islam became a major force in the Arabian peninsula

SUCCESS OF ISLAM I Simple straight-forward, easy-to-understand creed Promised an afterlife of sensuous delights to the faithful and eternal damnation to nonbelievers Muhammad also preached that his message be spread by any means necessary Even war Led to holy wars (jihads) as converted Bedouins raided their still pagan neighbors Spoils split between Bedouins and Moslem leadership

SUCCESS OF ISLAM II Christians and Jews in Islamic territory had to pay special tax Split between all members of the Umma Desire to continue old Bedouin custom of warfare combined with the chance to enrich oneself through the spread of Islam played a role in the growing popularity of Islam in Arabia

THE FIRST CALIPH Muhammad died without naming a successor Followers in Mecca picked Abu Bakr as his successor (or “caliph”) Old merchant friend of Muhammad who was one of the first to convert to Islam But many Bedouin tribes believed Muhammad’s death freed them of all obligations and broke from Umma Abu Bakr launched “war of reconversion” to get them back Loyal Moslems attacked defectors and brought them back into line

EXPANSION Long-term survival required continued expansion But the Koran prohibited Moslems from raiding other Moslems But raiding was a traditional part of the Bedouin lifestyle Only way to keep Bedouins in loyal was to lead them in new military campaigns against non-Moslems

CREATION OF AN ARAB EMPIRE Umar Ummayads Abu Bakr Under Abu Bakr, Moslems reconquered and reconverted entire Arabian peninsula Tried to take Constantinople but failed Did reduce Byzantine Empire to a small state Under next caliph, Umar, Arab armies conquered Iran, Syria, Egypt, Iraq, and part of Asia Minor

ALI Disputes arose within the Umma between rich and poor over how to divide up wealth from empire Resulted in election of Ali as fourth caliph Nephew of Muhammad Champion of the poor Moved capital to Iraq Murdered on orders of Umayyad family in 661 Wealthy Meccan family

SHI’ITES Memory of Ali, the “last rightly guided caliph” lived on among the poor of Iran and Iraq Gave birth later to the belief that leadership of the Islamic world could come from the direct descendants of Ali Adherents to this belief developed into a religious sect within Islam known as the Shi’ites Also developed fundamentalist religious interpretation of Koran Shi’ite shrine in Iran

UMMAYAD DYNASTY After death of Ali, Ummayad family monopolized position of caliph for next 100 years Established a dynasty Moved capital to Damascus Under them, Arab armies conquered Central Asia, entire coast of North Africa, and Spain Stopped in southern France at Battle of Tours Overthrown in 750 by alliance of various groups unhappy with their rule Family of Muhammad’s paternal uncle, Abbas, established as new dynasty Abbasid Dynasty (750-1258)

ARAB EMPIRE UNDER THE ABBASIDS

ABBASID DYNASTY Abbasids built new capital in Mesopotamia Baghdad Had long-term problem of holding huge empire together Pieces broke off to become independent Islamic states Egypt and Spain New invaders grabbed off territory Seljuk Turks took Mediterranean Middle East Berbers took most of North Africa

END OF THE ROAD Power and territory of Abbasid caliphs in Baghdad shrunk to virtually zero by 1200 AD Mongols arrived in 1258, captured Baghdad, killed last Abbasid caliph, and put an end to the Arab Empire

ARAB LEGACY Arabs became preservers and protectors of Persian, Hellenistic, and Roman culture they found in the lands they conquered Collected Persian, Greek, and Roman scientific and philosophical works and translated them into Arabic For example: works of Hippocrates Also picked up number system from India and introduced it to the West Arabic numerals Also perfected use of decimal fractions and invented algebra

ARAB ART Moslem law prohibited the portrayal of the human form in art Arab artists therefore concentrated on the abstract and stressed such elements as geometric shapes and floral patterns Concentrated on the “decorative arts” Ceramics, tile mosaics, textile design, metalworking

ARCHITECTURE AND LITERATURE Arabs were also skillful architects Made important contributions to literature The Arabian Nights Collection of old folktales tied together by common theme The Rubaiyat by Omar Khayyam Book of poems celebrating love and life The Koran itself

SUMMARY Visions of Muhammad led to one of the greatest transformations the world had ever seen Islam forged Arabs into a united people Who went on the conquer more of Asia, Africa, and Europe than any previous empire Arabs ultimately lost control of their empire But their religious and cultural tradition remains an enduring legacy to world civilization