Bellwork How did Islam create a sense of unity amongst the believers? Be prepared to talk about it at the beginning of class. The Qur’an was only truly accepted in Arabic, so everyone had to learn Arabic. Everyone had a personal relationship with Allah. The Sunni guided people’s everyday lives, while the Shari’a guided their legal system. The Five Pillars guided the religion and the actions of people throughout their lives. There was no true authority and everyone followed the same code of conduct.

Section 4, Unit 1 Spread of Islam pt. 2 World History Section 4, Unit 1 Spread of Islam pt. 2

Objectives Identify the influence on three continents by the spread of Islam Discuss how Muhammad’s successors spread Islam Examine internal conflicts and how they create a schism in Islam

Review In the last lesson: Who was the Prophet of Islam? What was the Five Pillars of Islam? What city was conquered by the end of the lesson (hint: it has the Ka’aba in it).

Abu-Bakr Muhammad had not named a successor or instructed his followers how to choose one when he died. Relying on an ancient tribal custom, the Muslim community elected Abu-Bakr, a friend of Muhammad and a man respected for his devotion to Islam. In 632 AD, Abu-Bakr became the first caliph– meaning “successor” or “deputy”. Muhammad Abu-Bakr

Caliphs spread Islam Abu-Bakr and the next three elected caliphs– Umar, Uthman, and Ali– all had known Muhammad and supported his mission. They used the Qur’an and Muhammad’s actions as guides of leadership. For this, they are known as the “rightly guided” caliphs. Their rule is referred to as the caliphate.

Spread of Islam Abu-Bakr promised that he would uphold what Muhammad stood for. After Muhammad’s death, some Arabian tribes abandoned Islam. Others refused to pay taxes and a few individuals declared themselves prophets.

Spread of Islam For two years, Abu-Bakr used military force to reassert authority of Muhammad’s successors in the Muslim community. At that time, his troops gained experience and organized themselves into an effective mobile army.

Muslim Empire By the time Abu-Bakr died in 634, the Muslim state controlled all of Arabia. Under the next three caliphs, parts of the Byzantine empire (such as lower Egypt), parts of the Persian Empire, and- by 750- the area from the Atlantic Ocean to the Indus river was conquered by Muslims. The Empire stretched 6,000 miles– almost twice the size of the United States.

Muslim Empire Anything in black is water.

Success The four “rightly guided” caliphs made great progress in their spread of Islam. Muslims of the day saw the victories as Allah’s support of Islam and Muslims drew on this energy and inspiration to struggle and defend Islam.

How did the Caliphs Succeed? Historians have identified several reasons why the Muslims were so successful in such a short period of time: Muslim militaries were well disciplined– they had unusual tactics that made opposing forces unable to stop them. Byzantine and Persia were too weak at the time to prevent the spread The people of the conquered areas welcomed the Muslims because the Byzantine empire and Persian empires persecuted anyone who did not believe in the official state religions– Christianity and Zoroastrianism, respectively.

Treatment of Conquered Peoples Many conquered peoples chose to accept Islam. They were attracted by the appeal of the message of Islam as well as the benefit for Muslims not having to pay a poll tax– i.e. a personal tax. Those who did not choose to follow Islam did, however, have to pay a tax– called the Jizya– as a fee in exchange for being allowed to practice one’s own faith.

Conversion The Qur’an forbade forced conversion. Muslims therefore allowed conquered peoples to retain their own religion. As well, Christians and Jews received special attention due to the closeness of their beliefs to Islam.

Conversion Christians and Jews had to pay a poll tax for exception from military duty had were subject to various restrictions on their lives. However, Christians and Jews- while not being allow to spread their religion- did play important roles as officials, scholars, and bureaucrats in the Muslim state. Question: Why does treating conquered peoples well prove to be a very successful tactic when conquering new lands? Have we seen any other groups treating conquered peoples well? Romans (assimilated Greek culture), the Kushites (assimilated Egyptian culture), Alexander the Great (set the foundation for Hellenstic culture)– all treated many of those they conquered quite well.

Internal Conflicts Arise Despite the gains on the battlefield, the Muslim community did have difficulty maintaining a unified rule. In 656, Uthman– the third caliph- was murdered. When he died, a civil war broke out with individual’s vying for power.

Ali Ali, who was Muhammad’s cousin and son-in-law, became successor to Uthman. However, his right to rule was challenged by Muawiya, the governor of Syria. In 661, Ali was assassinated– and with him went the elective system of choosing a caliph.

Umayyads A family known as the Umayyads (oo-mai-yadz) came to power. They set up a hereditary system of succession. The Umayyads also made another important change– the Muslim capital was moved to Damascus, a distant city in the conquered province of Syria.

Damascus This location was far away from Mecca and, while it did make controlling the territories easier, it made Arab Muslims feel that it was too far away from their lands. Black dot– Mecca “A”-- Damascus

Schism The Umayyads as well abandoned the simple life of previous caliphs and instead surrounded themselves with wealth and ceremony similar to that of non-Muslim rulers. Such wealth, exuberance, and leadership issues gave rise to a fundamental division within the Muslim community.

Schism In the interest of peace, the majority of Muslims accepted the Umayyad’s rule. A minority, however, continue to resist and around some of these groups, an alternate view of the office of the caliph developed.

Shi’a In this groups view, the caliph– the person who is most responsible for spreading Muhammad’s message- should be related to Muhammad. This group was called the Shi’a, meaning “party” of Ali.

Sunni Those who did not outwardly resist the Umayyads became known as the Sunni. Sunni means “followers of Muhammad’s example”.

Sufi Another group, the Sufi, reacted to the luxurious life of the Umayyads by pursuing a life of poverty and devotion to a spiritual path. They tried to achieve direct personal contact with God through mystical means, such as meditation. The Sufis played an important role in keeping Muslim’s focused on the Qur’an and tradition.

Question What ultimately caused the schism in Islamic belief? There were two causes: Who should become the caliph– a relative of Muhammad or not? What kind of lifestyle should they be living– luxurious or modest? This schism in Islam continues to today with continued conflicts between the Sunni’s (who make up the majority of Muslims) and the Shi’a (who are the minority).

Abbasids Vigorous religious and political opposition to the Umayyad caliphate led to it’s downfall. Rebel groups overthrew the Umayyads in the year 750. In it’s place, the Abbasids took control of the empire.

Fall of the Umayyads When the Abbasids came to power in 750, they murdered the remaining members of the Umayyad family. Only one family member escaped and fled to Spain. Spain had already been conquered by a Muslim group called the Berbers. There, the Umayyad prince Abd al-Rahman formed the Umayyad Dynasty.

Abbasids The Abbasids strength lay in the former Persian lands, including present day Iraq, Iran, and central Asia. To solidify power they moved the capital of the empire to the newly formed city, Baghdad, in southern Iraq. The location was along key trade routes and gave the caliphs access to trade goods, gold, and information about parts of the empire in Asia, Africa, and Europe.

Abbasids (cont.) The Abbasids developed a strong bureaucracy to conduct the huge empire’s affairs. A treasure kept track of the money flow. A chancery prepared letters and documents. A special department managed the business of the army. Diplomats from the empire visited many other empires in Europe, Africa, and Asia. To support the bureaucracy, the Abbasids taxed land, imports, exports, and non-Muslim’s wealth.

Empire

Division of Lands The Abbasid empire lasted from 750-1258. During that time, the Abbasids increased their authority by consulting religious leaders. However, they failed to keep complete control over the immense territory and, therefore, independent Muslim states sprang up and local leaders came to dominate these smaller regions.

Fatimid Dynasty For example, the Fatimid Dynasty– named after Muhammad’s daughter Fatima- began in North African and spread across the Red Sea to western Arabia and Syria. Although politically divided, the Abbasid Empire and the smaller powers remained unified in other ways, such as by religion, language, trade, and their tied economies.

Trade The two major sea-trading zones– Mediterranean Sea and the Indian Ocean– linked the Muslim Empire into a world of trade by sea. The land network created by the Silk Roads connected them with China, India, Europe, and Africa. Muslim merchants needed only one language, Arabic, and a single currency, the dinar, to travel across the lands.

Trading Networks

Flow of Trade To encourage trade, Muslim money changers set up banks in cities throughout the empire, called sakks to merchants. A merchant with a sakk from a bank in Baghdad could exchange it for cash at a bank in any other major city in the empire. In Europe, the word “sakk” was pronounced “check”– the practice of using checks dates back to the Muslim Empire.

Muslim Achievement In part due to (1) the population of the empire and (2) the mix of Christians, Jews, and Muslims, the Muslim empire would create a cosmopolitan atmosphere that would attract the highly educated, much like Alexandria before it.

Muslim Achievement Centers of Muslim learning, such as Cordoba in Spain, became centers of Muslim culture and boasted libraries, mosques, and free schools. Thanks to the blending of cultures in the Muslim Empire, the people of the empire would fuel a period of immense achievement in the arts and sciences that would continue to effect the world for thousands of years.

Questions If you have any questions, please ask now.

Review Why was there a schism in Islam between the Sunni and the Shi’a? Who were the Sufi and what did they do to further their belief in Islam? Why did the Empire move to Damascus? Why did it then move to Baghdad? Describe the benefits to the empire of both moves? What were the three reasons the “rightly guided” caliphs were so successful at spreading Islam? Why didn’t Muslims attempt to convert conquered peoples? Do you think that if they had forcefully converted people, they would have had a harder time conquering new lands?

Next lesson In the next lesson, we are going to discuss Muslim lifestyle and achievements.