Ch 6

 Arabian Peninsula Desert Region Home of Islam Nomadic backwater people  Traveled from Oasis to Oasis People were tribe/ clan focused  Resulted in feuds Were polytheistic but had no religious moral code

Main town centers-Mecca & Medina  Mecca housed Ka’ba and was a center for trade  Ran by Umayyad clan of Quraysh tribe People  Women had greater freedom (lineage through women)  Males were polygamist and women could have multiple partners  Status earned through warfare  Tribes led by Shayks

Religion was not strict Gods were neglected Quraysh tribe was monotheistic and believed in one god, Allah.  Muhammad’s tribe

 Born to the Quraysh tribe Both parents died  Raised by uncle (Abu Talib) and grandfather Family was fairly wealthy  Was exposed to Christianity/ Judaism

 Eventually moved to Mecca  Became a merchant and worked under Khadijah  Became disillusioned with life as a merchant

 Problems with way of life Inequality among classes Class Rivalries Inter-clan tension  Extremely wealthy Umayyads Problems with polytheistic religions

 Muhammad had his first revelation from Gabriel in 610 AD Believed his visions were the fulfillment/ clarification of other prophets Did not write visions down. Wives wrote them in the Qur'an and recorded the hadiths (traditions of the prophet)

 Came up with 5 pillars Confession  No god but Allah and Muhammad is his prophet- La illaha illalah; Muhamador-rasul-allah. Pray five times a day facing Mecca Fast during Ramadan Zakat- Tithe for the poor Hajj- pilgrimage to Ka’ba to worship Allah

 Originally had only a few followers Seen as a threat to Mecca and Umayyad wealth and power Snuck away to Medina  Mediated clan disputes (wise political leader) Umayyad attacked but were defeated  converts destroy the idols in Ka’ba  Mecca converts Muhammad dies in 632 AD  Caused major problems (Sunni and Shi’ite split)

 Arab Converts Universal monotheistic religion No Priest “Ended feuds and vendetta killings” Religious Ethics  Zakat- charity for the poor and no overtaxing poor  Regulate life for Judgment Day

 Non-Arab Converts Strict Monotheism Developed legal codes “Egalitarianism” Strong sense of community Accepted older teachings- Islam just improves it

 Started with disagreement over a Caliph Ali: Muhammad’s son-in-law (too young) Abu Bakr ( ): Friend of Muhammad  Defeated rival prophets- Ridda Wars  Unified Arab Peninsula and invaded Byzantium and Persia Used war to unify people Raiding to gain wealth (taxes)

 Sunni vs. Shi’ite Sunni- Backed Umayyads (Abu Bakr), Caliph is chosen by dominant clan Shi’ite- Backed Ali, Caliph is descendant of Muhammad Exploded when Uthman (3 rd Caliph) was murdered  Ali was proclaimed caliph

Ali was a famous warrior and was winning at the Battle of Siffin  Lost support by talking out the rest of the battle  Was otherthrown  Assassinated in 661 AD  Mu’awiya was put in as new Caliph in 660 AD

 Umayad Imperium Conquest during 7 th century From India to Spain Blocked by Charles Martel in 732 AD Moved political center to Damascus  Arab/ Muslim aristocracy  Strong bureaucracy

 Converts Non-Arab Muslim converts were called mawali  Still had to pay property taxes Non-believers paid Jizya (head tax) Christians and Jews were called dhimmi (people of the book)

 Decline Became very focused on luxury Stopped fighting wars Merv- warriors were suppose to be separated  Also never got treasure from conquest  Revolted and joined the Abbasid party (Muhammad’s uncle al-Abbas)  Formed alliances with other dissenters  Mawali (non-Arab converts) also joined the cause

750 AD Abbasid forces defeated Umayyad forces in the Battle on the River Zab  Resulted in a massacre of the Umayyad clan at a peace banquet.  Hunted the rest of the family down

 Named after Abu al-Abbasid Expanded bureaucracy  Wazir and Royal Executioner  Helped control empire Pushed for conversion and Mawali acceptance  Mawali were exempt from head tax  Given same treatment as Arab Muslims Stopped dividing booty

 Commercial expansion Heavily involved in trade  Indian numerals became Arabic numerals Guilds were formed Luxury goods created for wealthy Slave labor- mining/ farming  Could earn freedom Ships called dhows “1 st global civilization”

 Cultural Mosque Schools Bath houses Hospitals Arabic  Unified language, language of Qur'an Art  Could not use images of people or animals  Geometric designs and flowers  1001 Arabian Nights Preserved classical works and architecture