1. Umayyad
Arab conquerors

2. Umayyad Empire stretched from Spain to central Asia
Administrative Reforms
Caliph appointed governors to rule far-flung provinces
Governors ruled from strong garrison towns
Spoils from victories helped finance Umayyad government

4. Instituted a three-level tax system:
1) Muslims: paid zakat
2) Muslim converts, considered mawali, paid higher tax than Muslims
3) Non-Muslims paid highest tax, jizya (security tax)

5. The Down Fall
Many devout Muslims opposed extravagant lifestyles of Umayyad rulers
Persians resented secondary status in Umayyad empire
Abbasids (led by Abbas) of Persia revolted against Damascus
After defeating Umayyad armies, Abbasids took control of Muslim empire

6. Preservers, Islamic flowering
Abbasid
Preservers, Islamic flowering

7. Rise of Abbasid Party
The party traced its descent from Muhammad’s uncle, al-Abbas.
Al-Abbas’ great great grandson, Abu al-Abbas led his forces against the Umayyads.
Shi’a were his allies.
Mawali (Islamic converts) also supported him to gain acceptance in the community of believers.
Captured Umayyad capital in Syria
At “Reconciliation Banquet” al-Abbas slaughtered remaining Umayyad family.

8. Early Abbasid Era
Began to reject Shi’a and Malawi allies…and defended Sunni Islam.
Built a centralized, absolutist imperial order.
New capital: Baghdad “The Round City” (2km in diameter) on Tigris River
Baghdad became the richest city in the world (only Constantinople came close)
Sat on jeweled thrones. Had palaces and harems! Image of elitism was important.
For more than a century, able to collect revenue and preserve law over much of the empire.

9. Islamic Conversion and Mawali Acceptance
Mass conversions to Islam were encouraged throughout the empire.
Most converts were won over peacefully because of appeal of Islamic beliefs and advantages they enjoyed:
- didn’t have to pay head tax
- educational opportunities
- jobs as traders, administrators, judges

10. Economics of Dar al-Islam
Town & Country: Commercial Boom and Agrarian Expansion

11. New Crops & Urban Growth
Several factors led to strong internal economy
Location
Size of empire
Beliefs of Islam
Hajj
View of merchants
“People of the Book”
Muslim merchants formed joint ventures with Christian and Jewish traders.
Because each merchant had a different Sabbath, they could work 7 days/week.
Merchants grew rich supplying cities with goods throughout the empire.

12. New Crops & Urban Growth
Fostered diffusion of crops & technologies
Sugarcane, rice, eggplants, oranges, lemons, limes, bananas, coconuts, watermelons, cotton
Irrigation, fertilization, crop rotation
Impact = more planting seasons, increased food supplies, urban growth, wealthy merchant & landlord class, slave trade
Camel, camel saddle, compass, paper, astrolabe, triangular lateen sail, dhows
Impact = formation of hemispheric trading zone
Much unskilled labor was left to slaves.
Some slaves were able rise to positions of power and gain freedom (like what other empire?)
Huge estates might have slaves, indentured servants or sharecroppers.

13. Hemispheric Trading Zone
Acting as merchants on Silk Roads
Acting as merchants on Trans-Sahara Routes
Acting as merchants on Indian Ocean
Impact: Interconnection b/t Africa, Europe, South Asia, Southeast Asia, China; Improved banking; New business forms that spread risks
Example = Africa

15. The First Flowering of Islamic Learning
Early contributions from Abbasid were great mosques and palaces. Ex: Dome of the Rock
Advances in religious, legal and philosophical discourse.
Science and Math! Abbasid scholars preserved Greek works of medicine, algebra, geometry, astronomy, anatomy, and ethics.
Arabic traders in India carried the Indian number system across Mediter. and into Northern Europe. These number systems became ESSENTIAL to Scientific Revolution in W. Europe.

16. Global Connections: Early Islam & the World
Abbasid Empire was the “go-between” for the ancient civilizations of the Eastern Hemisphere…this role grew as Arab trade networks expanded.
Islam pioneered patterns of organization and thinking that would affect human societies in major ways for centuries.
5 Centuries = Spread of Islam played a dominant role in the Afro-Eurasian World.