1. The First Global Civilization:
The Rise and Spread of Islam
The Umayyads to the Abbasids

2. Introduction
Islam (literally means “submission, the self-surrender of the believer to the will of the one, true God, Allah”)
No single civilization had bound together large portions of the ancient world before
Arabia had been a nomadic backwater in the Middle East but within decades the Muslims had conquered a huge empire.
Islamic civilization was spread by merchants, wandering mystics, and warriors - provided key links and channels for the exchange among the older classical civilizations

4. Clan Identity, Clan Rivalries, and the Cycle of Vengeance
Bedouin herders lived in kin-related clan groups and clans were clustered into larger tribal groupings. Shaykhs are the leaders of the tribes or clans.
Clan cohesion reinforced by fierce interclan rivalries and struggles to control vital pasturelands and watering places.
Battles often ensued, which resulted in weak power status in relation to neighboring peoples and empires.

5. Towns and Long-Distance Trade
Farmers and town dwellers carved out small communities in the western and southern parts of the peninsula during the classical era. Some cities arose as links in the transcontinental trading system.
Mecca was founded by the Umayyad clan of the Quraysh bedouin tribe.
Its status enhanced because it was the site of the Ka’ba, one of the most revered religious shrines in pre-Islamic Arabia.
Yathrib (later called Medina)- established in an Oasis and part of the trading system. However, it was not dominated by one clan like Mecca but by two Bedouin and three Jewish clans.

6. The Life of Muhammad and the Genesis of Islam
Born around 570 CE into prominent clan of the Quraysh tribe, the Banu Hashim
Father died and was raised by father’s relatives. Went with uncle Abu Talib made first caravan journey to Syria, where he met Christians and Jews (this influenced his teachings)
Became a merchant in Mecca. In his travels trading became aware of clan rivalries and the discrepancy between the rich and the poor. Dissatisfied of a life of material gain.
Spread of monotheistic faiths at the time. Many prophets in Arabia.
Goes to meditate and in ca. 610 he received the first of many revelations (his followers believe that the angel Gabriel transmitted them to him). The revelations were later written in the Qur’an.
At first Muhammed had a small following but slowly as his following grew, the Umayyad notables who dominated Meccan life saw him as a threat to their own wealth and power. New faith threatened to supplant the gods of the Ka’ba

7. Muhammed Returns to Mecca
622 goes to Medina, where there is civil strife and Muhammed is called in to help mediate, where he was successful and gained new followers
Umayyad’s angrier at Muhammed’s success because Medina begins to rival Mecca
This leads to battles, which end with a treaty in 628, whereby the Muslims could visit the shrine at Ka’ba in Mecca during the season of truce
629 goes home with about 10,000 followers and gradually wins over the Umayyads

8. Arabs and Islam
Islam initially only adopted by Arab town dwellers and Bedouins
Islam offered the possibility of an end to the vendettas and feuds that had divided the people of Arabia
Umma- community of the faithful
Islam offered an ethical system that helped heal the social rifts in Arabian society
o      Stressed the dignity of all people
o      Soon incorporated into a body of law
Universal elements including monotheism, highly developed legal codes, egalitarianism, and strong sense of community
5 pillars provided basis for religious unity: faith, prayer, fasting, zakat, hajj

9. Arab Empire of the Umayyads
632 Muhammad died suddenly and left no designated successor By 633 Muslim military leaders began to mount expeditions beyond the peninsula
Combination of their skill, neighbor’s weaknesses, and religious mission led to conquering success
Arab world not Islamic yet
Increasing tension over who would be the Caliph- the political and religious successor to Muhammad
o  Ali- cousin and son-in-law of Muhammad
o  Abu Bakr ( ) early followers and closest friend of Muhammad
Ridda wars- brought the return of Arabian tribes to Islamic folds

10. Motives for Arab Conquest
Islam provided unity to Arab warriors
Bedouin warriors drawn to campaigns of expansion by a promise of a share in the booty
No interest in conversion of conquered people

11. Weaknesses of Adversary Empires
Sasanian Empire of Persia vulnerable and Muslim victories led to rapid collapse of the empire
Byzantines harder to defeat but two reasons they could:
o Defection of Arabs on their own frontiers
o Support of Muslim invaders from Christian sects in Syria and Egypt who didn’t like Byzantine rule
By mid- 640s desert Bedouins putting together fleets that could challenge the Byzantine command of the Mediterranean

12. Sunni-Shi’a split
By 656 growing tensions within the community create open violence
Ali ready to defeat Umayyad forces in 657 but accepted a mediation, which would prove fatal
Umayyads regroup and added Egypt back in
660 Mu’awiya (new leader for the Umayyads) proclaimed the caliph directly challenging Ali’s position
1 year later Ali is assassinated
Sunnis- backed the Umayyads, Shi’a- Ali’s supporters
When Ali’s 2nd son, Husayn, was killed in Karbala in 680 Shi’a resistance mounted
Over time there are differences in belief, ritual and law

13. Umayyad Imperium Last ½ of the 7th century renewed conquests
By early 700s ruled an empire that extended from Spain to Central Asia
Political center shifted to Damascus, Syria because that was the place of Uthman’s murder
Built solid bureaucracy
Arab conquest state by nature
Kept Muslim warrior elite in garrison town separated from local population

14. Converts
Attempts to separate the Muslims and non-Muslims couldn’t succeed
Mawali- Muslim converts but not Arab, so they were not afforded any good government positions
Number of conversions low because there was no social/economic benefit to converting
Most people were dhimmi- people of the book

15. Decline and Fall
Early 8th century- Umayyads had alienated those who were Muslim in their territory
By mid-8th century more than 50,000 warriors had married local women and came to resent leadership from Damascus
By 747 a group of warriors, backed by the Abbasid party (lead by Abu al-Abbas) challenged Umayyads
750 Persia and Iraq fell
Battle on River Zab- opened the way for conquest of Syria and the capture of Umayyad capital

16. From Arab to Islamic Empire: The Early Abbasid Era
Abbasids slowly eliminate all enemies, become more righteous about their defense of Sunni Islam, and less tolerant of Shi’a sects. This leads to the building of a centralized, absolutist imperial order.
Moved the capital to Baghdad
Huge and expanded bureaucracy- Symbol of bureaucratization of empire in wazir- chief administrator and head of the caliph’s inner councils

17. Islamic Conversion and Mawali Acceptance
Full integration of new converts, both Arab and non-Arab
Mass conversions encouraged
Appeal of Islamic beliefs
Muslims exempt from paying head tax
More opportunities for schooling and careers
Persians came to dominate

18. Losing Control of the Dynasty
By mid-9th century CE Abbasid dynasty had begun to lose control over empire with rebellious governors and new dynasties to challenge them
Ironically this was a time of creativity and expansion
From 10th-14th century Muslim warriors, traders, and wandering mystics spread Islam, which would play a huge role in the extension and transformation of the Afro-Asian world
Became conduits for exchange of ideas, medicine, inventions, etc.

19. The Islamic Heartlands in the Middle and Late Abbasid Eras
3rd Abbasid caliph- al-Mahdi ( ) already signs of division, Shi’a revolts common, had a life of luxury, failed to fix the problem of succession
Eldest son was poisoned after al-Mahdi’s death
Harun al-Rashid (786 – 809) – most famous of the Abbasid caliphs (only 23 when he ascended the throne)
Luxurious living- evident in Baghdad’s mosques, palaces- immortalized in The Thousand and One Nights
Because of his youth very dependent on Persian advisors, which had consequences later in that the royal court became more important than the caliph
Problem of succession after his death- leads to civil war
Sons of al Ma’mun ( ) (he won the first civil war) armed themselves in anticipation of their fight for successor . The son who won had 4,000 slaves from CAR, which he increased to 70,000. This would be a mistake since they would revolt and kill him and the next 4 caliphs

20. Imperial Breakdown and Agrarian Disorder
Resources drained with constant civil disobedience and the building of extravagant palaces and mosques
This leads to abandonment of many farming peasant villages and agricultural production in the Tigris-Euphrates basin fell into disrepair
Increased Shi’a instigation of uprisings

21. Nomadic Incursions and the Eclipse of Caliphal power
Caliphs too preoccupied with struggles in the capital to control loss of territory on the outskirts of the empire
In 945 armies of regional splinter dynasties- Buyids of Persia- invaded the heartlands and captured Baghdad
Buyids took the title of Sultan
Controlled the caliph and the court but couldn’t prevent the disintegration of the empire
1055 Seljuk Turks (who had provided military assistance earlier in the empire) took over the Buyids
Staunch Sunnis- purged remaining Shi’a officials
Got rid of Byzantine threat

22. Outside Pressure
Crusaders determined to capture portions of the Islamic world that made up the Holy Land of biblical times
crusader’s assault most deadly- captured holy land and divided it into Christian kingdoms - Jerusalem taken in June 1099
Europeans mounted eight Crusades and for two centuries had a hold on the Mediterranean
Salah-ud-Din in last decades of 12th century- strong leader- recaptured most crusader outposts end of crusader influence
Mongols (Chinggis Khan) first raided in the 1220s
1258 (Hulegu- Khan’s grandson) takes Baghdad