1. The Muslim World

2. Roots of Islam Bedouins in Arabia Sasanid Empire, 224-651 Control
Zoroastrianism
Silk Road
Desert-dwelling clans
Valued courage, loyalty to family and warrior skills
Confronted Arab pastoralists for control of Iran/Mesopotamia area
Zoroastrianism was official religion—persecuted Christians (Byzantine Empire???)
Benefited from location along the Silk Road

4. Arabian Peninsula before Muhammad
Settled people
Nomads rare, but important
Crossroads of Trade and Ideas
Linked areas
Center of Trade Routes
Mecca—Ka’ba
Polytheistic, worshipped natural forces
Caravan trade linked Yemen to Meso. and Mediterranean
Contact between Byzantine and Sassanid Empires
The Arabian Peninsula was in the center of trade routes between Europe and Asia
Mecca (caravan city) became an important worship center for many religions (also a cult center where nomads worshipped idols in a small shrine called Ka’ba

6. Muhammad Born in 570 Caravan trader In 610, revelations Qur’an
in Mecca—orphan
he received revelations that he concluded were the words of one god, Allah

7. Five Pillars of Islam Faith Prayer Zakat Fasting Hajj Beliefs of Islam
Belief in Allah – obedience to him
Communion with Allah five times a day
Alms – Charity – helping out the poor
During the month of
Ramadan
Pilgrimage to Mecca

9. Spread of Islam under Muhammad
Flight from Mecca to Medina in 622
The umma
Mecca under Muslim control by 630 CE
Died unexpectedly
in 632 at age of 62.
Muhammad and followers fled from Mecca to Medina in 622 because it was more tolerant
Formed a single community of believers, the umma
Muhammad determined to bring Mecca under Muslim control. Does so by 630 CE
Died unexpectedly in 632 at age of 62.

10. Spread of Islam under Muhammad

11. Islam Spreads Caliph (successor) Four caliphs
By 750, the Muslim empire stretched from the Atlantic Ocean to the Indus River
After Muhammad died the leadership was taken over by a caliph
The succeeding four caliphs, established Muslim dominance over the region and expanded Muslim influence
Following the death of the Prophet Muhammad in 632, the development of a political structure for ruling the new Muslim state led to the institution of the caliphate, a government which came to serve as both the political and religious center of Islam. In the centuries following Muhammad's death, the caliphate grew in power and territory, conquering the lands of the Fertile Crescent to the north.
Following the revelation of the Quran to the Prophet Mohammad, the new faith of Islam spread rapidly among the Arab tribes surrounding Mecca and Medina. It is said that at first the Prophet dispensed both justice and finances from the courtyard of his home, but such hands-on governing soon proved inadequate to meet the needs of the growing Muslim state.
Muhammad died in 632 without naming a successor. His daughter Fatima had married Ali, the son of Abu Talib, one of Muhammad's closest friends. Some Muslims held that Ali should have been the rightful successor to the Prophet because he had the closest family connections, yet he was not immediately chosen. Instead, three leaders who had all been close to Muhammad during his lifetime served as leaders of the ummah, or community of believers. All three were seen as good rulers who followed and promoted the Sunnah, or teachings, of Muhammad.

12. The Four Caliphs Abu Bakr (632-634)—father-in-law of Muhammad
Umar ( )—father-in-law of Muhammad
Uthman ( )—climate of discontent, one definitive text
Ali ( )—emerged triumphant through civil war (Battle of the Camel)
The first Muslim leader after the death of the Prophet was Abu Bakr, his best friend and a wealthy, powerful man in his own right. Abu Bakr ruled from 632 to 634 CE, and he called himself the khalifa rasul Allah, or "successor to the Messenger of God." Successive Muslim rulers came to call themselves caliphs, the successors of the Prophet.
Abu Bakr was immediately faced with rebellious tribes who reneged on their treaty obligations after the death of Muhammad and refused to pay the zakat tax, which they saw as tribute. Knowing he had to stave off this crippling loss of revenue, Abu Bakr used the Muslim armies to quell the rebellious tribes and keep the young state together.
The second caliph, Umar ( CE), was an unpretentious, ascetic man who worked to ensure the continuation of the new Muslim government. Umar made peace with the formerly rebellious tribes, and enlisted them in the Muslim armies which continued their systematic conquest of territories to the north and west. In order to keep discipline within his armies, Umar built new garrison towns for them where they would not be corrupted by the people of the settled towns.
Umar was assassinated in 644 CE, but he had already convened a shura (council) of six elders to choose his successor, and they chose Uthman from the Umayyad clan. Uthman ruled until 656, and is notable for continuing the territorial conquests of Egypt, Iraq, and Syria, and refining the administration of the caliphate. He also decided that only one version of the Quran could be authoritative, and he ordered all others burned. Uthman was criticized for his nepotism, but by appointing relatives to positions of power, he used family ties as a means to political control. His cousin Mu'awiyah, in particular, served well as the provincial governor of Syria.
Yet the size and administrative problems of the caliphate, and the political complexities of ruling the ummah, continued to grow as the Muslims continued to conquer more territory. Even before Umar's assassination, the Arabs had already conquered all the lands adjacent to the Arabian Peninsula. Out in the garrisoned border towns, the reduced opportunities for plunder had created idleness and dissent, and rebels began to plot against the central government. Against a backdrop of Uthman's murder by a small group of Egyptian rebels, Ali finally ascended to power and became the fourth caliph.
Ali is known as the last of the "Rightly-Guided Caliphs." Taking power in 656 CE, Ali left Medina and ruled from Kufah, in Iraq. His new reign was immediately attacked by two groups. Muhammad's wife Aisha formed a coalition which sought to have Ali replaced. Her army fought the caliph's army, but could not defeat it.

13. This map shows the extensive expansion of the Muslim world and its influence from the 7th century through end of the 12th century.
Muslim World, 1200
Copyright © McDougal Littell. All Rights Reserved.

14. Umayyads succeed the fourth caliph (Ali)
Muslim Empire Splits
Umayyads succeed the fourth caliph (Ali)
Sunni
Shi’a
Sufi
THE SPLIT
Move the capital to Damascus
Surround themselves with riches and power
Followed the leadership of the Umayyads
Believed that the caliph needed to be a relative of the Prophet
Were disappointed with the Umayyads pursuit of wealth and prescribed to a life of poverty and spiritual growth
Upon Ali's death, Mu'awiya became the undisputed caliph and he moved the seat of the caliphate to Damascus, a center of trade and learning far from the tribal conflicts in Medina. Mu'awiyah was an able ruler; Umar himself had called him the "Caesar of the Arabs." He expanded the role of government, adopted many administrative and bureaucratic practices of the Byzantine Empire, and accepted many non-Muslims as administrators and soldiers.
But Mu'awiyah was from the Umayyad clan, not the Hashemite clan of the Prophet. Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman, and Ali were Hashemites, all known to have been friends and associates of the Prophet. In Muslim history, the period when these first four caliphs ruled is viewed as a Golden Age, known as the era of the Rashidun, or "Rightly-Guided Caliphs." After the assassination of Ali, however, the link to the original builders of the Muslim state was broken and people began to wonder: who was the rightful successor to the Prophet?
It should be noted that during the reign of Mu'awiyah, the two main strains of Islam, today known as Sunni and Shi'i, did not exist. The religion of Islam—as opposed to the Umayyad political entity—was a unified whole. The supporters of Ali viewed Mu'awiya as a usurper since they believed that only members of Muhammad's family should rule the ummah.
The disagreement grew more pointed when Mu'awiyah appointted his son Yazid as his successor. In one stroke he resoundingly rejected the claims of the early Shi'i, and stamped the caliphate as a hereditary institution for centuries to come. Many of the Shi'i refused to acknowledge Yazid as caliph, most notably Ali's son Husayn, the grandson of the Prophet. Husayn was encouraged to lead a rebel movement against him, but most people did not support Husayn's revolt. He and his army were destroyed in battle at Karbala in Iraq in 680.
The result of the deaths of Ali and Husayn was that their supporters vowed never to accept the Umayyad dynasty as the legitimate rulers of Muslims. In time, this political disagreement widened into the Sunni-Shi'i religious split we know today. The group who supported Ali for caliph became known as the shiat-u-Ali, or "the partisans of Ali." Today we call their descendents Shi'i. The Sunni have come to believe in a separation of religion and statecraft, while the Shi'i strain of Islam believes that only the descendents of Ali can be imams, or prayer leaders.

15. Umayyid (661-750) Land Conquests
The rapid expansion of Islam in a relatively short span of time testifies to the Arabs' superior fighting skills, religious zeal, economic ambition, as well as to their enemies' weakness. Plague, famine, and political troubles in Sasanid Persia contributed to Muslim victory there.

16. Downfall of the Umayyid
Arab empire
Rebellions
Huge class differences
Internal power struggles—the Abbasids
Spain
Governed an Arab empire, not a Muslim one
Rebellions of local people opposed to discrimination at the hands of the Umayyids
Huge class differences between rich and poor
Internal power struggles leads to several coups. Splinter group, the Abbasids, overthrow Umayyid and promise to return to religion over race
Hold on to power in Spain
A succession of Umayyad caliphs oversaw the expansion of the Muslim Empire. Although unable to defeat Byzantium, their greatest goal, the Muslims extended their rule eastward into Persia and Pakistan, and westward through North Africa and onto the Iberian Peninsula. Eventually, Muslim armies entered into southern France, where they were ultimately defeated by Charles Martel at the Battle of Tours in 732, only a century after the Prophet's death.
In Damascus, the caliphs Umar II and Hisham made changes to taxation and the treatment of non-Muslims which increased the stability of the state. But the slowdown of conquests made the Arabs, the heart of the army, restive, while the running of the empire was more and more in the hands of non-Arab non-Muslims who were themselves disaffected with the Umayyad rule.

17. Abbasids Give it a Shot Moved capital to Baghdad
Literature and learning flourished.
Power began to decline
Local revolts
Mamluks revolt
Buyids
Various regional groups came to power
Moved capital from Damascus to Baghdad to lessen the influence of Persia/Arabs
For a time, literature and learning flourished. Conversion of new Muslims grew
By 2nd half of 9th century, power began to decline
Local revolts led to carved up territory
Mamluks revolt
Buyids take control in Baghdad (945)
As Abbasids declined, various regional groups came to power
Meanwhile, Shi'i separatists had established power at Khurusan in eastern Persia. They were called Abbasids because they traced their descent from Abbas, an uncle of Mohammad. The Abbasids saw the unrest in the Umayyad lands as an opportunity, and in 747, Abu Muslim began a revolt in Khyurusan. It quickly spread throughout the Middle East, and Abu Muslim's army defeated the Umayyads in 750 CE. Abu Muslim pursued and killed every Umayyad noble except Abd al-Rahman I. He alone escaped to North Africe, and despite many setbacks, he arrived in southern Spain. There he founded the Umayyad dynasty of Cordoba which lasted nearly five hundred years and produced a great flowering of the arts, science, and culture.
Abu al-Abbas was proclaimed the first Abbasid caliph in 749 CE, and he ruled from Kufah in Iraq. His brother Abu Ja'far al-Mansur succeeded him and commenced the building of Baghdad in 762, a huge public works project that employed thousands of people for many years. Several revolts by Shi'i and Persian groups were unsuccessful. In 786, Haroun al-Rashid became caliph and was succeeded in turn by his son Mamun.
Muslim culture under the Abbasid Dynasty achieved its highest attainments in the arts, literature, and sciences, but especially in the systematic study and consolidation of Muslim theories concerning law and theology. Baghdad became an important center of trade, culture and learning. Much of the ancient and discovered knowledge of the Abbasid culture was transmitted, not only to the Muslim lands nearby, but as far as the libraries and universtities in far-off Cordoba. Three centuries later, that knowledge would become part of the intellectual foundation that sparked the rise of the Renaissance in Italy.

18. Rise and Fall of the Abbasid Caliphate
Though Abbasid rulers occupied the caliphal seat in Iraq from 750 to 1258, when Mongol armies destroyed Baghdad, real political power waned sharply and steadily after 850. Nevertheless, the idea of the caliphate remained central to Sunni Muslim political theory. The rival caliphates of the Fatimids ( ) and Spanish Umayyads ( ) were comparatively short-lived.
Rise and Fall of the Abbasid Caliphate
Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All Rights Reserved.

19. Major Powers Umayyad Abbasids
Lost control of the empire in 750, but set up control of Muslim lands in Spain
Abbasids
Took over the empire from the Umayyad Dynasty, Fatimid
An off-shoot of the Abbasids, they controlled most of North Africa and Western Arabia

20. Muslim Conquests