The Islamic World
The Growth of the Religion
Islam
 How
did a small religion with few followers that
was created in a world that harbored two major
religions flourish?
Islam
 The
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Death of Mohammad
Most of the Arabian world had been converted to
Islam at the time of Mohammad’s death
However Mohammad died unexpectedly someone
needed to take his place
A caliph or a military and religious leader, head of
state, and chief judge and lawmaker was selected to
rule the Muslim Empire
Mohammed selects Ali
Islam

Abu Bakr

One of the first followers
of Mohammad and
Mohammad’s father in
law became the first
caliph
Islam
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The Umayyad Dynasty (661-750 C.E.)
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Moved the capital of Islam out of Mecca and to Damascus
Syria
Mecca still remained the religious center for the religion
Gold and silver became the standard currency
Arabic became the official language of Islam
Conquered people were encouraged to convert
• However they were not required to convert and if they did not they
had to pay a tax
Islam Expansion

Military Conquest
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By the end of the 700’s
the Umayyad had broken
out of the Middle East
and had conquered
• The Persian Empire
• Ruled Iraq, Syria, Egypt,
most of North Africa,
modern day Pakistan,
Spain, parts of Italy and
most importantly Palestine.
Islamic Expansion

Military Conquest
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Several times the Islamic
Empire under the
Umayyads attacked the
Byzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire
was able to hold back the
Muslims and kept eastern
Europe out of the hands
of the Islamic Empire
Islamic Expansion

Military Conquest
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After the Muslims were turned
back by the Byzantine Empire
they turned their attention to
western Europe and Spain
The Muslims advanced
through Spain and into France
The Muslim Empire was
stopped short of Paris by
Charles Martel
The Muslims would control
most of Spain until 1491.
The Umayyad Caliphate
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Success
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The Dome of the Rock was
built in Jerusalem
Expansion of the Islamic
Empire
Problems
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While the empire expanded to
actually overextended itself
and problems arose over
control
Shi’ite and Sunni problems of
who was to control the empire
Class Question
 How
does overexpansion lead to over
overextension?
 What
are some of the symptoms overextension?
 What are some of the empires in history that
overexpanded and have caused problems and
the destruction of those empires.
The Umayyad Caliphate
 Destruction


of the Umayyad Caliphate
The Shi’ite (Shia) begin to assert control over the
Muslim community
In a civil war the supporters of Ali or the Shi’ite
defeated the Umayyad empire and replaced it with
the Abbasid Dynasty
The Abbasid Dynasty
The Abbasid Dynasty
The Abbasid Dynasty
Ruled from 750 C.E. to
1258 C.E.
 Built the capital city in
Baghdad

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Baghdad would become
one of the great cultural
and spiritual centers of
the world
Achieved a Golden Age
The Abbasid Dynasty
 The
Abbasid Dynasty and the Islamic world was
built around trade

Under the Abbasid there were some unique ideas
about trade
• The introduction of credit
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This freed traders from carrying coins and from being robbed
• A system of receipts and bills for goods
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Allowed merchants to control inventory and account for the sale
of goods
The Abbasid Dynasty
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Islamic Advancements

Medicine
• Mohammad al-Razi
publishes medical
encyclopedias unheard of
in the world at this time
• Mathematicians expanded
the knowledge of math
learned in India and this
contributed to the growth
of algebra
The Abbasid Dynasty

Islam Preserves the West
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A significant role that the Muslim and Abbasid Dynasty did
was to preserve western culture
The Arabs did not dismiss the past cultures of the world as
Europeans of the time did
Instead they studied classical writings from
• Greece
• Rome
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They translated the writings of Plato, Aristotle into Arabic
Many ancient writings were translated and preserved in
Muslim libraries
Without the Muslims saving these works many would have
been lost forever
The Abbasid Dynasty
During the Crusades the
classical writings that the
Muslims saved would again
be exchanged between
Muslims and Christians
 The Europeans would
discover their past and this
would lead Europe out of
the Dark Ages an into the
Renaissance

The Abbasid Dynasty
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Islamic Toleration
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While the Islamic Empire tried to convert as many people as
possible, the Islamic Empire and especially under the
Abbasid were often tolerant of local people and customs in
areas that they conquered
This was similar to the Romans
Those who did not covert had to pay a tax
This flexibility of the Islamic Empire and the Islamic religion
helped lead to its rapid growth in many parts of the world
The Abbasid Dynasty
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The Sufis
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Islamic mystics
They stressed a personal
relationship with Allah
Encouraged followers to
practice Islam in their own
ways
This flexibility allowed people
to easily convert or to adapt
Islam to their own religions
The Sufis became excellent
missionaries and actually
converted many to Islam
The Abbasid Dynasty
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Women
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In Arabic society women were seen
as more of property then people
Infanticide was practiced on baby
girls
In Islamic society women were still
subservient to men however they
were equal before Allah
Infanticide was prohibited
Women were highly respected and
protected
However women
• Had to remain veiled in public
• Testimony in court was only given
half its weight
• Had to be loyal to an care for the
males
Class Question
 Something

to ponder
George Carlin once stated
• Patriarchal societies are always preparing for war, going to
war or recovering from war.

Do you think this is true? Why or why not?
The Abbasid Dynasty

The End
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Overextention was a serious problem
• The Muslim Empire had a hard time controlling so many diverse people

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Different languages, customs and ethnic backgrounds
Internal Civil Wars
• Shi’ites and Sunnis were constantly fighting for control of the empire
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Military Threats
• The Crusades and wars with the Byzantine Empire would drain a large
portion of Muslim soldiers and money from the empire and this would allow
for other areas of the empire to break free
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Nomadic Movements
• The Mongols would drive into the heart of the Muslim empire in 1258 C.E.
and destroy the Abbasid Empire. The remaining Muslims would flee to
Egypt and remain powerless until the rise of the Ottoman Empire