Duiker and Speilvogel
Chapter 7: The World of Islam
Muhammad Dies
Caliphate Established
Islam spreads under leadership of Abu Bakr, Umar, and Uthman
Division between Sunni and Shi’a Muslims
Mu’awiya moves capital to Damascus
Syria is center of Muslim Empire from 680-750CE
Abbasids challenge Umayyad Leadership
Abd al-Rahman establishes an
Baghdad is center of Muslim Empire
Umayyad state in Spain
from 750-1258CE
Numerous achievements made in
Muslim Empire reaches “Golden Age”
science and the arts
Ferdinand and Isabella force Muslim
Seljuqs and Fatimids challenge
leaders out of Spain “Reconquista”
Abbasid leadership
The Rise of Islam
 Muhammad born around 570CE-632CE
 Islam=religious and cultural unity for the Middle East
 Bedouins-nomadic Arabs led by Sheikh
 Mecca: important site of Ka’aba: townspeople charged tax to keep
bedouins idols safe
The Role of Muhammad
 Born in Mecca to a merchant family, orphaned early, Muhammad became
a caravan manager and eventually married a wealthy widow named
Khadija.
 Muhammad was a member of the local Hashemite clan of the Quraishi
tribe.
 According to Muhammad, he was visited by the angel Gabriel and
commanded to preach Allah’s message: final revelations
 Qu’ran “recitation”= Muhammad’s revelations that were dictated to
scribes…the holy scriptures of Islam (meaning “submission”)
 Christians and Jews are considered “people of the Book”
 622CE- Muhammad moves from Mecca to Yathrib (Medina:city of the
prophet)
o Hegira/Hijrah 622CE
o First date of the official Muslim calendar
o Converted locals and formed the first Muslim community- the umma
o Returned to Mecca w/ army, Consecrated Ka’aba to Islam
o Muhammad died in 632CE
Teachings of Muhammad
 Monotheistic
 Allah is the all-powerful being who created the universe and everything in
it…believe in hope for salvation and an afterlife


Muhammad not divine, final prophet
Qur’an is a sacred book of Islam and an ethical guidebook and code of
law and political theory combined
 Obey the will of Allah
 “Five Pillars” = basic ethical code
o 1. There is one God, Allah, and Muhammad is his prophet
o 2. Pray five times a day facing Mecca
o 3. Fast from sun-up to sun-down during the month of Ramadan
o 4. Make a pilgrimage to Mecca at least once in your lifetime (if you
have the means)- Hajj
o 5. Giving zakat (alms) to poor and unfortunate (2 ½ % of all you
own)
 Ulama: panel of Muslim scholars
 Shari’ah= law code
 Hadith= a collection of the sayings of the Prophet
 Muslims are forbidden to gamble, eat port, drink alcoholic beverages, or
engage in dishonest behavior.
Arab Empire and Its Successors
 Dilemma after death of Muhammad, who would be the successor?
 Muhammad did not have a male heir: 1 daughter in adulthood- Fatima
 Abu Bakr: Muhammad’s father in law= first caliph
 Caliph= temporal leader of the Islamic community and considered to be a
religious leader (imam)
 Jihad “Striving in the way of the Lord” or “holy war”
Creation of an Empire
 Once unified, the Arabs attacked the weakening Byzantine and Sassanian
(Persian) Empires
o Byzantines defeated on Tarmuk River 636, Entire Sasssanid
Empire was conquered by 650, also Egypt and North Africa
 Islam’s ability to unify the Bedouin tribes very significant
 Muslim warriors who died in battle guaranteed a place in paradise
 Conversion to Islam was not required. Non-Muslims had to pay a tax to
compensate for not participating in the military
 “All were equal in the eyes of Allah”
The Rise of the Umayyads
Muhammad(no male heirs, no named successor)
Abu Bakr- 1st caliph
Umar
Uthman Assassinated
Muhammad Ali- (Muhammad’s cousin and son-in-law) Assassinated
Mu’awiyah- Governor of Syria- Umayyads
 Expansion across North Africa Conquered the Berbers
 710 Arab forces crossed the Strait of Gibraltar and occupied southern
Spain: center in Andalusia



732CE Battle of Tours (or Poitiers) (Charles Martel defeated the Muslim
forces, limiting Arab Expansion into France) Song of Roland
Schism between Sunni and Shi’ite Muslims
The Abbasids
 caliph was advised by a council- headed by prime minister (vizier)
 vast wealth- contributed to financial corruption
 Life of vice and luxury for caliph and other political and economic elites
undermined Islamic values- divorce, harems, alcohol, etc.
The Seljuk Turks
 11th c. – nomadic people from central Asia
 1071 Seljuk Turks attacking Constantinople, emperor asks west for helpbegins 1st Crusade
The Crusades
 Alexius I- called for assistance from Christian states against the Seljuk
Turks
 Crusades 1096-13th century
 1169 Saladin ended Fatamid dynasty and became Sultan of Egypt and
Syria
o Unlike Christians, Saladin didn’t permit massacre of civilian
population and tolerated the continuation of Christian religious
services
 Crusades had nominal impact on Middle East except to unite forces of
Islam vs. foreign invaders
 Mongols- pastoral people from Gobi Desert
o 13th century advances of Genghis Khan
o 1258- Hulegu seized Persia and Mesopotamia- ending caliphate at
Baghdad
The Mongols
 not Muslim
 treatment of local population was brutal and destructive to the economy
 Mongols- Red Sea- held back from Egypt by the Mamluks
 1453 Sultan Mehmet II seized Constantinople and brought an end to the
Byzantine Empire
Islamic Civilization
 trade flourished w/in Muslim World and China, Byzantine Empire, SE Asia
 Exchange of goods was facilitated by the development of banking and the
use of currency and letters of credit
Islamic Society
 Consumer’s Guide to the Ideal Slave- slaves were evaluate not as human
beings but as pieces of merchandise
 In some ways Arab society most egalitarian of its time- principles of Islamall equal in eyes of Allah and trade- no hereditary nobility
 Fellow Muslims could not be enslaved
 Men still dominant, but women could own and inherit property
 Women cloistered in homes (polygyny/ harems)
Culture of Islam
 Arabic= language
 Greco-Roman culture, Byzantine and Persian cultures preserved in
libraries
Philosophy and Science
 “House of Wisdom” in Baghdad
 preserved classical knowledge and made own innovations
 Used Gupta numerals and zero, algebra
 Ibn Sina (980-1037)- medical encyclopedia and emphasized the
contagious nature of certain diseases
Islamic Literature
 Koran as greatest literary work
 Rabe’a of Qozdar- Persia’s first known female poet
 Omar Khayyam: The Tales from 1001 Nights
 Sadi- “the Persian Shakespeare”- wrote Rose Garden
 Proverbs “trust in God, but tie up your camel”, “Lower your voice and
Strengthen your argument”
 Sufiism- form of religious belief that called for a mystical relationship
between Allah and human beings
o 13th c. poet Rumi- became Sufi- he whirled in dance (“whirling
dervish) to reach a trance w/ mesmerizing music where he created
some of his best work
 Great Islamic historian= al-Mas’udi- wrote Meadows of Gold- discussed
the Golden Age of the Abbasid caliphate
 Ibn Khaldun- 14th c. historian and govt. servant- attempted a philosophy of
history
Islamic Art and Architecture
 Use of geometric ornamentation
 Dome of the Rock (691)- proclaimed the spiritual and political legitimacy of
the new religion* in Jerusalem* on top of Muhammad’s holy rock
 Minarets: tower from which muezzin calls the faithful to prayer 5x a day
 9th c. mosque @Cordoba in Southern Spain
 Significant contributions of Islamic art= knotted woolen rug
 Calligraphy- decorative writing
 Arabesques= geometric flowers and patterns
 From the Dome of the Rock- no figurative representations appear in
Islamic religious art.