Chapter 6 Study Guide
The First Global Civilization: The Rise and Spread of Islam
Intro
1) Describe the several roles that followers of Islam will play in the emerging Post-Classical era.
Desert and Town: The Arabian World and the Birth of Islam
2) Describe the characteristics of life in the Arabian desert versus life in the towns.
Clan Identity, Clan Rivalries, and the Cycle of Vengeance
3) Describe both the political and social hierarchies of Bedouin society. What was the justification for these
divisions?
Towns and Long-Distance Trading
4) What are the significant characteristics of Mecca and Medina that made them central to Bedouin life?
Marriage and Family in Pre-Islamic Arabia
5) Provide 5 examples of ways in which Bedouin women had greater freedoms/opportunities than women in most
other societies at the time.
Poets and Neglected Gods
6) Describe early Bedouin religion and art. What seems most noteworthy/unique? Why?
From Mr. Ackerman PFHS
The Life of Muhammad and the Genesis of Islam
7) How does Muhammad’s early life prepare him for future political and spiritual leadership amongst the Bedouin
tribes?
Persecution, Flight, and Victory
8) Why did Muhammad’s divine revelation cause so much controversy and conflict in Mecca? Why did he receive a
different reception from the people of Yathrib (Medina)?
Arabs and Islam
9) What characteristics of Islam allow it to successfully begin to unite the Arab peoples? Are all people in the Arabian
peninsula treated the same way by this new religion?
Universal Elements in Islam
10) What aspects of Islam allow it to be successfully received by non-Arabs (particularly by members of more
established monotheistic religions)?
11) What were the basic teachings of Islam?
Consolidation and Division in the Islamic Community
12) What problems are faced by early Muslims following Muhammad’s death? How are these issues resolved?
From Mr. Ackerman PFHS
Motives for Arab Conquests
13) What are 3 explanations for early Muslim expansion? As they conquer, how do they interact with the non-Muslims
that they encounter?
Weaknesses of the Adversary Empires
14) Write your own analytical question and then answer it.
The Problem of Succession and the Sunni-Shi’a Split
15) What sparked the rift between the two sects of Islam? What theological issues further divide these two groups?
The Umayyad Imperium
16) Describe the geographic extent of the Muslim expansion. Once established, how was this new empire governed?
Converts and “People of the Book”
17) What are the characteristics of groups like the “dhimmi” and “mawali”? How are they treated as subjects of the
Muslim empire?
From Mr. Ackerman PFHS
Family and Gender Roles in the Umayyad Age
18) Describe the rights of men and women in Umayyad society. How do they compare to the earlier Bedouins?
Umayyad Decline and Fall
19) Describe the factors that lead to the demise of the Umayyad? Why are the Abbasids able to fill the void?
Islamic Conversion and Mawali Acceptance
20) Why were the mawali finally accepted as full members of society?
Town and Country: Commerical Boom and Agrarian Expansion
21) How do social and economic characteristics of the Muslim empire begin to change under Abbasid rule?
The First Flowering of Islamic Learning
22) How does Muslim exposure to the great civilizations of the previous era affect their development?
From Mr. Ackerman PFHS