The Rise of Islam (600-1200)
Chapter 8
I. The Origins of Islam
A. The Arabian Peninsula Before Muhammad
-Most of Arabia was small farming villages, fishing villages, and trading centers. There were also
small pastoral tribes.
-Nomads served as guides for trading caravans, providing food, water, and protection. Mainly
incense was transported from the south for manufactured products from the north.
(Mediterranean)
- Camels and the advent of the camel saddle promoted caravan trade and nomads.
- Mecca was a caravan city in between Yemen and Syria in an arid mountain valley. The city had
a spiritual significance (the shrine of Ka’ba, the holy well Zamzam, and a sacred town and a town
surrounding the sites) that made Mecca a popular pilgrimage area.
- Muhammad was born in 570 and grew up as an orphan, and when hegrew up, he heard god
speaking to him and wrote down what god saidto him.
- Muhammad called for all people to submit to the will of god and accept the will of his last
messenger. (Muhammad)
- Followers of him were called Muslims and they followed Islam.
- The religion focused on the good and bad deeds of a person, not their wealth; this led to social
reforms.
B. The Formation of the Umma
- Mecca’s rulers forced Muhammad and his followers to flee to Medina, a agricultural town 215
miles north.
- Muhammad controlled Medina and expelled the Jewish religion, and sent missionaries to spread
Islam.
- In 632, Muhammad died from an illness and Abu Bakr was chosen as his successor. He
preserved the religion of Islam and led Islam’s armies in trying to keep and gather followers.
- The Quran was a written record of Muhammad’s teachings, or the “word of god”
- Fighting and civil wars over who the rightful leader or caliph went on foryears, eventually
splitting the religion in three sections: the Shi’ites, theKharijites, and the Sunnis.
II. The Rise and Fall of the Caliphate
A. The Islamic Conquests (634-711)
- The Arabs started a military campaign under the second caliph of Islam, Umar. They seized
Syria, Egypt, Spain, India, the sub-Saharan, and other middle-eastern areas. They were
successful and stable for about 3 years. Islam was also spread through peaceful trade along the
trade routes in all areas.
B. The Umayyad and Early Abbasid Caliphates (661-850)
- Had the Byzantium’s administrative and government system, and was almost entirely Islamic.
- Their entire army was made up of Arabs.
- Had ambitious projects translating texts written by earlier civilizations.
C. Political Fragmentation (850-1050)
- Rulers had problems maintaining power in such a large empire. News traveled slowly and
military response took a long time, and trade declined.
- People led revolts against the Arabs and Muslims.
- Turks played a role in seating and unseating caliphs, and they dominated Samarra
- Baghdad fell and the Abbasid came under the control of the Buyid.
- Samanid prince patronized learning and literature.
- The south sub-Saharan traders traded salts for gold with the north, until northern traders
realized that they could trade more useful things for a higher value.
- Ghana benefited from this new trade. It was a caravan city kingdom, and it was described as the
city of gold.
- Umayyad Spain developed without large outside influences.
D. Assault from within and Without
- Turkish mamlucks played a role in establishing a stereotype for all Turks.
- Under Turkish rule, Abbasid cities shrank into small pastoral communities.
- There was a gap between urban society and culture, and leaders stayed out of the Shi’ite and
Sunni fighting.
- Baghdad was destroyed by civil unrest and natural disasters. Its canal system then collapsed
and left the city in ruins.
- Christian Crusades started in 1099 and the first one captured Jerusalem. However these
crusades had little lasting impact overall in the area.
- Mongol invasions shocked people because of the intensity.
III. Islamic Civilization
A. Law and Dogma
- Islam had no legal system when Muhammad was the ruler, so the people went based on the
Quran and Arabic culture and customs.
- Laws and political system developed slowly and Muslim scholars studied reports called hadith,
or the exact words and deeds of Muhammad.
- People had a hard time following the hadiths because some were forged and made up.
- Muslim rulers were expected to abide by and follow religious law
B. Converts and Cities
- Conversion to Islam not only helped to lift the religious tax, but also encouraged urbanization.
Conversion also required no knowledge of the faith, only a pledge to god and Muhammad.
- Most converts were illiterate and knew very little about the religion.
- Conversion also sometimes required migration to an Arabic governing center.
- Trade, science, and culture flourished do to urbanization.
C. Islam, Women, and Slaves
- Women were often secluded and rarely ever traveled. Most women were illiterate and were
banned from public life. They had a large influence over the family, but they still had no public
appearance. Women slaves were the only ones allowed to perform in front of men as dancers
and musicians and men were allowed to marry up to four wives and have as many sexual
encounters with slaves as they wanted to.
- Islam law gave women better status then Christianity and Buddhismdid. Women had basic
rights and were allowed to divorce and go onpilgrimages. They also could own land and property.
- Islam had nothing against slavery, but they could not enslave other Muslims, Christians, Jews,
or Zoroastrians