 What
are the major beliefs
of Islam?
 What were the political,
economic, and social
effects of the spread of
Islamic culture?
In the 5th century, warfare between the
Byzantine and Persian Empires interrupted
trade routes from East Asia.
Trade from India and China shifted to sea routes
connecting India with Arabia and the Red Sea.
Cities and towns grew up near wells along the
caravan routes that carried goods across the
Arabian peninsula
Mecca was one of the most important of these
cities.
 Founded
in the 7th century (A.D. 600s)
 By Mohammed



Born in 570 A.D.
A merchant and shepherd in Mecca
Had a vision in which he was told to convert Arab
tribes to believe in a single God, Allah (same God
worshipped by Jews and Christians)
 Islam
is the Arabic word for “submission”
 Within 100 years, it grew to control an area
larger than the Roman Empire
Complete
your religions chart by
adding Islam
 Major
beliefs – one God, the Five Pillars
(confession of faith, prayer, charity, fasting,
pilgrimage)
 Holy book – Quran (Koran)
 Holy places – Mecca, Jerusalem, and their
place of worship the mosque
 Islam
united the various Arab tribes
with a common language (Arabic) and
religion
 Arabs set out on a “holy war” or Jihad
against non-believers. (about the same
time the Byzantines and Persians were
weakened from centuries of fighting
each other)
 Created an empire from the Indus
valley into North Africa and Eastern
Europe and Spain
 Caliph
– “successor to Mohammed”
 After Mohammed died, new caliphs were
chosen by a group of Muslim leaders
 Division arose over who caliphs should be


Sunnis – followed the elected caliph
Shiites – decided only descendants of Mohammed
could be caliph
 The
first true caliphate, The Umayyads,
moved the capital to Damascus (Syria)
 The Abbasids took over the caliphate in 750
A.D., moved the capital to Baghdad (Iraq),
and focused on trade instead of war.
 Caliphs
converted or enslaved people
worshipping many gods
 Jews and Christians were treated with
respect
 Non-Arabs had fewer rights at first, but
eventually all Muslims were equal
 Jews and Christians had too pay a special tax
and could not hold most offices
 On
the map provided, draw the boundaries
for the spread of Islam (632-750) as found on
page 197 in your text book.
 Create a key showing the Islamic territory in
632, and expansions (632-661, 661-750) and
the Byzantine Empire in 750
A
period of great advances in culture and
technology
 Absorbed the cultural achievements of the
Greeks, Romans, Persians, Jews, and Byzantines
 Controlled vast trading areas and served as a
crossroads for trade (China and India <-> Eastern
Mediterranean and Africa)
 Arabic (the language of the Quran) became the
language of literature, philosophy, and art
Caligraphy
Astrolabe
Carpets
 The
Seljuk Turks (conquerors from Central Asia)
captured Baghdad and created a new Islamic
empire.


They converted to Islam
Kept Baghdad as the capital
 By
the 12th century, Muslims became engaged in
a war with Christians for control of the Holy Land
– The Crusades


Christians took Jerusalem in 1099
Saladin recaptured Jerusalem (he remains a hero in
the Islamic world today)
 Captured
Constantinople in 1453
 A “Gunpowder Empire” located between
Europe and Asia
 Interacted with both Eastern and Western
cultures
 Reached its height under the reign of
Suleiman the Magnificent


Conquered Egypt and N. Africa and parts of Eastern
Europe
Controlled much of the trade in the Mediterranean
Sea
 Ottomans
were defeated in 1571 by Spaniards
and Venetians
 Government:
 Ruled
by the Sultan (all-powerful ruler) and
his lavish court
 Capital was Istanbul (Constantinople)
 Well-organized and efficient government
 Assisted by a special army, The Janissaries
(soldiers recruited and trained at childhood)
 Culture
 Sunni
branch of Islam
 Recognized diversity
 Jews and Christians represented by own
leaders and represented by their own laws
and collected their own taxes
WHY
DO YOU THINK SULEYMAN
DESERVED THE TITLE “THE
MAGNIFICENT”? GIVE THREE
SPECIFIC REASONS WHY.
WHAT DO YOU THINK SULEYMAN’S
GREATEST WEAKNESS WAS?
 Created
their empire in Persia (1500’s)
 Shi’ite Muslims and opposed the Ottomans
 Maintained a separate identity from Turkish
and Arab neighbors (continues today)
 Government
 Ruler was known as Shah
 Maintained control with strong standing
armies
 Culture
 Known for its beautiful palace courts
 Decorated with fabulous carpets and
paintings in miniature
 Turkish
Muslims invaded the northern plains of India
in the 11th and 12th centuries (killing large numbers
of Hindus)
 Created independent kingdoms in northern India
called Sultanates
 Most important was the Sultanate of Delhi (1200)
 Ruled much of Northern and Central India for
320 years
 Did not adopt Indian ways
 Women wore veils and remained secluded (even
though Hindu women did not)
 Delhi destroyed by the Mongol ruler Tamerlane in
the 14th century. Sultanate never fully recovered.
 Babur
(descendant of Tamerlane and Ghengis
Khan) defeated the last sultan of Delhi to
found the Mughal dynasty
 Had close ties to the Safavids
 Used guns to control their populations and
fight their enemies
 Most
famous Mughal ruler (Babur’s
grandson)
 Conquered
Muslim and Hindu states uniting
all Northern India under his rule
 Promoted religious tolerance
 Ended special Hindu taxes and used Hindu
officials in government
 Divided empire into 12 provinces
 Local government was run by well-trained
officials (enforced laws, collected taxes)
 Encouraged learning, painting, music, and
literature
 Akbar’s
grandson
 Re-imposed
taxes on Hindus and destroyed
Hindu temples
 Many converted to Islam (some to avoid taxes,
others from lower castes, to escape the caste
system)
 Even more artistic and cultural achievements
 Built palaces, fortresses, and mosques
 Most famous was Taj Mahal (tomb for his
wife)
 Combined Persian, Indian, and Islamic
styles

New religion in Northern India
Founder – interactions between Muslims and
Hindus
 Major beliefs

Reincarnation
 One God
 God can be known through meditation (a form of
deep contemplation)
 Equality in the eyes of God

Scriptures teach moderation (eat little, sleep
little, talk little, consume little)
 No caste system
 Sikh men do not cut their hair (often wear
turbans)
 Holy places – Temples and shrines (Golden
Temple)
