Transcript Notes for Islam and Crusades Unit

AKS 34
The Islamic World
Chapter 10
Pages 263-279
Origins of Islam
Bedouins
Arab nomads
Ideals of courage, loyalty to family, and
warrior skills became an important part of the
Islamic way of life
Origins of Islam
Muhammad’s Early Life
Orphaned at age 6
Raised by his grandfather and uncle
Received very little schooling
Began working in caravan trade as a
young man
Became the trader and business manager
for Khadijah, whom he later married
Origins of Islam
Muhammad’s Revelations
Muhammad was meditating in a cave outside
Mecca when he heard a voice who told
Muhammad he was a messenger of Allah
He believed the voice was that of the angel Gabriel
He came to believe that he was the last of the
prophets and began to teach that Allah was the
one and only God and all others must be
abandoned
Islam = “submission to the will of Allah”
Muslim = “one who has submitted”
Origins of Islam
Ideas Rejected in Mecca
Meccans feared that the
traditional Arab gods would be
neglected and Mecca would no
longer be a center for pilgrims
Mecca had become a religious
destination because that was
where the Ka’aba was located
The Ka’aba was associated
with Abraham, a Hebrew
prophet and believer in one
God
Over the years, they had
introduced the worship of many
gods and spirits – it contained
over 360 idols
Origins of Islam
The Hijrah
Muhammad decided to leave
Mecca in 622 after some of his
followers were attacked
He moved to Yathrib (later called
Medina), 200 miles north of
Mecca
This migration is known as the
Hijrah, or “flight”
Turning Point because:
Attracted many devoted followers
Became a popular religious leader
Became a political leader who united
Arabs, Muslims, & Jews
Became a military leader in the
hostilities between Mecca and
Medina
Origins of Islam
Muhammad’s Return to Mecca
630: Muhammad & 10,000 of his followers marched to
Mecca
Mecca’s leaders surrendered without a fight
Muhammad destroyed the idols in the Ka’aba and had the
call to prayer made from its roof
Most Meccans pledged their loyalty to Muhammad and
converted to Islam
Mecca became a base from which to work toward
unifying the Arabian Peninsula under Islam
Basic Tenants of Islam
There is only one god, Allah
Each person is responsible for his or her
own actions
Basic Tenants of Islam
Five Pillars of Islam
Faith
Prayer
Alms
Fasting
Pilgrimage
Muslims do not separate their personal life from
their religious life. Carrying out the Five Pillars of
Islam and other customs ensures that Muslims live
their religion while serving in their communities
Basic Tenants of Islam
Faith
To become a Muslim, a person has
to testify to the following statement
of faith: “There is no God but Allah,
and Muhammad is the Messenger of
Allah.” This simple statement is
heard again and again in Islamic rituals
and in Muslim daily life
Basic Tenants of Islam
Prayer
Five times a day,
Muslims face toward
Mecca to pray. They
may assemble at a
mosque (Islamic house of
worship) or wherever
they find themselves
Basic Tenants of Islam
Alms
Muhammad taught that
all Muslims have a
responsibility to
support the less
fortunate. Muslims meet
that social responsibility
by giving alms, or money
for the poor, through a
special religious tax
Basic Tenants of Islam
Fasting
During the Islamic holy month of Ramadan,
Muslims fast between dawn and sunset. A
simple meal is eaten at the end of the day.
Fasting serves to remind Muslims that their
spiritual needs are greater than their physical
needs
Basic Tenants of Islam
Pilgrimage
All Muslims who are physically and financially able
perform the hajj, or pilgrimage to Mecca, at least once
in their lifetime. Pilgrims wear identical garments so that
all stand as equals before Allah
Hajj to Mecca encouraged trade and promoted faith
throughout the Islamic Empire
Basic Tenants of Islam
Sources of Authority
Original source of authority is Allah
Islam has a scholar class called the ulama
The Qur’an is the holy book of Muslims
The best model for proper living is the
Sunna, or Muhammad’s example
Guidance of Sunna and Qur’an was
assembled into a body of law called shari’a
System of law regulates the family life, moral
conduct, and business & community life of
Muslims
Islamic Empire Expands
Muhammad’s Death
Died in 632
Abu-Bakr, a loyal friend,
became the first caliph, or
“successor”
Spread Islam by waging jihad
against nonbelievers
Jihad has two meanings:
Means “striving” and refers to
inner struggle against evil
Means “holy war” against
those who do not believe
Islamic Empire Expands
The “Rightly Guided” Caliphs
Used the Qur’an and Muhammad’s
actions as guides to their leadership
Mobilized highly disciplined armies
that conquered Arabia, parts of the
Byzantine Empire, and parts of the
Sassanid Empire
Islamic Empire Expands
Reasons Why Expansion Was
Successful:
Muslims were willing to fight to extend
and defend Islam
Armies were well disciplined and
expertly commanded
Byzantine and Sassanid empires were
weak
People who had suffered from religious
persecution welcomed the more
tolerant invaders
From 632 to 750, highly mobile
troops mounted on camels were
successful in conquering lands in the
name of Allah
Islamic Empire Expands
 Ali, Muhammad’s cousin and son-in-law, was assassinated
 This ended the elective system of choosing a caliph
 The Umayyads
 Moved the Muslim capital to Damascus
 Abandoned the simple life of previous caliphs
 Surrounded themselves with wealth and ceremony
 Collapsed due to religious & political opposition
Islamic Empire Expands
The Abbasids
 Took power because they were the most powerful of the rebel groups that
opposed the Umayyads
 Moved the capital to a newly created city, Baghdad
 Developed strong bureaucracy to conduct the affairs of the huge empire
 Created a system of taxation
 Established strong trade network
 Failed to keep complete political control over their immense empire, and so they
eventually fell
Muslim Trade Network
 Trade flourished during the reign of the Abbasids
 Two major sea-trading networks:
 Mediterranean Sea
 Indian Ocean
 Land networks:
 Silk Roads
 Arabian Peninsula
Muslim Trade Network
Trade Encouraged By:
Muslim moneychangers who set up banks in cities throughout
the empire
Banks offered sakks, or credit, to merchants that could be
exchanged for cash throughout the empire
In Europe, sakk was pronounced “check”, so using checks dates back
to the Muslim Empire
Silk Roads & Arabian Peninsula:
Connected Muslims world to China, India, Europe, and
Africa
Arabian Peninsula
Connected Indian Ocean trade routes to Mediterranean Sea
Muslim merchants needed only to speak Arabic (unifying
force of Islamic Empire) and the Abbasid dinar as a currency
to travel
No one person traveled the entire length of the Silk Road –
middlemen would buy goods in one region and sell them in another
The Conflict
656
Uthman, the third caliph, was murdered
There was disagreement over who should
succeed Muhammad
Ali was the natural choice as a successor,
but his right to rule was challenged by
Muawiya, a governor of Syria
Ali was assassinated
Umayyad family filled the power vacuum
The Split
Majority of Muslims accepted Umayyad rule in the
interest of peace – they became Sunni, meaning
followers of Muhammad’s example
Some continued to resist – they became Shi’a
The Shi’a said that the caliph needed to be a
descendant of the Prophet Muhammad. Shi’a means
“party” of Ali.
Another group, the Sufi, rejected the luxurious
lifestyle of the Umayyads and pursued a life of
poverty and devotion to a spiritual path.
Muslim Cities
Cities symbolized the strength of the
caliphate.
Baghdad was the capital of the Abbasid
empire.
Baghdad’s city plan included circular design and
protective walls
Social Classes
Four Social Classes:
The upper class was Muslims by birth
The second class included converts to
Islam
The third class included Christians, Jews,
and Zoroastrians
The lowest class was made up of slaves
**These social classes do not exist anymore
Role of Women
According to the Qur’an,
men and women are equal
as believers
Muslim women were
expected to submit to men
Muslim women were
expected to be veiled when
out in public
Muslim Literature
The Qur’an is the standard for all Arabic
literature and poetry
Literary tastes also included poems about
nature and the pleasures of life and love
Bedouin poets composed poems on
bravery, love, and generosity.
Muslim Art
Calligraphy
The art of beautiful handwriting
Allowed artists who could not portray living
beings to express themselves
Muslim Architecture
Lots of cultural blending
Mix between Muslim and Byzantine ideas,
some Roman ideas mixed in there
Mostly seen in mosques
Muslim Medicine
al-Razi
Considered greatest
physician of Muslim world
by Europeans
Wrote an encyclopedia and
wrote the Treatise on
Smallpox and Measles
Ibn Sina
Wrote Canon of Medicine,
a standard medical textbook
used in Europe until the
17th century
Muslim Math and Science
New Ideas:
Reliance on scientific observation & experimentation
Ability to find mathematical solutions to old problems
Science
Muslim scientists preferred to solve problems by
conducting experiments in laboratory settings
Math
Al-Khwarizmi
Mathematician who wrote a textbook explaining “the art of
bringing together unknowns to match a known quantity”
This was called al-jabr – today called algebra
Muslim Geography
Ibn Battuta
Traveler and historian
Visited most of the countries
in the Islamic world, including
cities like Timbuktu and other
cities in Mali
He learned he could travel
without fear of crime and
praised people for their study
of the Qur’an, but criticized
them for not strictly practicing
Islam’s moral code
Muslim Philosophy
Scholars translated works of Greek
philosophers into Arabic
Ibn Rushd
Tried to blend Greek views with those of
Islam
The Crusades
Cause
1093:
Byzantine Emperor Alexius
Comnenus sent an appeal to
Robert, Count of Flanders asking
for help against the Muslim Turks
threatening to conquer his capital,
Constantinople
Pope Urban II also read the letter
and issued a call for a “holy war,” or
a Crusade to gain control of the
Holy Land
The Crusades
Goals:
Stop Muslim aggression & regain Holy Land
Pope wanted to reclaim Palestine & reunite
Christendom (the Schism in 1054)
Crusades would unite Europe in a common cause
Get rid of quarrelsome knights who were fighting
each other
Younger sons wanted land, adventure, and riches
The Crusades
First Crusade (1096)
Reasons:
God’s will
Tax relief
Riches in Palestine
Result:
Conquered
Jerusalem in 1099
Slaughtered Muslims
& Jews
The Crusades
Second Crusade Result:
Muslim Turks re-take
(1144)
Reasons:
Same as First
Crusade
part of the Holy Land
1187 – Saladin
recaptures Jerusalem
The Crusades
Third Crusade
(1189)
Reason:
Recapture
Jerusalem
Result:
Richard the Lion-Hearted
and Saladin fought many
battles
Agreed to a truce in 1192
The Crusades
Fourth Crusade
Reasons:
Recapture Jerusalem
(what else??)
Result:
Knights did not
even reach the
Holy Land and
instead ended up
looting
Constantinople
The Crusades
Fifth – Eighth Crusades
All to recapture Jerusalem, all failed
The Crusades
Children’s Crusade (1212)
30,000 children under the age of 18
set out to conquer Jerusalem
Most died of cold or starvation on the trip
there
The rest drowned at sea or were sold into
slavery
This illustrates the power the Church
had because people believed in the
teaching so much that they allowed
their children to embark on a
dangerous journey
The Crusades
Spanish Crusade
Reconquista:
Long effort by the Spanish to drive out the Muslims in
Spain (called Moors) – were eventually successful
The Crusades
Spanish Crusade
Spanish Inquisition:
Under the direction of Ferdinand and Isabella
Goal was to unify Spanish Christians and suppress
heresy
Many Jews & Muslims converted during the late
1400s
Person suspected of heresy might be questioned for
weeks and even tortured. Once they confessed, they
Next slide has
were often burned at the stake.
pictures of some
torture methods used
The Crusades
Effects of the Crusades:
Social
Women could manage affairs on the estates or operate shops
and inns (because they were the ones left at home)
Led to the growth of trade, towns, and universities in medieval
Europe – benefits both Christians and Muslims
Economic
Merchants who lived in Crusader states expanded trade
between Europe and SW Asia
Political
Failure of later crusades lessened the power of the Pope
Weakened feudal nobility
Increased power of the kings
Fall of Constantinople weakened the Byzantine Empire
The Crusades
Impact on the Islamic World:
Intolerance and prejudice
displayed by Christians in the
Holy Land left behind a legacy
of bitterness and hatred that
continues to the present
Links Between Religions
To Muslims, Allah is the same God worshiped in
Christianity & Judaism
Muslims view Jesus as a prophet, not the Son of God
Qur’an is the word of Allah as revealed to
Muhammad in the same way the Torah and
Gospels were revealed to Moses and the New
Testament writers
Believe Qur’an perfects earlier revelations, it is the final
book, and Muhammad is the final prophet
Links Between Religions
All three believe in heaven, hell, and a day of
judgment
Jews do not place as much emphasis on hell
All trace their ancestry to Abraham
Muslims refer to Christians and Jews as
“people of the book”
Shari’a law requires Muslim leaders to extend
religious tolerance to Christians & Jews
Ten Commandments can be found in Judaism,
Christianity, and Islam as a code for behavior