Transcript Expansion After Muhammad and Early Empires

The Islamic Empires
SS.A.2.4.6; SS.B.2.4.3;
SS.A.1.4.3
Muhammad’s Death
 M. never named successor, no son
 Follower’s choose M’s father-in-law
Abu Bakr as caliph
 Under Abu Bakr, Islam expands
through jihad, “struggle in the
way of God”
 The Quran permits fair, defensive
warfare
Growing Power:
 636: Caliphate stuns the Byzantine
army by defeating them at Yarmuk
 640: Arabs take control of Byzantine
province of Syria
 642: Egypt & N. Africa added to Arab
Empire
 650: Arabs conquer Persian Empire
 Medina serves as capital of Arab Empire
Early Arab Governance
 After Abu Bakr’s death, there is
little agreement as to who should
rule; next 3 caliphs assassinated
 In conquered areas, many local
leaders allowed to stay in power
 Locals not forced to convert to
Islam, religious tolerance common
The Umayyad Dynasty
 661: General Mu’awiyah, governor
of Syria, becomes caliph
 Made caliphate hereditary,
establishing the Umayyad Dynasty
 Moves capital of Arab Empire from
Medina to Damascus, Syria
Umayyad Conquest
 Early 700s: Arabs conquer/convert
the Berbers of North Africa
 710: Arab & Berber forces cross
the Straits of Gibraltar conquer
Spain, Cordoba made state capital
 732: Battle of Tours stops Muslim
expansion into Europe
 717: Byzantine Navy defeats Arab
fleet, tensions along boarder
Umayyad Problems
 Non-Arab Muslims do not like the
way Umayyad government treats
Arabs better than others
 Hussein, son of Ali, the son-in-law
of the Prophet leads a revolt
 Umayyad forces crush Hussein’s
small army--those who disagree
with Umayyads consider only Ali’s
family as true leaders of Islam
The Two Islams:
 Disagreement about caliphate leads to a
split in the faith:
 Shiite Muslims accept only the
descendants of Ali as true leaders of Islam
 Sunni Muslims were those who accepted
Umayyad rule
 Today, most of the world’s Muslims are
Sunni, where the majority of people in
Iran and Iraq consider themselves
Shiite
The Abbasid Dynasty
 Umayyad corruption brings about
unrest, revolt
 750: Abu al-Abbas, a descendant
of Muhammad’s uncle, gains power
 Establishes Abbasid Dynasty which
lasts to 1258
Abbasid Rule
 New capital built on Tigris River--called
Baghdad, strategic place
 River traffic to Persian Gulf
 Eastern placement of capital lends
Persian influence
 Warriors no longer heroes, replaced by
merchants, judges & gov officials
 Non-Arabs able to hold gov & military office
 Inter-marriage common
 Translating Greek writings encouraged
 Caliphate became more regal, viziers
help in administration of empire
Abbasid Troubles
 Abbasid family fight one another
 Lack of Arab influence in
government gives rise to powerful
minorities of Persians and Turks
 Minorities begin to break away:
 750: Umayyad caliphate est in Spain
 973: Fatimid Dynasty in Egypt
Fatimids & Seljuk Turks
 From Cairo, Fatimids grow rich and
powerful from Nile R. and Red Sea
 Create powerful army made up of
non-Arabs, mostly Seljuk Turks
 Seljuk Turks: nomads from
central Asia, Muslims, prospered
as soldiers under Abbasids
 1000: Seljuk Turks conquer Iran,
Armenia and eastern Abbasid land
 1055: Turkish sultan takes
Baghdad
Turkish Power
 Abbasid caliph retains religious
power, political power now sultan’s
 1071: Byzantine Empire challenges
Turkish expansion into Anatolia,
Turks win battle of Manzikert
 Turks take control of entire
Anatolian Peninsula, Byzantines
look to the West for help
The Crusades
 Byzantine emperor Alexius I asked
Catholic Europe for help
 Because of mutual distrust and
fear between Christian Europe and
the Islamic world, many European
kings agree to send soldiers in
what became known as Crusades
 1096-1150: Crusaders take lands
around Christian holy sites, and
establish Christian states
Rise of Saladin
 New Muslim leader takes control of
Egypt, appoints himself sultan, ends
Fatimid Dynasty
 Takes control of Syria, takes the
offensive against Christians
 1187: Takes control of Jerusalem away
from Christians
 Does not massacre population, allows
Christian religious services to continue
 Crusades accomplish nothing but
mistrust between faiths
Attack of the Mongols
 Mongols: nomads from the Gobi
Desert, conquered through brutal
warfare meant to creat terror so
great people wouldn’t fight back
 Under Genghis Khan, Mongol
armies conquer China, central Asia
 1258: Mongols capture Baghdad,
ending Abbasid caliphate, burned
the city
 Cairo becomes new center for
Islamic culture