Transcript The Arab Islamic Empires

The Early
Islamic
Empires
A Question of Leadership
• At Mohammed’s
death, he had no
sons…
• Abu Bakr elected
the new leader,
the caliph
Arab Conquest
• Jihad –
struggle in the
name of Allah.
Defensive war is
accepted.
Death in Jihad is
a ticket to
paradise.
The Lineage Falters
• Series of Caliphs
kept extending Islam
• Murderous politics
and infighting
prevent unity
• Mu’awiyah, an
Islamic general, took
charge and created
the first dynasty
The Umayyad Dynasty 661-750
DAMASCUS
Warriors were the
leaders and the heroes of
the Umayyad Dynasty
Bumping against Europe
• Stopped in Asia by
Byzantines in 717
• El Andalusia –
–Muslim conquest
of Spain by Moors,
725 AD
• Battle of Tours – 732
AD
–Charles Martel
A Split in Islam
• Non-Arab Muslims
resent Umayyads
• Hussein, the second son
of Ali, the son-in-law of
The Ali
Mohammed, leads
Mosque in
revolt.
Najaf, Iraq
–Shiites then follow the
line of Ali, Sunnis follow
an elected Caliph
The Abbasid Dynasty
• Abu al-Abbas,
related to
Mohammed’s
uncle, overthrew
the Umayyad
dynasty
• Lasted from 750Abu al-Abbas 1258 AD
Mosque, Alexandria
The Abbasid Dynasty
BAGHDAD
Reforms of the Abbasids
• Judges and
Merchants lead
the society
• Any Muslim
could hold civil
or military
office
Muslim Spice Merchant
The Golden Age of the Abbasids
• Harun al-Rashid
–Greatest of the
Caliphs
–Sponsored
artists, writers
and scholars
• Translated the
Ancient Greeks
Abbasid Politics
• The Vizier (the
Prime Minister)
advised the
Caliph
• Caliph sat behind
a screen during
govn’t meetings
to advise Vizier
The Empire Falls Apart
• Fallen Umayyads
established a
caliphate in Spain
in 750 AD
• The Egyptians
broke away under
The Umayyad
the Fatamid
Mosque in
Dynasty in 973
Cordoba, Spain
The Seljuk Turkish Dynasty
• Nomads converted
by the Abbasids
• Served as soldiers
• 1055 - Took over
from the weak
Abbasids
–New ruler =
Sultan
The Seljuk State
• Abbasid caliph still
in charge of the
religion, but the
Seljuks control the
military and politics
• Looking to expand,
the Byzantines are
in their way…
The Crusades
• Seljuk Turks defeat
the Byzantines at
Manzikert in 1071
• Alexius I of
Constantinople
asks for Rome’s aid
• Urban II sends
Christian troops
–The 1st Crusade
Saladin and the Crusader Impact
• Christians take
Jerusalem in 1st
• Saladin, Sultan
of Egypt, unites
Islam to drive
Christians away
• Breeds centuries
of mistrust in the
two faiths
End of the Early Islamic Empires
• You guessed it…
the Mongols!!!
• Hulegu, brother of
Kublai, attacks
Seljuks in 1258
• Baghdad burned
• Mamluks in Egypt
stop his advance
• Islam in disarray
Life in these Societies
• Muslim world
relatively urbanized
• The Bazaar
• Social Classes
–Under Allah
–Practical Politics
• Slavery – only
non-Muslims
The Role of Women
• Male Dominated
Society
–Male escorts
required
–Men can marry up
to 4 women!
• Impact of Shari’ah
Science and the Arts
• The House of
Wisdom
–Translated Greek
philosophers
• Arabic Numerals
• Algebra
• The Astrolabe
Science and History
• Ibn Sina- wrote of
the contagious
nature of disease
• Ibn Khaldum –
“Muqaddimah”
-argued for a
cyclical view of
history
• 1,001 Arabian Nights
Literature
– King Schariar of
Samarkand
• wife lied to him
• Kills 1 woman a night for
3,000 nights to punish
– Sheherazade volunteers
– asks to tell him story
before her death.
– He wants more… keeps
her alive for 1001 nights
– Makes her his queen.
Repents due to lessons
learned in stories
Architecture
• Great Mosque of
Samarra
–Minaret where
Muezzin calls is 90
feet tall
• Finest Islamic palace
the Alhambra in
Granada, Spain