Transcript Arab Empire: The Umayyad Caliphate

Arab Empire: The Umayyad Caliphate
600-1450 Lesson 1
Main Ideas:
• Disputes over the succession of
Muhammad threatened to rip apart the
faith
• The Umayyad caliphs used the newlyfound Arab unity created by Islam to
expand and overcome weaker
neighboring empires
• Treatment of non-Arab Muslims led to
the downfall of the Umayyad Caliphate
Rise of the Caliphate
• Succession crisis
– likely candidates
– Reign of Abu
Bakr
• Caliph: political &
religious successor
to Muhammad
– implications
Forging an Empire
• Early raids
• Motivations to
conquer
– vengeance for
manipulation of
neighbors
– redirect
aggression
– treasure &
Muslim law
• What about
conversion…?
Forging an Empire
• Reasons for
success
– underestimated by
Persians &
Byzantines
– help from frontier
Arab tribes &
Christian sects
– empires already in
decline by 650
The Sunni-Shi’ite Split
• Divisions in Arab ranks
• Murder of Uthman &
rise of Ali
• Assassination of Ali &
the split
– Sunni: supporters of
Umayyads
– Shi’ites: supporters of
Ali
• Battle of Karbala &
death of Husayn
– Umayyads control
caliphate
The Umayyad Caliphate
• Capital shifts to
Damascus
• Expansion in the
Mediterranean
• Social Distinctions
– Arabs & the share
of conquest
– Mawali &
exclusion
– Dhimmi & the
jizya
• Rigid restriction of
intermarriage
Decline & Fall of the Umayyads
• Decadence &
regionalism in the
military
• The Abbasids &
alliance with the
mawali & Shi’ites
• Fate of the Umayyads
• Córdoba & AlAndalus
The Umayyad Caliphate,
661-750