Transcript From Mrs. Walton*s World Studies I Class

From Mrs. Walton’s World
Studies I Class
Harrisonburg High School – Harrisonburg, VA
Thanks Mrs. Walton!
Section 2
The Arab Empire and its Successors
Creation of An Arab Empire
• After the death of Muhammad, unity was difficult to
maintain.
• The friend and father-in-law of Muhammad, Abu
Bakr, was chosen to be the first Caliph, or successor
to Muhammad.
• Abu Bakr helped to unify the Muslim world and
expanded in Arabia and beyond.
• Under the idea of jihad, or “struggle in the way of
God” the early Muslims expanded their territory.
The believed that defensive warfare was permitted
by the Quran.
Arab Rule
• The Arabs were now united and expanded their
territory instead of fighting each other.
• They defeated the Byzantine army in 636 taking the
province of Syria. By 642 they took Egypt and by 650
they controlled the Persian Empire
After Abu Bakr died there was conflict over who
would be the next Caliph.
The next two Caliphs were both assassinated.
After that Muhammad’s son-in-law
Ali was
appointed Caliph,
but five years later
he too was assassinated.
Administration
• Muslims administrators were fairly tolerant of
the people they defeated.
• Initially, both Christians and Jews were allowed
to practice their religions, with some
restrictions, because they were “People of the
Book” who had written scriptures revealed to
them by God before the time of Muhammad.
Those who chose not to convert had to be loyal
to the Muslim state and pay a special tax.
The Umayyad Dynasty
• At the beginning of the eighth century
Islam had expanded across northern
Africa and had converted the Berbers
(a pastoral people along the
Mediterranean coast) to the faith.
• By 710 combined Berber and Arab
forces crossed the Strait of Gibraltar
into Spain and had taken most of the
country by 725. In 732, however, the
Muslim advance into Europe was
halted at the Battle of Tours.
• By 750 the Muslim advance came to an end.
The southern and eastern Mediterranean and
parts of the old Roman Empire were now
Muslim territory.
• The Umayyad Dynasty was centered in
Damascus, in modern-day Syria and was
wealthy. This was also a very diverse empire as
many different peoples had been conquered in
new territory.
• The diversity helped lead to a split within the
Islamic faith
A Split in Islam
• Many non-Arab Muslims
resent the favoritism which
the Umayyad Empire
showed toward Arabs.
• The large empire was
difficult to rule efficiently
and there were financial
problems as well.
The Revolt of Hussein
• The grandson of Muhammad,
Hussein, led a revolt against the
Umayyad Empire in 680.
• His solders defected and he was
killed by an overwhelming
Umayyad force.
• This struggle led to a split within
the faith of Islam between Sunni
and Shi’a (Shiite) Muslims.
Sunni vs. Shi’a (Shiite)
• Sunni Muslims supported the Umayyad Dynasty. They believe
the Caliph does not need to be a direct descendant of
Muhammad.
• Shi’a Muslims supported Hussein and believe that the Caliph
should be a direct descendant of Muhammad through his sonin-law Ali and his grandson.
Umayyad
Architecture
The Abbasid Dynasty
• Amidst growing resentment
toward the Umayyad Dynasty
Abu al-Abbas, a descendent of
Muhammad’s uncle, overthrew
the Umayyad Dynasty in 750
and est. the Abbasid Dynasty.
• The Dynasty lasted until 1258
A.D.
Abbasid Rule
• The Abbasids moved the capital of their
empire to Baghdad.
• This move increased Persian influence and
changed Abbasid culture.
• Under this dynasty the new heroes were
judges, merchants, and government
officials.
• This dynasty did not favor Arab rule and the
empire became more culturally diverse.
• Harun al-Rashid
– The greatest of the caliphs of the
dynasty. This is called the golden
age of the Abbasid Dynasty
(Caliphate)
– He was known for his charity and
was a great supporter of culture
and the arts.
– His son continued the tradition
and supported the study of
astronomy and began to translate
classical Greek works into Arabic.
Trade
• Baghdad became a major crossroads for trade.
– This made the city very wealthy.
– This also helped spread products and knowledge
from the Middle East to parts of Asia, Africa, and
Europe.
Government Administration
• The government of the Abbasids became
more like a monarchy.
• The bureaucracy which assisted the Caliph
became more complicated.
• In order to assist him the Caliph appointed
a Vizier who was like a prime minister.
– This man was the chief advisor to the
Caliph and would help him run the
government.
Decline and Division
• There was great difficulty in the Abbasid
Dynasty with imperial succession.
• There was also financial corruption.
• Caliphs began to recruit from non-Arab
groups for government administration
such as the Turks and the Persians.
–These groups came to dominate the
political situation.
• Rulers of provinces began to
break away and establish
independent kingdoms.
– Spain had an independent
Caliphate at Cordoba which
had been established in 750 by
Umayyad rulers who fled the
Abbasid Dynasty.
• Morocco became
independent.
• The Fatimid dynasty was
established in Egypt with the
capital at Cairo in 973.
Seljuk Turks and the Crusades
• As the Fatimid Dynasty in Egypt became more
powerful they became the new center of the
Muslim world.
• One group which came to power in this region
were the Seljuk Turks.
– The Turks played a large role in the military and
many rose through the ranks to gain a lot of
political power.
• The Turks were originally a
nomadic people who
converted to Islam and were
great soldiers in the Abbasid
caliphate.
• As the Abbasids weakened,
the Turks became stronger
moving into the areas of Iran
and Armenia. They eventually
took over many Abbasid
territories.
The Sultan
• The Turks were ruled by a Sultan, meaning “holder
of power.”
• While the Abbasids were still a religious authority
when the Turks captured Baghdad they were the
military and political leaders of the state.
• The Turks in the second half of the 11th century kept
putting pressure on the Byzantine Empire. In 1071
they defeated the Byzantine army at Manzikert and
gained control of Asia Minor (Anatolian Peninsula)
– In desperation, the Byzantine Empire turned to the West
for help. This led to a series of wars known as The
Crusades.
The Crusades
• The Byzantine Emperor Alexius I sent a letter
to the Pope (Urban II) asking for help against
the Turks.
• This led to a series of wars in 1096 known as
The Crusades.
• At first the Crusaders were successful and
took the city of Jerusalem.
• In 1187 the Muslim leader Saladin retook
the city, leaving the Christians with only a
small collection of land holdings in the
Middle East.
• The Crusades had a lasting impact-breeding
centuries of mistrust between the Muslim
world and the Christian World.
The Mongol Threat
• The Mongols were a pastoral, horse-riding people who
swept out of the Gobi in the early 13th century to seize
control over much of the known world.
• The were not Muslims and find it difficult to adapt to city
life.
• The spread destruction across Asia into Muslim territory.
• The Invasion began with Genghis Khan and was continued
under the leadership Kublia Khan and Hulegu.
– They seized Mesopotamia Persia and Mesopotamia
destroying the city of Baghdad in 1258
• The Mongols made it as far as the Red Sea, but were
unable to take Egypt.
• Over time the Mongol rulers converted to Islam and
rebuilt the Muslim world.