Transcript Caliph - Gulfport School District

600 CE to 1450 CE
PERIOD 3
3:8 MUSLIM CALIPHATE
Geography of the Arabian Peninsula

Mostly arid, with coastal trading cities and
agricultural villages close to water

The Bedouin—nomadic clans of camel/goat herders,
polytheistic but worshipped a supreme deity
Arabia and Surrounding Areas
Before and During the Time of
Muhammad
Although much of Arabia was
separated by vast deserts from
surrounding classical civilizations,
as the map shows it maintained
contact by sea in the west and
south and through camel caravans
into Palestine and Syria.
With their supply of water,
shade, and date palms, oases
like this one in Egypt have
long been key centers of
permanent settlement and
trade in the desert. Major
towns usually grew around
the underground springs and
wells or small rivers that fed
the oases. Travelers’ and
traders’ caravans stopped at
the oases to water their
camels and horses and to rest
and eat after their arduous
treks through the desert. As
points of concentration of
wealth, food, and precious
water, oases were tempting
targets for raids by bedouin
bands.
Muslim Empire, Dar al-Islam

Mohammed of Mecca (570-632)—founder of
Islam, the “last and greatest prophet”

Islam—monotheistic religion founded by
Mohammed
 followers
(umma) must submit (Islam) to
the will of god (Allah)
 umma—Islamic
 jihad—the
community
struggle to improve oneself
and society
Muslim Empire

Five Pillars of Islam
 Belief
in one god with
Mohammed as his
messenger
 Prayer
5x per day
 Fasting
during Ramadan
 Charity
(almsgiving)
 Pilgrimage
to Mecca (haj)
to see the Ka’ba
The Ka’ba in Mecca, with
masses of pilgrims. Each
year tens of millions of
the Muslim faithful from
all around the world
make the journey to the
holy sites of Arabia. The
rituals performed by
pilgrims at Mecca and
Medina are key religious
duties for all who can
afford to travel to the
holy cities.
Muslim worshippers in
modern Pakistan. Whether in
a nearby mosque or in their
homes and shops, Muslims
are required to pray five times
a day, facing the holy city of
Mecca. Those congregating in
a mosque, as in this photo,
are oriented to Mecca by the
qibla wall, which is marked by
a highly ornamented inset
that indicates the direction of
the holy city. Men congregate
in the open spaces in the
center of and outside the
mosque, while women pray in
areas on the sides or in the
back or, sometimes, in
balconies above that are
screened off by pillars or
carved panels from the areas
where the men worship.
The Mosque as a
Symbol of Islamic
Civilization
Al-Aqsa Mosque (or
Dome of the Rock) in
Jerusalem, the third
holiest site in Islam.
Islam

The Quran—holy book of Islam; verbatim
words of God given to Mohammad
 Must
be read in Arabic  growth of
schools across the empire
 Source

for Muslim law (Sharia)
Caliph—leader of the Muslim world
The Expansion of
Islamic Civilization,
622–750
Whether by land or sea,
Islamic civilization
expanded by both
conquest and trade,
while the Muslim faith
was spread mainly
peacefully along ancient
trading routes, often by
sufi holymen.
Sunni-Shia Split

Mohammed left no instructions for his
successor and did not specify a form of
govt for the umma

Sunni—caliph must be chosen by
community

Shia—succession must trace through
bloodline (imam instead of caliph)
Islam

Government: theocracy
 Umayyad
Caliphate (661-750)—
Sunni dynasty, capitol at
Damascus, Syria
 Abbasid
Caliphate (750-732)—
moved capitol to Bagdhad,
Iraq
 jiza—tax
on non-Muslims in the
caliphate
Emergence of the
Abbasid Dynasty
Frontier warriors from
Khorasan far from the
Umayyad capital at
Damascus built a
military force that
overthrew the
Umayyads between 747
and 750 C.E.

Muslim Golden Age (700s-1200s)
 Scholars
preserved classic Greek and
Roman texts (Bagdhad, Iraq and
Cordova, Spain)
 Avicenna,
Khayyam
Rumi, Ibn Rashid, Omar
The graceful “horseshoe” arches of the Great
Mosque at Córdoba in southern Spain provide
a striking example of the sophistication and
beauty of the arts and architecture produced
by the fusion of Muslim, Jewish, and Christian
cultural traditions in Islamic Iberia from the
8th to the 15th centuries.

Society
 Women
veiled in the hajib, secluded in
their homes (harem—forbidden area),
polygyny
 Muslims
could not enslave People of the
Book (dhimmi)
 ayan—wealthy
landowners, rented land
to peasant farmers
Jews worshiping in a synagogue. As dhimmi, or “people of
the book,” Jews were allowed to build impressive synagogues
and worship freely throughout the Muslim world. Jewish
merchant families amassed great wealth, often in
partnership with Muslims, and Jewish scholars were revered
from Spain to Baghdad for their many contributions to
learning.
The Crusades

Crusades (1095-1291)—series of holy wars
between Christians and Muslims
 By
11th century, Muslims controlled many
cities sacred to Christians: Jerusalem,
Antioch, Alexandria
 Pope
Urban II (1095)—called for a holy
war to take back these cities, promising
salvation to Christian soldiers (Crusaders)
The Crusades
 Rediscovery
of Greek philosophical works preserved by Muslims
 Troubadours,
 Europeans
music, poetry
exposed to new plants, technology, architecture, and
medicine from Muslims