Rise and Fall of Islam: Historical Overview

1. Bell-Ringer: On a blank piece of paper or a empty part of your packet answer the following: Who started Islam? What are the two cities that are really important in Islam? Which city do you have to visit if you’re Muslim and why? Draw 5 boxes and fill them with the 5 pillars of Islam.

2. The Spread of Islam

3. Muhammad died in 632 and named no successor. His closest followers developed an election system for choosing the next leader of Islam. This leader would not be a “prophet” as was Muhammad, but a “Caliph” which means “Deputy” or “Successor” in Arabic.

4. The Right-Guided Caliphs 1st Caliph: Abu Bakr • elected • Many Bedouins renounced Islam after Muhammad’s death • They were conquered as • Abu-Baker expanded • Islam across Arabia. Expansion confined to the Arabian Peninsula

5. Umar 634-644 CE 2nd Caliph: Umar • Umar was chosen to succeed • Took advantage of weakened empires conquering Persia and Syria (part of Byzantine Empire) which were weak from fighting each other. • Also conquered Egypt, Palestine and Iraq

6. Why did Muslims Conquer? • Leaders sought wealth & tribute • Warriors were guaranteed a place in Paradise if they died in battle • Muslims were unified by faith • Caliphs took advantage of weakened empires (Persia, Byzantine)

7. Conquered Peoples: • Voluntarily converted and served in the Army (Males) or • Did not convert, paid taxes and were exempt from military service Qu’ran forbids forced conversion to Islam

8. Non-Arabs were not treated equally to Arabs, but Christians and Jews (“People of the Book”) were not forced to convert. They could not build new churches or temples. They could not • Evangelize within the empire. • Others of polytheistic faiths were forced to convert. Many welcomed Islam and converted because of its belief that all were equal in the eyes of Allah.

9. Internal Conflict Caliph #3: Uthman Uthman 644-656 • No real expansion • During his Caliphate, a single text of the Qu’ran was written. • Promoted Umayyad relatives within Islamic government which angered many. • Spent exorbitantly which caused decline in treasury. • These factors led to political instability – he was assassinated in 656 CE - Civil War broke out

10. Islam Divides • Muslims fought Muslims over Uthman’s Successor • Ali – 656-661 was Muhammad’s son-in-law declared that he was the new Caliph • Mu’awiya – was Uthman’s cousin and backed by the Umayyads • Ali succeeds with major political unrest. He is killed in 661. Mu’awiya then becomes Caliph. Shi’as: Believe that Muhammad’s relatives should lead Islam Sunnis – Believe Muhammad’s followers vote and choose the next Caliph

11. The Umayyads – part one • Mu’awiya came from the Umayyad clan, established the Umayyad dynasty. • Changed succession from an election to hereditary succession which ended any chance of Ali’s relatives being elected to Caliph. The Umayyad Great Mosque, Damascus • Moved capital to Damascus

12. Tensions between the Shia (Shi’ites) and the Umayyads turns into war Sunnis fought the Shi’ites in the Battle of Karbala The Shi’ites lost their Leader, Husain, Muhammad’s Grandson. He became a martyr.

13. Every Year, Shiites commemorate Hussain’s death with a reenactment of the Battle of Karbala – a solemn holy day called Ashura

14. The Umayyads – Part two • Significant expansion occurred in North Africa, Spain and Central Asia, and Indus Valley • The Muslims were stopped at the Battle of Tours (France) in 732 by the troops • of Frankish King Charles Martel Moorish Architecture in Coѓdoba, the capital of Spain in 717

15. The Umayyads – Part 3 • Reasons for the fall • Empire was too large to manage • Non-Arabs rebelled against class differences • Luxurious lifestyle of the aristocracy and secular attitudes toward Islamic doctrine and morality left devout Muslims discontented. • The Abbasid clan overthrew the Umayyad Dynasty in 750.

16. The Abbasid Caliphate • Opened government and military posts to non-Arabs, but an Arab elite still existed. • Slavery became wide-spread – not based on race. • Intermarriage in • Muslim territories and a blending of cultures. Courtyard of the Abbasid Palace in Baghdad

17. Abbasid Era was the Golden Age For the Empire of Islam • Economic Prosperity • Baghdad major trade center in emerging global trade • New technologies and advancements included the Astrolabe, paper from China, use of Arabic numbers, medical advancements, Algebra

18. Abbasid Decline began around 900 CE, caused by: • Succession problems • Corruption which undermined political authority • Local governments gained power while Abbasid gov’t became decentralized.

19. Fragmentation of Abbasid Caliphate https://qed.princeton.edu/getfile.php?f=Abbasid_Caliphate_and_fragmentation,_786_to_1194.jpg

20. The Abbasids’ control weakened and by the eleventh century, the Seljuk Turks controlled Baghdad. The Mongols invaded and destroyed Baghdad in 1258.

21. Sources: • http://www.ucalgary.ca/applied_history/tutor/islam/index2.html • Pictures • http://lokomodele.republika.pl/figurki/it6010.jpg • http://www.thewalters.org/works_of_art/itemdetails.aspx?aid=2405 • http://www.jcu.edu/religion/Nursi/Images/islamic%20calligraphy%202.jpg • http://www.hobbybunker.com/images/products/ita6055g.jpg • http://www.topnews.in/files/Islamic_Art_Museum.jpg • http://www.sonic.net/~formorts/imageready/islamic_star2.gif • 7. www.islamicity.org • http://api.ning.com/files/i4fTJpzVJDN8RlkRwyKc-G3ApYXZIl9TdG0xUcj*5Qs_/MoorishArchitecture.jpg • http://www.kidspast.com/images/abbasids-dynasty.jpg • http://propoets.files.wordpress.com/2008/10/arabic_calligraphy_at_wazir_khan_mosque2.jpg • http://moinansari.files.wordpress.com/2008/06/islamic-expansion-in-the-8th-century.jpg • http://www.pbs.org/wnet/wideangle/episodes/pilgrimage-to-karbala/who-are-the-shia/battle-of-karbala/1729/ http://www.fanaticus.org/DBA/armies/IV67/index.html http://www.sunymaritime.edu/stephenblucelibrary/images/astrolabe_5.jpg.jpg http://static.newworldencyclopedia.org/b/b0/Battlefield.jpg http://www.johnmariani.com/archive/2005/051218/defrvishesIMG_1992.JPG