The Rise of Islam

Location

Muhammad 570-630-Born in Mecca-Father died before he was born-Mother died around age 5-6-Lived with his grandfather until 578 when he died-Went to live with his uncle-As a teen traveled with Abu Talib (merchant)- In his early 20’s he met Khadija , a wealthy business woman-In 596 she proposed marriage and they married, he was 25 she was 40-The growing gap between the wealthy and poor in Mecca disturbed him-He would often go to a mountain cave for days to meditate-On one of these trips the Angel Gabriel revealed Allah’s (God) final revelations = the teachings of the Quran

Muhammad 570-630-Very small following at first, after 3 years only 30 followers-622 (1st year of the Islamic calendar) he moved to Medina

- Distance between the city of Medina and Mecca is called the Hijrah

- Greatly increased his following in Medina - Became a great religious and political leader- He returned to Mecca with 10,000 followers

and conquered Mecca

The Islamic Faith-Islam means “Peace through submission”-Those that follow are called Muslim

-5 Pillars-Pray 5 times a day Facing Mecca

PilgrimageCharity

Belief

PrayerFasting

Islam After Muhammad

-When he died in 630 his followers chose is father-in-law, Abu Bakr to take over as leader

- Named the Caliph = Religious and political leader- Quran permits defensive military action = Jihad- By 650 they had conquered Syria, Egypt, and parts

of north Africa as well as the Persian Empire.

Problems Arise-The death of Abu Bakr brought into question how to select the next caliph…there wasn’t agreement about this. -The next two were assassinated-In 656 Muhammad’s son-in-law was chosen, he was killed 5 years later

Islam After Muhammad

661 Muawiyah, the governor of Syria became caliph- Resorted to violence only when needed- Establised the Umayyad dynasty: 1st in Islamic

Rule- Several areas are conquered- Battle of Tours resulted in the conquering of

Gaul (France)

Divisions in the Islamic Faith

-Shi’a Muslims: Accept that only the descendants of Ali (ultimately Muhammad)

- Sunni Muslims: Believe that the caliph doesn’t have to be a descendant of Muhammad only a follower of his teachings.

-Sufi Muslims: Reject material things and take a vow of poverty and dedication to a spiritual path.

Unrest is present and persistent between the Shi’a and Sunni- Hussein, a descendant of Muhammad lead a revolt against the Umayyad…all his followers died.- Non-Arab Muslims dislike the favoritism shown to the Arabs by the Umayyad leaders-750 A descendant of Muhammad overthrows the Umayyad and established the Abbasid Dynasty which lasted until 1258

Abbasid Dynasty

-Move capital to Baghdad-Shift of social class priority…used to be military first, now it was merchants, judges and government officials who were most respected.-More of a blend with Persian culture-More relaxed about intermarrying with cultures-More accepting of other’s ways of life

-Best known leader was Harun al-Rashid- Time in office known as “golden age”- Charitable- Supported the arts- Education- Conquered much of Roman Empire - Baghdad became huge center for trade

When he died, his two sons fought over the throne, destroying the empire

The Seljuk TurksIslamic Egypt lead by the Fatimids (Caliphs) became the most powerful group of Muslims-Hired a group of strong foreign military soldiers: Seljuk Turks

- They were nomadic from central Asia- By 11th century had conquered the Eastern part of the

Abbasid Dynasty- Turkish leader is called a sultan “holder of power”- Byzantine empire was weakening and took on the Turks

leading eventually to the Crusades - Emperor Alexius I (Byzantine) asked the Christians for

help to fight - Pope Urban II agreed and issued war against the

Muslim Turks in 1096- Muslims lost a great deal at first, the first Crusade was

total devastation for them, that changed with new leadership

- 1169 Saladin took over- 1187 invaded the Kingdom of Jerusalem and destroyed

the Christian forces- Made a peace agreement eventually with King

Richard the Lion-Hearted of England

Culture and Trends in Islamic Civilizations

Growing cities in the Muslim populated areas-The birth of Cairo, Egypt as a major trade center was the result of the Islamic-Damascus, Syria-Baghdad, once it was rebuilt-Cordoba, Spain became the second largest city in Europe with over 200,000

-These large cities were a chance to display the art and technology of the Islamic people

- Fountains- Courtyards- Public baths- Bazaars (covered market)

- Actually had food freshness standards and inspections

Culture and Trends in Islamic Civilizations

Scholars

-Ibn-Rushd: philosopher who reflected on all of the works of Aristotle-Arabs during the 9th century developed the basis of algebra-Ibn Sina: wrote extensive medical encyclopedia discussing how diseases were spread -Ibn-Khaldun: historian who recorded a lot of Muslim history as well as world history

- Introduced the idea that civilizations go through a rise and fall cycle

The Ottoman Empire

-The Turks fell under the leadership of Sultan Osman in the late 1200’s

- Established the Ottoman Empire- Built a very strong and elite military made up of converted

Christians: Janissaries-Mehmed II lead the Ottomans to the final defeat of the Byzantine Empire in 1453

- Attacking the key city of Constantinople, destroying the city walls with massive cannons

- Took nearly two months of fighting, but finally on May 29th the city fell

- In the ultimate disgrace to the Byzantines, the Ottomans moved their capital to Constantinople-Sultan Selim I established the total control of the key holy cities in

the early 1500’s- Mecca- Medina- Jerusalem

The Ottoman Empire

-The most desired, but unattainable area was always Western Europe-Several attempts were made, but the success was never to be in the Ottomans favor-Last attempts was in 1683 against the area of modern day Austria-Imperial Organization

- Sultan: supreme authority with the military and politics- Palace was called the “harem”- Typically had 4 wives as his favorites- When a son was chosen as a sultan, the mother of the son

became the “Queen Mother” and key advisor to the sultan- Grand vizier was the person in charge of day-to-day

business with government- Ulema were the religious advisors

- Ottomans were Sunni Muslims

The Safavid Dynasty1501-1722

-Held control of land from North east area of Arabian Peninsula to India, mostly modern day Iran, Afghanistan, and Pakistan

-Shia Muslims-Founded by Sha Esmail in 1501

- Called himself the shah “king” of the new dynasty- Came in conflict with the Ottoman sultan Selim I

-Under Shah Abbas they regained some of the territory lost to the Ottomans

- Had a lot of European support against the Ottomans- Signed a peace agreement with the Ottomans in 1629- Those living in the Safavid Empire had to convert to the

ideals of the Shia Muslim or face execution or exile