Download Chapter 2.2 Notes Islamic Empires

Chapter 2.2 Class Notes:
Islamic Empires
I. The Spread of Islam
1. Muhammad’s successor was a “caliph”, or successor
to the Messenger of God.
2. The first four caliphs were the Rightly Guided Caliphs.
They treated others fairly and fought for Islam.
3. Umayyad caliphs took control and made Damascus
the capital. By 750, Muslim rule controlled southwest
Asia, Arabia, North Africa, Egypt and Spain.
4. Arab soldiers believed anyone who died in battle
would go to Paradise.
5. Arabs let non-Muslims practice their own religion if
they paid a special tax.
6. Many conquered people converted to Islam and
learned the Arabic language. “Arab” meant a person
spoke Arabic.
7. Arab merchants spread Islam through trade. Today,
Indonesia has more Muslims than anywhere.
Timbuktu (Africa) was a center of learning.
8. In Spain, Muslim and Jewish culture thrived.
Córdoba was the political and cultural center.
Scholars preserved ancient texts and studied
philosophy.
The Alhambra Palace, Granada, Spain
II. Struggles within Islam (pgs. 185-186)
1. After Muhammad’s death, the Muslims split
into two groups: the Sunnis and Shiites.
2. Shiites believed that Muhammad’s son-inlaw, Ali, should succeed Muhammad and
all caliphs should come from Ali.
3. Sunnis believed that the Umayyad Caliphs
were the rightful leaders (majority group).
These two groups developed their own
customs.
II. Struggles within Islam
4. The Umayyad dynasty was replaced
by the Persian Abbasid dynasty.
Bagdad became the new capital.
5. The Abbasids devoted their energy to
trade, learning, and the arts. This time
was the Golden Age of Islam.
6. Egypt and Spain became independent, and
the Seljuk Turks, nomadic warriors,
gradually took control of the Abbasid
dynasty. Their ruler was a “sultan.”
7. The Arab empire collapsed when the
Mongols captured Baghdad.
III. Later Muslims Empires
1. The Ottoman Turks conquered the Byzantine
Empire (1453). Constantinople = Istanbul.
2. Sultan Suleiman I built schools and mosques.
3. Jews and Christians could practice their religion by
paying a tax and following different laws.
4. The sultan had a slave army called janissaries.
5. The Ottoman empire collapsed after World War I.
6. The Moguls created
a Muslim empire in
India. Life in India
was good under the
great ruler Akbar.
7. Great Britain took
over most of India
(until 1947).