Download The Rise of Islam

THE RISE OF ISLAM, 600 - 1200
Chapter 8 (pp. 227 – 239)
Introduction

Geography
 The
Middle East
 The Arabian Peninsula
 The Arabian Desert
 “Empty
Quarter”
 Nomadic caravans


 Cities
Camels
Camel saddles
of Mecca & Medina
 Along
the Red Sea
The Middle East Before Islam

Arabs were polytheistic
farmers and merchants
 Traders
had contact with
Jews, Christians and
Zoroastrians

Mecca was a major
center for trade and
polytheistic religious
activity
 The
Ka’ba
Muhammad in Mecca

Muhammad was born in 570


Married a successful trader named Khadija
610, while meditating, Muhammad believed he heard
the voice of the Angel Gabriel

Revelation called for the Arab people to submit to a single
God (Allah) and accept Muhammad as his last messenger
The Formation of the Umma

As Muhammad gained followers,
Mecca’s leaders feared that his
message might threaten the city’s
power & prosperity



Muhammad’s followers were
persecuted
In 622, they fled north to Medina and
formed the Umma (community of
Muslims)
In 630, the Umma returned to Mecca
and forced the surrender of its
officials

The Umma was then able to make the
pilgrimage (hajj) to the Ka’ba
unhindered
The Question of Succession

In 632, Muhammad died

His friends determined that Abu Bakr would be his successor

Took the title of “Caliph”


Powers weren’t clarified
Ordered the compilation of the Quran

The Five Pillars
Muhammad’s Successors spread Islam

Abu Bakr expanded the Islamic Empire (Caliphate) to
many parts of Afro-Eurasia using the military (jihad)

Allowed conquered people to worship their own religion

“People of the book” received special privileges
The Caliphates Expand Through Afro-Eurasia

Shortly after its origin, Islamic Empires grew out of the
Middle East

661 – 750, the Umayyad Caliphate spread from the
Atlantic to the Indus River
The Caliphates Expand Through Afro-Eurasia

In 750, a rebel group of
Muslims known as the
Abbasids overthrew the
Umayyad
 During
this time an Umayyad
prince escaped to Spain and
setup a large Muslim state
called Al-Andalus
 The Muslims of Spain were
known as Moors
The Abbasid Caliphate


During the Abbasid Caliphate the Islamic
capital was relocated to Baghdad
“Golden Age” of mathematics, science &
trade began


Due strongly to the increased cross-cultural
interactions that expanded
Built on Greek and Indian mathematics


Scientific developments




Algebra + geometry + trigonometry
Classification of plant/animal species
Astronomy
Medical advances of Ibn-Sina (Avicenna)
Facilitated trans-Eurasian trade as new
people were drawn into the empire