Download Expansion of the Early Caliphates 632–750 CE

Expansion of the Early Caliphates
632–750 CE
After Muhammad’s Death
• There was a question about who would lead the
new Muslim nation.
• The next leader was Abu Bakr. His title was
“Commander of the Believers”, which in Arabic is
called Caliph. He was Muhammad’s father-inlaw.
• After Abu Bakr’s death, a close friend of
Muhammad named Omar became Caliph. He
also allowed Jews and Christians to worship as
they chose but required a tribute (tax) in Egypt
and Nubia for this privilege.
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• Uthman was a member of the Umayyad clan and he helped
unite Muslims by selecting an official edition of the Qu’ran.
He also awarded his relatives with important positions
which angered many and resulted in his death in 656.
• Alib ibn Abi Talib, Muhammad’s cousin and son-in-law,
reluctantly became the 4th caliph but was challenged by
members of the Umayyad Dynasty. After settling a Muslim
civil war, he was murdered by a supporter that disagreed
with his actions.
• These first four Caliphs are known as “The Rightly Guided
Caliphs” because of their direct connection to Muhammad.
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Growth during “The Rightly Guided Caliphs”
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Umayyad Dynasty
• A little more than a hundred years later, the Umayyad
Caliphate stretched across the Middle East, North Africa,
and into Spain.
• It covered 5.8 million square miles at its largest extent,
more than twice as large as the Roman Empire at its
height. It was the largest empire ever up to that point.
• Much of the conquest followed the roads and trade routes
of the Roman Empire. These allowed the Islamic armies
to move quickly and efficiently.
• The Umayyad Caliphs modeled themselves after the
Roman Emperors.
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Expanse of the Umayyad Caliphate
Umayyad Caliphate in 750 CE
Roman Empire in 117 CE
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Central Historical Question
How did the early Islamic empire
expand?
Today you will be examining
three different documents and
making a series of hypotheses to
answer the Central Historical
Question.
These are the sources you will be looking at
• Al-Biladuri: The Battle of the Yarmuk
(636). Source is from 800’s.
• The Treaty of Tudmir (713)
• Donner, F. The Early Islamic
Conquests. (1981).
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The Battle of Yarmuk (636)
• As the Muslim army advance north, they ran into the Byzantine
armies and settlements.
• Khalid bin Walid, called by Muhammad “The Sword of Islam”, was
the Muslim super soldier. He had fought the Byzantines many times
and had conquered Damascus.
• With this new advancement, the Byzantine sent an army of 200,000
to try to stop him. This became the Battle of Yarmuk.
• A huge dust storm blinded the Christians, who panicked and ran off
cliffs into the Yarmuk River. Eventually, the Byzantine army was so
exhausted, they laid down in their cloaks, where Khalid found them
and slaughtered them.
• This was a great Muslim victory as small groups of Muslim fighters
were able to destroy such a large Byzantine force.
• The Byzantines lost Syria and Palestine and were weakened to a
great extent.
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These are the sources you will be looking at
• Al-Biladuri: The Battle of the
Yarmuk (636). Source is from
800’s.
• The Treaty of Tudmir (713)
• Donner, F. The Early Islamic
Conquests. (1981).
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Here are the steps:
• Read the document closely.
• Complete the graphic organizers.
• Discuss your responses with your
table group.
• Move on to the next document and
repeat.
• There are three documents total.
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Expansion of the Early Caliphates
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