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The Spread of Islam Building a Muslim Empire Death of Muhammad Muhammad died in 632 He had not named a successor or instructed how to choose one Using trial custom – Muslims elected Abu Bakr, the first caliph Abu Bakr and next 3 elected caliphs: “rightly-guided” - Umar, Uthman, and Ali After Muhammad’s death – some tribes abandoned Islam; others refused to pay taxes For 2 years, Abu Bakr used military force to reassert authority; his troops organized into effective, mobile army - conquered Syria, lower Egypt - rightly guided caliphs had support By 750 – Muslim Empire spanned 6000 miles from Atlantic Ocean to the Indus River Reasons for Success of Islam Military victories seen as sign of Allah’s support - victories due to: military discipline, faith of men, tactics used, expert commanders, weakness of Byzantines and Persian empires Conquered people often chose Islam - liked Islam’s message - economic advantage – did not pay non-believer’s tax - religious tolerance Internal Conflict Creates Crisis Despite military successes, Muslims had a hard time unifying their rule - 656: Uthman murdered - 661: Ali assassinated Umayyad family came to power – set up hereditary rule Capital moved to Damascus, Syria Umayyad Problems: capital too far away, abandoned simple lifestyle Split in Islam A fundamental split within Islam developed, but most Muslims accepted Umayyad rule A minority continued to resist and an alternate view of the office of caliph developed – believed caliph should be a relative of Muhammad – these were Shi’a or the “party of Ali” Those who did not resist Umayyad rule later became known as Sunni – followers of Muhammad’s example Third group, Sufis, pursued a life of poverty and devotion to a spiritual path The Abbasids Rebel groups overthrew the Umayyads in 750 and the Abbasids took control Abbasids murdered the remaining members of the Umayyad family, but one prince, Abd al-Rahman escaped to Spain - set up a Umayyad Dynasty there - Spain had already been conquered by Muslims from North Africa, the Berbers (defeated in 732 at Battle of Tours - Settled into S. Spain, helped form Muslim state called al-Andalus Abbasid Caliphate 750 - 1258 Abbasids moved capital to Baghdad in 762 Their power strength was in old Persian lands: Iraq, Iran, c. Asia Controlled key trade routes – spread of goods and ideas from Asia, Africa, and Europe Developed strong bureaucracy: efficient treasury supported by taxes, army department, diplomatic corps But they couldn’t keep political control; independent Muslim states sprung up Muslim Kingdoms Fatimid Dynasty (named after Muhammad’s daughter) began in North Africa - began in N. Africa - spread to Arabia, Syria - capital in Cairo (Egypt) Cordoba in al-Andalus - - Umayyad capital - 500,000 population, cosmopolitan mix of Jews, Muslims and Christians – many adopted Arabic - dazzling center of Muslim culture: libraries, mosques