Download Challenges to Islam

The Seljuk Turks
 Seljuk was the chieftain of a group of
Turkish tribes
 These tribes were originally from the
steppes of central Asia
 In the late 10th century, they migrated into
modern day Iran, Afghanistan, and Iraq and
converted to Islam
 In 1055, the Seljuk Turks, under their leader
Mas’ud, conquer Baghdad, and establish
control over the Abbassid Dynasty
 At the Battle of Manzikert in 1071, they deal
a serious blow to the Byzantine Empire
 Much of Anatolia is now under Seljuk Turk
control
 Seljuks dominate the aging Abbassid
Empire
 Byzantine Empire is weakened by Seljuk
advances into Anatolia (modern day Turkey)
 This prompts the Byzantine Emperor
Alexius Comnenus to ask Western
Christendom for help
 The Byzantine Emperor Alexius convinces Pope
Urban to call for a “crusade” to recapture the
Holy Land from the Muslims
First Crusade (1096-1099)
 Captures Jerusalem in 1099
 Crusader armies establish kingdoms in Syria
and Palestine
 When the Crusaders capture Jerusalem, they
celebrate by killing all Muslims, Jews, and even
Orthodox Christians!
The Crusaders
 The Crusader Kingdoms in the
Middle East last for less than 200
years
 Lasting impact was the exposure of
Western Europe to the wealth,
trade, and knowledge of Middle
East culture
 The Mongols were from central
Asia
 Under their great leader Genghis
Khan, they would eventually
control the largest continuous
empire in history
 Were very
effective
cavalry
 Left a path of
death and
destruction in
their wake
Extent of Mongol Empire
 In 1258, Hulagu, a grandson of the great
Genghis Khan, led a huge Mongol army to
invade the Abbassid Empire.
 The caliph of Baghdad believed that his
forces could withstand a siege.
 He was wrong…
 The city of Baghdad fell to the Mongols, and
was destroyed
 80,000 people were put to the sword, except for
the Christians
 The Caliph was stuffed into a felt bag and
ridden over by hundreds of horses
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oo0rZSEC
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 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=saBqXxublJ
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 Mongol invasions caused terrible
destruction in the Middle East
 Millions of people were killed, and
thousands of towns and cities destroyed
 Mongol invasions, did, however, link the
Middle East with China and India via trade
routes