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■Essential Question:
–What was the impact of the
Islamic Empire under the
Abbasids & Umayyads?
■Warm-Up Question:
–Name three links between Islam
and the other two monotheisms Judaism and Christianity.
Islam After Muhammad
■ When Muhammad died
in 632, the Muslim
community elected a
new leader called a
caliph (“successor”)
■ The first 4 caliphs, AbuBakr, Umar, Uthman, &
Ali, all knew Muhammad
& promised to stay true
Muhammad & the
to the Qur'an &
Muhammad’s message Rightly Guided Caliphs
The Rightly Guided Caliphs
■ The first caliph was
Muhammad’s friend & Jihad means ‘striving’
father-in-law, Abu Bakr: and can refer to the
–His goal was to keep inner struggle against
evil. However, the
Muslims united under word is also used in
his gov’t (“caliphate”) the Qur’an to mean an
–He used jihad to
armed struggle against
control & expand
unbelievers.
the Muslim empire
Abu-Bakr’s Problems & Solutions
■ Shortly after Muhammad’s death:
–Some tribes abandoned Islam
–Others refused to pay taxes
–A few declared themselves prophets
■ To save Islam & keep his caliphate united
he invoked jihad.
–For the next 2 years, he used jihad to
encourage and justify the expansion of
Islam.
The Rightly Guided Caliphs
■ The empire expanded
under the next caliphs
During the four Rightly Guided Caliphates,
the Islamic Empire expanded “Dar-al-Islam”
(the areas where Islam is practiced)
The caliphs used the Shari'ah
(laws of Islam) to govern the empire
Muslim Victories
■ Muslims of the day saw their victories as
a sign of Allah’s support.
■ Tactically speaking, victories were
accomplished because:
–Muslim armies were well disciplined
and expertly commanded
–& the Byzantine & Sassanid empires
were weakened because they had
been in a long period of conflict
The Islamic Empire was religiously tolerant as
long as taxes were paid to the empire.
Because the Qur’an forbid forced conversion,
the caliphate never forced non-Muslims
to convert, especially “People of the Book,” who
were Jews and Christians.
Religious Tolerance
■ The Islamic Empire’s religious
tolerance was another reason for their
success.
–because under Byzantine or Sassanid
rule people who did not support the
official religion of Christianity or
Zoroastrianism were persecuted.
■ However, some people will chose to
convert to Islam.
Some people choose to convert to Islam to avoid the
poll tax, and to hold high ranking public offices.
■ Restrictions:
■ Freedoms:
– Non-Muslims paid a
– Practice their own
poll tax each year in
religion.
exchange for being
– Protection by the
exempt from military
Islamic State.
service.
– They could be
– Non-Muslims were
officials, scholars,
not allowed to
and low level
spread their religion.
bureaucrats.
Internal Conflict
■Despite their gains, the Muslim
community had difficulty
maintaining a unified rule.
■In 656, Uthman (the third rightly
guided caliph) was murdered,
–Starting a civil war in which various
groups struggled for power.
Internal Struggle
 However, Ali’s right
■ Ali was the natural
to rule was
choice for a successor
challenged by
to Uthman.
Muawiya, governor
■ He was Muhammad’s
of
Syria.
cousin & son-in-law.
 In 661, Ali, too was
He was married to
assassinated & the
Fatima, Muhammad’s
elective
system
of
daughter.
choosing a caliph
died with him.
The Umayyad Empire
■ After Ali’s death a civil
war for control of the
empire broke out:
–The clan that came
to power started the
Umayyad Empire
–The actions of the
Umayyad Empire will
cause a divide in the
Muslim community
The Umayyad Empire
The Umayyads expanded the empire which
brought wealth & new Islamic converts
The Umayyad Empire
■ The Umayyads moved the Muslim capital
to Damascus.
■ They abandoned the simple life of
previous caliphs and began to surround
themselves with wealth and ceremony
similar to non-Muslim rulers.
■ These actions, along with who should be
the rightful leader, give rise to a
fundamental division in the Muslim
community.
The Sunni-Shi’a Split
Before the Umayyads, caliphs were elected
members of Muhammad’s family
■ Shi’a Muslims
■ Sunni Muslims
rejected the
accepted the rule of
Umayyads
the Umayyads
■ The Shi’a believe ■ The Sunni believe
that caliph must
caliphs should follow
come directly from Muhammad’s
Muhammad’s
example, but don’t
bloodline
have to be relatives
The Sufi, another Islamic group, rejected the
luxurious life of the Umayyads. They pursued a
life of poverty and devotion to a spiritual path.
In 750, the Umayyad Empire was
overthrown by the Abbasids
The Abbasids ruthlessly murdered
the remaining members of the
Umayyad family,
but one prince named Abd alRahman escaped and fled to Spain;
there he set up the Umayyad
caliphate.
Under the Abbasids,
the Islamic Empire grew
to its greatest extent
They moved their
capital to Baghdad
The Abbasid Empire
■ The Abbasid Empire (750 to 1258):
–The Abbasid caliphate built a strong gov’t
bureaucracy to rule their empire
–Muslim
merchants
expanded
wealth by
trading
across Africa,
Indian Ocean,
and Mediterranean Sea
Abbasids Empire
■ The new capital of Baghdad gave them
access to key trade routes.
■ They developed a strong bureaucracy to
conduct the huge empire’s affairs,
including:
–A treasury department
–Army department
–Diplomats to handle foreign relations
Abbasids Empire
■To support this large bureaucracy
the Abbasids taxed:
–Land
–Imports
–Exports
–Non-Muslims
wealth
Abbasid Political Order
■ The Abbasids failed to keep complete political
control over their immense territory.
– Independent Muslim states sprang up, and
local leaders dominated many smaller
regions.
– The Fatimid caliphate was formed by Shi’a
Muslims wo claimed descent from
Muhammad's daughter Fatima.
•This caliphate spread from North Africa
to western Arabia & Syria.
Abbasid Political Order
■These smaller Muslim states were
still connected to the Abbasid region
through:
– religion
– language
–trade
–the economy
Trade Networks
Despite independent
caliphate's springing up
under the Abbasid Empire
trade still flourished.
The Silk road ran through the
Islamic Empire and
connected China, India, the
Middle East, Europe & Africa.
Encourage Trade
■To encourage the flow of trade,
banks were set up in cities
throughout the empire.
–These banks offered letters of
credit called sakks, to merchants.
Cordoba
During this period, Cordoba, where
the Umayyad prince Abd al Rahman
fled, became a prosperous city.
It grew to a population of
200,000, and attracted poets,
philosophers, and scientists.
Golden Age
In Cordoba,
Damascus, Cairo, and
Baghdad, cultural
blending and wealth
from trade led to
a golden age. This
was a time of great
Muslim
achievements
in science, math,
medicine, &
architecture