Download The Rise and Fall of the Caliphates

The Rise and Fall of the
Caliphates
Chapter 8 (p. 202 - 208)
Muhammad’s Successors
Spread Islam
 In 632, Abu-Bakr became the first
caliph (“successor”)
 Abu-Bakr & next 3 caliphs (Umar,
Uthman & Ali) had known Muhammad
Used Qur’an & Muhammad’s actions as
guide to leadership
Known as “rightly guided” caliphs
Rule known as the caliphate
Muhammad’s Successors
Spread Islam
 After Muhammad’s death, some tribes
on Arabian peninsula broke away from
Islam & refused to pay taxes
 Abu-Bark invoked jihad (“striving”)
 Armed struggle against non-believers
 Abu-Bakr used jihad to expand Islam
 After Abu-Bakr died (634), Umar
expanded Muslim state to include Syria,
Lower Egypt & part of Byzantine Empire
 By 750, Muslim Empire stretched from
Atlantic Ocean to Indus River
Muhammad’s Successors
Spread Islam
 Muslims allowed conquered people to
worship their own religion
 Christians & Jews received special
treatment
 Still had to pay taxes & subject to various
restrictions
 Couldn’t spread religion, but could be officials,
scholars, bureaucrats, etc.
Internal Conflict Creates a
Crisis
 656, Uthman murdered & Ali
(Muhammad’s cousin & son-in-law) was
chosen as natural successor
 Ali’s rule was challenged by Muawiya
(governor of Syria)
 661, Ali assassinated
 Umayyad (led by Muawiya’s son) come
to power & move capital to Damascus
 Arabs upset that capital was so far away
 Began to live a life of luxury
Internal Conflict Creates a
Crisis
 Majority of Muslims accepted Umayyad rule
(to maintain peace)
 Shi’a (party of Ali) resisted Umayyad rule
 Believed caliph needed to be descendent of Muhammad
 Viewed position of caliph as secular, not religious
 Known as Shi’ites
 Sunni (followers of Muhammad’s example) did not
outwardly resist Umayyad rule
 Didn’t look to a single authority to define true belief
 Sufi rejected luxurious life of Umayyad and vowed to
live a life of poverty
 Rebel groups overthrew Umayyad in 750
 Abbasids (most powerful of rebels) took control
Control Extends Over
Three Continents
 Abbasids murdered remaining Umayyad family
 Prince Abd al-Rahman escaped to Spain & set up
Spanish Umayyad caliphate
 Muslims in Spain known as Berbers
 Muslim state in Spain called al-Andalus
 Abbasids move capital to Baghdad (central
Iraq) to consolidate power
 Experienced “Golden Age” in which main currents of
theology & law were founded (based on Greek
philosophies by Aristotle)
Control Extends Over
Three Continents
 Abbasid caliphate lasted from 750 - 1258
 Abbasids increased power but failed to keep complete
political power over empire
 As Islam conversion accelerated, the empire became difficult
to control
 Independent Muslim states sprang up
 Decreased the prosperity of Baghdad
 Abbasids hired mamluks (Turkish slaves) to protect themselves
from their own distrusted generals & troops in outlying areas
 Couldn’t afford to pay them, so mamluks overran Abbasid
empire from 835 - 892 & moved capital to Samarra
 Fatimid = caliphate formed by Shi’ites who claimed to be
descendents ot Muhammad’s daughter Fatima
 Governed out of Cairo
 Political fragmentation led to strained food resources
 Internal quarrels occurred during the Crusades
 Finally, Mongol invasions destroyed Baghdad ending the
Abbasid caliphate in 1258