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The First Global Civilization:
The Rise and Spread of Islam
The Umayyads to the Abbasids
Introduction
Islam (literally means “submission, the self-surrender of the
believer to the will of the one, true God, Allah”)
No single civilization had bound together large portions of the
ancient world before
Arabia had been a nomadic backwater in the Middle East but
within decades the Muslims had conquered a huge empire.
Islamic civilization was spread by merchants, wandering mystics,
and warriors - provided key links and channels for the exchange
among the older classical civilizations
Clan Identity, Clan Rivalries, and
the Cycle of Vengeance
Bedouin herders lived in kin-related clan groups and clans were
clustered into larger tribal groupings. Shaykhs are the leaders of
the tribes or clans.
Clan cohesion reinforced by fierce interclan rivalries and
struggles to control vital pasturelands and watering places.
Battles often ensued, which resulted in weak power status in
relation to neighboring peoples and empires.
Towns and Long-Distance Trade
Farmers and town dwellers carved out small communities in the
western and southern parts of the peninsula during the classical
era. Some cities arose as links in the transcontinental trading
system.
Mecca was founded by the Umayyad clan of the Quraysh
bedouin tribe.
Its status enhanced because it was the site of the Ka’ba, one of
the most revered religious shrines in pre-Islamic Arabia.
Yathrib (later called Medina)- established in an Oasis and part of
the trading system. However, it was not dominated by one clan
like Mecca but by two Bedouin and three Jewish clans.
The Life of Muhammad and the
Genesis of Islam
Born around 570 CE into prominent clan of the Quraysh tribe, the Banu
Hashim
Father died and was raised by father’s relatives. Went with uncle Abu Talib
made first caravan journey to Syria, where he met Christians and Jews (this
influenced his teachings)
Became a merchant in Mecca. In his travels trading became aware of clan
rivalries and the discrepancy between the rich and the poor. Dissatisfied of a
life of material gain.
Spread of monotheistic faiths at the time. Many prophets in Arabia.
Goes to meditate and in ca. 610 he received the first of many revelations (his
followers believe that the angel Gabriel transmitted them to him). The
revelations were later written in the Qur’an.
At first Muhammed had a small following but slowly as his following grew, the
Umayyad notables who dominated Meccan life saw him as a threat to their
own wealth and power. New faith threatened to supplant the gods of the Ka’ba
Muhammed Returns to Mecca
622 goes to Medina, where there is civil strife and
Muhammed is called in to help mediate, where he was
successful and gained new followers
Umayyad’s angrier at Muhammed’s success because
Medina begins to rival Mecca
This leads to battles, which end with a treaty in 628,
whereby the Muslims could visit the shrine at Ka’ba in
Mecca during the season of truce
629 goes home with about 10,000 followers and
gradually wins over the Umayyads
Arabs and Islam
Islam initially only adopted by Arab town dwellers and Bedouins
Islam offered the possibility of an end to the vendettas and feuds that had
divided the people of Arabia
Umma- community of the faithful
Islam offered an ethical system that helped heal the social rifts in Arabian
society
o Stressed the dignity of all people
o Soon incorporated into a body of law
Universal elements including monotheism, highly developed legal codes,
egalitarianism, and strong sense of community
5 pillars provided basis for religious unity: faith, prayer, fasting, zakat, hajj
Arab Empire of the Umayyads
632 Muhammad died suddenly and left no designated successor
By 633 Muslim military leaders began to mount expeditions
beyond the peninsula
Combination of their skill, neighbor’s weaknesses, and religious
mission led to conquering success
Arab world not Islamic yet
Increasing tension over who would be the Caliph- the political
and religious successor to Muhammad
o Ali- cousin and son-in-law of Muhammad
o Abu Bakr (632-634) early followers and closest friend of
Muhammad
Ridda wars- brought the return of Arabian tribes to Islamic folds
Motives for Arab Conquest
Islam provided unity to Arab warriors
Bedouin warriors drawn to campaigns of
expansion by a promise of a share in the booty
No interest in conversion of conquered people
Weaknesses of Adversary
Empires
Sasanian Empire of Persia vulnerable and Muslim
victories led to rapid collapse of the empire
Byzantines harder to defeat but two reasons they could:
o Defection of Arabs on their own frontiers
o Support of Muslim invaders from Christian sects in
Syria and Egypt who didn’t like Byzantine rule
By mid- 640s desert Bedouins putting together fleets
that could challenge the Byzantine command of the
Mediterranean
Sunni-Shi’a split
By 656 growing tensions within the community create open
violence
Ali ready to defeat Umayyad forces in 657 but accepted a
mediation, which would prove fatal
Umayyads regroup and added Egypt back in
660 Mu’awiya (new leader for the Umayyads) proclaimed the
caliph directly challenging Ali’s position
1 year later Ali is assassinated
Sunnis- backed the Umayyads, Shi’a- Ali’s supporters
When Ali’s 2nd son, Husayn, was killed in Karbala in 680 Shi’a
resistance mounted
Over time there are differences in belief, ritual and law
Umayyad Imperium
Last ½ of the 7th century renewed conquests
By early 700s ruled an empire that extended from Spain
to Central Asia
Political center shifted to Damascus, Syria because that
was the place of Uthman’s murder
Built solid bureaucracy
Arab conquest state by nature
Kept Muslim warrior elite in garrison town separated
from local population
Converts
Attempts to separate the Muslims and nonMuslims couldn’t succeed
Mawali- Muslim converts but not Arab, so they
were not afforded any good government
positions
Number of conversions low because there was
no social/economic benefit to converting
Most people were dhimmi- people of the book
Decline and Fall
Early 8th century- Umayyads had alienated those who were
Muslim in their territory
By mid-8th century more than 50,000 warriors had married local
women and came to resent leadership from Damascus
By 747 a group of warriors, backed by the Abbasid party (lead by
Abu al-Abbas) challenged Umayyads
750 Persia and Iraq fell
Battle on River Zab- opened the way for conquest of Syria and
the capture of Umayyad capital
From Arab to Islamic Empire: The
Early Abbasid Era
Abbasids slowly eliminate all enemies, become more
righteous about their defense of Sunni Islam, and less
tolerant of Shi’a sects. This leads to the building of a
centralized, absolutist imperial order.
Moved the capital to Baghdad
Huge and expanded bureaucracy- Symbol of
bureaucratization of empire in wazir- chief
administrator and head of the caliph’s inner councils
Islamic Conversion and Mawali
Acceptance
Full integration of new converts, both Arab and
non-Arab
Mass conversions encouraged
Appeal of Islamic beliefs
Muslims exempt from paying head tax
More opportunities for schooling and careers
Persians came to dominate
Losing Control of the Dynasty
By mid-9th century CE Abbasid dynasty had begun to
lose control over empire with rebellious governors and
new dynasties to challenge them
Ironically this was a time of creativity and expansion
From 10th-14th century Muslim warriors, traders, and
wandering mystics spread Islam, which would play a
huge role in the extension and transformation of the
Afro-Asian world
Became conduits for exchange of ideas, medicine,
inventions, etc.
The Islamic Heartlands in the Middle
and Late Abbasid Eras
3rd Abbasid caliph- al-Mahdi (775-785) already signs of division, Shi’a revolts
common, had a life of luxury, failed to fix the problem of succession
Eldest son was poisoned after al-Mahdi’s death
Harun al-Rashid (786 – 809) – most famous of the Abbasid caliphs (only 23
when he ascended the throne)
Luxurious living- evident in Baghdad’s mosques, palaces- immortalized in The
Thousand and One Nights
Because of his youth very dependent on Persian advisors, which had
consequences later in that the royal court became more important than the
caliph
Problem of succession after his death- leads to civil war
Sons of al Ma’mun (813-833) (he won the first civil war) armed themselves in
anticipation of their fight for successor . The son who won had 4,000 slaves
from CAR, which he increased to 70,000. This would be a mistake since they
Imperial Breakdown and Agrarian
Disorder
Resources drained with constant civil
disobedience and the building of extravagant
palaces and mosques
This leads to abandonment of many farming
peasant villages and agricultural production in
the Tigris-Euphrates basin fell into disrepair
Increased Shi’a instigation of uprisings
Nomadic Incursions and the Eclipse
of Caliphal power
Caliphs too preoccupied with struggles in the capital to control
loss of territory on the outskirts of the empire
In 945 armies of regional splinter dynasties- Buyids of Persiainvaded the heartlands and captured Baghdad
Buyids took the title of Sultan
Controlled the caliph and the court but couldn’t prevent the
disintegration of the empire
1055 Seljuk Turks (who had provided military assistance earlier
in the empire) took over the Buyids
Staunch Sunnis- purged remaining Shi’a officials
Got rid of Byzantine threat
Outside Pressure
Crusaders determined to capture portions of the Islamic world that
made up the Holy Land of biblical times
1096-1099 crusader’s assault most deadly- captured holy land and
divided it into Christian kingdoms - Jerusalem taken in June 1099
Europeans mounted eight Crusades and for two centuries had a hold
on the Mediterranean
Salah-ud-Din in last decades of 12th century- strong leaderrecaptured most crusader outposts 1291- end of crusader influence
Mongols (Chinggis Khan) first raided in the 1220s
1258 (Hulegu- Khan’s grandson) takes Baghdad