Download The Rise of Islam

The Rise
of Islam
The Life of Muhammad
1. Muhammad born 570 A.D.
2. Orphaned at age 8
3. Married at 25 to wealthy
older widow
4. Successful caravan trader
5. Had vision of the Angel Gabriel in A.D.
610 on Mt. Hira
6. Began telling/preaching about Allah
about 100 followers by A.D. 620
7. Muhammad's message angered
wealthy people in Mecca
8. Muhammad flees to Medina in 622 A.D.
(Hejira)
9. gains support and returns to Mecca in
630 and conquerors the city
10. Muhammad destroys all the idols in
the Ka’bah
11. appoints Muslim governor in Mecca
12. returns to Medina to consolidate
power
13. Muhammad dies in A.D. 632 having
conquered the central and western
coastal regions of Arabia
Early Problems
• Succession ?
–Mohammed had no surviving
male children
–Daughter: Fatima
–Son-in-law: Ali, child of his uncle
• generated a permanent split in the
Islamic community
–Sunnis
–Shi’as
Sunnis
• considered themselves the “orthodox”
followers of Mohammed
• consider the Shi’as to be “dissenters”
• issue: who leads after Mohammed ??
• the Caliph (or “leader”) went successively
to followers - Abu Bakr, then Oman - then
Uthman and Ali
Islamic Caliphates
Rahisdun Caliphate 632-661
Umayyad 7-8th Century
Abbasid 8-13th Century
Fatimid 11-13th Century
Ottoman 15-20th Century
Rahisdun Caliphate 632-661
Rashidun Caliphate ( ‫)الخالفة الراشدية‬
was the first of the four Arab
caliphates.
Controlled by the first four
successors of Muhammad, known
as the "Rightly Guided" caliphs.
Founded after Muhammad's death
in 632, the empire lasted until Ali's
death in 661.
Dome of the rock Begun
Umayyad Caliphate 661-750
Capital city at Damascus (Syria, SWA)
Arabic became language of many conquered people
and helped unify them under Islam
Camel and horse cavalries were faster than traditional
armies; empire expanded quickly
Allowed people to follow own belief systems & culture
Non-Muslims sometimes paid higher taxes
Jews and Christians held important gov’t. positions
Many people converted to Islam in the late 8th century
Cross regional & cultural exchange occurred for
many years among Christians, Jews, Muslims and
polytheistic people.
Abbasid Caliphate 750 - 1258
Abu al-Abbas Sunni Arab, allied with Shia, non-Arab Muslims
Seizes control of Persia and Mesopotamia
Defeats Umayyad army in 750
Invited Umayyads to banquet, then massacred them
Only Spain remained Umayyad
North Africa is disputed territory, ultimately Fatamid
Diverse administration (i.e. not exclusively Arab)
Militarily competent, but not set on imperial expansion
Growth through military activity of autonomous Islamic forces
Caliph Harun al-Rashid (786-809 CE)
 High point of Abbasid dynasty
 Baghdad center of commerce
 Great cultural activity
 Corruption led to Abbasid downfall
Fatimid Dynasty 910-1171
 Replaced the Umayyad Empire in North Africa, Egypt, & the
Holy Land
 Founded the city of Cairo
 Promoted religious tolerance to Sunnis, Jews, & Coptic
Christians
 Established a massive trade network in the Mediterranean,
Indian Ocean, and East Asia during the Song Dynasty of China.
 Fatimids gave select groups governorship positions.
 Turkish invaders and Crusaders would capture even more land.
 Military rule and eventually Saladin took control
 The Sunni Ayyubid Dynasty (Kurdish) under Saladin ruled the
lands of modern-day Egypt, Syria, Palestine, & western Saudi
Arabia.
 Crusades had little effect on Fatimids and Ayyubid Dynasties
Ottoman Empire 1301-1918
 The Ottoman Empire was at the centre of interactions
between the Eastern and Western worlds for six centuries.
 The Ottoman Empire was, an Islamic successor to earlier
Mediterranean empires (Rome and Byzantium)
 Osman I (1299-1326)
 Mehmet I (1413-1421)
 Mehmet II: (1444-1445; 1451-1481) ”The Conqueror”
 Conquered Constantinople
 Severely restricted European access to the Silk Road
 Suleiman I, “the Magnificent” (1520-1566)
 Ottoman Empire lasted until the end of World War I
Hagia Sophia