Download Section 1 (continued)

Chapter 6
The World of Islam (600-1500)
Section 1: The Rise of
Islam
 The Arabs arose in the Arabian
Peninsula of southwestern Asia in the
seventh century.
 The Arabian Peninsula is mostly desert.
 The Arabs were a nomadic people.
 They organized into tribes ruled by a
sheikh.
Section 1 (continued)
 They were farmers and sheepherders
who lived on the oases and in the rainfed areas on the peninsula.
 The domestication of the camel (in the
first millennium B.C.) enabled them to
populate more of the desert
Section 1 (continued)
 Most Arabs were polytheistic (the belief of
many gods) & recognized Allah as a supreme
god.
 The Arabs trace their ancestors to Abraham
and his son Ishmael, who were believed to
have built a house of worship called the Kaaba
at Makkah (Mecca).
 A holy stone, called the Black Stone, is the
cornerstone of the Kaaba.
Section 1 (continued)
 The location of Makkah along a popular
trade route increased the region’s
importance.
Section 1 (continued)
 Muhammad was born into a merchant family,
orphaned at five, grew up to become a caravan
manager, and married a rich widow named
Khadija.
 He became troubles by the growing gap b/w
generosity of most Makkans and the
greediness of the wealthy elite,
 He began to visit the hills to meditate.
 According to Muslim teachings, Muhammad is
believed to have received revelations from
God during meditation.
Section 1 (continued)
 Muhammad believed these revelations
were the culmination of previous
messages brought by Moses and Jesus.
 These revelations were written down in
the Quran (the holy book of Islam).
 Islam means “peace through
submission to the will of Allah.”
Section 1 (continued)
 Followers of Islam are called Muslims.
 Islam has one God, Allah, and
Muhammad is God’s prophet.
 Muhammad preached in Makkah but was
disappointed by the response.
 He and his followers moved to Madinah
(Medina) in 622 (the first year of the
Islamic calendar).
Section 1 (continued)
 Muhammad began to win support from
people in Madinah, as well as from Arabs
in the desert, known as bedouin.
 Muhammad became both a political and
religious leader.
 He put together a military force.
Section 1 (continued)
 In 630, he returned to Makkah; the city
surrendered and most of the people
converted to Islam.
 The Kaaba was declared a holy place of
Islam.
 In 632, Muhammad died.
Section 1 (continued)
 The Five Pillars of Islam are:
 1. believe in one God whose prophet is Muhammad
(belief)
 2. pray five times a day (prayer)
 3. give to the poor (charity)
 4. Refrain from food & drink from dawn to sunset
during Ramadan (ninth month of the calendar)
(fasting)
 5. make the pilgrimage (go to) to Makkah
(pilgrimage)
Section 1 (continued)
 Muslim scholars developed a law code
known as the shari’ah which applied the
teachings of the Quran to daily life.
 It regulates all aspects of Muslim life.
Section 2: The Arab
Empire and Its Successors
 Shortly after Muhammad’s death, some
of his closest followers chose Abu Bakr
(Muhammad’s father-in-law) to be their
leader.
 In 632 Abu Bakr was named caliph
(successor) to Muhammad.
Section 2 (continued)
 Under his leadership, the Islamic world began
to grow
 He overcome military efforts by the early
Makkans to defeat his movement
 The Quran permitted jihad, or “struggle in the
way of God”.
 The Muslims expanded their territory into parts
of the Byzantine Empire, north Africa, and the
Persian Empire.
Section 2 (continued)
 When Abu Bakr died, he had no clear
successor.
 In 656, Ali (Muhammad’s son-in-law) was
chosen to be caliph, but he was assassinated.
 Conquered Christians and Jews (called
“People of the Book” by Muslims) were able
to practice their religion but those who would
not convert to Islam were required to pay a
special tax.
The Umayyads
 In 661, Mu’awiyah became caliph.
 He established the Umayyad dynasty by
making the office of caliph, called the
caliphate, hereditary.
 He moved the capital from Madinah to
Damascus in Syria.
Section 2 (continued)
 The Arabs conquered the Berbers, rural
people living in the Mediterranean coast
of North Africa and crossed the Strait of
Gibraltar to occupy Spain.
 In 732, Arab forces were defeated at the
Battle of Tours in Gaul (France) thus
halting Arab expansion into Europe.
Section 2 (continued)
 In 680, a revolt in present-day Iraq led by
Hussein (2nd son of Ali)-son in-law of
Muhammad) failed.
 This struggle led to a split in Islam:
 The Shia Muslims accepted only the
descendants of Ali as the true rulers of Islam.
 The Sunni Muslims accepted the Umayyads
as rulers.
The Abbasid Dynasty
 Abu al-Abbas (a descendant of
Muhammad’s uncle) overthrew the
Umayyad dynasty in 750 and set up the
Abbasid dynasty.
 The Abbasids built a new capital at
Baghdad (Iraq).
 Eventually, rulers in the provinces began
to establish their own dynasties.
Suljuk Turk and the
Crusades
 In 1055, the Seljuk Turks from central
Asia captured Baghdad and took
command of the empire.
 Their leader was known as the sultan
(“holder of power”).
Section 2 (continued)
 In 1071, the Byzantines lost control of the
Anatolian Peninsula to the Turks.
 The Byzantine emperor Alexius I asked
the Christian countries of Europe for
help.
Section 2 (continued)
 A series of Crusades by European
Christians against the Muslims began in
1096.
 At first, the Christians won many battles.
 In 1187 ,however, Saladin (a new Muslim
ruler) invaded the kingdom of Jerusalem
and defeated the Christian forces there.
The Mongols
 The Mongols swept out of the Gobi
desert region in the early 13th century to
control much of the known world.
 Beginning with leader Genghis Khan,
the Mongols conquered most of Asia
from China to the Red Sea.
Section 2 (continued)
 The Mongols destroyed Baghdad in
1258.
 Schools, libraries, mosques (Muslim
houses of worship), and palaces were
burned to the ground.
 Eventually some Mongol rulers converted
to Islam, and the Mongol empire split into
separate kingdoms.
Section 2 (continued)
 The new center of Islamic civilization
became Cairo, in Egypt.
Section 3: Islamic
Civilization
 Trade flourished in the Arab Empire.
 The bazaar, or covered market, was an
important part of every Muslim city.
 Most people still lived in the country,
making their living by farming or herding
animals.
 Muslims were not slaves, slaves were
taken from Africa and other parts of Asia.
Section 3 (continued)
 A Muslim man could have up to four
wives.
 Muslim men were required to pay a
dowry (a gift of money or property) for
their brides.
Section 3 (continued)
 The practice of having women cover
virtually all parts of their bodies when
appearing in public is still followed today
in some parts of the Muslim world.
Section 4: The Culture of
Islam
 Works of Greek philosophy (including
Plato and Aristotle) were translated into
Arabic and housed in a library called the
House of Wisdom in Baghdad.
 Greek and Roman works that had been
translated into Arabic were in turn
translated into Latin in the 12th century
making them available to the West.
Section 4 (continued)
 Texts on mathematics were brought to
Baghdad from India.
 The numerical system of India became
known in Europe as the “Arabic
system.”
 The Arabs developed the system of
algebra which is still used today.
Section 4 (continued)
 Transmission of such works was aided by
the process of paper-making which was
introduced from China in the 700s.
 The Arabs perfected the astrolabe which
helps sailors determine latitude.
Section 4 (continued)
 Ibn Sina (Avicenna) wrote a medical
textbook that was translated into Latin
and used in Europe.
 Avicenna stressed the contagious nature
of certain diseases.
Section 4 (continued)
 The most famous work of Arab literature
is The 1001 Nights (The Arabian
Nights) which includes the story of
Aladdin and the magic lamp.
Section 4 (continued)
 The best expression of Islamic arts (a
blend of Arab, Turkish, and Persian
traditions) is found in the Muslim
mosques.
 Mosques feature a minaret (tower) from
which a muezzin (crier) calls the faithful
to prayer five times a day.
Section 4 (continued)
 The finest ex. of an Islamic palace is the
Alhambra in Granada, Spain; every inch
of the castle’s surface is decorated in
floral and abstract patterns.
 Islamic art consists of Arabic letter,
plants, and abstract figures; these
decorations are repeated in geometric
patterns called arabesques.
Section 4 (continued)
 Muhammad had warned against any
attempt to imitate God by creating
pictures of living beings.
 As a result no such figures (including
Muhammad) appear in Islamic religious
art.