The Rise of
Islam; 600-1200
World History AP
Mr. Ermer
Miami Beach Senior High
Islam
One of three Abrahamic, monotheistic religions
Judaism & Christianity worship the same God as Muslims
Two Branches:
Sunnis: (Sunna=tradition) majority of Muslims
Shi’ites: (“Party of Ali”) believe caliph descends from Ali
Founder: Muhammad (570-632)
Five Pillars of Islam
Belief: “There is no god but Allah, and Muhammad is his
prophet”
Prayer: Must perform prescribed prayers five times a day
Charity: “giving alms” giving part of one’s wealth to the poor
Fasting: Refraining from eating or drinking from dawn to sunset
during the month of Ramadan
Pilgrimage: Must visit Mecca once in life
The Five Pillars:
Islamic Beginnings
Arabia=isolated,populated by semi-nomadic clans of Semitic
speaking polytheistic people
Trade routes shift south, Arabs control new routes
Christian and Buddhist missionaries visit area
570: Muhammad born in Mecca, center of trade
Orphaned by 5, marries rich widow, Khadija
Troubled by economic inequalities, meditates
Visited by Angel Gabriel who reveals God’s words
Muhammad=last prophet in long line (Hebrews & Jesus)
Allah’s messages written in the Quran
Muhammad’s faith called Islam “submission to the will of
Allah”; Muslims=“one who submits”
Muhammad
Building the Faith
622 C.E.: The Hijra
Muhammad & umma leave Mecca for Yathrib
Population of Yathrib converts to Islam, renamed Medina
Old clan, family, and tribal distinctions replaced by umma
Muhammad defeats Mecca’s army, reenters city
Rededicated Kaaba as Islam’s holiest site
632: Muhammad dies, Abu Bakr named kalifa
Dar al-Islam vs. Dar al-harb
Jihad:struggle in the way of God, personal & external
Caliph: successor of Muhammad, new leaders
First four caliphs expand empire with Bedouin fighters
Take lands from Byzantine Empire, defeat Sasanids
Islam establishes political foundation with generation
The Kaaba
The Kaaba
The Caliphate
The Umayyad Caliphate
First four caliphs build empire, do not stabilize
Last “rightly guided caliph”—Ali—assassinated
Umayyad clan of Mecca succeeds him
Capital: Damascus, Syria
Hereditary dynasty, religious tolerance
Non-Arabs not allowed to hold high government office
Umayyad Decline
Many non-Arabs resent preference of Arabs
Umayyad rulers increasingly oppressive
Non-Arabs and other Arab clans form coalition
Abbasi clan, under leadership of Abu al Abbas, lead revolt
Umayyad dynasts flee to Spain, est. Iberian caliphate
The Umayyad Caliphate
The Abbasid Caliphate
Abbasid caliphs move capital to Baghdad
Located in Arabic-speaking Iraq, but close to non-Arabs
Caliph = religious & political leader
Ulama: Islamic scholars, sharia law, unity of the umma
Sharia covers all aspects of practical and spiritual life
Ulama become law makers guided by Quran and Hadith
Ulama retains real religious power
Mix of Persian & Byzantine royal norms
Decentralized power, powerful provincial governors
Turkish and Berber soldiers comprise bulk of army
Greek art and philosophy influential, preserved
Breakthroughs in sciences, philosophy, and art
Muslim Opposition
Sunni-Shiite Split
Sunni Muslims (Arabic for “traditional”)
Majorityof Muslim World
Accepted rule of Umayyad & Abbasid caliphs
Shiah Muslims (from the Arabic Shi’at Ali “Party of Ali)
Majority in Iraq & Iran with large groups in N. Africa
Believe Ali was the rightful caliph
Ali’s descendants called imams
Both groups have own versions of Sharia & Hadith
Decentralized rule prompts opposition, revolt
Umayyad caliphs continue to rule in Spain
Shiite leader Abu Abdallah takes control of Egypt
Shiite Fatimid Caliphate, capital in Cairo
The Muslim World
Fatimid Egypt
Women & Islam
Arabs late to adopt patriarchy
Men still married into women’s family, moved close
Women work, own property, multiple husbands
Increased relations with patriarchal Southwest Asians begins
to decrease status of women
Muhammad’s relations with women changes
First wife Khadija was older, independent, equal
Muhammad marries more wives after Khadija’s death
Insist
wives be veiled, favorite wife Aisha married at nine
Women limited to one husband
Quran reinforces patriarchy
Women given certain rights and protections
Dowries, evidence for moral crimes, infanticide
Women cannot divorce, take multiple husbands
Greater Islamic World
Rival Islamic states try to outdo each other in artistic,
intellectual, and scientific achievement
Umayyad Spain
Capital City: Cordoba, Spain
Great Mosque of Cordoba built in arabesque style
Good relations between Muslims, Jews, and Christians
Central Asia
Arabic numerals, Algebra, Ibn Sina and medicine
Greek philosophy translated into Arabic
Sub-Saharan Africa
Trade & Islam expanded to West Africa
Swahili Coast
Gold, salt, and slaves
Umayyad Spain
La Mezquita of Cordoba
Islam in Timbuktu
