Beginnings of IslamI. BeginningsA. Arabian Peninsula

1. mostly desert2. inherited by nomadic Arab herders (Bedouins)

B. Growth of Towns1. near the west coast of Arabian Peninsula

2. market towns for long distance trade routes 3. towns became crossroads for trade 4. ideas were spread among numerous culturesC. Cities 1. Mecca a. in western Arabia b. caravans stopped there c. Ka’aba – ancient shrine in Mecca associated with Abraham 1. many different gods and spirits came to be worshipped here 2. people came here to pray to their own god or gods

http://witcombe.sbc.edu/sacredplaces/images/mecca.jpg

Muhammad

1. born in city of Mecca2. was orphaned at age of 63. had very little schooling4. became a trader and businessman5. eventually married his boss6. age 40 – while meditating in a cave, he heard the

voice of Gabriel tell him to spread the word of Allah7. was convinced he was the last and most important

prophet of God

The Hijrah – “The Migration”

The Hijrah – “The Migration”1. Muhammad began to preach publicly in Mecca by 613 AD2. his messages were met with some opposition3. Muhammad and supporters fled to small town of Yathrib4. while in Yathrib, Muhammad preaches and gains many followers5. Muhammad learned to be a military and political leader here

Return To Mecca

1. 630 AD – Muhammad and 10,000 followers return to Mecca

2. Leaders of Mecca surrender the city to Muhammad

3. Muhammad destroys the idols at the Ka’aba4. most Meccans will convert to Islam

Death of Muhammad

1. 632 AD – Muhammad is dead at age 622. his followers write his teachings and revelations in a book, called the Qu’ran

3. it will be used as the holy book of Islam4. only the Arabic version of the Qu’ran is

considered the true word of God

Islamic Beliefs• Islam – submission to the will of Allah• Koran – Muslim Holy Book• Mosque- religious temple• Sharia- Muslim law code• Like Christianity and Judaism it is monotheistic• Also concerned with salvation and after-life• No claim to divinity of Muhammed• Muhammed was the last prophet. Do believe in Old

Testament• All 3 see Jerusalem as a Holy City

Dome of the Rock - Jerusalem

Koran – Islamic Holy Book

Five Pillars of Islam

• Belief in Allah and Muhammed is his prophet• Pray five times a day facing Mecca• Observe holy month of Ramadan• Make a Pilgrimage to Mecca• Give alms to the poor

Muhammad’s Successors

Muhammad’s Successors – Capital is Mecca1. called caliphs2. believe in the shari’a (system of law)3. will be known as the “Rightly Guided Caliphs” because they follow

the Sunna4. Sunna – the example of Muhammad5. Abu Bakr – first successor; he used jihad (holy war) to expand Islam

a. established a Muslim empire that covered all of Arabiab. died in 634 AD

6. Umar – second caliph – use jihad a. conquers Syria, lower Egypt, and parts of Sassanid (Persian) Empire

Internal Conflict Creates Crisies

Search for New Caliph1. 656 AD – caliph Uthman dies – civil war

erupts between various Muslim groups2. Ali is blood descendant of Muhammad – and

natural successor to empire3. 661 – Ali is assassinated – no way for next

caliph to be elect

Rise of Umayyads Caliphate

• Move capital to Damascus• Abandoned simple life of previous caliphs and surround

themselves with wealth• Expanded from Persia into Central Asia• Expanded to North Africa through Spain and into France• Stopped in France at the battle of Poitiers or Tours• Tried to take Constantinople but were defeated by

Greek Fire• Decadent behavior leads to their demise and overthrow

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5b/Umayyad750ADloc.png

Battle of Tours

Importance of Battle

• Frankish infantry held back Muslim cavalry

• Saved Christian Europe from Islamic invaders

• Increased the power of the Frankish empire

• Christians will begin to reconquer Spain, known as the reconquista

Charles Martel

Sunni vs. Shite

1. Sunni – believe rulers should follow example of Muhammad

2. Shi’a – believe rulers should be descendants of Muhammad

Abassids and Islamic Golden Age

1. rebelled against the Umayyads – led to their downfall

2. officially came to power in 750 AD – after assassinating all Umayyad family members

3. move the capital of the empire to Bagdad in 762 AD

a. led to increased trade and wealth for the empire

Golden Age

• Occurred under Harun al-Rashid

• Economic Prosperity• Baghdad becomes

center of huge commercial market because of its location

• Advances in learning

Connections

1. All Muslims were connected through religion, language, currency, and trade

2. massive cities were built throughout the empire as trade centers

3. many advances were made by the Muslim people in technology, math, and art

4. example: city of Cordoba had a population of 200,000 while Paris had a population of 38,000

Calligraphy

• The art of beautiful handwriting

Astrolabe

• Typical uses of the astrolabe include finding the time during the day or night, finding the time of a celestial event such as sunrise or sunset and as a handy reference of celestial positions.

Ibn Sina

• The Canon of Medicine, which was a standard medical text in Europe and the Islamic world up until the 18th century

• The book is known for the discovery of contagious diseases and sexually transmitted diseases, the introduction of quarantine to limit the spread of infectious diseases, the introduction of experimental medicine, clinical trials, neuropsychiatry, risk factor analysis, and the idea of a syndrome in the diagnosis of specific diseases

Medicine – Al Razi

• Wrote Treatise on Smallpox and Measles

• Believed patients would recover more quickly if they breathed cleaner air

Math – Al Khwarizmi

• Wrote a textbook in the 800s explaining “the art of brining together unknowns to match a know quantity”

• Called this techniqueAl-jabr – today called

algebra

Literature – Thousand and One Nights

Ibn Rushd (1126-1198)

• Argued that Greek philosophy and Islam both had the same goal: to find the truth

• Was stoned in Great Mosque of Cordoba for views

• Renowned by European scholars

Ibn Battuta (1304-1369)

• Wrote book Rihla about his travels, compare to Marco Polo

• Traveled for over 30 years• covered almost the entirety of the known

Islamic world and beyond, extending from North Africa, West Africa, Southern Europe and Eastern Europe in the West, to the Middle East, Indian subcontinent, Central Asia, Southeast Asia and China in the East

Reasons for Decline of Abassids

• Dispute over succession within caliphate• Vast wealth contributed to financial

corruption• Move away from the strict moral Islamic code• Foreign invasions on the borders, specifically

from the Seljuk Turks

Seljuk Turks

• Nomads from Central Asia that conquered Abassids and Baghdad

• Turks conquer most of Anatolia in 1071 by defeating the Byzantines

• Ruler was called a Sultan• Turks ended the squabble between the Sunni

and Shi’ites

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c3/Seljuk_Empire_locator_map.svg

Crusades

• Christian attacks into Islamic lands in order to regain Jerusalem and protect Christian shrines

• Crusades helped to unite Islam against foreign invaders

• Created hatred and distrust between Christians and Muslims

• Forced Europe to find new sea routes to India and China because land routes went through the hostile middle east.

Mongol Influence on Muslim World

• Were not Muslim• Treated territory horrible• Mongols settled down in territory eventually

converting to Islam and inter-marrying with the Arab population

• Soon there was no distinction• New capital is Cairo and a renaissance in

Muslim culture took place