The Koran To Muslims, it is the sacred word of God Written in Arabic Muslims believe it can only be...

The Koran• To Muslims, it is the sacred word

of God• Written in Arabic

• Muslims believe it can only be read in Arabic

The Sunna

• A set of rules used with the Koran

• Developed from the legal codes of tribes

Expansion of Islam

When Mohammed died, no successor had been named. Muslims chose caliphs-Islamic

leaders, descendents of Mohammed

The First Four Caliphs

632-661

Abu Bakr Karem Abdul-Kaaba

• 632-634• Put down rebellion (Defeats Romans/Persians)• Brought all of Arabia under Islamic control• Collection of Koran• 63 Yrs Old (one of a kind)

master of the hook shot

Omar(Farooq)

• 634-644• Defeated Byzantines• Captured JerusalemArabia, Egypt, Iraq, Palistine, Iran

• Master of Weapons, Wrestling, Speaking

• Stabbed w/ dagger

Othman

• 644-656• Tried to make caliph more powerful• Murdered in 656• Completed Text of Koran

Ali• 656-661• Cousin of Mohammed, married

Mohammed’s daughter (Fatima)• Assassinated in 661

w/ poison sword

Omayyad Dynasty

661-750 AD

Muawiya• Made Arabic the official language

• Minted new coins, set up postal

system

• Made many improvements in

building and transportation

Conquests

• Islamic armies moved west, conquered

North Africa and Spain

• Made Islam the dominant power in Central

Asia (present-day Pakistan)

The Muslims broke into 2 groups:

1. Shiites

• Loyal partisans of Ali (Mohammed’s cousin)• The believed the caliph should be descended

from Mohammed’s family• They insisted the Koran was the only source of

guidance for Islam

2. Sunnites

• Followers of Muawiya and the Omayyad Dynasty

• They believed any spiritually qualified man could be

elected caliph

• They accepted both the Koran and Sunna

• More numerous than Shiites

Reasons for Islam’s Early Success:

1. Islamic armies led by outstanding military

leaders

Reasons for Islam’s Early Success:

1. Islamic armies led by outstanding military

leaders

2. People not satisfied with Byzantine rule

3. Weakened Persian and Byzantine Empires

The Abbasid Dynasty

750-1057 AD (1253)

Background

• Established by Abu’l Abbas

• Abbas led non-Arab Moslems against the Omayyads – WHY?

• Preferential treatment for Arabs (i.e. non-Arabs paid higher taxes)

• Rebels overthrew Omayyad caliph and murdered 90 members of his family

Government

• Moved capital to Baghdad

• Strong centralized gov’t. similar to Byzantine Empire

• Moslems paid only small tax to support Islam

• Non-Moslems paid heavy taxes

Accomplishments

• Baghdad becomes a center of learning that attracts scholars from Middle East/India

• Great advances made in mathematics, science, literature, and the arts

Decline of the Empire

• Territory becomes fragmented by rival kingdoms; conquered by Seljuk Turks

Islamic Civilization

Commerce & Industry

• Muslims controlled trade routes

• Musical instruments introduced to Europe– Lute, tambourine, guitar

MedicineAl-Razi (Rhazes)

– Worked with sutures/casts– Difference between smallpox & measles

Avicenna (Ibn Sina)– Persian wrote Canon of Medicine (medical

encyclopedia)– Diagnosed tuberculosis as being contagious– Cancer surgery

Other Achievements

Mathematics

Advances– Al-Jabr invented form of Algebra– Borrowed numbers 1-9 and added concept of

zero

Al Khwarizmi

Omar Khayyam

Astronomy & Geography

• Important for religious reasons

• Borrowed from Hindus & Greeks

• Greek astrolabe

• Improved Ptolemy’s calculations for earth’s circumference within ½ mile of present value

• Al-Idrisi created maps on spheres to represent earth’s shape

Physics & Chemistry

Al Hasan– Father of Optics– Convex and concave mirrors and light

refraction

Jabir– Moslem alchemist, studied oxidation,

crystallization, filtration

History

Ibn Khaldun– Wrote 7 volume Universal History– Included history, politics and econ, climate

and culture

Art

• Islamic art consists of geometric designs, flowers, leaves, and stars

• No human or animal likenesses on most work