ISLAMIC EMPIRE

QUICK RECAP!

• Muhammad – founder• ALLAH / QUR’AN• 5 Pillars of Islam• Hijrah – preserves religion• Returns to conquer Mecca• Rules over ARABIAN Peninsula

CRISIS IN ISLAM

• 632 -Muhammad dies – no clear successor• Who would take over as LEADER?• CALIPH – successor• First Four Caliphs used Muhammad’s actions and the

QU’RAN as guides for LEADERSHIP• 632-661 “RIGHTLY GUIDED Caliphate” {Period of

first four successors to Muhammad}

ISLAM EXPANDS

• First Four Caliphs - great PROGRESS in expansion

By 750 – Islam spread throughout Middle East into:• EUROPE• AFRICA• ASIA{From Atlantic Ocean to the Indus River}

RIGHTLY GUIDED CALIPHS

• 1st – ABU-BAKR{Muhammad’s father-in-law}• 2nd – Umar• 3rd – Uthman

• 4th – ALI {Muhammad’s son-in-law} 661 - Ali ASSASSINATED• Caliphs 2-4 all assassinated

ABU – BAKR : First Caliph

ASSASSINATION OF ALI

• Leads to SCHISM (split) in Islam• 2 GROUPS: SHI’A / SUNNI

ABOUT 85% SUNNI, 15% SHI’A

REASONS FOR MUSLIM SUCCESS

• 1. SKILLED WARRIORS• 2. WILLING TO DIE• 3. CONVERSION• 4. TOLERANCE for JEWS/CHRISTIANS

UMAYYAD DYNASTY 661-750

• After ALI was killed Umayyads come to power• Moved the capital from Mecca to Damascus• Built the Dome of the Rock

DOME OF THE ROCK

• Started in 689 finished in 691• Spot where Muslims claimMuhammad ascended into heaven• Location – Temple Mountin Jerusalem

ABBASID DYNASTY 750-1250

• Abbasids conquer the Umayyads• Moved capital from Damascus to Baghdad• Begin “GOLDEN AGE OF ISLAM”

GOLDEN AGE OF ISLAM

• Arab world became center for:• science• philosophy• medicine• education• Abbasids championed the cause of knowledge

and established the House of Wisdom in Baghdad

HOUSE OF WISDOM

• Muslim and non-Muslim scholars sought to translate and gather all the world's knowledge into Arabic • Many classic works of antiquity that would

otherwise have been lost were translated into Arabic and Persian and later in turn translated into Turkish, Hebrew and Latin

MUSLIM EMPIRE IN EUROPE

• Umayyad prince escaped Abbasids• Takes control of Spain• Spanish Muslim capital - Cordoba

GREAT MOSQUE OF CORDOBA

END OF THE GOLDEN AGE

• ETHNIC Differences: ARABS, PERSIANS, TURKS• CRUSADES: Christians vs Muslims• MONGOLS INVASION: 1258 Hulagu Khan captures Baghdad