His 101 Pack back 8
Ancient Civilizations
The World of Islam
Arabs
Arabs = nomadic bedouins, Semitic speaking people who lived in Arabian Peninsula
Hostile surroundings made the Arabs move constantly to continue to feed their animals
Arabs organized into independent tribes to help each other with difficult lives
Sheikh = leader of tribe
Early Arabs herded sheep & farmed on the Arabian peninsula
After domestication of camel, expanded caravan trade from between Persian gulf & Mediterranean
Bedouins
Arabs
Early Arabs were polytheistic, Allah = main god
Traced their ancestry to Abraham & his son Ishmael, who were believed to have built a shrine called the Kaaba at Mecca
Black Stone, cornerstone of Kaaba, revered for its association with Abraham
Muhammad
Born into merchant family in Mecca, orphaned early
Became a caravan merchant & married his boss, a rich widow named Khadija
Muhammad was troubled with gap between the greedy rich & honest poor
Muhammad went into mountains to meditate on the issue
While meditating, Muhammad received revelation from God through the angel Gabriel
Muhammad
Muhammad came to believe that Allah had revealed himself partially to Moses & Jesus and his final revelations were to him
Islam = submission to the will of Allah
Quran = Muslim bible based on Muhammad revelations
Quran contains ethical guidelines for Muslims
Islam has only one god, Muhammad is the prophet
Mosque Of The
Prophet
In Madinah
Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem:
Where Muhammad
Ascended Into Heaven
ISLAM
Muhammad became a religious, political, & military leader
He assembled a military force to defend community/ military victories attracted many followers
In 630, Muhammad returned to Mecca with 10,000 soldiers/ city surrendered & many residents converted to Islam
Muhammad declared the Kaaba to be a sacred shrine
Muhammad died 2 years later, Islam spread through the Arabian peninsula
The Quran:
Holy Book
Of Islam
Five Pillars of Islam
Faith – Allah is the one true god and Muhammad is his prophet.
Prayer – five times a day toward Makkah, noon on Fridays at mosque.
Alms Giving.
Fasting – during Ramadan from sunrise to sunset.
Pilgrimage - a hajj to Makkah once in lifetime
There is no deity except Allah (the One and Only God), Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah.
Pil
Pilgrims On
The Road to
And Camped
Outside of Makkah
Al-Haram Mosque Holds the Kaaba
Creation of Arab Empire
Difficult finding leadership after Muhammad’s death
Abu Bakr = Muhammad’s father-in-law was chosen to be successor/ called caliph = successor to Muhammad
Bakr & Muhammad used Jihad to spread movement of Islam
Jihad = “struggle in way of god”
By 650 Egypt, Syria, & Persian empire were part of Arab empire/ Done under leadership of Bakr
Death in battle was assured place in palace/enhanced military courage
1. Jihad against oneself - the daily struggle against evil and temptation in life.
2. Jihad with knowledge - the struggle to use knowledge, particularly from the Qur'an, to fight ignorance and to gain converts to Islam not through battle, but through the power of Qur'anic knowledge.
3. Jihad with wealth - the struggle to give up material wealth for the benefit of Islam, through charitable donations.
4. Jihad with the sword - the physical struggle to defend Islam against harm from unbelievers. Muslims believe that if they give their lives in this military jihad they will be rewarded with eternal paradise.
5. Jihad through righteousness - the struggle to continuously undertake good deeds to please God and benefit humanity.
The Meaning of Jihad
Arab Empire
First 2 caliphs after Abu Bakr were killed
In 656 Muhammad’s son-in-law, Ali, became caliph but was assassinated 5 years later
Umayyad Dynasty
In 661, general Mu’awiyah became caliph/ was rival of Ali
Was governor of Syria & moved capital from Medinah to Damascus
Was known for only using force if necessary
Made the office of caliph hereditary
8th century Arabs conquered & converted the Berbers = lived on coast of North Africa
Occupied southern Spain/ By 725 Spain was Muslim state
Arabs were defeated at Battle of Tours ending European expansion
Umayyad Dynasty
In 717, Muslims attacked Constantinople, but their navy was defeated by Byzantines
Internal struggles led to revolts
Most important revolt was led by Hussein, 2nd son of Ali/ Most of his followers defected and he fought 10,000 soldiers with 72….All died
The struggles caused Islam to split into two groups, the Shiite & Sunni
Split continues today….Most Muslims are Sunnis, but much of Iraq & Iran consider themselves Shiites
Abbasid Dynasty
In 750, Abu al-Abbas overthrew the Umayyad dynasty & founded Abbasid which lasted until 1258
In 762, Abbasid built new capital of Baghdad on the Tigris river/ location took advantage of river & caravan traffic
Harun al-Rashid led dynasty through golden age/ known for charity and patronage
Son = al Ma’mun was a great patron of learning
Baghdad became center of a huge trade empire
Baghdad
Abbasid Dynasty Falls
Abbasid experienced problems; fighting over succession of caliph
Vast wealth led to financial corruption
Shortage of qualified Arabs to fill government positions allowed non-Arabs to become a dominant force in the military & bureaucracy which led disintegration
Rulers of provinces began to break away
Spain, Morocco, Egypt = independent with own caliphate
Samanid
Mosque
In Bukhara
Umayyad Mosque
In Spain
Fatimid Mosque in Cairo
Seljuk Turks & Crusades
Fatimid dynasty became center of Islamic civilization = important because it was located on Nile river = Cairo
Created a strong army by non-native soldiers = Seljuk Turks
Seljuk Turks = nomadic people from central Asia, converted to Islam
Took over much of Abbasid empire & captured Baghdad; held political and military power
Turks took over Anatolian plateau, Byzantine empire turned west for help
Crusades
Byzantine emperor Alexius I asked Christian states of Europe for help against Turks
Europeans agreed and a series of Crusades began in 1096
Crusaders put Muslims on defensive first
1169, Saladin took control of Egypt & ended Fatimid dynasty, took offensive @ Christians
1187, Saladin’s army destroyed the Christian forces in the kingdom of Jerusalem
Main effect of Crusades = centuries of mistrust between Muslims & Christians
Mongols
Pastoral people who came out of the Gobi desert in early 13th century
Were highly destructive conquerors whose goal was to create such a terror that people would not fight back
1258, Mongols seized Persia & Mesopotamia
Leader – Hulegu hated Islam, detroyed Baghdad & Abbasid caliphate ended
Mongols advanced as far as the Red Sea
They failed to conquer because resistance of Mamluks = Turkish slave soldiers who had power after overthrowing Saladin
Mongols
Mongol leaders began to convert to Islam & intermarried with local peoples
14th century, Mongol empire split into separate kingdoms
Islamic empire ended
Because Mongols had destroyed Baghdad, Cairo became center of Islamic civilization
Mongols
Genghis
Khan United
Mongol
Cavalry
Kublai
Khan
Islamic Civilization
Arab empire was generally prosperous
Based on extensive trade by ship & camel
Camel caravans went to Morocco in far west to countries beyond Caspian Sea
Trade began to prosper during Abassid dynasty
Large magnificent cities began to prosper……..Baghdad, Cairo, Damascus, Cordoba
Islamic cities had their own physical appearance
Palace & mosques = most impressive buildings
Fountains, public baths, bazaars
Bazaars
Islamic Society
Muslims live their lives in accordance with Allah’s teachings revealed in the Quran
Islam claims that all people are equal in the eyes of Allah/ was not always the case in the Arab empire = well defined upper class of ruling families & wealthy merchants
Slaves were not considered equal/Muslims could not be slaves/ Slaves came from south Africa or Asia, mostly captives of war/treated pretty well, many were set free
Women were not treated equal, Quran does not tell men to do so
Islamic Society
Men dominated Arab empire
Every woman had a male guardian/ Women were secluded at home & kept from social contacts with men outside their families
Parents arranged marriages for children/ Muslim men could have up to 4 wives\had to pay dowry
Women covered much of their bodies while in public
These customs are more connected with Arab practice than to the teachings of the Quran
Islamic Achievements
Al-Ma’mun’s House of Wisdom = Baghdad, Arab scholars translated Greek works by Plato, Aristotle, etc./ Mathematics texts were included
Ibn-Rushd = scholar, wrote commentaries on Aristotle’s works
Math = created algebra & passed on India’s numbering system known as “Arabic” in Europe
Science = perfected astrolabe-used by sailors to determine location by looking at position of planets & stars/ observatory in Baghdad where scientists studied and named many stars
Arabic Achievements
Islamic Achievements
Medicine = developed medicine as a field of study/ Ibn Sina wrote medical encyclopedia, Canon of Medicine, it showed how diseases could spread
History = Ibn Khaldun proposed cyclical history, cause & effect, wrote Muqaddimah- Intro to History
Literature = Quran was main book/ Omar Khayyam wrote Rubaiyat/ Arabian Nights (1001 Nights) collection of folktales & fables that were first told orally & then written down over many years
Art/Architecture = blends together Arabic, Turkish, & Persian traditions
Islamic Achievements
Art is expressed in Mosques/ decorations = arabesques- geometric patterns of Arabic letters, plants, & abstract figures
No representation of Muhammad in any art/ prophet warned against imitating God by creating pictures
Great Mosque of Samarra is the largest Mosque ever built = present day Iraq, covers 10 acres
Mosque in Cordoba, Spain = 514 columns make building into a forest of trees\
Palaces reflected the glory of Islam
Alhambra in Granada, Spain is finest Islamic palace