1. Rise of Islam

2. The Middle East

3. Themes in Islamic History
Islam as Religion
Islam as State & Empire
Islam as Civilization

4. Arabia

5. Islam After Muhammad
At death Muhammad in 632 he left no son to succeed him
Daughter Fatima
Split between Shiites and Sunnis
Great argument over succession
Shiites – Only descendants of Fatima or her husband Ali should succeed Mohammed
Death of Husain (son of Ali) most celebrated event in Shiite calendar
Sunnis – any follower of Islam should be eligible to lead
Division political & religious
Never settled to this day
Series of Caliphs governed the Islamic State

6. Struggle for Succession
Number of conflicting parties sought to succeed Muhammad
Companions – belonged to Muhammad’s tribe or had accepted mission early
Legitimists – heir must belong to family of Muhammad
Ali paternal cousin, husband of daughter Fatima & one of first believers
Aristocracy of Quraysh – Umayyads
Held reigns of power & wealth in pre-Islamic days
Companions triumphed with selection of abu-Bakr

7. Struggle for Succession
Rashidun - Four “righteous” caliphs ( AD)
All were close associates and relatives of Muhammad
Abu Bakr ( ) Father-in-law of Muhammad and one of first believers
Umar ( ) main military genius who carried Islam forward from the Arabian peninsula
Uthman ( ) - empire fell into a civil war called the Fitna
In 656 Uthman is assassinated by followers of Ali
Ali  ( ) Muhammad's son-in-law and cousin
Many refused to accept Ali as a leader
Killed by assassin
Umayyad dynasty claims the caliphate – Damascus capital
Abbasid dynasty – 754 – seizes caliphate
al Mansur ( ) builds new capital at Baghdad

8. Conquest & Expansion
Expansion of Islamic empire against Byzantine & Sassanid (Persian) empires
Abu-Bakr –Orders jihad (holy struggle) against the "infidel" Christian or Byzantine Empire north of Arabia
Damascus becomes capital
Umar
637 – Defeated great Persian Sassanid army
639 – Conquers Alexandria – base of Byzantine navy
643 – Arabs to border of India
Tariq ibn Zaid crossed from North Africa (Morocco) into Spain in 711
Expansion stopped in France in 732 – Charles Martel (Battle of Tours)

9. The Spread of Islam

10. Medieval Baghdad

11. Medieval Baghdad
762 - Abbasid dynasty moved the capital of Islamic empire to the newly-founded city of Baghdad
Caliph Al-Mansur founded
Banks of the Tigris River
Known as the “Round City”
Foreign influences – Persian, Syrian & Hellenistic
Baghdad capital of "Golden Age" of Islamic civilization
Magnificent architectural achievement
Muslim scholars - important contributions in the sciences, humanities, medicine, mathematics, astronomy, chemistry, and literature
Became city of museums, hospitals, libraries
World's richest & most intellectual city of the time
Believed to be largest city in the world from 775 to possibly over 1,000,000
Baghdad was destroyed by the Mongols in 1258
Ended era of the Abbasids

12. Medieval Baghdad Bayt al-Hikmah (the House of Wisdom)
World famous center of learning
Attracted scholars from all over the world
Library, academy and translation bureau
Translate Greek works of Aristotle, Plato, Galen, Hippocrates, Euclid, and Pythagoras
Translate Persian, Sanskrit, Syriac into Arabic
Al-Khawarizmi, the "father" of algebra 
Merchants played a major role in the city
From Persia, China, India, Africa & Europe
Sinbad the Sailor recounts actual voyages made by Muslim merchants
Caliphal palace known as the Golden Gate or the Green Dome
Dome of audience chamber rose to 130 feet

13. Harun al-Rashid Abbasid caliph (r.786-809)
Baghdad a city of immense wealth and international significance under al-Rashid
Tribute paid by many rulers to the caliph
Used on architecture, arts & luxurious life at court
Great patron of arts & sciences
Encouragement of learning, art, poetry, music
A scholar and poet himself
Invited many scholars to the kingdom
Founded first Muslim hospital
Built Green Dome palace in Baghdad
Fabulous court inspired the book One Thousand and One Nights
Displays of extravagant wealth
Entertainers flocked to his court: poets, wits, musicians, singers, and dancers
Diplomatic relations with Charlemagne

14. Islamic Spain Influence on Medieval European civilization
Ummayyad Caliph
In Spain from 711 to 1492
Cordoba
Center of culture that rivaled Baghdad
Libraries, palaces, street lights, running water
Cultural center of Medieval Europe
Mosque – early vaulting like later Gothic cathedrals

15. Creation of Islamic Civilization
Islamic civilization developed slowly
Centuries before majority of people in Syria, Mesopotamia, and Persia accepted Islam
People generally converted from self interest
Escape taxes & seek identification with ruling class
Combination of cultural influences
Arabs assimilated, adapted & reproduced the intellectual & cultural heritage of those they conquered
Arabs adopted best art, architecture, philosophy, medicine, science, literature, and government mainly from Hellenized Aramaic & Persian civilizations
Arab contribution was mainly in language and religion
Final culmination of Semitic civilization which started in the Fertile Crescent developed by Assyro-Babylonians, Phoenicians, Aramaeans and Hebrews

16. Islamic Unity
Arabic became language of business, government & literature
Uniform enforcement of law contributed to growth of united culture
Vast trade network extended from India to the Mediterranean

17. Rich Cultural Achievements
Scholarship
Produced notable scientists, astronomers, mathematicians, doctors and philosophers
Importance of reading the Qur'an produced a comparatively high level of literacy in the general populace
Heirs to Hellenistic Learning
Maintained Classical learning
Translation of Greek texts - Aristotle
Medicine
Architecture
Mosques, Palaces & Minarets
Art
Geometric patterns, calligraphy, metal work

18. Science & Medicine Muslim scientists
Saw no contradiction between religion and laws governing natural world
Scientific method born
Utilized Classical Greek medical texts
Alchemy – beginnings of chemistry
Muslim medicine
Advanced techniques & ideas
Theory that disease born through air born organisms
Study of anatomy
Vascular & cancer surgery
Study of light, lenses & physiology of eye – led to camera
Use of anesthetics
Pharmacies
Hospitals – separate disease in different wards

19. Pioneers of Medicine Ibn Sina (980 – 1037) – Known as Avicenna
Contributions in philosophy, music, mathematics, geography & literature
Utilized experimentation & observation
wrote Canon of Medicine – encyclopedia of medicine
Study of infectious disease
Main medical text for 6 centuries
Printed extensively throughout the West

20. Mathematics Introduced “Arabic” numerals – originally from India
Replaced Roman numerals
Included the zero – made for complex calculations
Perfected use of decimals and fractions
Invented Algebra

21. One Thousand and One Nights
Classic of world literature
Stories were created over many centuries, by many people and in many styles
Originally Arabian, Persian, & Indian folk tales
Collected during time of al-Rashid
Best known stories:
Ali Baba, Sinbad the Sailor, and Aladdin
al-Rashid’s court frequent setting
Frame story:
Efforts of Scheherezade to keep her husband, King Shahryar from killing her by entertaining him with a tale a night for 1,001 nights
Always a cliff hanger
British translator – Richard Burton

22. Architecture