Islamic empires/caliphates From Muhammad to 1300s

The problems of succession Muhammad establishes 1 st Islamic empire – Islam begins in 610 AD, and by his death in 632, had expanded into most of the Arabian Peninsula Caliph = means successor to the prophet; kind of like the leader of Muslim empire (king-ish) Muhammad dies in 632 AD, and who becomes caliph? Who takes over? – Other examples (king, president, Bodnar) – No clear ruling for Muslims The caliphs – #1 (maybe) = Abu Bakr ( ) – father-in-law of Muhammad; Sunni Muslims say that Muhammad had basically chosen him as the next in line; However, Shi’ah Muslims believe that Ali (Muhammad’s son-in-law and cousin) should take over; (Ali was one of first to accept Muhammad as prophet, and one of only two people to be born inside Ka’aba)

The schism The caliphs – #2 = Umar ( ) – Chosen by Abu Bakr on his deathbed as successor; known for being strict; assassinated by Persians; chose a council of 6 to choose his successor – #3= Uthman ( ) – known for being lenient, focusing more on politics and economics; for a variety of reasons, there were many who opposed him, and rebel force (maybe supported by Ali) assassinated him – #4 (maybe) = Ali ( ) – Shi’ah saw him as rightful caliph all along; but Uthman supporters (led by Muawiyah) thought he was behind assassination – Civil war breaks out – Ali assassinated – Muawiyah basically takes control of empire/caliphate – But some believed Ali’s bloodline should be caliph; his oldest son Hassan may have been poisoned; his youngest sun Hussayan died on battlefield

Shi’a/Sunni differences: – Also, Shi’ah generally believe last of 12 imams may be on earth now (messianic); Sunni believe he is yet to come – Shi’ah generally believe leaders are divinely inspired – Shi’ah generally are poorer, more strict religiously – However, many extremist groups (al-Qaeda, ISIS) consider themselves Sunni – Longtime hatred between the two groups, and a large reason for fighting between Muslims in Iraq, Syria, etc.

The Islamic caliphate forms Umayyad caliphate ( ) – – expanded more, but generally weren’t as strict religiously (Muawiyah’s wife was a Christian, and non- Muslims could basically govern themselves); – they did tend to favor Arab Muslims over non-Arab Muslims, and rulers became more corrupt

Islamic caliphates divide and decline Abbasid dynasty ( ) – Overthrows Umayyads – Establishes capital at Baghdad and becomes more Persian culturally; also more ethnically diverse, and more focus on arts and government, rather than war – Later the financial prosperity led to corruption, the increased diversity led to increased delegation of power, and empire basically split into smaller ruling kingdoms Fatimid Dynasty in Egypt Seljuk Turks (conquered under Abbasids, but took control of areas near Turkey) Mongols conquered areas to East (at first, hatred of Islam led to destruction of religious mosques, etc., but many later converted to Islam)

Early modern Islamic empires By 1300s to 1500s, three larger, more modern Islamic empires formed: – Ottoman (Turkey) – Safavid (Iran) – Mughal (India)