The Rise of Islam

Arabia Before Muhammad Arabs provided protection on the borders of the Sasanid and Byzantine Empires Some farmers on the Arabian Peninsula, such as in Yemen, that does receive adequate rainfall Some Arab nomadic pastoralists But most of Arabia is an “empty quarter” just too dry to support much of a population Caravan trading across Arabia did provide a link between people Mecca became an important caravan trade city Because of the idols of the Ka’ba

Muhammad Born in 570, an orphan, a trader Married a widow who owned caravans No sons, daughters survived Around 610, Muhammad began meditating in the mountains near Mecca and the angel Gabriel began speaking to him The Quran is a collection of these revelations, thought to have reached its final form by around 650 Islam means “submission” to God Appealed to the left-out, distressed, widows initially

Hijra Muhammads message of monotheism, “one God, Allah, and Muhammad is his messenger” is thought to have been a threat to the importance of the Ka’ba And his message of social justice—one pillar of Islam is to give financial support to widows and orphans, is thought to have been a threat to the wealthy of Mecca Forced to leave, welcomed by the town of Medina. That trek the “Hijra,” the beginning of the Muslim calendar

The Umma The community of the faithful Muhammad created a welcoming community, united by belief in Allah and the ideas of the Koran His message of unity provided a way out of the clan based strife that had been a feature of Arabia The unity of prayer 5 times a day The unity of the shared fast of Ramadan The unity of a shared pilgrimage to Mecca

632 Death of Muhammad Successor? First one was easy—Abu Bakr, one of his earliest converts, a friend, a father-in-law Called khalifa, or successor, becomes Caliph Arab armies begin to fight to affirm the authority of the Caliphate The third Caliph is assassinated And there is a dispute over his successor Some back Ali, Muhammad’s cousin and son-in-law—they will be the Shi’ites (followers of Ali) Of course, over time the Shi’ites developed a variety of different ideas and practices, from the Sunni’s who backed another successor than Ali

Umayyads Arab military aristocracy ( ) Conquer lands to the west--North Africa, Spain Conquer lands to the east all the way to the Indus The close companions of Muhammad Soldiers paid, not allowed to own the lands conquered After conquests lived on the taxes collected from the conquered people Capital at Damascus An Arab empire, not an Islamic one Used existing administrative practices of the Sasanids and the Byzantines

Abbasids Slowly administrative bureaucracies replaced with Muslims, Arabic becomes the language of government Only about 10% of the population Muslim But, there is increasing unrest in the Umma about the concentration of Arabs at the top, given the enormous diversity of their empire A rebellion in NE Iran puts a descendant of an uncle of Muhammad in power Beginning of a dynasty that will last from 750 to 1258, when the Mongols roll through

Establish a Capital In Baghdad, although heavily influenced by Iran Conversion of non-Arabs within the Caliphate Baghdad becomes a center of all the diverse cultures of the Caliphate Although outlying areas of the Caliphate retained their distinctive cultures Gradually the social divisions between Arabs and non- Arab converts fade And with it the previously strong ties of kinship and ethnic identity within the umma Push-Pull

Fragmentation Once conversion to Islam is widespread, it becomes increasingly difficult to justify the flow of tax revenue to Baghdad Rebellions in the provinces, Principalities form The Abbasids hire Turkic slaves, mamluks, from Central Asia and train them as a standing army When they could not be paid, the mamluks rebelled and took power of areas

Increasingly Independent City-States In Iran In North Africa—Fatimids will create a state ruled from present day Cairo Spain, al-Andalus And the continued power and importance of the Turkic mamluks in from Afghanistan to Baghdad—Seljuk Turks Important reunification during the crusades The Mongols destroy Baghdad in 1258

Religion as Identity Through law The Hadith Shari’a law Political fragmentation, but religious law provided very similar practice from Morocco to India