Arab Conquests

Out of Arabia With the Byzantine and Sassanid Empires weakened, organized Arab forces defeated the Persians by 644, and took half of the Byzantine Empire By the early 700s, North Africa and Spain belonged to the Arab Empire Also in the 700s, Arab forces conquered to the Indus River, and into Central Asia, stopping Chinese expansion westward Seeking not only an expanded ummah, political leaders wanted control of trade routes and rich agriculture Muslims controlled Spain to India by 751 CE, and converted the Turkic-speaking peoples of Central Asia to Islam

Fragmentation cont. By 750, an group of Arabs (Abbasids) seized control of the massive empire They moved the capital to Baghdad where they ruled until Mongol conquest in 1258 Under the Abbasids, sultans and political leaders ruled almost autonomously (on their own), but declared loyalty to the Abbasids Two new types of government: Caliphates (rulers could adjust political and religious law) – Arabs Sultanates (rulers could adjust political laws and enforce religious law) – Non-Arabs (Turks)

Line of Conquests Muhammad (622-632) First Four Caliphs (632-661) Umayyad Caliphate (661-750) Abbasid Caliphate (750-1258)

Tolerance Despite conquest in the name of the ummah, Arab conquerors were tolerant of other religions—especially Chr/Zor/Jud While classified as second-class citizens (dhimmis), their religious sovereignty was protected There was also a tax put on non-Muslims (jizya), And non-Arabs were not allowed military service Much of the Middle East and North Africa was Arabized, adopting Arab language and culture and abandoning their own The areas of Persia, Turkey, and Pakistan, however, were merely Islamized, and retained their culture

Arab-Speaking Regions

Conversion and Fragmentation Conversion was enhanced by the power and prestige of Arab Empire sponsorship Muslims were given tax privileges, first-class Muslim status (often slaves/POWs first), as well as business advantages Internal conflicts persisted, however, particularly with the caliphs (stewards) Sunni Muslims believed leadership of the ummah should be granted to chosen caliphs (stewards) Shia Muslims felt leadership should be kept to the blood relatives of Muhammad