 When Islam began, the Arabian peninsula was a crossroad of trade.

 Crossroads of Trade  Camels made travel across the desert easier in order to help Arabians carry on an active trade with people in Asia and Africa.  Products such as incense and animal hides were exchanged for spices, gold, ivory, and silk.  Mecca was the busiest trading center, located on the west coast of the Arabian peninsula.

 Bedouin Nomads  There were many Arabian clans in Arabia, and one group was known as the Bedouin Nomads.  The Bedouin Nomads raised sheep, goats, and camels in the deserts of the Arabian peninsula.  The clan traveled great distances on camels in search of pastures.

 Muhammad founded Islam based on revelations from God, which were collected in the Quran.

 Muhammad's Vision  Often Muhammad would go off by himself to a cave in the mountains near Mecca to think about life and how it should be lived, so he would pray for guidance.  On one such occasion Muhammad had a vision of the angel Gabriel, who told him to preach the word of God.  Muhammad preached his religious views with his family and they told him he was meant to be a prophet who spoke on behalf of God.

 Teachings of Islam  Muhammad preached a religion in which all people were equal before god.  Muhammad also said that in order for Muslims to gain Allah's grace, they must submit, or give in, to Allah's will.  To be a good Muslim, a person must follow Islamic daily rules of living, a Muslim also must carry out the five major duties known as the five pillars of Islam.

 The Quran  Muhammad's followers collected his teachings into one book of rules and laws called the Quran.  The Quran guides a believer through every aspect of life, moral, social, political, and legal.  There are many connections in the Quran to Jewish and Christian beliefs, Muslims accepted these groups’ right to continue practicing their religions if they paid a tax.

 Muhammad’s Last Years  After conquering Mecca in 630, Muhammad lived only two more years.  Muhammad taught that Muslims must spread Allah’s rule.  Though doing so, he warned, might require jihad, that is, extraordinary effort and struggle.

Islam spread quickly in Asia, North Africa, and Spain.

 The Rightly Guided Caliphs  Although Muhammad did not name a successor, four men led the Muslims as religious and political leaders after his death.  They were considered to be guided by Muhammad because they had known him personally, For this reason they are called the rightly guided caliphs.  The caliphs acted as religious and political leaders, They used their powerful armed forces to control their growing empires.

 Sunni and Shiites  After Muhammad died, conflicts arose over who would succeed him. From these conflicts arose two distinct Islamic groups, the Sunni and the Shiites. These two groups exist among Muslims even today.  The Sunni supported the leadership of the early caliphs. They believed that the Quran was the only guide they needed between Allah and his followers.  The Shiites believed that the only true successor had to be a direct descendant of Muhammad’s daughter and son-in-law. They believed a person had to act as a guide between Allah and his followers.

 The Umayyads  After the death of the fourth caliph, the Umayyad family set up a dynasty that ruled the Islamic world until 750.  The founder of the Umayyad Dynasty, Mu’awiyah, became caliph in 660.  He moved his capital from Medina to Damascus in Syria. This location made controlling conquered territories easier. He and his successors conquered Rhodes, Sicily, North Africa, and Afghanistan.

 Important Battles  By the year of 636, Islamic armies had defeated the Byzantines at the Battle of Yarmak. Though one year later Jerusalem was taken.  The Muslims attacked Egypt and then attacked Persia. By 645, the Muslims controlled Persia, Syria, Iraq, Palestine, and Egypt.  The Islamic faith also spread south and west. All of North Africa fell to Islamic forces.

 The Abbasid Dynasty  The Abbasid Dynasty came into power around 750.  Under the Abbasids, Islamic civilization became more splendid, The construction of mosques, schools, and hospitals throughout the empire came from a public works policy whose success depended on people’s taxes.  Economic prosperity was based primarily on agriculture and improved by commerce and manufacturing.

 Sufis  As the Muslims grew more powerful and Islam continued to spread through out the world, many people longed for a more personal approach to religion, They found this approach in Sufism – a way to form a union with Allah in everyday life.  Sufism arose during the Abbasid Dynasty, The Sufis believed in a union with Allah by continuous inner prayer, fasting, and other rituals.  Some Sufis helped spread Islam to remote villages through missionary work.

 The empire of the Caliphs did not remain united, and Turkish- speaking tribes moved into the Middle East.

 Seljuk Turks  Turkish nomads, such as the Seljuk's, sometimes served as soldiers of the Caliph.  Their advance marked the start of Turkish power in the Middle East, As the Abbasids grew weaker, the Seljuk's grew stronger.  They took over eastern areas of the empire and created a strong army to fight for them. They did not replace the Caliph at the capital city of Baghdad, but the Seljuk leader called the sultan became the ruler of eastern Islamic lands.

 The crusaders  The army of the First Crusades was made up of knights and lords.  The fighting between Muslims and Christians was fierce, and neither side showed mercy, When the Crusaders took Jerusalem, they killed not only fighting men but also many of the women and children.  The unity of the Islamic Empire was never recovered. Islam however, continued to flourish.