“Allah” they wanted was a place to call their own

 Flight of Muhammad  Quraysh tribe  Abbasid  Sunni and Shi’ite  Mecca  Ka’ba  Quran  Five Pillars  Halal  Hajj

 Perfect storm socially and geographically  Pastoralists in the South were isolated  Nomads who protected the Sassanids  Surrounded by rivers and deserts

 Completely isolated  (Get the Point?!?!)  Knew more about Africa & India than the Arabian Peninsula

 Nomads were guides and protected caravans through this region  No use of chariots, all camel power  Led to the creation of independent cities  Spread of culture and ideas (sound familiar?)

 Settled by the Quraysh in the fifth century  So far away that no one can attack it.

 Born in Mecca he was orphaned very early and illiterate  Worked primarily as a merchant and would often retreat to a cave for prayer  At 40, while praying the angel Gabriel came to him and asked him to read  Illiterate he began reading the Quran  Began preaching the “One God” and “complete surrender” creating Islam  Did not become a Jew or Christian as he felt many were living an unfit and unglorified lifestyle

 Many moral and social declines in Arab society at this time and Islam created a unified Arabian empire  However, he caused disruption in the order of things and gained many enemies within Mecca  He and his followers had conflicts with various factions until he is forced to flee in 622 to Medina  After years of conflict he finally returned to Mecca with an army and retook the city solidifying it into a unified Muslim empire

 By death most the Arabian Peninsula had converted to Islam which unified the region, and he was seen by Muslims as God’s last prophet on Earth  Succession issues: After death followers were divided on whom should be next caliph  Abu Bakr- (Sunni) His father-in-law and advisor in Islam, followers believed a true follower of Muhammad and Islam should be Caliph. He would win majority vote  Ali Ibn Abi Talib- (Shi’ite) His cousin and daughter’s husband. This sect believed only blood family should receive position of Caliph

 Most sacred site of Islam  Built by Abraham and his son Ishmael  Muhammad changes everything  Changes from many idols within to only Allah  Makes part of daily life of prayer and part of Hajj  Thought to be the first and oldest Mosque in Islamic history

 Overthrow of the last Umayyad in 750  Ruled until the Mongol takeover in 1258  Quickly befriended Ali’s family  Capital city was Baghdad  Often called the “golden age” due to advances in literature and math

 Used mamluks, Turkish slaves, as a standing army  Effective but expensive  Mamluks would overthrow caliphs and put those in who favored them  Buyid tribe princes took over. Heavy influence over the caliph.

 Turks brought to India  Located in the NW  3 rd largest group after Persians and Arabs  Smashed Buddhist and Hindu temples  Untouchables and lower castes liked Islam  Rise of Sikhism, one god (Islam) with karma and rebirth  20% Muslim

 90% Muslim  More native speakers  Smaller population  Sufi mysticism spread

 As well as Ghana, Songhai and Malian Empires  Legitimacy with scribes and hajj participants  Timbuktu was the educational capital of Islam  Prominent with elite

 Muslims, Jews, and Christians live in Cordoba peacefully in the beginning  10 th and 11 th centuries warring started and Muslim controlled power strengthened  Reconquista in 1200 Christians regained control