1. History of the Middle East
The Spread of Islam after Muhammad

2. Muhammad and Islam
After moving to Mecca, Muhammad and his followers moved to take back Mecca
By the year 630 CE, Mecca was under the control of Muhammad.
By his death in 632 CE, Islam had spread through most of the Arabian Peninsula

3. The Spread of Islam
After Muhammad’s death, one of Islam’s earliest converts and Muhammad’s closest friends ABU BAKR was chosen to lead.
Was called the caliph, or successor
Built an army to keep lands under Muslim control
After Bakr’s death, a man named Uthman of the Umayyad family became the caliph
Under the Umayyads the Caliphate, or empire, stretched from Spain, France and north Africa to India and the borders of China

5. A Split in the Empire Some disagreed with the caliphate
Some believed that Muhammad’s cousin, ALI, should be the caliph
In 644 CE, Uthman the Umayyad was killed by Ali’s rebels and Ali became the caliph
Intense fighting occurred and Ali was killed

6. Sunni and Shia
Those who followed the Umayyad Caliphate were called SUNNI
Their leaders are called CALIPHS
Those who followed the bloodline of Muhammad and Ali were called SHIA
Their leaders are called IMAMS

8. The Sunni Caliphate Political struggle hurt the Umayyad Dynasty
As the caliphate expanded, Arab Muslims asserted their power
Wars over succession (especially between Sunni and Shia) made many faithful Muslims doubt the leadership
Jews and Christians (called believers) were treated well by the caliphate, but forced to pay heavy taxes
The Muslims respected the Bible and the Torah, but saw the Koran as the “final word” of God

9. End of the Umayyads Dissatisfaction led to rebellion
In the 700 CE’s, the Abbasid family, who were SHIA, took over the caliphate
The Abbasids changed the way the Islamic Empire was ruled

10. The Abbasid Dynasty
The Abbasid were Persian and ruled the caliphate differently than the Arab Umayyads
They invited all ethnicities to participate in government and religion
They spread Islam through trade rather than war
The Abbasids also expanded Muslim culture – math, science, literature and technology flourished in the caliphate
The Abbasids had paper, gunpowder and many mathematical and scientific ideas before Europe discovered them

11. Why the Crescent and Star?
The symbol pre-dates Islam and was used by many pre-Islamic cultures in the Middle East
The symbol has become associated with Islam because the caliphates used them on flags and many Islamic countries today use them in their flags

12. Review: Islamic Empires
622 CE -632 CE – Muhammad spreads Islam through the Arabian Peninsula
633 CE – 661 CE – Abu Bakr and his successor spread Islam to near North Africa and Persia
644 CE – a new caliph, Uthman of the Umayyads, takes over
- Ali, a descendent of Muhammad, and his followers kill Uthman and take over
- Umayyads regain control after killing Ali
662 CE – 740 CE – Umayyad Dynasty spreads Islam through North Africa, Spain and India
740 CE – ~950 CE – Abbasid Dynasty expands Muslim Empire through trade, Golden Age of Islamic scholarship and art

13. The End of Unity
Small states start to break away from Abbasid caliphate
Caliph becomes a less power figure

14. Europe
In the early 1000’s CE Europeans take Spain back from the Muslims
Around this same time, Pope Urban II organizes the first of many crusades to take the Holy Land from the Muslims
During the Crusades, Catholic Crusaders murder thousands of Jews in Europe and the Middle East, justifying it with spreading Christianity
The Crusades were brutal and Muslims and Christians committed many atrocities against each other

15. Egypt In 969 CE, the Fatimid Dynasty emerged in Egypt
The Fatimids claimed ownership of the caliphate due to their descent from Fatimid, Muhammad’s daughter
The Fatimids controlled the Red Sea and Mediterranean, disrupting Abbasid trade and slowly becoming more powerful

16. Seljuk Turks
In 1055 CE the Seljuk Turks, who were Sunni, took control of Baghdad
The Turks, however, supported the Abbasids and defended them from the Fatimid armies
They went on to defeat the Christian Byzantine Empire in 1071 CE
The Turks would later create their own Empire in Anatolia (Turkey today)

17. Mamluks and Mongols
In 1200 CE, the Mamluks (former slaves) take over Egypt and Syria in the Western caliphate
In 1250 CE, Mongols from Asia invade the Caliphate, take Baghdad, and kill the Abbasid Caliph
This represents the end of the Caliphate