1. Ch.8 The Rise of Islam 600-1200

2. Ka’ba in Mecca

3. go Main IdeaDetailsNotemaking Origins Technology Arabs of 600 CE lived exclusively in the Arabian peninsula and desert fringes of Syria, Jordan, Iraq. The Sasanids (Persian empire) used Bedouins (nomadic Arabs) to protect their empire from invasion. The Byzantines (Christian Empire) did the same. The interior Arabs remained isolated and that is where Islam emerged. Camel saddle contributed to the dominance of caravan cities. Wheels disappeared as pack animals replaced the wheel. Berbers used the camel saddle to cross the Sahara after it was introduced by the Arabs.

4. Bedouin Camel Caravan

5. go Main IdeaDetailsNotemaking Politics Economy After Muhammad’s death in 632, the Arabs conquests gave birth to a dynamic and religious society known as the Islamic Caliphate (empire ruled by a Caliph- political and religious leader) also known as Dar al Islam (house of submission). Stretched from Iberian Peninsula (Spain and Portugal) to the Indus Valley. Arabs ruled over largely non-Arab, non-Muslim populations. Christians and Jews did not have to convert, but they did have to pay extra taxes. Umayyad Caliphate fell in 750 (except in Spain). Abbasid Caliphate fell to the Mongols in 1258. Marks the end of Islamic Empires. Urban, trade based. Introduced standard coinage (gold dinars) which spread from Morocco to China. Spread sugar, cotton and citrus crops.

6. Islamic Empire

7. go Main IdeaDetailsNotemaking Society women lived in seclusion and covered themselves if they left the home. This practice already existed in the Byzantine empire (Christian) and Sasanid Iran. Men could have sexual relations with as many slave concubine women as he pleased, but could only marry up to 4 women. Islamic law granted women greater status than Christian or Jewish law. Women could own property, get a cash payment upon divorce and remarry. Could testify in court (but counted half as a man). Still, Koran has misogynist undertones, “I was raised up to heaven and saw that most of its denizens were poor people; I was raised into the hellfire and saw that most its denizens were women.” Islam allowed slavery but forbade Muslims from enslaving other Muslims (or people of the book-Jews and Christians). Offspring of slave women and Muslim men were born free.

8. Alhambra Palace in Andalusia Spain

10. Mosaic Tiles

11. go Main IdeaDetailsNotemaking Intellectual Some writers extolled homosexual relationships since male lovers could appear in public and travel. Madrasas (religious schools) were the first universities. Arabic language spread across North Africa. Sufism, mystical form of Islam which tried to create a direct union with God. Known for poetry. Mosaic tiles and architecture formed basis of Islamic art (not allowed to depict human form). Major contributions in poetry, math, science, medicine, sea exploration astrolabe, and preservation of Greek and Roman knowledge.