The Rise of Islam (600-1200)

Chapter 8

I. The Origins of Islam

A. The Arabian Peninsula Before Muhammad
- Most of Arabia was small farming villages, fishing villages, and trading
centers. There were also small pastoral tribes.
- Nomads served as guides for trading caravans, providing food, water,
and protection. Mainly incense was transported from the south for
manufactured products from the north. (Mediterranean)
- Camels and the advent of the camel saddle promoted caravan trade
and nomads.
- Mecca was a caravan city in between Yemen and Syria in an arid
mountain valley. The city had a spiritual significance (the shrine of
Ka’ba, the holy well Zamzam, and a sacred town and a town
surrounding the sites) that made Mecca a popular pilgrimage area.
- Muhammad was born in 570 and grew up as an orphan, and when he
grew up, he heard god speaking to him and wrote down what god said
to him.
- Muhammad called for all people to submit to the will of god and accept
the will of his last messenger. (Muhammad)
- Followers of him were called Muslims and they followed Islam.
- The religion focused on the good and bad deeds of a person, not their
wealth; this led to social reforms.
B. The Formation of the Umma
- Mecca’s rulers forced Muhammad and his followers to flee to Medina,
a agricultural town 215 miles north.
- Muhammad controlled Medina and expelled the Jewish religion, and
sent missionaries to spread Islam.
- In 632, Muhammad died from an illness and Abu Bakr was chosen as
his successor. He preserved the religion of Islam and led Islam’s
armies in trying to keep and gather followers.
- The Quran was a written record of Muhammad’s teachings, or the
“word of god”
- Fighting and civil wars over who the rightful leader or caliph went on for
years, eventually splitting the religion in three sections: the Shi’ites, the
Kharijites, and the Sunnis.

II. The Rise and Fall of the Caliphate

A. The Islamic Conquests (634-711)
- The Arabs started a military campaign under the second caliph of
Islam, Umar. They seized Syria, Egypt, Spain, India, the sub-Saharan,
and other middle-eastern areas. They were successful and stable for
about 3 years. Islam was also spread through peaceful trade along the
trade routes in all areas.
B. The Umayyad and Early Abbasid Caliphates (661-850)
 - Had the Byzantium’s administrative and government system, and was
almost entirely Islamic.
- Their entire army was made up of Arabs.
- Had ambitious projects translating texts written by earlier civilizations.
C. Political Fragmentation (850-1050)
- Rulers had problems maintaining power in such a large empire. News
traveled slowly and military response took a long time, and trade
declined.
- People led revolts against the Arabs and Muslims.
- Turks played a role in seating and unseating caliphs, and they
dominated Samarra.
- Baghdad fell and the Abbasid came under the control of the Buyid.
- Samanid prince patronized learning and literature.
- The south sub-Saharan traders traded salts for gold with the north,
until northern traders realized that they could trade more useful things
for a higher value.
- Ghana benefited from this new trade. It was a caravan city kingdom,
and it was described as the city of gold.
- Umayyad Spain developed without large outside influences.
D. Assault from within and Without
- Turkish mamlucks played a role in establishing a stereotype for all
Turks.
- Under Turkish rule, Abbasid cities shrank into small pastoral
communities.
- There was a gap between urban society and culture, and leaders
stayed out of the Shi’ite and Sunni fighting.
- Baghdad was destroyed by civil unrest and natural disasters. Its canal
system then collapsed and left the city in ruins.
- Christian Crusades started in 1099 and the first one captured
Jerusalem. However these crusades had little lasting impact overall in
the area.
- Mongol invasions shocked people because of the intensity.

III. Islamic Civilization

A. Law and Dogma
- Islam had no legal system when Muhammad was the ruler, so the
people went based on the Quran and Arabic culture and customs.
- Laws and political system developed slowly and Muslim scholars
studied reports called hadith, or the exact words and deeds of
Muhammad.
- People had a hard time following the hadiths because some were
forged and made up.
- Muslim rulers were expected to abide by and follow religious law
B. Converts and Cities
- Conversion to Islam not only helped to lift the religious tax, but also
encouraged urbanization. Conversion also required no knowledge of
the faith, only a pledge to god and Muhammad.
- Most converts were illiterate and knew very little about the religion.
- Conversion also sometimes required migration to an Arabic governing
center.
- Trade, science, and culture flourished do to urbanization.
C. Islam, Women, and Slaves
- Women were often secluded and rarely ever traveled. Most women
were illiterate and were banned from public life. They had a large
influence over the family, but they still had no public appearance.
Women slaves were the only ones allowed to perform in front of men
as dancers and musicians and men were allowed to marry up to four
wives and have as many sexual encounters with slaves as they wanted
to.
- Islam law gave women better status then Christianity and Buddhism
did. Women had basic rights and were allowed to divorce and go on
pilgrimages. They also could own land and property.
- Islam had nothing against slavery, but they could not enslave other
Muslims, Christians, Jews, or Zoroastrians.