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Geography. The Arabian Peninsula is a crossroads of three continents- Asia, Europe, and Africa. A tiny strip of fertile land in south Arabia and Oman and a few Oasis can support agriculture. The remaining land is desert. Map Oasis. Desert and Town Life.
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Geography • The Arabian Peninsula is a crossroads of three continents- Asia, Europe, and Africa. • A tiny strip of fertile land in south Arabia and Oman and a few Oasis can support agriculture. • The remaining land is desert.
Desert and Town Life • Bedouins were nomadic desert tribesmen who took pride in their ability to adapt to the desert and defend themselves. • The most populated cities would be those with fertile soil and large oasis.
Trade and Ideas • Trade routes ran from the extreme south all the way to Byzantium and Sassanid (Persia) Empires in the north. • Carried information and ideas along the Silk Roads. • Mecca becomes an important religious pilgrimage site.
The Prophet Muhammad • Born to a powerful Meccan family,orphaned at age six,raised by his grandfather and uncle. Very little education. • A religious individual. • Marries wealthy business woman.
Revelations • Hears the voice of Gabriel while meditating in a cave outside of Mecca. • Convinced he is the last of the great prophets. • Taught that Allah was the one and only God. • Was not new to this area.
Teachings and Hijrah • By 613, Muhammad begins to preach his message. • Leaves Mecca in 622 and settles in Yathrib (Medina). This is the Hijrah. • Becomes a military, religious, and political leader.
Muhammad Returns to Mecca • Muhammad returns to Mecca with 10,000 of his followers. Mecca surrenders. • Most Mecans covert to Islam and become Muslims. • Destroys idols at the Ka'aba. • In 632, Muhammad dies. Does not leave a successor.
Five Pillars of Islam • Faith- No God but Allah and Muhammad is his prophet. • Prayer – Five times a day facing Mecca. Mosque. • Alms- Support the less fortunate. Tax.
Five Pillars Continued • Fasting- Fast during the holy month of Ramadan. Not a set date. • Pilgrimage- Must perform the hajj, or pilgrimage, to Mecca at least once in your lifetime.
Muslims Way of Life • Do not eat pork or drink alcohol. • Friday afternoon is set aside for communal worship and prayer. • No priest. • Qur'an written in Arabic. True word of God.
Sources of Authority. • Sunna is Muhammad's example on how to live. • Shariah is the body of law that regulates the family and society. • Do not separate religious matters from civil matters.
Links to Judaism and Christianity • Trace ancestry back to Abraham. • Believe in one God. • Each have a holy book. Revelation of these books. • Jerusalem is important to all three religions.
Muhammad's Successors • Muhammad does not leave a successor or caliph. • Some abandon Islam. • Abu- Bakr and three other elected caliph- Umar, Uthman, and Ali spead Islam by conquest. • Muhammad's example and the Qur'an is how they lead.
Reasons for Success/ Treatment of People • Armies were well disciplined and expertly commanded. • Weakness and cruelty of Byzantine and Persians. • Muslims allowed conquered people to keep their faith. • Had to pay and tax and could not spread their faith.
Internal Conflicts and Crisis • Caliph systems dies violently in 661. • A family known as the Umayyads comes to power. • Moves Muslim capital to Damascus. • Abandon a simple way of life.
Islam Splits • Most people accepted the Umayyad rule out of peace. • A minority continued to resist their rule. • The Sunni supported the rule of the Umayyad, the Shi'a did not. • Sufi do not support either.
Sunni, Shi'a, and Sufi • Shi'a believed that the caliph had to be a relative of Muhammad. • Sunni believed the first four caliphs as the rightful successors to Muhammad. • Sufi- Pursued a life of poverty and devotion to Islam.
Abbasids Come to Power • Overthrow the Umayyads in 750. • Move capital to Baghdad to give them better access to trade routes. • Depended on a strong bureaucracy with taxes. Diplomats, treasury, and other departments.
Rival Groups • Fatimid Dynasty spreads from North Africa into Western Arabia. Capital in Cairo. • Umayyads controlled Spain and parts of North Africa. • Abbasids could not keep political control over their vast lands.
Trade Networks • Mediterranean Sea and the Indian Ocean linked the Muslim empire by sea. • Land networks connected the Silk Roads with Muslim lands. • A single language and currency encouraged the flow of trade. • Banks offered letters of credit.
Muslim Society • Baghdad was known for its manufacturing of steel swords, armor and cloth (damask) . • Jobs in the bureaucracy and army were available. • Muslim society became cosmopolitan. • Libraries, mosques, schools.
Four Social Classes • First -Those who were born Muslim. • Second- Those who converted. • Third- Protected people: Jews, Christians, Zoroastians. • Fourth- Slaves.
Role of Women • The Qur'an said that men were the mangers of the affairs of women, but are equal as believers. • Responsibility varied. • Raised chilrden. • I dismiss thee three times.
Muslim Scholarship • Muhammad and rulers supported education for religious and practical reasons. • Collected and translated scientific and philosophical text from Greece, India, Persia, and elsewhere into Arabic.
Medicine, Math, and Science • Al Razi wrote The Treatiseon Smallpox and Measles. • Al-Khwarizimi wrote a book about matching unknown to match known quatities called al-jibr. • Ibn-al Haythan wrote a book called Optics. How we view things.
Astrolabe Armillary Sphere
Literature • Literature was a strong influence in Arabia long before Islam. • Quran is the most sacred literature. • The Thousand and OneNights are fairy tales, parables, and legends. • Al-Razi- Comprehensive Book.
Art and Architecture • Forbade the depiction of living beings. Idolatry. • Calligraphy, the art of beautiful handwriting, becomes popular. • Arabesque- Ornate designs. • Greatest cultural blending in architecture.
Philosophy and Religious Views Blend • Ibn-Rashad tried to harmonize the views of Plato and Aristotle with those of Islam. • Moses Ben Maimon blended philosopher, religion, and science in The Guide ofthe Perplexed.
