The+First+Global+Civilization+-+The+Rise+and+Spread+of+Islam

=**The Pre-Islamic Arabian World**= = =

E  || * Based on camel and goat herding Arabian desert wasteland, great trade cities, || S || * Clan councils -> Shaykhs -> free warriors -> slave families Women still not == to men town developed social orgainizations based on family clan and culture depended on kin || P || * Clan councils regulated the use of watering places and grazing lands I || * Many interclan rivalries and struggles to control vital pasturelands/watering places R || * Mecca was the site of the Ka’ba, more revered religious shrine in pre-Islamic Arabia I || * Wide variety of bedouin cultures developed T || No real mentions on technology ||
 * Trading cities found near the Red Sea, Mecca and Medina
 * Medina grew date palms and wheat
 * Mecca = center of trading and dominated by Umayyad clan of Quraysh
 * Medina controlled by both Jewish clans and Bedouins clans whose quarrels left the city 2nd to Mecca as the center of trading
 * Free warriors worked for Shaykhs enforcing laws and kept slave families under them
 * Struggle for subsistence in unforgiving Arabian environment => strong dependence on and loyalty to one’s family and clan
 * Women in pre-Islamic Arabia Bedouin culture had more freedom and higher status
 * Women played key economic roles from milking to weaving
 * Tribes traced descents through mother due to the men always on constant move
 * Both men and women allowed multiple wives/husbands
 * Man is required to pay dowry instead
 * Shaykhs elected by councils of elder advisors
 * Shaykhs = leaders of clans and always with large herds
 * Camel nomads in tribes/clans dominated the Arabian peninsula ||
 * All men in the clans warring against each other will fight
 * Battles fought according to book of chivalry
 * Due to constant fighting, clans were easily manipulated by neighboring areas
 * Gather in Mecca yearly for a forced truce due to the Ka’ba ||
 * Bedouin religion = blend of animisn and polytheism
 * Some tribes (Quaraysh ) recognized a supreme god named Allah but prayed/sacrificed to lesser spirits that they assumed will helped in their daily lives (nature spirits) ||
 * Little art + architecture of worth in far south
 * Main focus was poetry which was done by words from mouth since no written language developed ||

5 Pillars of Islam

1. Shahadah - the declaration of faith in Islam in 3 parts 1. As a Muslim, live a continuous striving life 2. affirms the existence of God 3. God sent prophets -The Qur’an mentions other prophets sent by gods along with different creeds but universally accepted teachings of Islam

2. Salah - five daily prayers to be done 1. b/w dawn and sunrise 2. noon to mid-afternoon 3. b/w mid-afternoon and before sunset 4. at sunset 5. after twilight until nighttime -no separation of men and women during prayers (equal) -same prayers done by all

3. Sawm -adult Muslims fast 1 month every year (Ramadan) -fasting believed to help people be drawn closer to God along with the purification of the body -1/13 of the Qur’an is read per night, 1 month = finish reading of Qur’an

4. Zakah -donation of a portion of one’s wealth to others without basic needs

5. Hajj -pilgrimage to Mecca -all worshippers are equal b/c of same clothing

Summary of the Five Pillars of Islam The Five Pillars of Islams, when followed to its fullest extent by Muslims, shows true devotion. Dedicated Muslims would pray 5 times a day and participate in Ramadan along with doing what the other 3 Pillars require. The Five Pillars of Islam contained things that anybody could do, ranging from the declaration of the faith to making a trip at least once to Mecca. The Five Pillars of Islam also gave people the belief that they are purified as they perform certain Pillars. Islam appealed to bedioun tribes because it provided these nomadic groups with a sense on unity under one god. Also a sense of equality was felt as Muslims come together for pray, both men and women, poor and rich.

Read pages 136-143 and answer the following questions

1.How did the death of Muhammad lead to the Expansion of Islam? After the death of Muhammad, Abu Bakr had been chosen as his successor. Abu Bakr knew which tribes could be turned against each other and which ones could they form alliances with but had only loosely controlled military commanders. With the loose control of Abu Bakr, these able commanders defeated rival prophets and larger clans and started what was known as the Rudda War.

2.What were the motivations for Islamic conquest? During conquests, Muslims had believed that Allah will protect them and with large number of followers, they had strengths in numbers. At first conquest was seen as a way to released pent-up energy of tribes they sought to rule, but eventually exposed the vulnerability of other empires.

3.How were the Umayyads able to defeat their adversaries? The Umayyads were able to defeat the Sasanid Empire since their ruler was controlled by the aristocrat class and the official religion of the emperor was unpopular. The defeat of the Byzantine empire was aided by Christians since the Christians had long resented the Orthodox.

4.What caused the major division in Islam? The war that erupted between the Ali and the Umayyads, caused by Uthman’s death and Ali’s claim for the caliph. Many Arabs had supported Ali after the Battle of the Camel but after defeating the Umayyads forces at the Battle of Siffin, his decision to accept meditation caused supporters to renounce his leadership. Ali was later assassinated and his son Hasan was pressured to renounce his claims to the caliphates.

5.What was the extent of the Islamic Empire under the Umayyads? Under the Umayyads, the Islamic Empire had extended from Spain in the west to the steppes of central Asia in the east.

6.How were people of the book treated under the Umayyads? People of the book were treated almost equally except they were taxed more and had no share in the booty acquired more raids.

7.Explain gender structures under the Umayyads Women had received more rights than they had in pre-Islamic times. Their legal rights in inheritance and divorce were also strengthened.

8.What factors led to the decline of the Umayyads? Umayyad caliphs’s addictions to luxary and soft living were one cause of the fall of the Umayyads Because the Umayyads had retreated into pleasure gardens and marble palaces, the dissenting sects were enraged and revolts sparked throughout the empire.

notes on movie (might have to type in, should have written in pen instead D: )

Summary of the Movie Islam was an empire based off faith and had spread and had become the largest empire in history. At least ¼ of the people on Earth are Muslim. Muhammad was the prophet of this new founded religion and Allah was its god. As a child, Muhammad was sent to live with his uncle when his parents died at the age of 6. The Arabian Peninsula was in constant wars over watering places and grazing lands and a war could generate a dispute that would last generation between tribes. By preaching that Allah was the only god, and the rapid spread of Islam, there was much opposition by other tribes and eventually Muhammad had left Mecca to go to Medina, the city of the prophet. Mecca was eventually recapture by Muhammad and his rapid growing number of followers but instead of the destruction of the losing city he had only destroyed other clan’s gods located in the Ka’ba which also destroyed tribal systems.

ESPIRIT Chart - Abbasid Era E       || MI: growth of wealth and expanision of trade S  || MI: the social status of merchants and Ayan grew whereas women status dropped and slaves gain a bit more P  || MI: the rise, the golden age and decline of the empire and shift of power n Shi’a revolts + assassinations plague the dynasty n He failed to solve the vexing problem of succession n Successor ** Harun al-Rashid ** one of most famous al-Ma’mun ||  I   || MI: Abbasiads began to rejection of allies and destorid the Umayyad R  || MI: Islam won converts and non-converts by sharing them almost equally I  || MI: Arab scholars and merchants helped the revival of old knowlegde and spread of new knowledge from own and other civilizations T  || MI: Arabs created new technology which helped agriculture and increased more trades with other civilizations.
 * Merchants had diff. sunbaths = firm done all week = rich merchants from supplying the cities w/ provisions
 * Wealth => charity/donations or purchase of other goods/land
 * Mahid drained further caliphs financial due to habits of surrounding self with buildings/wives
 * w/ caliph’s attempt to escape turmoil of Bagndad, new capitals est. but financial strain w/ new palace/mosque and public work built
 * spiraling taxation + outright pillaging = abandonment of villages
 * growing wealth of elites -> greater demand for slaves ||
 * Unskilled labor still left to slaves, smart slaves could buy freedom where as less fortunate slaves live life of hard labor
 * ** Ayan **, landlords long est. or Arab soldiers investing $$ in land or merchants
 * Harem and veil = twin emblems of women’s increasing subjugation
 * Concubines usually slaves who could win freedom by bearing healthy child for ruler
 * Lower class women worked where as higher class, women cajoled their husbands and plotted with eunuchs and royal advisors to win backing of succession
 * Women forced to wear a veil and the harem
 * Peasants didn’t won the land they worked on ||
 * Capital city = ** Baghdad ** built near ancient Persian capital
 * Bureaucratization of Islamic Empire -> growing power of the ** wazir **
 * ** Wazir lead to the bureaucratize  **
 * By the reign of the 3rd caliph, ** al-Mahdi, **political divisions slowly led to decline
 * al-Ma’mun built personal army of 7K slaves -> force eventually = power center and assassinated caliphs
 * by 9th century the advisories had all the power
 * Mahdi hired massive army of mercenaries to help him take throne but eventually killed him and put his son on the throne
 * Built an abosltuist ccentralized empire
 * Able to actually control all of the land since the wazir oversaw the building of the political system
 * Traded from western Mediterranean to the South China Sea
 * al-Rashid sent Charlemagne presents after dazzling the Christians
 * Abbasiads invaded by ** Buyids ** of Persia (945) => caliphs = puppets controlled by Buyids who later were supplanted by ** Seljuk Turks ** (1055)
 * Much contact b/w Europe and the Islamic world through trade
 * After defeat of the Umayyad clan, the Abbasids began to reject their old shi’a and mawali allies brutally suppressed ||
 * Islamic beliefs
 * Converts exempt from paying head tax, got greater opport. in schooling, or jobs as admins, traders or judges
 * Europeans mounted 8 Crusades after the taking over of Jerusalem
 * Under ** Saladin, **Muslims reconquered most of crusader outposts ||
 * Main task = recovering + preserving the learning of ancient civilizations (Mediterranean + Middle East)
 * Helped the spread of the numerical system from India to rest of world
 * Arabic language, Muslim science, law, and philosophy and Islamic art and architecture developed
 * // The Thousand and One Nights // (important because it is set on Bagdad of Harum who rules during the time and how the empire collasped)
 * Great expansion of professional classes, doctors/scholars/legal and religious experts
 * Shah-Nama = single most important work, lengthy epic poem ||
 * Arab ** dhows **– sailing vessels with triangular sails
 * Advances in tech. such as water pumps + windmills
 * Tapestries and rugs of Muslim people created
 * Made highly prized swords known as damascene swords prized by the crusaders ||