Islamic Civilization

Global Studies 9Mrs. Hart and Mrs. Bernier

The Spread of Islam Islam was founded in

the Middle East in the early 600s by a man named Muhammad. In the years after his death, Islam spread quickly. Muslims conquered empires in the Middle East, North Africa, Europe, India, and Southeast Asia.

Diverse Lands and People:The Middle East and North

Africa

The Muslims conquered Syria, Palestine, the Persian Empire, and Egypt in the 600s. After taking over parts of North Africa, they joined forces with the North Africans to conquer Spain.

Diverse Lands and People:Spain and Sicily

Muslim Arabs and the North African Allies attacked Spain in the early 700s. When Europe was weak during the Middle Ages, the Muslims took control of Sicily.

Diverse Lands and People: India and Southeast Asia

In the 700s, the Muslims conquered the Indus Valley. By the 1200s, Turkish converts to Islam conquered most of northern India, and created a great Muslim empire on the subcontinent.

Islam was spread throughout Southeast Asia mainly through trade.

Reasons for Muslim Success Strong cavalry. Persian and Byzantine

Empires were weak from fighting each other.

United in their belief of Islam.

Treated conquered people fairly.

Common language.

Social Patterns: Social Mobility

Under Islam, people were able to move up

or down the social class ladder. Religious,

academic, or military achievement could

lead to someone moving up in society.

Social Patterns: Treatment of Conquered People and Slaves

In areas conquered by the Muslims, most people were treated fairly and allowed to practice their own religions, however, they had to pay the Muslims a special tax.

Slavery was allowed under Muslim law, but it was possible for slaves to buy their freedom. Also if a slave converted to Islam, his or her children would be free.

Social Patterns: Women According to Muslim belief, men and women are

spiritually equal, but not socially equal. Historically women had certain rights like the right

to inherit property, education, and consent to marry. Over time however, some Muslim societies became more strict.

Muslim Empires: Umayyad Dynasty * Based in Damascus (modern-

day Syria). * Ruled large cities and

territories. * Used local officials to govern

the large empire. * Influenced by Byzantine and

Persian traditions of government. * Criticized for being too

worldly,

Muslim Empires: Abbassid Dynasty

In 750, the Abbassid dynasty was founded when their leader captured the Umayyad capital of Damascus. They ruled until the mid-1200s. One consequence of Abbassid rule was that it ended Arab domination of Islam. Around 850, Abbassid rule of Islamic civilization began to decline. Independent dynasties began to rule in Muslim states. In the 900s, the Seljuk Turks adopted Islam and built their own empire.

Golden Age of Islam Muslims absorbed and

blended customs and traditions from many of the peoples they ruled. The glory of the empires was reflected in their emphasis on learning, achievements in the arts and sciences, and flourishing economies based on trade. This was known as the Golden Age of Islam.

Golden Age of IslamAccomplishments:

* Preservation of Greco-Roman culture.

* Vast libraries and universities that employedhighly respected scholars.

* Magnificent mosques and palaces influenced

by Byzantine domes and arches.

Golden Age of IslamAccomplishments:

• Muslim artists were highly skilled in calligraphy, or artistic writing, which decorated buildings and pieces of art.

* The Quran was the most important piece of Muslim literature, many writers wrote poems based on the holy book.

Golden Age of IslamAccomplishments:

*Muslims pioneered the study of algebra.

* Muslim astronomers also observed the Earth’s rotation and calculated the circumference of the Earth within a few thousand feet.