The Rise of theArab IslamicEmpire

622AD - 1450

Mk 2018

Birth of Islam610 – 624 AD

610AD – The Arabian Peninsula: Muhammad, age 40 has visions and revelations he claimed came from God.

These revelations were written down by friends.

These writings become the Islamic holy text called the Quran.

Nobody knows exactly what Muhammad looked like. Over the centuries he has been represented in Islamic art. Some sects of Islam do not believe any physical likeness of Muhammad should be portrayed.

Mohammad preached his new belief in the trading city of Mecca.

The local authorities persecuted Mohammad and his followers.

Eventually they were driven from the city.

In the 600’s AD. The Arabian Peninsula was filled with different nomadic tribes.

Mecca was an important trading center for different tribes. It was a place where any tribe could come to buy and sell their goods.

In a series of battles,(624 – 629 AD)Mohammad and his followers conquered Mecca in 630.

Uniting the Arabs624 – 632 AD

Uniting the Arabs624 – 632 AD

From 630 until his death in 632, Muhammad united most of the tribes in Arabia by converting them to Islam, the belief in one god.

Islam spread quickly through Arabia for two reasons:1. It brought a sense of unity to the

scattered nomadic tribes living in the region.

2. The united tribes posed an unbeatable, numerically superiormilitary force that individual tribescould not defend against.

Islam at the time of Muhammad’s death.

Division & Expansion633 – 750AD

In 633 Muhammad died.The Muslim community disagreed over who would succeed Mohammad as the leader of the Muslims.This causes the split into two branches of Islam, Sunni and Shia.

The recognized successor was called a Caliph.

By 638, Arabic Muslims had conquered Northern Arabia including present day Syria, Israel, Lebanon and Iraq.

The tomb of Muhammad

ARABIAN PENINSULA

Expansion633 –1,450 AD

Arabic Islamic expansion outside of the Arabian Peninsula followed two main forms:1. Military conquest2. Conversion to Islam:

through contact with traders and merchants, through incentives such as eliminating the chance of enslavementor release from paying a tax for not being a “believer”.

Expansion633 – 750AD

641Arab Muslims enter Egypt and defeat theByzantine army. Muslims considered this conquest a liberation.

655Islam begins to spread into North Africa

mostly by military conflict.

NORTH

AFRICA

Expansion633 – 750AD

711 732Muslims cross from North Africa into a weak Arab Islamic armies are defeated by the Frenchand disorganized Spain at the battle of Potiers, France. (by Charlemagne)

This halts Islam's spread into Western Europe for 1200 years.

EUROPE

Expansion633 – 750AD

711Arabs push into Western India beginning almost 1,800 years of persecution of native Hindus.

Arab influence continued to push farther east into India through trade.

INDIA

The Golden Age800 – 1255AD

The Arab Islamic Empire reached a period of impressive cultural, scientific and literary excellence.Their achievements rivaled those of China and far eclipsed medieval Europe.

Mathematics* Zero* Algebra* Geometry* Trigonometry* Calculus

Physical Science* Astron0omy* Physics* Chemistry* Biology

The Golden Age800 – 1255AD

Medicine* Hospitals * Pharmacies* Surgery* Triage* Medical isolation

Finance & Trade* Banking* Checks* Arabic numbers

The Golden Age800 – 1255AD

Architecture

The Golden Age800 – 1255AD

The Golden Age800 – 1255AD

ART

The Golden Age800 – 1255AD

LiteratureThe Arabs invented paper as we know it today.

They printed and distributed knowledge and had large libraries of Arab, Chinese, Indian and European writings.

Books and paper helped to diffuse knowledge across the Empire.

Makingpaper

The Golden Age800 – 1255AD

Cordoba Spain –Captured by the Arabs in 711AD is became known as the “Bright light in an otherwise dark continent.”

The End1258AD

In 1258 an invasion from the East resulted in the destruction of Arabic libraries, universities and the hospitals.

The Arabic Islamic Empire was conquered by the Mongols from Asia.

Although the Mongols converted to Islam, their focus was on trade and not research/education.

Expansion continued in East and West Africa but the “Golden Days” were over.

Mongols capture Baghdad

Fin