A. Southwest Asia Sometimes Referred to As the Middle East

Chapter 10 Notes Section 1 Rise of Islam

I. Deserts, Towns, and Travelers A. Southwest Asia – sometimes referred to as the Middle East 1. A crossroads of 3 continents; Asia, Africa, Europe 2. Most of peninsula is a desert B. Early desert life 1. Nomads, called Bedouins settled there 2. Organized into tribes and clans 3. Fighting ability led to huge empire in 600’s and 700’s 4. Most settled near an oasis or a market town C. Trade of ideas 1. Trade routes connected Arabia to oceans and other lands a. Transported spices and incense b. Traded information and ideas 2. City of Mecca – western Arabia a. Caravans stopped here b. Religious pilgrims came to worship at ancient shrine c. Shrine was called the Ka’aba d. Ka’aba was associated with Abraham e. Ka’aba contained over 360 idols f. God, known as Allah in Arabic

II. The Prophet Muhammad 1. Raised by his grandfather and uncle 2. Became a trader 3. Life changed at age 40 a. Heard voice of Gabriel, messenger of God b. Became convinced that he was last of the prophets c. Taught that Allah was the one and only God, all gods must be abandoned, called Islam 1. People who agreed to this principal were called Muslims 4. Began to preach publicly in Mecca A. The Hijrah 1. Muhammad decided to leave Mecca 2. Settled in town called Yathrib, later called Medina (city of the prophet) a. This migration became to be known as the Hijrah 3. Joined his people with Arabs and Jews to form one community 4. Became a military leader B. Return to Mecca 1. Bedouin tribes converted to Islam 2. Mecca’s power declined a. 10,000 of his followers marched to Mecca b. Many surrendered and converted to Islam c. Muhammad destroyed idols in the Ka’aba 3. Muhammad died 2 years later, age 62. 4. Took great strides toward unifying the entire Arabian Penninsula under Islam

III. Beliefs and Practices of Islam A. Believe in only one God, Allah 1.There is good and evil 2. Each individual is responsible for actions of life 3. Qur’an – holy book of the Muslims 4. Each person will stand before Allah on day of judgement B. The Five Pillars 1. Faith – must state “There is no God but Allah, and Muhammad is the messenger of Allah” 2. Prayer – 5 times a day facing Mecca a. Mosque – Islamic house of worship 3. Alms – must support the less fortunate 4. Fasting – between sunrise and sunset during the holy month of Ramadan 5. Pilgrimage – Must go to Mecca at least once in a lifetime; also called a hajj C. A Way of Life 1. Believers are forbidden to eat pork or wine 2. Friday afternoons are spent praying and worshiping 3. Islam has no priests D. Sources of Authority 1. Followers of Muhammad listened to prayers and teachings and memorized them 2. Qur’an is written in Arabic 3. Sunna – Muhammad’s life – best model for proper living E. Links to Judaism and Christianity 1. Allah is same God worshiped in Judaism and Christianity 2. View Jesus as a prophet, not Son of God 3. Muslims trace ancestry to Abraham, as do Jew and Christians 4. Extended religious tolerance to Christians and Jews

Chapter 10 Section 2 Notes Spread of Islam

I. Successors of Muhammad A. Muhammad died in 632 1. Lacked a clear way to choose a leader 2. Elected Abu-Bakr as their leader a. Became first caliph b. Abu-Bakr used military force to reassert authority B. Three “rightly guided” caliphs a. Umar conquered parts of Byzantine and Persian Empire b. Uthman and Ali continued expansion east and west C. Reasons for Success 1. Muslims saw military victories as sign of Allah’s support of Islam 2. Factors that led to success a. Faith of Muslim soldiers b. Well disciplined and commanded soldiers c. Great war tactics d. Weakness of Persian and Byzantine Empires e. Persecuted those who did not support Christianity Zoroastrinaism, or Islam D. Treatment of Conquered People 1. Allowed conquered people to retain their own religion 2. They were not allowed to spread their religion II. Internal Conflict Creates a Crisis A. Uthman is murdered in 656 and triggers civil war 1. Ali came to power and was assassinated in 661 2. System of electing caliph dies as well 3. Umayyads came to power a. Set up hereditary system of succession b. Moved capital from Mecca to Damascus in Syria c. Surrounded themselves with wealth B. Islam splits 1. Shi’a thought that next caliph should be a relative of the Prophet a. Became known as Sunni, followers of Muhammad’s example 2. Sufi lived life of poverty and devotion to a spiritual path a. Focused on the Qur’an b. Tried to achieve direct contact with Allah by chanting and meditation

3. Abbasids over throw the Umayyads in 750

III. Control of 3 Continents A. Abbasids come to power 1. Control the Persian lands 2. Moved the capital of empire to Baghdad a. Had access key trade routes b. Aquired information on Asia, Africa, and Europe 3. Established strong bureaucracy to conduct empire’s affairs B. Divided People 1. The Abbasid caliphate last from 750-1258 a. Failed to keep political control of immense territory 2. Independent Muslim states arose a. Fatimid Dynasty - Muhammad’s daughter 1. Spread across North Africa and across Red Sea 3. Lands were still tied together a. Religion b. Language c. Trade d. Economy C. Muslim trade Network 1. Mediterranean Sea and Indian Ocean 2. Muslims set up banks in cities in empire