Chapter 6-2: The Arab Empire and Its Successors

1. Chapter 6-2: The Arab Empire and Its Successors Global Studies I

2. Key Terms • caliph a successor to Muhammad, or ruler of Islam • jihad (“struggle in the way of God”) the Arabic custom of raiding one’s enemies • vizier a prime minister who advised the caliph • sultan (“holder of power”) the title of the Turkish leader who took command of the Arab Empire • mosque a Muslim temple or house of worship

3. People to Identify • Abu Bakr first caliph and father-in-law of Muhammad • Mu’awiyah established the Umayyad dynasty • Hussein led a revolt against the Umayyad dynasty in 680 • Harun al-Rashid Abbasid caliph whose reign is called the golden age of the Abbasid caliphate • Saladin Muslim ruler who ended the Crusades by destroying the Christian army in Jerusalem in 1187

4. Timeline • 656: Ali becomes caliph • 661: Mu’awiyah becomes caliph and est. the Ummayad dynasty • 732: Arab forces defeated @ the Battle of Tours; expansion into Europe stops • 750: Abu al-Abbas est. the Abbasid dynasty • 762: Abbasids build new capital @ Baghdad

5. Timeline • 1055: Seljuk Turks take control of Abbasid Empire • 1096: Crusades begin • 1169: Saladin takes control of Egypt • 1187: Crusades end • 1258: Golden age of the Abbasid caliphate

6. I. Creation of an Arab Empire • Who became the first caliph? • Abu-Bakr • How did the Islamic movement grow under Abu Bakr? • Through jihad – Muslim soldiers believed that dying in battle assured a place in paradise. (72 Virgins)

7. II. The Umayyads • How did Mu’awiyah establish the Umayyad dynasty? • By making the caliphate hereditary • What weaknesses in Arab rule led to revolts against the Umayyads? • struggles for succession • struggles between Arab and non-Arab Muslims • struggles between the Shiite and Sunni Muslims • What is the difference between Shiite and Sunni Muslims? • Shiite – accept only the descendants of Ali as true caliphs  • Sunni – accept only the descendants of the Umayyads as true caliphs

8. III. Abbasid Dynasty • How was the Abbasid dynasty established? • Abu al-Abbas overthrew the Ummayad and established the Abbasid dynasty.  • What changes did the Abbasid rulers bring to the world of Islam? • all Muslims could hold civil and military offices • Arabs began to inter-marry the conquered peoples • new capital city at Baghdad • prosperity

9. IV. The Seljuk Turks • How did the Seljuk Turks gradually replace the Abbasids? • converted to Islam and prospered as soldiers for the Abbasids • took over the eastern provinces of the Abbasid dynasty • captured Baghdad and most of the Anatolian Peninsula

10. V. The Crusades • Why did many other Europeans agree to help the Byzantine emperor in the fight against the Muslims? • The Christian states and Islamic world feared and disliked each other.

11. VI. The Mongols • How did the Mongols seize control of the Arab empire in the thirteenth century? • The Mongols were fierce nomads who created such terror that people would not fight back. They seized Persia and Mesopotamia, bringing the Abbasid caliphate to an end. • What changes occurred with Mongol rulers over time? • Mongol rulers converted to Islam. • They rebuilt many of the cities that they had destroyed.