Islamic Civilization

1. Islamic Civilization Global Studies 9 Mrs. Hart and Mrs. Bernier

2. 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.

3. 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.

4. 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.

5. 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.

6. 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.

7. 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.

8. 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.

9. 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.

10. 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,

11. 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.

12. 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.

13. Golden Age of Islam Accomplishments: * Preservation of Greco-Roman culture. * Vast libraries and universities that employedhighly respected scholars. * Magnificent mosques and palaces influenced by Byzantine domes and arches.

14. Golden Age of Islam Accomplishments: • 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.

15. Golden Age of Islam Accomplishments: *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.