byzantine and the rise of islam

Justinian

an Emperor that created law reforms that preserves Roman law; tried to reunify the Roman Empire

Theodora

Justinians wife and most trusted advisor

Belisarius

The last Roman general

Olga

a princess and member of the Kievan nobility who publically converted to Christianity

Vladimir

made all his subjects convert to Christianity

Yaroslav the Wise

a prince of Byzantine that married off his daughters to strengthen the empire, created a legal code, and expanded Christianity

Alexander Nevsky

prince and military hero who cooperated with the Mongols

Ivan I

gained Mongol trust and became the most powerful person by collecting taxes of all Slavic lands

Ivan III

the first Czar; rebelled against the Mongols

Mohammed

experienced a divine revelation from God; prophet and founder of Islam

five pillars

rules every Muslim must follow: affirmation of faith, charity, fasting, pilgrimage, and prayer

Abu Bekr

the first caliph; ordered the compilation of Mohammed’s speeches

Omar

the best conqueror of the early caliphs; second caliph

Othman

an Umayyad who converted; third caliph

Ali

cousin to Mohammed; fought the Umayyads

Muslim

means “one who surrenders”

Baghdad

Capital of the Abbasid kingdom

boyars

Russian nobles

Moscow

Under the Mongols, this city became the capital of Russia

caliph

term for Muslim ruler

Hagia Sophia

The great church Justinian built in Constantinople

Tours

Battle where the Muslim advance into Europe was stopped

Kiev

capital of the first Russian kingdom

Cordoba

printing capital of Europe when it was a Muslim city

Shia Muslims

believe the leader of the faith must come from Mohammed’s bloodline

Islam

means “to surrender”

schism

means “split”

Cyrillic

alphabet of the Slavic people

hijira

Event that signaled the beginning of Islam

czar

title for Russian kings

Mecca

city where Mohammed first preached his message

Suni Muslims

believe any wise person can lead the faith

patriarch

head of the Greek Orthodox Christians

icon

a religious image

iconoclasts

people who went around breaking religious images

Medina

city Mohammed fled to

Slavs

ethnic group that populated eastern Europe

Damascus

the finest quality steel was produced here

Koran

the Muslim holy book