Early Islamic World

Hijrah

Hijrah

• 610 CE- Muhammad experienced a revelation (vision)

  • Went to Yathrib (town north of Makkah) in 622

• 622 - marks the beginning of the Islamic era and is the first year of the Muslim calendar

Madinah Compact

• Muhammad laid the foundation of an Islamic state

• All Muslims were to place loyalty to the Islamic Community above loyalty to the tribe

Quran

• the holy scriptures of Islam- all areas of life were placed under divine law and recorded in the Quran

Shariah

• body of law which covers all aspects of Muslim private and public life

Caliph

• new type of leader (successor to Islamic political and religious leadership)

Gunpowder Empire

• an empire formed by outside conquerors who unified the regions that they conquered through their mastery of firearms

Harem

• “sacred place,” the private domain of an Ottoman sultan, where he and his wives lived

Janissary

• a soldier in the elite guard of the Ottoman Turks

Pasha

• an appointed official in the Ottoman Empire who collected taxes, maintained law and order, and was directly responsible to the sultan’s court

Sultan

• “holder of power” – the military and political head of state under the Seljuk Turks and the Ottomans

Dar al Islam (or Islamic Realm)

• fostered contacts between China and the Eastern Mediterranean.

Arabian Peninsula

• south of Asia Minor (Between the Red Sea and Persian Gulf)

• The Home of the Arabs was isolated- allowed Arabs to create their own civilization

Bedouin

• Life Ancient times- many Arabs were nomads called Bedouins who lived in tribes made up of related families – led by Sheiks

• 500 AD- many tribes settled to farm or trade

• Makkah - the most important town Trading Center, 50 miles inland from the Red Sea

• Arabs had a common language

• No central form of government

Makkah (Mecca)

• became the spiritual capital of Islam

• most important town Trading center, 50 miles inland from the Red Sea

Muhammad

• prophet of Islam; Born in Makkah- 570 CE

Yathrib

• town north of Makkah

Sunni

• Majority of Muslims

Shi’ite

• believed that the caliph should only be descendants of Muhammad

• Stress spiritual, rather than political, aspects of Islamic leadership

Geometric Design

• flowers, and stars

Arabic Numerals

• advancements in algebra & geometry

Mosques, Mosaics, Calligraphy

• Architecture: Rebuilt palaces and mosques with mosaics, calligraphy , and geometrical design

The Umayyads

• Ruled from 661-750

• Expanded to the borders of India, North Africa, and into Spain

Battle of Tours

• stopped the spread of Islam into Western Europe (occurred in France) Led by Charles Martel

Charles Martel

• Led the Battle of Tours

The Abbasids

• Built Baghdad on the banks of the Tigris River (Present day Iraq) and made it the new capital.

• Ruled from 750-1258

• Emerged as rulers of Islamic world in the 13th century

• Persian practice of veiling women emerged in the Abbasid Dynasty as a part of Islam

Baghdad

• Capitol of the Abbasids

Ill Khanate

• Established by Helegu, grandson of Genghis Khan the Mongol conqueror

Helegu

• Grandson of Genghis Khan, the Mongol Conqueror

• captured the Abbasid capital in Baghdad in 1258

• [name] successors ruled the Islamic heartlands for almost 100 years

The Ottoman Empire

• Nomads from Central Asia

• Emerged as rulers of the Islamic world in the 13th century

Suleiman the Magnificent

• Ruled the empire from Istanbul

• Christians and Jews tolerated – given limited self-government

• Expanded the empire to its greatest height in the 1500s