AP World History 1.2: Dar Al-Islam

Abbasid

Dynasty that succeeded the Umayyads as caliphs within Islam; came to power in 750 C.E and ended in 1258. Islamic civilization and culture flourished.

Baghdad

Capital of Abbasid dynasty located in Iraq near ancient Persian capital of Ctesiphon

Vizier

Ottoman equivalent of the Abbasid wazir; head of the Ottoman bureaucracy; after 5th century often more powerful than sultan.

Seljuk Turks

Saljuq Turks entered Southwest Asia and eventually conquered the Abbasids; Often used by Muslim leaders as mercenaries; Invaded Baghdad in 1055 and controlled the Abbasid Caliphate. For the last two centuries of the Abbasid state, the caliphs served as figureheads while actual power was with the Turks.

Muhammad

definition: the Arab prophet who founded Islam (570-632)

significance: founder of Islam, a prominent religion

Mecca

City in western Arabia; birthplace of the Prophet Muhammad, and ritual center of the Islamic religion.

Dar al-Islam

definition: religious conceptualization of the world as belonging either to Muslim or non-Muslim territory, exists within Islam

significance: Allowed for expeditions from other countries to be facilitated

Quran (Koran)

definition: the sacred writings of Islam revealed by God to the prophet Muhammad during his life at Mecca and Medina

significance: Basis of the Islamic faith

Medina

definition: a city in western Saudi Arabia to where Muhammad had fled

significance: Islamic significance, location where Muhammad was buried, first Mosque

Five Pillars of Islam

definition: the five basic acts of worship that are central to Islam (Faith, Prayer, Fasting, Alms, Pilgrimage)

significance: Foundation of Islam, reinforced by Muhammad

Sharia

definition: the code of law derived from the Koran and from the teachings and example of Muhammed

significance: Sharia is still used today, prohibits actions according to Islam, demonstrates Muhammad's influences

Caliph

definition: the civil and religious leader of a Muslim state considered to be a representative of Allah on earth

significance: Center of several debates, the leader of an expansive empire

Shia

definition: the branch of Islam whose members acknowledge Ali and his descendants as the rightful successors of Muhammad

significance: source of many debates, one of the largest Islamic denominations

Sultan

definition: the ruler of a Muslim country (especially of the former Ottoman Empire)

significance: true leaders of dar al-Islam, set up a puppet state

Mamluks

Turkic military slaves who formed part of the army of the Abbasid Caliphate in the ninth and tenth centuries; they founded their own state in Egypt and Syria from the thirteenth to early sixteenth centuries

Cordoba

capital of Muslim Spain, an economic center, hundreds of workshops, culture and learning flourished there

Battle of Tours

(732 CE) European victory over Muslims. It halted Muslim movement into Western Europe.

Bedouins

Nomadic pastoralists of the Arabian peninsula; culture based on camel and goat nomadism; early converts to Islam.. Muhammed's tribe.

Polygamy

having more than one spouse at a time

Sunni

a Muslim group that accepts only the descendants of the Umayyads as the true rulers of Islam

Umayyad Dynasty

First hereditary dynasty of Muslim caliphs (661 to 750). From their capital at Damascus, the Umayyads ruled one of the largest empires in history that extended from Spain to India. Overthrown by the Abbasid Caliphate.

House of Wisdom

Combination library, academy, and translation center in Baghdad established in the 800s.

Sultanate of Delhi

Islamic state in northern India established by Mahmud's successors in 1206 C.E. that began to establish the presence of Islam on the Indian subcontinent.