The Arabs & The Rise of Islam — Quick Notes

The Arabs

Definition: Arabs = Semitic peoples from the Middle East, especially the Arabian Peninsula.
Original meaning: Bedouin; now refers to people who speak Arabic.
Language: Arabic is Semitic (related to Hebrew, Aramaic, Nabatean, etc.).
Society: early Arabian society was tribal and patriarchal.
Timeline: Arabs appear around 1000 BC with the domestication of the camel.
Trade: camel caravans connected Arabia to Petra (Jordan), Palmyra (Syria), and Rome.
Camels: can carry 350 lbs and travel 25 miles/day for 8 days without water.

Early life: Muhammad born in Mecca in 570; father died before birth, mother died in childhood; raised by his uncle.
Skills: desert life and trading; traveled to Syria on expeditions.
Marriage: at 25, married Khadija (age 40); children included Fatima.
Revelation: in 610, in a cave near Mecca, visited by the archangel Gabriel; chosen as the final messenger of God.
Early reception: initially few believed; he and followers faced attacks.
Hijra: in 622, emigrated to Medina; the Muslim calendar begins from this year.
Medina era: converts grew; faced Meccan attacks; laws to control slavery and aid the poor.
Mecca: by 630, Mecca was captured and converted.
Death: Muhammad died in Medina in 632.

Succession after Muhammad: in 632, Abu Bakr became leader; title Khalifat-al-Rasul (Successor of Messenger of Allah).
Caliphate: leadership passed through Caliphs; Sunni Caliphate persisted into the 20th century.
Demographics: today, approximately 80\% - 90\% of Muslims are Sunni.

Origins: in the 650's, movement around Ali (cousin of Muhammad, husband of Fatima).
Belief: Caliph should be a blood relative of Muhammad; supporters called Shi’at al-Ali (the faction of Ali).
Early caliphate: Ali briefly Caliph, murdered in 661; buried in the Imam Ali Mosque in Najaf, Iraq.
Hasan and Hussein: Hasan was Shi’ite Caliph until 669; Hussein killed in 680; Ashura is the Shi’ite holy day.
Pilgrimage: burial sites (Ali, Hasan, Hussein) are important for Shi’ites; Sunni Muslims often view such sites as closer to idolatry.

Speed: violent conquest in the early centuries, with rapid expansion.
Population: Arabs united and enthusiastic; conquered Byzantine and Sassanid Persian empires.
Conversion: conquered peoples were usually not forced to convert; spread also through peaceful contact via merchants.
Geography: Dar al-Islam (House of Islam) extended from Spain & Morocco to Iran & Afghanistan by 750.

Years: 661-750.
Capitals and major cities: Damascus; Cordoba; Kufa; Medina; Mecca; Isfahan.
Expansion: extended Islamic rule across North Africa, Iberia, and parts of Asia.

Years: 750-1258.
Capital: Baghdad.
Era: Golden Age of Islam; significant translation, science, and culture.
Geography: vast empire including IFriqiyyah (North Africa), Syria, Egypt, Persia, and beyond.

Years: 909-1171.
Core areas: Maghreb, Egypt (Cairo), Damascus, Mecca, Medina, Sousse, Kairouan, Palermo.
Note: Shia caliphate that challenged Abbasids and spread across the Mediterranean region.

Years: 1037-1194.
Role: Turkic rulers in Central Asia; controlled the Levant and much of the Middle East.
Key date: 1071 (Manzikert) significantly impacted Byzantine power in Anatolia.

Years: 1299-1922.
Expansion: at its greatest around 1683 AD.
Key centers: Constantinople (Istanbul), Cairo, Damascus, Jerusalem, Medina, Mecca, Baghdad.
Influence: unified large parts of Europe, Asia, and Africa under a single imperial framework.

Region: Iberian Peninsula under Islamic rule for several centuries.
Major cities: Cordoba, Seville, Granada, Valencia, Toledo, Zaragoza, etc.
Timeframe: Muslim rule gradually diminished with the Christian Reconquista, culminating in 1492 in Granada.
Cultural exchange: notable synthesis of Iberian and Islamic cultures in science, philosophy, and arts.

The Delhi Sultanate: 1206-1526.
Tughlaq Dynasty: 1300-1321 (a period within the Delhi Sultanate).
Context: Muslim dynasties ruled large parts of the Indian subcontinent, influencing culture, law, and architecture.

Global scope: Medieval Islamic world connected across Europe, Africa, and Asia.
Key regions: Maghrib, Nile Valley, Mesopotamia, Persia, and the Indian Ocean littoral.
Trade networks: extensive long-distance trade including the Indian Ocean; Swahili coast, Timbuktu, and Cairo as hubs.
Interaction: included Mameluks in Egypt, Seljuks in Anatolia, and various dynasties across the region.

Muhammad ibn Musa al-Khwarizmi (780-850): father of algebra, early mathematical works.
Harun Al-Rashid (lived 763-809; ruled 786-809): Abbasid caliph symbolizing the Islamic Golden Age.
Muhammad Al-Razi (854-925): notable physician and philosopher.
Al-Azhar University (970–Today): historic center of learning in Cairo.
Ibn Sina (980-1037): Persian polymath, medicine and philosophy.
Al-Zahrawi (936-1015): pioneer of surgery and medical instruments.
Ibn Battuta (1304-1369): famed traveler and writer.
A Thousand and One Nights: influential collection of stories highlighting Islamic cultural heritage.