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In 630 Muhammad return to Makkah with 10,000

men and just two years later, he died.

What might have happened in the Arab world after

he died?
Lesson title: The Arab Empire and the
caliphates

Lesson objectives:
 Understand the basic differences in the beliefs and practices
between the sunni and shia islam
 Read and interpret maps to learn about the expansion of the Arab
empire
 Compare and contrast different periods of the early Islamic empire
Content vocabulary

Caliph
Shia
Jihad
Sunni
Vizier
Caliphate
Sultan
Creation of the Arab empire

Muhammad died without claiming

a successor
Islamic Caliphates developed after
his death
Caliphs were the religious and
political leaders of Islam
Muslims expanded Islamic territory under the caliphates
Jihad, or “striving in the way of god,” was an important
duty for Muslims as they expanded Islamic lands
Creation of the Arab empire

Christian and Jewish religions were given

autonomy, or allowed to practice their own
faith, in conquered territories
If they did not convert to Islam they had to
pay a tax
Sometimes Christians and Jews were forced
to wear badges in public to show that they
were second class citizens
Lesson Two: The
Arab Empire
and the
Caliphates

A series of caliphs took power, many of them were

assassinated
There was no clear doctrine on who would become
caliph
Eventually the Caliphate became hereditary
The Capital was moved from Medina to Damascus in Syria
Discussion questions 1

 Why was there tension over who should rule the empire after the death of mohammad?
 How did mohammad’s successors help expand the Arab Empire after his death?
Creation of the Arab
empire

717 A.D. Muslim armies

attacked Constantinople,
defeating the Byzantine
Empire
The Byzantine Empire survived,
but was weakened
Muslim expansion into Europe
halted
Creation of the Arab empire

Muslim armies conquered

Northern Africa and spread
into Spain
732 A.D. Muslim armies were
defeated at the Battle of Tours
in Gaul, modern day France
Discussion question 2

What advantage did the Arabs

have that enable them conquer as
many territories as they did?
By 750 A.D. Arabic territorial expansion ended
The Umayyad dynasty ruled an enormous Islamic Empire
stretching over North Africa and into Europe
Reading and
interpreting map
activity
Consider this map and the
map on page 211 to
answer the following
questions
TASK
1. How far east did
Islam spread
2. How far west did
Islam spread?
3. What impact did
the battle of tours
have on the spread
of Islam
4. What do you think
halted the spread
Islam further south
into Africa
Note: ?use atlas to
mention the modern
names of countries
Lesson Two: The The Caliphates and dynasties

In 680 Hussein, the son-in-law of

Muhammad, encouraged his
followers to rise up against
Umayyad rule
Hussein and his 72 followers rose up
against 10,000 Umayyad soldiers,
but they all died
THE CALPHATES AND DYNASTIES

Despite Hussein’s defeat this

sparked controversy over who
should rule Islam
The Shia believe that only the
decedents of Ali are the true
rulers of Islam
Sunni Muslims did not agree with
Umayyad rule, but accepted
them as caliphs
THE CALPHATES AND DYNASTIES

The split in Islam still

remains today
The Sunni are the
majority of Muslims in the
world
Most people in Iraq and
Iran consider themselves
to be Shia
Assessment

Why do you think the sunni’s are

majority?
The Abbasid dynasty overthrew the Umayyad dynasty, it
was established by Muhammad’s uncle
The Abbasid dynasty lasted until 1258
762 A.D. the Abbasids built a new capital in Baghdad
THE CALPHATES AND DYNASTIES

Arabs also began to

intermarry with conquered
peoples, creating a mixing of
cultures and a cosmopolitan
southwest Asia
THE CALPHATES AND
DYNASTIES

The best known caliph was Harun

al-Rashid (ha-roon ahl-rah
sheed), his reign is known as the
Golden Age of the Abbasid
Caliphate
He was charitable and lavished
support on artists and writers
THE CALPHATES AND DYNASTIES

Baghdad became
the center of a
large trade
empire, which
spread not only
goods but
knowledge as well
THE CALPHATES AND
DYNASTIES

Abbasid rulers acted more

regal and developed a more
complicated bureaucracy
A council was headed by a
prime minister known as a
vizier, he advised the caliph
THE CALPHATES AND DYNASTIES

Abbasid caliph succession

was controversial, and
almost destroyed the empire
Rulers of provinces also
began to break away from
the Abbasid Empire
THE CALPHATES AND DYNASTIES

Spain
developed a
separate
caliphate with a
prince of the
Umayyad
dynasty who
had fled there
THE CALPHATES AND DYNASTIES

The Fatimid Dynasty

developed in Egypt
The Muslim world
had become
politically divided
 THE CALPHATES AND
DYNASTIES

The Fatimid Dynasty quickly

became a leader in the Islamic
World
They were located on the Nile
River, an important trading point
They hired Seljuk Turks to fight in
their army
THE CALPHATES AND DYNASTIES

The Seljuk Turks had been

converted to Islam by the
Abbasid Caliphates, but had
moved as the empire became
weaker
They conquered the eastern
provinces of the Abbasid
Empire
THE CALPHATES AND DYNASTIES

1055 a Turkish leader captured

Baghdad and took control of the
empire, he became a sultan
The Abbasid caliphs still had religious
authority, but the Turks held the
military and political power
 PLENARY

What common characteristics did the

dynasties have that eventually led to fall?