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Muhammad was troubled by moral ills of Mecan society. Muhammad often went to a cave near Mecca to meditate. According to Muslim belief, when Muhammad was 40 years old, the angle Gabriel told Muhammad that he is a messenger of God.
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Few people listened to Muhammad's teachings. Since people rejected it, merchants were angry at Muhammad. With the threat of murder, Muhammad and his followers left Mecca to Medina in 622.
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Muhammad made many achievements before he died. He rededicated the Kaaba to Allah and the Kaaba became the most holy place in Islam. Muhammad died in 632. Howeverm his faith still spreads.
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After Muhammad died, two groups of Muslims split. They were called the sunnis and the shiites or shia. These groups were formed to determine who would be Muhammads successor. This problem was big because Muhammad did not name a successor.
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Abu Bakr was chosen by the Muslims to be Muhammads successor. Abu Bakr was Muhammad's father-in-law. After muhmmad's death, Muslims struggled to find a successor, so they agreed on Abu Bakr. Some of the Arab tribal leaders refused to follow Abu Bakr.
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Ali was Muhammad's son-in-law. Shiits believed that descendants should be Muhammad's ture successors. Shiites and Sunnis were divided muslims groups to determine who shall be muhammad's successor. Ali died in around 670-680.
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Arabs had to adapt to living in deserts to ruling large territories. Economic tensions increased between wealthy Arabs and those who had less. Many muslims critized the court at domascus and that cause protests to break out.
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A leader that is a descendant of Muhammad was supported from shiite and non-Arab muslims. This leader captured Damascus in 750. His name was Abu al-Abbas and he found the Abbasid dynasty. The dynasty lasted until 1258.
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The Abbasids move the capital from Damascus to Baghdad, a small market. This move into persian territory allowed persian officials to hold important offices in the caliph's government.
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Seljuk turks migrated in the middle east. They adopted Islam and built a large empire. In 1055, a Seljuk Ruler controlled Baghdad, but he kept the Abbasid Caliph as a figurehead. The Seljuks threatened the Byzantine empire and this caused pope Urban II to call for the first Crusade.
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The Abbasid Empire faced a huge number of invasions. Mongol armies kept on Attacking Baghdad. In 1258, Hulagu burned and looted Baghdad killing the last Abbasid Caliph.
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The House of wisdom was a learning center during the Golden Age. It was found by Caliph Huran al-Rashid in around 813 to 833. It provided Knowledge on mathematics, history, and medicine for muslims .
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After Ali's death, A Meccan clan created the Umayyad dynasty. The Sunnis created it and the Umayyad dynasty lasted until 750. Their conquests spread Islam and the Muslim civilization. Treated conquered people well by allowing them to practice their faiths and laws. However, they had to pay heavy taxes. The Fall of the Umayyad dynasty was caused by adapting to live in the deserts to rulling large territories, had to rely on local officials, and many protests critized the court at domascus.
