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Muhammad is believed to be Allah's last and greatest prophet. By the time Muhammad was six, both of his parents were dead. He was raised by his uncle, an important person in the world of trade. Muhammad grew up to be a caravan manager. Muhammad became frustrated with his people’s corrupted values. He often took retreats into the hills that surrounded Mecca. One day, the Archangel Gabriel visited Muhammad and told him of Allahs message: there is no god but Allah.
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The people in Muhammad's society saw his revelation of there is no god but Allah as a threat to their polytheistic ways. He and his followers fled to Yathrib, which was later named Medina. In Yathrib, Muhammad gathered support. His goal was to return Mecca and take back his home town.
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Muhammad and the muslims took Mecca, a holy city of Islam. His forces numbered 10,000. Those who remained in their houses were safe, so this conquest was not very bloody. The Muslims now had their holy city and could freely worship.
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The Arabs defeated the <a href='http://0.tqn.com/d/ancienthistory/1/0/k/T/2/786px-Persian_empire_490bc.gif' >Persian Empire </a for the first time and gathered more territory.
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The Arabs defeated the Sassanid Empire and gained Sassinid's land.
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After several deaths and assasinations of various Caliphs, the role of Caliph became heriditary in the Qurashi clan. The Ummayad Caliphate exspanded the empire cuasing their religion to spread with each land exspansion.
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In 750, a revolt led by Abu al-Abbas led to the overthrow of the Umayyads. This revolt established a new dynasty: The Abbasid Dynasty.
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The Abbasid Caliphate was searching for its own pollitiacal orthodoxy. In this Era, the difference between Arab and Non-Arab Muslums was broken down. All muslums were allowed to run for office. Muslums were even allowed to intermarry between classes. Under abbasid rule, judges, merchants, and government officials were the ideal citizens, not warriors. The Abbasid era was one of splendor.
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Bahgdad was made the new capital becuase of its strategic position. It was located on the Tigris river and it was a city of trade. Bahgad became a center for scholars. Many Greek and Roman philosophers resided in Bhagdad, and their philosophies were passed down by the Muslims.
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By 1055, the Seljuk Turks controlled all of Persia, inlcuding Bahgdad. The spread of Islam was over.
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The first crusade was luanched in 1095. This would foreshadow the decrease of the Islamic population.
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The Mongols defeated the Abbasid Caliphate. An new empire, the Seljuk Turks, would be the next graet Islamic civilization, though the death of the Abbasids meant the death of the spread of Islam.
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"Abbasid Dynasty." Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Ed. Yamini
Chauhan Chauhan. Encyclopedia Britannica, 21 June 2006. Web. 03 Apr. 2014.
Duiker, William J., and Jackson J. Spielvogel. The Essential World History. 6th ed. Vol. 1. Belmont, CA: Thomson/Wadsworth, 2005. Print. -
During the Ummayad Caliphate, the Muslims seperated into two groups. This happened when it was being disputed wether the ruler should be a blood relitive of Muhammad or a companion of Muhammad. The Shi'ites rebelled becuase they did not get their way, but their first attempt at rebellion ultimately failed.
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As the Caliphate broke apart, a new Shi'ite dynasty formed in Cairo.
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Huran al-Rashid was considered the best Abbasid Caliph. He ushered the Islamic world into a golden age. During his life time the empire exspanded along with the Islamic religion.
