14-2 Spread of Islam

14-2 Spread of Islam

Three Muslim Empires- The Safavids and the Moguls

The First Caliphs

Division and Growth

• In 1501, a Shia leader named Ismail proclaimed himself shah (king) of Persia. He founded the Safavid dynasty, which ruled Persia into the 1700s.

• The Moguls were a group that conquered their way into India and set up an empire. One of their greatest rulers, Akbar, was very tolerant of other religions and the empire prospered under his rule. Subsequent rulers were less tolerant, persecuting Hindus and a group we haven’t talked about yet; the Sikhs. Sikhs believe in one god, and stress doing good deeds. Today they are the world’s fifth-largest religion.

• The Moguls lost power when the Hindus and Sikhs began rebelling against them, while at the same time the British were beginning to encroach into the area.

• Islam, while it had become a powerful force in the world, was not united. There were two rival groups within it: the Sunni and the Shia. The Shia believe Muhammad’s son-in-law was the rightful heir, and that all caliphs had to be related to Muhammad. The Sunni disagreed, although they didn’t always agree with the caliphs. This divide still exists today.

• Many non-Arab Muslims were upset that Arabs tended to have the better position in society, and Shia Muslims in Mesopotamia and Persia sided with the upset population to overthrow the Umayyads and establish the Abbasid Caliphate. The Abbasids moved the capital to Baghdad and the empire experienced a golden age of culture and trade.

• This empire had become too massive to effectively control for long, and slowly parts began to break away. Independent caliphs broke away in Egypt and Spain, and Persia had slowly drifted away as well. In the 1000s, the Seljuk Turks invaded the region, conquering Baghdad and controlling the remainder of the empire. The Seljuks allowed the Abbasid Caliphs to be in charge of religious affairs, but called their own ruler the sultan, or “holder of power.”

• This balance would last until 1258 C.E. when the Mongols would invade, capturing Baghdad and putting an end to the Arab Empire.

Video explaining the Sunni/Shia split. Note: Shiite is another term for Shia.

• When Muhammad died, he left no instructions about who would be the next leader of Islam. After discussing the matter, Muslim leaders agreed to a new type of leader called a “caliph” or successor. The first four caliphs were close friends or relatives of Muhammad and expanded the Arab Empire to include all of Southwest Asia and northeast Africa

• Later, a group of caliphs known as the Umayyads continued to expand the empire. Arab soldiers were experienced horsemen, and had used their experience fighting one another to now conquer other lands. They were driven by a belief that they were spreading their faith as well.

• As Islamic conquests continued, they fought against the Persian and Byzantine Empires, who had also tried to use religion as a way of unifying their people. However, they oftentimes mistreated those who did not follow the official religion, causing many people to actually side with the Muslim forces that were attacking. Meanwhile, Islam teaches that Christians and Jews are “People of the Book” that should have their beliefs respected. This allowed newly conquered people to practice their original beliefs, although many converted with time. Such expansion eventually meant the term “Arab” came to refer to anyone who spoke Arabic, rather than just people from Arabia.

• Persia found itself completely conquered by the Muslim armies, and the Byzantine Empire had lost significant amounts of land to the invaders.

The Mogul Empire is sometimes spelled "Mughal"- that's actually how I pronounce it, but I'm following the textbook to avoid confusion!

Area ruled by the Seljuks

The Taj Mahal was built during the reign of the Moguls.

Three Muslim Empires- The Ottomans

Islamic Spain

An empire of chairs?!

• Warriors from North Africa entered Spain in the early 700s, bringing their religion and culture with them. The city of Cordoba became a center of learning in Spain, and the region was overall tolerant of different faiths. Spain became home to many great thinkers during this period.

• Ibn Rushd: Practiced law, medicine, and had writings based on Aristotle

• Solomon ben Gabirol: Jewish scholar that wrote philosophy and poetry, wrote The Well of Life. Another thinker influenced by the Greeks.

• Moses Maimonides: Actually had to flee Spain after his region was conquered by intolerant Muslims, and went on to serve as a physician in the royal court of Egypt.

• It wasn’t only through conquest that Muslims spread their faith; preaching was done to convert people, much like other religions. Religion also spread along trade routes; Southeast Asia saw many trade posts set up by Muslims, and today Indonesia has the most Muslims out of any nation in the world.

• After the dust had settled and the reign of the Mongols ended, three distinct Muslim empires emerged in different parts of the world.

• The Ottoman Empire, founded by the Ottoman Turks, was centered in a region called Anatolia, although you might know it better as Turkey! In 1453 their ruler, Mehmet II, conquered Constantinople, renaming it to Istanbul and making it the Ottoman capital. The Ottomans conquered much of the former Byzantine Empire and beyond, pushing into southern Europe and north Africa.

• The Ottomans, at least in their early years, had a powerful and well-run empire. Their leaders, again called sultans, had absolute power and oftentimes invested their time and resources into organizing laws, building mosques, and building up their military. While most of the empire was Muslim, non-Muslims were allowed to practice their religion, provided they pay a tax.

• After the death of Suleiman the Magnificent, their greatest ruler, the Ottoman Empire experienced a decline. It finally fell apart after World War I. TECHNICALLY there are a handful of people alive today, that were around when the Ottoman Empire existed!

Suleiman the Magnificent, pictured here, looking magnificent.