The Arab Empire of the Umayyads

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The Arab Empire of the Umayyads

• Kickoff What do you know about Islam?

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Muhammad Dies

• 632 CE- Muhammad dies
• Muslim community still hold together
• Old adversaries, Umayyad seize leadership of the
  Muslim faithful
• Begin conquests throughout Middle East and North
  Africa

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Arab Conquest

• Muslim military conquests mount beyond the
  peninsula
• The courage, military prowess, and religious zeal
  of the warriors of Islam and the weaknesses of
  the empires that border Arabia, resulted in
  stunning conquests in Mesopotamia, north Africa,
  and Persia
• Empire built from this conquest is Arab rather
  than Islamic because most was ruled by small Arab
  warrior elite controlled by the Umayyad

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Division in Islamic Community

• Muhammad had not appointed a successor before his
  death in 632
• He had not even established a procedure by which
  to appoint/elect/pass leadership.
• Opinion in Muslim community is deeply divided as
  to who shall lead next
• The leader who would succeed him would be known
  as the caliph, OR, the political and religious
  successor to Muhammad.

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Candidates

• Ali- son in law and cousin of Muhammad (yikes)
  passed over because he is considered too young
• Abu Bakr- one of Muhammads earliest followers
  and closest friends
• Caliph from 632-634

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Motives for Arab Conquest

• Unity provided by Islamic faith gave new sense of
  common strength
• Now they could stand up against non-Arab rulers
  who had previously played clans against one
  another
• Above all, Bedouins are drawn to Arab expansion
  and conquest by the promise of a share of the
  rich conquered farmland.

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Problem of Succession and the Sunni- Shia Split

• Stunning success of Muslim armies and growing
  Arab empire temporarily diverted attention from
  the divisions and arguments going on within the
  Muslim community.
• Began to boil over with the issue of how the
  booty should be divided up among the tribal
  groups that made up the Islamic community
  (conquered land)

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Growing Tensions lead to Violence

• Spark of violence Murder of the 3rd caliph,
  Uthman, by warriors returning from Egypt
• His death was the signal for the supporters of
  Ali, to proclaim him as caliph
• Uthman had not been popular among many tribes,
  especially the early followers, because he was
  the first caliph chosen from the Umayyad clan.
• Umayyad reject Alis claims warfare errupts
  between factions

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Ali

• Famous warrior now
• Gains upper hand after victory at Battle of Camel
  in 656
• Just as Ali is about to defeat Umayyad forces at
  Battle of Siffin in 657, he accepts a plea for
  mediation with Umayyad.
• This is HEAVILY criticized, and many of his
  followers turn their back on Ali

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Muawiya

• 660- proclaimed leader (caliph) in Jerusalem
• Directly challenges Alis position
• 661- Ali assassinated
• From this point on Sunnis- back the Umayyad and
  Shia- supporters of Ali/anti-Umayyad
• Mecca remains Holy City, but political center if
  of Umayyads is moved to Damascus in Syria

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Family and Gender Roles in the Umayyad Age

• Islam greatly strengthened position of women
• Seclusion and subordination of women common among
  other societies within the Middle East at this
  time
• Quran forbides multiple marriages if the husband
  cannot take care of multiple wives or treat them
  all equally
• Women could not have more than one husband

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Umayyad Decline and Fall

• Ummayyad caliphs growing addiction to luxury and
  wealth
• Abandon simple life promoted by Muhammad and his
  earliest Caliphs, and now have pleasure gardens
  and marble palaces

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Rise of the Abbasid

• 50,000 warrior settlers are angered by lack of
  booty from previous expansions and defense of
  frontiers (angry with Umayyad)
• March under the banner of Abbasid party- trace
  their descent from Muhammads uncle al-Abbas
• Abu-al-Abbas, great grandson of al Abbas leads
  forces

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Umayyad Fall

• Abbasid forces gain strength due to the help of
  the Shia, mawali (non Arab converts to Islam)
• Wanting to eliminate Umayyad family altogether,
  Abu al-Abbas invited many Umayyad leaders to a
  reconciliation banquet where he had them killed
• Grandson of a former Caliph does flee to Spain
  and founds caliphate of Cordoba

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Abbasid Empire

• Under Abbasids, Islam becomes a universal
  religion that spreads across much of North Africa
  and Euro-Asia.
• Abbasid Capital was Baghdad
• Great time of urban expansion that was linked to
  a revival of the Afro-Eurasian trade work that
  had declined with the fall of the Han dynasty and
  the slow collapse of the Roman Empire
• Abbasid domain in West and Tang and Song in East
  revive commercial system

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Technology

• Arab dhows, sailing vessels with lateen or
  triangular sails, carry goods and people
  (religious people) from place to place
• These ultimately influence European ship design

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Social/Intellectual

• Slaves were a major part of this society
• They could work up enough money or power to buy
  back freedom or be released
• Great mosques are built during this time
• Focus on math and science
• Never before had a civilization spanned so many
  different cultures and combined such a patchwork
  of linguistic groups, religions, and ethnic types