THE ARABIAN PENINSULAReligion, Politics and Oil

Abraham’s GenealogyAbraham’s Genealogy

ABRAHAMABRAHAM SARAHSARAHHAGARHAGAR

IsaacIsaac

EsauEsauJacobJacob

12 Tribes of Israel

12 Tribes of Israel

Ishmael

Ishmael

12 Arabian Tribes

12 Arabian Tribes

ISLAM CHANGES DESERT CULTURE

Towns served as trade centers for caravans (oases) Silk Road ports

Bedouins move across peninsula for oasis to oasis Culture based on family ties Fought one another for control of lands Worshipped many gods (desert demons)

Prophet Mohammad (570-632AD) comes along with Islam Raised as a trader from Mecca Known to be very honest as a trader Marries Khadija ( wealthy widow who ran her

own caravan) Questioned idolatry of Meccans

MOHAMMAD CONT’D

Visited by Angel Gabriel in the Hira Cave Questioned why him . . . Khadija

encouraged him to accept his fate

Begins spreading Islam but is rejected by

Meccans because of the monotheistic

nature and the idea of almsgiving to the poor

MOHAMMAD CONT’D

Goes to Yathrib on Hijra in 622 AD (year 1 in the Islamic Calender) City renames itself Medina “city of

the prophet” Returns to Mecca in 630 AD

after much success Destroys the idols around

the Kaaba Establishes first Muslim

Empire

MOHAMMAD CONT’D

Works to unite Arabs under

Islam 632 AD, Mohammad dies

Rises into Heaven The Dome of the Rock

FOUNDATIONS OF ISLAM

5 Pillars Faith (Shahadah) – “There is no god but Allah

and Mohammad is his prophet” Prayer (Salat) – 5x a day facing Mecca;

Mosque Fasting (Sawm) – no food or drink from sunup

to sundown during Ramadan Charity (Zakat) – giving money to the poor Pilgrimage (Hajj) – all Muslims must make at

least one trip to Mecca

FOUNDATIONS CONT’D

Holy Book is the Koran Shari’a – Islamic laws Jihad

Lesser – throughout the world Greater – within oneself

People of the Book Muslim, Christians and Jews all

Worship the same God Historically enjoy religious freedom under

Muslims

MUHAMMAD’S ARABIA

SPREAD OF ISLAM

BUILDING AN EMPIRE

Abu Bakr Mohammad’s father-in-law took

over control Called caliph (successor of

Mohammad) “If you worship Mohammad,

Mohammad is dead. If you worship

God, God is alive.” First of the 4 “rightly guided caliphs” Expanded the empire across the

Arabian Peninsula, unites all Arabs

through wars

BUILDING AN EMPIRE

Defeated parts of the Byzantine Empire and all of the Persian Empire United Arabs took provinces in Syria and Palestine,

including Damascus and Jerusalem, from Byzantines Captured all of the weakened Persian Empire

SUNNI – SHI’A (SHI’ITE) SPLIT

Disagreement amongst Muslims over who should lead Shi’a believe the next caliph should be descendant of

Mohammad The Party of Ali (4 caliph who was murdered by

Ummayads) Minority within Islam

Sunni believe the next caliph should be a pious, elected official Majority party within Islam

UMAYYADS

Meccan clan who set up new caliphate Move capital from Mecca to Damascus Most expansive conquests from Spain and Morocco in

the west

To the Indus River Valley in the east Why?

Weakness of Byzantines and Persians People welcomed Arabs as liberators Bold, efficient fighting methods on horse and camel

that overwhelmed traditional armies Set up orderly system of administration

UMAYYADS CONT’D

Conquered people treated fairly Paid special non-Muslim tax, but allowed to worship as

they pleased Did not attempt to convert (People of the Book) Jews and Christians play special role as officials Many converted to Islam for political favor but also

because of the simple message of Islam

Decline of Umayyads Large empire proved difficult to rule for former nomads Inequality for non-Arabs officials Economic tensions and luxurious lifestyle of caliphs drain

$$ Many criticized caliphate in Damascus for straying from

beliefs

ABBASIDS

Abu al-Abbas conquered Damascus in 750 AD Move capital to Baghdad Concentrate on learning and scholarship

Seljuk Turks take Control, 900s

ISLAMIC HOLY PLACES: JERUSALEM

Dome of the Rock Al-Aqsa Mosque