The Koran• To Muslims, it is the sacred word

of God• Written in Arabic

• Muslims believe it can only be read in Arabic

The Sunna

• A set of rules used with the Koran

• Developed from the legal codes of tribes

Expansion of Islam

When Mohammed died, no successor had been named. Muslims chose caliphs-Islamic

leaders, descendents of Mohammed

The First Four Caliphs

632-661

Abu Bakr Karem Abdul-Kaaba

• 632-634• Put down rebellion (Defeats Romans/Persians)• Brought all of Arabia under Islamic control• Collection of Koran• 63 Yrs Old (one of a kind)

master of the hook shot

Omar(Farooq)

• 634-644• Defeated Byzantines• Captured JerusalemArabia, Egypt, Iraq, Palistine, Iran

• Master of Weapons, Wrestling, Speaking

• Stabbed w/ dagger

Othman

• 644-656• Tried to make caliph more powerful• Murdered in 656• Completed Text of Koran

Ali• 656-661• Cousin of Mohammed, married

Mohammed’s daughter (Fatima)• Assassinated in 661

w/ poison sword

Omayyad Dynasty

661-750 AD

Muawiya• Made Arabic the official language

• Minted new coins, set up postal

system

• Made many improvements in

building and transportation

Conquests

• Islamic armies moved west, conquered

North Africa and Spain

• Made Islam the dominant power in Central

Asia (present-day Pakistan)

The Muslims broke into 2 groups:

1. Shiites

• Loyal partisans of Ali (Mohammed’s cousin)• The believed the caliph should be descended

from Mohammed’s family• They insisted the Koran was the only source of

guidance for Islam

2. Sunnites

• Followers of Muawiya and the Omayyad Dynasty

• They believed any spiritually qualified man could be

elected caliph

• They accepted both the Koran and Sunna

• More numerous than Shiites

Reasons for Islam’s Early Success:

1. Islamic armies led by outstanding military

leaders

Reasons for Islam’s Early Success:

1. Islamic armies led by outstanding military

leaders

2. People not satisfied with Byzantine rule

3. Weakened Persian and Byzantine Empires

The Abbasid Dynasty

750-1057 AD (1253)

Background

• Established by Abu’l Abbas

• Abbas led non-Arab Moslems against the Omayyads – WHY?

• Preferential treatment for Arabs (i.e. non-Arabs paid higher taxes)

• Rebels overthrew Omayyad caliph and murdered 90 members of his family

Government

• Moved capital to Baghdad

• Strong centralized gov’t. similar to Byzantine Empire

• Moslems paid only small tax to support Islam

• Non-Moslems paid heavy taxes

Accomplishments

• Baghdad becomes a center of learning that attracts scholars from Middle East/India

• Great advances made in mathematics, science, literature, and the arts

Decline of the Empire

• Territory becomes fragmented by rival kingdoms; conquered by Seljuk Turks

Islamic Civilization

Commerce & Industry

• Muslims controlled trade routes

• Musical instruments introduced to Europe– Lute, tambourine, guitar

MedicineAl-Razi (Rhazes)

– Worked with sutures/casts– Difference between smallpox & measles

Avicenna (Ibn Sina)– Persian wrote Canon of Medicine (medical

encyclopedia)– Diagnosed tuberculosis as being contagious– Cancer surgery

Other Achievements

Mathematics

Advances– Al-Jabr invented form of Algebra– Borrowed numbers 1-9 and added concept of

zero

Al Khwarizmi

Omar Khayyam

Astronomy & Geography

• Important for religious reasons

• Borrowed from Hindus & Greeks

• Greek astrolabe

• Improved Ptolemy’s calculations for earth’s circumference within ½ mile of present value

• Al-Idrisi created maps on spheres to represent earth’s shape

Physics & Chemistry

Al Hasan– Father of Optics– Convex and concave mirrors and light

refraction

Jabir– Moslem alchemist, studied oxidation,

crystallization, filtration

History

Ibn Khaldun– Wrote 7 volume Universal History– Included history, politics and econ, climate

and culture

Art

• Islamic art consists of geometric designs, flowers, leaves, and stars

• No human or animal likenesses on most work