Topics on the Page

 

Origins of Islam:  The Qur'an and the Prophet Muhammad

 
After Muhammad: Muslim Expansion

 
Baghdad and the Abbasid Empire

 
House of Wisdom

 

Islamic Expansion

 
Islamic Culture

 

Links to More Resources for this Topic Can Be Found at the Bottom of the Page 

General Resources	Cultural Resources	Expansions & Interactions	Learning Resources
Articles/Documents Timelines/Maps Videos Hajj, Jihad, People of the Book	Sciences Poetry Philosophy Art Military Gender	Asia North Africa Spain Sassanid Empire Abbasid Empire Europe	Activities Plans Quizzes Open Response

 

 

Focus Question:  Where did Islam begin, and what was the course of its expansion to 1500?

 

 

Origins of Islam: The Qur'an and the Prophet Muhammad

 

• As Chris Harman recounts in, A People's History of the World (Verso, 2008, pp. 123-131), Islam began in Mecca, a trading town on the Arabian Peninsula which had been settled by nomadic clans.

 

• By the 7th century, nomadic values of loyalty to self and clan came into sharp conflict with the needs and lifestyles of living in one place as peasants and townspeople. The result was a time of chaos and social discontent.

 

• "The rise of Islam is intrinsically linked with the Prophet Muhammad, believed by Muslims to be the last in a long line of prophets that includes Moses and Jesus. Because Muhammad was the chosen recipient and messenger of the word of God through the divine revelations, Muslims from all walks of life strive to follow his example. After the holy Qur'an, the sayings of the Prophet (hadith) and descriptions of his way of life (sunna//) are the most important Muslim texts." (Metropolitan Museum of Art). 

 

 

After Muhammad: Muslim Expansion to 732

 

The Muslim Umayyad Caliphate at its greatest extent

After Muhammad's death, his father-in-law Abu Bakr was named his successor as the ruler of the Islamic Empire. Abu Bakr's rule would be short-lived (he died in 634), but it would be the start of a century of remarkable Islamic expansion.

 

• In the mid-to-late 600s, the Muslims, under several different but united caliphates (most powerfully the Umayyad Caliphate), conquered much of what is today considered the Islamic world, including the Middle East, north of Arabia (modern-day Syria, Jordan, Palestine, Israel, Iraq, and parts of Turkey, among others), and most of North Africa.

 

• This included several dramatic victories over the Christian Byzantine Empire, especially in Turkey and Egypt. In the early 700s, Islam spread still further into Europe (the Iberian Peninsula, conquered by a group of Muslims called Moors) and to the borders of modern-day India. At their greatest extent, in the early 700s, the Caliphates formed one of the largest empires in world history, as seen by the map above.

 

• By the 8th century (720), the Umayyad Empire had collapsed, and by 747 an opposition movement rose with the Abbasid Caliphate, who held a strong emphasis on centralized government, great economic prosperity, and a remarkable civilization.

The very rapid expansion of Islam into Europe was greatly resented by the native European Christian majority.

• Europeans saw it as threatening their own faith and their way of life, and they feared that it would conquer all of Europe just as it had already taken parts of the also-Christian Byzantine Empire.

 

• The expansion of Islam into Europe was defeated decisively in 732 by a Christian Frankish army led by Charles Martel at the Battle of Tours. 

 

• Some historians, like the famous 18th century English author Edward Gibbon (writer of The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire), have singled this out as a transformative event in world history, preventing the conversion of all of Europe to Islam. Others see it as less important on the world stage, and just a solidification of Frankish power at home in Europe.

One of the most common misinterpretations about Islam involves the term "Jihad." Since the Iranian Revolution in the 1970s, Jihad has been explained as a declaration of war against Western ideologies; however, the Quran defines Jihad as a spiritual battle to strive to follow God's will. The greater Jihad refers to one's struggle to spread God's rule and law in the community while the lesser Jihad refers to one's struggle with their innermost demons.

 

 

Baghdad and the Abbasid Empire (749-1258)

 

Alhazen (Ibn al-Haytham)

 

Baghdad was one of the world's great cities and a hub of civilization during the Abbasid Empire. As Joan Brodsky Schur noted in "The Baghdad That Was: Using Primary Sources to Teach World History" (Social Education, January/February 2009, pp. 15-22), the city was founded in 762 by Caliph al-Mansur. Four Gates marked its curricular walls:

• Basra Gate leading to the Persian Gulf
• Damascus Gate leading to Syria and the Mediterranean Sea
• Khurasan Gate leading to Persia, Central Asia and the Silk Roads
• Kufah Gate leading to Medina and Mecca

The Abbasid Era is often considered the "Islamic Golden Age". It saw a consolidation and normalizing of Muslim power in the Middle East. In the early centuries of Abbasid rule, unparalleled splendor was experienced because their success was based on trade not conquest. This empire gave heavy support to legal development as well as culture and the arts. However, their success deteriorated rapidly from 861 to 945, ending the period of Universal Caliphates as a Shii dynasty from Persia entered Bagdahd and seized power. In the great cities like Baghdad and Mecca there were considerable advances in scientific fields, including medicine, astronomy, mathematics, and biology, and a flourishing of philosophy and the arts. Islamic scholars referenced and contributed to the great philosophical and academic tradition of the Ancient Greeks and Romans. Alhazen (c. 965-1040), a Muslim philosopher and scientist educated in Baghdad, is often considered the first theoretical physicist. He made contributions to various fields such as, physics, mathematics, and astronomy. The influence of Alhazen and other great Muslim thinkers of this time is still felt today.

Alhazen (Ibn al-Haytham) in the Britannica Encyclopedia. He was one of the greatest thinkers of the "Islamic Golden Age". His most well-known work, Optics, was an influential early demonstration of the scientific method

The end of this era also saw the expansion of Muslim power to India with the formation of the Delhi Sultanate, a Muslim ruling government that took the place of past-dominant Hindu rulers. India would remain under formally Muslim control (although it still had a majority Hindu population) until the rule of the British in the 18th century.

House of Wisdom (Bayt al-Hikmah)

 

At the center of Islamic culture in Baghdad was the House of Wisdom where Islamic scholars along with scholars from all over the world produced remarkable advances in mathematics, medicine and the arts.

This is where the system of numbers that we use today was created by the mathematician Muhammad ibn Musa al-Khwarizmi.

 

Here is a short YouTube Video on the House of Wisdom.

 

Islamic Expansion

 

In China: Islam spread into its territories during the Tang and Song dynasties due to trade through the Silk Roads and maritime trade. 

 

Here is a picture detailing the period of Islamic Expansion.

 

Islamic Culture

 

Here is a PBS link to some basic information regarding Islamic culture such as religious holidays and religious beliefs.

 

Women in Islam

 

The role of women in Islamic culture is one of great controversy, both in how the West views Islam as well as how Islam views women's roles within the religion. This article discusses these controversies and offers solutions and various perspectives on these issues.

 

 

 

 

General Resources

 

Articles/Documents

• The Qur'an 

• What is the Difference Between Sunni and Shiite Muslims – And Why Does It Matter?

• Internet Islamic History Sourcebook

• The Rise and Spread of Islam Study Guide

• Chapter Outline

 

Timelines/Maps

• A Brief Timeline of Early Islamic History

• The Life of Muhammad Timeline

• Timeline of Islam

• The Rise of Islam Map

• World Muslim Population Map

 

Videos

• Crash Course: Islam, the Quran, and the Five Pillars

• Khan Academy: The Spread of Islam

• PBS: Islam Empire Of Faith (3-Part Series)

• BBC Two: The Prophet Muhammad (Part 1 of 3)

• The Story of Islam in 2 Minutes

• Islam: 1 Minute on Paper

• Neil DeGrasse Tyson - The Islamic Golden Age: Naming Rights

 

 

Components of Islam Resources

 

Hajj

• Hajj: 7 Things you don't know about the Muslim Pilgrimage

• National Geographic Summary about Mecca and the Hajj

 

Jihad

• Jihad in the Hadith Article

 

People of the Book

• The Concept of Islam: People of The Book

 

 

Cultural Resources

 

Sciences

• Avicenna/Ibn Sina Biography

• Baghdad: The House of Wisdom (Bayt al-Hikmah)

• Ibn al-Haytham Biography

 

Poetry

• Poetic Voices of the Muslim World

• Islamic Poetry

 

Philosophy/Philosophers

• al-Kindi Biography

• al-Razi Biography

• al-Farabi Biography

• Umar Khayyam Biography

 

Art

• Introduction to Islamic Architecture (Article)

• Art of the Islamic World

• The Art of the Abbasid Period

• The Art of the Umayyad Period

 

Military

• African Military Slaves in the Muslim Middle East

• Islamic Warfare & Tactics

 

Gender

• Encyclopedia of Women and Islamic Cultures

• Women in Muslim Society

 

 

Expansion & Interactions Resources

 

Asia

• Islam Expansion in Central Asia and Caucasus

• Islam in China

 

North Africa

• The Spread of Islam in Ancient Africa

• Trade and the Spread of Islam in Africa

• Islam and Indigenous African Culture

 

Spain

• The History of Islamic Spain

• Spanish Words of Arabic Origin

• In Search of the Spirit of Al-Andalus Video

• Juan Moneo "El Torta" - Bulerías (influenced by Islamic music)

 

Sassanid Empire

• Arab Conquests and Sasanian Iran

 

Abbasid Empire

• Abbasid Dynasty

 

Europe

• Overview of the Battle of Tours

• Arabs, Franks and the Battle of Tours: Three Accounts

• When Christians First Met Muslims

 

 

 

Lesson Plans & Activities

 

Activities

• The Geography of the Islamic Empire and Al-Andalus

• Medieval Islam Hoop Shoot Game

 

Lesson Plans

• Lesson Plans: The Rise and Fall of Islamic Spain

• Lesson Plans: The Islam Project

 

Quizzes/Assessments

 

Multiple Choice Quizzes

• Islam Quizizz

• Islam Quiz

• Pillars of Islam Quiz

 

Open Response Assessments

• Short Answer Questions on the History of Islam