THE RISE OF ISLAM & ITS

EMPIRES
 RISE OF ISLAM
 Muhammad (570-632)

 Revelations by angel Gabriel starting in 610, continued

for 22 yrs  became Quran
 Mecca = capital

 Features of Islam
 5 pillars
 Monotheistic
 Message as corrective to Christianity and Judaism

 **not just a religion but a state from the beginning!

 By the time of Muhammad’s death, the Arab peninsula
was united under Islam
 ISLAM’S
INFLUENCE
 Empire from Spain to India  whole new
civilization!
 Initially accepted other religions, but pay special
tax
 Led to “social conversion” –i.e. convenience

 Diff. impacts in diff. areas:

 Became “Arabic”: Iraq, Syria, N. Africa, Egypt
 Became Muslim, but kept culture/lang: Persia,
Turkey, Pakistan, Indonesia, W. Africa
Effect on Commerce & Culture?
 Islam open to commercial life

 Muslim merchants lived in port cities spread

Muslim culture
 Prestige & success  more conversions!
ISLAM IN EAST
AFRICA: SWAHILI
CIVILIZATION
 Swahili Civilization
 Coast of E. Africa (Somalia to Mozambique)
 flourished 1000-1500 AD
 Cities of 15,000-18,000 people

 Indian Ocean trade & rise of Islam  port cities along

coast
 Merchants converted to Islam  built mosques & spread
culture
 Connected to Arabic culture– but didn’t spread inland
THE RISE OF ISLAM & ITS EMPIRES
ISLAMIC EMPIRES: OTTOMAN
EMPIRE
 Largest & longest-lasting Islamic Empire
 Middle East, North Africa, Black Sea &
Eastern Europe (Balkans)
 “strong sword of Islam”—unity, protection of
the faith
 Focus on expansion (Reverse Crusades)

 1453: Siege & fall of Constantinople  becomes

Istanbul
 Many attempts to take Vienna; last in 1683
MUGHAL EMPIRE
 Islam originally brought by Turkic warriors c.
1000 AD.
 Conflict btw Muslims & Hindus—Why?
 In 1526, another Turkic group invaded
( “Mughals”)  united the Indian peninsula
 Largely Hindu/non-Muslim population (Muslims
only 20%)
 Under Akbar (r. 1556-1605): inclusive
policies w/ cultural blending, i.e. no more sita
(widow-burning)
 Under Aurangzeb (r. 1658-1707): Islamic law,
some Hindu temples destroyed
 “second flowering of Islam”  expansion to SE
Asia via Muslim traders
THE CASE OF SPAIN

 Conquered by Arab & Berber forces in

early 700s
 Christian reconquest started in 1200
ended in 1492 w/ fall of Grenada (last
Muslim stronghold)
 Complete reversal  Muslims &
200,000 Jews banished
 IMAGE CREDITS
 Cathedral of Our Lady of the Assumption Córdoba Spain, By Julia Kostecka, CC-BY-2.0,
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:C%C3%B3rdoba_Spain_-_Mezquita_de_C%C3%B3rdoba_-_Cathedral_of_Our_Lady_of_the_Ass
umption_-_Moorish_Detail.6_(18374871680).jpg
 Patio de los Arrayanes (Court of the Myrtles), detail, Alhambra, Granada, Spain, By Jebulon, CC-Zero.
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Patio_de_los_Arrayanes_detail_Alhambra_Granada_Spain.jpg
 Mohammed receiving his first revelation from the angel Gabriel, in the book Jami' al-Tawarikh, by Rashid al-Din, published in Tabriz, Persia,
1307 CE. Public Domain. CC-PD-Mark.
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Mohammed_receiving_revelation_from_the_angel_Gabriel.jpg
 Pilgrims at the Kaaba in Mecca, Photo by Tahir mq, CC-BY-SA-4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Kaaba_111.jpg

 Map of the Age of the Caliphs, originally posted to http://maps.bpl.org, CC-BY-2.0

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Age_of_the_Caliphs_(2709972663).jpg
 Map of the Swahili Coast by Runehelmet, CC-BY-SA-3.0, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swahili_coast#/media/File:Swahili_coast.png

 Expansion of the Ottoman Empire by RJJensen, CC-BY-SA-3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Empire_Ottoman.jpg

 Mughal Empire Map, By Santosh.mbahrm, CC-BY-SA-3.0 https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Mughal-empire-map.jpg

 Inside the Cathedral-Mosque (Córdoba, Spain). By Jerzy Kociatkiewicz, CC-BY-SA-2.0

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Inside_the_Cathedral-Mosque_(C%C3%B3rdoba,_Spain).jpg