CH1 Where does history come from History is the product of interpretations of evidence by both professional historians and lay people in dialogue with one another These interpretations draw on primary sources that were created during the time under study How might we approach the history of the Middle East Be mindful of the tendency to reduce Middle Eastern people down to simple caricatures Recognize that cultural differences do exist and that they are important for attempts to understand peoples in the Middle East CH2 How did Mecca and its people fit into the political economic and religious systems of the day Mecca was an independent Arab town led by the Quraysh tribe It was a hub of regional trade but also had significant religious sites The people of Mecca were primarily polytheistic Animists who believed in many gods manifested in idols How was political power distributed in the Middle East in the period prior to the rise of Islam Large multi ethnic empires controlled those regions appropriate for agriculture from an imperial center and extracted wealth from the people there in the form of taxes Areas unsuitable for agriculture in the Arabian Peninsula were controlled by a variety of pastoral nomadic tribes What was the role of religion in these power structures In the Sassanid Empire Zoroastrianism served as the religion of the Religious tolerance within the Empire allowed for a diverse In the Byzantine Empire Orthodox Christianity served as a unifying ruling class population identity Persecution of Christian sects produced tensions between the center and periphery of the Empire CH3 How did Muhammad build up a following and form the first Muslim community He shared his revelations He led an exodus of his followers to Medina in the Hijra to escape persecution In Medina he became a political leader He established a concept of religious community or ummah in the Constitution of Medina How did the Meccan elite who did not accept Muhammad s message react They persecuted Muhammad s most vulnerable followers while Muhammad was still under the protection of Abu Talib They drove Muhammad out of the city when Abu Talib died Abu Bakr Umar Islamic empire Uthman Ali They conducted military campaigns against Medina after the new Muslim community began raiding caravans What are the major tenets of Islam It calls for people to submit to the will of God Belief in the importance of angels prophets and holy books Belief that God will judge humanity on Judgment Day People have duties to God the basis of which are expressed in the Five Pillars of Islam CH4 Who were the Rashidun Caliphs and what was their contribution to the new Islamic empire Maintained the unity of the ummah following Muhammad s death by engaging in the Ridda Wars Pursued the first major Arab conquests Enriched the new Islamic empire and established an administrative regime Who were the Rashidun Caliphs and what was their contribution to the new Created an official version of the Quran Caused divisions within the ummah by favoring his Umayyad clansmen Engaged in the first Islamic civil war the Great Fitna His assassination marked the end of the Rashidun Caliphate and the beginning of the Umayyad dynasty Why were the Arab conquests so successful The Arab tribes maintained small but cohesive and mobile fighting The Byzantine and Sassanid Empires were weakened by years of fighting between themselves Both the Byzantine and Sassanid Empires had significant internal forces divisions How did the Islamic forces treat conquered peoples They offered the opportunity to convert and join them They left those who did not convert but paid Jizya alone They adopted many of the institutions that had been established before the Arab conquests CH5 How did the Umayyad dynasty transform the character of the Islamic empire Mu awiya Abd al Malik Made the Caliphate hereditary centralized administration Accentuated the Arab and Islamic character of the empire Built a standing army What were sources of opposition to the Umayyad s new way of doing things Shia Khariji Believed that the Caliph should come from the line of Ali Believed that the Caliph should be selected on the basis of merit Mawali non Arab Muslims Resented unequal treatment How did the place of non Muslims and non Arabs in society change Under Umar II non Arab Muslims no longer had to pay the Jizya The Covenant of Umar placed new restrictions on non Muslims Cannot ride horses or camels Special clothing Prevented from building places of worship CH6 What were the weaknesses of the Umayyad Empire in the mid 8th century They could not maintain the conquests indefinitely They slowed after about 740 CE Umayyad Caliphs were seen as being impious and addicted to luxury and excess The Mawali were gaining more influence but remained disaffected as second class citizens The Umayyad clan experience infighting Who were the Hashimites and where did their support come from Initially a Shia movement supporting the right of Ali s son Muhammad ibn al Hanafiyya to lead the ummah Muhammad ibn Ali of the Abbasid clan claimed to be the rightful heir of this line Gained support among mawali in Persia who led a revolt against the Umayyads in the name of the Abbasid clan CH7 How did the new Abbasid caliphs attempt to secure their position at the head of the Empire Built new planned cities for the defense and administration of the empire Demonstrated piety through actions What strands of resistance persisted Shia and Khariji sects Persian supporters of Abu Muslim Continued dynastic infighting What scientific and philosophical advances did the Abbasids achieve They developed the Bayt al Hikmah to preserve and spread knowledge This House of Wisdom translated scholarly works from many different languages They made discoveries in mathematics algebra trigonometry science scientific method medicine medical encyclopedias as well as in other disciplines How did ideas about law develop during this period Religious scholars the ulama created collections of hadith to supplement the Quran as a basis for Sharia law Arguments from analogy consensus or previous judicial opinion adjusted these texts to deal with new issues Several schools of law developed each stressing different sources for law CH8 What was the place of slavery in Islamic society during the Abbasid period Initially regulated by the Quran but still condoned Slaves did not typically provide agricultural labor Women acted as concubines and household servants Men