THE ARABS

•The Arabs were a Semitic-speaking people who lived in the Arabian Peninsula. In linguistics and ethnology, Semitic (from the Biblical "Shem", Hebrew: שם, translated as "name", Arabic: سامّي�) was first used to refer to a language family of largely Middle Eastern origin, now called the Semitic languages. This family includes the ancient and modern forms of Akkadian, Amharic, Arabic, Aramaic, Ge'ez, Hebrew, Maltese, Phoenician, Tigre and Tigrinya among others. 1

The Arabian Peninsula (in beige) includes the nine (9) countries of Jordan, Iraq, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar,

the United Arab Emirates, Oman, Yemen and Saudi Arabia.

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• The Arabs were nomads because of their hostile surroundings, moved constantly to find water and food for their animals.

• The Arabs lived as farmers and sheepherders on the oases and rain-fed areas of the Arabian Peninsula.

• The Arabs trace their ancestors to Abraham or Ibrahim in Arabic and his son Ishmael.

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The Arabs recognized a supreme god named Allah (Allah is Arabic for “God”), they also believed in other tribal gods.

The Arabs organized into tribes to help one another.

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Q. WHAT FACTORS CONTRIBUTED TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF TOWNS ON THE ARABIAN PENINSULA?

A. The domestication of the camel led to larger populations of people in the desert and expanded the caravan trade. Towns grew along the major routes.

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THE LIFE OF MUHAMMAD

THE LIFE OF MUHAMMADSee hand outs

TEACHINGS OF PROPHET MOH’D OR THE FIVE PILLAR OF ISLAM

LESSON: CREATION OF AN ARAB EMPIRE (P91) 31/1/2011

Prophet Moh’d had been both a religious and a political leader, but he had never named a successor. After his death, some of his closest followers chose Prophet Moh’d.’s father-in-law, Abu Bakr, as caliph, or successor to Prophet Mohammad.

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Under Abu Bakr, the Arabs defeated the Byzantine army at Yarmuk in 636. By 642, Syria, Egypt, and other parts of northern Africa were added to the new Arab empire.

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By 650, the Arabs had conquered the entire Persian Empire. The courage of the Arab soldiers who fought in these conquests was enhanced by the belief that Muslim warriors were assured a

place in Paradise if they died in battle.

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Q. WHO WAS THE FIRST CALIPH, OR SUCCESSOR OF PROPHET MOH’D?

ANS. ________________________

Homework: Read page 92 successors of the Arab Empire.

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Successors of the Arab Empire

• After Abu Bakr died, problems arose over who should become the next caliph.

• In 661, Mu’awiyah, the governor of Syria became caliph.• He moved the capital of the Arab Empire from Medina

to Damascus in Syria.• He made the office of caliph, called caliphate,

hereditary in his own family. • He established the Umayyad dynasty.

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Early 700s – Arab forces conquered and converted the Berbers, a pastoral people in northern Africa.• 710 – Berber and Arab forces moved into Spain.• 725- Arabarmies had made most of Spain a Muslim

State.• 732 – Arab forces were defeated at the Battle of

Tours in Gaul (present day France) ending Arab expansion into Europe.

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• 717 – A muslim force attacking Constantinople was defeated by Byzantines but the Arabas had conquered the sourhern and eastern parts the old Roman Empire. Arab power extended into Mesopotamia, Persia, and central Asia.

• 750 – Abu Al-Abbas, a descendant of prophet Moh’d ‘s uncle, overthrew the Umayyad dynasty and set up the Abbasid dynasty which lasted until 1258.

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• 762 – The Abbasid built a new capital city at Baghdad, the capital of the Muslim empire during the golden age.

HARUN AL-RASHID – A powerful caliph of Baghdad in 786. His rule was a time of prosperity.

The Seljuk Turks – were nomadic people who had converted to Islam and prospered soldiers for the Abbasid caliphate.

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• 1055 –Turkish leader captured Baghdad and took command of the entire empire. His title was SULTAN, or “holder of power.”

• The Abbasid caliph remained the chief religious authority, but the Seljuk Turks assumed the real military and political power of the state.

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MONGOLS – were a pastoral people who swept out of the Gobi in the early 13th Century.

• 1258 – under Hulegu, the Mongols seized Persia and Mosopotamia, destroying Baghdad and ending of the Abbasid caliphate.

• As a result of the Mongol destruction of Baghdad, the new center of Islamic civilization became Cairo, in Egypt.

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ECONOMY AND SOCIAL STRUCTURE – P94

• The period of the Arab Empire was prosperous. The Arabs carried on extensive trade by ship and by camel caravans, not only within the Islamic world but also with:

1. China2. Southeast Asia.• From south of Sahara came gold and slaves.• From China – silk and porcelain• From eastern Africa – gold and ivory;• From the lands of lands of Southeast Asia and India – saldalwood and spices.• With the empire,Egypt contributed – grain• Iraq – provided linens,dates and precious stones;• Western India supplied textiles. 18

Social Structure:

In Islam, all people are considered equal under Allah. But there was a fairly well-defined structure for the upper class in the Arab Empire such as:

Ruling familySenior officialsNomadic elitesThe wealthiest merchants. 19

THE BRILLIANCE OF ISLAMIC CULTURE

• In math, the Muslim refined the numerical system of India, which included the concept of zero. This system would later become known in Europe as the “Arabic” system.

• Muslim built an observatory in Baghdad to study the stars, and they named many of them.

• They aware that Earth was round and they perfected the ASTROLABE, an instrument for sailors to determine their location by observing the positions of the stars and planets.

• The philosopher and scientist Ibn Sina wrote a medical encyclopedia that would later become a basic medical textbook for university students in medieval Europe.

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ISLAMIC ART

• Islamic art is a blend of Arab, Turkish and Persian.

HOMEWORK: Read chapter 3 section 2 Early African Civilizations. Pp 97-101

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