Chapter 7: The Rise and Spread of Islam questions
Dhimmis
"the people of the book"-- Jews, Christians; later extended to Zoroastrians and Hindus
Why did Arabs dislike Caliph Uthman?
He was the first caliph to be chosen from Muhammad's early enemy's, the Umayyads
Why was inter-clan relationships in Bedouin society bad?
Inter-clan violence over control of water and pasturage was common
What areas of Byzantine Empire was conquered by the Muslims in 650 C.E?
Iraq, Egypt, and Palestine
What was the primary cultural contribution of the Muslims during the Abbasid period?
The Muslims were able to recover and preserve the works of the ancient philosophers as well as transmit ideas and culture from one civilization to another.
How did the Umayyads initially respond to Islam
They regarded him as a threat to their wealth and power as he questioned the traditional god of the Ka'Ba
What was the result of inter-clan rivalries?
They tended to weaken the bedouin in comparison to neighboring peoples and empires.
What clan was responsible for the foundation of Mecca?
Umayyad
Describe pre-Islamic bedouin religion?
animism and polytheism-worship of natural spirits
Shaykh
leaders of Bedouin tribes and clans
What did Bedouin society have?
slaves, herders, free warriors, shaykhs
Caliph
successor to Muhammad as political and religious leader of the Muslims
The status of Mecca was enhanced by...
the Ka'aba, a religious shrine which attracted pilgrims
Why did Islam expand beyond Arabia?
the desire for booty, the sense of common cause and United strength, release energies of Bedouin tribes against others than themselves, the weakness of their adversaries
What did the Umayyads feel threatened from?
the development of Muhhamad's religion, raids on their caravans, the growing power of Medina, and the disputes between rival families
What was the Ka'ba?
the religious shrine that was the focus of an annual truce
What was the Umayyad attitude to other religions?
the umayyads displayed tolerance towards the religions of dhimmi peoples
What was the reason on why the conquest of the Middle East and North Africa was successful?
their faith in Islam
Why was there a lot of stress after Muhammad's death?
there was no successor of Muhammad eventually leading them to renounce Islam
As similarly compared to classical Rome, later Muslim society...
used slave labor extensively and had an important landed elite
Ridda
wars following Muhammad's death; the defeat of rival prophets and opponents restored the unity of Islam.
Ayan
wealthy landed elite that emerged in the early decades of Abbasid rule
What was the result of the first civil war between Ali and the Umayyads?
Ali's faction fell apart, despite their early successes, which led to an eventual Umayyad victory and assasination of Ali
What was the status of artisans in Abbasid cities?
Artisans were free men who owned their own tools and who formed guild-like organizations to negotiate wages.
What was the political center of Islam under the Abbasids?
Baghdad
What clan was Muhammad born into?
Banu Hashim clan
What was the nature of slavery within the Abbasid social system?
Because most unskilled labor was left to slaves, they could easily be found in both towns and countryside of the Abbasid Empire
What continents were affected by the spread of Islam?
Europe, Sub-Sharan Africa, North Africa, Asia(
What was the nature of the material culture of Bedouin society?
Except in the sedentary agricultural communities of the south, there was little art or archetecture and the chief focus of cultural creativity was oral poetry,
The first flowering of Islamic civilization...
Was mostly imitative rather than creative
What happened to Islam after the death of Muhammad in 632?
Many of the Bedouin tribes stopped doing Islam
What was the nature of citizenship within the Umayyad Empire?
Only Muslim-Arabs were first-class citizens of the Umayyad Empire
Sunnis
Political and theological division within Islam; supported the Umayyads
When did Mohammad receive the first revelations that were eventually written down in the Quran?
610 C.E
Describe the ethical system of Islam
A reflection of the divine guideline for the right and wrong that can be seen in businesses or in Islamic society
How did the Umayyads respond to Mohammad's migration to Medina and his success there?
A war broke out between Mecca and Medina resulting in the eventual victory of Muhammad and the Medina clans
Why did the Arab warriors not want to convert large numbers of people to Islam?
Because they would have lost tax revenues
What culture from the Arabian Peninsula was the most significant development of Islam?
Bedouin
Bedoins: culture? Shelter? Life?
Bedouins lives in highly mobile tent encampments, were rarely found living in urdan areas, lived in kim related clan groups, Arab society fostered strong dependence on loyalty and cooperation with kin
What was the decline of women's position within Islamic civilization due to?
Contacts with older sedentary cultures
Where was the political center of Islam under the Umayyads?
Damascus
What are the five pillars of Islam?
Declaration of faith, obligatory prayer, compulsory giving, fasting in the month of Ramadan, pilgrimage (hajj) to Mecca
What was the major difference between Medina and Mecca?
Political dominance in Medina was contested between a number of Jewish and Bedouin tribes
Which of the following represents a mounting pressure for change in pre-Islamic society?
Greater Byzantine and Sasanian control over Arabic tribes of the peninsula and Arabic migration to Mesopotamia
Why did Islam spread so rapidly?
Islam spread quickly through trade (on the Silk Road of Central Asia and sea routes)
What was the advantage of the Islamic concept of the ummah?
It transcended old tribal boundaries and made possible political unity among Arab clans.
What was the nature of the economy of the Abbasid period?
It was a period of general prosperity typified by urban growth and the restoration of the Afro-Eurasian trade axis.
When and why did Mohammad flee to Medina?
Mohammad fled to Medina in the year 622 because of an invitation to mediate a dispute between the tribes of Medina and because of a threat of assassination in Mecca.
What does Islam have in common with Judaism and Christianity?
Monotheism, belief in one God
What was Muhammad's teaching with respect to the revelations of other monotheistic religions?
Muhammad accepted the validity of earlier Christian and Judaic revelations and taught that his own revelations were a final refinement and reformulation of earlier ones
As the Muslim empire grew and the Abbasid dynasty came to power..
Muslim rulers were increasingly isolated because of advisors and harems
Bedouin
Nomadic pastoralists of the Arabian peninsula; culture based on camel and goat nomadism; early converts to Islam
Mawali
Non-Arab converts to Islam
Jizya
Tax paid by all non-believers in Islamic territories
Who killed the male descents of the Umayyad Dynasty?
The Abbasids
What was the nature of the Abbasid government?
The Abbasids outdid the Umayyads in establishing an absolutist government symbolized by the growing powers of the wazirs and the sinister presence of the executioner.
Which areas had Muslims conquered by 650?
The Byzantine Empire (Europe, South Africa, North Africa, Asia)
What was the most significant of the transformations brought by the Abbasids' rise to power?
The mawali were admitted as full members of the Islamic community
How did the people of Medina react to Islam
The people of Medina became interested in Islam which caused Muhammad to attract more followers to his faith
What pillar of Islam helped create the first globalization?
The pilgrimage by the faithful to Mecca
Shi'a
The political and theological division within Islam, followers of Ali
What is the status of woman in Bedouin society?
Woman in Bedouin society has greater freedom and higher status than Byzantine and Sassanian women
Muhammad has knowledge of life beyond Mecca because he was...
a merchant and had traveled
