Sei sulla pagina 1di 2

Islam, one of the most well-known religions today, had its origins in the mountainous

terrain around Mecca. The religion, along with its connections to politics and territory, spread
quickly, however. The timing, rapidity, and direction of Muslim territorial expansion were due to
trade routes and the desire of the caliphates for conquest. Though there is a substantial amount of
information already, more Islamic texts would give a better understanding of the expansion of
Islam.

Desire of Caliphate for


Caravan Trade Route
Conquest

How? The invention of the camel Under the second caliph,


saddle contributed to the rise Umar, the Islamic Conquests
of Arab-dominated caravan began. Arab armies took Syria
cities. and Egypt from the Byzantine
Empire and defeated the
Connected the Arabian Sasanids. 10 years later,
Peninsula to alternative armies went on to take over
cultures such as the Sasanid Tunisia and Spain, as long as
and the Byzantine empires. Sind.
Later, when Islam would
become more fully developed, In the 11th century, conquests
beliefs spread with the help of in India, Anatolia, and sub-
trade and cultural interaction. Saharan Africa began.

Though the trade routes were During the times of


not a direct root cause, they Conquests, however, the
shaped the rapidity and caliphate did not allow the
direction of Muslim territorial Arabs to own the land they
expansion. conquered. Instead the
caliphate compensated army
Islam expanded by trade in service with booty. Taxes were
the areas taken over by Arab paid only by non-Arabs and
Armies before and after the non-Muslims, so naturally
year 1000. some would convert to avoid
paying taxes.

The Abbasid dynasty put


emphasis on Islam. Due to the
dynasty becoming more
cosmopolitan as a result of
the Abbasid dynasty’s focus
on theology, knowledge was
shared along with religious
beliefs. Great works were
translated into Arab.
Gradually, this smote the
social discrimination against
Arabs and allowed many to
convert to Islam in the 2nd
quarter of the 9th century.
What reasons might there be for the timing, rapidity, and direction of Muslim territorial expansion? What more
do you need to know in order to gain an understanding of the expansion of Islam?

There were a few things that contributed to the timing, rapidity, and direction of Muslim territorial expansion:
booty, religious fanaticism, and the weakness of the foes of Islam; trading; leaders; and the caliphate. Even
with all the information we already have, more texts written by Muslims would give a better understanding of
the expansion of Islam.
The millions of Arabs who participated in the conquests over several generations constituted a small
self-isolated ruling minority living on the taxes paid by non-Arab, non-Muslim subject population. There is no
evidence of coherent missionary efforts to spread Islam during the conquest period. During the period of
expansion, Arab forces were organized into regular, paid armies and kept in military camps and garrison towns
so that they did not overrun the countryside. Even though they spread over Muslim societies and taxed, they
did not try to convert.
The caravan trade brought Arabs into contact with the Byzantine and Sasanid civilizations. Islam also
expanded by trade in India, sub-Saharan Africa and Anatolia both before and after the year 1000.
In 622, Muhammad and his followers fled from Mecca to Medina because Mecca's leaders pressured
his kin to disavow him and persecuted the weakest of his followers. Towards the end of Muhammad's life, the
umma in Medina developed into the core of the Islamic state that later expanded to include all of Arabia, Africa,
the Middle East, and Central Asia.
Disagreements over the question of succession to the caliphate emerged following the assassination of
Uthman. A civil war arose between those who supported keeping the caliphate in Uthman's clan and those
who supported the claim of Ali. These disagreements led to three rival sects in the Muslim community.

Potrebbero piacerti anche