World History

Islamic Empires WebQuest

Directions: Use the links provided to read two articles about the rise of Islamic empires and the spread of
Islamic culture. Define the terms and respond to the questions in complete sentences. This should be
submitted through Google Classroom.

The Rise of Islamic Empires and States

Define the following terms (from the reading above):

Caliph - the reign of the first four successors, from 632 to 661 CE.
Caliphate - is a new Islamic political structure that evolved and became more sophisticated during the
Umayyad and Abbasid caliphates.
Centralized government - is one in which power or legal authority is exerted or coordinated by a de facto
political executive to which federal states, local authorities, and smaller units are considered the subject.
Decentralized government - refers to the restructuring or reorganization of authority so that there is a system
of co-responsibility between institutions of governance at the central, regional and local levels according to the
principle of subsidiarity, thus increasing

As you read answer the following questions:

1. Did the Arab Muslims force the conquered people to convert to Islam once conquered? When did most
of the conversion take place? The Arab Muslims did not force the conquered people to convert to Islam
once conquered. Centuries later, towards the end of the eleventh century, that the Muslims made up
the majority of subjects of the Islamic empires.
2. What are some of the ways in which Islam spread? Islam spread through merchants, missionaries, and
pilgrims who were very different in nature.
3. How quickly did the Arab Muslim empires spread? The spread of Arab Muslim empires went by fairly
quickly.
4. What factors played a role in the rise of the Islamic Empire? Factors that played a role in the rise of the
Islamic Empire was spread through military conquest, trade, pilgrimage, and missionaries.
5. What were some of the reasons the Byzantine and Sasanian Empires were vulnerable to attacks by the
Arab Muslim conquerors? Some of the reasons that the Byzantine and Sasanian Empires were
vulnerable to attacks by the Arab Muslims conquerors because they were neighboring country's to Arab
Muslims and they were able to take over vast territories that belonged to Byzantines and Sasanians.
6. What is the significance of the Umayyad and Abbasid Dynasties? The significance of the Umayyad and
Abbasid Dynasties was that the Umayyad Dynasty that Islamic and Arabic culture began to truly
spread. The Abbasid Dynasties intensified and solidified these culture changes.
7. Why did the Umayyad not force their subjects to convert? How did this benefit their empire? They didn't
encourage conversion because of most of the subjects remained non-Muslim. Being a non-Muslim
subject you were required to pay a special tax.
8. How did the Abbasid dynasty come to power? The Abbasid dynasty came to power by differentiating
themselves from the Umayyad predecessors. Abbasid leadership was also dynastic and centralized.
9. How did the Abbasid social hierarchy differ from the Umayyad social hierarchy? The Abbasid dynasty
changed the social hierarchy by constructing a more inclusive government in a more cosmopolitan
capital city, Baghdad.
10. Why did many non-Muslim people under the Abbasid control convert to Islam? They converted to Islam
because of a multitude of reasons including sincere belief and to avoid paying taxes levied on non-
Muslims.
The Development and Spread of Islamic Cultures

Define the following terms (from the reading above):

Saladin - Kurdish leaders, like Saladin of the Ayyubid dynasty, were incredibly influential
Caravans - groups of travelers who used camels to transport themselves and goods across the land, were
critical to the spread of Islam.

Research the following trade routes and briefly explain each of them:
Silk Road - It is an ancient trade route between China and the Mediterranean (4,000 miles); followed by Marco
Polo in the 13th century to reach Cathay.
Trans-Saharan - This trade went across the Sahara desert and what was traded included: gold, ivory, salt, and
cloth, for North African goods such as horses, books, swords, and chain mail.
The Indian Ocean - is connected southeast Asia, India, Arabia, and East Africa, beginning at least as early as
the third century BCE.

As you read, answer the following questions:

1. How did the Abbasid empire change over time? The Abbasid empire changed over time the end of the
Abbasid caliphate, the formerly vas and united Islamic empire became fragmented and decentralized.
2. How did these changes contribute to the spread of Islam? As the empire was expanding people started
to convert to Islam, tax revenue collected from non-Muslim subjects dwindled, and the Abbasid court
could no longer sustain its expenditures. The political decentralization and destabilization that led to
the spread of Islam beyond the massive Abbasid empire's borders.
3. What events caused political establishments in the Abbasid Caliphate to become unstable? What event
finally caused their downfall? Another source of political instability was the confrontation between
Muslims and Christians in Western Europe, with the inquisition, the crusades.
4. In the late Abbasid period, why was Muslim rule no longer an Arab phenomenon? Muslim Kurdish,
Persian, Turkish, Mongol and Afghan leaders secured power in places as far apart as modern-day
Turkey and modern-day northern India.
5. How did trade interactions result in cultural exchange? They created a sense of internationalism and
multiculturalism.