Islamic Empires Time Travel Guide

Islamic Empires Time Travel Guide:

• Best time to visit in during the Islamic Golden Age (750-1258)

• Worst times to visit include the Crusades (1095-1291), Mongol invasion of Baghdad (capital) in 1258

• The Islamic empires were ruled by religious leaders called caliphs

• At its peak the Islamic Empire encompassed of Spain, North Africa, and the Middle East

• Leaders ordered roadside inns called caravanserais to be built across the empire to encourage trade and tourism

• Baghdad the capital of the Abbasids Empire took 100,000 craftsmen, architect, and workers to build

• Between 836 and 892, the Caliph moved the capital to Samarra due to regional violence

• People who were apart of the Islamic Empire but were not Muslims were called “Dhimmies”, which meant “protected peoples” they were subject to pay taxes by the ruler

• The Abbassid caliphs were the last rulers during the golden age, after that the empire is further split due to different lines of religious ideology

• The fall of Baghdad was horrific resulting in the death of 2 million Muslims and the destruction of key infrastructure.

World History Series: The Islamic Empire

• The first Islamic caliph was Abu-Bakr the prophets oldest friend and supporter

• Riddah Wars, after the death of prophet Muhammad allied Bedouin tribes revoked their support of Abu-Bakr, in return Abu-Bakr defeated them

• Within 6 months ever tribe that rejected Abu-Bakr’s authority was defeated and converted to Islam

• The Riddah Wars set precedence for spreading Islam through war and conquest

• Abu-Bakr used conquest as a tool to unify tribes against a common enemy

• Through the use of conflict the Islamic Empires began controlling key trade routes

• During the 630’s Arab armies battled byzantine forces for control of Syria and Palestine

• In 634 Caliph Khalid’s army defeated the Byzantines at the battle of Ajnadain, conquering Palestine

• After in 635 after a six month siege, Damascus surrendered to the Muslim armies.

• In 638 a Muslim army led by Caliph Umar conquered Jerusalem from the Christian Byzantines, the terms of surrender included

1. Muslims would be responsible for the protection of Jerusalem’s inhabitants

2. Non-Muslims would have to pay a protection tax to the Muslim rulers

3. All inhabitants were given freedom of worships

4. Converts to Islam were exempted from paying tax.

• Caliph Umar led conquest against the Persian Sassanid dynasty and captured its capital of Ctesiphon

• The final battle which resulted in the defeat of the Persian Empire was the Battle of Nahavand.

• This battle brought an end to the Persian Empire which had lasted for 12 centuries

• Muslims established rule in Central Asia by defeating the Chinese army at the Talus river

• Caliph Umar established Al-Kufa as the capital on the Euphrates and created Baghdad on the Tigris

• Caliph Umar then went on to capture Alexandria to eradicate the Byzantine influence over North Africa

• When Alexandria was surrendered the Muslims agreed to treat the Christians and Jews with respect and applied the same principles of law that applied at the capture of Jerusalem

• Arab soldiers were described as fearless, their religion was a predominant influence of this bravery resulting due to the soldiers belief in jihad a “holy war” to spread Islam throughout the world

• The Umayyads set up a system of “diwan” where the spoils of war were distributed in accordance of merit and service to Islam

• People were paid an annual sum based on their status on the register

• Local military warlords in charge of garrisons called “emirs” were responsible for collecting taxes and organizing the local diwan

• The emirs were like governors who oversaw conquered territories, they would allow the conquered people to govern themselves

• After