In just 1 century , the Arab Bedouins conquer the largest empire since that of Alexander the Great.
EN 634:Omar Ibn el-Khattab becomes second caliph
He succeeds to the first caliph Abû Bakr . He is the father of Hafsa, another wife of Mohammed.
BETWEEN 636 AND 644:Beginning of the holy war (Jihad)
Omar Ibn al-Khattab continue the conquests initiated by Mohammed and it is under his reign that the epic of Islam really begins. Mohammed promises that “every fighter who died in battle is guaranteed to enter paradise “thus, the men of the desert are transformed into soldiers of genius, into skilled horsemen, into bold navigators and embark on the holy war (Jihad). Armed with light weapons and driven by a strong and unshakeable faith, they baffle and paralyze their enemies. Under the command of Omar , the Muslims won many victories, conquered new territories and succeeded in converting entire peoples to the new religion. The Battle of the Yarmouk River, Syria , opens the way to the West for Muslims. They conquer Egypt and take Tripoli (now Libya). Then they attack Persia and win the victory, thus putting within their reach, the roads of Central Asia and India. Possessing the experience of raids, they have the art of surprise attacks. Omar is a prominent politician and he is tolerant and wise. It allows Jews and Christians to practice their religion, provided they pay 2 taxes.
EN 644:Death of Omar
Omar Ibn al-Khattab is stabbed repeatedly by a slave in the mosque of Medina during prayer. Uthman he succeeds as Caliph.
EN 656:The Great Caliphate Quarrel
Uthman is murdered and this opens a period of trouble. Muslims clash for the first time because they disagree on the proclamation of the next caliphs. The Shiites wish successors who are direct members of the family of Mohammed. They call them Imams, not to be confused with the imam of the mosque, not caliphs. The Sunnis (which comes from the word “sunna”), meanwhile, prefer ordinary men like Abu Bakr (always companion of Muhammad) in the name of returning to tribal traditions.
Ali becomes Imam:
It's finally Ali , a cousin and son-in-law of Muhammad, who became Imam . But some of his Shiite supporters reproach him for his weakness and abandon him to form the sect Kharijites, while others remain loyal to him.
EN 661:Death of Ali
Ali gets murdered by a kharijite . Moawiya is proclaimed caliph in his place and founded the Umayyad Dynasty. It sets up its headquarters in Damascus, Syria. From this mythical city, in less than a century, the Umayyads will build a power unprecedented in history. But the struggle between the clans continues and the sons of Ali claim, in vain, the caliphate. The eldest is poisoned, the second, Hussein, is hunted down, captured and massacred by the Umayyads.
The Umayyads cultivate urban values:
The Umayyads renounce the simplicity of nascent Islam to adopt a refined etiquette and rich . Despite criticism of this way of life, which departs from the sober and austere values of Islam, Damascus grows, embellishes and becomes the city of the arts. Figurative representations, likened to idols are not completely banished and the frescoes of the palaces represent scenes of hunting, dances or feasts.
BETWEEN 665 AND 698:The Umayyads create a vast empire
This is mainly thanks to the revolutionary message of Islam, which proclaims equality in these terms “We are all equal before God “, and not thanks to the weapons that the Umayyads continue their conquests of expansion . They conquer the Persian Empire and undermine the Byzantine Empire, as well as many regions of the Maghreb (which means “West” in Arabic, as opposed to Machreq which means “East”). Then they come up against fierce resistance from Berber mountain dwellers. in North Africa , a mainly Christian region where part of the population has remained polytheistic . The conquest is long and difficult, but after half a century of fighting, the Muslim Umayyad invaders control the whole region and the Berbers join forces with them.
The “dhimma” system allows Umayyad Muslims to control their vast empire:
It puts an end to the clashes, even if sometimes cities decide to fight until the end. The “dhimma ” allows Umayyad Muslims to lead the “wealthy” classes by allowing them to perform administrative functions in their region.
EN 711:Umayyad armies conquer Spain
The Berber general, Tariq ibn Ziyad, leads the Umayyad armies and conquers Spain:
Armed with sabers, mounted on small very fast horses, the Umayyads carry out razzias and sow terror among disarmed populations. They cross the Strait of Gibraltar, which will take the name of General Tariq ibn Ziyad (deformation of the Arabic word “Jebel Tarik” which means “mountain of Tariq”), to conquer the Iberian Peninsula. In Spain, the Christian Kingdom of the Visigoths is in bad condition :The plague has wreaked havoc there and the Catholics use this scourge as a pretext to persecute the Jews, accusing them of having drawn the wrath of God on Spain. The Visigoths also attempted to forcibly convert Jews to Christianity and they were very unpopular due to their violence and looting. Thus, upon his arrival, Tariq ibn Ziyad was warmly welcomed by the Jewish population who proclaimed:“God be praised, you have come to save us from this monstrosity “. The Jews, then passive resistance fighters, became active resistance fighters alongside the Muslim Arabs. The 2 communities unite against the Christians and in barely 10 years Spain was conquered by the Umayyads.
EN 732:The Umayyad Muslims go back to the Kingdom of the Franks
These are 2 civilizations, 2 different worlds that confront each other. The Arab horsemen, reinforced by the Berbers , practice raids devastating all along the roads of Aquitaine. But when they arrived in Poitiers, they were stopped in their progress by Charles Martel . The serried ranks of Frankish warriors “immobile like a wall” destabilize the Umayyad troops. The victory by Charles Martel is decisive for the West and France , but it in no way detracts from the prestige of Muslim civilization which is experiencing a real golden age .
The Islamic Umayyad Empire is at its peak:
The Umayyad Empire extends from the Pyrenees west to the banks of the Indus to the west and the Sahara south to the Aral Sea in Central Asia North. The Arabic language becomes, as in the past, Greek, the language in which all scholars write, whether they are Persians, Berbers, Jews or Turks.
IN 750:The Abbasids seize power and put an end to the reign of the Umayyads
The descendants of Mohammed have not forgiven the Umayyads for taking power and they decide to take their revenge. Thus, Abu al-Abbas (nicknamed al-Saffah which means “He who shed blood”), a descendant of an uncle of Muhammad, created the Abbasid Dynasty. He seizes Damascus and power by taking advantage of religious disputes between Shiite Muslims and Sunnis . Like many before them, the Abbasids are establishing a new geopolitical balance of power in their favor. They invoke non-respect for orthodoxy, non-fidelity to the Prophet Mohammed, advocate a return to the sources of Islam, etc., and accuse the Umayyads of violating Koranic law, of being hypocrites, corrupt and bad Muslims. They massacred all the members of the Umayyad family and a chronicler recounts that “he had the bodies spread out on a leather carpet on which a meal was served to those who witnessed this scene and who ate while the victims grumbled and exhaled “. Thus, the Abbasids, a branch of the clan of the Hechemites, triumph of the Umayyads and Baghdad dethrones Damascus.
An Umayyad, Abd al-Tahnman I, escapes:
He takes refuge in the Maghreb, then, at the head of a small troop, he seizes Cordoba in Spain . He founds a new Dynasty Umayyad.
Heyday of the Islamic Abbasid Empire:
The Abbasids call themselves paramount chiefs and their territory extends from India to Spain on 3 continents:Asia, Africa and Europe. They live in peace with the Jewish and Christian minorities and gave birth to one of the civilizations the most brilliant of humanity. Caliphs collect taxes throughout the Empire and derive fabulous wealth from them. On all the conquered territories, they built mosques so that the faithful could pray there.
EN 762:The Golden Age of the Cosmopolitan Empire of the Abbasids
Abbasid caliphs marry non-Arab women, call upon Persian viziers, live in luxury and wear ceremonial clothes. Caliph Sja'far al-Mansur founded Baghdad (current Iraq) which becomes the new capital of his empire. He calls it “The City of Peace” and Badgad becomes the capital of poets, artists, scholars, science, mathematics, physics, medicine, botany, geography, philosophy, history, etc. The Arabs are eager to learn from other peoples and they keep in libraries books from all over the world. doctors study diseases and perform delicate operations. They discover the manufacture of steel and the production of medicines from chemical substances. astronomers study the night sky and establish the first maps that help explorers find their way across oceans and deserts. The Arabs know how to make silk, originating in China, and improve the techniques of making cotton and dyes. They become the great distributors of another Chinese invention:paper.
A prosperous life:
The trade is thriving with many ports redeveloped or created on the shores of the Mediterranean, the Red Sea, the Persian Gulf and the Indian Ocean, with, for example, the port of Basra, that the adventures of Sindbad the Sailor, hero of A Thousand and One Nights , have made famous.
Language and religion:
The language spoken by the greatest number is Arabic and the Islamic religion is the most widespread. This is spread not only by soldiers, but also by merchants. The cities Arabs are active and crowded, but very well organized . Most of the houses have 3 floors and the upper part is reserved for women and children, it is called the harem.
Central administration:
The administration cities and provinces is highly centralized and depends on the vizier , who, to execute his orders, has an instrument honed by the Byzantines and the Persians and perfected by the Abbasids:La Poste (barid ). It has a thousand relays that work in both directions and carry orders throughout the Empire.
CIRCA 790:The Islamic Empire of the Abbasids splits
The Kingdom of the Umayyads in Cordoba in Spain enjoyed influence throughout Andalusia, while other Kingdoms independents are born in Egypt and in India . Thus, religious quarrels fragment the Empire of the Abbasids and it is divided.
EN 1055:The Turks control the Islamic Empire
A Turks army captures Baghdad and the caliphs remained under their rule until 1258.
EN 1258:The Mongols invade Baghdad
The Mongols kill the last caliph and the end of the Islamic Empire.