The Islamic Caliphate

The Islamic Caliphate book cover — EMPIRES IN THE MIDDLE AGES THE ISLAMIC CALIPHATE Edited By Carolyn DeCarlo Britannica Educational Publishing IN ASSOCIATION WITH ROSEN EDUCATIONAL SERVICES

The Islamic Caliphate — page 1 — INTRODUCTION For several hundred years the Muslim community and its land formed a state called the Caliphate The Caliphate was created in 632 CE to prevent a leadership leadership crisis brought on by the death of Muhammad the founder of Islam The successor successor chosen was Abu Bakr Muhammad’s father-in-law and closest adviser His title was caliph a term that means both successor successor and deputy The Caliphate lasted until 1258 when the Mongol conquest of Baghdad effectively ended the empire The followers of Islam believed they had a mission to spread their religion They conquered surrounding territories in order to do so In addition to being religious religious leaders therefore the caliphs were also political rulers of an increasingly large empire During its first two centuries the empire grew rapidly to include not only Arabia the birthplace of Islam but also most of Southwest Asia North Africa and Spain The Caliphate expanded through military conquests and treaties Resistance to the Caliphate tended to be only slight and nondestructive and some areas surrendered surrendered without fighting The Caliphate began with and was ruled by Arab Muslims As the empire 4

The Islamic Caliphate — page 2 — INTRODUCTION This map depicts the territories held by the Abbasid Caliphate in the ninth century at the height of the empire grew people of many different cultures and religions were absorbed under its rule In fact Arabs came to be in the minority Many people in the conquered territories territories kept their own religion but large numbers converted converted to Islam Jews Christians and people of other tolerated religions were generally allowed to practice their faith but they had to pay a special tax People of other religions were forced to convert to Islam As the Caliphate became increasingly prosperous prosperous Islam Islamic culture and the Arabic language became prestigious The more the Muslim rulers were 5

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