Arabian Empire Flashcards
Which early people were based around Petra in Jordan?
Nabataeans
Which early people were based in Yemen?
Himyarites
What was the Himyarite capital?
Sana’a
What was the Nabataean capital?
Petra
Who conquered the Himyarites?
Axum
Which early people emigrated from Yemen to the Levant, and converted to Christianity?
Ghassanids
Who conquered the Ghassanids, and in which century?
Arab Caliphate, 7th century
Why didn’t the Romans conquer the Ghassanids?
They were a buffer between Rome and the raiding Bedouins
Which early people were based in southern Iraq?
Lakhmids
Through which years were the Lakhmids prominent?
300-602
What was the Lakhmid capital, and which major river was it situated on?
al-Hirah, on the Euphrates
Who were the Lakhmids conquered by?
Chosroes II, King of the Sassanids
How did the Lakhmids help the Arabs to defeat the Sassanids?
They acted as spies
When and where was Muhammad born?
c. 570, Mecca
What profession did Muhammad likely hold?
Merchant
When did Muhammad’s revelations start, and what age was he?
Around 610, 40 yrs old
How were his revelations handed down?
Orally
What two subjects dominated Muhammad’s revelations?
- End of the world
2. Transcendence of a unique God
When did Muhammad die?
632
Detail the expansion of the Arabic Caliphate between 630 and 644
- 630 Mecca
- 634 Damascus
- 642 Alexandria
- 644 Persian empire
What six factors made the Arabic Caliphate so effective?
- Weak enemies
- Desert masters
- Channelling of a warlike people
- Jihad
- benign rulers
- didn’t plunder people
Who did the Arab Caliphate tend to plunder?
The Church
Who were the four first successors to Muhammad?
Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman, Ali
Who oversaw the transcription of Muhammad’s messages?
Uthman
Why was Uthman assassinated?
Trying to bring the caliphate into his own family
What family did Uthman belong to?
Qoraysh
What was Ali’s relation to Muhammad?
cousin and son-in-law
Who killed Ali?
Mu’awiya, governer of Syria
Who was the first Umayyad ruler?
Mu’awiya
Where did Mu’awiya move the capital to?
Damascus
Which faction refused to acknowledge Mu’awiya as Caliph?
Sh’ia
Which two decisive losses marked the Umayyad caliphate?
- Constantinople,717
2. Tours, 733
Who fought against the Umayyads at Tours, and in what year?
Charles Martel, 733
Between what years did the Umayyad dynasty hold the Caliphate?
661-750
Name the two major dynasties of the Arab caliphate, and the years they held power
- Umayyad, 661-750
2. Abbasid, 750-1258
What happened to the Umayyads after they were deposed in 750?
Fled to Spain where they ruled for 200 years
What relation of Muhammad’s were the Abbasids descended from?
His uncle
Where did the Abbasids move the capital to?
Baghdad, a constructed city
What year was Baghdad crippled, and by whom?
1258, Mongols
What change in orientation did the Abbasids make?
Away from the Mediterranean, towards Persia, India and Afghanistan
What year did the Arab caliphate cease expanding?
750
What did the Abbasids do to the Umayyads?
Slaughtered them; leather cloth
What financed the Abbasid rule?
Tax, not expansion
What 4 factors caused the Abbasid collapse?
- Overstretching
- Shi’ism/Sunni strife
- Dynastic struggles
- Mongols
Why did the Umayyads so easily conquer Iberia?
Iberia ruled but not populated by Visigoths, so population had no reason to fight once Visigoths were defeated
