Empires

Question 1

Abbasid Caliphate

Answer 1

750-1517 - Sunni Islam caliphate descended from Muhammad’s uncle, Al-Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib (566–653) - Capital at Baghdad - Ruled during Islamic Golden Age, promoting science y culture - Reduced to a ceremonial role after the Mongol sack of Baghdad in 1258, though claimed religious authority until the Ottoman conquest of Egypt in 1517

Question 2

Ayyubid Dynasty

Answer 2

1171-1260 Sunni Muslim dynasty of Kurdish origin - Founded by Saladin, after he took over the Fatimid Dynasty - Capital at Cairo - Defeated in Egypt by the Mamluks y in Syria by the Mongols

Question 3

Fatimid Caliphate

Answer 3

909-1171 Shia Islamic caliphate that spanned a 4 mil km2 area, mostly in North Africa - Capital at Cairo - Claimed descent from Fatimah, the daughter of Muhammad - Distinguished by the central role of Berbers in its establishment y development - Defeated in 1171 by Saladin, who would found the Ayyubid Dynasty

Question 4

Mughal Empire

Answer 4

1526-1857 Empire on the Indian subcontinent ruled by a Muslim dynasty with Turco-Mongol Chagatai roots from Central Asia - Aka the Mogul Empire or the Gurkani - Capitals at Agra and Delhi - Founded by Babur after the defeat of the Delhi Sultanate - Defeated by the British East India Company, which led to the establishment of the British Raj (1858-1947)

Question 5

Ottoman Empire (Devlet-i ʿAlīye-i ʿOsmānīye)

Answer 5

1299-1922 - Empire founded in Anatolia by tribal leader Osman I (d. 1323) - Spread into Europe with the conquest of the Balkans in 1354 - Ended the Byzantine Empire with the 1453 conquest of Constantinople by Mehmed the Conqueror - Capitals at Bursa, Edirne, y Constantinople/Istanbul - Ended after WWI by the Turkish War of Independence y the emergence of the Republic of Turkey

Question 6

Sasanian Empire

Answer 6

AKA Sassanid or Neo-Persian Empire - The last kingdom of the Persian Empire before the rise of Islam - Existed 224-651 CE with capital at Ctesiphon (modern Iraq) - Succeeded the Parthian Empire, y recognised as one of the leading world powers alongside its neighbouring arch-rival the Roman-Byzantine Empire - Named for the House of Sasan, with first leader Ardashir I - Defeated in the Muslim conquest of Persia, led by the Rashidun Caliphate

Question 7

Songhai Empire

Answer 7

1464-1591 African Islamic empire that dominated the western Sahel - Capital at Gao (present day Mali) - Assumed control of the region after collapse of the earlier Malian Empire - Weakened by dynastic succession disputes y defeated by the Moroccan sultan in 1591

Question 8

Umayyad Caliphate

Answer 8

660-750 the second of the four major caliphates established after the death of Muhammad (570-632) - Capital at Damascus - At its greatest extent, it covered 11 mil km2 y 62 mil people (29% of the world’s population), making it one of the largest empires in history - A secular state that allowed Jews y Christians to pay a tax and continue their religious practices - Overthrown by the Abbasid family in 750