Gist Question
What triggered the civil war between Muslims? (1st excerpt)
Ali triggered the civil war by rising through the ranks to caliph so fast.
Who took the place of the Umayyads? (4th Excerpt)
The Abbasids took the place of the Umayyads.
What were early Muslims debating regarding who should lead after Muhammad’s death? (1st Excerpt)
Early Muslims believed that Ali was the favorite and he should not receive the role of caliphate due to not being, “pure of faith…”
In what way did Ali’s death answer the question, “Did the caliph have to be connected to and descended from Muhammad by blood, or was piety the most important factor?” (1st Excerpt)
After Ali’s death it was shown that piety can be the most important factor when becoming caliphate because Muawiya, the replacement caliph to Ali was not a descendant of Muhammad but instead was, “…a superb general during the initial conquests and then governor of Syria,” which leads me to believe that piety was the most important factor.
The author says, “Their erudition, intellectual sophistication and artistic creativity easily surpassed the Umayyads. Histories were written, poems composed, works translated and cities built with graceful architecture and planning.” Based on this line, what were the cultural features of the Abbasid Empire? (4th Excerpt)
The cultural features of the Abbasid Empire were based on art and intellect
Where was the capital of the Umayyad Empire? (2nd Excerpt)
The capital of the Umayyad Empire was in Damascus.
In what way did the Umayyad’s expansion answer the question, “Did the caliph have to be connected to and descended from Muhammad by blood, or was piety the most important factor?” (2nd Excerpt)
Umayyad’s expansion of the Muslim Empire did not answer the question because it is seen that Muawiya was not a descendent of Muhammad in the first source The Uymayyad Dynasty’s Founding but the second source The Umayyad Dynasty’s Expansion to Spain proves that piety is important, but the real ruler of the Muslim empire is fear and, “…the most powerful dynasty…” not the most religious.
The author says, “This openness to the wisdom of pre-Islamic past stemmed in part from the regime’s focus on maintaining power.” What does this tell us about the motivation behind the creation of an open and tolerant culture? (4th Excerpt)
This quote tells the reader that the Abbasid regime saw the peoples reactions to past empires when they were not allowed to be tolerant to different cultures and in order to maintain control over the empire, the Abbasid regime saw it best to allow influence into their society from different cultures.
How far did the Umayyad Empire expand? (2nd Excerpt)
The empire expanded thousands of miles.
The author says, “Had the phrase existed, it would have been called a multicultural world.” What does the author mean by this? (3rd Excerpt)
The author means that the Muslim Empire did not only exist of only Muslims but instead consisted of many different religions and if the word “multicultural” was a round during the time of the Muslim Empire than history would have referred to it as such.
In what ways did global interaction make Middle Eastern culture more cooperative? (4th Excerpt)
It shaped the Middle Eastern culture because without the global interactions within the Abbasid Empire, the Muslim community may have never witnessed and been apart of technological innovations and influenced the world in ways they have today. Their governmental ideology would still be extremely strict if there was no global interaction.
What happened to the Umayyad Empire? (4th excerpt)
The Umayyad Empire fell due to, “…the family of al-Mahdi…,” revolting and leading to the defeat of the Umayyad Empire.
Based on what you have read so far, what impact did global interaction have on the societies in the Umayyad Empire? (3rd Excerpt)
The Umayyad Empire was influenced heavily by different cultures. The empire was not just Muslim and did not fall under only Muslim morals and values. Instead, it was a melting pot of different cultures blended into one empire.
In what way did global interaction create conflict? (4th Excerpt)
Global interaction created conflict because there was the “open-minded” Muslims who wanted to know what culture was like outside of their own but at the same time there were Muslims who wanted ancient culture to be heavily followed and not changed. This alone brings conflict within the Muslim society but when you add global interactions within these two very different aspects in life, you have the perfect recipe for conflict because whoever the “global influence” is, will eventually choose a side to back.