Page 1 of 5
Lesson
1
MAIN IDEAS
Government The Umayyads expanded Muslim
rule to the east and westward into Europe.
Government The Umayyads built a unified
empire based on a strong government, a
common language, and a common coinage.
Government By 750, religious and political
differences caused the Muslim Empire to split.
TAKING NOTES
Reading Skill: Finding Main Ideas
Identifying the main ideas in a passage will help
you understand key historical events. As you read
each section of this lesson, look for essential
information on the main ideas. Record this
information in a chart like the one shown below.
Umayyad
Expansion
Unifying
the Empire
Umayyad
Downfall
▲ Banner of Muhammad
This illustration from a
Spanish manuscript shows
Muslim soldiers carrying the
banner of Muhammad.
Skillbuilder Handbook, page R2
7.2.4 Discuss the expansion of
Muslim rule through military
conquests and treaties,
emphasizing the cultural blending
within Muslim civilization and the
spread and acceptance of Islam
and the Arabic language.
112 • Chapter 4
CST 1 Students explain how major
events are related to one another
in time.
CST 3 Students use a variety of
maps and documents to identify
physical and cultural features
of neighborhoods, cities, states,
and countries and to explain the
historical migration of people,
expansion and disintegration
of empires, and the growth of
economic systems.
Page 2 of 5
TERMS & NAMES
The Expansion
of Muslim Rule
Iberian Peninsula
bureaucracy
Abd al-Malik
Build on What You Know You might have seen on the
television news that when a leader dies or resigns, a power
struggle follows to determine his or her successor. After
Muhammad died, several groups fought for control of the Muslim
world. In 661, the Umayyad family won this power struggle.
The Umayyads built a great empire with Damascus (located in
present-day Syria) as its capital.
Expansion Under the Umayyads
ESSENTIAL QUESTION What lands did the Umayyads add to the
Muslim Empire?
Once the Umayyads had taken control, they began to conquer
new lands. In less than 100 years, their empire spanned parts of
three continents—Asia, Africa, and Europe.
Expansion to the East Under the Umayyads,
Connect to Today
The Great Mosque,
Damascus The
magnificent Great
Mosque was
originally built by
the Umayyads. ▼
the Muslim Empire expanded. When they took power
in 661, the empire’s eastern boundary extended into
Persia. (See the map on the next page.) They quickly
pushed that border farther eastward into Central Asia.
At first, Umayyad armies staged hit-and-run raids,
attacking such cities as Bukhara (boo•KAHR•uh) and
Samarkand. These were the region’s major trading centers.
Soon, however, occasional raids turned into organized
campaigns for conquest. By the early 700s, the Umayyads
had taken control of much of Central Asia.
113
Map note:
Standard type sizes have been reduced due to map scale and amount of info shown.
Page 3 of 5
Expansion Under the Umayyads, A.D. 661–750
N
Paris
Tours
Kairouan
Tripoli
Da
nub
Ca
e R.
Rome
Black Sea
BY
Constantinople
ZA
NT
INE
EMPIRE
M ed
Sicily
iterr Crete
ane a n
INTERPRETING MAPS
Location What bodies of water
er
P
Damascus
Alexandria
Jerusalem
Cairo
ARABIA
GEOGRAPHY SKILLBUILDER
Samarkand
sia
Merv
n G u lf
Medina
Re
500
1000 miles
1000 kilometers
Lands conquered by Muslims by 661
R.
Nile
10°E
500
a
0°
Arabian
Sea
0
Se
10°W
N
20°
0
Mecca
d
mark the eastern and western
boundaries of the Umayyad Empire?
°N
30
Bukhara
PERSIA
Baghdad
Sea
S
R.
SPAIN
Toledo
Seville Córdoba
W
Indus
Venice
Sea
ian
sp
ATL ANTIC
OCEAN
Syr Dary
aR
.
E
20°E
30°E
Lands conquered during Umayyad rule
40°E
50°E
Westward Expansion The Umayyads also expanded the empire
to the west. By 710, they controlled the whole of North Africa from
MapQuest.Com, Inc.
the Nile River to the Atlantic Ocean. The following year, they moved
northward across the Mediterranean Sea into
the Iberian Peninsula.
McDougal-Littell, 7th grade World History Program
The Iberian Peninsula is the southwestern tip of Europe where the wh07pe-020401-003
under the Umayyads, 661-750
modern nations of Spain and Portugal are located.Expansion
Using military
3rd proof date: 6/23/04
force and treaties, they took control of nearly all of the peninsula.
From strongholds in Spain, Muslim forces launched raids ever
deeper into Europe. However, Christian forces stopped their advance
in 732 at the Battle of Tours. (See the map above.) Over the next few
years, Muslim forces retreated back to Spain.
How did the Umayyads expand the Muslim world?
Uniting Many Peoples
ESSENTIAL QUESTION How did the Umayyads build a unified empire?
By the early 700s, the Umayyads controlled a huge empire that
covered many lands. As a result, Umayyad leaders needed to take
steps to unite and govern the many peoples of this far-flung empire.
Umayyad Government The Umayyads patterned their
government on the bureaucracy used in the lands they won
from the Byzantine Empire. A bureaucracy is a system of
departments and agencies that carry out the work of the
government. Umayyad caliphs, through this bureaucracy,
ruled the entire empire from their capital city of Damascus.
114 • Chapter 4
Vocabulary Strategy
The suffix –cracy means
“government” and
“rule.” It comes from a
Greek word that means
“strength” or “power.”
Page 4 of 5
To rule the different provinces of the empire, the caliphs appointed
Muslim governors called emirs (ih•MEERZ). These emirs relied on
local clan leaders to help them govern. Working with local leadership
helped the Umayyads win support in lands far from Damascus.
A Common Language and Coinage At first, language
served as a barrier to unity in the empire. People in different parts
of the empire spoke their own languages. Abd al-Malik (uhb•DUL
muh•LIHK), who became caliph in 685, solved this problem. He
declared Arabic the language of government for all Muslim lands.
Having a common language for government helped
people throughout the empire communicate more
easily with other regions. Even so, most Muslims
still spoke their own languages in everyday life.
Around 700, Abd al-Malik further unified the
empire by introducing a common coinage. Coins
were engraved with Arabic quotations from the
Qur’an. The coins helped the spread and acceptance
of Islam and the Arabic language. They also made
commerce among the different parts of the empire
much easier.
The Hajj This Persian
painting shows a
caravan of pilgrims on
the road to Mecca. ▼
The Pilgrimage Muslims from across the empire
made the pilgrimage, or hajj, to Mecca. On the
hajj, pilgrims shared their languages and cultures.
In addition, they brought knowledge of the Arabic
culture and Umayyad rule back to their homelands.
So the pilgrimage helped bring about the blending
of many different cultures.
How did the Umayyads unify the scattered
Muslim states?
The Overthrow of the Umayyads
ESSENTIAL QUESTION What caused the Muslim Empire to split?
The Umayyads conquered many new lands and brought Islam to large
numbers of people. By the mid-700s, however, the Umayyads faced
major challenges to their rule.
Rising Protests Some Muslims felt that the Umayyads did not take
their duties as leaders of Islam seriously. They accused the Umayyads
of being too interested in living a life of luxury and holding on to
power. Over time, different groups throughout the empire began to
protest Umayyad rule.
The Rise of Muslim States • 115
Page 5 of 5
The Abbasids One group, the Abbasids (uh•BAS•IHDS), gained
support from other Muslims who opposed the Umayyads. By 750,
these combined forces had taken power. According to some historians,
the Abbasids invited Umayyad leaders to a meeting to talk about
peace. At that meeting, the Umayyads were murdered.
Only one prominent Umayyad, Abd al-Rahman (uhb•DUL
Gold Coin The
rahk•MAHN), escaped this ambush. He fled to Spain. There,
inscription on this
coin is the Muslim
he re-established the Umayyad dynasty. After this, the Muslim
declaration of
Empire was permanently split into eastern and western sections.
Why did the Umayyads lose power?
Lesson Summary
faith: There is no
God but Allah, and
Muhammad is his
Prophet. ▼
• The Umayyads rose to control all Muslims and
create a huge empire.
• Umayyad caliphs created a large bureaucracy to
serve the far-flung Muslim lands.
• Religious and political differences among Muslim
groups eventually ended Umayyad rule.
Why It Matters Now . . .
Muslims continue to learn the Arabic language in order
to practice their religion, as they did in Umayyad times.
1
Lesson
Review
Homework Helper
ClassZone.com
Terms & Names
1. Explain the importance of
Iberian Peninsula
bureaucracy
Abd al-Malik
Using Your Notes
Finding Main Ideas Use your completed chart to
answer the following question:
2. What was the greatest accomplishment of the
Umayyads? Give reasons for your answer. (7.2.4)
Umayyad
Expansion
Activity
Unifying
the Empire
Umayyad
Downfall
Main Ideas
3. How did the Umayyads bring new lands into
the Muslim Empire? (7.2.4)
4. How did the Umayyads unite the many lands
and peoples of the Muslim Empire? (7.2.4)
5. What were some of the problems that triggered
the Umayyads’ downfall? (7.2.4)
Critical Thinking
6. Comparing How did the policies of the Muslims
toward conquered lands compare with other
empire builders such as the Romans? (CST 1)
7. Drawing Conclusions What role did religion play
in the expansion of the Muslim Empire? (7.2.4)
Making a Map Take out the map that you began in Chapter 2. Then use the maps on pages 114
and 121 to draw in the boundaries of the Umayyad and Abbasid empires at their height. (Framework)
116 • Chapter 4