Western Civilization

In accordance with Bedouin custom, males were per-

mitted to have more than one wife, but Muhammad

attempted to limit the practice by restricting the num-

ber of wives to four.

The Spread of Islam

The death of Muhammad presented his followers with

a dilemma. Muhammad had never named a successor,

and although he had several daughters, he left no sons.

In a male-oriented society, who would lead the commu-

nity of the faithful? Shortly after Muhammad’s death,

some of his closest followers selected Abu Bakr (ah-boo

BAHK-ur), a wealthy merchant who was Muhammad’s

father-in-law, ascaliph(KAY-luff), or temporal leader,

of the Islamic community.

Muhammad and the early caliphs who succeeded

him took up the Arabic tribal custom of therazziaor

raid in the struggle against their enemies. Some have

called this activity ajihad(ji-HAHD), which they mis-

leadingly interpret as a “holy war.” Jihad actually

means “striving in the way of the Lord” to achieve per-

sonal betterment, although it can also mean a fair, de-

fensive fight to preserve one’s life and one’s faith. Arab

conquests were not carried out to convert others,

because conversion to Islam was purely voluntary.

Those who did not convert were required only to sub-

mit to Muslim rule and pay taxes.

The Byzantines and the Persians were the first to

feel the strength of the newly united Arabs. At Yarmuk

in 636, the Muslims defeated the Byzantine army, and

by 640, they had taken possession of the province of

Syria (see Map 7.5). To the east, the Arabs went on to

conquer the Persian Empire by 650. In the meantime,

Egypt and other areas of northern Africa had been

added to the new Muslim empire. Led by a series of

brilliant generals, the Arabs had put together a large

and highly motivated army, whose valor was enhanced

by the belief that Muslim warriors were guaranteed a

place in paradise if they died in battle.

Early caliphs, ruling from Medina, organized their

newly conquered territories into taxpaying provinces.

By the mid-seventh century, problems arose again over

the succession to the Prophet until Ali, Muhammad’s

son-in-law, was assassinated and the general Muawiya

(moo-AH-wee-yah), the governor of Syria and one of

Ali’s chief rivals, became caliph in 661. He was known

for one outstanding virtue: he used force only when

necessary. Muawiya moved quickly to make the caliph-

ate hereditary in his own family, thus establishing the

Umayyad (oo-MY-ad) Dynasty. As one of its first

actions, the Umayyad Dynasty moved the capital of the

Muslim empire from Medina to Damascus in Syria.

This internal dissension over the caliphate created a

split in Islam between the Shi’ites, or those who

accepted only the descendants of Ali, Muhammad’s

Muslims Celebrate the End of

Ramadan.Ramadan is the holy

month of Islam during which all

Muslims must fast from dawn to

sunset. Observance of this holy

month is regarded as one of the

Five Pillars of the faith. This

Persian miniature depicts Muslims

on horseback celebrating the end

of Ramadan. Although Islam

prohibited the representation of

humans, Persians did not follow

such restrictions.

Bibliothe

`que Nationale, Paris//The Bridgeman Art Library

168 Chapter 7Late Antiquity and the Emergence of the Medieval World

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