Islamic world - Fitnah, Caliphate, Umayyads

Islamic world

Table of Contents

Introduction
Prehistory (c. 3000 bce–500 ce)
- The rise of agrarian-based citied societies
- Cultural core areas of the settled world
  - The Nile-to-Oxus region
  - The Arabian Peninsula
Formation and orientation (c. 500–634)
- The city of Mecca: centre of trade and religion
  - Mecca under the Quraysh clans
  - New social patterns among the Meccans and their neighbours
- The Prophet Muhammad
  - Muhammad’s years in Mecca
    - Spiritual awakening
    - Public recitations
    - Efforts to reform Meccan society
  - Muhammad’s emigration to Yathrib (Medina)
    - The forging of Muhammad’s community
    - The ummah’s allies and enemies
    - Muhammad’s later recitations
- Islam at Muhammad’s death
- Abū Bakr’s succession
Conversion and crystallization (634–870)
- Social and cultural transformations
- ʿUmar I’s succession
  - The spirit of conquest under ʿUmar I
  - Forging the link of activism with faithfulness
- ʿUthmān’s succession and policies
  - Discontent in ʿUthmān’s reign
  - Intra-Muslim conflicts
- The four fitnahs
  - The first fitnah
  - The second fitnah
  - The emergent Islamic civilization
  - The third fitnah
  - Sunnis and Shīʿites
  - The ʿAbbāsids
  - Sharīʿah
  - The fourth fitnah
Fragmentation and florescence (870–1041)
- The rise of competitive regions
- Andalusia, the Maghrib, and sub-Saharan Africa
- Egypt, Syria, and the holy cities
- Iraq
  - Cultural flowering in Iraq
  - The Būyid dynasty
- Iran, Afghanistan, and India
  - The Sāmānids
  - The Ghaznavids
- The decline of the caliphate and rise of emirates
Migration and renewal (1041–1405)
- Turks
  - Seljuq Turks
  - Policies of Niẓām al-Mulk
  - Ṭarīqah fellowships
- Franks
  - The call for the Crusades
  - Effect of the Crusades in Syria
- Mongols
  - First Mongol incursions
  - Conversion of Mongols to Islam
  - Ascent of the Ottoman Turks
  - Timur’s efforts to restore Mongol power
- Arabs
- Imazighen
  - The Ṣanhājah confederation
  - The Almoravid dynasty
  - The Almohad dynasty
  - Continued spread of Islamic influence
Consolidation and expansion (1405–1683)
- Ottomans
  - Continuation of Ottoman rule
  - Reign of Süleyman I
  - The extent of Ottoman administration
- Ṣafavids
  - Expansion in Iran and beyond
  - Shah ʿAbbās I
  - Decline of central authority
- Indo-Timurids (Mughals)
  - Foundation by Bābur
  - Reign of Akbar
  - Continuation of the empire
- Trans-Saharan Islam
- Indian Ocean Islam
Islamic history from 1683 to the present: reform, dependency, and recovery
- Precolonial reform and experimentation from 1683 to 1818
- The rise of British colonialism to the end of the Ottoman Empire
- The early 20th century to the present
  - Reform and revival in the colonial period
  - Postcolonial states and Islam
  - Islamist movements from the 1960s
  - The mainstreaming of Islamist movements
  - Dimensions of the Islamic revival
  - Islam and globalization: the age of mobility

References & Edit History Quick Facts & Related Topics

Images & Videos

Córdoba, Spain: ivory casket made for al-Mughīrah

Learn about the public debate on banning the burka in Australia in 2014 and peoples perception on religious headgears that Islamic women wear

Read Next

What Is the Most Widely Practiced Religion in the World?

A Timeline of the World in 8 Maps

African American man praying in church with stained glass in background

Why Do People Say “Amen” at the End of a Prayer?

Ahura Mazda - relief of the Zoroastrian god Ahura Mazda at the ancient ruins of Persepolis in Iran. Also known as Ormazd Zoroastrianism,

Which Religion Is the Oldest?

Discover

Aphrodite. Greek mythology. Sculpture. Aphrodite is the Greek goddess of love and beauty.

12 Greek Gods and Goddesses

Artist interpretation of a Space meteoroid impact. Meteor impact. Asteroid, End of the world, danger, destruction, dinosaur extinct, Judgement Day, Planet Earth, Doomsday Predictions, comet

10 Failed Doomsday Predictions

African Americans demonstrating for voting rights in front of the White House as police and others watch, March 12, 1965. One sign reads, "We demand the right to vote everywhere." Voting Rights Act, civil rights.

Timeline of the American Civil Rights Movement

Person paying with a credit card using a credit card terminal. Cashless payment, credit card reader

What Is a Cashless Society and How Does It Work?

earthquake. Heavily damaged school in the town of Yingxiu after a major earthquake struck China's Sichuan Province on May 12, 2008.

The 6 Deadliest Earthquakes Since 1950

Pluto. The Changing Faces of Pluto. Most detailed view to date of the entire surface of the dwarf planet Pluto, as constructed from multiple NASA Hubble Space Telescope photographs taken from 2002 to 2003.

10 Important Dates in Pluto History

Julius Caesar in full Gaius Julius Caesar (100? BCE-44 BCE) statue in Rimini, Italy. Roman general and statesman and dictator

The Time Julius Caesar Was Captured by Pirates

By the end of the period of conversion and crystallization, Muslim historians would retrospectively identify four discrete periods of conflict and label them fitnahs, trials or temptations to test the unity of the ummah. Many historians also came to view some identities formed during the fitnahs as authentic and others as deviant. This retrospective interpretation may be anachronistic and misleading. The entire period between 656 and the last quarter of the 9th century was conflict-ridden, and the fitnahs merely mark periods of intensification; yet the most striking characteristic of the period was the pursuit of unity. In the first two ...(100 of 41057 words)

Access the full article

Help support true facts by becoming a member.