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Chapter 4: Lesson 1A Century of Expansion
Expansion under Umayyad Rule
The Umayyads fought for Islam in the eastTheir leader, Muawiya, was also a soldier
Had built up a devoted army of followersAfter fourth caliph was assassinated, Muawiya took
control of the empire Moved the capital from Medina to Damascus Began the practice of appointing a son as the
next caliphUmayyads ruled for 90 years
Westward ExpansionUmayyads conquered, converted, and then joined forces with the
BerbersTogether, were able to conquer the Strait of GibraltarWere able to drive out Catholic Visigoths from SpainConquered almost the entire Spanish peninsula
Also interested in the Franks across the Pyrenees mountains Were defeated by the Franks at the Battle of Tours Determined that Europe would be Christian and not Muslim
An Empire of Many PeoplesThe Umayyad Muslims were generally
tolerant of Christians and JewsChristians and Jews had full religious
freedomAble to build churches and synagoguesWere not required to perform military
serviceRequired them to pay a tax called jizyaMany Christians, Jews, and other non-
Muslims held key government positionsEveryone paid taxes on produce and
Muslims were required to pay zakat, a charity tax
Umayyad Unity Abd al Malik declared Arabic to be the official language of the empire
Enabled the Umayyads to bring the diverse cultures of their empire under controlAll government business and religious affairs were conducted in Arabic
Abd al Malik was responsible for the first purely Muslim coins
Contained no images but had quotations from the Qur’an inscribed on them
Muslims built mosques throughout their empires so they could give thanks to Allah
Would be built with whatever materials were available but all contained a minaret, a mihrab, and an ablution fountain
The Umayyad DownfallThe Umayyads faced an economic shortage due to the decline in tax collections and the decrease in captured wealthKingdom had also gained the reputation of being too worldly and not focused enough on the ideals of the prophet MuhammadA rival group, the Abbasids, started a successful
rebellion against the Umayyad rulers An Abbasid general invide 80 Amayyad guests to a
banquet and then killed them all while they were eatingThe Muslim state was now divided again between
two ruling groups: the Umayyads and the Abbasids