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Notes
The Rise and Fall of Islam
Arabs were used to protect the Sasanids and Byzantines from attackers
Southern Arabs were Isolationists
Arabian Peninsula consisted mostly of farmers
Started Caravan Trade: nomads protected merchants during their trade
routes
Caravans traded mostly with Mesopotamia and Syria
Invented camel saddles
Ox carts and wheeled carriages replaced with Pack Camels and Donkeys
Some nomads adopted the culture of the Byzantines and Sasanids, becoming
familiar with Christianity
Mecca: Late blooming caravan city
Muhammad in Mecca
Umayyad Caliphs presided over an Arab realm rather than a religious empire
Ruled from Damascus
Silver dirhams and gold dinars were official coinage of the empire
Ymayyad dynasty fell in 750 after a period of unrest
Shiites and Kharijites launched a rebellion agains Umayyad dynasty
Abbasid Caliphate: descendants of the Prophet Muhammads Uncle,
overthrew the Umayyad Caliphs and ruled from the capital Baghdad
The rise of the Ulma as community leaders did not prevent growing
fragmentation
Immigrant scholars were warmly received