Social Sciences and History / Unit 3 SSH 0231 short lesson, about 20 seconds
Islam and the Caliphates
Captions available
The idea
Muhammad, born five seventy in Mecca, reported revelation at about forty; Islam means submission. Abu Bakr became first caliph in six thirty-two. The Shia held that only Muhammad's descendants should lead; the Sunni majority, any righteous leader.
In practice
Under the Umayyads a tenth of subjects were Muslim.
Where people slip
The Abbasids took power in seven fifty; Baghdad's golden age reached Europe through Spain.
Your place on the trail
Every lesson rests on earlier ones and opens later ones. Tap any to jump.
Unlocks
- Nothing yet depends on this.
Something wrong in this lesson? Flag it