RELS 201 Chapter : Islam- History.doc

• School: University of Calgary
• Department: Religious Studies
• Course: RELS 201
• Professor: Craig Ginn

Document Summary

They were supported by a community called sunni: (85% of islam) who chose to elect me mbers of, muham mad"s tribe, a smaller group, shiites wanted somebody in, muham mad"s family (he had no son though). Successors: (all 4 were originally from mecca: during this turbulent period under the leadership, much of the eastern mediterranean & Mesopotamian areas fell under muslim control: 2 dominant powers in the area: byzantine & sasanid empires. The umayyad empire (sunnis) (661-750) the abbasid empire (750-1258) Islam came to be represented by a variety of powers European nations came to be the dominant world powers, setting up trading posts wherever they wanted and replaced muslim rulers + merchants sometimes. Independence (from the british) did not restore the previous empires that the british had abolished. It divided the area into hostile nations: india ( mainly hindu) and the much smaller. Following ww1, the ottoman empire declared itself a secular republic & abolished the caliphate.