Mid East I Final 2

Front 1

622

Back 1

Year of the Hijra. Muhammad, fearing for his life in Mecca, journeys to Medina. Leaves with Abu Bakr. Start of the Muslim calendar. Important because it represents Muhammad separating himself from Mecca, as if to say “I’m founding my own religion here, dammit”.

Front 2

624

Back 2

Battle of Badr against the Quraysh of Mecca. Important turning point in Islamic history, was Muhammad’s first victory and greatly increased Muslim influence throughout Arabia.

Front 3

625

Back 3

Battle of Uhud, Muslims v. Meccans Round 2. Disaster for the Muslims, because they had the Meccans on the ropes but then their archers decided to go plunder the Meccan camp, resulting in a counter-attack that rolled up the Muslim line. Muhammad explained that they lost the battle because God was punishing them for being greedy and trying to loot the camp.

Front 4

627

Back 4

Battle of the Trench. A heavily outnumbered Muslim forces holed up in Medina endures a siege by the Meccans (and some Jews), and then rout the Meccans. Quraysh are never the same, and Islam appears to be becoming the dominant power.

Front 5

632

Back 5

Muhammad dies, and Abu Bakr succeeds him as Caliph and continues to expand the empire.

Front 6

632-634

Back 6

Caliphate of Abu Bakr, wars of expansion

Front 7

632

Back 7

661

Hint 7

Rashidun Caliphate. “Rightly guided” caliphs

Front 8

656-661

Back 8

Caliphate of Ali/First Fitna. Islam splits into Sunnism and Shiism.

Front 9

661-750

Back 9

Umayyad Caliphate. Founded by Muawiya, based in Mecca. Huge expansion, across North Africa and into Spain.

Front 10

680

Back 10

Muawiya dies. Yazid I succeeds, kills Husayn, which results in an uprising that festers until the Umayyads are overthrown.

Front 11

711

Back 11

Ibn Ziyad leads a Muslim force into Spain

Front 12

750

Back 12

1258

Hint 12

Abbasid Caliphate. Based largely in Baghdad, this is when Islam was at its best

Front 13

754

Back 13

775

Hint 13

Caliphate of Al-Mansur. Builds Baghdad, regarded as the “real founder” of the Abbasid Caliphate.

Front 14

909-969

Back 14

Fatimid Caliphate in North Africa. Rise to power in 909 and conquer Egypt in 969.

Front 15

969-1171

Back 15

Fatimids rule from Cairo, then the caliphate ends with the death of Al-Adid at the hands of Saladin.

Front 16

945

Back 16

Buyids invade Baghdad and overthrow the Abbasid Caliph.

Front 17

1038-1194

Back 17

Seljuq Turks

Front 18

1071

Back 18

Battle of Manzikert

Hint 18

Byzantines routed by the Seljuqs under Alp Arslan.

Front 19

1077

Back 19

1307

Hint 19

Seljuqs of Rum. Ruled over Anatolia.

Front 20

1095

Back 20

First Crusade, resulting in the recapture of Jerusalem. Called by Urban II

Front 21

1099

Back 21

Jerusalem recaptured.

Front 22

1144

Back 22

Zengi captures Edessa back from the Christians, sparking the Second Crusade.

Front 23

1169

Back 23

1250

Hint 23

Ayyubids. Founded by Saladin and ruling from Egypt, famous for their legal system.

Front 24

1171

Back 24

Al-Adid dies and so do the Fatimids in Egypt.

Front 25

1187

Back 25

Recapture of Jerusalem by Saladin, Third Crusade

Front 26

1206

Back 26

Aibik is crowned king in Lahore.

Front 27

1258

Back 27

Mongols sack Baghdad and put a permanent end to the Abbasids.

Front 28

1260

Back 28

Battle of Ayn Jalut, Syria. Mamluks defeat the Mongols, which is a huge deal because the Mongols were previously pretty much invincible.

Front 29

1370-1405

Back 29

Timurid Dynasty

Front 30

Abbasids

Back 30

Third Islamic Caliphate, ruled from Baghdad and presided over the so-called Golden Age of Islam, with advances in science, mathematics, medicine, and astronomy.

Front 31

Ali

Back 31

Fourth Rashidun caliph, successor of Othman, and pretty much the last guy to preside over a unified Islamic tradition before the First Fitna. Is universally remembered as being incredibly dedicated to Islam and a fair-minded, great leader. Succeeded by Muawiya and the Umayyad Caliphate.

Front 32

Abu Bakr

Back 32

Direct successor and father-in-law to Muhammad. Presided over the Rashidun caliphate. Known as “The Truthful” (Al-Siddiq). Helped Muhammad with military campaigns.

Front 33

Omar

Back 33

Second Rashidun caliph, known as al-Farooq, or “The one who distinguishes right from wrong”. Under Omar, the real expansion occurred

Hint 33

the Sasanians were wiped out, and the Byzantines were pushed westward. However, Omar let Christians worship in Jerusalem. He was also apparently a giant.

Front 34

Othman

Back 34

Third Rashidun caliph, son-in-law of Muhammad. Expanded the empire into Afghanistan and Iraq.

Front 35

Abu Sufyan

Back 35

Quraysh commander who fought against Muhammad’s forces but then later converted to Islam.

Front 36

Abu Muslim

Back 36

Abbasid general who led the Abbasid revolution that toppled the Umayyads. Important because this represented a major geographic and hierarchical change in Islam. Capital moved from Damascus to Baghdad, and the Abbasids had more respect for Christians.

Front 37

Alp Arslan

Back 37

Seljuq general who beat the Byzantines at Manzikert, which was the beginning of the end for the Byzantines.

Front 38

Aisha

Back 38

Wife of Muhammad and all-around badass. She narrated like 2000 hadiths and led troops at the Battle of the Camel.

Front 39

Ayyubids

Back 39

Kurdish dynasty founded by Saladin in North Africa after he deposed the Fatimids. Based in Egypt in the 12th and 13th centuries.

Front 40

al-Bukhari

Back 40

Persian guy who wrote what is considered the most accurate and complete set of hadiths.

Front 41

Buyids

Back 41

Shia dynasty based in Iraq and Iran in the 900s.

Front 42

Chingiz Khan

Back 42

Leader of the Mongols, raped, pillaged, and plundered his way from Mongolia all the way to Eastern Europe. Opened trade between the two continents.

Front 43

Fatima

Back 43

Daughter of Muhammad, wife of Ali, and most revered woman in the Muslim faith. Great political clout during the Rashidun caliphate turmoil.

Front 44

Firdausi

Back 44

Persian poet who wrote the Shahnameh, the longest epic poem ever composed.

Front 45

Fatimids

Back 45

Shia caliphate based in North Africa, claimed descendants of Fatima. Claimed Cairo as their capital until they were defeated by Saladin. Known for their exquisite artwork.

Front 46

al-Ghazali

Back 46

Basically the Aristotle of Islam, considered the second most influential Muslim after Muhammad. Proponent of Sufism and neo-Platonism.

Front 47

Ghazan

Back 47

Mongolian viceroy in Iran who converted to Islam.

Front 48

al-Hallaj

Back 48

Persian mystic poet and adherent to Sufism. He was executed by one of the Abbasid caliphs for supposed heresy, because he thought he was one with God.

Front 49

Hulegu

Back 49

Mongol khan who ruled Persia. Destroyed Baghdad, thus shifting the power center of Islam to Cairo.

Front 50

Ibn al-Hanafiya

Back 50

Son of Ali and Sunni caliph. Pious, effective in war, not really that notable.

Front 51

Ibn Rushd

Back 51

Medieval Andalusian polymath. He was essentially the Leonardo da Vinci of the Medieval Muslim world. Mathematics, science, music, Aristotelian philosophy, you name it. Defended Aristotle against al-Ghazali’s more Platonic views.

Front 52

Ibn Sina

Back 52

Persian philosopher, physician, and polymath. Wrote “The Canon of Medicine” and the “Book of Healing”.

Front 53

Ahmad Ibn Hanbal

Back 53

A “Sheikh ul-Islam”, one of the most esteemed doctrinal accomplishments in the Sunni tradition (Doctor of the Church). Promoted the usage of Hadiths and wrote extensively on jurisprudence. 8-9 century.

Front 54

al-Husayn

Back 54

2nd Imam of Ismaili Shia. Opposed the Umayyad caliphate and did battle with them in 680. Died fighting the Umayyads, which contributed to the overthrow of the Umayyads.

Front 55

al-Khawarizmi

Back 55

Persian mathematician who invented the decimal system and algebra.

Front 56

‘Abd al-Malik (caliph)

Back 56

Fifth Umayyad caliph, instituted a currency system that angered the Byzantine empire, who then attacked them, leading to the Battle of Sebastopolis in 692. The Umayyads won.

Front 57

Malik Shah

Back 57

Son of Alp Arslan and Sultan of the Seljuqs

Front 58

Mamluks

Back 58

Military slaves, generally meant to mean Fatimid slaves in Egypt. Came from the Balkans, and actually rose through the ranks to attain great honor in the Muslim world. They took over Cairo in the 1200s, resulting in the Mamluk Sultanate.

Front 59

Mu’awiya Ibn Abi Sufiyan

Back 59

Established the Umayyad caliphate. Built up the Umayyad navy to go toe-to-toe with the Byzantines.

Front 60

Yazid

Back 60

Son of Muawiya and second Umayyad Caliph. Kind of a bloodthirsty tyrant.

Front 61

Hashimites

Back 61

Clan of the Quraysh, say that they’re descended from Fatima.

Front 62

Nizam al-Mulk

Back 62

“Real” successor to Alp Arslan, de facto ruler of the Seljuks during the reign of Malik Shah. Great statesman who increased the size, power, and influence of the Seljuq empire.

Front 63

Nizaris

Back 63

Second largest branch of Shia Islam. Emphasize human reason, pluralism, and social justice.

Front 64

ibn Zangi

Back 64

12th cent, emir of Damascus and Aleppo. Massacred a bunch of Christians.

Front 65

Jalal ad-Din al Rumi

Back 65

Very, very famous Persian poet. Wrote the Spiritual Couplets.

Front 66

Saladin

Back 66

Badass. Conquered the Fatimids in Egypt and started his own caliphate, the Ayyubids. Fought the Christians in the Crusades.

Front 67

Seljuqs

Back 67

Turkish empire that adopted Persian culture.

Front 68

Sasanians

Back 68

Last Persian empire before the Muslims took over. Succeeded the Parthians.

Front 69

Hasan-i Sabbah

Back 69

Founded the Assassins.

Front 70

Shajar al-Durr

Back 70

Sultana of Egypt, renowned as a wise and capable leader. Started Mamluk rule in Egypt.

Front 71

Toghril Beg

Back 71

Founder of the Seljuq Empire. Expanded against the Buyids and Byzantines.

Front 72

Umayyads

Back 72

Second Caliphate after the Rashidun. Expanded into North Africa and Spain, didn’t treat non-Muslims very well.

Front 73

Zaydis

Back 73

“Fivers”, claim descent from Ali.

Front 74

Zengis

Back 74

Subset of the Seljuqs who ruled Iraq.

Front 75

Amir al-mu’minin

Back 75

Amīr al-Mu'minīn (Arabic: أمير المؤمنين‎; latinized as Miramolinus, hence Italian Miramolino, Spanish Miramolín and Portuguese Miramolim, in Byzantine Greek: ἀμερμουμνῆς amermoumnês), usually translated "Commander of the Faithful" or "Leader of the Faithful", is the Arabic style of Caliphs and other independent sovereign Muslim rulers that claim legitimacy from a community of Muslims. It has been claimed as the title of rulers in Muslim countries and empires and is still used for some Muslim leaders. It is also translated as "Prince of the believers" since "Amir" or "Emir" is also used as a princely title in states ruled by the royalty or monarchies.

Front 76

Anatolia

Back 76

Turkey, basically.

Front 77

Ansar

Back 77

“helpers”, the people who helped Muhammad journey to Medina and fought alongside him.

Front 78

Ashura

Back 78

commemorates the Battle of Karbala.

Front 79

Assassins

Back 79

Secret group, founded by Hassan-i Sabbah. Basically Muslim secret agents who endeared themselves to targets and then killed the **** out of them.

Front 80

Atabeg

Back 80

Atabeg, Atabek, or Atabey is a Turkic[1] title of nobility, indicating a governor of a nation or province who was subordinate to a monarch and charged with raising the crown prince. The first instance of the title's use was with early Seljuqs who bestowed it on the Seljuk vizier Nizam al-Mulk[2] of Persian origin

Front 81

Beg

Back 81

Bey (Ottoman Turkish: باي/Bey, Arabic: بك‎ / Bek, Persian: بگ‎ / Beg or Beyg) is a Turkish and Altaic title for chieftain, traditionally applied to the leaders (for men) of small tribal groups. The title for female royal families was Begum. Beg means as great. The regions or provinces where "beys" ruled or which they administered were called beylik, roughly meaning "emirate" or "principality" in the first case, "province" or "governorate" in the second (the equivalent of duchy in other parts of Europe)

Front 82

Caravanserai

Back 82

Roadside inn on the silk road.

Front 83

dar al-hikma

Back 83

Also, House Of Wisdom(Arabic: دار الحكمة‎, Dar al-Hikmah) or House of Knowledge (Arabic: دار العلم ‎, Dar al-'Ilm) was an ancient university of theFatimid Caliphate (today's Egypt), built in 1004 CE as a library and converted by the Fatimid Imam-Caliph Al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah to a state university in the same year.The library’s collection was so vast that historian, Ibn Abi Tayyi’ described it as a “Wonder of the world”.[1]

Front 84

dar al-Harb

Back 84

House of war, where you can’t practice Islam freely.

Front 85

dar al-Islam

Back 85

House of Islam, where you can practice Islam freely.

Front 86

Dervish

Back 86

basically a Muslim mendicant friar

Front 87

dhikr

Back 87

Muslim rosary.

Front 88

dhimmi

Back 88

non-Muslims living in Islamic states. Protected, but had to pay certain taxes.

Front 89

Diwan

Back 89

Persian term for a collection of poetry

Front 90

fatiha

Back 90

first chapter of the Koran

Front 91

fatwa

Back 91

A fatwā (Arabic: فتوى‎; plural fatāwā Arabic: فتاوى‎) in the Islamic faith is the term for the legal opinion or learned interpretation that a qualified jurist ormufti can give on issues pertaining to the Islamic law.[1] The person who issues a fatwā is called, in that respect, a Mufti, i.e. an issuer of fatwā, from the verb أَفْتَى 'aftā = "he gave a formal legal opinion on".

Front 92

fiqh

Back 92

the human understanding of Sharia, ie jurisprudence

Front 93

Fitna

Back 93

civil war, distress

Front 94

funduq

Back 94

hotel

Front 95

Geniza

Back 95

storeroom for Hebrew writings

Front 96

Ghadir Khumm

Back 96

Place where Muhammad appointed Ali to be his successor(Shia)/hold him in high esteem (Sunnis)

Front 97

Hadith

Back 97

legends/stories of Muhammad’s teachings

Front 98

Hajj

Back 98

pilgrimage to Mecca, one of the five pillars

Front 99

Hanafi

Back 99

Sunni fiqh

Front 100

Hanbali

Back 100

Conservative Sunni fiqh

Front 101

Hijaz

Back 101

Region in Saudi Arabia where Mecca and Medina are

Front 102

Hijra

Back 102

Muhammad’s journey to Mecca

Front 103

Ijaza

Back 103

diploma saying you can preach Islam.

Front 104

ijma’

Back 104

when everyone agrees on religious issues

Front 105

Imam (Shii)

Back 105

Divinely inspired Islamic teacher

Front 106

Iqta

Back 106

Like a land grant/tax farm

Front 107

Isma’ilism

Back 107

Shia Seveners, branch of Islam

Front 108

Isnad

Back 108

Study of the transmission of the hadiths to make sure they’re authentic and accurate.

Front 109

Jahiliyya

Back 109

The time of ignorance, prior to the revelation to Muhammad

Front 110

Jihad

Back 110

struggle.

Front 111

Jizya

Back 111

the tax paid by dhimmis

Front 112

Khalifa

Back 112

a caliph, or ruler. Or a deputy to a shaikh

Front 113

Kharijites

Back 113

people who originally split off from Ali, and are no longer either Shia or Sunni. Kind of whacko.

Front 114

Khutba

Back 114

public preaching

Front 115

Mahdi

Back 115

basically the hype man for the second coming of Jesus. Will redeem Islam at the end of the world.

Front 116

Madhhab

Back 116

the fiqh schools of thought. There are 8.

Front 117

Madrasa

Back 117

school

Front 118

Magrib

Back 118

North Africa

Front 119

Mamluk

Back 119

slave warriors (see above)

Front 120

Maliki

Back 120

a Sunni maddhab, consensus of the people of Medina

Front 121

mawla

Back 121

patron or protector

Front 122

mihrab

Back 122

niche in the wall of a mosque that indicates what direction Mecca is

Front 123

minaret

Back 123

tower used to call people to prayer

Front 124

minbar

Back 124

platform that a cleric stands on

Front 125

muezzin

Back 125

person calling people to prayer

Front 126

muhtasib

Back 126

basically a compliance officer

Front 127

Mutazalism

Back 127

Abbasid era thought focusing on reasoning and the Koran, denies its uncreated status. You can imagine how this is a problem.

Front 128

Qadi

Back 128

Sharia judge

Front 129

Qibla

Back 129

direction you face when you pray (Mecca)

Front 130

Rashidun caliphs

Back 130

4 rightly guided caliphs. Abu Bakr, Omar, Othman, Ali.

Front 131

Ribat

Back 131

small military outpost

Front 132

Ridda wars

Back 132

The Ridda wars (Arabic: حروب الردة), also known as the Wars of Apostasy, were a series of military campaigns launched by the Caliph Abu Bakr against rebel Arabian tribes during 632 and 633 AD, just after Muhammad died.[1] The rebels' position was that they had submitted to Muhammad as the prophet of God, but owed nothing to Abu Bakr. Some rebels followed either Tulayha or Musaylima or Sajjah, all of whom claimed prophethood. Most of the tribes were defeated and reintegrated into the Caliphate. The peoples surrounding Mecca did not revolt.
Shafii

Hint 132

sunni maddhab. Relies on ijma

Front 133

Shahada

Back 133

there is no God but God and Muhammad is His prophet

Front 134

Shari’a

Back 134

Muslim law

Front 135

Shi’i

Back 135

Muslim minority, followers of Ali during the First Fitna.

Front 136

Sufism

Back 136

Islamic mysticism

Front 137

Sultan

Back 137

ruler, generally Turkic

Front 138

Sunni

Back 138

90% of all Muslims, originally followed Abu Bakr

Front 139

Tariqa

Back 139

School of sufism that seeks ultimate truth

Front 140

Tasawwuf

Back 140

bit extreme sufism, fasting and sleep deprivation

Front 141

Transoxania

Back 141

Uzbekistan, beyond the Oxus

Front 142

Ulama

Back 142

elite religious scholars

Front 143

Waqf

Back 143

Donated land or money for a Muslim purpose

Front 144

Wazir

Back 144

vizier

Front 145

Zakat

Back 145

taxation of a Muslim

Front 146

zawiya

Back 146

West African version of a madrasa.