11 The Islamic World

Origins and early expansion

The Islamic world emerged in seventh-century Arabia and grew into a diverse network of societies connected by religion, commerce, scholarship, and political traditions. It was never a single unified empire: its history included caliphates, independent sultanates, regional dynasties, and communities with varied languages and customs.

According to Islamic tradition, Muhammad began receiving revelations in Mecca around 610 CE. In 622, he and his followers migrated to Medina, where he led a growing religious and political community. This migration, the Hijra, marks the beginning of the Islamic calendar. By Muhammad's death in 632, much of Arabia had joined the Muslim community.

Caliphates and regional powers

Muslim leaders who succeeded Muhammad were known as caliphs. The first four, who ruled from 632 to 661, are often called the Rashidun, or “Rightly Guided,” caliphs. During their rule, Muslim armies expanded beyond Arabia into territories governed by the Byzantine and Sasanian empires.

The Umayyad caliphate ruled from Damascus from 661 to 750. Its territory extended from the Iberian Peninsula across North Africa and Southwest Asia into parts of Central Asia. Conquest established Muslim political rule, but conversion was generally gradual; many conquered communities remained Christian, Jewish, or followers of other religions for generations.

The Abbasid revolution brought a new dynasty to power in 750, and the Abbasids established Baghdad as their capital in 762. Their empire connected regions with different traditions and populations. Over time, the caliph's authority weakened as regional rulers gained power. The Mongol capture of Baghdad in 1258 ended Abbasid rule there.

Other Muslim states developed their own centers of power, including the Umayyads in Iberia, the Fatimids in North Africa and Egypt, and later the Seljuq and Mamluk states.

Religion, society, and government

Disagreement over leadership after Muhammad's death contributed to the development of Sunni and Shiʿa traditions. Over time, Muslim scholars also developed schools of law and methods for interpreting the Qur’an and reports about Muhammad's words and actions.

Ulama taught, interpreted law, and advised rulers, while qadis served as judges. Sufi teachers and communities emphasized spiritual practice and helped shape religious life across many regions.

Caliphates and sultanates combined religious legitimacy with practical government. Rulers relied on officials, tax systems, armies, and local administrators. In many places, non-Muslim communities—especially Christians and Jews—could maintain their religious institutions under Muslim rule, though their rights and obligations varied by time and place. Political authority, religious scholarship, and everyday community life did not always coincide.

Trade and cultural exchange

Muslim-ruled lands occupied a central position in long-distance trade. Merchants and travelers used Mediterranean and Red Sea ports, Persian Gulf shipping routes, Silk Roads across Central Asia, and trans-Saharan caravan routes. They carried textiles, spices, ceramics, metals, and enslaved people, along with ideas, technologies, and artistic styles.

Baghdad, Cairo, Damascus, Córdoba, and later Samarkand became important centers of trade and urban life. Trade and migration also helped Islam spread beyond areas conquered by the early caliphates. Merchants and religious teachers contributed to its gradual spread in parts of East and West Africa, Central Asia, and South and Southeast Asia.

Local societies shaped Islamic practice in turn. The result was varied regional cultures rather than a single uniform form.

Scholarship and the arts

Under Abbasid patronage and that of later regional rulers, scholars translated and studied works from Greek, Persian, and Sanskrit traditions, while also producing original research. Scholarship advanced mathematics, medicine, astronomy, geography, and philosophy. Scholars refined inherited astronomical methods and developed new calculations. Practical needs related to prayer, fasting, and the lunar calendar also encouraged astronomical study.

Scholarship flourished not only in Baghdad but in many cities and courts. Arabic became a major language of religion and scholarship, while Persian remained influential in literature and administration across much of the eastern Islamic world.

Architecture, calligraphy, ceramics, textiles, metalwork, and illustrated books combined shared visual traditions with local forms. These arts reflected exchanges among Muslim, Christian, Jewish, and other communities, as well as the movement of artists and objects across regions.

Early modern Islamic empires

From the late thirteenth century onward, new dynasties reshaped the political map. The Ottoman Empire expanded across Anatolia and southeastern Europe, captured Constantinople in 1453, and took control of Egypt and Syria in 1517.

The Safavid dynasty established a powerful state in Iran in 1501 and made Shiʿa Islam its official tradition. This sharpened a religious and political distinction with the predominantly Sunni Ottomans.

Founded in South Asia in 1526, the Mughal Empire brought together Muslim rulers and diverse populations. Its Persianate court culture blended with Indian traditions. The Ottoman, Safavid, and Mughal empires were connected to global trade and exchange, but each developed distinctive institutions and cultural forms.