The Arab Caliphate

After the death of Muhammad (632) the community of Muslims was led by the caliphs: Abu Bakr (632–634), Umar (634–644), Uthman (644–656) and Ali (656–661). Under them the Arabs took Palestine, Syria, Egypt, Libya and Iran and reached the banks of the Amu Darya. Under the Umayyad dynasty (661–750) the conquests continued: North Africa was subdued, Tariq ibn Ziyad’s army crossed the Strait of Gibraltar in 711 and took Spain, and in 732 near Poitiers the Frankish ruler Charles Martel stopped the Arab advance into the heart of France. In the east the Caucasus and Central Asia were taken; the battle of Talas against a Chinese army took place in 751. Land was declared state property; the land tax was kharaj, non-Muslims paid jizya, and Muslims gave zakat, an obligatory alms on property such as herds and trade goods. In the 8th–9th centuries there were uprisings in Kufa (685–687), Merv (Abu Muslim, 747), Sogdiana (Muqanna, 770s–783) and Azerbaijan (Babak, early 9th century). After Abu Muslim’s uprising power passed in 750 to the Abbasids (750–1258). Later provinces broke away: an emirate in Spain in 756, and from the 9th century Egypt, Iran, Transoxiana and Khorasan became independent. In 1258 the Mongols led by Hulagu took Baghdad and the Abbasid Caliphate ended.