Growth of Cities and spread of Islam

Growth Of cities

• The growth of cities created blending of cultures.
• Trade brought people, ideas, and products together.
• It also created wealth which led to cultural development in cities.
• Some of the cities were Baghdad and Córdoba.
• Baghdad and Córdoba was a capital of what was part of the Empire. 

Baghdad

• It was near both water and land trade routes.
• Farming also strengthened the economy.
• Caliphs at Baghdad supported art and science.
• Baghdad was the center of learning and culture.
• Therefore, many writers and artists went here.

Córdoba

• Córdoba also had a strong economy based on agriculture and trade.
• It was one of the largest and most complex city at the time.
• Córdoba was also a center of learning.
• The people here translated their work from Arabian to Latin.
• This allowed people around the world to study different subjects.

Trade

• Arab merchants took Islam to India. 
• Many Indian and African both had Muslim customs. 
• Trade also took Islam to Malaysia and Indonesia. 
• Islam is a major influence on life in these countries. 

Spread of Islamic beliefs

• Trade and conquering other people led to the spread of this religion.
• Abu Bakr, the leader after Muhammad, was a political and military leader.
• He started series of wars that helped him conquer lands outside of Arabia.
• The Umayyad family were where many early caliphs came from. 
• Also, Arabia's crossroad location gave them easy access to other countries.

Abu makr

• He made Arabia an unified Muslim state. 
• Made treaties with people he conquered, so they became loyal.
• They defeated the Persian and Byzantine Empire.
• He helped spread Islamic beliefs because he made Arabia a Muslim state.

growth of the empire helped spread islam

• The Umayyad, as they expanded the empire, moved their capital to Damascus. 
• They moved their capital from Medina because it was a better trade location
• A new dynasty, the Abbasids, came to power and made it easier to rule.
• They made it easier to rule a large region by reorganizing the government.