Pre-Islamic Arabia and the early empire

MAPS:

Map of Arabia basic

Map of Arabia: elevation

Map of Arabia: elevation 2

READ:

What are the origins of Islam?
"The Beginnings of Islam as an apocalyptic movement" by David Cook
http://www.mille.org/publications/winter2001/cook.html

READ:

Pre-Islamic religious beliefs? The Book of Idols

READ SOURCES:

Who were the Arabs before Islam? A. J. Arberry, The Seven Odes: The First Chapter in Arabic Literature, a full translation of pre-Islamic poetry (LARGE PDF FILE)
http://www.muslimphilosophy.com/books/odes.pdf; also some extracts at Pre-Islamic Poetry

READ:

"Religious and Social Context of 7th Century Arabia" by Patricia Crone
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/med/crone.html

MAP:

Trade routes http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/silk/hd_silk.htm

READ:

What do we know of the pre-Islamic period?
http://www.tau.ac.il/tarbut/rina.drory/abodot/abbasid.htm

TIMELINE:

The names and dates of Caliphs
http://12.151.120.44/toah/hd/isru/hd_isru.htm

READ TEXTS:

What happened during the Ummayad period (661-750)?
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/sbook1d.html#Islamic%20Expansion%20and%20Empires%20-%20to%20750%20CE

LISTEN:

What happened during the Abbasid period (750-1258)?
http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/history/inourtime/inourtime_20060202.shtml
"The Abbasid Caliphs were the dynastic rulers of the Islamic world between the middle of the eighth and the tenth centuries. They headed a Muslim empire that extended from Tunisia through Egypt, Syria, Arabia, and Persia to Uzbekistan and the frontiers of India. But unlike previous conquerors, the Abbasid Caliphs presided over a multicultural empire where conversion was a relatively peaceful business. As Vikings raided the shores of Britain, the Abbasids were developing sophisticated systems of government, administration and court etiquette. Their era saw the flowering of Arabic philosophy, mathematics and Persian literature. The Abbasids were responsible for patronising the translation of Classical Greek texts and transmitting them back to a Europe emerging from the Dark Ages. So who were the Abbasid Caliphs and how did they come to power? What was their cultural significance? What factors can account for their decline and fall? And why do they represent a Golden Age of Islamic civilisation? Contributors: Hugh Kennedy , Professor of History at the University of St Andrews; Robert Irwin, Senior Research Associate at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London; Amira Bennison , Senior Lecturer in Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies at the University of Cambridge"

READ SOURCES:

What happened during the Abbasid period (750-1258)?
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/sbook1d.html#The%20Abbasid%20Caliphate%20-%20after%20750%20CE