History of Islam

There are roughly 1800 million Muslims in the world, and the percent of Sunni Muslims in the Islamic faith is roughly 85-90%. Thus, around 1500 million of the total 7000 million people (1.5 out of 7 billion of the world population) is Sunni Muslim.

It is difficult to answer. are you asking the biggest in size or in population and if in population it depends on the relative world population at that time. Any how, refer to links belowfor more information.

The crusades, originally intended to save the Byzantine Empire, among other things, failed to do this and hastened its decline instead. The crusaders sacked Byzantine cities and eventually captured Constantinople in 1204. They then used Constantinople as the capital of what is called the Latin Empire, which it remained, until the Byzantines managed to recapture it in 1264. The Byzantine Empire never really recovered from this, though it held on for almost another 200 years.

There are numerous Muslim Empires. This answer will address the declines of the Umayyad and Abbassid Empires

It depends on which Umayyad Caliphate you are talking about.

The Umayyad Caliphate in Damascus from 660 C.E. to 750 C.E. was overthrown by a coup d'etat led by the Abbassid Family.

The Umayyad Caliphate in Cordoba from 711 C.E. to 1038 C.E. ended when the final Caliph, Hisham III, died without any successors.

Additionally, the Abbassid Caliphate contracted in two general phases. The first phase was from 750 CE to 850 CE which led to the loss of the distant provinces in Spain, Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia. The second phase occurred from 1100-1258 CE which resulted in the capitulation of the entire state.

Umayyad Caliphate in Damascus
In the Umayyad Caliphate in Damascus case, there were a few major issues.

1) Mawali: Mawali (or non-Arab Muslims) were traditionally excluded from political and social affairs. The Umayyad in particular treated them as second-class Muslims. The evidence of this treatment was that Mawali were not allowed to have many government positions and that they were taxed whereas Arab Muslims were not taxed at all. Mawali made up an important component of the Umayyad Caliphate, especially Persians. Persia was always a high seat of culture in the Islamic Empire. As a result, ideas moved quite freely throughout Persia and Persians considered themselves to be of equal worth to Arabs.

2) Shiites: Under the Sunni Umayyads, Shiites were also discriminated against. After Yazid I martyred Hussein, the Shiites made it their mission in life to oppose every action of the Umayyad dynasty. It did not help matters that the Umayyads tortured and murdered Shiite Imams and Infallibles, leading to irreconcilability between the Shiites and the Umayyads.

3) Distance: There were no effective routes of communication between the Western Edges of the Caliphate and Damascus. This made local administrators more powerful as they would have to make their own decisions anyway (it would take too long for a messenger to go to Damascus and return). Many figured that they might as well make the change more permanent.

4) Political Issues: Not all Arabs of high political standing supported the Umayyads. There were several other families that were just as power-hungary and the Umayyads spent much of their time thwarting coups d'etat. Abu Al-Abbas As-Saffah of the Abbassids rose against the Umayyads and murdered the reigning Umayyad Caliph. He ordered the rest of his family to murder every single other Umayyad. As a result of the uprising, only one Umayyad, Amir Abd El-Rahman, survived. He would later flee to Spain and set it up as a Caliphate in opposition to the Abbassids.

Umayyad Caliphate in Spain
There were really only two issues here.

1) Christian Victories: In the mid-800s, the Umayyads in Spain arrived at a turning point. A massive number of Christians were beginning to immigrate to the weak Christian Kingdoms of Leon, Castille, the Basque Provinces, Aragon, Navarre, and Catalonia. Many of the Christians came from France and Germany and brought more recent European technologies with them. This led to the successes of the Reconquista in the late 800s and early 900s. By 1038, King Alfonso VI was ruling the Kingdom of Castille-Leon from Burgos and had El Cid (a famous Spanish general) conquer the Umayyad bastion of Toledo. These Christian victories strongly weakened faith in the longevity of the Umayyad project.

2) No Heirs: The Umayyad Caliph Hisham III had no heirs. When he died in 1038, there were no longer any Umayyads left to succeed him and continue the line. He did not style a soldier or bureaucrat to be his successor and regional governors claimed regional authority, resulting in the first Taifa Period of Andalucía.

Abbassid Caliphate Contraction in the First Phase
The reasons that Abbassid territory diminished between 750 to 850 CE, fracturing into the Umayyads (Spain), Idrissids (Morocco), Aghlabids (Algeria, Tunisia, Sicily), and other smaller states.

1) Religious Issues: The Abbassids came to power with the help of the Shiites and Mawali (Non-Arab Moslems like Persians and Amazigh). Even though the Abbassids did increase the rights and station of Mawali, it was never practical nor desirable for the Abbassids to become Shiite. As a result, he alienated much of North Africa, which at this time had a large Shiite and Kharijite population. (The Kharijites would have been alienated anyway as they were a very religious minority.)

2) Distance: There were no effective routes of communication between the Western Edges of the Caliphate and Baghdad. This made local administrators more powerful as they would have to make their own decisions anyway (it would take too long for a messenger to go to Baghdad and return). Many figured that they might as well make the change more permanent.

3) Political Issues: This refers specifically to Umayyad Spain which was the only part of the Umayyad Caliphate that never became Abbassid when Abu Al-Abbas As-Saffah rose against the Umayyads. As a result of the uprising, Amir Abd El-Rahman fled to Spain and set it up as a Caliphate in opposition to the Abbassids.

The Fall of the Abbassid Caliphate
The reasons for the eventual fall of the Abbassid Caliphate which occurred in 1100-1258 CE are the following.

1) Corruption: The Abbassid Caliphate had become one of the richest and most prosperous states in the world at that time, changing its leadership from honest brokers of power (Amir al-Mu'aminin - Prince of the Believers used to actually mean something) to individuals more concerned with money. This created strong resentment from those who were outside of the Abbassid purview.

2) Mawali Inclusion: The Abbassids were an Arab Caliphate (as opposed to the Samanids who were a Persian Caliphate) and were expected by many Arabs to treat other Arabs better than the Mawali. However, the Abbassids consistently treated Persians equal to or better than their Arab brethren which created animosity and a sense of betrayal. Many Arabs saw the Persians as the major backers of the Caliphate and that they were a tool for Persian interests. It was also perceived that the Persians were first servants to the caliphs but climbed way up the social ladder to a place they did not belong.

3) Turkish Armies: Armies like the Mamluk (who were retained by the Abbassids for the defense of the Caliphate) were Turks who defended an Arab State. Beginning in this period, they began to realize that they had the capacity to create their own states considering how vast their powers were as a military. This idea also came to the fore for Turks outside of the Caliphate. As a result, there were Mamluk uprisings, Seljuq attacks, and other Turkish Armies turning against Baghdad.

4) Rise of the Mongols: Hulegu Khan put the final nail in the coffin by massacring Baghdad and a number of Persian cities when he conquered the territory for the Great Khanate.

There is not just one Islamic Empire but over 25 different Islamic Empires in different parts of the world. The first Islamic Empire, the Rashidun Caliphate existed from 633 CE to 661 CE. This was followed by the Umayyad Caliphate from 661 CE to 750 CE. The Umayyads were in turn replaced by the Abbassids who ruled all or part of the Middle East from 750 CE to 1256 CE. In turn, they were replaced by the Ilkhanate, the Seljuks, and the Ottomans all the way until the 20th Century,

In the 7th and 8th centuries.

The first campaigns led by Caliph Omar in the Levant Region, the earliest conquests outside of Arabia, occurred from 634-638 CE. Prior to that, Prophet Mohammed and Caliph Abu Bakr only controlled or conquered areas within Arabia.

The Christians of the First Crusade had captured Jerusalem and massacred the entire population, Christian, Jew and Muslim alike. The Christians now occupied much of the former Arab territores of Palestine and threatened further incursions. Saladin recaptured Jerusalem as part of a push to recover lost territories. At the end of the Third Crusade, which failed to dislodge him, he reached a truce with Richard I of England.

Chirstians tired to expel Muslims from Spain

c. 1138 in Tikrit (modern-day Iraq)

Islam spread to the island of southeast Asia through traders and merchants. Many of the city states in Malaysia and west Indonesia had a strong maritime trading orientation and as a result, accommodated many Muslim merchants from Arabia, India, and the East African coast. As a result, the ideas of Islam became incorporated in those areas, supplanting the previous Buddhism. In the rest of Southeast Asia, such as Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Burma, and Vietnam, the orientation was much more inland and river-based trade, meaning that Islam did not have the same inroads and access.

The Moors went to Spain by boats from North Africa. Islam was founded in Arabia by Mohamed. Muslims consider it a restoration of the religion of Adam, Abraham, Moses, Jesus and others. It spread north east, and west from Arabia.

The Islamic empire grew because the Muslim Brotherhood was and is a very persuasive entity. It persuades in various ways: By a genuine giving to the poor and needy; by providing health care; by being very visible; by endless preaching; by oppression of women, to the unlimited delight of men; by severe punishments for infractions of the way the MB interprets the Quran. Finally, the empire grew because people were given a choice: Remain Jewish, and we will kill you. Convert to Islam, and you can live. Most people chose life, and too late realized they would've been better off dead than trying to submit to the laws of Islam.

Islam initially expanded through military conquest.

ottoman empire

The Safavid Empire is primarily made of SHIITE MUSLIMS, because that was the official religion of the empire. Numerous Persian Sunni Muslims were forcibly converted to Shiite Islam under Safavid rule.

yes they do but sometimes they get beat up and reaped

first of all, the spelling, pronounciation, characteristics ( mental, physical ) AND THE MOST BIG DIFFERENCE IS... Richard I is gay while Saladin isn't

-AlexisSan

Pakistan in the East, Spain and Morocco in the West, East Anatolia in the North, and Yemen in the South.

Askia Muhammad gain his power and respect to get control of songbai

A religious group that took over Afghanistan (apex)

Saladin showed them considerable respect, allowing safe passage for Christian pilgrims into Jerusalem and other Christian holy sites. Saladin's nephiew, Malik Al-Kamil, had a famous meeting with Francis of Assisi, a meeting that may have been pivotal in the later policies of Saladin's reign but also influenced St. Francis' views of Islam.

There are several cities that could qualify, but the most famous of these, especially for its massive library called Beit al-Hikma (بيت الحكمة), was BAGHDAD in the modern country of Iraq.

It was during the rule of Haroon Ul Rasheed Abbasi in Baghdad and Abdul Rahman - III in spain that the Muslims turned to all fields of knowledge. These were the Golden periods of Muslim history.