KS3 · History

The Islamic world in the 11th century

Baghdad, Cordoba and Sicily were all Islamic places in the 11th century. So did they all answer to the same ruler? Not even close.

Sort it first

Three places, one century: what do they share?

Take each feature in turn and tap every place it fits: all three, two of them, or just one. Then check how your sorting compares.

A Baghdad
B Cordoba
C Sicily

Muslims, Christians and Jews all lived there
A lot of international trade
The capital of a caliphate
A centre of learning
A midway trade location between Christian Europe and Muslim North Africa
Very strong Persian influence
The Seljuks held the real power
Very strong Mediterranean influence
Its own caliphs
Led by emirs loyal to the Fatimid caliphs of Egypt
Nearly half its people were not Muslim
Conquered by Christian Normans

Which picture is in your head?

The 11th-century Islamic world

Someone says 'the Islamic world in the 11th century'. What picture does that put in your head?

Which is closest to what you thought before this lesson?

One big empire. Every Muslim ruler obeyed the caliph in Baghdad.Totally separate groups. Muslims in different places had nothing in common.Many Islamic states. One shared religion, but different rulers and real differences between places.

How sure are you?

I'm sureI think soI'm guessing

One big empire. Every Muslim ruler obeyed the caliph in Baghdad.

This is a common misconception

It is the natural picture, but it does not fit. Cordoba did not accept the Abbasid caliphs and had its own caliphs. Sicily was a province of the Fatimid caliphs of Egypt. Neither was loyal to Baghdad. Even in Baghdad itself, the caliphs had little real control outside the city by the 11th century.

Totally separate groups. Muslims in different places had nothing in common.

This is a common misconception

That swings too far the other way. Muslims shared a common religion. Baghdad, Cordoba and Sicily all had Muslims, Christians and Jews living in them, and all three were involved in a lot of international trade. The differences were in who ruled them, what influenced them and what happened to them.

Many Islamic states. One shared religion, but different rulers and real differences between places.

This matches the evidence

Yes, and that is why historians say Islamic worlds, plural. There were differences between Muslims themselves and many different Islamic states. Cordoba had its own caliphs, Sicily was loyal to the Fatimids, and even Baghdad's caliph ruled in name while the Seljuks held the power.

A caliph is a political and religious leader of Muslim communities. A caliphate is an Islamic state, especially one ruled by a single religious and political leader. In the 11th century there were many Islamic states, not one.

History · Cause & effect

How the caliph came to rule in name only

Tap an event to see what led to it and what followed.

Causes ←

What led here

Baghdad had been conquered in 1058

The caliph asked outsiders for help: the Seljuk Turks and their leader Tughril

Event

The caliph wins Baghdad back, with help

1060

He got the city back, but the real power went to the people who helped him.

→ Consequences

What followed

The Abbasid caliph regained control over Baghdad

The Seljuks, a Muslim group from Central Asia with much more military power, made the important decisions for the rest of the 11th century

The Abbasids remained the nominal rulers: they ruled in name only

Predict, then check

The Christian Normans captured the first Sicilian cities in 1061 and finished conquering the island in 1091.

Sicily had been led by Muslim emirs. Then Christian Normans conquered it. What do you think happened to Muslim influence on the island?

Now judge it yourself

Sicily against the other two

How similar was Sicily to Baghdad and Cordoba in the 11th century? Use evidence from the lesson. [3 marks]

Your answer

0 words · your answer stays on this page and is not sent anywhere.

The mark scheme

A similarity, backed with evidence: for example all three had Muslims, Christians and Jews living there, or all three were involved in a lot of international trade. (1 mark)
A difference, backed with evidence: for example Sicily's emirs were loyal to the Fatimid caliphs, nearly half its people were not Muslim, or it was conquered by Christian Normans. (1 mark)
An overall judgement that pulls the two together and says how similar Sicily was, with a reason. (1 mark)

Model answer

Sicily was similar to Baghdad and Cordoba in some ways and different in others. Like them, it had a diverse population of Muslims, Christians and Jews, and it was involved in a lot of international trade. But in the 11th century its emirs were loyal to the Fatimid caliphs of Egypt, nearly half of its people were not Muslim, which was a much larger share than in Baghdad or Cordoba, and it was conquered by Christian Normans, which did not happen to the other two. So Sicily was quite similar in its mix of people and its trade, but different in who led it and in what happened to it.

A good comparison gives a similarity with evidence, a difference with evidence, and then one judgement that brings them together.

WHAT YOU'VE LEARNED

A quick recap of today's lesson.

Three places, one century, and no single boss.

What you need to know

Historians say Islamic worlds, plural, because in the 11th century there were many different Islamic states, not one.
Muslims shared a common religion, but there were differences between Muslims themselves.
Have a goThree phrases: 'a shared religion', 'one single empire', 'many Islamic states'. Which one does NOT describe the 11th century?
'One single empire'.
Muslims shared a religion, but they lived in many different Islamic states rather than one.
A caliph is a political and religious leader of Muslim communities.
A caliphate is an Islamic state, especially one ruled by a single religious and political leader.
Baghdad, in what is now Iraq, was the capital of the Abbasid Caliphate, which rose to power in the 8th century.
By the 11th century the Abbasid caliphs had little real control outside Baghdad, because far-away governors often ruled as they wanted.
In 1060 the caliph only regained Baghdad with help from the Seljuk Turks, who then made the important decisions.
Have a goThe caliph got Baghdad back in 1060, but only with outsiders' help. Does that sound like a ruler in full control?
No. The Seljuks, who helped him, then made the important decisions.
Needing outsiders to regain your own capital shows where the real power had moved.
Cordoba, in modern-day Spain, did not accept the Abbasid caliphs and had its own caliphs.
Sicily, a small island near the centre of the Mediterranean, was led by emirs loyal to the Fatimid caliphs of Egypt.
Have a goYour mate insists the caliph in Baghdad was the boss of Cordoba and Sicily too. Who did those two actually answer to?
Cordoba had its own caliphs; Sicily's emirs were loyal to the Fatimid caliphs of Egypt.
Neither place was loyal to the Abbasid caliphs, so 'one empire ruled from Baghdad' does not fit.
Muslims, Christians and Jews lived in all three places, and all three were involved in a lot of international trade.

The big picture

Historians talk about Islamic worlds, not one Islamic world. Muslims shared a religion, but in the 11th century there were many different Islamic states. Baghdad's caliph ruled in name while the Seljuks held the power, Cordoba had its own caliphs, and Sicily was led by emirs loyal to the Fatimids until Christian Normans conquered it. All three had diverse populations and a lot of international trade.

Key points

1Historians say Islamic worlds because Muslims shared a religion but lived in many different Islamic states.

2Baghdad's Abbasid caliphs had little real control outside the city, and after 1060 the Seljuks made the important decisions.

3Cordoba had its own caliphs, while Sicily's emirs were loyal to the Fatimid caliphs of Egypt.

4All three places had diverse populations of Muslims, Christians and Jews, and all were involved in a lot of international trade.

5Christian Normans conquered Sicily between 1061 and 1091, but they respected its religions and kept Arabic in government.

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Worked example

Problem

How similar was Cordoba to Baghdad in the 11th century? Build a short comparison.

⚠ Watch out

Picturing one empire run from Baghdad. By the 11th century the caliph had little real control outside the city, and after 1060 the Seljuks made the important decisions. Cordoba had its own caliphs and Sicily was loyal to the Fatimids.

🧠

Memory hook

Three places, three bosses: Baghdad's caliph (with the Seljuks holding the power), Cordoba's own caliphs, and Sicily's Fatimid-loyal emirs, until the Normans came.

✓

Check yourself

Without looking back: name one thing all three places shared, then give one difference for each place. Could one empire ruled from Baghdad explain what you just wrote?

Flashcards

(12)

What is a caliph?

A political and religious leader of Muslim communities.

What is a caliphate?

An Islamic state, especially one ruled by a single religious and political leader.

What is an emir?

A type of leader in some Muslim countries. Sicily's emirs were loyal to the Fatimid caliphs in the 11th century.

What is a province?

An area of a state that is not the capital city and may be considered less important.

What does diverse mean?

A place is diverse if it includes many different types of people.

What is a scholar?

Someone who has studied a subject and knows a lot about it.

What was the House of Wisdom?

One of the largest libraries in the world at the time, in Baghdad. Many people still travelled to Baghdad in the 11th century to study and debate there.

What was the Al-Nizamiyya?

A university in Baghdad, set up in 1065, with free education in subjects such as religious studies, law, literature and maths. It has been described as the largest university in the medieval world, with roughly 3,000 students by the end of the 11th century.

Who were the Seljuks?

A Muslim group from Central Asia with much more military power than the Abbasid caliph. For the rest of the 11th century they made the important decisions.

Who were the Fatimids?

The Fatimid Caliphate of Egypt, a rival Islamic power to the Abbasids. Al-Basasiri and Sicily's emirs were loyal to them.

Why do historians say Islamic worlds, not the Islamic world?

Muslims shared a common religion, but there were many different Islamic states and differences between Muslims themselves.

When did the Normans conquer Sicily?

They captured the first Sicilian cities in 1061 and completed the conquest of the island in 1091.

Tap any card to flip it, or use Study as deck to go through them one at a time. In the full lesson these run as a spaced-repetition deck — you rate each card Hard, Good or Easy and the tricky ones keep coming back until they stick.

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Three places, one century: what do they share?

The 11th-century Islamic world

How the caliph came to rule in name only

Sicily against the other two

More KS3 History topics