Abbasid Decline and the Spread of Islamic Civilization to South and Southeast Asia

Chapter Summary

•By the mid 9th century the Abbasids were losing control over their vast Muslim empire.

•Distance hampered efforts to move armies and control local administrators.

•Most subjects also retained local loyalties.

•Shi'i dissenters were particularly troublesome, while slave and peasant risings weakened the empire.

•Mongol invasions in the 13th century ended the very weakened state.

•Despite the political decline, Islamic civilization reached new cultural heights, and Islam expanded widely in the Afro-Asian world through conquest and peaceful conversion.