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Rebel groups overthrew Abbasids in 750.

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The last three of the first four caliphs were assassinated.

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After Ali was murdered in 661, a family known as the Umayyads gained power.

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Muhammad's uncle, took control of the empire

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They also moved the capital of the Muslim empire to Damascus in Syria, So it made it easier to control conquered land.

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Government was left to trusted advises who held the empire together through force

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The Umayyads expanded the Muslim empire, which spread Islam into new areas.

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They also divided the empire into provinces governed by Muslim rulers.

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Turks converted to Islam and came to control the government of the Muslim empire

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Muslim Spain overthrew the Umayyads in 750.

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They built a huge army that relied on mainly Turkish mercenaries, or hired soldiers.

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The Abbasids ruled during a prosperous golden age in Muslim history, but the caliphs were isolated from the people.

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Al-Andalus is another name for Muslim Spain.

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Al-Andalus split into many Muslim kingdoms after 1031.

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Al-Andalus flourished under the Umayyad dynasty.

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Al-Andalus faced many challenges like war and splitting up.

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Eventually, a group called the Seljuk (SEHL-Jook) Turks converted to Islam and came to control the government of the Muslim empire.

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The Safavid Empire and the Ottamans went into war for over a hundred years.

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Then in 1258 a group called the Mongols stormed Baghdad and killed the last Abbasid caliph

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Over and over the Safavids gained and lost possesion of land.

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The Safavids used their wealth to build fabulous places.

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The Ottoman Empire steadily declined after the reign of Suleyman but it lasted into the 1900s.

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The Safavids actively spread Shi'ite Islam.

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In 1722, a group of Afghan warriors invaded the Safavid Empire which resulted in its downfall.

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In 1526, troops headed by a Mughal leader named Babur swept out of Central Asia and conquered north and Central India.

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Many people of the book, or Jews and Christians, played important roles in the Ottoman Empire

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Akbar doubled Babur's conquests and stabilized the empire by establishing a loyal governing class and an effective modern.

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He also allowed different religions to flourish in the Empire

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In 1857, the British, who by then gained control, sent the last Mughal ruler into exile.

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Mughal power eventually began to decline, however, as rebellious Hindus and European countries sought to gain control of India.