Hello, my name is Ms. Krijnauw and I'm delighted that you've joined me for this history lesson.

Together we are going on a quest of discovery to uncover more fascinating history.

In this unit, we are finding out about the early Islamic civilization and how Baghdad became the city of peace, and in this lesson, we will learn about the geography of the Umayyad Caliphate.

By the end of this lesson, you will be able to identify where the Islamic Empire started and the regions it covered.

Before we jump into this lesson, it is important to take note of some keywords.

These keywords will help you make sense of today's learning.

You could make a note of these words and their meanings so that you can refer back to them when you encounter them in the lesson.

Here they are.

Umayyad.

Dynastic.

Silk Road.

Lucrative.

I'm going to say these words again, but this time, you can say them with me.

Umayyad.

Dynastic.

Silk Road.

Lucrative.

But what do these words mean? Umayyad is a member of a line of caliphs based in Damascus that ruled from 661 CE to 750 CE.

Dynastic means that power and leadership is handed down from one generation of a ruling family to the next.

The Silk Road refers to a network of ancient trade routes between China and Europe.

When something is lucrative, it makes a lot of money.

You could pause the video here to take a note of the keywords and their meanings, and when you are ready, press play to continue with the lesson.

This lesson is split into two parts called the Umayyad Caliphate and the Silk Road.

We will firstly learn more about the Umayyad Caliphate.

Here is a timeline showing significant events of the early Islamic civilization.

Pause the video here to take a moment to study the timeline and to note the three periods shown.

There is the Prophet Muhammad's life, the Rashidun Caliphate, and the Umayyad Caliphate.

Press play when you're ready to continue.

Today's lesson focuses on the time between 661 CE and 750 CE when the Umayyad Caliphate ruled the Islamic Empire.

The Rashidun Caliphate was the first caliphate after the death of the Prophet Muhammad.

There were four Rashidun caliphs, and it spanned from 632 CE to 661 CE when the last caliph, Ali, died.

This marked the beginning of the Umayyad Caliphate.

It was a large and powerful empire.

An important difference between the Rashidun Caliphate and the Umayyad Caliphate is how they chose their leaders.

Where the caliphs of the Rashidun Caliphate were chosen, the Umayyad Caliphate followed a dynastic rule.

This means that the caliph was the son or other male relative of the previous caliph so that the leadership stayed in the same family.

To begin with, the Umayyads ruled from Medina, but the first caliph moved the capital to Damascus, which is in present-day Syria.

It is time to check our understanding of what we have just learned to be sure that the new knowledge sticks.

Here is a statement.

The Umayyad Caliphate followed a dynastic rule.

Is that statement true or false? Pause the video here, and when you are ready to hear the answer, press play.

Did you say that the answer is true? Well done if you did.

Well, let's give a reason why we say the statement is true or let's justify our response.

Is it A, that the caliphs were elected, or B, that the caliph was the son or other male relative of the previous caliph? Pause the video here, and when you are ready to hear the answer, press play.

Yes, the Umayyads followed a dynastic rule, which means that the caliph was the son or other male relative of the previous caliph.

The Umayyad Caliphate ruled the Islamic Empire from 661 CE to 750 CE.

During this time, they expanded their empire to the largest the world had seen at that time.

At its peak, the Umayyad Caliphate controlled the Middle East, parts of Asia as far as India, North Africa, and most of Spain.

Many, many people lived in the Umayyad Caliphate, speaking a range of different languages with different cultures and who held different religious beliefs.

We are now ready for the first learning task of this lesson.

This is what it says.

Read the statements carefully and decide whether they describe the Rashidun Caliphate or the Umayyad caliphate, or both.

Tick the correct column for each statement.

The first statement says caliph were elected.

Secondly, followed a dynastic rule.

The next statement, largest empire the world had seen.

Lastly, a large Islamic empire.

Pause the video here, and when you are ready to see the answer, press play.

Let's check the answers.

Caliphs were elected.

That statement belongs to the Rashidun Caliphate.

Followed a dynastic rule, that would be the Umayyad caliphate.

The largest empire the world had seen, again, the Umayyad Caliphate.

A large Islamic empire.

That statement belongs to both the Rashidun Caliphate and the Umayyad Caliphate.

Well done.

We are now ready to move on to the second part of our lesson, which is called the Silk Road.

During the Umayyad Caliphate, the Islamic Empire grew a lot.

It took over land that had important trade routes going through them.

Traders and merchants, those are people who bought and sold goods, used these trade routes or roads to transport goods that they had bought in one place to sell in another place.

The routes had been used for hundreds of years and had actually started in China, where the most beautiful silks were made.

To get the silks from one place to another, trade routes developed between China and Eastern Europe.

Funnily enough, the Silk Road was not just one single road, but a whole network of routes that crisscrossed China, Asia, and parts of Europe and Africa, like a spider's web.

What was important to the Umayyad Caliphate though was that these trade routes, with its merchants and traders carrying goods to be bought and sold, ran through places in the Islamic Empire, such as the Arabian Peninsula, Persia, Mesopotamia, and North Africa.

Phew, that was a lot of new information to take in.

Let's take a moment to consolidate our learning to be sure it sticks.

Say whether the following statement is true or false.

The Silk Road was one single road that traders used to carry goods between China and Europe.

Would you say that statement is true or false? Pause the video here, and when you're ready for the answer, press play.

Did you say that this statement is false? Well done if you did.

Let's justify our answer.

Let's give a reason why we think this statement is false.

Is it because the Silk Road was one single road that traders used to carry goods between Africa and America, or is it that the Silk Road refers to many roads used by traders to carry goods between China and Europe? Pause the video here, and when you are ready to hear the answer, press play.

That's right.

The Silk Road refers to many roads used by traders to carry goods between China and Europe.

Even though the routes were created to transport silk from China as early as 130 BCE, it wasn't only silk that was transported on the Silk Road.

People also used these routes to transport other luxury goods, such as tea, salt, sugar, and spices from the East and horses, honey, wine and gold from the West.

People bought these goods if they weren't available in their own countries.

The Silk Road was an important link between kingdoms, empires, and continents.

The Umayyad Caliphate controlled a large part of the Silk Road because it ran through Muslim-controlled territory.

The traders had to pay taxes to the caliph, which was very lucrative for the Muslims, and it helped bring in a lot of money for the Umayyad Caliphate.

In those days of the Umayyad Caliphate, there were no trains, lorries or aeroplanes to transport goods.

Merchants and traders had to rely on camels to help them carry goods that they wanted to trade.

Camels were popular animals for transport because camels easily eat desert plants and they carry heavy loads.

Camels can also survive without drinking water for up to two weeks, which was helpful because much of the Silk Road was harsh and dry.

Because they carried luxury goods that were valuable, there was the risk that robbers could be hiding and waiting to rob the traders along the way, and that is why merchants preferred to travel in caravans, which were long lines of camels travelling in single file.

Let's take a moment to check our understanding of what we have just learned.

Use the image below to help you complete the sentence.

Merchants and traders travelled in mhm to protect them from being robbed on the Silk Road.

Pause the video here, and when you are ready to hear the answer, press play.

Did you say that merchants and traders travelled in caravans to protect them from being robbed on the Silk Road? If you did, well done.

It is clear that the Silk Road was very important for trade and the buying and selling of goods, but the Silk Road was important to the Umayyad Caliphate for another reason.

The people meeting and travelling on the Silk Road started telling each other about their religion, their inventions, art, culture, and medical breakthroughs.

The Silk Road was, therefore, a way of spreading ideas, knowledge, culture, arts, and inventions across the Islamic Empire.

Let's check our understanding of what we have just learned.

Which two reasons explain why the Silk Road was important to the Umayyad Caliphate? A, it meant that Muslims wore clothes made of silk.

B, it was lucrative and brought wealth to the Muslim territories.

C, it helped spread ideas, knowledge, culture, and art across the Islamic Empire.

Pause the video here and when you are ready to see the answer, press play.

Did you say that the Silk Road was lucrative and brought wealth to the Muslim territories? And did you also say that it helps spread ideas, knowledge, culture, and art across the Islamic Empire? If you did, well done.

Well, we are now ready for our second learning task of this lesson.

Write two or three sentences to explain how the Silk Road contributed to the success of the Umayyad Caliphate.

Now, a good explanation should include the following words or phrases: lucrative, and ideas and knowledge.

Pause the video here to give yourself enough time to write two or three sentences, and when you are ready to reflect on the answer, press play.

Here is an example of an answer that you could have given to explain how the Silk Road contributed to the success of the Umayyad Caliphate.

The Silk Road was used for trading luxury goods, such as spices, silk, horses, and tea.

It proved to be very lucrative for Muslims because it ran through parts of the Umayyad caliphate.

Not only were goods transported on the Silk Road, but it also helped spread ideas, knowledge, art, and inventions across the Umayyad Caliphate.

Well done if your answer looks similar to this one and an extra well done if you managed to use the words highlighted in green.

We have now come to the end of this lesson about the geography of the Umayyad Caliphate and where we discovered where the Islamic Empire started and the regions it covered.

Before we go, let's summarise what we have learned in this lesson.

The Umayyad Caliphate was the second caliphate and followed a dynastic rule.

This empire covered the Middle East, parts of Asia as far as India, North Africa, and most of Spain.

It controlled a vast network of trade routes, allowing wealth and knowledge to spread throughout the Islamic civilization.

Muslim control of the trade routes from Southern Europe to East Asia, known as the Silk Road, was very lucrative.

Well done for all your hard work in today's lesson.

I have enjoyed supporting you on this historical learning adventure.

I hope that you will join me again very soon for some more exciting learning.