Changes and Continuites in the Islamic Empires Between 632 and 1258

In 632, the death of Muhammad would begin the time when Muslim armies would conquer lands throughout the Middle East, North Africa, and Spain to establish Islamic ruled empires called caliphates that would last until 1258. The major Islamic ruled empires during this time that lasts about six centuries would be the Umayyad Caliphate (661-750) and the Abbasid Caliphate (750-1258), and these early Islamic empires would undergo many continuities and changes throughout their long existence. While Islamic culture and interaction with other empires and people endured for the Islamic Empires between the years 632 and 1258, the politics of the Islamic Empires during this time would instead adjust. First, the Islamic empires that lasted between 632 and 1258 would have many cultural continuities. During this long reign of the Umayyad and Abbasid Caliphates, Shari’a (the law of Islam) would continue to remain an important foundation of Islamic culture. Throughout time, Shari’a continued to embody a vision of moral values that all Muslims subscribed to, and it also expected every Muslim ruler to abide by and enforce the religious law. Without Shari’a, the Islamic empires would have no law, which means that Shari’a had to exist for the Islamic empires to survive. The Quran would also endure as an important symbol of Islamic culture throughout this time of the Islamic Empires. The continuance of the Quran’s importance during this time is that the Quran contains the exact sayings and recitations of Muhammad, and this is important since Muhammad is the founder of Islam and he is the reason why Islam began. A reason for these cultural continuities is that the Islamic empires needed a foundation of Islamic law and religion, and this continuity was caused by the fact that these important pieces of Islamic culture were needed for Islam to survive. The Islamic empires that lasted between 632 and 1258 would also undergo multiple political changes. The two major caliphates that