Islam
Across North Africa, Persia, and
Central Asia emirates formed as provinces broke away. The monolithic Arab empire gave
way to a more religiously homogenized Muslim world where the Shia Fatimids contested
even the religious authority of the caliphate. By 1055 the Seljuq Turks had eliminated the
Abbasids as a military power, nevertheless they continued to respect the caliph's titular
authority. During this time expansion of the Muslim world continued, by both conquest and
peaceful proselytism even as both Islam and Muslim trade networks were extending into sub
Saharan West Africa, Central Asia, Volga Bulgaria and the Malay archipelago.
The Golden Age saw new legal, philosophical, and religious developments. The major hadith
collections were compiled and the four modern Sunni Madh'habs were established. Islamic
law was advanced greatly by the efforts of the early 9th century jurist alShafi'i; he codified a
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