What happened to the Islamic empire?

Question

What happened to the empire. I read that it expanded so quickly, but then what happened to it?

Answer 1

It wasnt Islamic empire, it was the Persian Empire.
Persian civilization decreased as affluence and corruption entangled political and military leaders. The downfall and collapse of the Persian Empire occurred at a time when society could largely be characterized by an overall lack of fitness.
The results of the battles of Issus and Guagamela might have been completely different if the Persians had a more determined high king. However, once again Darius had escaped because Alexander was occupied in concluding the battle. The heart of the Persian Empire was now open to Alexander and he turned southward where he obtained the surrenders of Babylon and Susa and fought his way into Persepolis, the capital of the Persian Empire. After resting his troops there for several months, he burned and completely destroyed Persepolis. Some historians say this was to avenge the Persian invasion of Greece and the sack of Athens in 490 BC.
Leaving Persepolis, Alexander pursued Darius, now a fugitive in his own country, for hundreds of miles. When he finally caught up to him, he found the Persian king dead in his coach, assassinated by his own officers. Alexander had himself proclaimed high king of Persia and sent letters to all of the Greek cities proclaiming that he had rid Asia of tyranny.

Answer 2

After Mohammad died, the empire was lead by the Caliphs. The first two, Abu Bakr and Umar, continued to expand the empire. The third Caliph, Uthman, wasn't well liked by some. He was killed by a rival faction, and Ali became the fourth Caliph. However, a lot of Muslims thought Ali had helped kill Uthman, making him unfit to lead. The family of Uthman lead a revolt. While Ali won the first battles, things started going badly for him. He was eventually killed by an assassin and Uthman's family (called the Umayyads) claimed the Caliphate. (BTW, the followers of Ali are still around, they are called Shia or shi'ites, while the Umayyads and their followers are called Sunnis)

The Umayyads ruled until 750. There was a lot of fighting between the Shia and Sunni factions, which weakened the ruling family. Eventually the Ummayyads were overthrown by the Abbasids, who were also members of the Sunni faction.

Under the Abbasids, the empire went into a declined. Things get a bit muddy because several powerful groups, like the Seljuks, Mumluks, and the general Saladin, carved out their own territory, but the Abbasids were still the titular head of the Islamic Empire.

The Abbasids hung around until 1258, when the Mogols sacked the capital city, Baghdad. After that there were some smaller Islamic countries, but there wasn't a widely accepted Caliph until the Ottoman Empire in the mid 1400's. They expanded into Europe until they were driven back in 1683. Although their empire declined, the Ottoman Empire was around until their defeat in WWI.

Answer 3

Which Islamic Empire? There were three great empires: The Ottoman Empire, the Safavid Empire, and the Mughal Empire. The Persian empire occured long before Islam existed.

Answer 4

Although Missouri's response is interesting, it seems to be addressing a different question.

All empires fall. That is a fact of life. After about 150 years of non-stop expansion, the power shifted away from the Arabs. Eventually the Turks took control of the empire, which fragmented.