AP World History Notes

THE ARAB EMPIRE

The Arab Empire

• Stretched from Spain to India• Extended to areas in Europe, Asia, and Africa• Encompassed all or part of the following civilizations:• Egyptian, Roman/Byzantine, Persian, Mesopotamian, and Indian

•With the expansion of the Arab Empire came the spread of:• Islamic faith• Arabic language• Culture of Arabia

War and Conquest

•650s = Arab forces defeated the Persian Empire and took over about half of Byzantium’s territories• Both had been weak for a long time due to fighting with each other

• Early 700s = Arab forces swept through North Africa, conquered Spain, and attacked southern France•Early 700s = Arab forces reached the Indus River and took over some major oases towns in Central Asia

War and Conquest: Motives•Merchants wanted access to profitable trade routes and wealthy agricultural regions• Individuals wanted to gain wealth and social promotion•Expansion provided a common task for the Islamic community (umma) that was on the verge of falling apart after Muhammad’s death•Spread of Muslim faith and righteous government across the world

War and Conquest

•Conversion to Islam not forced on anyone in the Arab Empire• In fact: Zoroastrians, Jews, and Christians all considered “people of the book” and were given the status of dhimmis (protected subjects)

• In the 400s years following Muhammad’s death, millions of individuals and many whole societies with the Arab Empire adopted Islam

Widespread Conversion to Islam – WHY?•Not such a dramatic change for many Zoroastrians, Jews, and Christians• Already familiar with ideas of: monotheism, heaven, hell, final judgment, divine revelation, fasting, ritual prayer, etc.

• Islam sponsored by a powerful state Wealth and prestige of Arab Empire attracted people• Successful conquest called into question the

power of old gods; perhaps Allah really is all-powerful

• Many incentives for convertingEx: Didn’t have to pay jizya = tax on non-

MuslimsEx: Could hold official positions; social

mobility

Divisions and Controversies

•The “Rightly Guided Caliphs” (632 – 661)• First 4 caliphs after Muhammad• (Caliph = the political and religious leader of the Islamic community)• Close companions of Muhammad• Chosen by Muslim elders of Medina

•Division surfaced almost immediately•Sunni vs. Shia Muslims

Abu BakrThe 1st RightlyGuided Caliph

Sunnis vs. Shi’ites

•Believe the caliph is the rightful political and military leader of Islam•Believe the caliph should be chosen by the Islamic community•Believe the caliph can be any devout Muslim•Religious authority comes from the larger Islamic community; particularly ulama = religious scholars

•Believe that the leader of the Islamic community should be a blood descendant/relative of Muhammad•Religious authority comes from prayer leaders called imams• Imams = only ones that can correctly interpret divine revelations and Islamic law

Islamic Caliphs•As the Arab Empire grew, caliphs were transformed from modest Arab chiefs into absolute, all-powerful monarchs• Elaborate court rituals• Complex bureaucracy• Standing army• Centralized systems of taxation and money

•2 major ruling dynasties came to control the Arab Empire during this time = Umayyad dynasty and Abbasid dynasty

Umayyad Dynasty (661 – 750)

•Vast expansion of Arab Empire•Caliphs became hereditary rulers•Empire’s capital moved from Medina to Roman/Byzantine city of Damascus in Syria•Ruling class = Arab military aristocracy

The Dome of the RockBuilt in Jerusalem in 691 CE

Built by Umayyad Caliph Abd al-Malik

Umayyad Dynasty (661 – 750)

•Overthrown because:•Non-Arabs resented their status as second-class citizens• Shia Muslims believed Umayyad caliphs were illegitimate•Many Arabs protested the luxurious living of their rulers

Spread of Islam: Early History

Spread of Islam: Abbasid Dynasty

Abbasid Dynasty (750 – 1258)

• Built up a new capital for the empire in Baghdad•Non-Arabs now played a prominent role• Persian culture became the culture of Islamic elites

• Political unity = didn’t last long• By the mid-800s = many local governors or military commanders asserted autonomy over their regions• Islamic world fractured into multiple “sultanates”

•Dynasty officially ended when conquered by the Mongols in 1258

And no, we can’t watch Aladdin OR Mulan in class.

The Late Abbasid Era

•Mansur--- Bagdad• As early as the third Abbasid Caliph, al-Mahdi (775-785), issues related to the decline of the Abbasid Caliphate were apparent.• Somewhat typical pattern:• Caliph abandons frugal ways of predecessors• Caliph does NOT establish clear pattern of succession•Hadi --- terrible ruler

• In many cases, wives/concubines became involved in the various palace intrigues associated with the succession crises.

The Late Abbasid Era•Harun al-Rashid (786-809) ascended to the throne after the death of al-Mahdi (and the poisoning of his eldest son)• Power of Royal Advisors grew throughout the rule of Harun al-Rashid.• Caliphs became pawns in the factional royal court battles…•Upon al-Rashid’s death, full-scale civil war broke out amongst those vying for power.•While al-Ma’mum (813-833) was the victor…what he did next truly changed the nature of the Caliphate…

Slave Armies

•Al-Ma’mum was convinced to conscript thousands of mostly Turkic-speaking slaves as his personal bodyguards.•As the number eclipsed 70,000 the slave regiment became a power center, in its own right.•By 846, they had murdered the reigning caliph, and in the coming decades would murder at least four more

Abbasid Decline

•Caliphs struggle to control the Slave Regiments•Some Caliphs want to move capital away from Baghdad turmoil• Increased spending•New irrigation…•Old irrigation and public works fall into disrepair

•Spiraling taxation/pillaging, etc…•Abandonment of some of the earlier provinces of the empire.

Further Abbasid Decline

•The Abbasids were losing territory quickly…•Egypt (Fatimids) and Syria break away from Abbasid rule•Spain becomes an independent Umayyad state• In once-provincial areas of the Islamic Caliphate, independent kingdoms had arose to challenge the Abbasids• In 945, the Buyids of Persia invade and capture

Baghdad.• Caliphs became puppets controlled by families, like the Buyids.• Buyid leaders took the title of “sultan” meaning “victorious” in Arabic, which will designate Muslim rulers.

Central Question in the Empire:What does it mean to be a Muslim?

•Answer = strict adherence to the sharia = Islamic religious and civil law•Sharia created based on the Quran, the life and teachings of Muhammad, deductive reasoning, and the consensus of the ulama (Muslim scholars)•Sharia addressed virtually every aspect of life; Examples:•Guidance for prayer and ritual cleansing• Treatment of slaves• Rules for political life• Rules for marriage, divorce, and inheritance• Rules for business and commercial practices

Women and Men in Early Islam

•According to interpretations of the Quran made by Muslim scholars:• Spiritually men and women are equal• Socially (especially in marriage) women are inferior to men and should obey them

•The Quran provided a mix of rights, restrictions, and protections for women

Women and Men in Early Islam

•Examples of rights & protection for women within the Quran include:• Rights to dowries and some inheritances• Control over their own property•Marriage = must be consensual•Women could divorce men

Growing Restrictions•Occurred during the Abbasid dynasty•Arab Empire grew in size, wealth, and splendor• Result = role of women became more limited

•Applied to upper-class women• Lower-class women = didn’t have servants; had to leave the house for shopping or work•These restrictions stemmed from the traditions and cultures within the Arab Empire; NOT the Quran itself

Examples of the Growing Restrictions

•The Harem and the Veil are the twin emblems of women’s increasing subjugation to men and confinement.• Veiling and seclusion of women became standard practice

•The Abbasid court created the concept of the Harem for the Caliphate.• Separate living quarters in wealthy homes for women

•Women now expected to pray at home instead of in public mosques

The Hadiths

•The Hadiths = traditions about the sayings or actions of Muhammad• Became an important source of Islamic law•Negative view of women weak, deficient, etc.

The Seljuks

• By 1055, the Buyid control over the Caliphate was broken• In 1055, Central Asian Nomadic warriors known as the Seljuk Turks ruled over the Abbasid lands.• Staunch Sunnis…kick Shia’s out of governmental positions• Resisted the Byzantines who were taking advantage of Muslim disunity

Seljuk Turks•Defeat of the Byzantines led to the settlement of Asia Minor which would eventually become the seat of the Ottoman Empire

The Crusades

Knights from Western Europe launched crusades to capture portions of the Islamic world that made up the Holy Land of Biblical times.

1099: Christian knights took Jerusalem.Muslim and Jewish inhabitants were massacred

For the next two centuries, Europeans would mount in excess of 8 crusades.

Islam as a New Civilization

• Even after the fall of the Arab Empire: Islamic beliefs and practices preserved and transmitted by the ulama (Muslim scholars)• Passed on core teachings of the faith in their homes, mosques, shrines, and Quranic schools• Madrasas = formal colleges set up in the 11th century = offered more advanced instruction in the Quran

The House of Wisdom

• Founded by the caliph al-Mamun•Was a research center in Baghdad• Scholars translated texts from Greek, Persian & Indian into Arabic• Performed scientific experiments

House of Wisdom

Astronomy & Geography

• Improved the Greek astrolabe = determines the position of the stars, the movement of the planets, and the time•Astrolabe made navigation easier and safer

Chemistry

•Developed alchemy = attempting to turn lead into gold•Al-Razi classified chemical substances as animal, mineral, or vegetable•Created the science of optics = study of light & its effects on sight

Medicine

• Physicians al-Razi and Ibn Sina = accurately diagnosed many diseases• Hay fever, measles,

smallpox, diphtheria, rabies, diabetes

• Arab doctors started:• Hernia operations• Cataract operations• Filling teeth with gold Ibn Sina

Age of Muslim Learning and Refinement• Artists and Artisans benefit•Mosques and palaces became more ornate.• Tapestries and rugs from Persia were in great demand from Europe to China.• Persian becomes the language of “high culture.”• Arabic remains language of religion, law, and

natural sciences• Persian was language of literary expression,

administration, and scholarship.

Age of Muslim Learning and Refinement•Great advances in chemistry and astronomy.•Cairo: best hospitals in the world•Muslim traders introduce techniques like papermaking and silk-weaving that was developed in China.•Development of cartography

Age of Muslim Learning and Refinement• Persian writers in the Abbasid era write on many subjects from love affairs, to statecraft, to incidents from everyday life. • Blend of mystical and commonplace.•Not only did Muslims revive Greco-Roman scientific traditions…they developed their own theories as well!•Major corrections to algebraic and geometric theories• Advances in trigonometry

Religious contradictions

•Orthodox religious scholars felt that the revival of Greco-Roman philosophical traditions would erode the absolute authority of the Qur’an•Sufi movement…•Sufis are wandering mystics who sought a personal union with Allah• A reaction against the abstract divinity of the Qur’an• Sufis gain reputations as healers and miracle workers…gain sizeable followings• Some led militant bands that spread Islam to nonbelievers

Sufis•Muslims who believed that the wealth and success of Islamic civilization was a deviation from the purer spirituality of Muhammad’s time•Searched for a direct and personal experience with the divine•Rejected the material world•Meditated on the words of the Quran•Believed teachings about the law and correct behavior didn’t bring people closer to Allah

Sufis

•Believed many ulama had been corrupted by their association with worldly and corrupt governments•Often challenged the religious authority of these ulama and charted their own course to Allah

The End of the Caliphate

•By the 10th and 11th centuries, the Abbasid Caliphate was compromised by many different factions•In the early 13th century, the Mongols, united under Chinggis Khan became a powerful force in Asia, smashing through Turko-Persian kingdoms to the east of Baghdad by 1220 CE.

The End of the Caliphate

•Genghis dies before conquest of the Islamic Heartlands, but his grandson, Hulegu renewed the assault on the Islamic lands in the 1250s.•By 1258, the Abbasid capital of Baghdad was taken by the Mongols

The End of the Caliphate•The 37th and last Abbasid Caliph was put to death by the Mongols.•The Mongol advance was stopped by the Mamluks, or Turkic Slaves who ruled Egypt.

•In 1401, Baghdad suffers from another capture and round of pillaging by the forces of Tamerlane.•Baghdad’s glory becomes supplanted by Cairo to the west and Istanbul to the North

The Spread of Islam

The Islamic Civilization

• Even after the Arab Empire fell apart, the Islamic civilization continued to grow• Major areas of Muslim expansion: India, Anatolia, West Africa, and Spain

India

• Islam brought to India by Muslim Turks from Central Asia• Violent invasions destruction of Hindu and Buddhist temples• Their conquests led to a series of Muslim-led governments in India

India

• Islam never became the dominant faith in India like it did in the Middle East, North Africa, and Persia• Very sharp cultural divide between Islam and Hinduism prevented mass conversion

Islam vs. Hinduism

• Monotheistic• No representation of Allah• Equality of all believers• Sexual modesty

• Polytheistic• Endless statues and images

of the divine• Caste system• Sexual openness

The Hindu/Islam mix

• Early centuries were characterized by violent conflict.• However, a good deal of trade and religious interchange.• In time, peaceful interactions became the norm

• There were contacts via traders in the Indian Ocean Trade network as early as 711 CE• Indian overlords who took over land in South Asia brought little change to most inhabitants of the Indian Subcontinent.• Many people welcomed the Arabs because they promised

lighter taxation and religious tolerance

Early Muslim encounters in India

• Muslim leaders decided to treat Hindus and Buddhists as the dhimmi, or “people of the book” even though they had no connection to the Bible.• This meant that Hindus and Buddhists had to pay

the tax on non-believers, they enjoyed the freedom to worship as they pleased.

• Little effort was put towards conversion, so most people remained Hindu or Buddhist.

Indian/Muslim cultural diffusion

• Muslims inherit the Indian scientific learning, which rivaled the Greeks as the most advanced in the world.• Arabic numerals originated in India• Indian learning was transferred to Baghdad in the age of the Abbasids.• Indian doctors, scientists, etc.

• Muslims adopt Indian styles of dress, food, and ride on elephants as the Hindu rajas (kings) did.• Muslims also adopt and infuse Indian architectural styles

Move towards Empire…

• Early interactions did little to add territory to the Muslim Empire, and in some cases, lost territory• BUT, in 962 CE, a Turkish slave dynasty seized power in Afghanistan. • Their third ruler, Mahmud of Ghazni, began two

CENTURIES of Muslim raiding and conquest in Northern India

• Throughout the 11th century, Mahmud defeated one confederation of Hindu princes after another in the name of Islam.

• The efforts of Mahmud of Ghazni were continued by Muhammad of Ghur• Assassinated in 1206

• A slave lieutenant seizes power…Qutb-ud-din Aibak

The Delhi Sultanate• A new Muslim empire was

proclaimed with the capital at Delhi, along the Jumna river on the Gengetic Plain.• For the next 300 years, a

succession of dynasties known as the Delhi Sultanate (literally, princes of the heartland) ruled North and Central India

The Delhi Sultanate• This was a period of

clashing control between the sultanate princes themselves, as well as Mongol and Turkic invaders.• MAPS OF DELHI SULTAN

ATE OVER TIME

Sikhism

• Blended Islam and Hinduism• Devotion to one God• Hindu concepts = karma and rebirth• Sufis shared many

characteristics with Indian gurus and wandering ascetics.• Belief in magical healing

powers• Accepted lower-caste and

outcaste groups into Islamic faith

Guru NankFounder of Sikhism

Conversion

• Most conversions came from low-caste or Buddhist groups.• Buddhism became largely debased as a result of

corrupt practices

• Buddhist temples and monasteries became lucrative targets for raids, etc.• Many lower-caste, untouchables, animistic tribes, and Buddhists were attracted to the egalitarian nature of Islam

Accommodation

• Hindus were convinced that Muslims would soon be absorbed by the superior religions and more sophisticated cultures of India• Many things pointed that way!• Muslim princes adopted regal styles

• Muslim rulers claim divine descent

• Muslim rulers mint coins with Hindu images

• Muslim communities also became socially divided along Caste lines• Violation of the original tenets of Islam!

Islam in South Asia at the end of the Sultanate

• Attempts to fuse Hinduism and Islam soon were recognized as impossible.• Brahmans soon denounce Muslim leaders, etc.• Muslims respond by strengthening their unity within the

Indian Muslim community

• After centuries of political domination though, South Asia remained one of the least converted and integrated of all the areas Islam reached.

Southeast Asia

Importance• Southeast Asia was

CRITICAL to the connection of trade from Chinese ports to Indian vessels along the Indian Ocean Trade network

Southeast Asian contribution• Aromatic woods from

rainforests of Borneo and Sumatra• Spices: cloves, nutmeg

from Indonesia• From 8th Century

onward, coastal trade in India became dominated by Muslims

SE ASIA• As a result, elements of

Islam began to filter into the southeast Asian region• The collapse of the

Shrivijaya trading empire (Buddhist) in the 13th century opened the door for the widespread introduction of Islam

SE ASIA• Trading contacts paved

the way for conversion• NOT conquest and force

• Muslim ships also carry Sufis to the various parts of SE Asia• Conversion begins in

Sumatra, then across the Strait of Malacca to Malaya

SE ASIA• Muslims impressed SE Asians by telling them how much of the

world had already been converted

Malacca

• Mainland conversion was centered on Malacca, a powerful trading city• Spreads to east Sumatra

and to DEMAK on the north coast of Java• From there, spread to the

Celebes and then the Spice Islands, then to Mindanao and Southern Philippines

The Spice Island(s)

Conversion

• Trading was the key to conversion.• Regulation of commonality in

Muslim laws was good to regulate business.• Conversion linked centers

culturally, and economically to Indian merchants and ports in India, the Middle East, and the Mediterranean

SE Asian Islam• Some areas (like

Central Java) saw conversion take longer than others• Hindu-Buddhist dynasties

contested its spread

• Mainland Southeast Asia did NOT see wholesale conversion, and remained largely Buddhist

• Because it was spread primarily by Sufis, SE Asian Islam was more dynamic than orthodox Islam• Infused with mythical

strains

• Tolerated animist, Hindu, and Buddhist beliefs and rituals.

• Magical powers

Women in SE Asian Islamic Society

•Women retained a strong position in the family and the community• Trading in local and regional markets was dominated

by small-scale female merchants• As in Western Sumatra, lineage and inheritance was

traced through female lines

• Many cultural elements were blended from SE Asian Culture with Muslim Culture.

Anatolia

• Modern-day Turkey•Was governed by Byzantine Empire at the time• Filled with Christian & Greek-speaking people• Invaded by the Turks• Result = huge cultural

transformation• By 1500 = 90% of the

population was Muslim and Turkic-speaking

Conversion of Anatolia

• Small population of about 8 million people = easy to convert• Extensive disruption of Anatolian society when the Byzantine Empire weakened• Enslavement, famine, massacres, church properties

destroyed, many discriminations• Many Christians came to believe that these disasters were

proof that Islam was the true religion

Conversion of Anatolia

• Cultural barriers to conversion were less severe in Anatolia than in India• Most people in Anatolia already monotheistic (Christian)• Muslim respect for Jesus and the Christian scriptures

• Divide between Islam and Christianity not as major as the one between Islam and Hinduism• Sufi missionaries also built: schools, mills, orchards, hospices, and rest places for travelers

Islamic Civilization

• Islamic Civilization = not only a network of faith, but also a network of exchange• Exchange of: goods, technologies, food products, and ideas

West Africa

• Islam spread by Muslim traders across the Sahara• Peaceful and voluntary acceptance of Islam• Mainly in urban centers of

West African empires Ghana, Songhay, Mali, etc.

Trade and the Bazaar• Muslims traded spices, carpets, glass & textiles• Traded for silk (China); rubies (India); ivory and slaves (Africa)• Goods were sold in city bazaars = marketplaces

West Africa

• Many West African cities became major centers of Islamic religious and intellectual life• Especially Timbuktu• More than 150 Quranic schools• Several major centers of higher education• Libraries with tens of thousands of texts• Construction of huge mosques• Adopted Arabic as the language of religion, education,

administration, and trade

Great Mosque at Jenne

Spain

• Conquered by Arab and Berber forces in the early 700s• Early Muslim Spain:• Vibrant civilization• Astronomy, medicine, the arts,

architecture, and literature flourished• Harmony and tolerance

between Muslim rulers and Christian and Jewish subjects• Freedom of worship

Spain

• 10th and 11th centuries = end of the era of toleration•Warfare with remaining Christian states in northern Spain picked up• More rigid forms of Islam entered Spain from North Africa

Muslim Mosque ofCordoba, Spain

Spain: New Intolerance

• Muslims avoided contact with Christians• Christian homes built lower than Muslim homes• Priests forbidden to carry crosses or Bibles

Spain

• Christians started to regain Spain after 1200• Many Muslims forced out• No more: call to prayer, public

practice of Muslim faith, pilgrimages

• Christians officially reconquered Spain in 1492• ALL Muslims (and Jews!)

expelled from Spain