The Islamic World600-1400

The Origins of IslamArabian Peninsula

◦ Urban- artisans, merchants, religious leaders

◦ Rural- Bedouin nomadic tribes; political and military sophistication

◦ Mecca- Ka’ba, commercial center

Arabian Social and Economic StructureSocial unit was the tribe

(loyalty-protection/support)Trade, caravan guards

◦ North/central- warriors◦ South- religious aristocracies

Muhammad’s Rise as a Religious Leader◦ Muhammad (570-632)

Revelations from Gabriel: “oneness of Allah” and “Judgment Day”

(651) Qur’an Hadith Sunna, “normative example”

The Tenets of Islam Islam “surrender to God”Muslim “one who submits”Muhammad last of prophets

◦ Not a new messageFive Pillars of Islam:

Islamic States and Their ExpansionHijra 622 (Beginning of Muslim Era)

◦ To Medina8 year conflict between Medina and MeccaMuhammad was a military and political

strategist◦ Unified through the “umma” not tribe◦ Established Arab unity among Bedouin

tribes through the umma

Islam’s Spread Beyond Arabia Two powerful empires in 6th century Middle East

◦ Byzantine empire◦ Sassanid empire

Muslim conquests◦ Arabian peninsula, Egypt, N. Africa, Syria, Persia,

Iberian peninsula

Reasons for the Spread of Islam

Jihad-Arab military advantages and

political weakness of opponentsChristian and Jewish

perspectives-

The Caliphate and the Split Between Shi’a and Sunni Alliances

Sunni◦ Umayyad Dynasty, Damascus (Syria),

caliph court, political, ulamaShia/Shi’ites

◦ Imam

The Abbasid Caliphate 750-1258747 Abu Al Abbas led rebellion against

Umayyad◦ Baghdad capital- center of trade,

intellectual achievements, medicine, astrology, Greek texts translated

◦ Significance of Arabic language in Islam◦ Persian elite class◦ Cosmopolitan ◦ Islamic center◦ “Divine right”◦ Slave soldiers (Turks)

Administration of the Islamic Territories◦Adopted from Byzantine and Persian

Caliph Vizier Ulama Emirs Native officials Diwan

Fragmentation and Military ChallengesPay taxes = some autonomyLong distance = disobedience

Breakaway Territories and Shi’a Gains755 independent state in Cordoba, Spain800 Tunisia, N. Africa820 Khurasan kingdom946 Shi’a Iranian overran Baghdad969 Shi’a “Fatimids” conquered N. Africa

The Ascendancy of the Turk The Turks were victims of slave raids.

◦ Converted to not be captured 1020 and 1030s Seljuk Turks conquered Persia, Iraq,

and Syria to establish a Sunni state 950-1100 Turk expansion to Byzantines (Anatolia)

◦ Most Christians converted to Islam

The Mongol Invasions1206 Mongols united Mongol, Tartar, and

Turkish peoples under Chinggis (Ghengis) Khan and conquered North China.

1219-1222 Mongols conquered Arabs from Persia to Central Asia (Khwarazm).

1258 the last Abbasid caliph was assassinated in Baghdad when Mongols led by Huleou took over Persia and created the IL- KHAN

1260 DamascusSyrians withstood Mongols in Battle of

Ayn Jalut

Muslim Society The Life of the PeopleIdea of social equality was basic

Muslim doctrine (among Muslims alone)◦Arabs regarded themselves as

superior

The Social Hierarchy1. Caliph’s household and ruling Arab Muslims2. Converts- required to subordination to Arab

tribes3. Dhimmis (ZIH-MEEZ)- “People of the Book”

◦ Respect Islam, pay taxes◦ Appointed to high positions

Status dropped after Crusades and Mongol empires

Jews in Islam◦Marginalized in Christian social

order, then expelled from many European countries

◦Marginalized in Islam, however given commercial liberties and respect

SlaveryHumane, moderate, no excessive work,

opportunity for manumission◦ Not “People of the Book”

◦ Women: housekeeping, dancers, concubines

◦ Men: soldiers, construction, mines, loading docks, mines, and eunuchs

Islam vs. American slavery1. Race not recognized2. No plantation system (Zanj revolt

in Persia)3. Not hereditary

Women in Classical Islamic SocietyPre-Islam Arab tribes

◦No problem◦Sold into marriage

Mostly domestic roles; some political exceptions

Early Islamic view on women◦ Quran: equals, political, economic rights

By Abbasid dynasty◦ Patriarchal tendency absorbed from Persia

and ByzantineVeiling

◦ Quran has no specific rule about veilingPurdah

Marriage◦Too important for romance◦Arranged at 12 years old ◦Raised children◦Polygamy tolerated (4)◦Divorce permitted

Trade and CommerceFavorable capitalism

◦ Looked down on agricultural labor“…honest, truthful Muslim merchant will

stand with martyrs on the day of judgment.”

Waterways main commercial route:◦Mediterranean, Black Sea, Caspian

Sea, Volga River (Russia), Aral Sea (China), Arabian Sea, Indian Ocean, Indonesia, and Philippines

◦Cairo, Egypt

Textiles, glass, gold, silver, copper exchanged for Asian spices, dyes, and medicine

Sakk“Bill of exchange”“Joint Stock Company”By product-

Cultural Developments

The Cultural Centers of Baghdad and CordobaExamples of cosmopolitan

Muslim civilization

Literature“The Thousand and One Nights”

◦“Aladdin and His Lamp”◦“Sinbad the Sailor”◦“Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves”

CordobaOne Million people, 1600 mosques, 213,000

houses, 60,000 mansions, 80,000 shops, 27 schools (400,000 volumes in library)◦ Contrast with Benedictine Abbey of Saint-

Gall in Switzerland

Education and Intellectual LifeValued education, especially religious

learningQur’an basic textReading, writing, study of Qur’anMadrasaArabic

Teachers role-MemorizationCareers:

Women in education

Compare/contrast Islamic schools to Chinese and European

Islamic European Chinese

Arabic, Algebra, medicine, astrology

Them Mystical Tradition of SufismReaction to materialism of

Umayyad Dynasty◦Fasting, meditation, prayer◦Absence of materialism and politics

Muslim-Christian EncounterMost significant encounterExchange:Positive until Crusades 1095 and

Reconquista of Span 722-1492Trade contacts, especially Venetians

Andalusia, Spain Jewish, Christian, Muslim harmonious

coexistence◦ Mozarabs-◦ Eventually met with criticism and prejudice◦ Muslim converts sentenced to death◦ 1250 Reconquista

Beyond Andalusian SpainMuslim attacks on Europeans in

8th and 9th centuriesDoctrine controversies: