The Arab-Muslim Conquests

HIST 10079/11/13

History Club Meeting

• 5:30-7:00, Wed. Sept. 11• McMicken Room 357

Syria and the United Stands: Internal and International Politics of Crisis and Intervention

• 4:00-5:30, Thur. Sept. 12• 800 Swift Hall• Panel including– Elizabeth Frierson (History)– Richard Harknett (Political Science)– Andrew Lewis (Political Science)– Stephen Porter (History)– Robert Haug (History) (moderator)

Norman Yoffee, “Early Cities and the Evolution of History”

• 5:30, Wed. Sept. 18• 300 Braunstein HallDr. Yoffee is Professor Emeritus in the Department of Near Eastern Studies and the Department of Anthropology at the University of Michigan.Known for his thought-provoking work on ancient Mesopotamia, he is perhaps best known for his comparative research on early states, exemplified in his recent books Questioning Collapse (2009) andMyths of the Archaic State: Evolution of the Earliest Cities, States, and Civilizations (2005). The lecture will take place in 300 Braunstein Hall, and is free and open to the public. A reception in the Anthropology Department will follow.This lecture is jointly sponsored by the Cincinnati Society of the AIA, the Department of Anthropology, and the Department of Classics.

Escalations and Lessons

• 625: Battle of Uhud• 627: Battle of the Trench• Banu Qurayza• 628: Treaty of Hudaybiyya• 630: Conquest of Mecca

Abraham, Muhammad, and the Kaʿbah

Destruction of idols from 11th century manuscript; Muhammad at the Kaʿbah from a 14th century Ottoman manuscript

Death of Muhammad

• 632: Muhammad dies• Creates both a spiritual and political void• Which is more important?• Establishment of the caliphate• Codification of the Qur`an

Islam, the religion

• Monotheism• Shahada: lā ‘ilāha ‘illa Allāh• Abrahamic Religions

A gold dinar minted in 696 in Damascus; mihrab in Mosque of Ibn Tulun, Cairo, 1177; flag of Saudi Arabia

The Five Pillars of Islam

• Shahada: Testimonial of faith• Salat: Prayer, five times a day• Sawm: Fasting during the month

of Ramadan• Zakat: Alms-giving (2.5%)• Hajj: Pilgrimage to Mecca once

during your lifetime

The sources of Muslim belief

• The Qur’an: Codification of revelations

• Collected in the decades following Muhammad’s death

• Emphasis on oral tradition– Qur’an vs. mushaf– ijazah

• Surah: Chapter of the Qur’an, 114 total

9th century Qur’an manuscript; page from an 11th century Qur’an

The Sources of Muslim Belief

• Hadith: The Sayings and Doings of the Prophet Muhammad

• What Would Muhammad Do?• Isnad and matn• Six “sound/sahih” collections• Sunna: Normative practice

Shariah and Jurisprudence

• ῾Ulama’: Religious Scholar• Fiqh: Jurisprudence• Qiyas: Analogy• Ijmaʿ: Consensus• Madhhab: School of Islamic jurisprudence

Arab-Muslim Conquests

Emissaries

A letter purporting to be the message sent by Muhammad to Muqawqis.Topkapi Museum, Istanbul

Ridda Wars

• Ridda – Apostasy• 632 – Abu Bakr named first caliph• How do people interpret Muhammad’s career?• Prophet or tribal shaykh?• Musaylimah, Tulayha, and Sajah