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THE ISLAMIC WORLD
The Origins of Islam
Arabian Peninsula – Bedouins (nomadic herdsmen)
Mecca (Saudi Arabia) founded by Umayyad clan of a Bedouin tribe
–Ka’ba – shrine that held the Black Stone and many idols of their gods
–Thousands traveled to Mecca every year to visit the shrine = $$$$$
Bedouin religion was a blend of animism and polytheism
Muhammad the Prophet
570 – 632 CE
Trader, married his business manager Khadijah
40 years old – spiritual visions – proclaimed that there was only one God (Allah)
Umayyad political leaders and merchants were threatened by him – why?
Muhammad and his followers fled to Medina (the “hijrah” and Year One of the Islamic calendar)
Muhammad the Leader
Muhammad = religious prophet + political leader + military organizer
Returned to Mecca with an army –destroyed the idols on the Ka’ba, leaving only the Black Stone to symbolize Allah
He gained support uniting the various clans under the banner of Islam before his death
Islamic Beliefs
Qur’an – book of Muhammad’s revelations (650 CE)
– According to Muslims, the Qur’an is the literal word of Allah (no speaking of God through the prophets like Jewish and Christian Holy Texts, even though those are also considered the Word of God). Why is this important?
Islamic Beliefs
Hadith - collection of stories and sayings of Muhammad
shari’a – law based on beliefs in the Qur’an and Hadith
Accepted many beliefs of Jews and Christians (“People of the Book”) –Muslims hail Muhammad as the Seal of the Prophets (last of the many prophets sent by God)
Five Pillars of Faith
Confession of faith
Prayer (5 times daily, facing Mecca)
Fasting (One month – Ramadan – from sunup to sundown)
Alms
Hajj (pilgrimage to Mecca)
Muhammad’s Successors:
The “Rightly Guided Caliphs” The umma (Muslim community) met to determine
a successor. All caliphs were elected…
1. Abu Bakr – one of his earliest followers and closest
friends
• Very successful military conquest of the Middle East. Why?• Previous empires were gone or politically weak
• Jihad – “struggle” – two interpretations: fight evil within yourself, or fight the fight to spread the faith
2. Umar (assassinated)
3. Uthman (assassinated)
4. Ali (Muhammad’s cousin and son-in-law;
assassinated)
Sunni – Shi’ite Split
Ali’s assassination sets off a civil war. Who should rule the Muslim empire?
–Only members of Muhammad’s family (like Ali) > Shi’ite
–All early caliphs were legitimate and anyone who is a righteous Muslim can rule > Sunni
They are the majority and found the Umayyad Dynasty
Sunni – Shi’ite Split
Umayyad Caliphate
(661-750 CE) Political:
– Capital: moved from Medina to Damascus (Syria)
– Caliph became a lavish, imperial position
– Hereditary rule instead of elected caliphs
– Military conquest – stopped by Charles Martel (remember him) in Europe at the Battle of Tours (733)
– Bureaucracy
– Treated “People of the Book” well (still some taxes)
Decline
– Exclusion of non-Arab subjects caused a rebellion demanding social and religious equality > civil war > Abbasid clan takes control
Abbasid Caliphate
(750-1258 CE) Changes
– Capital moved to Baghdad (Iraq)
– Claimed to be descendants of Muhammad’s uncle –appeased Shi’ites
– Opened Islam to all on an equal basis
– Cosmopolitan mix of cultures
Continuities
– Bureaucracy
vizier (head of government directed by caliph)– Right hand man to the caliph
emir (governor) controlled each province– Hey! Sounds like?
The Golden Age of Islam:
Social and Economic Advances
–Sharing of crops/farming techniques across the region > increased food supply
–Urban expansion
–Trade – dhows (vessels with lateen sails > Indian Ocean trade) + Saharan trade by nomadic groups
–Problem: slaves (mostly non-Muslims) > cause of constant social unrest
The Golden Age of Islam:
Artistic and Intellectual Advances– Standardized language: Arabic (could only
read and write the Qur’an in Arabic)
– Poetry
The Thousand and One Nights (Scheherazade)
– Madrasas - urban universities (***translated writings of Greeks and Indians***)
– Geometric art, Persian rugs, calligraphy, marble inlay, domes
– Arabic numerals
– Al-jabr (algebra)
Art and architecture
Art and architecture
Art and architecture
Arabic numerals
(we got the zero from India)
Abbasid Caliph is the “King of Kings” over a diverse empire
(provinces ruled by emirs). Potential problems?
Decline of the Abbasid
Caliphate Difficulty controlling the outer regions
– Diverse empire far from Baghdad
– Religious splintering between Sunni and Shi’ite
Farther away from the homeland of Islam, the more lax the beliefs because SYNCRETISM!
– Slave revolts and peasant uprisings
I’m telling y’all. Don’t anger the peasants.
– Declining quality of later caliphs
– By the 800s, Africa and Arabia had already declared independence
Decline of the Abbasid
CaliphateAbbasids depended on Seljuk Turks
(nomadic horsemen) to help control the empire.
–The Seljuk Turks gained more power, eventually becoming the sultan with the real power (caliph was just a figurehead)
Different Turkish groups invaded and fought, leaving the region vulnerable to attack…
TO BE CONTINUED…