The World of Islam600-1500

Middle East

The Arabs

• Originally stayed close to oasis and rain-fed areas of peninsula but after camel was domesticated they began populating desert• Expanded caravan trade- towns developed along routes as Arabs

became carriers of goods on the Silk Road

• Most early Arabs polytheistic: believed in Allah and tribal gods • Allah symbolized by a sacred stone and each tribe had own stone

• All tribes worshiped a black meteorite known as the Black Stone: placed in a central shrine called the Kaaba in Mecca

• Arabian Peninsula took on new importance when political disorder in Mesopotamia and Egypt made trade routes too dangerous• Safer routes formed through present day Yemen

The Life of MuhammaD

• Orphaned at 5

• Caravan manger who married a rich widow named Khadija

• Became troubled by the gap of generosity of most Meccans and the greediness of the wealthy elite

• Began visiting the hills to meditate: during a visit is when Muslims believe he received revelations from God given by the angel Gabriel • Believed that Allah had already revealed himself through Moses

and Jesus but that the final revelations were given to him

• Revelations written down to form the Quran: the ethical guidelines and laws that followers of Allah are to live

The Life of MuhammaD

• After receiving the revelation from Gabriel, Muhammad sets out across Mecca to convince people of the truth of this message• Many surprised and the wealthy feared his attacks on corrupt

society would upset the established political and social order

• After 3 years of preaching and only 30 followers he becomes discouraged by the persecution of his followers and no one accepting his message

• 622 (year 1 of the Islamic calendar) they all move to Medina • The journey is known as the Hijrah

• Muhammad began to win the support of people in Medina and the Bedouins of the desert

The Life of MuhammaD

• Muhammad became a political and religious leader: enabled him to put together a reliable military to defend himself and his followers

• 630: returned to Mecca with 10,000 men- city surrendered and most converted to Islam • Declared the Kaaba a sacred shrine of Islam • All Muslims encouraged to make the pilgrimage to the

Kaaba- known as the hajj

Kaaba

The Teaching of Muhammad

• Islam is monotheistic and emphasizes salvation and offers hope of an afterlife

• Different from Christianity- Islam does not believe Muhammad was divine

• Muhammad considered a prophet but also a regular man

• Muslims believe that because humans rejected Allah’s earlier messengers he sent his final revelations through Muhammad

• Islam not just set of beliefs but way of life

Shari’ah

• Law code developed by scholars providing believers with set of practical laws to regulate daily lives

• Based on scholars’ interpretations of the Quran and the example set by Muhammad in his daily life

• Shari’ah applies teachings of Quran to daily life such as family, business, government and moral conduct • Does not separate religion from civil or political law

• In addition to the Five Pillars Muslims are forbidden to gamble, eat pork, drink alcohol or engage in dishonest behavior

Creation of an arab empire

• After Muhammad died he left his followers with a problem: who would lead the community of the faithful? • He never left a successor and although he had

daughters it was a male dominated society

• His closest followers chose Abu Bakur, Muhammad’s father-in-law, to be their leader • Was Muhammad's chief advisor and led prayers during

Muhammad’s final illness

• 632 named caliph- religious and political successor to Muhammad

Arab conquest

• Abu Baker suppressed tribal, political and religious uprisings and united the Muslim world- expanded over Arabia and beyond

• Quran permitted fair and defensive warfare known as jihad (“struggle in the way of God”)- helped expanded territories

• Arabs began turning negative energy they had for each other towards neighboring people • 636 defeated Byzantine army at Yarmuk by surprise attack• 640 took control of Byzantine province of Syria • 642 Egypt and areas of N. Africa• 650 Arabs conquered entire Persian Empire

• Courage of Arab soldiers were enhanced by belief that warriors assured a place in paradise if they died in battle

Arab Rule

• After Abu Baker died another problem formed over who would be next caliph

• 655 Ali, Muhammad’s son-in-law, chosen but assassinated after 5 years of ruling

• In conquered territories Muslim administrators were tolerant and sometimes allowed local officials to continue to govern • Christians and Jews allowed to practice their religions with

some restrictions because known as “people of the book”

• “People of the Book”: those who had written scriptures revealed to them by God before time of Muhammad

• Those who would not convert to Islam were required to be loyal to Muslim rule and pay special taxes

Umayyad conquest

• 661 general Mu’awiyah, governor of Syria, created an office of the caliph and made it hereditary in his own family

• This established the Umayyad dynasty and moved the capital from Medina to Damascus, Syria

• 710 Berber (pastoral people) and Arab forces crossed the Strait of Gibralter and occupied Spain

• By 725 most of Spain had become a Muslim state

• 732 Arab forces defeated at Battle of Tours in France and Arab expansion came to a halt

Umayyad conquest

• 717 another Muslim forced attacked Constantinople to defeat Byzantine Empire but they failed and their fleet was destroyed

• By 750 Arab advance ended and the empire controlled parts of the old Roman Empire, Mesopotamia, Persia and parts of central Asia

• Umayyad dynasty ruled an enormous empire- expansion brought great wealth and new ethnic groups to Islam

• New Arab Empire would be influenced by Byzantine and Persian culture

Split in Islam

• Despite Umayyad successes they were troubles:• Muslims of non-Arab background (Persians) did not like

the way local administrators favored Arabs• Financial troubles • Difficult to rule because so big and regions began to

develop their own power

• Most important revolt led by Hussein: son-in-law of Muhammad• Encouraged his followers to rise up against Umayyad

rule• Attempted to go to battle but many soldiers left and the

72 left were quickly killed by Umayyad soldiers

Split in Islam

• This struggle led to a split in Islam into two groups: Shia and Sunni

• Shia Muslims only accept the descendants of Ali as the true ruler of Islam

• Sunni Muslims accepted Umayyads as rulers (caliphs)

• These two branches of Muslims still exist today • Sunnis are the majority in the Muslim world• Most of Iraq and Iran consider themselves Shia

Seljuk Turks

• Nomadic people from central Asia

• Converted to Islam and made money as soldiers for the Abbasid caliphate

• Grew stronger- moved into Iran, Armenia and eventually took over eastern provinces of Abbasid Empire

• 1055 Turkish leader captured Baghdad, Iraq and became sultan (“holder of power”)

• 2nd half of the 11ce Seljuks put military pressure on the Byzantine Empire and in 1071, took over most of their empire• Byantines looked to the West for help from the Christian

states

the crusades

• Byzantine emperor Alexius I asked other Christian states for help against the Turks • Agreed and in 1096 began series of crusades

• At first Turks lost to the invading crusaders BUT in 1169 Saladin took control of Egypt and fought back

• 1187 Saladin’s army invaded Jerusalem and destroyed Christian forces• However, did not allow massacre of people and allowed

Christian services to continue

• Crusades bred centuries of mistrust between the Muslims and Christians

The Mongols

• Horse-riding people that came out of the Gobi Desert in early 13th ce

• Nomadic and destructive- goal was to create such terror that people would not fight back • Burned cities, destroyed dams, and reduced farming

villages to the point of mass starvation

• Beginning with Genghis Khan and other leaders, Mongol empire spread from Sea of Japan to the Red Sea • Strong hatred of Islam: destroyed Muslim schools, libraries

and mosques

• Mongols became involved in city life through caravan trade

Prosperity in the Islamic world

• Arabs carried on extensive trade within Islamic world and China, Byzantine Empire, India and SE Asia

• Trade by ship and camel caravans from Morocco in far west to countries beyond Caspian Sea

• Trade flourished under Abbasid Dynasty• Slaves and gold from South of Sahara• Silk and porcelain from China • Gold and ivory from E Africa • Sandalwood and spices from India and SE Asia

• Within the empire was grains, linens, dates, precious stones

• Development of banking and use of coins made it easier to exchange goods

Role of cities

• Baghdad, Abbasid capital, was greatest city in the empire

• Rise of Fatmids in Egypt shifted trade to Cairo

• Damascus, Cairo & Baghdad were administrative, cultural and economic centers of their regions

• Cities had distinct physical appearance- impressive urban buildings for caliphs and mosques

• Baazar important part of every Muslim city • Strict sanitation rules enforced • Shops, laundries and bathhouses

Importance of Farming

• In early stages of the empire land owned by independent peasants

• Later wealthy landowners began collected large estates

• Some land owned by the state and farmed with slave labor

Social structure

• Well defined upper class that consisted of ruling families, senior officials, nomadic elite and wealthy merchants

• Non-Muslims not considered equal in Islamic world• Because slaves could not be Muslim many taken from Africa

or Asia

• Slaves often served in the army but many were freed and some came to hold powerful positions

• Many slaves used as domestic servants and could buy freedom

• Islamic law states slaves should be treated fairly and considered a good act to free them

The Role of Women

• Quran granted women spiritual and social equality with men

• Women had right to the profits of their work and to own/inherit property

• Islamic teachings accounted for differences between men and women in the family and social order- but men still dominant

• Women had a male guardian and parents arranged marriages for children

• Quran allowed men to have more than one wife but no more than 4• Most unable to afford more than one because of dowry

• Women had right of divorce and adultery forbidden to both sexes

The Role of Women

• After spread of Islam early rights of women began to shrink away• Some women kept secluded from society

• Custom of requiring women to cover themselves in public was common in cities and still practiced today

• These customs are more of Arab culture than the Quran

• Rights and customs of Islamic women today are still under debate • Traditional Muslims believe that meaning of sacred texts

is being manipulated and that “will of Allah” should come before social needs

Philosophy, Science and history

• Arabs translating works of Plato and Aristotle into Arabic

• Translations and texts on mathematics put in a library called the House of Wisdom in Baghdad

• Muslim scholars helped preserve Greek and Roman culture through translations • Europeans recovered works of Aristotle and other Greek

philosophers

• 12th ce Arabic translations into Latin translations-made works available to the west • Process aided by introduction of paper • Paper factories est in Baghdad and booksellers/libraries

followed

Literature

• Quran regarded as greatest work BUT pre-Islamic traditions continued to influence writers

• Rubaiyat by Omar Khayyam- 12 ce Persian poet, mathematician and astronomer • Composed poetry orally and friends and scribes later

recorded works

• 1001 Nights are anonymous collection of folktales, fables and romances that blend natural with supernatural • Unusual plots, comic and tragic situations and

unforgettable characters

• Text where ‘Aladdin’ comes from