The Rise of Islam

1. The Rise of Islam 600 C.E. -1200’s C.E.

2. Middle East, ca. 600 A.D.

3. The Eastern Mediterranean • By this time,The lands of Rome had been overtaken by the Goths and Vandals and the East Roman Empire (Byzantine) was spreading its influence into northern territories. • The Sasanid Empire (224-600 C.E.), which was led by warrior elites, main purpose was to serve as military strongpoints protecting long distance trade. The Silk Road brought many new crops to Mesopotamia and the Sasanid’s again reestablished Zoroastrianism as the faith of the empire. 2nd Persian Empire • The proclamations of both Zoroastrianism and Christianity as official faiths marked the emergence of religion as an instrument of politics both within and between empires. • This politicization of religion greatly affected the culture of the Silk Road and would shape governments to follow.

4. The Byzantine EmpireDuring the Reign of Justinian

5. Trade Routes of the Ancient World

6. Islam emerges

7. Islam • Bedouin Arab named Mohammed • born ca. 570 A.D. • Merchant family, Hasimites • Qurayshis tribe, who dominate Mecca • controlling much of the religious pilgrim trade • raised by relatives -father and mother died by age six -raised by an impoverished uncle

8. Mohammed • formal education ?? We don’t know • Normally only the Poets of the Tribes could read and write • commercial agent for a wealthy widow • Khadijah • supervising caravans from Mecca, north to Jerusalem • contact with both Jews and Christians

9. Mohammed, con’t • He seems to have made an impression on his boss, because of his reputed honesty • married her and retired from commerce • to devote himself to religion • and to making society more fair and equitable

10. Mohammed, con’t • monogamous until his wife died • eventually married nine wives and had assorted concubines • last marriage at 53 to Aishah, daughter of a friend • wives: widows of friends or political marriages • Women alone in such a world were considered very vulnerable

11. Origins of Mohammed’s Teachings • periods of unconsciousness are indicated: explanations • revelations from Allah by holy trances, spoken to by Gabriel • epilepsy or a similar neurological disorder? • mental illness or hallucinations ? • Mohammed’s explanation: • revelations from God • Very unpleasant and painful for him

12. The Quran • Record of revelations received during visions • Committed to writing c. 650 CE, compiled (Muhammad dies 632) • Under the third Caliph, Uthman ibn Affan • Tradition of Muhammad’s life: hadith

13. Beginning of His Ministry • at about age 40, after a number of revelations • began to preach publicly • continued to receive revelations until death • usually related to current problems or concerns • Religious, political, social, economic

14. Early religious career • not particularly successful • threatened the social, political, and religious structure, with his doctrine of social equity • threatened the economic basis of Mecca as a center of religious pilgrimage • particularly the Black Rock • sacred to the chief deity of the Arabs • run out of town, or at least encouraged to leave • Went to the desert with his family and lived for about a year

15. The Hijra • flight from Mecca, to Yathrib (Medina) -tradition: invited by the Jews of Medina • 622 A.D. • beginning of the Islamic calendar • forms the umma (community) • welcomed, then resisted • Mohammed becomes an absolute theocrat

16. Muhammad’s Return to Mecca • Attack on Mecca, 630 -- jihad • Conversion of Mecca to Islam • Destruction of pagan sites, replaced with mosques • Ka’aba preserved in honor of importance of Mecca • Approved as pilgrimage site

17. Jihad • holy war against Mecca • ten year blockade • a deal was made

18. The Deal • Mecca preserved as a holy city and place of pilgrimage • to preserve the economic prosperity • the Ka’aba preserved as the central shrine • idols and icons destroyed • story of its origins emphasized the role of Abraham in its placement • pilgrimage as an act of faith, at least once in your life

19. The Ka’aba in Mecca

20. The Religion: the Koran (Qu’ran) • the Koran (Qu’ran): contains much of Mohammed recounting of Allah’s teachings • written down by his followers after his death • from notes and memories, on “stones and parchments” • Short: 114 chapters • arranged from longest to the shortest • not by subject or chronologically • length is the criterion of order for the text

21. Five Pillars of Islam • uniqueness of God • ‘There is no god, but God….’ • prayer five times a day • observe the month of Ramadan • give alms to the poor • pilgrimage to Mecca • If possible, once in your life

22. Additional teachings • dietary laws • no gambling or drinking • no sexual irregularities, as defined by tradition and custom • no faulty weights or usury • no infanticide • elaborate rules concerning inheritance and property • improvement in the status of women and children

23. Changing Status of Women • Qu’ran improves status of women • Outlawed female infanticide • Brides, not husbands, claim dowries • Yet male dominance preserved • Patrilineal descent • Polygamy permitted, Polyandry forbidden • Veil adopted from ancient Mesopotamian practice

24. Early Problems • Succession ? • Mohammed had no surviving male children • Daughter: Fatima • Son-in-law: Ali, child of his uncle • generated a permanent split in the Islamic community • Sunnis • Shi’as

25. Sunnis or “Sunnah” • considered themselves the “orthodox” followers of Mohammed • consider the Shi’as to be “dissenters” • issue: who leads after Mohammed ?? • the Caliph (or “leader”) • went successively to followers -Abu Bakr, then Oman -then Uthman and

26. Islamic Caliphates • Umayyad 7-8th Century • Abbasid 8-13th Century • Fatimid 11-13th Century • Ottoman 15-20th Century

27. Umayyad Caliphate 661-750

28. Umayyads • successful in the war of succession • Ali assassinated in 661 A.D. • by the Kharijites • beginning of the Umayyad Dynasty • Non-Muslim replaced by believers and the Introduction of Arabic as the language of government • Sunni • Damascus then later Cordoba

29. Great Mosque at Cordoba (Spain), eighth to tenth centuriesCenter of learningCordoba from Damascus/ Spanish Umayyads/ later Abbasids controlled

30. arabesque patterns/columns

32. Great Mosque of Damascus (Syria), 706-715Umayyads/2nd Caliphate/ preexisting Roman square towers/ minarets

33. Left: Main entrance to the prayer hall of the Great Mosque of DamascusBelow: Spandrel mosaic from the Great Mosque of Damascus

34. “Triumphal arch” mosaic from the Great Mosque of Damascus

35. Policy toward Conquered Peoples • Favoritism of Arab military rulers causes discontent • Limited social mobility for non-Arab Muslims • Head tax (jizya) on non-Muslims • Umayyad luxurious living causes further decline in moral authority

36. Dome of the Rock [Process]

37. Factions • Sunni and Shi’as dominant • originally political • Eventually the differences became dogmatic in emphasis • Shi’as become a party of religious dissent

38. Perceptions • Sunni: conservative, in favor of the “status quo” • consensus is the guiding principle • Shi’as: defenders of the oppressed, critics of privilege and power • obedience is required only as long as it can be forced, and no longer

39. Umayyad Empire • Atlantic Ocean (Iberian ) to India • Syria: center of the Islamic World • Secular, monarchy? • Civil war between various Islamic groups • Eventually displaced by the Abbasids and Fatimids [Saladin] • an Arab family claiming decent from Mohammed

40. Dome of the Rock, Temple Mount Jerusalem

41. Al-Aqsa Mosque

42. Fatimid Dynasty 910-1171

43. Fatimid Dynasty

44. Fatimid Empire • Arab Shia Empire eventually replacing the Umayyad Empire in the Magreb, Egypt, and the Levant • Founded the city of Cairo and consolidated the Caliph. Islam was briefly united under one caliph. • Promoted religious tolerance to Sunnis, Jews, and Coptic Christians • Established a massive trade network in the Mediterranean, Indian Ocean, and East Asia during the Song Dynasty of China.

45. Fatimid Decline • Like elsewhere, the Fatimids gave select groups governorship positions. These groups mainly the Zirids in North Africa would eventually declare themselves independent of the Fatimids. • Turkish invaders especially in the Levant and the Crusaders would capture even more land. • For their political system, they had moved toward military rule and eventually a nephew of one of the generals, a man named Saladin would take control • The Sunni Ayyubid Dynasty (Kurdish) under Saladin would rule the lands of modern -day Egypt, Syria, Palestine, and western Saudi Arabia. • Crusades had little effect on Fatimids and Ayyubid Dynasties

46. Abbasid Caliphate 750 - 1258

47. Abbasid Dynasty

48. The Abbasid Dynasty • Abu al-Abbas Sunni Arab, allied with Shia, non-Arab Muslims • Seizes control of the Levant, Persia and Mesopotamia • Baghdad • Defeats Umayyad army in 750 • Invited Umayyads to banquet, then massacred them • Only Spain remains Umayyad • North Africa is disputed territory, ultimately Fatamid and later Ayyubid under Saladin.

49. Nature of the Abbasid Dynasty • Diverse nature of administration (i.e. not exclusively Arab) • Militarily competent, but not bent on imperial expansion • Dar al-Islam- House of Submission which was all the lands ruled by Islamic rule • Growth through military activity of autonomous Islamic forces • Golden Age of Islam-Cauldron of Cultures

50. Abbasid Decline • Civil war between sons of Harun al-Rashid • Provincial governors assert regional independence • Dissenting sects, heretical movements • Abbasid caliphs become puppets of Persian nobility • Later, Seljuk Turks influence, Sultan real power behind the throne • Almost all of their buildings are now lost to time