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Bedouin, fellahs and sultans: History of the Islamic Countryside Week 1 Introduction

Bedouin, fellahs and sultans: History of the Islamic Countryside Week 1 Introduction. Queen Mary University of London HST 5112 , 2011-12. Thinking about agriculture:. Natural world Technology Economy Politics Religion & culture. Thinking about agriculture:.

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Bedouin, fellahs and sultans: History of the Islamic Countryside Week 1 Introduction

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  1. Bedouin, fellahs and sultans:History of the Islamic CountrysideWeek 1Introduction Queen Mary University of London HST 5112, 2011-12

  2. Thinking about agriculture: • Natural world • Technology • Economy • Politics • Religion & culture

  3. Thinking about agriculture: • Natural world: topography, soil, climate, water • Technology: tools, irrigation devices, plants, animals, rotations • Economy: population density, monetisation, trade, urban demand • Politics: taxation, land tenure, water rights, irrigation investment • Religion & culture: diet, taste, ‘ways of doing things’

  4. Middle East – topography • Sources of water: River valleys, oases, underground water • Mountain slopes or marsh areas unsuitable for crops

  5. Technology • Roman Mediterranean legacy: • Olives, vines (drought-resistant) ; olive trees need only 180 mm • Grains grown on alternate years (bi-annual); wheat needs 400mm, barley less. • livestock production is separate.

  6. Technology • Arabian legacy: • Date-palms (more than 16° C) • Camels

  7. Rise of Islam (630 – 750) • Conquest of North Africa and Middle East • Unity through language, commerce, religion, law • Taxation, water and inheritance laws • Dietary prohibitions

  8. ‘Green revolution’ (8th -10th c.) • Diffusion of technology across Muslim lands, from east to west. • Irrigation technology: qanāt (underground canals), water-wheels, chain-of-pots • Large-scale irrigation works in Iraq • Diffusion of plants: rice, sugar cane, cotton

  9. ‘The Bedouin Age’ (11th-15th c) • Nomadic invasions: Banu Hilal in North Africa; Turcomans in Anatolia & Iraq; Mongol invasions (13th century) • Decline of irrigation works along the major river valleys • Iqta’ ‘feudalism’: military officers acquire temporary non-hereditary right to collect agricultural taxes

  10. ‘Gunpowder Empires’ (16th-18th c) • Strong centralized empires: Ottoman (Turkey and Middle East), Safavid (Iran), Moghul (India) • New World crops: maize, potatoes, tomatoes, tobacco • Global trade with tropical regions

  11. Risks: what could go wrong? • Nature: insufficient rainfall, seasonal flooding below or above desired level, epidemics, climate changes • Economy & politics: over-taxation, under-investment in irrigation, lack of security • Technology: over-irrigation (salination); over-cultivation, over-grazing

  12. Agriculture & cities • Village City: taxes, surplus • City Village: investment, security • Urban demand leads to specialisation in foodstuffs / raw materials

  13. Agriculture and nomads • Village Nomads: grains • Nomads Village: meat, milk, wool • Competition over land • Semi-nomadic peasants • Nomads as threat or as protectors?

  14. Village communities • Who belonged? • How were resources divided? • How were conflicts resolved and decisions made? • Meaning of tribes and kinship groups?

  15. Unity vs. diversity • What unites the Islamic countryside? Is it climate & soil? Is Islam the ‘religion of the desert?’ • ‘Oriental despotism’ – do large-scale irrigation systems require centralized administration in order to prosper?

  16. How do we know what we know? • We do not know enough • Voiceless : Illiteracy in the countryside • Invisible: politically marginal • Does the peasant have a history?

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