Abbasid Decline and the Spread of Islam

1. Abbasid Decline and the Spread of Islam

2. Spread of Islam Spread by Muslim armies to conquered territories Spread by Sufis or Muslim religious men who traveled via the Muslim greater trade network on dhows. They brought Islam to many communities around the world and also shared in Muslim advances such as the water pump and windmills.

3. Problems with Abbasids As early as the 3rd caliph, al-Mahdi, problems were apparent within the Abbasid rule He was decadent and had many wives and concubines. He did not fix the issue of succession. Instead he allowed his wives to fight over the potential succession of their son. Place intrigue occurred. After he died his eldest son took the throne only to be assassinated within the year!

5. Harun al-Rashid786-809 Hauren al-Rashid became the caliph After the assassination of his older brother, Harun became caliph. As a young man Harun was in charge of many military campaigns and named governor of a few provinces. He was the son of a slave woman He also enjoyed excess living like his father His court was written about in The thousand and One Nights He and Charlemagne, the most powerful Christian emperor in Europe, exchanged gifts Harun became caliph at only 22 and relied on his mother and other advisors (viziers). Eventually killed them because the family became too powerful The dependence on royal advisors became a problem for later caliphs. Over time the advisors controlled the court and caliphs lost power Local uprising and rebellions and independent states start to be formed under Harun’s reign Harun led expeditions against Byzantine and forced them to agree to paying money to Baghdad

6. www.princeton.edu/~humcomp/map3gif

7. Abbasid Decline Harun al-Rashid’s death prompted a civil war between his two sons. They literally fought for the throne. Al-Ma’mun won (813-833) His sons later were convinced that in order to get the throne after the death of their father they would have to amass larger personal armies. On son had 4000 slave body guards. Eventually after becoming caliph he had a mercenary force of 70,000 men. 846 slave mercenaries killed the reigning caliph and placed one of his sons on the throne. From this point on during the Abbasid reign the leaders of the slave mercenary armies were the real power behind the throne

8. Decline In order to try and control the mercenaries forces the treasury had to be drained Caliphs also started to move the capital to escape the turmoil of Baghdad This lead the peasants to pay for the new palaces and imperial centers as well as the army Heavy taxes were placed on peasants. Tax collectors pillaged through villages. This led to some villages being abandoned. Also many public projects such as irrigation systems fell into disrepair. Some peasants moved to new areas to avoid the Abbasid tax collectors. Some joined gangs or became vagabonds wondering through the empire Shi’a also supported and created some peasant uprising against the Abbasids. They wanted them out of power for official abuses!

9. Women Women became increasingly subjugated during the rule of the Abbasids because of the development of the harem Wives and concubines(slaves) of the caliphs were restricted to forbidden quarters within the palace The slave concubines could win their freedom by producing strong offspring (sons) The wealth of the Abbasids led to the demand for thousands of slaves. Many performed domestic service roles. There are stories of caliphs who had 11,000 eunuchs and even 4000 concubines! Captured non-Muslims were typical slaves Sold in large slave markets which every large town had Slaves were valued for their beauty and intelligence Caliphs and important men spent more time with their concubines than their wives because they were many times better educated. Had more freedoms than the wives and could go out into public without wearing a veil or robes required of married women Lower class women were typically married at puberty (legally age 9) and were raised to run the household and serve their husband. They typically did not have outlets beyond their homes for work like farming and weaving Upper class women like the wives and concubines of caliphs plotted to advance the interests of their sons! Lots of infighting and intrigue! Women overall lost much of their freedoms during this time period!

10. Decline of Abbasids Territories began breaking off and becoming independent so caliphs attempted to curtail this problem But they could not and now other families were plotting to replace the Abbaids In 945 the armies of one of the regional dynasties, the Buyids of Persia attacked and captured Baghdad. The caliphs were now puppets controlled by powerful families like the Buyids of Persia. Buyvids were Shi’a Buyid leaders took on the title sultan (victorious) Sultans became the title for then on out is the Muslim West The Buyids couldn’t stop the disintegration of the empire and by 1055 they were overthrown by the Seljuk Turks from Asia Turkic military leaders ruled the remaining Abbasid Empire in the name of caliphs. The Seljuks were Sunnis and began removing all Shi’a influence and power from the government. They also defeated the Byzantines which gave rise to Turks moving to settle Asia Minor (Anatolia or Turkey today).

12. Crusades Knights from western Europe sent by the Catholic Church to retake the Holy lands and save Christians who were being tortured and killed by Muslim conquerors according to Christian Byzantium "Because he has laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren," [1 John 3:16]. The Crusades did help western Europe that was divided by fighting between and within countries. The Crusades were something to unify Christians.

13. Crusades First crusades 1096-1099 were the most successful b/c of the element of surprise and the Muslim political divisions By 1099 Jerusalem was taken with many Muslim and Jews killed in the process Continued the Crusades for 2 more centuries, they differed in success Muslims were united under Salah-un-Din (Saladin). Muslims reconquered lost territory

15. Impact of Crusades There had already been contact between the Muslims and Europeans via trade as well as the Berber Kingdom However the greater contacts due the Crusades led to Europeans rediscovering ancient and Muslim knowledge Greek and Roman literature, math, philosophy, technology and Muslim achievements Also played a role in greater cultural like chess, dates, coffee, and yogurt

16. Muslim Achievement Despite a decline in the Abbasids power and wealth there were many very wealthy merchants. Trade flourished. Artists, architects, and engineers built beautiful mosques and palaces. They made tapestries Science: corrections to Greeks in algebra and geometry, trigonometry (sine, cosine, tangent), objective experiments, material substances into three categories: animal, vegetable, and mineral by al-Razi, astronomical tables and maps, hospitals and doctors, paper making, ceramics, silk-weaving, and maps of the world

18. Persia Persians started to play a greater role in the Abbasid court which led to Persian replacing Arabic as the written language of the Abbasid court Arabic language of law, religion, and science Persian used for literature and calligraphy Rubaiyat

19. . http://www.caroun.com/Calligraphy/IranianAncientCalligraphers.html

20. Religious Trends Contradictory trends: social strife and political divisions vs. expanded trade and intellectual creativity Mysticism vs. growing orthodox religious scholar (ulama) Crusades supported growing hostilities of non-Islamic ideas and thinking Orthodox didn’t support the idea of Greek questioning being applied to religion. The Qur’an was final. Sufist movement during Abbasid period: wondering mystics who sought a personal relationship with God. There were many manifestations including Sunni and Shi’a were against the abstract an impersonal relationship with Allah taught by the ulamas.

21. Invasions Invasions from the East! Mongols started raiding in 1220’s By 1258 Baghdad was sacked by the Mongols The 37th and last Abbasid caliph was killed by the Mongols The Mongols also killed the Mamluks or Turkic slaves in Egypt In 1401 Baghdad again was captured by the forces of Tamerlane. He was known for his cruelty and for building pyramids of the skulls those he killed when conquering a city. Baghdad never recovered and became a regional city and was no longer a world city

23. Islam to South Asia Previous invaders had assimilated to Indian culture because it was more sophisticated than their own. However, Muslims brought a sophisticated and ancient culture equal to that of India Hinduism is more open to variations of worship including gods while Islam is exclusive to Allah Islam promoted the idea of equality while Hinduism supported the caste system Sometimes violent conflict between the two groups

24. India and Islam 711 first Muslim intrusion due to trade Muslim merchants attacked by pirates sailing from Sind in western India. Umayyads launched an attack on the king Sind under general Muhammad ihn Qasim (17 yrs). He won and the region as well as the Indus valley became a province under the Umayyads. Hindus and Buddhists became people of the book

25. Indian Influences Through trade and especially the conquering of the Sind kingdom the Muslims picked up great learning from India Algebra, geometry, and instruments of celestial observations Arab thinkers began using numerals that Hindu scholars developed. These numerals were passed on to Europe and they were called Arabic numerals even though they were first from India Art, chess

26. 2nd wave of invasions to India Over time the Hindus started taking back their lands from the Umayyads and Abbasids New raids launched by Turkish slave dynasty that in 962 seized power in Afghanistan under their ruler, Mahmud of Ghazni. Primarily to raid, but started going further in land to pillage temples 12th century went from raids to seizing political power. Much of north India came up his command. After his assassination in 1206 a slave lieutenant, Qutb-ud-din Aibak, took power. Capital –Delhi Over next 300 yrs various rulers of Afghan, Persian, and Turkic descent came to power and proclaimed themselves as sultans of Delhi

27. Conversion Merchants spread Islam Sufis were believed to have magic and healing powers and they quickly developed a following Mosques and schools became the regional powers…Buddhist temples raided Many Buddhist converted due to this and misdirected Buddhism in India Low caste and untouchables attracted to Islam Some converted not to pay the head tax Some converted due to intermarriage

28. Hinduism and Islam Hindus didn’t pay much attention to Muslims and thought it polluted outcastes They could work in Muslim administration or as soldiers but didn’t socialize with them Lived in separate quarters in villages where Islam spread Hindus thought like previous peoples that Muslims would just accept their culture. Which to some extend they did in regards to clothing styles and the caste system There were some upper class Hindu conversions and Muslims adopted some of their practices such as marrying girls at a very early age and not allow widows to remarry, and sati or the burning of widows in their husbands funeral fires (found among some higher class Hindus)

29. Islamic Challenge and Hindu Revival • Muslims were not converting to Islam, but some people of India, especially low caste members were attracted to Islam • Hindus then started to place greater emphasis on devotional cults where caste and gender did not matter (Bhaktic cults) • Bhaktic mystics and gurus stressed the emotional relationship between the individual and the god/ goddess • Chants, dances, and drugs were used to achieve a state of ecstasy. Once this state was reached all past sins and caste status were rendered meaningless

30. Converts to Islam in India • Some tried to minimize the difference between Islam and Hinduism • However there were still strict orthodox Muslims and Hindus that believed the religions were too different to ever mix • Brahmans denounced Muslims as infidel destroyers of Hindu temples and polluted meat-eaters! • Although Muslims tried to advance their religion in India, many still resisted • After centuries of Muslim political dominance and missionary activities (Sufis) South Asia (India) remained primarily Hindu

31. Spread of Islam to Southeast Asia • Southeast Asia was a major route of trade activities in the Indian Ocean Basin • They had many ports where they exported good from China to the Mediterranean. They were known for their wood, and spices: cloves, nutmeg, and mace • Merchants and sailors from India came into regular contact with them. • However until the 13th century the Shrivijaya family was in control of the large trade empire in southeast Asia and they were devote Buddhists • When the empire fell in the 13th century this opened the way for Islam to be introduced into the area via merchants and sailors from India

32. Trading Contacts and Conversions • Peaceful conversion more important • Merchants brought religion and Sufis • Sufis spread the message of Islam • 1st port to convert was Sumatra and then Islam spread from there to Malaya • Port cities in coastal areas were receptive • Links between trading cities were important so once one key city became Muslim it was in the interest of other cities to convert to enhance personal ties and have the common basis of Muslim law to regulate business affairs • The cities were also now linked culturally to India, the Middle East, and the Mediterranean • Islam did especially well in areas where Buddhism and Hinduism conversion were mainly the elites in society. The poor embraced it. • Islam did not do well in areas were Buddhism and Hinduism had taken deep roots at the popular level like in mainland southeast Asia and the island of Bali.

33. Sufi Mystics and Nature of southeast Islam • Sufis spread the message of Islam and were thought to be mystical/ magical. They tolerated the beliefs of earlier animist, Hindus, and Buddhists mixed with Islam • Orthodox Muslims would have had a really big problem with the type of Islam seen in southeast Asia • Also they were not regulated by Muslim laws (business) for the most part. They keep pre-Islamic laws. • Women retained a much stronger position within the family and society! • Female buyers and sellers dominated local markets • Lineage and heritage traced though the mother • Pre-Islamic religious beliefs and rituals incorporated into Muslim ceremonies

34. Islam: Bridge between Worlds • In spite of successional problems within the Muslim community, the position of the Islamic Empire as a global civilization was created during the Abbasid dynasty • Islam enriched the lives of peoples from around the world by sharing their knowledge • They had wonderful achievements in arts, science, and literature • They were the place to exchange ideas • They also had some problems in that they were divided many times and they also had a rift between the Sufis and orthodox Muslims • They were also not open to outside influence • This eventually led to European Christians exploiting the weaknesses of the Muslim world.