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The Islamic World 600-1400 . The Origins of Islam. Arabian Peninsula Urban- artisans, merchants, religious leaders Rural- Bedouin nomadic tribes; political and military sophistication Mecca - Ka’ba, commercial center. Arabian Social and Economic Structure.
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The Origins of Islam • Arabian Peninsula • Urban- artisans, merchants, religious leaders • Rural- Bedouin nomadic tribes; political and military sophistication • Mecca- Ka’ba, commercial center
Arabian Social and Economic Structure • Social unit was the tribe (loyalty-protection/support) • Trade, caravan guards • North/central- warriors • South- religious aristocracies
Muhammad’s Rise as a Religious Leader • Muhammad (570-632) • Revelations from Gabriel: “oneness of Allah” and “Judgment Day” • (651) Qur’an • Hadith • Sunna, “normative example”
The Tenets of Islam • Islam “surrender to God” • Muslim “one who submits” • Muhammad last of prophets • Not a new message • Five Pillars of Islam:
Islamic States and Their Expansion • Hijra 622 (Beginning of Muslim Era) • To Medina • 8 year conflict between Medina and Mecca • Muhammad was a military and political strategist • Unified through the “umma” not tribe • Established Arab unity among Bedouin tribes through the umma
Islam’s Spread Beyond Arabia • Two powerful empires in 6th century Middle East • Byzantine empire • Sassanid empire • Muslim conquests • Arabian peninsula, Egypt, N. Africa, Syria, Persia, Iberian peninsula
Reasons for the Spread of Islam • Jihad- • Arab military advantages and political weakness of opponents • Christian and Jewish perspectives-
The Caliphate and the Split Between Shi’a and Sunni Alliances • Sunni • Umayyad Dynasty, Damascus (Syria), caliph court, political, ulama • Shia/Shi’ites • Imam
The Abbasid Caliphate 750-1258 • 747 Abu Al Abbas led rebellion against Umayyad • Baghdad capital- center of trade, intellectual achievements, medicine, astrology, Greek texts translated • Significance of Arabic language in Islam • Persian elite class • Cosmopolitan • Islamic center • “Divine right” • Slave soldiers (Turks)
Administration of the Islamic Territories • Adopted from Byzantine and Persian • Caliph • Vizier • Ulama • Emirs • Native officials • Diwan
Fragmentation and Military Challenges • Pay taxes = some autonomy • Long distance = disobedience
Breakaway Territories and Shi’a Gains • 755 independent state in Cordoba, Spain • 800 Tunisia, N. Africa • 820 Khurasan kingdom • 946 Shi’a Iranian overran Baghdad • 969 Shi’a “Fatimids” conquered N. Africa
The Ascendancy of the Turk • The Turks were victims of slave raids. • Converted to not be captured • 1020 and 1030s Seljuk Turks conquered Persia, Iraq, and Syria to establish a Sunni state • 950-1100 Turk expansion to Byzantines (Anatolia) • Most Christians converted to Islam
The Mongol Invasions • 1206 Mongols united Mongol, Tartar, and Turkish peoples under Chinggis (Ghengis) Khan and conquered North China. • 1219-1222 Mongols conquered Arabs from Persia to Central Asia (Khwarazm). • 1258 the last Abbasid caliph was assassinated in Baghdad when Mongols led by Huleou took over Persia and created the IL- KHAN • 1260 Damascus • Syrians withstood Mongols in Battle of AynJalut
Muslim Society The Life of the People • Idea of social equality was basic Muslim doctrine (among Muslims alone) • Arabs regarded themselves as superior
The Social Hierarchy • Caliph’s household and ruling Arab Muslims • Converts- required to subordination to Arab tribes • Dhimmis (ZIH-MEEZ)- “People of the Book” • Respect Islam, pay taxes • Appointed to high positions • Status dropped after Crusades and Mongol empires
Jews in Islam • Marginalized in Christian social order, then expelled from many European countries • Marginalized in Islam, however given commercial liberties and respect
Slavery • Humane, moderate, no excessive work, opportunity for manumission • Not “People of the Book” • Women: housekeeping, dancers, concubines • Men: soldiers, construction, mines, loading docks, mines, and eunuchs
Islam vs. American slavery • Race not recognized • No plantation system (Zanj revolt in Persia) • Not hereditary
Women in Classical Islamic Society • Pre-Islam Arab tribes • No problem • Sold into marriage • Mostly domestic roles; some political exceptions
Early Islamic view on women • Quran: equals, political, economic rights • By Abbasid dynasty • Patriarchal tendency absorbed from Persia and Byzantine • Veiling • Quran has no specific rule about veiling • Purdah
Marriage • Too important for romance • Arranged at 12 years old • Raised children • Polygamy tolerated (4) • Divorce permitted
Trade and Commerce • Favorable capitalism • Looked down on agricultural labor • “…honest, truthful Muslim merchant will stand with martyrs on the day of judgment.”
Waterways main commercial route: • Mediterranean, Black Sea, Caspian Sea, Volga River (Russia), Aral Sea (China), Arabian Sea, Indian Ocean, Indonesia, and Philippines • Cairo, Egypt
Textiles, glass, gold, silver, copper exchanged for Asian spices, dyes, and medicine • Sakk • “Bill of exchange” • “Joint Stock Company” • By product-
The Cultural Centers of Baghdad and Cordoba • Examples of cosmopolitan Muslim civilization
Literature • “The Thousand and One Nights” • “Aladdin and His Lamp” • “Sinbad the Sailor” • “Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves”
Cordoba • One Million people, 1600 mosques, 213,000 houses, 60,000 mansions, 80,000 shops, 27 schools (400,000 volumes in library) • Contrast with Benedictine Abbey of Saint-Gall in Switzerland
Education and Intellectual Life • Valued education, especially religious learning • Qur’an basic text • Reading, writing, study of Qur’an • Madrasa • Arabic
Teachers role- • Memorization • Careers: • Women in education
Compare/contrast Islamic schools to Chinese and European IslamicEuropeanChinese • Arabic, Algebra, medicine, astrology
Them Mystical Tradition of Sufism • Reaction to materialism of Umayyad Dynasty • Fasting, meditation, prayer • Absence of materialism and politics
Muslim-Christian Encounter • Most significant encounter • Exchange: • Positive until Crusades 1095 and Reconquista of Span 722-1492 • Trade contacts, especially Venetians
Andalusia, Spain • Jewish, Christian, Muslim harmonious coexistence • Mozarabs- • Eventually met with criticism and prejudice • Muslim converts sentenced to death • 1250 Reconquista
Beyond Andalusian Spain • Muslim attacks on Europeans in 8th and 9th centuries • Doctrine controversies: