01x05 - byzantium and islam
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University of Florida - Summer B - EUH2001 - Western Civilization to the 18th CenturyTRANSCRIPT
Byzantium and Islam 7/20/07 2:22 PM← http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/1020Avicenna-Medicine.html ← http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/byz-arabambas.html ←← Byzantium
began as the eastern half of the roman empire did not suffer of barbarian invasion it stayed in place relatively safe capital in Constantinople in the 4th century during the 5th and 6th centuries you had the Circus Factions
o groups fighting each other o chariot raceso the green and the blue factions
banners they carried during chariot races wealthier and more organized than the western counter-part also had a powerful centralized government
o this kept it from disintegrating like the west diverse population
o ruling over a wide array of peopleo Syrians, Arabs, Egyptians along with others
divided church
o Christian empireo priests were divided over what the proper interpretation of
scripture and church doctrine←← Justinian (527 – 565)
emperor of Byzantine laid the foundation for the empire after the collapse of Rome in the
wet called the emperor that never slept ruthless and ambitious chief goal was to restore the glory of the old empire in his service he had two generals and together recaptured Italy,
southern Africa, and southern spain and place them back into the empire
in the 6th century was the last time that the Romans or descendents would ever reach or recapture the glory under their previous empire
enforced political unity o suppressed the Circus Factionso suppressed riots in Constantinople that left 30,000 dead
Hagia Sofiao one of the most innovative cathedrals of its timeo architecture had a lasting stance in mosques and western
society Justinian Code
o lays today as the foundation of most of Europeans legal system
Harsh Legacyo did a lot for the empire
o the wars and conquests left the empire virtually bankrupto the religious disputes did not settle under his rule
unable to do soo left the empire vulnerable to Sassanids and to the spread of
Islam Byzantine Foundation
o Left a powerful legacy for Byzantiumo had a strong centralized government
allowed it to maintain cohesion for much longer than the western roman empire
o remained the Bulwark of Christianityo preserved the heritage and culture of ancient Greece and
Rome when western Europe started to get back together they
look to Byzantium for documents about ancient Rome←← Emperors & Individuals
“Individualism without Freedom”o everyone was an individualo part of the empire then part of the Churcho everyone was a direct subject of the emperor
Autocracyo Power –based succession
based on political and military powero Absolute and total authority
o Women could take the thrown of the empire unlike other empires
Irene became emperor then her son became emperor Zoe Theodora
ruled from 1042 – 1056 Senate and Circus
o It still had a senate Over time the senate became less powerful became a ceremonial body
o the circus factions were also stripped of their power keeping praise of the new emperor during coronations
o in the 9th century the senate was disbanded entirelyo what was once an intense political struggle became a past-
time of the elite Administration
o Themes provinces ruled by Strate-Goi
military commanders great deal of practical power oversee the administration of their themes as
they saw fit however, they served entirely on the whim of the
emperor
the central administration in Constantinople the Eunuchs controlled it they were castrated so they could not have
children and their rules did not get passed down still carried a great amount of power the thrown demanded physical perfection and
because of that the Eunuchs could never become Emperors
←← Families & Villages
Isolationo All of the subjects were equally powerless under the
emperor’s rule Household
o The main social and economic unit You worked and slept there were associations but purely for collecting taxes
and such basic unit of social life in the west the household was the central unit of social
and economic life in the east it was because the emperor made it so
unlike the west Countryside
o Villages Took orders directly from Constantinople Sent taxes back to Constantinople
o Family Farms
Shared resources, livestock, land this DID NOT happen in this empire everything was separated
o "Good Fences Make Good Neighbors” the attitude in the Byzantine Empire
Towns & Tradeo Centers of business
But also isolated as well very rocky and difficult terrain primary means of commerce and trade was oversea
o Constantinople Economic and cultural center of the empire and the
center of trade for the rest of the world situated in the Bosporus
thin strip of land that separated the Mediterranean and the Black Seas
the gate to the east and the westo Luxury Goods
Sneaked silkworms out of china Precious metals from china Amber from the Baltic and Silk
o Maritime Commerce They did not like the sea
merchants worked in the seas called it a dangerous and unwelcoming place
preferred to contract the transportation of goods to other subjects of the empire
primarily the slabs, Syrians, and Italians←← Orthodox Christianity
Undisputedo Barbarian kingdoms had weakened
The official state religion Ecclesiastical Structure
o the highest ranking of the church was the patriarch in theory elected by other officials of the church was
actually appointed by the emperoro recruited by church officials (priests)
told to marry and live in the area where they preachedo monasteries
monks were told to stay celibate Liturgy
o The practice of the Church was called Liturgyo order of doctrines and ceremonies that praised god and the
emperoro provided a sense of ritual and order throughout the empire
contributed to the long term stability of Byzantium international Influence
o scholars from all over the world traveled to Constantinople to witness the liturgy first hand
o resulted in a number of wide-spread conversionso the Slavs converted to Christianity and translated the Liturgy
to slavish alphabeto the Bulgars and Russians also converted to 8Christianity
←← Iconoclasm
Monasterieso Became very wealthy and powerful entitieso Had a degree of independence from the emperor
Brought from the broad public appeal Public appeal came from the religious icons
They thought they were not paintings but rather intermediaries to god
Iconoclastso Leo III comes back from attacking the Muslims and believes
the Monasteries were a threat to himo he sees the icons as the key to the power of the monasterieso begins a period of more than 100 years of persecution
monks are forced to marry monasteries are destroyed
o support from bishops who fear they are not under their control anymore
Iconoduleso Those that resisted the iconoclasts
o liberators of the iconso tortured of executed
Restorationo Emperor Irene says that icons are not a threat to the Empireo after Irene leaves the thrown Iconoclasm comes back for
another 45 years Theodora restores the veneration of icons
Relationship with Romeo Pope did not like iconoclasmo led in part to the coronation of Charlemagne to be away from
the Byzantine Empire and iconoclasm←←←←←←← Rise of Islam
“submission to the will of God” began with Muhammad combined traditional Arab worship with Judaism and Christianity united the Arab tribes within a short time formed a vast empire from Persian to the
western border of china and into southern France
also created a thriving and vital civilizationo combined scholarship and traditions
Arab scholarship and Greek traditions←← Arabia before Islam
The Assimilated Peripheryo Little difference between Arabs and other subjects of the
empire The Desert Interior
o Vast stretches of deserto forbidden terrain for invaders
more or less independent Bedouins
o Dominant people in the interioro nomadic tribeso a system of kinshipo had chiefdoms called Sheiks
more as arbitrators of disputes and led tribal consensus Towns & Caravans (lower peninsula)
o They had towns and economic centers Religion
o Many of the southern peninsula were Jews and 10Christians
o They also had a tribal god Allah Haram
o Sacred land Violence was prohibited were tribes came together to settle disputes and
arrange commerce Mecca
o One of the largest Harams Established by a religious leader called Qusayy
o Caravan Hub←← Mohammed
Descendant of Qusayy he was an orphan God’s Messenger
o He would go on long period of meditation and on one occasion received a message from God
Last Propheto God spoke through him
Muslim: True Believer Koran
o focuses on praise on Allaho totality of Allah's will
o provides fundamental laws for Islamic societieso he wrote the Koran
Cold Receptiono The powers that be in Mecca did not really pay attention to
himo He critized Mecca saying that it was created as an economic
area and was corrupt← Triumph of Islam
Mecca elites expel Mohammed from the city He then goes to medina Hijra (the travel to medina was called Hijra)
o Medina Comes to medina to settle disputes He establishes the Umma
The beginning of a broad Islamic community A tribe based on Islamic faith All were united in their submission to the will of
God Mohammed had absolute rule over the community Christians and Jews were expelled or executed
While he consolidates his power, Islam rises throughout the world
Gains a larger and larger following In 629 he creates an army and attacks Mecca
Return to Mecca
o Mecca does not put up too much of a fighto Relatively quickly and bloodlessly he takes overo Islam spreads further along the peninsula
Rule of Mohammedo Undisputed rule of Mohammed
Why did Islam spread so fast?o Appeal of Islam
Afterlife Great comfort and luxury if you summit to the will Fear of the bad afterlife
Economic Prosperity Merchant elite and convert to Islam
Mohammed allows you to proceed without change
As Islam spread the influence as merchants spread as well
Conquest People were encouraged to expand outward
Women New Status
They were still subordinated to men But they had some rights that did not have
before hando Before converting to Islam
Rights in Marriage The husband was bound by law to take care
of her wife If the women felt he was not taking care of
her she had the right to leave him or grievance
Veils Expansion
Expanded in two ways Conversion
Muslims appealed to the economic elites Jihad
Expansion of the Islamic faith Islamic faith forbade Muslims from attacking
another Muslims Islam spread through the peninsula through
a combination of things Christians and Jews
They could leave peacefully but had to pay a tax← Spread of Islam
Death of Mohammedo Dies in 632 ADo He leaves his kingdom with no clear successoro Islamic kingdom enters a time of turmoil that his successors
have great difficulty trying to settleo The elites of Mecca and Medina
Dispute of whom has a greater status
o A lot of the tribes leave the fold once he dies They had their loyalty to Mohammed
Once he dies there is no reason to stay From Re-conversion to Expansion
o Caliphs (ruler of kingdoms)o Mohammed’s first successor was Abu Bakr
He felt that a war of re-conversion was the most effective means to reunite the peninsula over Islam
This began a cycle In order to use force to raising an army He relied on the loyalty of the tribes In order to keep the loyalty of the tribes they
needed an incentive The incentive was the conquest of areas
They conquered and sent the resources back to the tribes and the kingdom
They then moved on to another area Vulnerable Opponents
o They are not able to mount an assertive defense Willful Subjects
Syria & Egypt Christians in here convert to Islam (many) Those how don’t convert live more peacefully than
under the Byzantine Empire They could worship as they pleased as long as they paid
a tax
Byzantine Eclipseo The Islamic expansion was the beginning of the end for the
Byzantine empireo In two incidents the Islamic armies threaten to take over
Constantinople Byzantine was reduced to Greece, turkey, parts of the
Balkan and small parts of southern Italy←← Government and Administration
Multinational empire Arabs become minority Two traditions
o Tribal By the kinship relationships
o Spiritual The spiritual kinship of the Umma
Byzantine & Sassanido Adapt the bureaucracies and structures
Officials did not have to convert Social & Economic Structures
o Very little change in day to day lifeo Monasteries stayed intact (just tax)
Along with temples and other religious places Spoils of War
o Bitter conflict over the wealtho The earliest followers in the interiors of the peninsula and
descendents saw themselves as the origins of the Islamic faith they thought they should get a greater share
The people DOING the conquests thought THEY should get a greater share
o Uthran came up with a solution The political privilege of the Mecca elite would be
reduced but in exchange they gained a little bit more money
This made no one happyo Ali was the successor and people thought he was involved in
his murder He left Mecca and traveled to Baghdad There he decided to change the role of Caliphs Emphasized the religious authority of Caliphs over the
day to day authority The Mecca elites did not like that, they wanted to
remain in power The Mecca elites murdered him and took the capital
backo The followers of Ali saw themselves as the true followers of
Islam and formed the Shi’ite Islam←← Umayyad & Abbasid
After the murder of Ali the Mecca elite become the Umayyad They relocated the capital and attempted to reshaped the empire
under the banner of unityo Emphasizing their own rule as secular leaders
Expansiono During this period the Islamic empire expands the mosto By the end of the Umayyad the empire had expanded through
west of china, north Africa, moving north taking two thirds of Spain
Spiritual Mandateo Arabs were a minorityo The subjects of the caliphate wanted a return to the secular
rulerso They wanted somebody they could relate to
This led to the establishment of the Abbasido They overthrew the Umayyado They relocated the capital to Baghdado And returned to the old systemo Where the caliphs was both a ruler and a secular leadero The empire was no longer based on Arab unity, but Islamic
unity Emirs
o The caliphate was extensively largeo So they had to create governors called “Emirs”o It became increasingly more difficult to wield central power so
the Emirs grew in powero As they had more power they also demanded a greater deal
of independenceo They eventually had de-facto power over the areas and the
caliphate became just for show Sunnis
o The Muslims that accepted the compromise became the Sunni Muslims
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7/20/07 2:22 PM←