Ch 7Abbasid Decline and Spread of Islam

I. Excess and Decline

Abbasid caliphs lived extremely lavishly Concubines, wives and courtiers

Succession was a problemAl Mahdi’s son was poisoned 1 year after his deathSolved with Harun al-Rashid (786-809)

1001 Arabian NightsHis death resulted in civil war

Issues with slave armies

II. Breakdown and Decline

Women lost rightsHarem

Slaves who could only win freedom with sonsProtected by EunuchsArabs and non-Arabs

VeilSlave women did not have to wear a veil

Rich womenNo careers

Poor WomenClothing, silk and rug production

II. Breakdown and Decline

Slave armies were used during civil wars

Extravagant building projectsHigh taxes

Irrigation fell apart

Shi’ites caused rebellions

II. Breakdown and decline

InvadersBuyids (945 AD)

Persian invadersCaptured BaghdadSultans (victorious)

Seljuk Turks (1055 AD)200 yearsSunnis who purged Shi’itesCame to rule the Ottoman empire

III. CrusadesCatholic invasions to free Jerusalem (Holy Land) from the Muslims

Encouraged by ByzantiumPope Urban II

Series of 8 crusades 1st most successful 3rd- Muslims united under Saladin

Ended with King Richard the Lion Hearted and Saladin making peace

Most were failures

Helped revive classical culture lost to the west

Brought desire to trade with Middle East

III. Crusades

IV. Learning and Prosperity

Town life grewWealth in trade grew

Art flourishedTapestry/RugsMosque grew

LiteraturePersian replaces ArabicIlluminate textPoetry

Shah-Nama (Book of Kings)- FirdwasiHistory book

اسالمي

IV. Learning and Prosperity

Science and MathImproved Greek Algebra and GeometryTrigonometry

Sine, cosine and tangentObjective experimentationAl-Biruni: calculated specific mass of 18 mineralsAstronomical tablesStar mapsMedicineMap Making

V. End of Abbasid Caliphate

Was divided early on due to Succession

Mongols Chinggis Khan (1220s) aka Ghengis Khan

Raided Eastern provincesHulegu

Chinggis’s grandsonTook Baghdad in 1258 (ended Abbasid rule)Pushed west and was defeated by the Mamluks of Egypt

Cairo becomes Islam capital

V. End of Abbasid Caliphate

VI. Islam spreads to Asia

Main region of spread was IndiaInevitable encounters

Encountered some problemsDid not spread easily and resulted in violenceIslam is open socially while Hinduism is notIslam is strict religiously and Hinduism is flexible

VI. Islam spreads to Asia

1st invasion (711 AD)Effects were not enduringResult of trade and Indian attacks on Arab shipsGeneral Muhammad ibn Qasim

Umayyad17 years old

No real effectTreated as Dhimili Indian culture had more influence Did not add much territory

VI. Islam spreads to Asia

2nd Invasion (962 AD)Turkish Slave dynastyPushed to Afghanistan and into the Indus ValleyMahmud of Ghazni pushed raiding and conquest

3rd ruler of dynastyPushed deep into IndiaPursuit of wealth

Muhammad of GhurSucceeded Mahmud and conquered central India

Qutb-ud-din AibakSlave lieutenant took over after Muhammad’s assassination

VI. Islam spreads to Asia

Indian convertsSeparated Arabs and HindusMuslims put themselves into the top of the caste systemSome gave themselves divine ruleMost Muslims assimilated themselves into Arab society

VI. Islam spreads to Asia

Hindus couldn’t assimilate IslamUsed cults to make their religion more desirableBhakticKabir and Mira BaiGurus and mysticsIslam tried to accommodate these differences

Conversion did not happen frequently

VI. Islam spreads to Asia

Southeast AsiaSpread to Sumatra, and Strait of Malacca and MalayaSpread through tradeSufi Mystics spread Islam

Mixed mysticism and IslamAllowed for pre-Islam beliefMore flexible