Topic #1Shifting Global Power

Part II The Rise and Fall of

Islamic Empires, 600 CE to 1918

Power Vacuum in the Middle East

The Fall of Rome left a vacuumThe Eastern half of the Roman

Empire, based at Constantinople, remained, but would be at war with the new emerging Muslim powers in the region for centuries (600s-1400s)

The Persian Empire was also weak, soon incorporated into the Arab/Muslim Empires

Islam Unifying ForceMohammad formed a new

religion in the 600s CEIt eventually unified the Arab

tribes into one nation, first under the Umayyads and then the Abbasids

Umayyad Empire, 661-750 CE

Abbasid Empire, 750-1258

Abbasid “Golden Age” of Islamic EmpiresWealth and trade routes across

AsiaBagdad new capital of Islamic

world in 750House of Wisdom in Bagdad

intellectual center as Muslim scholars made breakthroughs in medicine, science, philosophy and mathematics

Arab Scientists

We will watch a film, starring Ben Kingsley as Arab scientists Al-Jazari part of the 1001 Inventions Exhibit created by the Foundation for Science, Technology and Civilisation based in the UK.

Click here for a video

Bagdad hub of learning

Algebra is an Arab wordWe’ve seen Al-biruni as part of

the CNN project

Al-Biruni was not alone, Muslim scholars made incredible discoveries in mathematics, including the development of Algebra, improvements in Astronomy and Geometry

Mathematical breakthroughs

Hindu-Arabic Numerals

Muslim Spain as a conduitMath, Hebrew language was

“rediscovered” by Jews, Christian and Muslim scholars in Spain; Greek philosophy was translated and preserved.

Think about the libraries of Cordoba, from the CNN video

Ziryab “Black Bird”Musician from Bagdad, relocated

to Spain, opened the first music school in Europe, in Cordoba in the 800s

Founder of Andalusian music Click here for traditional Arab mu

sic

You can hear how it has influenced Spanish music (click here)

Fall of Bagdad, the MongolsWe will look at the rise and fall of

the Mongols next, but the Mongols burned Bagdad to the ground and conquered much of the Middle East during the 1200s

The ideas and achievements of the Abbasid lived on, but Islamic power declined overall

Islam was fracturedSunni-Shite split an on-going

internal religious divide Fall of Abbasid in 1200s Remaining power divided

amongst the Ottomans, the Safavid and the Moghals for the most part

Vulnerable to EuropeansOttomans as the “sick man of

Europe,” British control through funding and diplomacy

Ottomans ally with Germany during WWI, Allies promise Arab independence, instead they take over which sets in motion many of the problems that have plagued the Middle East ever since (more when we get to part IV)

The Achievements of the AbbasidWhy is so little know about this

aspect of Islam ?Obscured by the legacy of

European imperialism, the idea of “orientalism”?

This was Edward Said’s argument (click here)