The Expansive Realm of Islam

Chapter 13

I: A Prophet and His World• Arabian Peninsula: – harsh environment, – Bedouins (nomadic herders, clan-based, polytheistic), – long-distance trade (sea -> camel caravan)• Link between India/China and Persia/Byzantine• Mecca was important stopover for caravans

I: Muhammad and His Message• Born 570 in Mecca to a merchant family– Married Khadija– Influenced by Judaism and Christianity

• 610: spiritual experience (message from God via Gabriel)– = Allah would reward the righteous and punish the wicked

• By 620: built up a following in Mecca• 650: Followers wrote texts of teachings -> Quran =

authority on Islamic doctrine and social organization

I: Muhammad’s Migration to Medina• Popularity -> conflict with non-Muslim elites over

monotheism and ideas about greed– Also, threat to shrine owners

• 622: fled to Medina (= the hijra – beginning of Muslim calendar)

• Provided legal and social codes, economic aid, political leadership for the Umma

• Accepted earlier prophets, texts, and God of Jews and Christians

I: The Establishment of Islam in Arabia• 630: conquered Mecca, replacing shrines with

mosques (except Ka’ba)• 632: pilgrimage to Ka’Ba (the Hajj); had

conquered most of Arabia

I: The Five Pillars of Islam• Foundations (beliefs shared by all Muslims): – One god (Allah) and prophet (Muhammad)– Daily prayer facing Mecca– Fasting during Ramadan– Alms to the weak and poor– Hajj to Mecca

I: Jihad and Sharia• Jihad: struggle (against vice/evil, against

unbelief/ignorance, against unbelievers who threaten Islam)– Considered an obligation by some

• Sharia: Islamic law inspired by the Quran and Muhammad’s teachings– Covers more than religion: marriage, business,

political authority, family life, etc.

II: The Expansion of Islam• Umma disagreed over who should take over after

Muhammad’s death• Abu Bakr became caliph (=deputy): political,

judicial, military, and religious leader• Effective military expansion: Byzantine and Sasanid

lands, Northern Africa, Iberian peninsula -> huge empire

II: The Expansion of Islam (cont.)• Problem: disagreement over succession -> schism

in Islam– Shia sect: believed Ali and descendants should serve

as caliph – Sunni: caliphs selected by powerful Arab clans

II: The Umayyid Dynasty• 661-750 CE: Prominent Meccan merchant clan• Created alliances, built power -> stability• Capital = Damascus (Syria) due to central location• Tightly centralized rule, favor to fellow Arabs, esp.

aristocrats– -> unhappy conquered ethnic/religious groups (forced

to pay jizya to practice their religions)– Plus, Muslims (esp. Shia) disliked lavish living of

Umayyid

II: The Abbasid Dynasty• -> 740: rebellion in Persia led by Abu-Abbas• 750: defeated Umayyids in battle, founding a new

dynasty (ruled until 1258)• Differences: more cosmopolitan (non-Arabs

gained wealth and power), not expansionistic (but, did fight Byz, C. Asian nomads, and Tang)

II: The Abbasid Dynasty (cont.)• Difficult to rule due to size, diversity, and lack of

precedent -> adopted Mesopotamian and Persian techniques (policy, capital cities, regional governors and bureaucracy)– Capital = Baghdad– Ulama (scholars) set moral standards and qadis (judges)

resolved disputes in local communities -> insured observance of Islamic values

– Standing army– Bureaucracy for taxation, finance, coinage, postal

system, Persian road system

II: Abbasid Decline• Internal problems: succession disputes, governors

began acting independently, uprisings/revolts• 945: puppet rulers (by Persian nobles)• Seljuk Turks migrated in, converted, allied with

Abbasids• By mid 1000s, Turks controlled Abbasid empire

III: Economy and Society of the Early Islamic World

• Economy: agriculture (rural) and manufacturing and trade (urban)

• Empire -> zone of trade, exchange, and communication from India to Iberia

III: New Crops, Agricultural Experimentation, and Urban Growth

• Introduced new crops and techniques into different regions (esp. from India – sugarcane, rice, citrus, bananas, cotton, etc.)

• -> strengthened economy, varied diet, more food availability -> urban development

• Dar al-Islam cities flourished (markets, manufacturing [textiles, pottery, paper])

• Islamic society valued merchants

III: The Formation of a Hemispheric Trading Zone

• Overland trade: revived and maintained Silk Roads– Expanded use of camel caravans and caravanserai

• Maritime trade: using compass (China), lateen sail (SE Asia/India), and astrolabe (Greeks), traveled throughout Indian Ocean Basin

• Banks: loans, brokered investments, exchanged currency, credit

• Better transportation + expanded banking + refined business organization = flourishing long distance trade (Sahara – salt for gold and slaves, E. Africa - slaves and skins, Russia – furs, honey, amber, slaves)

III: Al-Andalus• = Islamic Spain, conquered by Berbers in 700s• Continued to be governed by Umayyids (caliphs)• Participated in Islamic economy• Crops -> urban growth and businesses• Elaborate capital at Cordoba (lighted roads, free

schools, huge mosque, big library)

III: The Changing Status of Women • Patriarchal, but women had some rights (property

inheritance, divorce, business)• Quran helped: outlawed infanticide, dowries,

equality of all before Allah• But, reinforced male domination: patrilineal, tight

control over women’s lives, polygyny, veiling (from Byz. and Sasanids = sign of modesty), chaperones

• Women’s rights decreased with contact with patriarchal Mesopotamian, Persian, and E. Med. societies

IV: Islamic Values and Cultural Exchanges

• Focus on Arabic language and tradition• Taught conquered peoples Islamic teachings, but

allowed pre-Islamic practices• Muslim intellectuals drew from Persian, Indian,

and Greek culture

IV: The Formation of an Islamic Cultural Tradition

• Sharia law unified empire• Ulama (in mosque schools) and qadis (in courts

and public life) bridged differences and spread Islamic values– Madrasas – institutes of higher learning; supported by

rulers to recruit literate and learned students to admin. positions

IV: Sufis• Islamic mystics and missionaries• Did not follow formal religious teachings; sought

deeper spiritual awareness– Pious, ascetic– Gave sermons, passionate singing, spiritual dancing to

achieve heightened state of emotion• Distrusted by Islamic theologians, but spread

Islam (esp. in Persia and India)

IV: The Hajj • = pilgrimage to the Ka’ba in Mecca• Encouraged by Abbasids to increase cultural unity

(built inns, policed roads, gifts to shrines)

IV: Islam and the Cultural Traditions of Persia, India, and Greece

• Learned about other cultures in several ways: – 1. Abbasid dynasty supported acquisition of knowledge

(foreign scholars)– 2. sponsored translation of literary and scientific works

(from Greek, Latin, and Sanskrit)– 3. merchants, missionaries, and travelers compiled

geographic information (maps, atlases, charts, general descriptions)

• Absorbed, combined with “others’ thought”, built upon them -> flowering of intellect and scholarship

IV: Persian Influences• Political: Administrative techniques, ideas of

kingship (wise and benevolent, but absolute)• Cultural: literary – used Persian language in lit.,

poetry, history – Esp. Omar Khayyam’s Rubaiyat, and The Arabian

Nights

IV: Indian Influences• Math: numerals (allowed development of

algebra, geometry, trig.)• Science: astronomical calculations• Medicine: treatments for specific illnesses,

antidotes for poison

IV: Greek Influences• Philosophy: translations of Plato and Aristotle – Esp. Ibn Rushd: tried to harmonize Islamic teachings

with Aristotle; known in W. Europe as Averroes (influences scholasticism)

– After 1200s, more emphasis on pure Islamic phil.• Math (reasoning), science (astronomy), and

medicine (anatomy and physiology)