The Spread of Islamin the Post Classical Era

600 C.E. to 1450 C.E.

From 600-1450 in the Middle East the Arabs went from decentralized clans led by Sheiks to unification under the banner of IslamLed by a Caliph. The early Arab belief of polytheism and animism was supplanted to reflect the Abrahamic tradition of ethical Monotheism with Muhammad as the final prophet. The role of camel caravan travel and competition over resources would beMaintained and would facilitate the rise and spread of Dar Al Islam.

Middle East – BeginningEarly Post Classical Period (600 C.E.)

632 C. E. – 1st Islamic pilgrimage to the Ka’ba *Mecca)by Muhammad

Muslim forces seized Byzantine Syria and Palestine, most of Mesopotamia, Egypt, Persia, NW India, and NW Africa.

Umuyaad then Abbasid Caliphates

Persians, Egyptians, Mesopotamians and others rose to positions of wealth and power under Abbasid rule. Abu al-Abbas did not show preference to Arab Muslims.

  

Middle East

Middle Post Classical Period 1000

After the 9th century, Sufi Muslims attracted numerous converts particularly in Persia and India.

Conversely, in the 12th century Muslim philosophers sought a rational understanding of the world through the works of Aristotle and Plato. House of Wisdom in Baghdad

Advances made in trade (banking, credit)Advances in Medicine and MathematicsAbbasid- “Golden Age of Islam”Ability to adopt (cultural diffusion) and adapt

(translate works to Arabic and expand upon ideas)

Middle East End Post Classical Period 1450

• Islamic philosopher Ibn Rushd followed Aristotle, and his work found its way into the schools and universities of western Europe.

 • Turks from Central Asia( Seljuks)

to assimilate into Islamic belief system. Challenge Jerusalem , attack Byzantine Empire and begin fighting Christian forces over access to the sacred territory for pilgrims.

Rushd was an Arab philosopher, physician, philosopher, astronomer, mathematician, physicist .

Middle East Continuities 600 to 1450 C.E.

Muslim merchants, pilgrims, and missionaries traded over the Silk Road.

Trade improved agricultural production which resulted in the development of commercial centers

Maritime trade in the Red Sea, Persian Gulf, Arabian Sea, and Indian Ocean increased.

Though the Quran recognized women as honorable and equal to men, the practice of veiling women created a symbol of male authority in the Islamic community.

Middle East Continuities 600 to 1450 C.E.

Missionaries, mosques, and Islamic educational institutions were established throughout the dar al-Islam.

As Muslims made the pilgrimmage to Mecca (Hajj), mosques and inns were established. Over the centuries these pilgrims helped to spread Islamic beliefs and values.

Arabic remained the language of religion, theology, philosophy and law, while the

Persian language dominated literature, poetry, history and political reflection.  

Baghdad flourished as a center of learning and culture.

West Europe• Moorish (Muslims from West Africa)conquest of Spain 711-1492• Defeated by Charles Martel (Frank) at the Battle of Tours (France) in 732• Southern Spain remains connected to Dar Al Islam linked to prosperity and

Golden Age in the Mediterranean• Al Alhambra - preserved Greek philosophy, mathematics and learning and

engineering

West Europe• Many wars waged between Muslim lands and Christian world (both Byzantine and Feudal

Western Europe)• Europe far less tolerant of other non-Christian peoples,• Crusades fought against Muslim Seljuk Turks (Arabs not directly involved)

• Although crusades were fought over Jerusalem, Europe became introduced to goods from the

East.

South Asia/India Beginning Post Classical Period 600 CE

• Arab forces entered India as early as the mid 7th century before the establishment of the Umayyad caliphate

 

South Asia/India Middle Post Classical Period 1000 CE

• Mahmud of Ghazni, leader of the Turks in Afghanistan, led raids of India between 1001 and 1027.

 • Mahmud demolished Hindu and

Buddhist sites

• Buddhism declined.

• Mosques or Islamic shrines were constructed on the sites where Hindu and Buddhist structures were destroyed.

 

South Asia/India Late Post Classical Period 1450 CE

• Mahmud’s successors established an Islamic state known as the sultanate of Delhi.

 • By 1500 CE Indian Muslims numbered

25 million, about 1/4 of the subcontinent’s population.

• Many Indians converted to Islam to get out of the caste system.

 • The bhakti movement emerged in

southern Indian in the 12th century. It was a cult that set out to erase the distinction between Hinduism and Islam.

 

South Asia/India Continuities – Post Classical Period 600-1450 CE

Muslim Arab and Persian mariners dominated trade between India and western lands from the 7th through 15th centuries.

Muslim traders frequently married local women and found places for themselves in Indian society.

Indian Ocean Trade continued to grow, creating demand for silk and porcelain from China, spices from southeast Asia; pepper, gems, pearls, and cotton from India; incense and horses from Arabia and southwest Asia; and gold, ivory, and slaves from east Africa.  

Africa Early Post Classical Period 600 CE

 Arabic conquerors established Islam in north Africa during the 7th and 8th centuries.

By the 8th century, Muslim merchants flocked to camel caravans traveling across the Sahara to Ghana in search of gold for much needed salt (prevent dehydration). Merchants from Ghana also provided ivory and slaves for traders from north Africa.

Africa Mid Post Classical Period 1000 CE

  10h century—King of Ghana converted to Islam.  The king did not impose Islam on his people. Instead, in many cases, the people practiced both faiths.(animism and Islam)  After about the 9th century, trans Saharan(W) and Indian Ocean trade networks (E)stimulated increased traffic in African slaves, ivory, and gold.

Africa Late Post Classical Period 1450 CE

 After the Mali Empire conquered Ghana, the rulers of Mali recognized Islam but did not force it on their realm.

Mali ruler Mansa Musa observed Islamic tradition by making his pilgrimage to Mecca (Hajj) in 1324-1325. He gave out gold all along his journey.

Upon his return to Mali, he built mosques, particularly in the trading cities frequented by Muslim merchants.

He also sent students to study with distinguished Islamic scholars in north Africa. He had 500 slaves on his trip to Mecca.Women were granted higher status in Africa (matrilineal –succession and in heritance was generated through mothers line)

Africa Continuities Post Classical Period

 In east Africa, like in west Africa, the ruling elites and the wealthy merchants converted to the Islamic faith. Swahili ( blend of Bantu and Arabic) coast in East Africa

Muslim women in sub-Saharan Africa socialized freely with men and they continued to appear and work openly in society in ways not permitted to women in other Islamic lands.  Between 750 and 1500 CE, the number of African slaves transported to northern destinations may have exceeded ten million.

Islam supplemented traditional religions of Africa.

Comparisons

Similarities Differences

5 PillarsShariaKoranArabicRole of tradeToleranceHadith-sayings of the prophet MuhammadMethods of conversionMovement throughout Dar Al Islam

Role of womenRelationship to other religionsDifferent cultures which were adopted and adaptedTrade regionsInteractions with other empiresWar vs Peace as a method of conversion

Comp: Dar Al Islam• From 600-1450 in the Middle East u and

South Asia Islam developed along trade routes coming in both through the sword and through Sufi Mystics. Islam in the Middle East was the native faith to the Arabs whilst the Abbasid Caliphate had to contend with Hinduism. The transition to Islam would be much smoother as it was a matter of sound economic decision-making to convert while the Delhi Sultanate would have to rely on granted Dhimmi status to ethnic Hindus

• In West Europe and Africa, trade would help to introduce Islam in the Post-Classical era 600-1450. European fought against Muslim conquerors while many merchants in Ghana would convert to gain greater access to global markets. Deep divisions between Christendom and Islam in Western Europe would foment the Crusades while Africa’s state=sponsorship under Malian king Mansa Musa would strengthen an age of Islamic scholarship in Timbuktu.Both Western Europe and Africa would gain the economic and scholarly influence of Dar al Islam although Africa would gain it directly and only after the crusades would Europe feel its influence.