Umayyad

Arab conquerors

Umayyad Empire stretched from Spain to central Asia

Administrative Reforms• Caliph appointed governors to rule far-flung

provinces• Governors ruled from strong garrison towns• Spoils from victories helped finance

Umayyad government

• Instituted a three-level tax system: 1) Muslims: paid zakat 2) Muslim converts, considered mawali,

paid higher tax than Muslims 3) Non-Muslims paid highest tax, jizya

(security tax)

The Down Fall• Many devout Muslims opposed

extravagant lifestyles of Umayyad rulers• Persians resented secondary status in

Umayyad empire• Abbasids (led by Abbas) of Persia

revolted against Damascus• After defeating Umayyad armies,

Abbasids took control of Muslim empire

Abbasid

Preservers, Islamic flowering

Rise of Abbasid Party• The party traced its descent from Muhammad’s

uncle, al-Abbas. • Al-Abbas’ great great grandson, Abu al-Abbas

led his forces against the Umayyads. – Shi’a were his allies. – Mawali (Islamic converts) also supported him to

gain acceptance in the community of believers. • Captured Umayyad capital in Syria• At “Reconciliation Banquet” al-Abbas

slaughtered remaining Umayyad family.

Early Abbasid Era• Began to reject Shi’a and Malawi allies…and

defended Sunni Islam. • Built a centralized, absolutist imperial order.• New capital: Baghdad “The Round City” (2km in

diameter) on Tigris River• Baghdad became the richest city in the world (only

Constantinople came close)• Sat on jeweled thrones. Had palaces and harems!

Image of elitism was important. • For more than a century, able to collect revenue and

preserve law over much of the empire.

Islamic Conversion and Mawali Acceptance

• Mass conversions to Islam were encouraged throughout the empire.

• Most converts were won over peacefully because of appeal of Islamic beliefs and advantages they enjoyed:

- didn’t have to pay head tax- educational opportunities- jobs as traders, administrators,

judges

Economics of Dar al-Islam

Town & Country: Commercial Boom

and Agrarian Expansion

New Crops & Urban GrowthSeveral factors led to strong internal economy

1. Location2. Size of empire3. Beliefs of Islam

• Hajj• View of merchants• “People of the Book”

New Crops & Urban GrowthFostered diffusion of crops & technologies

– Sugarcane, rice, eggplants, oranges, lemons, limes, bananas, coconuts, watermelons, cotton

– Irrigation, fertilization, crop rotation• Impact = more planting seasons, increased food

supplies, urban growth, wealthy merchant & landlord class, slave trade

– Camel, camel saddle, compass, paper, astrolabe, triangular lateen sail, dhows• Impact = formation of hemispheric trading zone

Hemispheric Trading Zone• Acting as merchants on Silk Roads• Acting as merchants on Trans-Sahara Routes• Acting as merchants on Indian Ocean

– Impact: Interconnection b/t Africa, Europe, South Asia, Southeast Asia, China; Improved banking; New business forms that spread risks

– Example = Africa

The First Flowering of Islamic Learning

• Early contributions from Abbasid were great mosques and palaces. Ex: Dome of the Rock

• Advances in religious, legal and philosophical discourse.

• Science and Math! Abbasid scholars preserved Greek works of medicine, algebra, geometry, astronomy, anatomy, and ethics.

• Arabic traders in India carried the Indian number system across Mediter. and into Northern Europe. These number systems became ESSENTIAL to Scientific Revolution in W. Europe.

Global Connections: Early Islam & the World

• Abbasid Empire was the “go-between” for the ancient civilizations of the Eastern Hemisphere…this role grew as Arab trade networks expanded.

• Islam pioneered patterns of organization and thinking that would affect human societies in major ways for centuries.

• 5 Centuries = Spread of Islam played a dominant role in the Afro-Eurasian World.