Transcript The Family & Mosque in Islam

Islamic History: the First 150 Years
Umar & the Early Conquests
© 2006 Abdur Rahman
Session Plan
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The Caliphate of Umar
The Conquest of Syria
The Conquest of Iraq
Aftermath
Section I: The Caliphate of Umar
Umar
• Umar ibn al-Khattab, to give him his full
name, a member of the `Adi clan of Quraysh
• Umar a physically strong and imposing man
• Renowned for his temper and strong sense
of justice
• His family were strong adherents of Meccan
paganism
• His father Khattab was a persecutor of Zayd
ibn Naufal, one of the hanifs
• Until his conversion to Islam, Umar a strong
follower of the old ways
Umar
• Umar converted during the mid-Meccan
period of Muhammad’s preaching
• Emigrated to Medina (and is thus a Muhajir)
• Took part in the battles of Badr, Uhud,
Khandaq and others
• One of Muhammad’s closest companions
• Also a close associate of Abu Bakr
• We have already seen his role in the Saqifah
incident
• Abu Bakr appoints Umar his successor in
13AH
Umar’s Government
• Umar’s stamped his personality on virtually every
aspect of government
• As such, in many ways, Umar represents the
Muslim ideal of an industrious and just ruler
• Although some aspects of this reputation may well
be legendary, it is fair to say that Umar was keenly
interested in just and fair administration
• In this section, we will look at Umar’s
administration a little more closely
• This will help us gain insight into Umar himself as
well as into the running of the early Islamic state
Umar’s Government
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Umar’s administration marked by consultation
The concept of Sabiqa (‘Precedence’)
Muslim community graded according to the earliness of
conversion
Early Meccan converts (muhajiroon)
The Ansar
Participants at Badr
Participants at Uhud
Participants at Khandaq
Those who took the ‘Pledge of Good Pleasure’ (Bay`ah
al-Ridwan) at Hudaybiyya with the Prophet
Those who converted after the conquest of Mecca
This was also used to assign payments during the
conquests (known as the diwan)
Umar’s Government
• Institution of the hijri dating system
• Understanding of his role
‘I have no greater right on your money [i.e. public funds] than the
guardian of an orphan has on the orphan’s property. If I am wealthy,
I shall not take any of it. If I am needy, I shall take for my
maintenance according to usage. You people – you have many
rights on me which you should demand of me. One of those rights is
that I should not collect revenues and spoils of war unlawfully; the
second is that the revenues and spoils of war should not be spent
unlawfully; another is that I should increase your stipends and
protect the frontiers, and that I should cast you into unnecessary
perils’ (Abu Yusuf, 117, quoted in Numani, 2004, 79)
• Strict enforcement of Islamic criminal law (hudud)
• Said to have had his son, Abu Shahma, flogged for drinking
in public, as was Qadama ibn Maz’un (his brother-in-law)
• Abdullah b. Amr b. al-`As (son of the conqueror of Egypt)
said to have beaten a Copt (Egyptian Christian), Umar had
the Copt beat Abdullah in public, in front of his father
Section II: The Conquest of Syria
Byzantine-Persian Wars
• During Muhammad’s time, Byzantium and Sassanid Persia
were in the midst of a devastating war
• Persian occupation of Syria and Palestine
• This is alluded to in Surat al-Rum (1-3) of the Quran:
‘…The Romans [Byzantines] have been vanquished in the
nearest part of the land; but after being vanquished, they
shall vanquish, in a few years…’
• Fall of Jerusalem, removal of the True Cross
• Syria occupied for approximately 15 years
• In other words, almost an entire generation
• Heraclius, governor of Africa, overthrows Byzantine ruler and
becomes emperor
• Roman re-conquest
• Persian ruler overthrown and Sassanid state thrown into civil
war
• An expensive and exhausting war
Syria
• Please see maps contained in the Reading Pack
• Syrian geography makes it open to both the Mediterranean
Sea and to the Deserts of Arabia
• Historically, many different cultural, linguistic and religious
influences in Syria
• ‘Syria’ known to the Arabs as Bilad al-Sham
• Al-Sham includes modern Syria, Israel and Lebanon (we
will use the term in this sense)
• Syrian history long
• Strong Hellenistic (Greek) influence
• An important part of the Roman empire for some 600 years
by Muhammad’s time
• Greek speaking urban elite, Aramaic speaking countryside
• By this time, ‘Syriac’ (a form of Aramaic) had become an
important liturgical language for eastern Christians
Syria
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Syrian desert largely Arab speaking Bedouin by this time
Palmyra
A number of different religions present
Large Jewish communities
Samaritans
‘Pagans’, i.e. the Moon god Sin in Harran
Syria largely Christian
Monophysite Creed
Opposed to Byzantine state ‘orthodoxy’
Dispute related to nature of Christ
Persian occupation
Syrian population seems to have leaned away from
Byzantium
• More in common with Arabs?
The Conquest of Syria
• A detailed account of the invasion of Syria is beyond our
scope here
• Also, the sources are difficult to reconcile on a number of
key points
• As such, we will focus on the key events
• Those interested in a more detailed discussion should refer
to F. M. Donner’s The Early Islamic Conquests
• The initial phase seems to have been mainly concerned to
assert Medinan authority in the Syrian desert
• Punitive expeditions also seem to have been undertaken
against the Ghassanid allies of Rome
• Under Abu Bakr, raiding seems to have been the main
focus
• Khalid b. Sa’id seemingly charged to bring Arab tribes of the
region under control
Conquest of Syria
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Byzantine allies begin to gather, along with regular troops
Khalid b. al-Walid ordered to join Syrian army from Iraq
Khalid’s Desert March (see map)
With his arrival, Muslim attention seems to have turned
towards the cities of Syria
The first proper clash between Muslim and Byzantine
forces seems to have taken place near Gaza in
634/12AH
Battle of Ajnadayn (July 634CE/27th/28th Jumada I 13AH)
Fiercely fought, but seemingly a resounding victory for
the Muslim armies
A Roman commander killed: al-Qubuqlar or Cubicularius
(‘Chamberlain’)
Battle of Fihl: a further defeat for Syrians, who then
regroup in the Damascus region
Byzantine reinforcements
The Battle of Yarmuk
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The crucial encounter in the battle for Syria
Related in all the main sources
See the passage of al-Baladhuri provided
Fantastic numbers: 200,000 Byzantines against 24,000
Muslims
Both sides realised the serious of the battle
Baladhuri reports that the ‘Greeks’ chained themselves
together (though this may be a double)
Syrian population said to have supported Muslim forces
Sources report that a number of women fought, such as
Hind, wife of Abu Sufyan
After the defeat, Heraclius reportedly said: "Peace unto
thee, O Syria, and what an excellent country this is for the
enemy!“
Most probably apocryphal
Conquest of Syria
• Damascus and other key cities occupied
• Jerusalem holds out until 16/17AH (637 – 8CE)
• Traditional account holds that the city refused to
surrender unless the Caliph himself came in
person
• Umar said to have arrived on a camel with a single
servant in rough clothes
• Tradition holds that he visited the shrines of
Jerusalem, but refused to pray in any of the
churches for fear it be turned into a mosque
• See handout entitled ‘Pact of `Umar’
Conquest of Syria
• It is important to remember that the full
picture is more complex than this
• Moreover, there is major disagreement
between modern historians of the stages of
conquest
A Brief Pause
• Turn to the person next to you and spend
a couple of minutes summarising the
lecture thus far.
• Questions?
Section III: The Conquest of Iraq
Iraq
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A land of contrasts
Low-lying alluvial basin
Ancient southern Iraq marshland
Foothills of Zagros mountains of Iran in the East
Water scarce outside of river areas
Social, religious and linguistic complexity
Most of the population seem to have been Aramaic
speaking
Largely Christian in terms of faith
Mainly Nestorian, though with some Jacobite communities
in the North
Along the desert fringes, large numbers of Arab tribes lived
Some of these tribes were nomadic, some were settled
Al-Hira: former capital of Lakhmid kings (clients of Persia)
Iraq
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Iraq the birthplace of writing
Sumer & Babylon
Achaemenid Persia & the Seleucid empire
Parthian kingdom
By the 7th century, Iraq had been part of the Persian
Sassanid empire for some 400 years
In other words, there was a large and influential Persian
community in Iraq
The former capital cities of Seleucia and Ctesiphon situated
in central Iraq
Persian landlord: dihqan
Zoroastrianism mainly in cities and official contexts
Iraq the birthplace of Manichaeism
Large and influential Jewish community in Babylon
The Babylonian Talmud produced there
The Conquest of Iraq
• In contrast to Syria, Iraq does not seem to have
been an initial target
• Initial operations seem to have been limited to Arab
tribes living on the fringes of Mesopotamia
• Al-Muthanna ibn Haritha’s raids
• Upon his accession, Umar sends Abu `Ubayd alThaqafi with reinforcements
• Abu `Ubayd an important figure and in day two we
will come across his son al-Mukhtar
• Muslim forces defeated at the ‘Battle of the Bridge’
• Umar convinced of the need to send a major force
• This force subsequently commanded by Sa’d ibn
Abi Waqqas, a major Companion of Muhammad
The Battle of al-Qadisiya
• A major battle and victory for the Muslim forces opened
up Iraq
• Our sources put the Muslim army at somewhere between
6,000 and 12,000 men
• Persian regular army said to be 60,000 strong
• A hard fought affair, spread over several days
• Raids and excursions into southern Persia (Fars) and
northern Mesopotamia (Jazira)
• Persian forces attempt to regroup
• Yazdigird III, the Persian king (Shahanshah) orders
conscription
• Battle of Nihawand: ‘The Victory of Victories’
• Persian forces badly defeated
• Yazdigird flees to Turkish Khagan, dies soon afterwards
• Persian empire conquered completely
Section IV: Aftermath
Aftermath
• The conquests brought radical change to the emerging
Islamic state
• Firstly, it brought in large amounts of wealth in the form of
booty
• Secondly, it meant that the Muslims came into possession of
large estates in both Syria, Iraq and Iran
• Thirdly, resulted in an increased number of slaves
• These created social tensions, which came to the fore
during the caliphate of Uthman
• Umar generally allowed the conquering tribes to settle in
relevant areas
• These tribes thus migrated to these areas
• Led to population shifts
• Soldiers (Muqatila) registered on the state payroll (the
Diwan)
• Umar used the concept of Sabiqa to decide rates of stipend
• Appointed Mu`awiya ibn Abi Sufyan to governorship of Syria
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Aftermath
Garrison cities (misr, pl. amsar)
Establishment of Kufa and Basra, two
important cities
These tribes thus migrated to these areas
Led to population shifts
Soldiers (Muqatila) registered on the state
payroll (the Diwan)
Umar used the concept of Sabiqa to decide
rates of stipend
Appointed Mu`awiya ibn Abi Sufyan to
governorship of Syria
The Death of Umar
• Umar assassinated by a Persian prisoner
of war, Firoz, in 23AH
• Apparently after Umar had judged against
him in a dispute regarding pay
• Stabbed in the mosque during prayer
• Firoz then said to have killed himself
• Umar calls a number of senior
Companions together and arranges a
committee to elect his successor
• Buried next to Muhammad in Medina
The Shura Committee
• Chosen in advance by Umar
• Abdur Rahman ibn Awf (one of the ‘10 promised
paradise’)
• Uthman ibn Affan (twice a son-in-law of Muhammad
and member of Qurayshi aristocracy)
• Ali ibn Abi Talib
• Sa’d ibn Abi Waqqas
• Al-Zubayr ibn Awwam (an early companion and the
Prophet’s cousin)
• Talha ibn Ubayallah (an early companion)
• We will look more closely at this committee and its
deliberations in Day 2