Period 3 - Aim:

How did empires rise and collapse and in other regions new state forms emerged? - Muslim States

DO NOW:

1) How would you describe the Sufi religion based on the quotes below?

2) How are these Sufi sayings different from what you know about orthodox Islam?

Mansur al-Hallaj: Sayings

• You know and are not known; You see and are not seen.

• And now I am Yourself, Your existence is my own, and it is also my will.

• I have seen my Lord with the eye of my heart, and I said: "Who are You?" He said:"You." • I do not cease swimming in the seas of love, rising with the wave, then descending; now the wave sustains me, and then I sink beneath it; love bears me away where there is no longer any shore.

The Umayyad Dynasty (661-750 CE)

• From Meccan merchant class • Brought stability to the Islamic community • Capital: Damascus, Syria • Associated with Arab military aristocracy • Favoritism of Arab military rulers causes discontent • Limited social mobility for non-Arab Muslims • Head tax (jizya) on non Muslims • Umayyad luxurious living causes further decline in moral authority

The Abbasid Dynasty (750-1258 CE)

• Abu al-Abbas Sunni Arab, allied with Shia, non-Arab Muslims • Seizes control of Persia and Mesopotamia • Defeats Umayyad army in 750 – Invited Umayyads to banquet, then massacred them • Diverse nature of administration (i.e. not exclusively Arab) • Militarily competent, but not bent on imperial expansion (HELP or Hurt?) • Content to administer the empire inherited •

Dar al-Islam

• Growth through military activity of autonomous Islamic forces • WHY DECLINE?

Abbasid Decline

• Persian influence • Court at Baghdad • Influence of Islamic scholars • Ulama (legal scholars) and qadis (judges) sought to develop policy based on the Quran and sharia • Civil war between sons of Harun al-Rashid • Provincial governors assert regional independence • Dissenting sects, heretical movements • Abbasid caliphs become puppets of Persian nobility • Later, Saljuq Turks influence, Sultan real power behind the throne

Al-Andalus (Muslim Spain) • Muslim Berber conquerors from North Africa take Spain, early 8 th c.

• Allied to Umayyads, refused to recognize Abbasid dynasty – Formed own caliphate – Tensions, but interrelationship • Golden Age - Muslim rule in Spain, libraries, colleges, and public baths • Arts, literatures, and architecture flourished.

• Different ethnicities and religions were tolerated for instance Christianity and Judaism.

• Almoravid rule (dynasty) Almohad rule (dynasty)

Formation of a Hemispheric Trading Zone

• • Historical precedent of Arabic trade

Dar al-Islam

encompasses silk routes – ice exported from Syria to Egypt in summer, 10 th century • Camel caravans • Maritime trade • Scale of trade causes banks to develop –

Sakk

( “ check ” ) • Uniformity of Islamic law throughout

dar al Islam

promotes trade • Joint ventures common

Changing Status of Women

• Quran improves status of women

– Outlawed female infanticide – Brides, not husbands, claim dowries

• Yet male dominance preserved

– Patrilineal descent – Polygamy permitted, Polyandry forbidden – Veil adopted from ancient Mesopotamian practice

Formation of an Islamic Cultural Tradition

• Islamic values – Uniformity of Islamic law in

dar al-Islam

– Establishment of

madrasas

– Importance of the

Hajj

• Sufi missionaries – Asceticism, mysticism – Some tension with orthodox Islamic theologians – Wide popularity

Dar al-Islam