Transcript Byzantine and Sassanid Empire around 600 CE

•The Spread of
Islam
Arabia Before Muhammad
• Pastoral nomads (Bedouins), farmers in
oasis – depend on each other
• Tribal society
• Caravan trade important (incense),
involved in trade network Mediterranean,
Middle East, East Africa, India
• Mecca major economic and religious
center
• Arab tribes under political influence of
Byzantine (Christian) and Sasanid empire
(Zoroastrian)
Byzantine and Sassanid Empire
around 600 CE
Muhammad´s Life and Teachings
• Muhammad former merchant, began to have
revelations by archangel Gabriel
• Main features: Arab decent traced to Ishmael,
Abraham´s son, strictly monotheistic, promise of
heaven after death, five pillars (fasting, prayer 5
times a day, almsgiving, confession of faith,
pilgrimage to Mecca), universal religion,
egalitariansim
• Elite in Mecca forces Mohammed to flee to
Medina (622 CE, HIJRA, beginning of Muslim
calendar)
• Describe the origins of Islam.
When and where was it created?
What geographic features had an
impact on it? What other cultures
impacted Islam? How?
• What are the main beliefs of
Islam?
Muslim Expansion
• Muhammad unites Arab tribes, conquers
Mecca in 630, dies 632
• First four succesors (caliphs) expand
territory to Middle East, North Africa,
Persia
• Caliphs are leaders of all Muslims, political
and religious (theocracy)
• Success possible because of exhausting
war between Persia and Byzantium,
motivated soldiers, ingenious military
leadership, indifferent population
• Quarrels over succession lead to split into
Sunni and Shia (Ali´s followers)
• Shia: mostly in Persia, southern Iraq
• Sunni: majority of Muslims
Muslim Expansion 632-750
Umayyad Dynasty (652-750)
• Capital in Damascus
• Wars against Byzantium
• Conquest of Spain, further advances stopped by
Franks in 732
• Arabic official language of government
• Conversions encouraged
• Non-Muslims pay a special head tax, but not
forced to convert
• Judaism and Christianity tolerated
Great Mosque in Damascus
Abbasid Dynasty (750-1258)
• Supported by mawali and Shiites, although Sunni
temselves
• New capital Baghdad (close to Persia)
• First 100 years golden age of Muslim culture
• Argument between ulama and caliph about who should
have the final say in religious matters
• Caliph renounces his final authority in religious matters
• Counter caliph in Cordoba, Spain
• Regional loyalties, problems with Shiites,rise of new
dynasties, and difficulty to control a large empire lead to
gradual decline
Government
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Rulers legitimate power by upholding shari’a law
Caliph is Muhammad’s successor
Arab military camps control conquered areas
Non-Muslims pay head tax
After conquest of Persia, Abbasids rely on
Persian bureaucrats
• Taxation of agricultural production
• Adopt pomp and ceremonies of Persian court
Islamic Law
• Sunna: tradition of the prophet
• Hadith: collection of Muhammad’s words
and deeds, several different strands
• Quran and Hadith basis for Shari’a
• Muslim ruler required to live by and
enforce shari’a
• Unifying effect on Muslim world, Ibn
Battuta could be judge in Africa as well as
in India
• Countries under Muslim law: Dar al Islam
Ibn Battuta´s Travels
• Describe the first 100 years of Muslim
expansion. How far did their empire
reach?
• What made the Muslim armies so
successful?
• How was government organized under the
Caliphate? What was new about that?
What was adopted from previous cultures?
• How important was Islamic law?
Political Fragmentation
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In 10th century third caliph in Cairo, Egypt
North Africa: Berbers (11th cent.)
Turkey, Iraq, Syria:
Abbasids rely increasingly on mamluks
Turkic slave soldiers gain political power
Seljuk Turks (11th century) create empire,
are „protectors“ of the caliphs, but hold defacto political power
• Turkey, Holy Land, Syria: Crusading
states(1099-1250), do not survive
permanently
• Middle East: Mongols (1258 sack of
Baghdad, end of Caliphate)
• What led to the fragmentation of the
Muslim Empire?
Cities
• New cities and former military camps
(Baghdad, Basra, Kufa, Fustat, Qayrawan)
• Grow because of conversions and
economic growth
• Many large cities from Byzantine and
Sassanid times, they decline however
• Centers of Islam: mosques, schools,
universities
• Centers of production: Cloth, metal goods,
ceramics, glass
Economy
• International trade dominated by
Muslim merchants
• Banking system, checks, credit,
crucial for long distance trade
• Big cities provide markets for trade
• Business partnerships (often with
Jewish and Christian merchants)
• Common currency (dinar)
Agriculture
• Independent landowners, large
estates with slaves, tenant farmers
• Production for market, cash crops
(sugar, citrus fruits, cotton, rice – from
India and China)
• Use of fertilizers, water pumps, mills,
improved irrigation
• Slaves used for sugar cane
production
• Analyze trade and economic innovations
under the Muslim empires.
• Analyze the role of cities.
• Give examples of economic production in
the Muslim Empire.
Science and Medicine
• House of wisdom in Baghdad (Greek,
Indian, Persian, Mesopotamian texts
translated into Arabic)
• Ibn al Haytham: Scientific Method, Book of
Optics
• Al-Khwarizmi: Algorithm, Algebra
• Ibn Sina: Medical encyclopedia,
contagious nature of diseases
• Surgeons disinfect wounds, use surgical
instruments, trained in hospitals
Technology
• Transfer between east and west:
• Paper, astrolabe, compass,
lateen sail, decimal system
• Production of steel (swords from
Damascus)
Women and Slaves
• Women veiled and confined to the house,
already in Byzantine and Sassanid times
• Legal protection of women under Quran, a
woman´s soul was considered equal before
Allah, but not equality to men (limited divorce
rights, keep dowry if divorced by their husband,
woman´s testimony in court weighs only half of a
man´s, men can have up to four wives)
• Slavery allowed, slaves from central Asia,
Europe, Africa
• Slaves used in households, as soldiers, in
agriculture
• Forbidden to enslave Muslims
Sufism
• In 12th and 13th century
• Mystic brotherhoods looking for union
with God through rituals, emotional
sense of religion, personal
relationship with Allah
• Sufi saints worshipped in countryside
• Important in spreading Islam to other
countries and making it more popular
Mosque in Samarra
• Alhambra in
Cordoba
Arches
• Arabesques
• What cultural contributions were made
under the Muslim empires? What earlier
cultures had an impact on Muslim culture?
Give examples of cultural transfer.
Calligraphy