THE ISLAMIC WORLD

The Origins of Islam

Arabian Peninsula – Bedouins (nomadic herdsmen)

Mecca (Saudi Arabia) founded by Umayyad clan of a Bedouin tribe

–Ka’ba – shrine that held the Black Stone and many idols of their gods

–Thousands traveled to Mecca every year to visit the shrine = $$$$$

Bedouin religion was a blend of animism and polytheism

Muhammad the Prophet

570 – 632 CE

Trader, married his business manager Khadijah

40 years old – spiritual visions – proclaimed that there was only one God (Allah)

Umayyad political leaders and merchants were threatened by him – why?

Muhammad and his followers fled to Medina (the “hijrah” and Year One of the Islamic calendar)

Muhammad the Leader

Muhammad = religious prophet + political leader + military organizer

Returned to Mecca with an army –destroyed the idols on the Ka’ba, leaving only the Black Stone to symbolize Allah

He gained support uniting the various clans under the banner of Islam before his death

Islamic Beliefs

Qur’an – book of Muhammad’s revelations (650 CE)

– According to Muslims, the Qur’an is the literal word of Allah (no speaking of God through the prophets like Jewish and Christian Holy Texts, even though those are also considered the Word of God). Why is this important?

Islamic Beliefs

Hadith - collection of stories and sayings of Muhammad

shari’a – law based on beliefs in the Qur’an and Hadith

Accepted many beliefs of Jews and Christians (“People of the Book”) –Muslims hail Muhammad as the Seal of the Prophets (last of the many prophets sent by God)

Five Pillars of Faith

Confession of faith

Prayer (5 times daily, facing Mecca)

Fasting (One month – Ramadan – from sunup to sundown)

Alms

Hajj (pilgrimage to Mecca)

Muhammad’s Successors:

The “Rightly Guided Caliphs” The umma (Muslim community) met to determine

a successor. All caliphs were elected…

1. Abu Bakr – one of his earliest followers and closest

friends

• Very successful military conquest of the Middle East. Why?• Previous empires were gone or politically weak

• Jihad – “struggle” – two interpretations: fight evil within yourself, or fight the fight to spread the faith

2. Umar (assassinated)

3. Uthman (assassinated)

4. Ali (Muhammad’s cousin and son-in-law;

assassinated)

Sunni – Shi’ite Split

Ali’s assassination sets off a civil war. Who should rule the Muslim empire?

–Only members of Muhammad’s family (like Ali) > Shi’ite

–All early caliphs were legitimate and anyone who is a righteous Muslim can rule > Sunni

They are the majority and found the Umayyad Dynasty

Sunni – Shi’ite Split

Umayyad Caliphate

(661-750 CE) Political:

– Capital: moved from Medina to Damascus (Syria)

– Caliph became a lavish, imperial position

– Hereditary rule instead of elected caliphs

– Military conquest – stopped by Charles Martel (remember him) in Europe at the Battle of Tours (733)

– Bureaucracy

– Treated “People of the Book” well (still some taxes)

Decline

– Exclusion of non-Arab subjects caused a rebellion demanding social and religious equality > civil war > Abbasid clan takes control

Abbasid Caliphate

(750-1258 CE) Changes

– Capital moved to Baghdad (Iraq)

– Claimed to be descendants of Muhammad’s uncle –appeased Shi’ites

– Opened Islam to all on an equal basis

– Cosmopolitan mix of cultures

Continuities

– Bureaucracy

vizier (head of government directed by caliph)– Right hand man to the caliph

emir (governor) controlled each province– Hey! Sounds like?

The Golden Age of Islam:

Social and Economic Advances

–Sharing of crops/farming techniques across the region > increased food supply

–Urban expansion

–Trade – dhows (vessels with lateen sails > Indian Ocean trade) + Saharan trade by nomadic groups

–Problem: slaves (mostly non-Muslims) > cause of constant social unrest

The Golden Age of Islam:

Artistic and Intellectual Advances– Standardized language: Arabic (could only

read and write the Qur’an in Arabic)

– Poetry

The Thousand and One Nights (Scheherazade)

– Madrasas - urban universities (***translated writings of Greeks and Indians***)

– Geometric art, Persian rugs, calligraphy, marble inlay, domes

– Arabic numerals

– Al-jabr (algebra)

Art and architecture

Art and architecture

Art and architecture

Arabic numerals

(we got the zero from India)

Abbasid Caliph is the “King of Kings” over a diverse empire

(provinces ruled by emirs). Potential problems?

Decline of the Abbasid

Caliphate Difficulty controlling the outer regions

– Diverse empire far from Baghdad

– Religious splintering between Sunni and Shi’ite

Farther away from the homeland of Islam, the more lax the beliefs because SYNCRETISM!

– Slave revolts and peasant uprisings

I’m telling y’all. Don’t anger the peasants.

– Declining quality of later caliphs

– By the 800s, Africa and Arabia had already declared independence

Decline of the Abbasid

CaliphateAbbasids depended on Seljuk Turks

(nomadic horsemen) to help control the empire.

–The Seljuk Turks gained more power, eventually becoming the sultan with the real power (caliph was just a figurehead)

Different Turkish groups invaded and fought, leaving the region vulnerable to attack…

TO BE CONTINUED…