Lecture 16: Islam

Topics:Nomads and empires

Emergence of ethical belief-systems

Southwest Asia from 200-700 CE

Questions:What social conditions gave rise to Muhammad’s teaching?

What are the central tenets of Islam?

How and why did it become an empire?

What consequences did it have for people in Southwest Asia?

ARABIA

Wadi Mahrat, East Yemen

ARABIANomads surrounded by agriculturalistsImpossible for empires to dominateSocial organization = kin-based tribes led by chiefsNo writing (but strong oral poetic tradition)

BEDOUIN

Trade

Mecca

#1 trading center in Arabia

Pilgrimage site

Ka’ba

Housed tokens of many tribesSpecial shrine of joint worshipPilgrimage = peace time among contentious tribes

Qurayshi clan dominated Meccan trade from the end of the 5th c. CEmerchants (not nomads)diplomatic ties to many tribesalso moneylenders

Byzantines (Rome) v. Sassanians

ca. 600 CE

massively destructive warboth weak internally

disrupts trade!

Muhammad (c. 570-632 CE)

Merchant in Mecca of Qurayshi lineage

Retreat & first revelations around age 40

Move to Yathrib (Medina) in 622 = Hijra

Establishment of UmmaDetermine religious practice, family law, community law

No distinction between secular and sacredFurther revelations

Raided and fought other tribes, victorious; took Mecca in 630

No writings but...memorized revelations = Qur’anwritten down soon after death by disciples

Hadith = sayings of the prophet - written ca. 150 years later

Five Pillars of Islam

Bear witness: One God & Muhammad his messenger

Pray five times daily

Give alms to the needy

Fast during Ramadan

Pilgrimage (Hajj) to Ka’ba in Mecca once during lifetime

“Islam” = “submission” to God

Conscious acts, not merely beliefs

Companions first

Supporters of ‘Ali = Shi’a (= Shi’ites)

• ‘Ali became 4th caliph (656-661 CE) but assassinated

• Shi’a formed to fight for descendents right to succeed

• Developed cult of martyrs and differing interpretation of Qur’an

Muhammaďs Successors

Muhammad = religious authority + chief judge + military leaderUmma = religious community w/no separate secular law

Already committed to political/military expansion

What to do when Muhammad dies in 632 CE?

Caliph (“deputy”)religious authority + chief judge + military leader

Heirs or companions?

The Umayyad Caliphate (661-750 CE)

Great Mosque, Damascus (706-15 CE)

Prominent, well-connected Meccan merchant family

Conquered Syria, Palestine, Mesopotamia, Egypt & North Africa

Conquered Sassanian Persia in 651 CE

Conquered Visigothic Spain in 711 CE

Capital at Damascus (Syria)

Governing elite = Arabs

Non-Muslim monotheists tolerated

Polytheism not tolerated

Cities and economy thrive