Origins By 600, Byzantium and the Sasanids had been fighting for four centuries Their power broken...
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Transcript of Origins By 600, Byzantium and the Sasanids had been fighting for four centuries Their power broken...
OriginsBy 600, Byzantium and the Sasanids had been fighting for four centuries
Their power broken by Arabs in the seventh century
ArabiaNomadic Bedouin populationSmall kingdoms – some client to ByzantinesSome pagan, Christian, Jewish
Mecca – center of caravan tradePilgrimage site because of Ka’ba (Kaaba)
Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc., Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. All rights reserved.
Origins (cont.)Arabic language defined and linked Arabs
Semitic tongue of Afro-Asiatic family
Arabs divided by religion, blood feudsShared a highly developed poetic idiom
Islam not a religion of the desertOrigins were in a commercial centerFirst converts were Meccan town townsfolk and Yathrib (Medina) date farmers
Most Arabs were pagans before conversionCaravans – connection to diverse cultures
Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc., Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. All rights reserved.
IntroductionIslamic civilization
Last great world civilization to appear
Creation of distinctive Islamic religious, social, and political institutions
Within an Arab-dominated empire
The story of evolution of these institutions into a cosmopolitan array of cultureDerived from single prophetic event
Muhammad’s proclamation of the Qur’anGave Arabs a new unity
Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc., Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. All rights reserved.
Muhammad the Qur’an
Muhammad – 570-632Orphan from Meccan Quraysh tribe
Khadija
Troubled by idolatry, worldlinessFelt called to warn Arabs
• About their disregard for morality• About the worship due God
Called by Gabriel to be prophet of GodQur’an – “reciting” of God’s Word
Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc., Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. All rights reserved.
Message of the Qur’anThe Prophet is to warn people
Against worship of false godsAgainst immorality
• Especially injustice to poor, orphans, widows, and women in general
Judgment DayEternal punishment or eternal joy
Recognition of God’s transcendenceIslam – “submission” to God’s willMuslim – “submissive” or “surrendering”
Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc., Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. All rights reserved.
Ethical MonotheismEthical monotheism of Judaic and Christian tradition reached logical conclusion
Strongly theocentric visionAbsolute obedience to one god
ProphetsNoah, Abraham, Moses, JesusSalih – nonbiblical Arabian figureMuhammad as final prophet
Jews and Christians summoned to respond to moral imperatives of Qur’an
Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc., Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. All rights reserved.
Early Career of Muhammad
Largely ignored at firstOthers viewed him as a threat
Hegira – “emigration”In 622 Muhammad called to Yathrib (Medina)
• Settle dispute – five warring tribes
Starting point of Islamic calendar
Creation of a distinctive Islamic community (Umma)
Arab Jews of Medina rejected his messageMoving Muhammad to turn against them
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FoundationsAllegiance to the UmmaHonesty in public and person affairsModesty in personal habitsImproved treatment of womenRitual ablution before prayerDaily prayer – 3 then later 5 times dailyTithe to support less fortunate MuslimsDaytime fasting during RamadanHajj – pilgrimage to Mecca
Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc., Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. All rights reserved.
Roots of TolerationAcceptance of Islamic political authority brought tolerance
“Peoples of the Scripture”Jews and Christians who accepted Islamic rule
Many alliances sealed with marriagesTiny band of Muslims bound together by
Personal allegiance to MuhammadSubmission (Islam) to GodMembership in the Umma of “submitters”
Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc., Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. All rights reserved.
Women in Early Islamic Society
Qur’an improved status of women Prohibits female infanticide
Outlines rights to inherit, own, and manage property
Negotiate own marriage
Negative AspectsNo full equality – legitimizes patriarchal society
Polygamy
Seclusion
Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc., Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. All rights reserved.
Birth of Caliphate
Death of Muhammad in 632No son or designated successor
Challenge to the Umma
Abu Bakr – r. 632-634Caliph – (khalifa) successor
Reestablished Medinan hegemony
Umma was a new kind of supratribal community that demanded more than allegiance to a particular leader
Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc., Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. All rights reserved.
Early ExpansionUmar – r. 634-644 and Uthman – r. 644-656
Iran, Egypt, Fertile CrescentLast Sasanid ruler defeated in 651
Ali – r. 656-661 – Civil warMu’awiya – r. 661-680
Islamic fleet – Cyprus, Sicily, RhodesConstantinople besieged
Raids into Spain in 711Defeated at Poitiers by Charles Martel, 732Arabic armies in Indus region in 710
Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc., Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. All rights reserved.
Factors of Success
Weakened state of Byzantines and SasanidsNew sense of unityReligious zeal
Desire to extend Dar al-IslamToo much can be made of jihadToleration – Jizya
Temptation of greater prosperity elsewhereAstute policies of early leaders
Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc., Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. All rights reserved.
New Islamic Order
Expansion demanded new political, social, cultural reality
CaliphateAt first, succession similar to choosing shaykhs
Change with Islamic influence• Caliph – khalifa “successor”• Imam – “leader”• Emir – “commander”
First four caliphs associated with pristine purity
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Umayya Caliphate 661-750
First civil war – 656-661
Mu’awiya – r. 661-680Kinsman of Uthman
Founded first dynastic caliphate
Not viewed in same light as “rightly guided” caliphs
Seen as too worldly by conservatives
Would fall to AbbasidsDissension among Arab tribal factions, non-Arab resentment of Arab preference,
Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc., Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. All rights reserved.
UlamaReligious leadership in Umma not with caliphsWith Muslims recognized for piety and learning
Sought as authoritiesMost concerned with preserving, interpreting, and applying the Qur’anPrecedents from Meccan and Medinan practiceOral traditions
Enduring pattern of education based on study under persons highest in chain of trustworthy Muslims linking current age to earliest Umma
Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc., Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. All rights reserved.
Ulama (cont.)Ulama – “persons of right knowledge”
Scholars who studied religious history• Personal legal decisions • Collective discussions of issues
Shari’a – divine lawCenters of Ulama – Medina, Mecca, Iraq
Ulama as guardians of Muslim conscienceCreation of a workable moral-legal system based on a scholarly elite
Ulama shared leadership with rulers
Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc., Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. All rights reserved.
UmmaStrength of Qur’anic message was universalismNew converts still second class
“Clients”Diwan – army register
• Perpetuated Arab precedence
Dominance of Arabic languageEarly Persian-Arab tensions
Persian cultural renaissance – impact on Arabs
Different interpretations of the Umma
Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc., Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. All rights reserved.
Kharijites
Roots in first civil war 656-661
Kharijites - “seceders” from Ali’s campMuslim policy on strict Qur’anic principles
Total equality of the faithful
Leader of the Umma should be best Muslim
Rigorist view of membershipAnyone who commits a major sin no longer a Muslim
Moral imperatives of Muslim duty
Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc., Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. All rights reserved.
Shi’aRelates to leadership of Umma
Murder of Ali by Kharijite in 661Murder of Ali’s son Husayn at Kaarbala, 680Shi’at Ali – “partisans of Ali”
Shi’ites believed Ali to be chosen successorIdea of divinely inspired knowledgePassed from Muhammad to heirs
Leader of Islamic world should carry Muhammad’s blood and spiritual authority
Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc., Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. All rights reserved.
Centrists
Choice between Kharijites and Shi’aMost Muslims accepted a central position
Sunnis – followers of the tradition (sunna) of the Prophet and Qur’an
Broad middle spectrum of Muslims• Put communal solidarity and maintenance of the
Islamic polity above purist tie to a particular theology
Inclusive rather than exclusive
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Sunni Foundations
Basic ideas of SunnisUmma is a theocratic entity
• Qur’an
• Muhammad’s precedence
• Interpretive efforts and consensus of Muslims
Caliph absolute temporal ruler
Muslim – “There is no God but God, and Muhammad is God’s prophet.”
Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc., Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. All rights reserved.
The High Caliphate
Umayyad caliph Abd al-Malik 692Victory in second civil war
Consolidates power of caliph
Era of political strength, cultural vibrancy, wealth, and centralization
Height of caliphal power and splendor 786-833
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Abbasid State
Abbasid revolution ended Arab dominanceBaghdad – capital – “city of peace”
Eastward shift in cultural and political orientation
Claimed descent from al-Abbas
Height under Harun al-Rashid – r. 786-809
Mamluks – slave soldiersCaliphs eventually dominated by mamluks
Alienation of Muslim populace
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Society
Deep division between rules and populaceTypical of most Islamic societies
Central power of Abbasids wanedProvincial rulers still recognized authority
Iraq and Iran saw full Islamization of local elite before mid-twelfth century
Followed by Spain, North Africa, Syria
Full Islamization diminished need for centralized caliphal power
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Decline of the Caliphate
Disputes over the succession of the ProphetDivided Muslims
Spain, North Africa, Iran & Egypt established independent states and caliphates
Rise of Shi’ite clan
Seljuk sultans
Figurehead caliphs
Mongols kill last caliph 1258
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“Classical” Islamic Culture
Abbasid rich cultural legacySophisticated tastes Thirst for knowledge
Philosophy & SciencesTranslation of Greek worksProgress in astronomy, medicinePreservation of Greek works
• Europe cultural backwater
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Culture (cont.)
Language and LiteratureAdab “manners” literature
Historical and biographical writings
Hadith
Art and ArchitectureAdaptation of Graeco-Roman, Byzantine, and Iranian art
Calligraphic motifs
Iconoclasm
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