CHAPTER 7: ABBASID DECLINE AND THE

SPREAD OF ISLAM

SPREAD OF ISLAM: EARLY HISTORY

SPREAD OF ISLAM: ABBASID DYNASTY

THE LATE ABBASID ERA Mansur--- Bagdad

As early as the third Abbasid Caliph, al-Mahdi (775-785), issues related to the decline of the Abbasid Caliphate were apparent.Somewhat typical pattern:Caliph abandons frugal ways of predecessorsCaliph does NOT establish clear pattern of succession

Hadi --- terrible ruler

In many cases, wives/concubines became involved in the various palace intrigues associated with the succession crises.

THE LATE ABBASID ERA

Harun al-Rashid (786-809) ascended to the throne after the death of al-Mahdi (and the poisoning of his eldest son)

Harun al-Rashid enjoyed the sumptuous palace living

Barmakids make most of the decisions

Emissaries sent in the 9th century were dazzled with the splendor of Baghdad

HARUN AL-RASHID Power of Royal Advisors grew throughout the rule of Harun al-Rashid.

Caliphs became pawns in the factional royal court battles…

Upon al-Rashid’s death, full-scale civil war broke out amongst those vying for power.

While al-Ma’mum (813-833) was the victor…what he did next truly changed the nature of the Caliphate…

SLAVE ARMIES

Al-Ma’mum was convinced to conscript thousands of mostly Turkic-speaking slaves as his personal bodyguards.

As the number eclipsed 70,000 the slave regiment became a power center, in its own right.

By 846, they had murdered the reigning caliph, and in the coming decades would murder at least four more

ABBASID DECLINE

Caliphs struggle to control the Slave Regiments

Some Caliphs want to move capital away from Baghdad turmoilIncreased spendingNew irrigation…Old irrigation and public works fall into disrepair

Spiraling taxation/pillaging, etc…

Abandonment of some of the earlier provinces of the empire.

LATE ABBASID DECLINE…WOMEN

The Harem and the Veil are the twin emblems of women’s increasing subjugation to men and confinement.

The Abbasid court created the concept of the Harem for the Caliphate.

FURTHER ABBASID DECLINE

The Abbasids were losing territory quickly…

Egypt (Fatimids) and Syria break away from Abbasid rule

Spain becomes an independent Umayyad state

In once-provincial areas of the Islamic Caliphate, independent kingdoms had arose to challenge the Abbasids

In 945, the Buyids of Persia invade and capture Baghdad.

Caliphs became puppets controlled by families, like the Buyids.

Buyid leaders took the title of “sultan” meaning “victorious” in Arabic, which will designate Muslim rulers.

THE SELJUKS

By 1055, the Buyid control over the Caliphate was broken

In 1055, Central Asian Nomadic warriors known as the Seljuk Turks ruled over the Abbasid lands.Staunch Sunnis…kick Shia’s out of governmental positions

Resisted the Byzantines who were taking advantage of Muslim disunity

SELJUK TURKS Defeat of the Byzantines led to the settlement of Asia Minor which would eventually become the seat of the Ottoman Empire

THE CRUSADES Knights from Western Europe launched crusades to capture portions of the Islamic world that made up the Holy Land of Biblical times.

Muslim divisions and the element of surprise made the first Crusade a Christian success.

1099: Christian knights took Jerusalem.Muslim and Jewish inhabitants were massacred

THE CRUSADES

For the next two centuries, Europeans would mount in excess of 8 crusades.

Varying degrees of success

When Muslim were united under powerful rule like Salah-ud-Din (Saladin) they re-conquer most of the lands they lost.

The last crusader kingdom fell in Acre in 1291

THIRD CRUSADE GETS ACRE, BUT THEN THE EUROPEANS LOSE IT!

IMPACT OF CRUSADES The Crusaders’ experiences in the Eastern Mediterranean intensified European “borrowing” from the Muslim world.

Through increased cultural contacts, Europeans began to recover much of the Greek learning lost during the waves of nomadic invasions after the fall of the Roman Empire

Food products rice, coffee, sherbet, dates, apricots, lemons, sugar, spices such as ginger, melons, rhubarb and dates.

Household goods

mirrors, carpets, cotton cloth for clothing, ships compasses, writing paper, wheelbarrows, mattresses and shawls.

New ideas chess, Arabic figures 0 to 9, pain killing drugs, algebra, irrigation, chemistry, the colour scarlet, water wheels and water clocks

AGE OF MUSLIM LEARNING AND REFINEMENT

Even though the caliphate was steeped in political turmoil, the Muslim Empire still experienced growth and prosperity until late in the Abbasid era.Declining RevenueDeteriorating conditions in the countryside/town life

Expansion of the professional classes

Muslim/Jewish/Christian entrepreneurs amass great fortunes supplying cities with staples (grain/barley), essentials (cotton, woolen textiles for clothing), and luxury items.

Long-Distance trade flourishes

AGE OF MUSLIM LEARNING AND REFINEMENT Artists and Artisans benefit

Mosques and palaces became more ornate.

Tapestries and rugs from Persia were in great demand from Europe to China.

Persian becomes the language of “high culture.”Arabic remains language of religion, law, and natural sciences

Persian was language of literary expression, administration, and scholarship.

AGE OF MUSLIM LEARNING AND REFINEMENT Persian writers in the Abbasid era write on many subjects from love affairs, to statecraft, to incidents from everyday life.

Blend of mystical and commonplace.

Not only did Muslims revive Greco-Roman scientific traditions…they developed their own theories as well!Major corrections to algebraic and geometric theories

Advances in trigonometry

AGE OF MUSLIM LEARNING AND REFINEMENT

Great advances in chemistry and astronomy.

Cairo: best hospitals in the world

Muslim traders introduce techniques like papermaking and silk-weaving that was developed in China.

Development of cartography

AGE OF MUSLIM LEARNING AND REFINEMENT

Contradictory trends in Islamic CivilizationSocial strife and political divisions

VsExpanded trading links and intellectual

creativity

This was felt in the religious world, as well…

A resurgence of mysticism

Vs

Orthodox religious scholars become wary of non-Islamic ideas and scientific thinking

(crusades)

RELIGIOUS CONTRADICTIONS

Orthodox religious scholars felt that the revival of Greco-Roman philosophical traditions would erode the absolute authority of the Qur’an

Sufi movement…

Sufis are wandering mystics who sought a personal union with AllahA reaction against the abstract divinity of the Qur’anSufis gain reputations as healers and miracle workers…gain sizeable followingsSome led militant bands that spread Islam to nonbelievers

THE END OF THE CALIPHATE

By the 10th and 11th centuries, the Abbasid Caliphate was compromised by many different factions In the early 13th century, the Mongols, united under Chinggis Khan became a powerful force in Asia, smashing through Turko-Persian kingdoms to the east of Baghdad by 1220 CE.

THE END OF THE CALIPHATE

Genghis dies before conquest of the Islamic Heartlands, but his grandson, Hulegu renewed the assault on the Islamic lands in the 1250s. By 1258, the Abbasid capital of Baghdad was taken by the Mongols

THE END OF THE CALIPHATE The 37th and last Abbasid Caliph was put to death by the Mongols.

The Mongol advance was stopped by the Mamluks, or Turkic Slaves who ruled Egypt.

In 1401, Baghdad suffers from another capture and round of pillaging by the forces of Tamerlane.

Baghdad’s glory becomes supplanted by Cairo to the west and Istanbul to the North

THE SPREAD OF ISLAM

ISLAM’S ARRIVAL IN SOUTH ASIA

India through the Gupta Empire had been a crossroads of migration for Central Asian nomads seeking refuge

Generally, those people were accepted, and assimilated into Indian Society.

The arrival of the Muslims in the 7th Century CE, will alter that.

THE HINDU/ISLAM MIX

India…Hinduism

Open, tolerant, and inclusive of varying forms of religious devotion.

Search of union with spiritual source of all creation.

Social system structured on the caste system

India…Islam

Based on doctrines, practices (specific) and exclusive worship of a single god.

Highly egalitarian in the sight of god.

Religious practices are mandatory and obvious

THE HINDU/ISLAM MIX Early centuries were characterized by violent conflict. However, a good deal of trade and religious interchange. In time, peaceful interactions became the norm

There were contacts via traders in the Indian Ocean Trade network as early as 711 CE

Indian overlords who took over land in South Asia brought little change to most inhabitants of the Indian Subcontinent. Many people welcomed the Arabs because they promised lighter taxation

and religious tolerance

EARLY MUSLIM ENCOUNTERS IN INDIA Muslim leaders decided to treat Hindus and Buddhists as the dhimmi, or “people of the book” even though they had no connection to the Bible. This meant that Hindus and Buddhists had to pay the tax on non-

believers, they enjoyed the freedom to worship as they pleased.

Little effort was put towards conversion, so most people remained Hindu or Buddhist.

INDIAN/MUSLIM CULTURAL DIFFUSION Muslims inherit the Indian scientific learning, which rivaled the Greeks as the most advanced in the world.

Arabic numerals originated in India

Indian learning was transferred to Baghdad in the age of the Abbasids. Indian doctors, scientists, etc.

Muslims adopt Indian styles of dress, food, and ride on elephants as the Hindu rajas (kings) did.

Muslims also adopt and infuse Indian architectural styles

MOVE TOWARDS EMPIRE… Early interactions did little to add territory to the Muslim Empire, and in some cases, lost territory

BUT, in 962 CE, a Turkish slave dynasty seized power in Afghanistan. Their third ruler, Mahmud of Ghazni, began two CENTURIES of

Muslim raiding and conquest in Northern India

Throughout the 11th century, Mahmud defeated one confederation of Hindu princes after another in the name of Islam.

The efforts of Mahmud of Ghazni were continued by Muhammad of Ghur Assassinated in 1206

A slave lieutenant seizes power…Qutb-ud-din Aibak

THE DELHI SULTANATE A new Muslim empire was proclaimed with the capital at Delhi, along the Jumna river on the Gengetic Plain.

For the next 300 years, a succession of dynasties known as the Delhi Sultante (literally, princes of the heartland) ruled North and Central India

THE DELHI SULTANATE

This was a period of clashing control between the sultanate princes themselves, as well as Mongol and Turkic invaders.

MAPS OF DELHI SULTANATE OVER TIME

CONVERSION

Carriers of the new faith on the subcontinent were often merchants and Sufi mystics Sufis shared many characteristics with Indian gurus and wandering

ascetics. Belief in magical healing powers Accepted lower-caste and outcaste groups into Islamic faith

Most Muslims were NOT from the Indo-Gangetic centers of the Delhi Sultanate, indicating low forced conversions

CONVERSION

Most conversions came from low-caste or Buddhist groups. Buddhism became largely debased as a result of corrupt practices

Buddhist temples and monasteries became lucrative targets for raids, etc.

Many lower-caste, untouchables, animistic tribes, and Buddhists were attracted to the egalitarian nature of Islam

ACCOMMODATION

Hindus were convinced that Muslims would soon be absorbed by the superior religions and more sophisticated cultures of India Many things pointed that way!

Muslim princes adopted regal styles Muslim rulers claim divine descent Muslim rulers mint coins with Hindu images

Muslim communities also became socially divided along Caste lines Violation of the original tenets of Islam!

ISLAM IN SOUTH ASIA AT THE END OF THE SULTANATE

Attempts to fuse Hinduism and Islam soon were recognized as impossible.

Brahmans soon denounce Muslim leaders, etc. Muslims respond by strengthening their unity within the Indian Muslim

community

After centuries of political domination though, South Asia remained one of the least converted and integrated of all the areas Islam reached.

SOUTHEAST ASIA

IMPORTANCE

Southeast Asia was CRITICAL to the connection of trade from Chinese ports to Indian vessels along the Indian Ocean Trade network

SOUTHEAST ASIAN CONTRIBUTION Aromatic woods from rainforests of Borneo and Sumatra

Spices: cloves, nutmeg from Indonesia

From 8th Century onward, coastal trade in India became dominated by Muslims

SE ASIA

As a result, elements of Islam began to filter into the southeast Asian region

The collapse of the Shrivijaya trading empire (Buddhist) in the 13th century opened the door for the widespread introduction of Islam

SE ASIA

Trading contacts paved the way for conversion NOT conquest and force

Muslim ships also carry Sufis to the various parts of SE Asia

Conversion begins in Sumatra, then across the Strait of Malacca to Malaya

SE ASIA

Muslims impressed SE Asians by telling them how much of the world had already been converted

MALACCA Mainland conversion was centered on Malacca, a powerful trading city

Spreads to east Sumatra and to DEMAK on the north coast of Java

From there, spread to the Celebes and then the Spice Islands, then to Mindanao and Southern Philippines

THE SPICE ISLAND(S)

CONVERSION Trading was the key to conversion.

Regulation of commonality in Muslim laws was good to regulate business.

Conversion linked centers culturally, and economically to Indian merchants and ports in India, the Middle East, and the Mediterranean

SE ASIAN ISLAM

Some areas (like Central Java) saw conversion take longer than others Hindu-Buddhist dynasties

contested its spread

Mainland Southeast Asia did NOT see wholesale conversion, and remained largely Buddhist

Because it was spread primarily by Sufis, SE Asian Islam was more dynamic than orthodox Islam Infused with mythical strains Tolerated animist, Hindu, and

Buddhist beliefs and rituals. Magical powers

WOMEN IN SE ASIAN ISLAMIC SOCIETY Women retained a strong position in the family and the community Trading in local and regional markets was dominated by small-scale

female merchants As in Western Sumatra, lineage and inheritance was traced through

female lines

Many cultural elements were blended from SE Asian Culture with Muslim Culture.