THE ISLAMIC WORLD THROUGH 1450Settle in… this is going to be a long one

Pre-Islamic Bedouin Culture• Well-established on the

Arabian Peninsula, mostly

nomadic, tribal, and

polytheistic

• The Sheikh was the ruler and

they practiced Polygyny

• They all worshiped one

supreme deity: Allah, and

each tribe had a sacred

stone, but the most revered

was the black stone in Mecca

• Land trade routes were the

basis of the economy where

they led trade caravans

Mohammad• Born in 570 C.E. Married a

rich widow and settled

down in Mecca

• 610 C.E. experiences “The

night of power,” When it’s

said the Arch Angel Gabriel

came to him and had him

recite in a cave, and thus

Islam was born

• Later his revelation were

collected by those who

herd his message in the

Quran

The Spread of Islam• Spread slowly at first as his

followers were called

Muslims, believing him to

be the last great prophet,

the final one in the line of

Abraham, Moses, and

Jesus

• He fled to Medina as the

Quarash tribe (his former

tribe) attacked him because

of his views

• in 632 he returned and

conquered Mecca and

declared the black stone

there, the Ka’aba, a shrine

of Islam

Islam spreads over the Arabian

Peninsula• Before Mohammad’s death,

he united the Arabian

Peninsula

• Encouraged to spread Islam

with the expansion of trade

routes, and some military

conquest

• In the area of rule, not

forced to convert, but had to

pay a tax for not being

Muslim, called the Jizya

• Egalitarian nature of the

religion attracted many new

converts

Islam in Practice• All muslims needed to follow

the 5 pillars

• Concept of Jihad, or inner

struggle to strive in the way

of Allah to improve both

oneself and society.

Interpreted differently by

some today

• Islamic code of law is called

Shariah Law, outlines

behavioral requirements for

daily life. Like no drinking

alcohol or eating pork, but

Polygamy is permitted up to

4 wives.

The first four Caliphs and

Umayyads• The succession over who

should lead Islam and

become the Caliphs led

to a split in the Muslim

World

• Sunnis: Believe that the

best qualified should lead

• Shia: Believe that only a

blood dependent of the

prophet is able to lead

• The Term Dar al-Islam,

refers to the Islamic

world

More on the Caliphs and

Umayyads• Caliphs spread Islam beyond the peninsula

• Later, capable generals founded the Umayyad Dynasty and spread

Islam to it’s height and moved the capital to Damascus

• Shia beliefs resisted and their community leader became knows as

imam rather than caliph

Abbasid Caliphate • Came to power in 750 C.E.

and moved the capital to

Baghdad which soon rivaled

Constantinople in both wealth

and population

• Baghdad became the center

of learning, made thicker,

more useful paper, Baghdad

represented the golden age

of learning

• Also here they created the

first ideas of hospitals for

people, and studied the

human body

The Influence of Persia

• Persians were able to

convert to Islam, but

retain much of their own

culture and language

• Contributed scholars

such as Avicenna, (980-

1037) and poets like

Rumi (1207-1273). His

teachings were

influential around the

world as a basis of the

Sufi movement

Invasions and Trade Shifts

• 1100’s and 1200’s the Abbasid Empire

suffered from attacks from four different

outside groups

• Mamluks: Took control of Egypt and

established an empire across North Africa

• Seljuk Turks: took over Central Asia and

leader took the title of sultan

• Crusaders: Seljuk Turks limited the

access of Christians to Jerusalem so the

Pope called for the Crusades to open

back up the city and holy sites

• Mongols: We’ll get to them later

Islamic Rule in Spain

• Held power in Spain

from 700’s till the

1200’s

• Capital in Spain was

Cordoba

• Battle of Tours:

• Battle against the

Frankish forces in

732 stopping the

expansion of Islam

into Europe

Prosperity and Scholars in Spain• Created a climate of

coexistence between Muslims

and Christians

• Traded goods aboard ships

called dhows

• Influence of Islamic

architecture can still be seen

• Cordoba became a center for

learning with the largest library

in the world at the time where

Christian, Jewish, and Muslim

scholars would study and

translate works for all three

faiths.

Social and Cultural Life

• Islamic scholars

translated the works of

Aristotle and other Greek

thinkers saving them

• Medical advances in

hospital care improved in

cities such as Cairo

• Had to take medical

examinations in order

to practice medicine

• Brought back paper-

making from China

Social Classes

• Increase in trade led to a

powerful merchant elite in

many cities

• Caliph’s soldiers could not

own any of the conquered

land, so they just stayed in

the military to keep earning

regular paychecks

• Because of this, life in the

countryside remained

virtually unchanged, but

paid tribute to Islamic

caliphs, instead of

Byzantine rulers

Commerce and Slavery

• Because Muhammad was

a merchant, Islam

respected merchants and

allowed people to make

money buying and selling

provided they adhered to

fair business practices

• Islam allowed slavery, but

could not enslave other

Muslims, so most slaves

converted to Islam

• Most female slaves found

themselves serving as

concubines to Islamic men

who already had 4 wives.

Free Women in Islam

• Most women observe hijab, a term for modest

dress in a general sense

• Women could study and read, but could not do

so in the company of men not related to them

• Muhammad raised the status of women

• Treated his wives with love and devotion

• Insisted that dowries be paid to the future wife

rather than her father

• Forbade female infanticide

• And his first wife was an educated woman with

her own business, setting a pattern

recognizing women’s abilities

Status of Women

• Overall enjoyed higher status than Christian

or Jewish women

• Could retain ownership of property after

marriage

• Could remarry if widowed

• Could practice birth control

• The rise of towns and cities resulted in new

limitations on women’s rights, symbolized

by Harems: dwellings set aside for wives,

concubines, and children of those women

• Most history on how women were viewed

before 1450 was written by men… so take

it all with a grain of salt.

Sufism• Arose in Persia and

India

• Notable for their shaved

heads

• emphasized

introspection to grasp

truths that they believed

could not be understood

through learning

• Abstained from earthly

pleasures and used

whirling dancing to

express religious

ecstasy.