1. THE RISE OF ISLAMIC
EMPIRES: GLOBALIZATION
(Version 1.0)
2. IMPACT OF ISLAMIC
WORLD
Islamic civilizations
penetrated and was transformed by
the regions into which it spread:
Africa, India, Central Asia, and SE
Asia
helped create the first globalized
world due to trade
challenged and was challenged by
European Christendom
15. How did the Arab Muslims
treat conquered peoples?
Dhimmis (= people of the book: Jews,
Christians, Zoroastrians) paid jizya (special
tax paid by non-Muslims) and were allowed
to practice as before
Occupying armies stayed in garrison towns,
apart from local population – eventually
recruited from local populations
Leaders adapted Roman and Persian
institutions
26. ‘There is no god except
God alone, he has no
partner; Muhammad is
the Messenger of God
whom he sent with
guidance and the religion
of truth that he may
make it victorious over
every other religion.’
Map of the world ~800 CE – Tang dynasty outlined in yellow, the beginnings of Islamic Empires are in orange.
ISIS/ISIL/Islamic State has been in the news recently. What do they know?
(In Arabic, the group is known as “Al-Dawla Al-Islamiya fi al-Iraq wa al-Sham” or the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham)
Map of Middle East – point out the countries. The term is as debatable as the term “Asia” (go over those reasons). These country borders were essentially created out of WWI – long story short, Europeans ended up drawing these lines, taking minimal interest in local desires.
Map: areas under ISIS control. Their purported goal: to recreate the caliphate, a time before the European borders were drawn.
What is meant by the caliphate?
Mostly nomadic Arabs interacted with their long-established neighbors: Sasanids (Persian) & Byzantines (Roman)
- Geography, tribalism
The role of caravan trade
Nomadism coexisting with trade centers, particularly in oases. Still a part of Arab world today.
Born in a spiritual place: pilgrimage site along trade route
Receives spiritual messages that later are written down to form the Quran. Many items in the Quran would be familiar from Hebrew Bible: Abraham and his family.
An important part of his messages are the 5 pillars of Islam.
An important part of his messages are the 5 pillars of Islam.
Shahadah: joining umma
Salat: individual worship
Zakat: charity, sympathy with poor, build community
Sawn: sympathy with poor; discipline
Hajj: community
Mosque at Madina, based on Moh’d’s house, and elements would be copied by all future sacred spaces.
Importance of gathering space (UMMA)
2. After Mecca was retaken (630 CE) the Ka’ba became the central sacred space of the new faith, so each mosque was oriented toward the qibla.
Notice the minarets: call to prayer.
Classical Mediterranean influence: domes.
The hajj is to help solidify the umma
Abu Bakr elected CALIPH
Caliph = successor.
Mohammad had no sons – only a daughter.
First successor = Abu Bakr. Close friend and one of the first people to convert.
First problem faced by AB: tribes begin to revert to polytheism – they leave the umma
First round of invasions outside of peninsula in non-Arab tribe areas by Umar and the other caliphs seek to keep umma united and to win land and money from non-believers keeping umma together through nomadic raids.
Look at graph: when do you have majority Islamic populations? Not for several hundred years!
- 3 of 4 successors were assassinated – shows some level of disagreement among leadership
Ali was finally nominated Caliph after 3 tries, but challenged by many others, including overnor of Muawiya. Ali would die in the infighting and ultimately Umayyad dynasty (whereby birth rather than nomination) occurred.
Ali’s family challenges Umayyads ….
661
Globalization 1.0! Much of Eurasia is connected
Alexander the Great puts his image on the coin: as a god.
Augustus and his coins: capturing Egypt. (cf. Titus and Jerusalem)
When Arab nomads first conquered Byzantine areas, they came across the usage of coins with emperor’s portrait. They had to make the decision of whether to just keep it or change it.
Christian symbolism on Byzantine coins
Indeed Byzantine coins show a Combination of ruler and religion going back to Constantine
“One of the administration solutions that Abd Al Malik borrowed from the Byzantine Emperors was how to manage the currency. He understood that coins are literally the stamp of authority, announcing the dominant power in the society using them and he knew that this power was now his.”
His appearance is fierce – he is a desert warrior.
“If coins declare the dominant power in a society, it is clear that the dominant power in this empire is now not the emperor, but the word of God.” Remove the human figure
Also a reminder that Umayyads had to learn civilized tasks:
Collecting taxes
State archives
Postal service
Army modeled on Byzantium
Looks like cathedral (arches of Hagia Sophia!) – Byzantine influence on Umayyads (Damascus as a Greco-Roman city). Was polytheistic temple, then Christian church, then mosque!
C block: Abd Al Malik Coins
Why is Jerusalem important to all 3 monotheistic religions?
Dome of the Rock constructed in Umayyad period, although many later empires added much to the original structure. (Blue tile is an Ottoman addition (Armenians were brought in to do this – in a friendly way, and that’s where the Armenian quarter in Jerusalem came in!).) Nomads must use settled peoples to do fancy things.
Umayyads lose major battle and flee to Spain.
Moves capital from Damascus to new capital that they built: Baghdad.
The city's name is a Middle Persian compound: Bhaga "god" + dād "given", translating to "god-given" or "God's gift".
Very deliberately chosen as right in the middle of their empire. Great access to rivers, which gives them access to Indian Ocean.
