This document provides an overview of the spread of Islam in several regions following the decline of the Abbasid Caliphate in the 13th century. It discusses: 1) The Umayyad conquest of Spain and the establishment of Al-Andalus, a prosperous Muslim civilization that lasted until the 15th century reconquista. 2) The Delhi Sultanate's rule over northern India from the 13th-16th centuries, which introduced Indo-Muslim fusion of culture and established Urdu. 3) The conversion of Anatolia to Islam after the 11th century due to Sufi missionaries and its role as the heart of the Ottoman Empire by 1500.

1. Islam & Cultural Encounter in the
Post Classical World
Southern Spain
India
Anatolia
West Africa
East Africa
Mongols

2. Umayyad Conquest: tremendous Speed!
Similar to earlier Mediterranean & Middle Eastern Empires

4. Disintegration of the Abbasid Caliphate
• By 1238 little political unity
remained… Regional sultans
challenged central power.
• 1258 – Mongols sacked
Baghdad, leaving Baghdad
without a Caliph.
• … But Islamic Civilization
flourished and continued to
spread. Let’s see where and
how..

5. 1. Al Andaluz
• 711 CE – Moors, under their leader
Tariq ibn-Ziyad, crossed the Strait of
Gibraltar from northern Africa and
invaded the Iberian peninsula ruled by
the the Visigoths.
• “T]he reins of their (Moors) horses were
as fire, their faces black as pitch, their
eyes shone like burning candles, their
horses were swift as leopards and the
riders fiercer than a wolf in a sheepfold at
night . . . The noble Goths [the German
rulers of Spain to whom Roderick
belonged] were broken in an hour, quicker
than tongue can tell.”

6. Al Andaluz
• Spread as far as Tours/Poitiers,
732 – Charles Martel
• Vibrant civilization
– Harmony & tolerance
– Muslims, Christians, Jews
• Christian converts & Mozarabs in
upper class
• Freedom of worship, opportunity in
bureaucracy
– Brilliant high culture
• Astronomy, Medicine, Arts, Greek
Philosophy, Architecture, Literature,
Poetry
• City building: Cordoba one of
largest, most splendid in world
• Universities taught in Arabic, Latin &
Hebrew; Madrasas taught reading in
all three languages
Conquest: early 8th c.
Capital: Cordoba

7. • Most prosperous European Agricultural
Economy, 9th – 10th c.
• Moors introduced new crops: the
orange, lemon, peach, apricot,
fig, sugar cane, dates, ginger and
pomegranate; saffron, sugar
cane, cotton, silk, and rice;
• And the beautiful Spanish horse
which was bred from the Arabian.

8. Córdova
“At its height, Córdova, the heart
of Moorish territory in Spain, was
the most modern city in Europe.
The streets were well-paved, with
raised sidewalks for pedestrians.
During the night, ten miles of
streets were well illuminated by
lamps. (This was hundreds of years
before there was a paved street in
Paris or a street lamp in London.)
Cordova had 900 public baths - we
are told that a poor Moor would
go without bread rather than
soap!”

9. Al Andaluz
Late 10th -11th c.
“The era of harmonious interaction
between Muslim and Christian in
Spain …[was] replaced by
intolerance, prejudice, and mutual
suspicion.”
• Warfare with Northern Christian
states
• More rigid forms of Islam arrived
from N. Africa
– Plundering of Churches
– Persecution of Christians
• Legislated avoidance of contact
between Christians & Muslims

10. La Reconquista
Began in 914 – Completed in 1492
• Los Reyes Catolicos,
Fernando y Isabella
3 Choices for Muslims & Jews

11. Where did the Moors
go?
• Morocco,
• Algeria,
• Tunisia…
Some families
still hold the keys
to their ancestors’
homes in Granada…
Eugène Delacroix - The Sultan of Morocco and his
Entourage

12. The Spanish Inquisition
1478 – Fernando y Isabella
Originally intended in large part to ensure
the orthodoxy of converts from Judaism and
Islam.
Brought to New World with Spanish conquest.
Definitively abolished in 1834. Auto-da-Fe,
1683, Madrid

13. 2. India
1000 CE began…
• Invasions by recently
converted Turkic- speaking
warrior groups from central
Asia
• Smashing Hindu & Buddhist
temples /monasteries –
carrying off of great wealth
• Buddhism left India, going
east along the Silk Road to
China…

14. Mahmud of Ghazni
• 17 expeditions
– Fast! Horseback!
– Plunder, not religious
conquest (NOT a ghazi)
– Not Empire-building.
– Robbed & destroyed Buddhist
monasteries & Hindu temples
• 1010 – 1187
Ghaznavid Rule
– Northern India
– Not allied with Caliphate

15. Delhi Sultanate:
1206 - 1526
• Turkic speaking invaders from Central Asia and
Persia… Laws based on Quran & Sharia; non-
Muslims paid the jizya. Ghazi? Maybe so.
• Ruled from urban centers; military camps and
trading posts became towns…
• Insulated India from the
devastation of the Mongol
invasion (13th c)
• "Indo-Muslim" fusion - architecture, music,
literature, and religion. (Urdu, literally meaning
"horde" or "camp" in various Turkic dialects, born
during the Delhi Sultanate.)

16. Delhi Sultanate
• Muslims chose to live apart from Hindu society, remaining a
distinctive ruling minority.
• Delhi was sacked n 1398 by Timur, and later conquered by
Zahiruddin Babur in 1526, beginning the Mughal Dynasty that
ruled from the 16th century to the 18th century arrival of the
British.

17. Timur
“Tamerlane the Whirlwind”
• 1370-1405
• Turko-Mongol bandit turned
Islamic warlord
• Held court in Samarkand
• Attacked Delhi Sultanate on pretext that the
Delhi Sultanate was too tolerant toward
its Hindu subjects. In reality he sought to
acquire fame as a descendant of Ghengis
Khan and to amass the wealth of the Delhi
Sultanate.
• Victories still proudly celebrated in
Uzbekistan; NOT a ghazi.

18. Spread of Islam in India
Why Convert?
• Lure of Egalitarianism?
– Disillusioned Buddhists
– Low-caste Hindus
– Escape Jizya?
• Sufi missionaries
“popularized” Islam
– Detached from worldly
affairs: “aflame with love of
God”
– Accommodated local gods &
festivals
• Northeast & far northwest
only
Why Refrain from Conversion?
• Strong monotheism vs. proliferation of
divinity in Hinduism, lack of divinity in
Buddhism.
• No artistic representation vs. rich artistic
religious heritage.
• Equality of believers vs. Hindu Caste
System
• Quran & Law as basis for Islam, vs.
Experience as Buddhist basis.
• Extreme sexual modesty vs. open
eroticism of some Hindu art/literature
• Decentralized state system of Rajas
softened the blow of the centralized
outside empire, helping absorb shock of
external invasion while supporting core
values and identity.
• Sheer numbers- Population: 48 Million
people!! Not many Muslims relocated
there.
Conversion rate: 20-25%

19. Sikhism
Elements of Islam
• Such as devotion to
one universal God
Elements of Hinduism
• Such as Karma and
Samsara.
Guru Nanak Dev
1469-1539
“There is no Hindu
and no Muslim.
All are children of
God.”

20. 3. Anatolia900:
• Mostly Orthodox Christians, part of Byzantine
Empire: 8 million people. Wealth from Trade.
11th Century:
• Byzantine authority failed – Weak Theme System so
ineffective military. Schism in 1054.
• Siege , Warfare, Famine, Enslavement…Serbians,
Bulgarians, Turks continually laid siege to city,
conquered territory, strangled trade.
1204 – 4th Crusade
• Sack of Constantinople by W. Europeans - Crowned
Emperor Baldwin of Flanders new Byzantine Emperor.
1386- 1389 – Black Plague
1453 – BATTLE of MANZIKERT
• Seljuk Turks Conquered City re-named Istanbul
• Some Christians left, went to Italy, etc.
• Sufi Missionaries
By 1500:
• 90% Muslim population.
• Turkic-speaking.
• Heart of Ottoman Empire

21. “Islamization” of Anatolia
• Converts welcome!
– Material rewards, opportunity for high office
– Few cultural barriers to conversion (eastern culture,
merchants)
– Both were Religions of the Book – Some Sufis claimed
Christianity and Islam were the same religion, just
different sects!
– Replaced failing Byzantine institutions with Sufi
schools, mills, orchards, hospices, caravanserai and
inns…. Banking institutions…
• Culture = Turkish… FAMILIAR to traveling
Byzantines & immigrants
– Turkic languages, not Arabic
– Dervish practices similar to central Asian shaminism
– Freer, more gender-equal life for women (pastoral)
than in Arab/Moroccan Islam.
– Trade, trade, trade along the Silk Roads and
Mediterrannean ! Allowed continued competition
with Venice.
– End infernal sieges of Constantinople: Peace at Last!
“Better the Sultan’s turban than
The Bishop’s mitre!”
- popular sentiment of populace

22. 3. West Africa
• Islam arrived with the salt trade across the
Sahara rather than through conquest.

23. Gold, Ivory & Slaves for SALT
Ghana, Mali, Songhai

24. Early Acceptance in Urban Centers by Merchant Elite:
• Religion and Language = Important links to Muslim trading
partners
• “Monotheistic” tradition of “one creator god” was
widespread.
Rulers accepted Islam:
• Rulers taxed trade to pay for their government and elite
status.
• Source of literate officials for Monarchs’ courts.
• Religious legitimacy for rule through International God, rather
than just local deities & ancestral spirits.
• Legitimization through wealth
• Legitimacy through connection to outside political power.

25. Timbuktu
• Religious Center
– 150+ lower level Madrasas
– Mosques built by monarchs
• Trade Center
• Universities
– International students
• Libraries
– 10’s of thousands of books, manuscripts

26. Islamic Influence on West African
Society
• West African languages continued in
everyday use: Arabic became their
language of religion and trade.
• No massive wave of Arab immigration
such as in Anatolia or North Africa.
• Scholars, merchants, and rulers
established Islam, rather than Sufi
mystics/missionaries.
• No religious transformation of society -
Most people, including women,
continued to practice African religions
and rulers did not try to impose the
new religion or govern by Sharia.

27. Sundiata
Founder of the
Kingdom of Mali.
Celebrated as a hero
of the Mandinka
people of West Africa
in the “Epic of
Sundiata.”
Passed down by
Mandinka GRIOTS
as an Oral Tradition.
First MUSLIM Ruler of
Mali, defeated the
wicked wizard king of
Ghana…
Of MALI

29. Mansa Musa
1280 – 1337, First “King” of Mali to go on Hajj ( 1324)
• He took 60,000 men, plus 12,000 slaves who each carried 4-lb. gold bars, and
heralds dressed in silks who bore gold staffs.
• He brought 80 camels, carrying between 50 and 300 pounds of gold each. He gave
away the gold to the poor he met along his route.
• Musa also gave golden gifts to his hosts in the cities he visited on the way to
Mecca, including Cairo and Medina.
• He is reputed to have built a mosque each and every Friday.
• It is rumored that he gave out so much gold that it caused inflation that ruined the
economies of these great cities for years to come.

30. Sunni Ali
• 1464- 1492- Ruler of Songhai, Conqueror of Timbuktu
• Ruled city dwellers and rural people, so…
• “Nominally Muslim” - Adhered to African animism while also professing Islam
– Observed Ramadan, built mosques.
– Consulted traditional diviners and performed customary local sacrifices.

31. Swahili City States
• Gold, Ivory &
Slaves traded for
products from
Arabia, Persia,
India, China…

32. Swahili City States
• Swahili = syncretic
language, between Arabic
/ Farsi and Bantu
languages.
• Monsoon Winds –
Merchants stayed for 6
months
• Rulers taxed trade.
• Wealthy wore silk or other
beautiful imported
textiles, ate on porcelain
plates, with European
crystal chandeliers
overhead…

33. Primary Source: Ibn Battuta
• 1304 – 1369
• Moroccan qadi
Wrote about his extensive travels over thirty
years (about 7300 miles) to most of the known
Islamic world and beyond:
• North Africa & Horn of Africa
• West Africa
• Eastern Africa (Swahili Coast)
• Eastern Europe
• Middle East
• Central Asia along the Silk Road
• India
• China and Southeast Asia
How do we know?

35. History’s First Global Civilization
“…the Civilization of Islam, like Western Christendom and
the Hindu world, operated without a single political
center, bound more by a shared religious culture than by
a shared state.
Unlike the other civilizations, however, the Islamic world
by 1500 embraced at least parts of virtually every other
civilization in the Afro-Eurasian hemisphere. It was in that
sense “history’s first truly global civilization” …as it spread
throughout the “known world.”
- Strayer, page 495