Ch+8+Outline

Chapter 8: THE RISE OF ISLAM, 600-1200 -**Shi’ites**- believing that leadership belonged to Ali and his descendents -**Sunnis**- believed leaders should be chosen more broadly =__The Origins of Islam__= - (600 CE) Arabs lived in Arabian Peninsula and on the desert fringes of Syria, Jordan, and Iraq

//The Arabian Peninsula Before Muhammad//
-Yemen- highlands receiving rainfall during spring monsoon favoring farming -inlets along s. coast favored fishing -"Empty Quarter"- isolation for Arabian interior for s. regions -(600 CE) camels and donkeys replaced Middle Eastern wheel vehicles -**Mecca**- W. Arabian city serving as pilgrimage site -Muhammad’s birthplace -ritual center for Islamic religion -**Muhammad**- (576) born in Mecca -Arab prophet; founder of religion of Islam -(610) revelation from angel Gabriel that there was only one God -**Muslim-** Islamic follower; one who “submits” to the will of God -**Islam**- religion found by Muhammad on the basis of his reception of divine revelations, which were collected after his death into the Quaran. -one creator god (Allah) who punishes/rewards people for their deeds

//The Formation of the Umma//
//-//**Medina**- W. Arabia city in which the prophet Muhammad and his followers emigrated in 622 to escape persecution in Mecca -**Umma**- community accepting Islam and Muhammad as “Messenger of God” - (632) Muhammad died after illness -Five Pillars continued by Abu Bakr as caliph (successor): - only one god and Muhammad is the messenger - 5 prayers per day - fasing in during Ramadan - paying alms - pilgrimage to Mecca at least once in lifetime -**caliphate**- office established in succession to Muhammad to rule Islamic empire -(650) **Quran**- final book of verses of revelations in single document -(656) first civil Islam war-> assassination of 3rd caliph, Uthman -(656) Ali defeated Muhammad’s companions and A’isha in Battle of the Camel to become caliph -**Umayyad Caliphate**- 1st hereditary dynasty of Muslim caliphs (661-750) -capital at Damascus; empire extended from Spain to India -overthrown by Abbasid Caliphate =__The Rise and Fall of the Caliphate, 632-1258__=

//The Islamic Conquests, 634-711//
- Arab armies took Syria (636) and Egypt (639-642) from Byzantine Empire and defeated Yazdigird (last Sasanid shah) -(711) Sind defeated by Iraq invaders -s. Indus Valley and w. region of India -(11th century) conquest upon India, Anatolia, and sub-Saharan Africa

//The Umayyad and Early Abbasid Caliphates, 661- 850//
-Ummayyad caliphs adapted administrative practices of Sasanid and Byzantine predecessors -(750) Ummayad dynasty fell and replaced with Abbasid Caaliphate -lasted until 1258 when Mongol invaders killed Abbasid family in Baghdad -different cultures converting to Islam -early Abbasid period referred to as “golden age”

//Political Fragmentation, 850- 1050//
-(second half of 9th century) Abbasid decline -news and military responses took weeks to reach -administrators struggled to centralize tax payments -**mamluks**- under the Islamic system of military slavery, Turkic military slaves who formed an important part of the armed forces of the Abbasid Caliphate of the 9th and 10th centuries. Mamluks found own state, ruling Egypt and Syria (1250-1517) -mamluks took it on themselves to seat and unseat caliphs -Turks had an effective and military force -dominated Samarra (north of Baghdad on the Tigris River) -(945) Abbasid Caliphate fell under control of mt warriors from the province of Daylam in N. Iran -(873) 12th and last divinely appointed Imam disappeared and would return as a messiah only at the world’s end -(875) Samanids (Iranian family achieving independence) built court in Bukhara (city in Silk Road) -princes favored language: Persian w/ Arabic letters -**Ghana**- “land of gold” -prospered until 1076 -gradual and peaceful conversion to Islam -N. African city-states lost independence after Fatimid dynasty -(969) Fatimid rose to power by conquering Egypt -Egypt became major center of Islam with Fatimid gold coinage to give economic power -Umayyad Spain had Islamic culture blended with Roman, Germanic, Jewish, Arbic, and Berbers traditions -Spain became economically diverse with new crops (citrus fruits) and irrigation techniques -(11th and 12th century) writers and thinkers in Jewish history rose -Judah Halevi= poetry and religious philosophy -Maimonides= Judaic law and Aristotelian philosophy -Translations from Arabic to Latin -**Ulama**- muslim religious scholars. From the 9th century, the primary interpreters of Islamic law and the social core of Muslim urban societies

//Assault from Within and Without, 1050-1258//
-(1055) Seljuk ruler Tughril had kingdom stretching from n. Afganistan to Baghdad -(1071) defeated Byzatine at the Battle of Manzikert -irrigation was not sustained, tax revenues fell

-(early 12th century) Baghdad fell into ruins due to poor maintenance -canal system collapse cause problems for agriculture in Tigris and Euphrates Valley -(1099) First Crusade captured Jerusalem -Fatimid dynasty fell in 1191 -(1187) Saladin captured Jerusalem from Europeans =__Islamic Civilization__=

//Law and Dogma//
-Shari’a (law of Islam)- Islamic civilization foundation -Islam had no legal system in the time of Muhammad -**hadith**- a tradition relating the words/ deeds of the Prophet Muhammad; next to the Quran, the most important basis for Islamic law -reliavle hadith collected into books (Sunnis: 6, Shi’ites: 4)

//Converts and Cities//
-few could understand Arabic and read Quran -large city mosques= ritual center and place for learning and social -new Muslims imitated Arab dress and customs -(10th century) expansion of markets with citrus fruits, rice, and sugar cain -cotton= major crop in Iran -irrigation expanded and coinage flourished -trade increased manufacturing in cloth, metal goods, and pottery -Ibn al-Haytham: -Milky Way lying far beyond earth’s atmosphere -light travels from object to eye -explanation of why sun and moon appear larger on the horizon than overhead

//Islam, Women, and Slaves//
-urban woman were secluded and veiled themselves in public -some woman became literate in secret from unrelated men -slave women performed in front of unrelated men as musicians/dancers -men could have relations with limitless slave concubines and marriage -Islamic law granted women greater status -had property even after marriage -right to remarry -cash payment upon divorce -practice birth control -divorce if had reason -go on pilgrimage -allowed slavery but not between Muslims, Jews, Christians, and Zoroastrians -slaves coming from Africa and Central Asia -slaves converted to Islam and many were freed -slave offsprings were born free

//The Recentering of Islam//
- madrasa created as a type of religious college -(12th and 13th century) Sufi groups in search of union with God -early Sufis attracted disciples without trying to organize them -gradually common for most Muslim men to belong to a brotherhood

=__Conclusion__= -Muhammad’s teachings and leadership as well as his followers united Arabs and guided their conquests -caliphate transformed from ethnically and religiously diverse societies into a unified realm of religious identity -(9th century) conversions and urbanization led to social and religious experiments -(11th century) political disruption and pastoral nomadism spread slowed economic and technological advancements -Muslim community turned into new religious institutions -spread Islam and protected believers