Chapter 11- The Formation of Islamic Civilization (622-945):
(1). Outline the origins and early
development of Islamic Civilization.
(2). Examine the role of Muhammad and explain the impact
of the Qur’an.
(3). Trace the course of the early Islamic
conquest, and examine the factors of Islamic success.
(4). Explain the Islamic world view, and outline the institutions and
structure of the New Islamic Order.
(5). Contrast the divergent Islamic groups
emerging after the first Islamic civil
war.
(6). Examine the High Caliphate of the Umayyad
and the Abbasids.
(5). Describe “classical” Islamic culture,
& its intellectual traditions, language, literature, art & style.
(6). Examine the formation of Islamic
Civilization as assessed in world perspective.
v
Origins & Early Development
Ø
The Setting=> Pre-Islamic Arabia:
§
Small Arab “client”
kingdoms=> buffer states
¨
Protected Fertile Crescent, Byzantium, & Iran
·
Established Arab
settlements in S. Arabian highlands
·
All w/direct access to
International trade by land & sea
§
West Arabian Highland of Hijaz=> Mecca
·
Center of caravan trade
route => also Ka’ba (?) –pix
·
Arabs of Mecca ran merchant republic (West parallel?)
¨
Suffered strains from
urban commercial life
§
Arab language (Semitic)
·
Role of Poetry => major defining link of
Arabs:
¨
All shared highly
developed poetic tradition
Ø
Praise their warriors
& insult their enemies
¨
Poetry contests
conducted at trade fairs
§
Islam began in urban
commercial center (not dessert)
·
Most Arabs pagans, some
Jews & Christians => until?
Ø
Muhammad
(570-632) & the Qur’an:
§
Orphan & successful merchant (married rich widow)
·
Dissatisfied with life
& urban immorality of period
·
Experienced sudden
religious experience (what?)
¨
Called to “rise &
warn” one last time
¨
Great disregard for
morality – mend ways
¨
Conduct proper worship
of God
·
Message presented in
form of Qur’an ( ?)
§
Qur’an warned against false gods & immorality
·
Injustice => weak
& poor & orphaned & widows
·
Judgment day is
coming
§
Proper response =>
submission
·
Demanded absolute obedience
·
Basic Muslim norms formulated in Medina (p. 304)
§
Key Terms:
·
Islam &
Muslim
·
Mecca &
Medina
·
Hijra &
Hajj
·
Umma &
Ulama
·
“people of scripture”
v
Early Islamic Conquests
Ø
Abu Bakr succeeded
Mohammad (no heirs)
§
Became “Caliph”
& established Umma (?)
Ø
Course of
Conquest:
§
Next two Caliphs: Umar (634-44) & Uthman (644-56)
·
Embarked on conquest of
entire region (see Map)
·
By 643 => conquered Byzantine
& Sasanid territories
·
Also: Egypt & most of Iran=> now under one rule=> +
¨
Libyan coast
& east to Oxus (last of Sasanid rulers)
·
By 680 => controlled Iran & raided much of Anatolia
¨
Constantinople
besieged & Armenia ruled by Islam
·
Muslims
consolidated gains as far east as Oxus
river
¨
710 => reach Indus to central Asia in western India
·
North African Berbers defeated & converted to Islam
¨
Assisted in conquest of
modern Morocco & Algeria
·
711-716 => Tariq invades tip of Spain (Gibraltar)
¨
Visigoth Kingdoms fall to invading Muslims by
716
Ø
Spain remained under Islam (Moor) for 700+ yrs
·
732=> farthest Muslim northern invasion in the West?
¨
Muslims
finally stopped at Tours by who?
§
Why were Muslims so successful?
Ø
Factors of
Success => rapid expansion:
§
Sasanid & Byzantine empires extremely weak
·
Military & $$$ spent
fighting each other
§
New Islamic vision => inspired united
Arab rule
·
Islamic society &
way of life
·
Attracted many Arab
followers
§
Strong commitment to
spreading Islamic vision
·
Jihad & religious
zeal (+ conquest & booty)*
¨
*Any western parallel?
§
Positive reception of
conquered peoples to Islam
§
Good policies of rulers
=> minimum changes
·
Tolerance with small
head tax =>
·
Encouraged conversions
for material reasons
·
Over generations =>
religious commitment solidified
v
The New Islamic Order
Ø
New world
view established:
§
Demanded new political, cultural, & social
paradigm
§
Nature of the new Islamic society?
·
Umma replaced ancient tribal (or blood) organization
¨
In theory became new
Arabian sociopolitical order
§
NTL => rule
over increasing non-Arab populations
=>
·
Test Islamic ideals of leadership & membership quals
Ø
The
Caliphate (successor):
§
Caliph initially combined roles of iman & amir (?)
·
Religious & political authority rolled into one
§
So political
& spiritual leadership initially combined =>
·
Based on piety &
closeness in association w/Prophet
·
Chosen much like
traditional pre-Islam tribal Sheiks
¨
In agreement by tribal
leaders wrt personal qualities
§
Then dissension soon
surfaced over legitimate succession
·
By Uthman & Ali => internal strife & civil war =>
·
Succession soon based on
power & inherited legitimacy
§
1st Dynastic Caliphate (661-750) => Umayya (Mu’awiya)
§
2nd Dynasty (750-1258)=>Abbasid clan (Abbas)
·
Took over thru open
rebellion to materialistic Umayya
·
Exploited pious
dissatisfaction w/Umayya worldliness
·
Non-Arab resentment
(Arab preference) especially Iran
·
On going resentment in
Arab occupied garrisons-towns
Ø
The Ulama=> new
religious order:
§
Religious iman viewed as functional successors of
Prophet
·
Recognized for piety
& scholarship (right knowledge)
·
Scholar elite
centered around Medina, Mecca, & Iraq
·
Later: Baghdad, Khorasan, Syria, Africa, Spain,
Egypt
§
Impact:
developed moral-legal system of
relig/social order
Ø
The Umma:
§
Qur’an’s message=> universalism
to all who submitted
·
Appealed to Arab
community => then non-Arabs
·
Well established Muslim ideals universally accepted
¨
Although non-Arabs
converts treated as 2nd class
·
Diwan (Army
register) based on conversion precedence
¨
Served as basis for $$$
distribution & taxation=>
¨
Perpetuated Arab precedence over non-Arabs
·
Occupied garrisons
maintained Arab separation
¨
Arab cultural patterns & traditions
maintained
¨
Arabic language
reinforced by Qur’an
¨
Considered perfect
Arabic form=> soon replaced
Ø
Aramaic,
Greek, Persian as common language
·
Non-Arabs attach
themselves as Arab clients
¨
Protection & status
in diwan register (2nd
class)
¨
Dissatisfaction among
non-Arabs common=> revolt
Ø
Persians revolt during Umayyad & early Abbasid
Ø
Persian culture had key
impact on Islamic culture
§
Eventually a stable Islamic society firmly established
itself
§
But 2 distinct &
uncompromising interpretations emerged:
§
Kharijites vs. Shi’a => eventually moderate view
emerged
§
The Kharijites (“seceders” from the compromiser Ali)
·
Radical idealists
espoused total equality =>
¨
Best Muslim should
leader of the Umma
·
Rigorist &
moralistic view of membership in Umma
¨
Major sin should result in immediate expulsion
·
Became rally points for
extremists opposed to Caliph
¨
Strongly opposed Umayyads & less extent Abbasids
§
The Shi’a (“partisans
of Ali”)
·
Roots go back to Ali’s murder by Kharijites
¨
Also to murder of his
son Husayn by Umayyad army
·
Believe that the Prophet
designated Ali as “true iman”
¨
Shi’a
believe Ali is Prophet’s appointed successor
·
Rebellions of Umayyad
era rally to claimed successors
¨
Alid or
member of Muhammad’s clan of Hashim
Ø
Abbasid Dynasty
claimed Hashmite ancestry
¨
9-10th
century Shi’ites based claims on above, plus:
Ø
descent from Ali & Fatima
·
Shi’ites failed to place
iman as leader of Muslim state
¨
Viewed letdown as theologically failure (Iran-1500)
¨
Concluded that Ali & Husayn murders as
evidence=>
Ø
Evil nature of world
leaders => await Mahdi=>
Ø
Messianic age & judgment day=> reward faithful
·
The Centrists (Sunnis)
¨
Less sharply defined
position on leadership & mbrs
Ø
Majority of Muslim
ultimately accepted this view
Ø
Broad middle spectrum of
Muslim beliefs & ideas
¨
Most practical &
feasible structure for Islamic state
¨
Three basic ideas generally accepted by all:
Ø
Umma is
theocracy under divine authority
§
Administered under Shari’a as guided by:
·
Qur’an &
Prophet’s established precedent
·
Interpretive
efforts & consensus of Ulama
Ø
Caliph is
absolute secular (not spiritual) ruler
§
Administer & defend
Islam & its practices
Ø
Anyone who submits must be accepted as Muslim
§
Only God knows what’s in his heart
v
The High Caliphate (see Timeline)
Ø
Emerged during decline
of Umayyads & early Abbasids
§
Umayyad at
Damascus & Abbasid at Baghdad
§
Politically strong &
culturally & $$$ vibrant
§
Peak: during caliphates
of al-rashid & al-Ma’mun
Ø
The Abbasid
State (Map p. 308):
§
Height of Muslim power
under Caliphate & high culture
§
Abbasids
seized power following revolution in 750
§
Abbasid successful
revolution based on:
·
Non-Arab disaffection w/Umayyads & Arab favoritism
·
Khorasanian
regionalism
·
Shi’ite
religious & political aspirations
§
Rebellion relied on Khorasanian Arabs & Iranian troops
·
Regional mercenaries
used as main troops
·
Victory ended Arab
domination & Umayyed control
§
9th Century
=> used Mamluks as Abbasid personal troops
·
Slave soldiers comprised
Turks from northern steppes
·
Problem: officer mamluks
seized positions of power
¨
Central & provincial
bureaucracies & army
¨
Eventually caliphs
dominated by mamluk officers=>
¨
Increased alienation of
Muslim toward own rulers
¨
Particularly evident in
Iraq=> Turks overbearing
Ø
Led caliph to relocate
government to Samarra
Ø
Society:
§
Deep division between
secular rulers & Muslim subjects
·
Evolved as typical of
most Islamic societies (today)
§
Provinces became more
independent & powerful
·
Still nominally
recognized caliph authority
·
Provided legitimacy as
guardians of Islamic order
·
But real cohesiveness
established & standard by Ulama
Ø
Decline:
§
Abbasids
increasingly unable to control regional provinces
·
Growing independence
makes them harder to control
·
Centralized government
grows weak & more vulnerable
·
Buyids
(Shi’ite clan) take control of Abbasids
by 945
¨
Rule thru Abbasid Caliphs as amirs/emirs=> sultans
Ø
(any parallels to other civilizations)
·
Seljuk Turks as Sultans replaced
Buyids in 1055
¨
Abbasid Caliphs
remain figureheads ruled by Seljuks
¨
Mongol
invaders end charade by killing last in 1258
v
The “Classical” Islamic Culture
Ø
The “stuff” of legends (1001 Arabian Nights)
Ø
Intellectual
Traditions:
§
Focus: pursuit of knowledge
·
Baghdad
recognized as a “market of ideas”
·
Cosmopolitan & diverse center
§
Philosophy, astronomy, math, medicine, natural
sciences
·
All given much support
& interest
§
Arabic translations of
Hellenic written ideas
·
Galen, Ptolemy, Euclid, Aristotle, Plato &
neo-Plato
§
Contribution to
West=> preserved works for future Europe
Ø
Language
& Literature:
§
Belles letters
developed among Abbasid secretarial
class
·
Adab (manner’s
lit) => genre of didactic essays
¨
Strongly influenced by
earlier Persian letters
§
Poetry flourished built
on Arabic ode (qasida)
§
Ulama
focused on proper grammar for Qur’an
·
Central for proper
interpretation
§
History &
biographical writings evolved as major genre
·
Also records of Prophet
& his early companions
·
Later generations
follow=> Hadith (traditional report)
¨
Ascribes word/action of Muhammad &
Companions
·
Became key source of
legal & religious norm w/Qur’an
·
Also basic literary unit
of most Arabic prose genres
Ø
Art &
Architecture:
§
Classical Islamic style
set by 1000
·
Except for ceramics(p.309) & Qur’an calligraphy
(306)
·
Drew on Greco-Roman, Byzantine, & Persian
art
·
Innovations=> older forms & motifs for new purposes
¨
Also new combinations
& spread from East to West
¨
Fertile Crescent to Syria, Egypt, N Africa, &
Spain
Ø
Example: Sasanid stucco decoration in Egypt/Afr
Ø
Colonnade mosque & minaret tower (pix p. 311)
v
Islamic Civilization’s Formation in World Perspective
Ø
Great pivotal
historical moment=>
§
The rise of Islam =>
§
Major impact on much of world (& the West)
Ø
New
traditions forged=> beginning on Arab peninsula
§
Then to Syria, Iraq, North Africa, Iran, & finally
Spain
Ø
Islam 1of 3
universal missionary religious traditions-others
Ø
Politically
& socially Umma spread beyond all expectations
§
1st 3 centuries=> most dynamic expanding
empire of time
·
T’ang still rebuilding on Han imperium
·
Charlemagne & Carolingians forging early Europe
·
Byzantium
struggling to survive Muslim
onslaught
·
Post-Gupta India divided & vulnerable
Ø
Only China of
T’ang more favorably comparable w/Islam
§
T’ang’s
political & military power superior at the time
·
Also a better centralized & homogeneous state
with=>
¨
Cultural unity, creativity, & self-consciousness
Ø
Many common
areas shared by Chinese & Islam
§