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Transcript
Chapter 7
ABBASID DECLINE & THE SPREAD OF
ISLAM IN SOUTH & SOUTHEAST ASIA
ABBASID & ISLAM IN ASIA TIMELIME
ABBASID & ISLAM IN ASIA TIMELIME
The Abbasid Empire at Its Peak
ABBASID & ISLAM IN ASIA TIMELINE
MIDDLE AND LATE ABBASID ERAS

Abbasid empire weakened, 9th-13th centuries




peasant revolts
Shi’a un-reconciled
succession not secure
As early as the third Abbasid Caliph, al-Mahdi
(775-785), issues related to the decline of the
Abbasid Caliphate were apparent.
 Caliph
abandons frugal ways
 Caliph does NOT establish clear pattern of succession

Wives/concubines became involved in the various
palace intrigues associated with the succession crises.
THE LATE ABBASID ERA




Harun al-Rashid (786-809)
ascended to the throne after
the death of al-Mahdi
Harun al-Rashid enjoyed
excess & sumptuous palace
living
Emissaries sent in the 9th
century were dazzled with the
splendor of Baghdad
Led to gradual disintegration
of the Empire
HARUN AL-RASHID & SLAVE ARMIES

Power of Royal Advisors grew throughout the rule of
Harun al-Rashid.
Caliphs became pawns in the factional royal court
battles
 Upon al-Rashid’s death, full-scale civil war broke out
amongst those vying for power.


While al-Ma’mum (813-833) was the victor he
changed the Caliphate
He was convinced to conscript thousands of mostly
Turkic-speaking slaves as his personal bodyguards
 Numbers reached 70K slave regiment = power center

 846,
they murdered the reigning caliph, and in the coming
decades would murder at least four more!
ABBASID DECLINE

Caliphs struggle to control the Slave Regiments
became civil wars
Some Caliphs want to move capital away from
Baghdad’s turmoil
 Increased spending drained the treasury

 Then
peasant revolts against new taxes
Spiraling taxation/pillaging, etc…
 New irrigation, old irrigation and public works fall into
disrepair
 Slavery increased and the position of women eroded


Abandonment of some of the earlier provinces of
the empire.
LATE ABBASID DECLINE…WOMEN


The Harem and the Veil
are the twin emblems of
women’s increasing
subjugation to men and
confinement
The Abbasid court
created the concept of
the Harem for the
Caliphate

Not for pleasure, but for
ensuring bloodlines
Buyid
flag
ABBASID DECLINE

Three major invasions of Baghdad:

1st capture of Baghdad in 945, Persian
Buyids, Muslim Splinter group
 Persian
gradually replaced Arabic as the court
language and literature
2nd group that successfully captured
Baghdad in 1055 was the Sunni, Seljuk
Turks
Buyid Kingdom 970CE (light blue)
 3rd and last group the
captured Baghdad
in 1258 was
the Mongols

THE SELJUKS


By 1055, the Buyid control
over the Caliphate was
broken
In 1055, Central Asian
Nomadic warriors known as
the Seljuk Turks ruled over
the Abbasid lands.


Staunch Sunnis…forced Shi’a
out of governmental positions
Resisted the Byzantines
who were taking advantage
of Muslim disunity

Defeat of the Byzantines in
Asia Minor, later become the
seat of the Ottoman Empire
THE CRUSADES 1099- 1291
THE CRUSADES

Pope Urban II, in 1095, after calls for help from the
Byzantines, rallied Catholic Europe to wrestle the Biblical Holy
Lands from the Seljuk Turks


Knights from Western Europe launched crusades in 1096.
Muslim divisions and the element of surprise made the first
Crusade a Christian success.


1099: Christian knights took Jerusalem.
Muslim, Jewish, & Christian inhabitants were massacred


For the next two centuries, Europeans would mount in excess
of 8 crusades.


Non-whites
Varying degrees of success
When Muslim were united under powerful rule like Salah-udDin (Saladin) they re-conquer most of the lands they lost.
FIRST CRUSADE
IMPACT OF CRUSADES
The Crusaders’ experiences in the Eastern
Mediterranean intensified European “borrowing”
from the Muslim world.
 Through increased cultural contacts, Europeans
began to recover much of the Greek learning lost
during the waves of nomadic invasions after the
fall of the Roman Empire
 For the Muslim world, the Crusades did not change
much of anything.


Islam continued to spread.
AGE OF MUSLIM LEARNING AND REFINEMENT

Even though the caliphate was steeped in political
turmoil, the Muslim Empire still experienced
growth and prosperity until late in the Abbasid era
Declining Revenue
 Deteriorating conditions in the countryside/town life


Expansion of the professional classes


Muslim/Jewish/Christian entrepreneurs amass great
fortunes supplying cities with staples (grain/barley),
essentials (cotton, woolen textiles for clothing), and
luxury items.
Long-Distance trade & new trade links thrive
AGE OF MUSLIM LEARNING AND REFINEMENT

Intellectual Creativity grew dramatically:




Expansion of professional Artisan classes
Mosques and palaces became more ornate.
Tapestries and rugs from Persia were in great demand from Europe
to China (Persian Rugs)
Persian becomes the language of “high culture”


Arabic remains language of religion, law, and the advancement of
the Sciences
they developed their own theories:



Major corrections to algebraic and geometric theories
Advances in trigonometry
Persian was language of literary expression, administration,
and scholarship

Write on many subjects from love affairs, to statecraft, to incidents from
everyday life.
AGE OF MUSLIM LEARNING AND REFINEMENT




Great advances in
chemistry and
astronomy.
Cairo: best hospitals in
the world
Muslim traders
introduce techniques
like papermaking and
silk-weaving that was
developed in China.
Development of
cartography
RELIGIOUS CONTRADICTIONS

Orthodox religious scholars “Ulama” stressed an
increasingly restrictive conservatism within Islam, particularly
with respect to scientific inquiry
 Felt that the revival of Greco-Roman philosophical traditions
would erode the absolute authority of the Qur’an

Sufi were wandering mystics who sought a personal
union with Allah

Conservative interpretation of the law and religious texts

"a science whose objective is the reparation of the heart and
turning it away from all else but God."
A reaction against the abstract divinity of the Qur’an
 Sufis gain reputations as healers and miracle
workers…gain sizeable followings= the spread of Islam


Some led militant bands that spread Islam to nonbelievers
THE END OF THE CALIPHATE


Abbasid Caliphate was
compromised by many different
factions
In the early 13th century, the
Mongols, united under Genghis
Khan became a powerful force in
Asia, smashing through TurkoPersian kingdoms to the east of
Baghdad by 1220 CE.

Hulegu Khan (Grandson of Genghis
Khan) invaded Baghdad 1258 and
kills last Caliph
THE END OF THE CALIPHATE



The Mongol advance was
stopped by the Mamluks,
or Turkic Slaves who ruled
Egypt
In 1401, Baghdad suffers
from another capture and
round of pillaging by the
forces of Tamerlane
(Timur) Muslim/Mongol
Baghdad’s glory becomes
supplanted by Cairo to the
west and Istanbul to the
North
THE SPREAD OF ISLAM
ISLAM’S ARRIVAL IN SOUTH ASIA

India through the Gupta Empire had been a crossroads of
migration for Central Asian nomads seeking refuge




Arrival of the Muslims in the 7th Century CE, altered that.
Early interactions did little to add territory to the Muslim
Empire, and in some cases, lost territory
BUT, in 962 CE, a Turkish slave dynasty seized power in
Afghanistan.


People were accepted, and assimilated into Indian Society.
Led by Mahmud of Ghazni, began two CENTURIES of Muslim
raiding and conquest in Northern India
Throughout the 11th century, Mahmud defeated one
confederation of Hindu princes after another in the name of
Islam.
MAHMUD OF GHAZNI

The efforts of Mahmud
of Ghazni were
continued by
Muhammad of Ghur



Assassinated in 1206
A slave lieutenant
seizes power…Qutb-uddin Aibak
Islam would spread
into fringes of China
THE HINDU/ISLAM MIX
INDIA…HINDUISM



Open, tolerant, and inclusive
of varying forms of religious
devotion.
Search of union with spiritual
source of all creation.
Social system structured on
the caste system
INDIA…ISLAM



Based on doctrines,
practices (specific) and
exclusive worship of a single
god.
Highly egalitarian
(Democratic/classless
society) in the sight of God.
Religious practices are
mandatory and obvious
THE HINDU/ISLAM MIX

Early centuries were characterized by violent
conflict.
However, a good deal of trade and religious
interchange.
 In time, peaceful interactions became the norm

There were contacts via traders in the Indian
Ocean Trade network as early as 711 CE
 Indian overlords who took over land in South Asia
brought little change to most inhabitants of the
Indian Subcontinent.


Many people welcomed the Arabs because they
promised lighter taxation and religious tolerance
EARLY MUSLIM ENCOUNTERS IN INDIA

Muslim leaders decided to treat Hindus and
Buddhists as the dhimmi, or “people of the
book” even though they had no connection to
the Bible.
 This
meant that Hindus and Buddhists had to pay
the tax on non-believers, they enjoyed the freedom
to worship as they pleased.

Little effort was put towards conversion, so
most people remained Hindu or Buddhist.
INDIAN/MUSLIM CULTURAL DIFFUSION
Muslims inherit the Indian scientific learning,
which rivaled the Greeks as the most advanced in
the world.
 Arabic numerals originated in India
 Indian learning was transferred to Baghdad in the
age of the Abbasids.


Indian doctors, scientists, etc.
Muslims adopt Indian styles of dress, food, and
ride on elephants as the Hindu rajas (kings) did.
 Muslims also adopt and infuse Indian architectural
styles

THE DELHI SULTANATE


A new Muslim empire was
proclaimed with the
capital at Delhi, along the
Jumna river on the
Gengetic Plain.
For the next 300 years, a
succession of dynasties
known as the Delhi
Sultante (literally, princes
of the heartland) ruled
North and Central India
THE DELHI SULTANATE

This was a period of
clashing control
between the sultanate
princes themselves, as
well as Mongol and
Turkic invaders.
CONVERSION

Carriers of the new faith on the subcontinent were
often merchants and Sufi mystics
Sufis shared many characteristics with Indian gurus
and wandering ascetics.
 Belief in magical healing powers
 Accepted lower-caste and outcaste groups into Islamic
faith


Most Muslims were NOT from the Indo-Gangetic
centers of the Delhi Sultanate, indicating low
forced conversions
CONVERSION

Most conversions came from low-caste or
Buddhist groups.
 Buddhism
became largely debased as a result of
corrupt practices
Buddhist temples and monasteries became
lucrative targets for raids, etc.
 Many lower-caste, untouchables, animistic
tribes, and Buddhists were attracted to the
egalitarian nature of Islam

ACCOMMODATION

Hindus were convinced that Muslims would soon
be absorbed by the superior religions and more
sophisticated cultures of India

Many things pointed that way!
 Muslim
princes adopted regal styles
 Muslim rulers claim divine descent
 Muslim rulers mint coins with Hindu images

Muslim communities also became socially divided
along caste lines

Violation of the original tenets of Islam!
ISLAM IN SOUTH ASIA AT THE END OF THE
SULTANATE
Attempts to fuse Hinduism and Islam soon
were recognized as impossible.
 Brahmans soon denounce Muslim leaders,
etc.

 Muslims
respond by strengthening their unity
within the Indian Muslim community

After centuries of political domination
though, South Asia remained one of the
least converted and integrated of all the
areas Islam reached.
SOUTHEAST
ASIA
IMPORTANCE

Southeast Asia was
CRITICAL to the
connection of trade
from Chinese ports to
Indian vessels along the
Indian Ocean Trade
network
SOUTHEAST ASIAN CONTRIBUTION



Aromatic woods from
rainforests of Borneo
and Sumatra
Spices: cloves, nutmeg
from Indonesia
From 8th Century
onward, coastal trade in
India became
dominated by Muslims
SE ASIA


As a result, elements of
Islam began to filter into
the southeast Asian
region
The collapse of the
Shrivijaya trading empire
(Buddhist) in the 13th
century opened the door
for the widespread
introduction of Islam
SE ASIA

Trading contacts paved
the way for conversion



NOT conquest and force
Muslim ships also carry
Sufis to the various parts
of SE Asia
Conversion begins in
Sumatra, then across the
Strait of Malacca to
Malaya
SE ASIA

Muslims impressed SE Asians by telling them how much
of the world had already been converted
MALACCA



Mainland conversion
was centered on
Malacca, a powerful
trading city
Spreads to east
Sumatra and to
DEMAK on the north
coast of Java
From there, spread to
the Celebes and then
the Spice Islands, then
to Mindanao and
Southern Philippines
THE SPICE ISLAND(S)
CONVERSION



Trading was the key to
conversion.
Regulation of
commonality in Muslim
laws was good to
regulate business.
Conversion linked
centers culturally, and
economically to Indian
merchants and ports in
India, the Middle East,
and the Mediterranean
SE ASIAN ISLAM

Some areas (like
Central Java) saw
conversion take longer
than others


Hindu-Buddhist
dynasties contested its
spread
Mainland Southeast
Asia did NOT see
wholesale conversion,
and remained largely
Buddhist

Because it was spread
primarily by Sufis, SE
Asian Islam was more
dynamic than orthodox
Islam



Infused with mythical
strains
Tolerated animist, Hindu,
and Buddhist beliefs and
rituals.
Magical powers
WOMEN IN SE ASIAN ISLAMIC SOCIETY

Women retained a strong position in the family
and the community
 Trading
in local and regional markets was
dominated by small-scale female merchants
 As in Western Sumatra, lineage and inheritance
was traced through female lines

Many cultural elements were blended from SE
Asian Culture with Muslim Culture.