Download Abbasid Decline and the Spread of Islamic Civilization

Abbasid Decline and the
Spread of Islamic
Civilization to South and
Southeast Asia
Chapter 7 | The Postclassical Period, 500-1450: New Faith and New Commerce
The Islamic Heartlands in the
Middle and Late Abbasid Eras
 Early Abbasid rule by the 8th century CE was already showing signs of decadence and
excessive spending
 Harun al-Rashid (r. 786-809 CE) sent emissaries to Charlemagne of Europe
 Gifts (water clock and elephant) show the reach of the empire
 The Thousand and One Nights was set in Baghdad of this day (political intrigue spoke to dynastic weakness)
 Civil wars to determine next caliph became commonplace
 Caliphs-to-be began amassing private armies, further decentralizing dynastic power
 Assassination from within the armies and from the outside were common
 Caliphs-to-be would hire massive Central Asian Turkic slave armies
 Wars of succession, large building projects (mosques, palaces, and public works)
drained imperial revenue
 Taxation spiraled out of control, increasing resentment of the dynasty
 The evolution of the court harem (veiled) solidified the subjugation of females to men
 The Abbasid court bought thousands of slaves to administer the court
 Some where better-educated than the Arabs themselves, from outside the empire, and had more rights than
Arabs
 Women’s rights decline as part of this culture, eventually being bound to domestic servitude (legal
marriage at 9 yo)
The Disintegration of Abbasid Power
 The weakness of the dynasty led to a constant power struggle in
Baghdad (the caliph would be kept as a figurehead)
 The Buyids of Persia occupied Baghdad in 945 CE
 By 1055 CE the Seljuk Turks of Central Asia would rule Baghdad
 Turkish migrations to Anatolia led to victory against the Byzantine Empire (called for help)
 Egypt and Syria became virtually autonomous from Baghdad
 Decentralization weakened the Islamic world
 Byzantium’s call for help led to the Crusades, which captured Jerusalem 1099
 Salah-al-Din rallied Muslim forces and ended Christian threat
 Christians adopted many things from this encounter (building, weapons, science)
 Christians would re-acquire lost Greek/Roman works kept by Arabs
 Would also get Arabic (Indian) numerals
An Age of Learning
and Artistic Refinements
 As political wealth and power declined, professional classes expanded
 Wealthy Muslim, Jewish, even Christian merchants facilitated expanding trade
between Europe and Asia
 Mosques and palaces were exquisite as art and architecture progressed
 Persian (the Abbasid culture) became the language of court (law remained Arabic)
 Revered for its historic value, it became the literary language of Islam
 “a jug of wine” and “a loaf of bread” come from Persian literature
 Advances in Greek and Indian knowledge progressed this development
 Copies and improvements on Greek and Roman learning (Western Biblical copies)
 Math (trig) and science prospered; astronomy (star maps) and the astrolabe for travel
 Religious changes: over time, religion grew more mystical
 The questioning of Greek learning challenged submission to the Qur’an (Crusades as
representation)
 Sufism: Islamic ascetics, like Buddhist monks, indulged in an existential world
Baghdad would be sacked
again by another Mongol,
Tamerlane, and would never
recover
Nomadic Invasions and
the End of the Caliphate
Turkic migrations from Asia were absorbed into the Caliphate
By the 13th century, the Mongols under Genghis Khan would destroy the Caliphate
The Turko-Persian kingdoms of Central Asia would be destroyed first
Hulegu (GK’s grandson) would capture Baghdad in 1258 and kill the last Caliph
This would all change with the
coming of Islam to India
Understanding India’s
Dynamic Nature: Assimilation
From Harappa to the Guptas, India’s history has been one of “the settled” and “the invading”
As nomadic people entered into the region, they would eventually assimilate with the indigenous people
They would convert to Hinduism or Buddhism and find their place in the social hierarchy, adopting the ways of the settled
This capacity to absorb foreigners gave Indian civilization incredible durability
Periodic political disruption would not affect the economic and social growth, only add to its diversity
The Coming of Islam to South Asia
 Islam introduced a new civilization to India, which was quite opposite from theirs
 Indian civilization was open, tolerant, and inclusive (with a religious social caste
system)
 By contrast, Islam was egalitarian in faith and allowed for social mobility, however the religion
itself was more rigid
 Several Umayyad incursions into Sind received mixed reactions
 Hindus, seen as People of the Book, didn’t mind lighter taxation (as with Christians)
 The limited Arab population got involved in the Indian trading elite (transmitted knowledge)
 Islamic civilization would facilitate the fusion of Indian science with Greek learning at Baghdad
 The decentralization of the Abbasid Caliphate (10th century) led to more incursions
into S. Asia, beginning a new trend of Islamic/Hindu wars
 Islamic-Turkic invaders would move to pillage the wealth of the subcontinent
 This would be followed by more Islamic (Turkic or Mongol) invaders to control the region
 Hindu Rajput would fight for independence (regionalism)
 Collectively, over time, these foreign Islamic rulers would be known as the Sultans of Delhi
 Most Islamic converts would be from lower classes in the west or former Buddhists
 Over time, Islamic merchants would come to dominate Indian Ocean trade
 Also, competition between Islam and Hinduism would separate the once-unified Indian people
The Spread of Islam
to Southeast Asia
 The East Indies (Indonesia) were a middle-ground between
Indian and Chinese civilizations
 Shrivijaya was a powerful trading empire on Sumatra
 Its economic potential attracted Islamic merchants
 Its decline by the 13th century CE allowed for Islam to increase its influence
 Sufis in SE Asia had an appealing flavor Islam as it had similarities to Buddhism
 SE Asian Islam would grant women more freedoms/privileges
 They were instrumental in the trading economy