Download Chapter 7: Abbasid Decline and the Spread of Islam

AP World History I
Spread of Islam: Early History
Spread of Islam: Abbasid Dynasty
The Late Abbasid Era
 As early as the third Abbasid Caliph, al-Mahdi (775-
785), issues related to the decline of the Abbasid
Caliphate were apparent.
 Somewhat typical pattern:


Caliph abandons frugal ways of predecessors
Caliph does NOT establish clear pattern of succession
 In many cases, wives/concubines became involved in
the various palace intrigues associated with the
succession crises.
 Harun al-Rashid (786-
The809)Late
Abbasid
Era
ascended
to the
throne after the death of
al-Mahdi (and the
poisoning of his eldest
son)
 Harun al-Rashid enjoyed
the sumptuous palace
living
 Emissaries sent in the 9th
century were dazzled
with the splendor of
Baghdad
Harun al-Rashid
 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…what he
did next truly changed the nature of the Caliphate…
Slave Armies
 Al-Ma’mum was convinced to conscript thousands of
mostly Turkic-speaking slaves as his personal
bodyguards.
 As the number eclipsed 70,000 the slave regiment
became a power center, in its own right.
 By 846, they had murdered the reigning caliph, and in
the coming decades would murder at least four more
Abbasid Decline
 Caliphs struggle to control the Slave Regiments
 Some Caliphs want to move capital away from
Baghdad turmoil
 Increased spending
 New irrigation…
 Old irrigation and public works fall into disrepair
 Spiraling taxation/pillaging, etc…
 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.
Further Abbasid Decline
 In 945, the Buyids of
Persia invade and
capture Baghdad.
 Caliphs became puppets
controlled by families,
like the Buyids.
 Buyid leaders took the
title of “sultan” meaning
“victorious” in Arabic,
which will designate
Muslim rulers.
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…kick
Shia’s out of governmental
positions
 Resisted the Byzantines
who were taking
advantage of Muslim
disunity
Seljuk Turks
 Defeat of the Byzantines
led to the settlement of
Asia Minor which would
eventually become the
seat of the Ottoman
Empire
The Crusades
The Crusades
 Knights from Western Europe launched crusades to
capture portions of the Islamic world that made up the
Holy Land of Biblical times.
 Muslim divisions and the element of surprise made the
first Crusade a Christian success.
 1099: Christian knights took Jerusalem.
 Muslim and Jewish inhabitants were massacred
First Crusade
First Crusade
The Crusades
 For the next two centuries, Europeans would mount in
excess of 8 crusades.
 Varying degrees of success
 When Muslim were united under powerful rule like
Salah-ud-Din (Saladin) they re-conquer most of the
lands they lost.
 The last crusader kingdom fell in Acre in 1291
Third Crusade gets Acre, but then the
Europeans lose it!
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
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 flourishes
Age of Muslim Learning and
Refinement
 Artists and Artisans benefit
 Mosques and palaces became more ornate.
 Tapestries and rugs from Persia were in great demand
from Europe to China.
 Persian becomes the language of “high culture.”
 Arabic remains language of religion, law, and natural
sciences
 Persian was language of literary expression,
administration, and scholarship.
Age of Muslim Learning and
Refinement
 Persian writers in the Abbasid era write on many
subjects from love affairs, to statecraft, to incidents
from everyday life.
 Blend of mystical and commonplace.
 Not only did Muslims revive Greco-Roman scientific
traditions…they developed their own theories as well!
 Major corrections to algebraic and geometric theories
 Advances in trigonometry
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
Age of Muslim Learning and
Refinement
 Contradictory trends in
Islamic Civilization
 Social strife and
political divisions

Vs
 Expanded trading links
and intellectual
creativity
 This was felt in the
religious world, as well…
 A resurgence of
mysticism
 Vs
 Orthodox religious
scholars become wary of
non-Islamic ideas and
scientific thinking
(crusades)
Religious contradictions
 Orthodox religious scholars felt that the revival of Greco-
Roman philosophical traditions would erode the absolute
authority of the Qur’an
 Sufi movement…
 Sufis are wandering mystics who sought a personal union
with Allah
 A reaction against the abstract divinity of the Qur’an
 Sufis gain reputations as healers and miracle workers…gain
sizeable followings

Some led militant bands that spread Islam to nonbelievers
The End of the Caliphate
 By the 10th and 11th
centuries, the Abbasid
Caliphate was
compromised by many
different factions
 In the early 13th century,
the Mongols, united under
Chinggis Khan became a
powerful force in Asia,
smashing through TurkoPersian kingdoms to the
east of Baghdad by 1220
CE.
The End of the Caliphate
 Genghis dies before
conquest of the Islamic
Heartlands, but his
grandson, Hulegu
renewed the assault on
the Islamic lands in the
1250s.
 By 1258, the Abbasid
capital of Baghdad was
taken by the Mongols
The End of the Caliphate
 The 37th and last Abbasid
 In 1401, Baghdad suffers
Caliph was put to death
by the Mongols.
 The Mongol advance was
stopped by the
Mamluks, or Turkic
Slaves who ruled Egypt.
from another capture
and round of pillaging by
the forces of Tamerlane.
 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
 Generally, those people were accepted, and assimilated
into Indian Society.
 The arrival of the Muslims in the 7th Century CE, will
alter that.
The Hindu/Islam mix
India…Hinduism
India…Islam
 Open, tolerant, and inclusive
 Based on doctrines, practices
of varying forms of religious
devotion.
 Search of union with spiritual
source of all creation.
 Social system structured on
the caste system
(specific) and exclusive
worship of a single god.
 Highly egalitarian 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
Move towards Empire…
 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.
 Their third ruler, 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.
 The efforts of Mahmud
of Ghazni were
continued by
Muhammad of Ghur
 Assassinated in 1206
 A slave lieutenant seizes
power…Qutb-ud-din
Aibak
 A new Muslim empire
ThewasDelhi
Sultanate
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.
 MAPS OF DELHI
SULTANATE OVER
TIME
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
 Muslims impressed SE Asians by telling them how much of
SE ASIA
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.