1. THE FIRST TRANS-REGIONAL CIVILIZATION
ISLAM
THE FIRST TRANS-REGIONAL CIVILIZATION

2. POST CLASSICAL ARABIA
Romans (Byzantines) and Persians had client kingdoms in area
Active in long-distance over land trade
Trade from Damascus to Mecca/Medina to Yemen
Trade across desert to Persian Gulf and along coast
Part of Red Sea trade system; links between Yemen and Abyssinia
Trade includes gold, frankincense and myrrh
Religion was polytheistic
Groups of Jews in Arabia; Monophysite Christians in cities

3. THE ORGANIZATION OF ISLAM
The umma
Organized a cohesive community called umma in Medina
Led commercial venture
Sometimes launched raids against Mecca caravans
Helped the poor and needy

4. ISLAMIC LAW: SHARIA The sharia
Emerged during the centuries after Muhammad
Detailed guidance on proper behavior in almost every aspect of life
Drew laws, precepts from the Quran
Drew traditions from Arabic culture, Hadith
Through the sharia, Islam became a religion and a way of life

5. EXPANSION OF ISLAM Dar al Islam The expansion of Islam
, seized Byzantine Syria, Palestine, Mesopotamia
640s, conquered Egypt and north Africa
651, toppled Sassanid dynasty
, conquered the Hindu kingdom of Sind, Iberia, NW Africa
Success due to weakness of enemies, vigor of Islam
Dar al Islam
The Islamic world where the Sharia is in force, Islam dominates
Dar el Harb is the land of the unbelievers, or non-Muslims
The Shia and Sunnis
The Sunnis ("traditionalists") accepted legitimacy of early caliphs
Were Arab as opposed to Islamic
Did not feel caliphs had to be related to Muhammad
The Shia sect supported Ali (last caliph and son in law of Muhammad)
A refuge for non-Arab converts, poor; followers in Iraq, Iran
Felt caliphs should be directly related to Muhammad
Two sects struggled over succession; produced a civil war, murder

6. UMAYYAD DYNASTY The Umayyad dynasty (661-750 C.E.)
New caliph won civil war; murdered Ali; established dynasty
Established capital city at Damascus in Syria
Ruled for the interests of Arabian military aristocracy
Policy toward conquered peoples
Dhimmis were the conquered Christians, Jews, Zoroastrians
Levied jizya (head tax) on those who did not convert to Islam
Even the converts did not enjoy wealth, position of authority

7. UMAYYAD DECLINE Umayyad decline
Caliphs became alienated from Arabs by early 8th century
By the mid-century, faced strong resistance of the Shia faction
The discontent of conquered peoples also increased
Umayyad family slaughtered; only one son escaped to Spain
Formed breakaway Umayyad Dynasty in Spain

8. ABBASID DYNASTY Abu al-Abbas The Abbasid dynasty (750-1258 C.E.)
A descendant of Muhammad's uncle; allied with Shias and non-Arab Muslims
Seized control of Persia and Mesopotamia during 740s
Shattered Umayyad forces at a battle in 750; annihilated the Umayyad clan
The Abbasid dynasty ( C.E.)
Showed no special favor to Arab military aristocracy
Empire still growing, but not initiated by the central government
Abbasid administration
Relied heavily on Persians, Persian techniques of statecraft
Central authority ruled from the court at Baghdad, newly built city
Governors ruled provinces; Ulama, qadis (judges) ruled local areas
Harun al-Rashid ( C.E.)
Represented the high point of the dynasty
Baghdad became metropolis, center for commerce, industry, and culture

9. ABBASID DECLINE Abbasid decline
Struggle for succession between Harun's sons led to civil war
Governors built their own power bases, regional dynasties
Local military commanders took title of Sultan
Popular uprisings and peasant rebellions weakened the dynasty
A Persian noble seized control of Baghdad in 945
Later, the Seljuk Turks controlled the imperial family

10. AN URBAN CIVILIZATION Arab Urban History
Pre-Islamic Arabs were both urban, bedouin
Mecca, Medina, Yemeni cities, cities of Palmyra, Arab Petropolis
Center of the city was a market place often shared with religious center
Cities designed with human-environment interaction in mind
Nomads came to city to trade, city often settled by whole tribes
Arabs had settled in cities in Syria, Iraq, Jordan
Arabic cities linked to wider world through merchants, trade
Arab cities exposed to Jews, Persians, Monophysites, Sabeans
Monophysite Christians
Believed in a single (mono) nature of Christ—divine (his human nature was fused into his divine nature.
Sabean
Group of Arabians who lived in Southern Arabia (Yemen)
Some of their religious practices were incorporated into Islam.

11. Arabic Empire and Urban Growth
Islam as a culture requires mosque, merchant: very urban in outlook
Capital moved from Mecca to Damascus by Umayyads
Arabs founded military cities on edges of desert to rule empire
As empire grew, needed something more permanent
Abbasids moved capital from Damascus, Kufa to Baghdad
Other designed for purpose cities include Fez, Cairo, Tunis
Increasing agricultural production contributed to growth of cities
Cities: centers for administration, industry, trade, education, faith
Many different ethnic minorities settled in Muslim cities (quarters)
Mosque at center surrounded by suk, square, in decreasing social order

12. CHANGED ECONOMICS
Merchants, pilgrims, travelers exchanged foods across empire
The exchange and spread of food and industrial crops
Indian plants traveled to other lands of the empire
Staple crops: sugarcane, rice, new varieties of sorghum and wheat
Vegetables: spinach, artichokes, eggplants
Fruits: oranges, lemons, limes, bananas, coconuts, watermelons, mangoes
Industrial crops: cotton, indigo, henna
Effects of new crops
Increased varieties and quantities of food
Industrial crops became the basis for a thriving textile industry
Foodstuffs increased health, populations of cities
Agricultural experimentation
Numerous agricultural manuals
Agricultural methods and techniques improved
Improved irrigation

13. A VAST TRADE ZONE Camels and caravans
Overland desert trade traveled mostly by camel caravan
Caravanserais (motel, corrals) in Islamic cities
Trading goods usually luxury in nature
Maritime trade based on technological borrowing
Arab, Persian mariners borrowed
Compass from the Chinese
Lateen sail from southeast Asian, Indian mariners
Astrolabe from the Hellenistic mariners
Organization and dominance of trade
In North Africa across Sahara, down Nile, SW Asia, to India
Eastern Mediterranean, Red Sea, Persian Gulf, Arabia Gulf down coasts
Many cities grew rich from trade
Entrepreneurs often pooled their resources in group investments
Different kinds of joint endeavors
Banks
Operated on large scale and provided extensive services
Letters of credit, or sakk, functioned as bank checks
Exchange of Ideas included Islam, technology, culture

14. ISLAMIC TRADE

15. OTHER ISLAMIC REGIONS Al-Andalus
Islamic Spain, conquered by Muslim Berbers
Claimed independence from the Abbasid dynasty
Participated in commercial life of the larger Islamic world
Products of al-Andalus enjoyed a reputation for excellence
Cordoba was a center of learning, commerce, architecture
After death of Abd al Rahman III broke up into petty kingdoms
A unique blended culture
Arab, Latin, German, Islamic, Christian, Jewish
Very tolerant and integrated society
Warred for 700 years with Christian kingdoms in north

16. MUSLIM SPAIN

17. OTHER ISLAMIC REGIONS North Africa Central Asia
Strong followers of Shia, broke with Abbassids
Berbers followed many puritanical Shia like movements
Eventually Fatimids conquered Egypt, formed rival caliphate
Central Asia
Largely Turkish, Persian and Islamic but not Arabic
Tended to be distant from Baghdad and more tolerant
Integrated into trans-Eurasian trade network

18. MUSLIM CENTRAL ASIA

19. WOMEN’S CHANGING STATUS
Pre-Islamic Arab Women
Arabs as nomads allowed women many rights
Women often poets, tribe leaders
Some evidence of matrilineal tribes
The Quran and women
Quran enhanced rights, security of women
Forced husbands to honor contracts, love women
Allowed women to own property, protected from exploitation
What produced the change
Foreign Contacts changed the perspective
Adopted veiling from Mesopotamia, Persia
Isolation from India through purdah, harem
Muslim rights for women
Often weaken through Hadith, traditions
Often reduced, ignored
Patriarch beliefs reinforced by conquest
Yet Quran, sharia also reinforced male domination
Role of Hadith, Arab traditions reinforced male domination

20. IMAGE OF WOMEN

21. ISLAMIC CULTURAL TRADITION
Quran, sharia were main sources to formulate moral guidelines
Constant struggle between what is Arabic and what is Islamic
Use of Arabic script as only language of Islam strengthened trend
Persians, Turks, Indians, and Africans struggled for acceptance
Promotion of Islamic values
Ulama, qadis, and missionaries were main agents
Education also promoted Islamic values
Sufis
Islamic mystics, effective missionaries
Encouraged devotion by singing, dancing
Led ascetic, holy lives, won respect
Encouraged followers to revere Allah in own ways
Tolerated those who associated Allah with other beliefs
The hajj
The Kaa'ba became the symbol of Islamic cultural unity
Pilgrims helped to spread Islamic beliefs and values

22. ISLAM & OTHER CONTACTS Persian influence on Islam Turkish influences
After Arabs most prominent of Muslims, resisted Arabization
Cultural traditions often borrowed heavily by Islam
Became early followers of Shia
Government and regionalism
Many advisors (vizer is Persian word) to Caliphs were Persian
Cultured, diplomatic language of Abbassid court became Persian
Literary achievements
Omar Khayyam was greatest of Medieval Muslim poets
The Arabian Nights largely in a Persian style
Turkish influences
Central Asian nomads converted to Islam, developed literary culture
Invaded SW Asia and made caliphate dependent on Turkish nomads
Formed military might, leadership of late Abbassid state
Indian Influences
Purdah and harem borrowed from Hindus
"Hindi numerals," which Europeans called "Arabic numerals"
Greek Influences
Muslims philosophers especially liked Plato and Aristotle; Greek math
Effort of harmonizing two traditions met resistance from Sufis