1. Western Monotheistic Religions

2. The “Axial Age” 500BCE – 100CE

3. Revolutionary monotheisms:
Jews, Christians, and Muslims (Abrahamic faiths)
(J-C-I Tradition) believe:
There is ONE God (monotheism)
God is above nature and human weakness (transcendent)
Sacred books are revealed

4. Zoroastrianism Prophet: Zoroaster / Zarathustra [c. 500 BCE?]
One supreme god: Ahura Mazda
conflict dualism-struggle between good and evil
last judgment
personal ethics and salvation-free will
Opponent of Ahura Mazda Angra Mainyu (Devil)
There are few adherents of Zoroastrianism today but it left many important legacies to the Judeo-Christian tradition
Modern image of Zoroaster

5. Judaism Approximately 3800 years old Founder of Judaism: Abraham
Foundational stories of Judaism are ones of journey, exile, return
Descendants of Abraham comprise a divinely chosen family and ethnic group
World’s first ethical monotheistic religion
Rembrandt’s Abraham

6. Key Historical Events Judaism
Moses and the 10 Commandments-ethical monotheism-the Covenant
Hebrew Kingdoms—David and Solomon
Diaspora – Torah (“Bible”) and Talmud (Law)
Chosen People
Sacred Geography-Israel, Jerusalem

8. Exodus
Moses and his Covenant with God

11. Basic Beliefs of Judaism
Meaning in God – ethical monotheism
“God is righteous and loves man”
Meaning in Creation
“The universe is god-created”
Meaning in Man
“Man is created in God’s image”
“The Chosen People”
Meaning in History
“The Promised Land”

12. Basic Beliefs of Judaism
Meaning in Morality – the Covenant with God
“Ten Commandments” and Torah
Meaning in Justice
“injustice breeds its own demise”
Talmud
Meaning in Suffering-Last Judgment, Salvation

13. Jews within the Roman Empire
During Roman times, there was already a “Jewish diaspora”
Jewish communities often came into conflict with Romans when they refused to worship Roman deities or emperors
66-70 CE—Jerusalem defeated by Rome, second temple destroyed

14. Diaspora

15. 922 B. C. The Jewish kingdom is established 70 A. D
922 B.C. The Jewish kingdom is established 70 A.D. The Romans conquer the Jewish kingdom – the Temple of Solomon is destroyed th Cent. Massacres on Jews in the Rhineland and by the Crusaders Jews in Europe are forced to dress in a certain way or carry the Jewish mark The Jews are expelled from England. 14th Cent. The Jews are expelled from France The Jews are expelled from Spain, unless they are willing to be baptised Massacres on Jews in Poland and the Ukraine. 19th Cent. The Jews are gradually emancipated in Germany and in other Westernm European countries Pogrom against the Jews of Copenhagen Pogroms in Russia following the murder of the Tsar Pogroms in Eastern Europe – 60,000 Jews are killed in the Ukraine by Ukrainian nationalists.

17. Judaism during the Middle Ages

18. Forced to wear yellow star
Burning the Talmud
Examples of Anti-Semitism
Burned to Death

20. Jesus Born c. 4 BCE Independent-minded Jewish Rabbi?
Political revolutionary?
Executed for activities and teachings c. 30 CE

21. JESUS PREACHING TO FOLLOWERS
See RGH #45 “The Ranking of Jesus in History”

22. CHRIST BEFORE PILATE
CRUCIFIXION

23. RESURRECTION OF CHRIST

24. Basic Beliefs of Jesus love your fellow man-Golden Rule
turn the other cheek – pacifism, nonviolence?
social justice-live simply
equality of men and women
opposed to the ceremonialism of Judaism

25. Early Christianity Splinter group within Judaism
Spread by Paul of Tarsus and others; enabled by pax romana
Many poor and disenfranchised were attracted to Christianity
“Blessed are the meek for they shall inherit the earth” Mark 5
A religion of conversion
3rd century: ONE TENTH of Western Roman Empire Christian
Paul of Tarsus

26. Paul’s Additions to Christianity
Christian theology-role of the church and the priests
original sin
Jesus divine, the “son of God”
subordinate role for women
faith in God-saving stuff is “grace”
universal mission – seek converts
no longer follow Jewish practices
celibacy

27. Paul’s Third Trip to Rome

30. Christianization of the Roman Empire
Christianization of “pagan” cults and temples
Christianization of Roman feast days
Celebration of “martyrs”
Conversion of Germanic peoples
Persecuted religion intolerance of “pagans”
Catholic Church in Assisi
Formerly Temple of Minerva

32. CHARLEMAGNE DEFEATS THE SAXONS
Conversion by the Sword?

34. Allah in Arabic

35. Arabia before Muhammad
Arabia was situated between two world powers: Roman Byzantine Empire and Persian Sasanid Empire
The Arabian peninsula was inhabited by nomadic, warring tribes-
bedouins
Major religions of the region: Christianity and Zoroastrianism

36. The Prophet, Muhammad Born c. 570 C.E. in Mecca
At 40, he began to receive revelations from archangel Gabriel
In 622 Muhammad and followers fled to Yathrib, later known as Medina [the hijra] = year one of the Muslim calendar
In 630 Muhammad and followers returned to Mecca
In 632 Muhammad led the first haj to the Ka’ba
Muhammad died in 632
See RGH# 48 “The Ranking of Muhammad in History”

38. The Hijra - “Flight” Muhammad flees to Yathrib (Medina) 622 CE
Year 0 in Muslim calendar
Organizes followers into communal society
(the umma)
Legal, spiritual code
Commerce, raids on Meccan caravans for sake of umma

39. The Ka’aba

40. PROPHET MUHAMMAD AT THE KA'BA WITH ANGEL SEIZING IDOLS

41. Islam – Basic Beliefs Monotheism Prophecy – Muhammad “the Seal”
“Do not say ‘three’—Allah is but one God. Allah forbid that he should have a son.”
Prophecy – Muhammad “the Seal”
Quran – literal word of Allah, in Arabic
Angels – hierarchy, role of Gabriel
Last Judgment

42. GRAND MOSQUE IN MECCA

43. The Five Pillars of Islam
MUSLIMS MUST:
Profession of the Faith: Acknowledge Allah as the only god and Muhammad as his prophet
Pray: five times daily, facing Mecca
Fast during Ramadan
Charity: Give alms to the weak and poor
Haj: If able, make a pilgrimage to Mecca once in their lifetimes
The Ka’ba at Mecca

44. The Quran [Koran] “Recitations”
It is considered the absolute and uncorrupted word of God
It should be chanted and studied in the original Arabic, other versions are considered “translations” or “interpretations”
See RGH #51 “Islam: The Koran”

45. The Opening Prayer In the name of God the Compassionate the Caring
Praise be to God
lord sustainer of the worlds
Master of the day of reckoning
To you we turn to worship
and to you we turn in time of need
Guide us along the road straight
the road of those to whom you are giving
not those which anger upon them
not those who have lost the way.
Prayer in Islam
Call to Prayer

46. Organization Sunna – hadith, or traditions of Muhammad
Sharia – Quran + Sunna = The Law
Ulema and Imams – like rabbis
“Sabbath” – Friday noon, Mosques
BUT
No priests, no hierarchy, no pope, no idols, no sacraments, no original sin, no separation between church and state, no sabbath.

47. “Bestseller in Mideast: Barbie With a Prayer Mat” NYT 9/22/05

48. Women in Islam Muhammad sought to improve the treatment of women
Muslims adopted the pre-existing Byzantine and Persian custom of veiling to observe “modesty” as required for Muslim women and men
The Quran enjoins women believers to
“lower their gaze and be mindful of their
chastity, and not to display their charms
[in public] beyond what may [decently]
be apparent thereof.” 24:31

49. Similarities: Judaism, Christianity, Islam
Yahweh, God, Allah: One god, the same god
Same lineage, from Abraham
All have holy books
All require acts of faith
All advocate ethical and moral behavior
All originate from histories of opposition and persecution
All claim Jerusalem as a holy city
The Temple Mount in Jerusalem: Featuring
the Western Wall and Dome of the Rock

50. Holy City of Jerusalem The Western Wall Dome of the Rock
Church of the Holy
Sepulcher

51. Sunni / Shia Schism Sunni: Shia: Largest branch of Islam
Believe in the legitimacy of the earliest caliphs
Believe the role of the caliph is to protect the divine law, act of judge, and rule over community
Shia:
Minority opposition to Sunni
Believe leadership should reside in the line of Ali
Believe that the caliph can interpret the Quran and law; that he possesses inward knowledge

53. Chronology of the Islamic Empires
Life of Muhammad
Umayyad Dynasty
Abbasid Dynasty
Crusades from Europe
1258 Mongol capture of Baghdad

54. The Islamic Empires

55. EARLY EXPANSION OF MUSLIM RULE

56. Conversion by the sword? No.
Islam transcended tribal divisions and united Arab tribes
Conquests were not about conversion by the sword but about uniting Arab tribes and expanding Arab territory
“People of the Book” were not pressured to convert
Non-Muslims paid higher taxes so Arabs had “little material incentive to encourage conversion”

57. Umayyad Dynasty 661-750 Time of conquest but little conversion
Control monopolized by Arabs which caused tension

58. Abbasid Dynasty 750-1258 The “golden age” of Islam
Islamic empires revived the economic unity of the region and became the hub between Asia and Europe
Time of the “Muslim synthesis”
Baghdad the capital
Harun al Rashid

59. The “Muslim Synthesis”-First World Civilization?
Muslims merged the scientific and intellectual traditions of Greece and India and enhanced them with their own commentary
They preserved Greek philosophy at a time that Europe was a “cultural backwater”

60. ARTERIES OF TRADE AND TRAVEL IN THE ISLAMIC WORLD, TO 1500
“First World Civilization”

61. Relationship with Christianity
al-Andalus - Spain

62. Great Mosque at Cordoba, 786
When the Abbasids attempted to massacre 800 family members of the Umayyad dynasty at a dinner of peace, a few of them escaped, fled to Spain, and established Cordoba as their capital. The Great Mosque of Cordoba, begun in 786, contains all of the usual features of a mosque, but it is best known for its interior double set of horseshoe-shaped arches, one above the other, which are mounted on the capitals of granite and marble columns. (Christopher Rennie/Robert Harding Picture Library)

63. The Crusades Crusade = “holy war”
Series of military campaigns undertaken by European Christendom against the Abbasid empire
Five military campaigns between
Offensive or defensive wars?

64. Map of the Crusades and the Reconquest of Spain

66. Reasons for the Crusades
To “recapture” Jerusalem
To end wars among Europe’s knights
Desire for wealth and information from the more advanced Islamic civilization

67. Important turning points…
First crusade conquered Jerusalem 1099; recaptured by Saladin 1187
Fourth crusade targeted Constantinople, weakening Byzantine empire against the rising power of the Turks

68. Long-term effects of the Crusades
The Crusades were never a mortal threat to the Abbasids but they eroded their long-held culture of religious toleration
Weakened the Byzantine empire against the rising power of the Turks
The Crusades stimulated Europe’s economy and “reintegrat[ed] Western Europe into the larger economy of the Eastern hemisphere” TE
Helped unify Europe vis a vis the “East”

69. Seige of Constantinople
Conquest by Ottomans, 1453
End of the Byzantine Empire
Map of Constantinople