2. Chapter 7
Abbasid Decline and the Spread of Islamic Civilization to South and Southeast Asia

4. Extent of Abbasid Empire at it’s height

5. I. The Islamic Heartlands in the Middle and Late Abbasid Eras
Abbasid empire weakened, 9th-13th centuries
peasant revolts
Al-Mahdi ( )
Shi-a unreconciled
succession not secure
1st:
Why were they weakened?
Courtly excesses and political divisions contribute to decline
2nd:
Al Mahdi (3rd Abbasis Caliph)
Tried to reconcile Shi’a opposition to Abbasid rule, but ends in failure
Estab. life of luxury; financial drain
MOST CRITICALLY:
Failed to solve problem of succession
Allowed too many people to enter into discussion as to who would be his successor

6. The Abbasid Empire at Its Peak

7. I. The Islamic Heartlands in the Middle and Late Abbasid Eras
A. Imperial Extravagance and Succession Disputes
Harun al-Rashid
son of al-Mahdi
The Thousand and One Nights
Barmicides
Persian advisors
death followed by civil war
al-Ma'mun
B. Imperial Breakdown and Agrarian Disorder
Civil unrest
Caliphs build lavishly
tax burden increases
agriculture suffers A.
Extravagance:
Emissaries sent from Charlemagne
Muslims showed splendor of living in Baghdad (palaces, treasure troves, sent back intricate water clock & elephant)
1001 Night
Extravagance immortalized in this tale, set in his day of Baghdad
Persian Advisors
b/c of age, al-Rashid becomes dependent on a family of Persian advisors (SOURCE OF WEAKNESS)
DEATH:
Prompted 1st of civil wars over succession
Al-Ma’mun won war, sons convinced they needed to build their own armies in anticipation of fight for throne upon death of father
LEADS TO SLAVE MERCENARY ARMIES (OFTEN REAL POWER BEHIND THRONE) B.
Last decades of 9th century, slave armies brought under control for 1st time
COST:
Battles drain treasury and alienate subjects of Abbasids
Some caliphs’ try to build mosques, palaces further and further away from Baghdad to escape turmoil
RESULT:
Adds to cost
Expense falls on peasantry of central provinces of empire

8. I. The Islamic Heartlands in the Middle and Late Abbasid Eras
C. The Declining Position of Women in the Family and Society
Seclusion, veil, harem
Diff b/t rich and poor women?
D. Nomadic Incursions and the Eclipse of Caliphal Power
Former provinces threaten Abbasids
Buyids, Persia
take Baghdad, 945
Sultans
Seljuk Turks
1055, defeat Buyids
Sunnis
Shi'a purges
defeat Byzantines, Egypt
E. The Impact of the Christian Crusades
1096, Western European Christian knights
small kingdoms established
Saladin retakes lands
last in 1291 C.
Harem/veil are symbols of subjugation to men & confinement to home in Abbasid
RICH: allowed almost no career beyond home
POOR: farmed, wove, raised silkworms
MARRIED AT PUBERTY (AGE 9)
BY END OF ABBASID, FREEDOMS THAT WOMEN ENJOYED IN 1ST CENTURIES OF ISLAMIC EMPIRE HAD BEEN CURTAILED D.
More focused on struggles in capital, outer reaches get out of hand
More and more break a way from capital
BUYIDS:
Capture Baghdad, caliphs now puppets controlled by Buyids
Took on title of “sultan” (victorious)
SELJUK TURKS: E.
Determined to capture the portions of the Islamic world that made up the Holy Land of biblical times
1st CRUSADE:
Successful due to Muslim political divisions and element of surprise
Jerusalem taken back in June 1099
8 TOTAL CRUSADES
Posed little threat to more powerful Muslim princes – disregard was demonstrated by the fact that they continued to quarrel among themselves despite intruders’ aggression
Saladin:
Strong Muslim ruler; Muslims reconquer most of Crusdaer outposts
IMPACT OF CRUSADES:
MUCH GREATER ON CHRISTIANS WHO LAUNCHED THEM THAN ON MUSLIM PEOPLES WHO HAD TO FEND THEM OFF

9. Buyid Empire

10. II. An Age of Learning and Artistic Refinements
Urban growth
Merchants thrive
A. The Full Flowering of Persian Literature
Persian now the court language; replaces Arabic as primary written language
administration, literature
Arabic in religion, law, sciences
Calligraphy
Firdawsi (author)
Shah-Nama
epic poem
DESPITE DECLINING REVENUE BASE OF CALIPHATE AND DETERIORATING CONDITIONS IN COUNTRYSIDE, THERE WAS A GREAT EXPANSION IN THE PROFESSIONAL CLASSES – DOCTORS, SCHOLARS, LEGAL, & RELIGIOUS EXPERTS
So, even as Abbasids declined, Islamic civilization reached new heights of creativity and entered into a new age of expansion
*Long distance trade b/t Mid East & Med. Europe & b/t coastal India and island SE Asia flourishes (in addition to overland trade through China)*
Who benefitted from sustained urban prosperity?
- artists and artisans (mosques/palaces grow larger and larger and more ornate)
- rugs of Muslim peoples (Persians) were in great demand, and are to this day A.
Chief language of “high culture”
Was the language of literary expression
Supple language very beautiful to look at
SHAH NAMA:
Relates the history of Persia from the beginnings of time to the Islamic conquests, and it has much detail on battles, love affairs
Often times read to musical accompaniment

11. II. An Age of Learning and Artistic Refinements
B. Achievements in the Sciences
Math
build on Greek work
Chemistry
Experiments
Al-Biruni
specific weights of 18 minerals
Medicine
Hospitals
courses of study B.
Preserved and compiled learning of ancient civilizations they had conquered
Increasingly became creators and inventors in their own right
FOR SEVERAL CENTURIES, (MUCH OF ABBASID RULE), ISLAMIC CIV OUTDID ALL OTHERS IN SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERIES, NEW TECHNIQUES OF INVESTIGATION, AND NEW TECHNOLGIES
CHEMISTRY:
Creation of objective experiment & classifying all material substances
MAPPED THE STARS – GREAT DEMAND AMONG SCHOLARS OF OTHER CIVILIZATIONS
MEDICINE:
Cairo – some of the best hospitals in the world
Dr’s and pharmacists had to follow a regular course of study and pass formal exam

12. II. An Age of Learning and Artistic Refinements
C. Religious Trends and the New Push for Expansion
Sufis
Mysticism
Much of religious vitality centered on this movement
Ulama
Conservative
against outside influence
Greek philosophy rejected
Qur'an sufficient
Al-Ghazali (thinker; theologian)
synthesis of Greek, Qur'anic ideas
opposed by orthodoxy
D. New Waves of Nomadic Invasions and the End of the Caliphate
Mongols
Chinggis Khan
Hulegu (grandson)
1258, Baghdad falls
last Abbasid killed C.
Contradictory trends in Islamic civilization
A split, essentially, between orthodox and expansion
SUFI:
Wandering mystics who sought a personal union with Allah
ULAMA:
Increasingly hostile to non-Islamic ideas and scientific thinking
Believed that Quran was the final, perfect, and complete revelation of an all-knowing divinity D.
10th and 11th centuries, Abbasid domains were divided by ever growing #’s of rival successor states
Early 13th century:
Eastern edge of original Abbasid domains
MOGOLS, united by Ghenghis Khan
Raid in 1220s
Khan dies before heartland of world invaded, but grandson Hulegu renews attacks in 1250s

14. III. The Coming of Islam to South Asia
By 1200, Muslims rule much of north, central
Conflict between two different systems
Hindu religion v. Muslim monotheism
Muslim egalitarianism v. Indian caste system

15. The Spread of Islam, 10th-16th Centuries

16. This changes in last years of 7th century
What did India encounter when Muslims entered India? Why were they not used to this?
India used to absorbing peoples into their empire; results from the strength and flexibility of India’s civilizations and from the fact that India’s peoples usually enjoyed a higher level of material culture than migrant groups entering subcontinent
This changes in last years of 7th century
When Muslims arrive, peoples of India encounter, for the 1st time, a large influx of bearers of a civilization as sophisticated, if not as ancient, as their own
Hinduism:
Open, tolerant, inclusive of widely varying forms of religious devotion
Validate caste hierarchy
Islam:
Doctrinaire, committed to the exclusive worship of a single, transcendent god
Highly egalitarian

17. III. The Coming of Islam to South Asia
A. Political Divisions and the First Muslim Invasions
First Muslims as traders, 8th century
attack lead to invasion
Muhammad ibn Qasim
Umayyad general (17 yrs old)
takes Sind, Indus valleys
Indians treated as dhimmi
B. Indian Influences on Islamic Civilization
Math, medicine, music, astronomy
India influences Arab A.
1st invasion – 711 CE
Resulted from trading contacts
ATTACK:
Pirates attack Arab traders – pirates from Sind, on western coast of India
Viceroy (ruler) of easetrn provinces to launch against King of Sind
Several fiercely fought battles, Qasim declared region provinces of Umayyad Empire
Brought little change in coming centuries for most inhabitants of Indian subcontinent B.
PROVIDES CONTACTS BY WHICH INDIAN LEARNING WAS TRANSMITTED TO THE MUSLIM HEARTLANDS IN THE MIDDLE EAST (THROUGH SIND)
RESULT:
Islamic civilization was enriched by skills and discoveries of yet another great civilization
NUMERALS:
Arabs begin using numerals that Hindu scholars had devised earlier

19. III. The Coming of Islam to South Asia
C. From Booty to Empire: The Second Wave of Muslim Invasions
10th century, Turkish slave dynasty established in Afghanistan
Mahmud of Ghazni
begins invasion of India
Muhammad of Ghur
Persian
Estb. Political state in Indus valley
his lieutenant, Qutb-ud-Din Aibak
forms state capital at Delhi
Delhi sultanate rules for 300 years
D. Patterns of Conversion
Converts especially among Buddhists, lower castes, untouchables
also conversion to escape taxes C.
Over time, Muslim hold from Umayyads and Abbasids gradually weakens in India
Hindu rulers reconquest lower Indus Valley
RETREAT DRAMATICALLY REVERSED BY A NEW SERIES OF MILITARY INVASIONS IN 962 CE
3rd ruler of this slave dynasty (Mahmud)
Leads a series of expeditions to conquest northern India
GHUR:
Raids turned into political conquests in N. India
Key figure in this was Muhammad of Ghur
Brought back under his control D.
Muslims fought their way in, but interaction with indigenous peoples soon came to be dominated by accommodation and peaceful exchanges
Few converts won forcibly
Main carriers often merchants
Most that converted came from Buddhist or lower-caste groups

21. III. The Coming of Islam to South Asia
E. Patterns of Accommodation
High-caste Hindus remain apart
Muslims also often fail to integrate
F. Stand-off: The Muslim Presence in India at the End of the Sultanate Period
Brahmins v. ulama
> separate communities E.
Hindu attitude toward Muslims:
Remained socially aloof from their conquerors
Sep living quarters established
Genuine friendships b/t high caste groups and Muslims were rare
WHY?
During early centuries of Muslim influx, Hindus convinced that like so many of the peoples who had entered before them, the Muslims would be absorbed by superior religions and more sophisticated culture of India
WOMEN:
Muslim influence had neg consequences for both Muslim and Hindu women
Marrying men at earlier ages
Sati – high caste ritual (burning of widows on same funeral pyre as their deceased husbands) F.
Brahmins sense long term threat to Hinduism posed by Muslim political dominance and conversion efforts, so they denounce Muslims as infidel destroyers of Hindu temples and polluted meat eaters
Muslim ulama (religious experts) grew increasingly aware of the dangers Hinduism posed for Islam
ATTEMPTS TO FUSE 2 FAITHS WERE REJECTED ON GROUNDS THAT ALTHOUGH HINDUS MIGHT ARGUE THAT SPECIFIC RITUALS AND BELIEFS WERE NOT ESSENTIAL, THEY WERE FUNDAMENTAL FOR ISLAM
LONG TERM:
AFTER CENTURIES OF MUSLIM POLITICAL DOMINANCE AND MISSIONARY ACTIVITY, SOUTH ASIA REMAINED ONE OF THE LEAST CONVERTED AND INTEGRATED OF ALL THE AREAS MUHAMMAD’S MESSAGE HAD REACHED

22. IV. The Spread of Islam to Southeast Asia
Shrivijaya
Trading empire that collapses
A. Trading Contacts and Conversion
Trading leads to peaceful conversion
starting with Sumatran ports in NE (13th century)
Malacca
Powerful trading city
Islam spread from here
Coastal cities especially receptive
Buddhist elites, but population converts to Islam
Island SE Asia has long been mainly a middle ground – zone where Chinese segment of great Euro-Asian trading complex met the Indian Ocean trading zone to the west
Goods from China transferred from east to Arab or Indian ships
In same ports, products from Rome make their way east
HUGE TRADE CENTER FOR WORLD
Trading links prove critical to expansion of Islam in SE Asia
Shrivijaya
- 13th century (centered on Strait of Malacca b/t Malaya and NE Sumatra)
- open now to spread of Islam after fall of this empire
- rulers of Shrivijaya devout Buddhists, but with fall of them, incentives increase to convert to Islam A.
Progress of Islamic conversion shows that port cities in coastal areas were particularly receptive to the new faith; where trading links were critical