•The Spread of
Islam
Arabia Before Muhammad
• Pastoral nomads (Bedouins)
• Tribal society
• Caravan trade important (incense),
– Mediterranean
– Middle East
– East Africa
– India
• Mecca major economic center
• Arab tribes under political influence of
Byzantine (Christian) and Sasanid empire
(Zoroastrian)
Byzantine and Sassanid Empire
around 600 CE
Muhammad´s Life and Teachings
• Muhammad former merchant, began to have revelations
by archangel Gabriel
• Main features:
– Arab decent traced to Ishmael, Abraham´s son
– strictly monotheistic
– promise of heaven after death
– five pillars
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Fasting
prayer 5 times a day
Almsgiving
confession of faith
pilgrimage to Mecca
– universal religion, egalitariansim
• Elite in Mecca forces Mohammed to flee to Medina (622
CE, HIJRA, beginning of Muslim calendar)
Muslim Expansion
• Mohammad unites Arab tribes,
– conquers Mecca in 630, dies 632
• First four succesors (caliphs) expand
territory
– Middle East
– North Africa
– Persia
• Caliphs are leaders of all Muslims, political
and religious (theocracy)
• Success possible because of exhausting
war between Persia (Sassanids) and
Byzantium, motivated soldiers, ingenious
military leadership, indifferent population
• Quarrels over succession lead to split into
Sunni and Shia (Ali´s followers)
– Shia: mostly in Persia, southern Iraq
– Sunni: majority of Muslims
Muslim Expansion 632-750
Umayyad Dynasty (652-750)
• Capital in Damascus
• Wars against Byzantium
• Conquest of Spain, further advances stopped by
Franks in 732
• Arabic official language of government
• Conversions encouraged
• Non-Muslims pay a special head tax, but not
forced to convert
• Judaism and Christianity tolerated
Great Mosque in Damascus
Abbasid Dynasty (750-1258)
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Supported by Shiites, although Sunni
New capital Baghdad
First 100 years golden age of Muslim culture
Argument between ulama and caliph about who should
have the final say in religious matters
• Caliph renounces his final authority in religious matters
• Counter caliph in Cordoba, Spain
• Regional loyalties, problems with Shiites,rise of new
dynasties, and difficulty to control a large empire lead to
gradual decline
Government
• Rulers legitimate power by upholding shari’a
law
• Caliph is Muhammad’s successor
• Arab military camps control conquered areas
• Non-Muslims pay head tax
• After conquest of Persia, Abbasids rely on
Persian bureaucrats
• Taxation of agricultural production
• Adopt pomp and ceremonies of Persian court
Political Fragmentation
• In 10th century third caliph in Cairo, Egypt
• North Africa: Berbers (11th cent.)
• Turkey, Iraq, Syria:
- Abbasids rely increasingly on mamluks
(slaves used as warriors)
- Turkic slave soldiers gain political power
- Seljuk Turks (11th century) create empire, are
“protectors“ of the caliphs, but hold de-facto
political power
• Turkey, Holy Land, Syria: Crusading
states(1099-1250), (Do not survive
permanently)
• Middle East: Mongols (1258 sack of
Baghdad, end of Caliphate)
Islamic Law
• Sunna: tradition of the prophet
• Hadith: collection of Muhammad’s words
and deeds, several different strands
• Quran and Hadith basis for Shari’a
• Muslim ruler required to live by and
enforce shari’a
• Unifying effect on Muslim world
• Countries under Muslim law: Dar al Islam
Cities
• New cities and former military camps
(Baghdad, Basra, Kufa, Fustat, Qayrawan)
• Grow because of conversions and
economic growth
• Centers of Islam: mosques, schools,
universities
• Centers of production: Cloth, metal goods,
ceramics, glass
Economy
• International trade dominated by
Muslim merchants
• Banking system, checks, credit,
crucial for long distance trade
• Big cities provide markets for trade
• Business partnerships (often with
Jewish and Christian merchants)
• Common currency (dinar)
Agriculture
• Independent landowners, large
estates with slaves, tenant farmers
• Production for market, cash crops
(sugar, citrus fruits, cotton, rice – from
India and China)
• Use of fertilizers, water pumps, mills,
improved irrigation
• Slaves used for sugar cane
production
Science and Medicine
• House of wisdom in Baghdad (Greek,
Indian, Persian, Mesopotamian texts
translated into Arabic)
• Ibn al Haytham: Scientific Method, Book of
Optics
• Al-Khwarizmi: Algorithm, Algebra
• Ibn Sina: Medical encyclopedia,
contagious nature of diseases
• Surgeons disinfect wounds, use surgical
instruments, trained in hospitals
Technology
• Transfer between east and west:
• Paper, astrolabe, compass,
lateen sail, decimal system
• Production of steel (swords from
Damascus)
Ibn Battuta´s Travels
Women and Slaves
• Women veiled and confined to the house, in
Byzantine and Sassanid times – not new
• Legal protection of women under Quran, a
woman´s soul was considered equal before
Allah, but not equality to men (limited divorce
rights, keep dowry if divorced by their husband,
woman´s testimony in court weighs only half of
a man´s, men can have up to four wives)
• Slavery allowed, slaves from central Asia,
Europe, Africa
• Slaves used in households, as soldiers, in
agriculture
• Forbidden to enslave Muslims
Sufism
• In 12th and 13th century
• Mystic brotherhoods looking for union
with God through rituals, emotional
sense of religion, personal
relationship with Allah
• Sufi saints worshipped in countryside
• Important in spreading Islam to other
countries and making it more popular
Mosque in Samarra
• Alhambra in
Cordoba
Arches
• Arabesques
Calligraphy