The Abbasid Caliphate
Rise and Fall
Cultural Achievement
Push Towards Southeast Asia
Spread of Islam at Dawn of
Abbasid Caliphate
Height of Abbasid Power
Abbasid Caliphate (755-1258)
• Early Years
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Spread Islam throughout Africa, Parts of Europe, Asia
Consolidated power, supressed enemies, adopted Sunni Islam
Moved Capital to Bagdhad, Wazirs made laws for entire empire
Conversion incentive: no jiyza, government and military roles, better school
Trade networks from Spain to Southern China
– Furniture, carpets, jewelry, tapistries
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Cultural flowering, blend of Hellenistic, Persian Indian, Egyptian, Jewish,
and Christian traditions of scholarship
– Math, science, philosophy, astronomy, medicine, ethics
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Slave labor common
Political Decline
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Political Disorganization
Bad Caliphs Al- Mahdi, Al Rashid, 755-809
– extravagant, corrupt, untrustworthy (Thousand and one Nights)
Dependent on Persian advisors
Relied on slave mercenary armies, 70,000 strong by 833 CE, dictated
Caliph power
Heavy taxes on peasants, villages destroyed, food rebellion, Shi’a uprising
Buyids – powerful Persian family take Bagdhad in 945
Caliphs become puppet of Buyid Sultan
1045 – Seljuk Turks take power from Buyids, rule Abbasid Caliphate, put
down Shi’a Uprisings, Spread to Anatolia (will find Ottoman Empire)
1220 – Chinngis Khan raids Turko-Persian Kingdom
1258 – Bagdhad sacked by Mongols, last Abbasid Caliph Killed
Cultural Flowering
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Expanding trade networks and intellectual creativity
Artisans – design palaces, mosques, Persian rugs
Persian Literature
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Arabic is language of religion and law, Persian of
creative writing
– Historical Epics, Shah-Nama, illustrated, performed
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Math and Science
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Combined pre-existing knowledge with new innovations
Al- Razi – chemistry and minerals, physician
Al-Biruni – specific weight of 18 Minerals
Corrected Greek algebra and geometry – sine, cosine,
tangent
Health – hospitals and medical exams
Astronomy – astrolabe, mapping, constellations
Machinery – silk weaving, paper making, map
making
Religion
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Al-Ghazali fusion of Greek philosophy and Quaran
Sufis – mystics, wandering, popular, closer relationship
with Allah, “find Allah in all things”
Islam moves to Southeast Asia
• INDIA
• First Wave
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Muslim Invaders began to enter the Indian Subcontinent in the 7th Century
Conflict between Islam and Hindu beliefs
– Exclusive worship vs. many deities
– Transcendent God vs. idol worship
– All equal vs. caste system
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Northern India
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Collapse of Gupta Empire in 604
Harsha, successful ruler, embraces Buddhism, unites most of India
Dies in 646, leaves no successor, first Muslim traders arrive in 711
Muhammad in Qasm gains Sind, in Western India for Ummayad Empire
Cultural Fusion
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Indian Number system
Indian physicians go to Bagdhad
Chess, Indian food, dress, architecture arrive in Abbasid Territory
Arab colonies in Mulabar and Bengal
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INDIA, Second Wave
926 – Seljuk Turks move toward India
Muhammad of Ghur – takes most of Northern and Central India
– Capital at Delhi, ruled by Muslims for 300 Years
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Conversion?
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Sufi mystics travel along trade routs
Build mosques and schools, form militias, welcome lower caste members
Convert many Buddhists
Muslim rulers absorb Hindu practices, alternate caste system
Hindu Opposition
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Higher caste Hindus oppose Muslim conversions
Bhaki – Hindu cults to reach supernatural – popular rituals, dances, festivals
Stemmed Muslim conversion
Brahman encourage Hindu disunity with Islam
Southeast Asia
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Muslim Merchants and Sufi mystics
travel to Southeast Asian Islands from
India
Win convertsin Java by adopting
animist, Buddhist, and Hindu traditions
Sumatra, Malayan Peninsula, Java,
center for trade between China, India,
Europe (SPICES)
8th Century, Muslims dominate East
Indian Trade
13th Century – Java Buddhist rule
collapses
Malacca, Demake, Philipines, all
convert
Conversion easier along trade ports
Sufi Mystics
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Establish schools and mosques
Allow pre-Islamic customs, puppet plays
based on Brahman age, worship of old
deities and spirits, Hindu-Buddhist
symbols worn by Muslim rulers
Lotus Flower – purity
Endless knot – harmony
Pair of Fish – happiness
Victory Banner- Victory
Wheel – Knowledge
Treasure vase – wealth
Conch shell – Buddhist
thoughts
Parasol – crown,
protection