Three Caliphates:
`Abbasid, Fatimid,
Umayyad Andalus
Carl W. Ernst
Introduction to Islamic Civilization
1. The `Abbasid caliphate
(750-1256)
Triumph of Persian cosmopolitan and
Imperial tradition over Arab
particularism
Only politically effective for a century
Powerful centrifugal forces
Economic network tying things together
`Abbasid caliphate – early
period
Arab elites replaced by Khorasani guard
Increasing remoteness of regime from
citizens, growth of court ceremonial in
Persian style
New urban sophistication: hedonistic
poetry of Abu Nuwas
Growth of Arabic literature: Thousand
and One Nights as popular storytelling
Military and economic
problems
Troops coming from border areas or
beyond: Turks as military slaves
(mamluks)
Weakened economy could not sustain
military
Rebellion of East African slaves (Zanj)
in marshes near Basra
Assertion of Regional
Autonomy
Provincial independence: Egypt, Persia,
Central Asia
rise of New Persian language in Arabic
script
Abandonment of Samarra as capital
Iranian Buyid princes (Zaydi Shi`ites
from the Caspian) take charge, caliphs
as powerless puppets
Isma`ili activism
Multiple groups in late
ninth century:
Carmathians in Bahrain,
attack Mecca and steal the
Black Stone from Ka`ba
(930-951)
`Abd Allah leaves Syria
(902) and founds Fatimid
empire in North Africa,
claims descent from
Ja`far’s son `Abd Allah
2. A second caliphate
(Fatimids)
Shi`ite call to prayer, sermon in the
name of caliph-imam
Kharijite and `Alid principalities in North
Africa overwhelmed
First military campaigns against Egypt
(913-934) unsuccessful
3. Umayyad caliphate in
Córdoba
Conquest of Iberian peninsula except
NW (Asturias)
Independent of Baghdad after 740
Umayyad prince `Abd al-Rahman,
fleeing `Abbasids, claims throne
Battle of Zaragoza vs. Charlemagne
leads to romanticized Song of Roland
The Caliphate of Cordoba
Excavated ruins of Madinat az-Zahra, ca. 940
Salon Rico
Salon Rico, interior
Audience hall
Mihrab of
great
mosque
Mihrab
detail
The church in the mosque
Mosque
interior
Crucifix in
the
mosque
today
Ethnic groups in al-Andalus
Mozarabe (muta`arrab): Arabized
Christians
Sefardic Jews
Muladie (muwallad, “born [here]”):
Iberian converts to Islam
Arabs: Syrians, etc.
Berbers
Mudejar (mudajjan, “tamed”): Muslims
under Christian rule
Umayyad caliphate
Andalus ruled by Muslim minority
Arabization of Jews and Christians
[Egger overestimates isolation of
Andalusian Christians: see Codex
biblicus legionensis : Biblia
visigótico mozárabe in Wilson Library
– Latin Bible with Arabic comments]
Economic networks
Indus to Andalus: economy, agriculture,
industry, trade, cities
a medieval “Muslim world”
Irrigation based on water wheel (noria)
and canal (qanat)
Economy
Extraordinary textile production
Shift from long distance luxury goods to
mass consumption trade
Camels, market in timber and metals
North Europeans unable to use
advanced products of Muslims
Silk Road, maritime commerce in
western Indian Ocean
Shift from Gulf to Red Sea