#3 - Worlds Together Worlds Apart - Chapter 2 : Opposition Within Islam: Shism and the Fatminds to  Territorial Expansion Under the Tang Dynasty

[Student Personal Notes]

Opposition Within Islam: Shism and the Fatminds

  • As Islam spread into new corners of Afro-Eurasia, tensions grew.
  • Sunnis and Shiites disagree on:
    • Who should succeed the prophet and lead Islams expansion into the ‘wider world’
    • How succession should take place
  • Sunnis (tradition)
  • Accepted succession to the 4 caliphs
    • Then to the Umayyad and Abbasid dynasties.
  • A majority of Muslims are Sunnis.
  • Shiites (members of the party of Ali)
  • Believes Ali, husband of the prophets daughter, Fatima, should have ruled, along with their descendants.
    • They established the first century of Islams existence.
  • Fatmids were shiites, who conquered Egypt in 969 CE
    • They attracted scholars and trade by building mosques.
  • Although Islam spread, they were divided, so Islam couldn’t extend to Western Europe and China.

The Tang State (618-907 CE)

  • Buddhism, medicine, and Math, came from India. Culture spread helped Chinese cities reach more ‘flavor’.
    • Spread its influence into Korea and Japan. \n

Territorial Expansion Under the Tang Dynasty

  • Established after the fall of The Han, and flooding by the yellow river.
  • Li-Yuan (586-618 CE), governor of province Sui, went to Chang’an and took the Imperial throne in 618 CE.
    • The Dynasty built a strong government by increasing the number of provinces and doubled the amount of government offices.
    • Li Chinin, his son, forced his own father to abdicate in 627 CE.
  • The Tang needed a professional army capable of defending the frontiers and squelching rebellious people.
    • At its height had 700,000 horses and 1-2 million soldiers in the South.
  • People like uighurs, turkish speaking people, moved to China by 750 CE. In order to build the empire's best military force.
    • At its height controlled 4 million square miles.
  • By draining swamps, building a network of canals and channels, connecting lakes and rivers to rice lands; china was able to tax 10 million families, almost 57 million people.
  • Capital of dynasty, Chang’an:
    • Sacrifice animals and chanted temple hymns.
    • Buddhists had 91 temples by 722 CE.
  • To be a Tang ruler people had to have Confucian ideas. [As you will see, continuing Confucianism ideals were the preferred way of working for Chinese Dynasties.]
  • Tang had the first civil service exams.
    • Tested sophisticated literary skills and Confucian classics. (knowledge)
    • Trained since the age of 3.
    • Most of the people failed the exams, those who succeeded were chosen from a pool of people to become Civil servants.
      • Chosen by Social conduct, eloquence, calligraphy skills, maths, and legal knowledge.
      • Exams were not open to women, sons of merchants, and those who couldn’t afford a classical education. [For now]
    • Later when farmers grew wealthy, their sons ‘out studied’, old elites' sons.
    • Buddhists wanted everyone to have an education (a proven path to success)
    • Some of those Monks were people who failed the civil service exams.
  • Wives of emperors had influence in the Imperial Court
    • Wu Zhao was recruited before the age of 13 to Li Shimin’s courts.
    • At this death, his son, the new emperor, Gaozong, made Wu his favorite concubile, whom later gave birth to his sons.
    • She later enjoyed power more when she accused Empress Wang (mother) of Killing the emperor's daughter.
    • When the Emperor died, Wu was administrator of the court, which was Emperor level authority.
    • Created a secret police force to spy on her opposition
    • Jailed and killed challengers
    • Made herself Empress Wu (r. 684-705)
    • Expanded the army
    • Recruited administrators for civil exams to oppose enemies.
    • Later ordered the empowerment of women, her mothers clan. Giving them high political posts.
    • Moved capital from Chang’an to Luoyang.
    • Elevated Buddhism.
  • Invited Buddhist scholars
  • Built Buddhist temples
  • Subsidized cave sculpture
  • Favored over Daoism. Buddhism achieved highest officially sponsored development
  • Eunuchs (men surgically castrated at youth (made sexually impotant)
    • 4,500 of them ran the Tang dynasty
    • Held power at the Imperial household, court and beyond.
    • Head eunuch controlled the military.
    • Thus eunuchs ran the Tang Dynasty.
    • Under Emperor Xia Zong, they were a 3rd government, yet, with no order.
    • Having a bureaucracy and imperial court made them politically unstable.

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