Islamic Empires and Cultural Contributions

Spread of Islam After Mohammed's Death

Islam spread rapidly from Arabia through military actions, merchants, and missionaries.
Its reach extended from India to Spain.
Islamic leaders often showed tolerance to Christians, Jews, and others who believed in a single god.
The Abbasid Empire had a renowned center of learning in Baghdad called the House of Wisdom, attracting scholars from far away.
The Islamic community facilitated the transfer of knowledge through Afro-Eurasia.

Challenges to the Abbasid Empire

The Abbasid Empire faced challenges from the Chinese, nomadic groups in Central Asia, and European invaders.

Mamluks

Egyptian Mamluks, often ethnic Turks from Central Asia, were purchased as enslaved people to serve as soldiers and bureaucrats.
Mamluks had more opportunities for advancement compared to other enslaved people.
In Egypt, they seized control of the government, establishing the Mamluk Sultanate (December to 1517).
They prospered by facilitating trade in cotton and sugar between the Islamic world and Europe.
The Mamluks declined in power when the Portuguese and other Europeans developed new sea routes for trade.

Seljuk Turks

The Seljuk Turks, also Muslims from Central Asia, posed another challenge.
Starting in the 11th century, they conquered parts of the Middle East, extending their power almost to Western China.
The Seljuk leader took the title of Sultan, reducing the Abbasid caliph's role to chief Sunni religious authority.

Crusaders

The Abbasids initially allowed Christians to travel to and from their holy sites, including Jerusalem.
The Seljuk Turks later limited this travel, prompting European Christians to organize crusades to reopen access.

Mongols

The Mongols, like the Mamluks and Seljuk Turks, came from Central Asia.
They conquered the remaining Abbasid Empire in December and ended Seljuk rule.
The Mongols continued to push westward but were stopped in Egypt by the Mamluks.

Economic Competition and Decline of Baghdad

Since the 8th century, the Abbasids were an important link connecting Asia, Europe, and North Africa.
Goods and ideas flowed through trade routes controlled by the Abbasids, with Baghdad at the center.
Trade patterns shifted to routes further north, causing Baghdad to lose its central place in trade, wealth, and population.
The city could not afford to maintain its infrastructure, such as canals, and food production declined.
Baghdad's infrastructure decayed, leading to the decline of the city.

Fragmentation of the Islamic World

The Islamic world fragmented politically, with new states adopting Abbasid practices but remaining ethically distinct.
The Abbasid caliphate was led by Arabs and Persians, while new Islamic states like the Mamluks, Seljuqs, and Delhi Sultanate were at least partially Turkic.
By the 16th century, three large Islamic states with roots in Turkic cultures emerged: the Ottoman Empire, the Safavid Empire, and the Mughal Empire.
These Islamic states continued to form a cultural region, with trade spreading goods, news, and ideas.
The common use of Sharia created similar legal systems.
Universities in Baghdad, Cordoba, Cairo, and Bukhara created centers for sharing intellectual innovations.

Cultural Continuities and Innovations

Islamic scholars followed the advice of Prophet Muhammad, seeking knowledge even in China.
They learned from various cultures and built upon the work of earlier thinkers.
They translated Greek literary classics into Arabic, preserving the works of Aristotle and other Greek thinkers.
Islamic scholars studied mathematics from India and transferred the knowledge to Europeans.
They adopted paper-making techniques from China, which Europeans later learned from them.
Scholars during the golden age in Baghdad made significant achievements, built on intellectual achievements of other cultures.

Key Scholars

Nasr al-Din al-Tusi (1201-1274): Contributed to astronomy, law, logic, ethics, mathematics, physiology, and medicine. He built an advanced observatory and produced accurate astronomical charts. Studied the relationship between the lengths and sides of triangles and angles, laying the groundwork for trigonometry.
Ibn Khaldun (1332-1406): Known for his historical accounts and considered the founder of historiography and sociology.
Aisha al-Ba'uniyya (1460-1507): A prolific female Muslim writer; her works, including a poem honoring Muhammad, reflect her broad learning and mystical illumination.

Sufism

Sufis emphasized introspection to grasp truths beyond intellectual learning, unlike Muslims who focused on studying the Quran.
Sufism may have originated as a response to the perceived luxury of the Umayyad caliphate.
Sufi missionaries played a role in spreading Islam, adapting to local cultures and traditions.

Commerce, Class, and Diversity

Islamic society viewed merchants as more prestigious than in Europe and Asia at the time.
Merchants could grow rich from trade on the Silk Road and across the Indian Ocean, esteemed for fair dealings and charity.
Islamic conquests led to discrimination against non-Arabs, but this faded in the 9th century.
Soldiers were forbidden to own conquered territory, allowing life for the inhabitants to remain virtually unchanged, though they paid tribute to Islamic caliphs.

Slavery in Islamic Society

Islam prohibited enslaving other Muslims or monotheists (Jews, Christians, Zoroastrians) but permitted enslaving others.
Muslims often imported enslaved people from Africa, Belarus, Russia, Ukraine, and Central Asia.
Hereditary slavery did not develop.
Many enslaved people converted to Islam and were freed.
Enslaved women sometimes served as concubines, with more independence than legal wives, and could earn money to buy their freedom.

Status of Women in Islam

Some practices, like women covering their heads and faces, were common cultural customs before Islam.
Most women observed a hijab, either practicing dressing modestly or wearing a specific covering.
Women could study and read, but not in the company of unrelated men.

Mohammed's Policies

Mohammed raised the status of women, treating his wives with love and devotion.
He insisted that dowries be paid to the future wife, not her father.
He forbade female infanticide.
Mohammed's first wife was educated and owned her own business, setting a pattern for recognizing women's abilities.

Overall Status

Islamic women generally enjoyed a higher status than Christian or Jewish women.
They could inherit property, retain ownership after marriage, remarry if widowed, and receive a cash settlement if divorced.
Under some conditions, wives could initiate divorce and practice birth control.
Women's testimony in court was protected from retaliation but was worth half that of a man.
The rise of towns and cities in Islamic areas led to new limitations on women's rights, symbolized by the veil and the harem.

Comparison to Chinese Society

Chinese society greatly limited women's rights, restricting their social activities.
Practices like foot binding restricted women's mobility.
Women were not allowed to own businesses, and widows could not remarry.
Islamic society granted women more rights, including owning land, initiating divorce, and remarrying.

Islamic Rule in Spain

The Umayyads ruled in Spain for a longer duration.
In 711, Muslim forces invaded Spain from North Africa.
Cordoba was designated as the capital of Islamic Spain.

Battle of Tours

The Islamic military was turned back at the Battle of Tours against Frankish forces, marking the limit of rapid Islamic expansion into Western Europe.
Muslims ruled Spain for the next seven centuries.

Prosperity Under Islam

The Umayyads in Cordoba, like the Abbasids in Baghdad, created a climate of toleration among Muslims, Christians, and Jews.
They promoted trade, allowing Chinese and Southeast Asian products to enter into Spain and the rest of Europe.
Goods traveled aboard ships called Howes, developed in India or China.

Culture and Scholarly Transfer in Spain

The Islamic state in Spain, known as Al-Andalus, became a center of learning.
Cordoba had the largest library in the world at the time.

Key Scholars

Ibn Rushd (Averroes) (12th century): Wrote influential works on law, secular philosophy, and the natural sciences.
Muslims, Christians, and Jews in Al-Andalus influenced one another. Ivan Rush's commentaries on Aristotle influenced the German philosopher Maimonides, Maimonides developed a synthesis of Aristotle’s reasoning and biblical interpretation. He influenced Christian philosophers, including Saint Thomas Aquinas from 1225 to 1274.

Impact

Islamic scholarship and scientific innovations, along with knowledge transferred from India and China, laid the groundwork for the Renaissance and scientific revolution in Europe as well as the understanding of medicine.
Paper making and water filtration, developed and taught to Europeans by Muslims, were vital to spreading ideas in Europe.

Key Terms

Government Empires: Mamluk Sultanate, Seljuk Turks, Sultan, Mongols, Abbasid Caliphate.
Culture Religion: Mamluks, Muhammad, Crusaders, Sufis.
Culture During the Golden Age: House of Wisdom, Baghdad, Nisar al-Din al-Tusi, Aisha al-Ba'uniyah.