Dar Al Islam - Abbasid Empire and Onward

** Capital: Baghdad

Social:

• Islam was religiously tolerant of others

• Islam believed Muhammad spoke through Allah (God) and his words were written into the Quran (religious text)

• Islam ran on slave soldiers (Turkic people)

Political:

Caliphate: A state ruled by a Caliph

Caliph: Ruler of the Caliphate and Ummah (Muslim community)

• Famous Caliphates:

  • Umayyad Caliphate (661-750)

  • Abbasid Caliphate (750 - 1258)

    • Otherwise known as the empire’s golden age

Culture:

Sunni and Shia Groups

• Since there was no political successor of Muhammad, the two groups were divided on who should succeed the throne.

• Shia’s belief: Muhammad’s family should succeed the throne

  • Less percentage

• Sunni’s belief: Government officials and leaders within the community elects a representative.

• Sufism: 800s, focusing on personal experience connected with God, more spiritual/ otherworldly success - helped keep spreading Islam after 1200

• Lingua Franca: Arabic

• 5x a day Ritual prayer

• Pilgrimage to Mecca
  Economy:

• Abbasids connected scholars and merchants and there was a huge spread of ideas from long distance trade

• Trade + huge territory = discovering new methods of irrigation for better agricultural output, and new plant species

  • Sorghum from Africa

  • Rice, cotton, sugarcane from India

Technology:

• Muslim scholars preserve texts from Socrates and Plato, but also laid groundwork for ideas and technology

• Baghdad’s “Horse of Wisdom” was a leading educational center that helped with scientific research

Innovations: Greek philosophy, Indian science, Chinese technology

Developments: Arabic numerals, algebra, and concept of 0

• Nasir al Din al Tusi: Persian scholar

  • Biologist, astronomer, mathematician

  • Created trigonometry to understand the movement of celestial bodies

• Ibn Sina:

  • Canon of Medicine (1025) is used by European universities

Significant Changes

• Abbasid Caliphate Fragmented (c. 900 CE)

  • Turkic pastoralists rise up from being slave soldiers and become Turkic sultans (keeping the Arab Caliph as a figurehead)

  • Dynasties no longer ruled by Arab Caliphs

Significant Continuities

Even after getting conquered, Dar Al Islam’s religion, culture, and education still remains.

Interactions with Environment:

Islam took up North Africa, Al- Andulus (Spain and Portugal), and the Middle East.

Abbasid Caliphate ends in the 13th century but belief in Islam emerges because of a common language and belief system in Afro- Eurasia.

• Sufi mystics helped the spread of Dar al Islam

  • Dar al Islam was associated with political projects, culture, economic prosperity and innovation

Context: Muhammad’s military conquests in the 7th century lead to the large spread of the Islamic world, establishing a connection in culture under Dar Al Islam. These conquests were during the Umayyad Caliphate, and they conquered/ converted millions.

• Turkic Seljuk Dynasty (11th - 12th centuries)

  • Pastoralist Turkish Tribes migrate to Central + SW Asia — many convert to Islam

• Mongols sweep Eurasia (13th century)

  • 1258 Baghdad is invaded and the Horse of Wisdom is destroyed, last Abassid Caliph is killed

  • Through military conquest, Islam is spread into Mongol empire

• Turkic Mughal Empire in India

  • Ottoman Empire (Anatolia)

  • Safavid Empire (Iran)

  • Mamluk Sultanate (Egypt)

Additional Notes:

• Abbasid Caliphate ends in the 13th century but belief in Islam emerges because of a common language and belief system in Afro- Eurasia

  • Sufi mystics helped the spread of Dar al Islam

  • Dar al Islam was associated with political projects, culture, economic prosperity and innovation

• In the 1500s, Islam was the most dominant force on Earth

Delhi Sultanate

Northern India

• A Muslim ruled area

• Unable to convert 20-25% of populous

• People converted to avoid jizya (a non Muslim tax)

Seljuk Turks

• Arab Caliph is a figurehead

• Had beef with Crusaders in Europe

• Destroyed learning institutions

• Seljuk art influenced Syria to India (Tiles)