1.2 Dar al-Islam

  1. Prophet Muhammad died in 632, Islam spread through far West and far East

  2. Abbasid Empire was one of the two major empires to emerge during 1200-1450

A. Invasions and Shifts in Trade Routes

  1. Abbasid Caliphate endured invasions from 4 different groups

  2. Mamluks (Egyptian slaves) invaded from the West

  3. Seljuk Turks invaded from Central Asia

  4. Christian crusaders invaded from Europe

  5. Mongols invaded from Central Asia after Mamluks

Baghdad

  1. Baghdad was a capital and center of trade for the Abbasid Caliphate

  2. It was a very key stop on the Silk Road. As it lost importance, the Abbasid Caliphate lost power

  3. Home to the House of Wisdom, a very important center of learning

  4. Declined due to invasion and inability to sustain reliable agriculture

B. Cultural and Social Life

  1. The Abbasid Caliphate controlled the Arabian Empire, while the Umayyad Caliphate controlled west (modern day Spain)

  2. Cordoba was the center of trade in the Umayyad Caliphate, similar the Baghdad

Education

  1. Cairo and Bukhara developed great universities

  2. Cordoba and Baghdad was centers of trade, bringing Greek philosophers, Indian math texts, and used paper making techniques from China

  3. Swahili was created by combining Bantu and Arabic

  4. Famous scholars was Ibn Rushd (from Cordoba) and Nasiral-Din al-Tusi (from Baghdad)

Sufi Muslims

  1. Sufis did not prioritize book learning like much of the Arab world

  2. They focused on acquiring truths that they believed could not be understood by learning

  3. Sufis were very tolerant of other religions, making the spreading of Islam more effective

Economy

  1. Because Prophet Muhammad was a merchant, the merchant class was given more respect in the Abbasid and Umayyad Empires than in other places

  2. Because Muslims tolerated other religions, this encouraged trade relationships

  3. Military representatives weren’t allowed to own land. Conquered countries paid tribute to the Caliphates instead. This was normally done peacefully because the Caliphates did not interfere with the citizens

C. Women and Slaves

  1. Islamic women could inherit property, remarry if widowed, and get money settlements from divorces unlike Christian and Jewish women

  2. A very important author at the time was a woman named A’shah al-Ba’uniyyah

  3. Most of the is because of the respect that Prophet Muhammad had for his first wife, a successful merchant

  4. It was common for women to have hijabs, which was clothing item considered a modest style of dressing