Rise of Islam, Caliphates & Crusades

Background and Chronological Setting

  • Preceding lecture ended with the collapse of the Western Roman Empire (≈ 6^{th} century); the present material ties directly into events that follow chronologically: the rise and spread of Islam and the crusading era.
  • Reminder: Earlier class sessions already covered Muhammad’s life and the very beginnings of Islam up to the point where the Mongols sacked Baghdad and terminated the Abbasid caliphate in 1258.

Triple-Holy City: Why Jerusalem Matters

  • Christianity
    • Site of Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection; focal point for pilgrimage.
  • Islam
    • The “Night Journey” (al\text{_Israʾ}): Muhammad miraculously rides the creature Buraq from Mecca to Jerusalem.
    • al\text{_Miʿrāj}: From the Temple Mount he ascends through the heavens to meet earlier prophets.
    • Consequence: Jerusalem becomes the third holiest city in Islam (after Mecca and Medina).
  • Judaism
    • Ancient capital built by Israelites; Temple location; part of the biblically promised land.

Timeline: Political Control of Jerusalem (Early Islam → First Crusade)

  • 638 CE (≈ 6 yrs after Muhammad’s death): Captured peacefully during Caliph ʿUmar’s Rashidun rule.
  • Muslim control lasts 461 years until 1099.
    • Rashidun (until 661)
    • Umayyad (≈ 661–750) — build the Dome of the Rock (completed 691).
    • Abbasid (≈ 750–late 960s) — looser control after 9^{th} c.; local governors Tulinids & Ikhshidids.
    • Fatimid (Shīʿa, 969–1099) — relatively tolerant, invest in walls/Al-Aqṣā repairs.
  • Seljuk Turks (Sunni) briefly seize city 1071–1098 after victory at Manzikert; reputation for harsher treatment of Christian pilgrims.
  • Fatimids retake Jerusalem months before Crusaders arrive (spring 1099) but cannot hold it.

Immediate Causes of the First Crusade (Urban II, 1095)

  • Emperor Alexios I Komnenos begs West for mercenaries at Council of Piacenza (March 1095) to repel Seljuks in Anatolia.
  • Pope Urban II seizes opportunity at Council of Clermont (Nov 1095):
    • Frames a universal “holy war” to "liberate" Jerusalem & aid Eastern Christians.
    • Rhetoric highlights exaggerated tales of:
    • Pilgrims robbed, taxed, or assaulted en route.
    • Desecration of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.
    • Political motives:
    • Assert papal supremacy.
    • Attempt reunion with Eastern (Orthodox) church post-Great Schism (1054).
  • No single documented atrocity in Jerusalem serves as a direct trigger; Urban capitalizes on cumulative grievances + propaganda.

Results of the First Crusade

  • Crusaders capture Jerusalem July 1099 — the only crusade deemed "successful" by Latin Christendom.
  • Latin Kingdom endures 88 years (until Saladin recaptures city 1187).
  • Success owed partly to Muslim fragmentation (Seljuk–Fatimid rivalry, internal Fatimid weakness).

Key Concept: Caliphate vs. Sultanate

  • Caliphate
    • Universal Islamic polity; leader (caliph) wields both religious & political authority over the ummah.
  • Sultanate
    • Regional Muslim kingdom; ruler (sultan) exercises mainly military–temporal power—often still nominally acknowledging a caliph.

Governing Principle: Religion = State in Islam

  • In classical and many modern Muslim lands (Iran, Syria, Iraq, Turkey, Egypt, etc.) leadership is expected to be both political and religious; secular–religious separation is historically atypical.

Four “Rightly Guided” (Rashidun) Caliphs (632–661)

  • Abu Bakr
  • ʿUmar ibn Al-Khaṭṭāb — conquest of Levant from Byzantines.
  • ʿUthmān ibn ʿAffān
  • ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib
  • Era remembered as ideal yet marred by civil strife; succession dispute after Muhammad’s death births Sunni–Shīʿa schism.

Major Dynasties (Chronological Highlights)

Umayyad Caliphate (661–750)

  • Capital: Damascus.
  • Rapid expansion to N. Africa & Iberia; reach Gaul until defeat at Battle of Tours (732).
  • Caliph ʿAbd al-Malik:
    • Centralizes administration.
    • Adopts Arabic as official language.
    • Builds Dome of the Rock.
  • Criticized for privileging Arab elites.

Abbasid Caliphate (750–1258) — “Golden Age”

  • Move capital to Baghdad (founded 762).
  • Patronage of science & translation (House of Wisdom).
  • Caliph Hārūn al-Rashīd (legendary in Arabian Nights): diplomacy with Charlemagne; gifts an elephant to Franks.
  • Fragmentation:
    • Buwayhid (Buyid) Shīʿa emirs seize Baghdad 945–1055 yet keep puppet caliph.
    • Fatimids in Egypt (909–1171) challenge Sunni legitimacy.
    • Independent Umayyad emirate/caliphate in al-Andalus (756–1031).
  • End: Mongol sack of Baghdad (Hulagu Khan) 1258 — caliph rolled in carpet and trampled; House of Wisdom destroyed.

Fatimid Caliphate (969–1171)

  • Shīʿa Ismāʿīlī dynasty; capital Cairo.
  • Tolerant administration in Jerusalem; patronize Al-Aqṣā repairs.
  • Fail to overthrow Baghdad but become major Mediterranean power.

Seljuk Empire (1055–late 12^{th} c.)

  • Sunni Turkic converts; seize Baghdad, establish sultan title.
  • Defeat Byzantines at Manzikert (1071) → opens Anatolia to Turkomans.
  • Branch forms Sultanate of Rūm in central Anatolia (precursor to Turkish state).

Ayyubid Dynasty (1171–1250)

  • Founded by Saladin (Kurdish Sunni).
  • Abolishes Fatimids; wins Battle of Ḥaṭṭīn (1187), retakes Jerusalem.

Mamluk Sultanate (1250–1517)

  • Military slaves (mostly Turkic) seize power in Egypt.
  • Defeat Mongols at ʿAyn Jālūt (1260) — first major Mongol setback.
  • Eradicate remaining Crusader strongholds by 1291.
  • Revive ceremonial Abbasid caliphate in Cairo (purely symbolic).

Mongol Successor States & Timurids

  • Il-Khānids (Hulagu’s line) convert to Islam; stimulate Persian arts.
  • Conqueror Timur (Tamerlane) (1336–1405): brutal campaigns + cultural patronage; Timurids endure to late 15^{th} c.

Ottoman Empire (c.1300–1922)

  • Founded by Osman I; capture Constantinople 1453 (end of Byzantine Empire/medieval era).
  • Sultan Selim “the Grim” conquers Cairo 1517, ends Mamluks, proclaims himself caliph.
  • One of three “Gunpowder Empires” alongside Safavid (Iran) & Mughal (India).
  • Final Sunni caliphate; abolished after World War I.

Pivotal Battles & Dates (Exam-Ready)

  • Hijra (Mecca → Medina): 622 — start of Islamic calendar.
  • ʿUmar captures Jerusalem: 638.
  • Manzikert: 1071.
  • Clermont speech / call for Crusade: 1095.
  • Crusaders take Jerusalem: 1099.
  • Ḥaṭṭīn & Saladin’s reconquest: 1187.
  • Mongols sack Baghdad: 1258.
  • ʿAyn Jālūt (Mamluks vs. Mongols): 1260.
  • Fall of Constantinople: 1453.
  • Ottoman capture of Cairo & claim to caliphate: 1517.

Sunni–Shīʿa Schism (Origins & Persistence)

  • Root cause: succession dispute immediately after Muhammad’s death.
    • Shīʿa: ʿAlī & descendants are divinely appointed imāms.
    • Sunni: community consensus; caliph chosen on merit or lineage later.
  • Political rivalries (Umayyad vs. ʿAlid; Abbasid vs. Fatimid; Seljuk vs. Buwayhid) reinforce theological split.
  • Modern distribution (simplified):
    • Shīʿa majorities in Iran, Iraq, Azerbaijan, Bahrain.
    • Sunni majorities in most other Muslim-majority nations.

Examples, Anecdotes & Metaphors

  • Buraq: winged creature symbolizing the miraculous al-Israʾ journey.
  • Harun al-Rashid’s elephant: diplomatic gift to Charlemagne — illustrates Abbasid global outreach.
  • Caliph rolled in a carpet and trampled (Hulagu’s execution of last Baghdad caliph): dramatic end of Abbasid power.

Connections & Implications

  • Crusading ideology interweaves religious fervor + papal politics + Eastern plea; early globalized propaganda campaign.
  • Islamic golden age translations preserve & enhance Greco-Roman knowledge later re-transmitted to Europe—seedbed for the Renaissance.
  • Recurrent pattern: conquest → prosperity → fragmentation → conquest; each dynasty builds on predecessors (e.g., reuse of Abbasid caliph title by Buwayhids, Seljuks, Mamluks, Ottomans).
  • Theocratic governance in Islam continues to influence modern Middle-Eastern politics (e.g., Iran’s clergy-state fusion).

Key Terms Glossary

  • Ummah – worldwide Muslim community.
  • Caliph – “successor” to Muhammad; combines religious & temporal authority.
  • Sultan – military ruler; de facto power where caliph is figurehead.
  • Emir – prince/governor.
  • Imām (Shīʿa) – divinely guided leader from ʿAlī’s lineage.
  • Dome of the Rock – Umayyad shrine on Temple Mount; earliest monumental Islamic structure.

Study Tips

  • Anchor memory with battle dates (Manzikert 1071 → pilgrim hardships → Crusade 1095 → Jerusalem 1099 → Ḥaṭṭīn 1187).
  • Trace capital shifts: Medina → Damascus → Baghdad → Cairo (Fatimid & later Mamluk) → Constantinople/Istanbul.
  • Use “dynasty dominoes” mnemonic: Rashidun → Umayyad → Abbasid → (regional: Andalus, Fatimid, Buwayhid) → Seljuk → Ayyubid → Mongol/Ilkhanid → Mamluk → Ottoman.
  • Always pair a dynasty with: 1) capital, 2) sect (Sunni/Shīʿa), 3) key cultural or architectural legacy.