Topic 1.2 - Developments in Dar al-Islam

Beginnings of Islam

• The Prophet Muhammad - Muhammad ibn Abdullah

• The Quran is composed of verses from Muhammad

• Muhammad must move from Mecca to Medina

• Islamic conversion begin in Medina

Early Spread of Islam

• Islam originated in the Arabian Peninsula and spread outward. The colored regions above mark the Islamic Caliphate in the 8th century.

Establishing and Spreading Islam

• Muslim conquest of Egypt in 642 marks the beginning of expansion into north Africa

• The sassanids (remaining Persians) were defeated by Muslim forces in 644

• Muslim forces invaded and conquered Spain in 711

• Abbasid Empire stopped invading Tang Chinese forces in 751 in the Battle of Talas

• Islam introduced to India and the east through trade

New Islamic Political Entities

• Seljuk Empire - 1050-1300 - Central Asia - Turkic

• Mamluk Sultanate - 1250-1517 - Egypt - Turkic

• Delhi Sultanate - 1206-1556 - India

The Seljuk Empire

• Nomadic Turkic peoples

• Migrated from Central Asia into Middle East

• Took over Abbasid territory during Abbasid decline and took baghdad in 1055

• Viewed as restorers of SUnni Muslim unity

• Weakened by Mongol invasions

• Ultimate succeeded by the Ottomans who maintained much of Seljuk culture and traditions

Mamluk Sultanate of Egypt

• Mamluk = “owned” or “slave”

• Empire ruled by a military caste of mamluks (slave soldiers)

• Central Asian origin, converted to Islam through enslavement

• Overthrew Ayyubid Dynasty in Egypt

• Established a Sultanate (as opposed to a Caliphate)

• First ruler was a woman named Shajar al-Durr, former concubine

• Shajar al-Durr ruled as Sultana for three months, then passed the rule to her husband Izz al-Din Ayback because the Abbasid Caliph would not recognize a female sultan.

Trade in the Mamluk Sultanate

• Overland trade from ASia through Aleppo into Europe

• Maritime trade from Asia through the Red Sea to Mamluk ports in Egypt where European traders would buy and sell goods.

• Merchants are ranked highly

Decline and Fall of the Mamluk Sultanate

• Affected by the Black Plague

• Weakening political structure

• Began to lose control over valuable spice trade

• Ottoman-Mamluk War - 1485-1491

• Portuguese-Mamluk War

• Defeated by Ottomans in 1517

The Delhi Sultanate

• Forms when Qutb-Din AIbak, a slave of Muslim warlord becomes the first Sultan of Delhi - this is the Mamluk Dynasty

• Sultanate is composed largely of Central Asian nomadic Turks who converted to Islam

• Islam spread through Sufi missionaries but still clashes with Hindu traditions

Sufi Missionaries Spread Islam in India

• Sufism is known as “mystic Islam” (practitioners have an altered state of consciousness or interaction with the divine)

• Had more appeal to Hindus than “orthodox Islam”

• Because Sufis emphasized personal experience of the divine, they were successful in blending in witty local beliefs - much less rigid than traditional Islam

Takeaways

• Seljuk Empire, Mamluk Sultanate of Egypt, Delhi - Islamic political entities which carried on muslim traditions after the decline of the Abbasid Caliphate

• Muslim rule expanded into Africa, Europe, and Asia via conquest, trade, and Sufi missionaries.

The Islamic Golden Age

• Baghdad was built and became the epicenter of knowledge

• Translation movement - ancient Greek texts were translated to Arabic

• House of Wisdom established

• Studied indian mathematics - transferred to Europe

• Learned paper making from the Chinese - transferred to Europe

Translation Movement

• The Translation Movement was made possible by paper - learned from the Chinese

• Translated classic texts included those from Plato, Aristotle, and Hippocrates

• Huge volumes of anatomy, medicine, and philosophy were translated and preserved

• The transfer of paper and knowledge from China and India into Europe set the stage for the Renaissance and Scientific Revolution later on

Islam and Other Religions 1200-1450

• Early Islamic states were tolerant of other religions, particularly Christian and Jewish faiths

• Christians and Jews were considered “people of the book” but had to pay a tax called “jizya”

• The jizya tax encourage conversion to Islam

• Clash between Christians and Muslims manifests as the Crusades-wars over control of holy sites

Islam in West Africa

• Islam spread to West Africa through the Trans-Saharan trade routes (rather than through conquest)

• One example-Mali Empire and Mansa Musa

• Hajj to Mecca was 2700 miles

• 12,000 slaves carrying gold

• North Africa, West Africa, and the horn of Africa predominantly Muslim today

Islam in Asia

• Sufi missionaries in India - also went into China

• Spread into China via the SIlk Road trade routes

• During the Tang and Song Dynasties mosques were built in China that combined Arabic and Chinese architecture

• Zheng He, famous Chinese explorer from Yunnan was born into a Chinese Muslim family

• Zheng He also worshipped Tianfei, the Chinese patron goddess of sailors

Key Ideas

• Abbasad Caliphate breaks apart and new countries arise including, Seljuk Turks, The Mamluk Sultanate of Egypt, and the Delhi Sultanate.

• Islam spread through trade, conquest, and Sufi missionaries.

• Could trade in the trans-saharan trade route, the indian ocean trade network, and the silk road