1.2 Dar al Islam

Background

  • Dar-al-islam = parts of the world where Islam is the dominant religion

  • Aspects of Islam that help it spread:

    • Converts are viewed the same as those born into religion

    • Dhimmi (“favored status”) granted to Jews and Christians due to common background

    • the hajj - once in your life you must visit Mecca and Medina.

Context: The Abbasid Caliphate

(750-1285 CE)

  • Founded by descendants of one of the uncles of Muhammed

  • Unified people based not upon regional ties (ie: Arabs) but on religion

    • Even when territory fractures, the Abbasids are still caliphs

  • The golden age of culture, learning, trade, and prosperity

    • Sent troops to help suppress the rebellion during the Tang Dynasty

Decentralization of the Empire (After 945)

  • Faced many issues:

    • internal challenges

    • External challenges from both East and West

    • Money Issues

    • Mongols!

  • The Abbasid name continues, along with structure and traditions in the hands of Regional Dynasties

Baghdad: City of Learning

  • Located along the Tigris River

  • Cemented around the Grand Mosque

  • People from every level of society could become members of ulama or merchants

  • Gaining knowledge is an important part of the Quran and the Hadith

“Golden Age of Islam”

  • Patron Caliph: Harun al Rashid

    • Turned Baghdad into the center of knowledge

  • The House of Wisdom

    • Major intellectual center and home to translation movement

    • Historical arguments over whether it was public or private

    • Large collection of written works in Arabi, Persian, Greek, and Latin

    • Destroyed in the Siege of Baghdad

Two Key Figures

  • Nasir al-Din Tusi

    • Considered to be one of the greatest Persian scholars ever

    • Renowned scientist from the Golden Era

    • Father of Trigonometry

  • A’ishah al Ba’uniyyah

    • Sufi master and poet

    • One of the few female Islamic mystics from this era to record her own writings

    • Most prolific female Arabic writer pre-1200

Moving into period 1 (1200-1450 CE)

  • The Muslin world is fractured into various Sultanates by 1200

    • But the Caliph remains!

  • After the Seige of Bagdad, Baghdad is no longer the center of the Muslim world

    • From Period 1 onwards, Cairo and Istanbul will become the centers of Islamic Influence