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AP WORLD SternsChapter 7 LECTURE NOTES
Abbasid Decline and the Spread of Islamic Civilization to South and Southeast Asia
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By mid 9th century - Abbasids losing control over huge Muslim empire. Distance hurt troop movements and control of local administrators. Subjects retained local loyalties. Shi'is often caused trouble. Slave and peasant uprisings used up empire’s resources.13th century Mongol invasions finally ended a painfully slow decline. Despite political decline, Islamic civilization reached new cultural heights. Islam expanded widely in the Afro-Asian world.
Long Abbasid Decline The Abbasid Empire fell slowly between the 9th and 13th centuries. Peasant and slave revolts increased. Art and scholarship flourished but women’s status eroded. Decline started Caliph al-Mahdi (775785). He failed to reconcile moderate Shi'i to Abbasid rule. He also abandoned the frugal ways and surrounded his court with expensive luxury. He left no succession system for his many rival sons, leaving a lasting problem to future rulers.
Extravagance and Succession Disputes. Al-Mahdi’s son, Harun al-Rashid, became a famous Abbasid caliph. His decadent, scheming court was immortalized in The Thousand and One Nights(which was compiled much later in its final version byt eh Ottomans). He heavily depended on Persian advisors, a trend that would make later caliphs puppets in court struggles. Al-Rashid's death led to the first of many civil wars over succession. The sons of the civil war winner, al-Ma'mun, built personal armies, that included Turkic nomads, to safeguard their power. These armies became power brokers, removing and selecting caliphs; their uncontrolled power caused social unrest.
An excerpt for the first page of The Thousand and One Nights
……….To proceed, the lives of former generations are a lesson to posterity; that a man may review the remarkable events which have happened to others, and be admonished; and may consider the history of people of preceding ages, and of all that hath befallen them, and be restrained. Extolled be the perfection of Him who hath thus ordained the history of former generations to be a lesson to those which follow. Such are the Tales of a Thousand and One Nights, with their romantic stories and their fables……….
Imperial Breakdown and Agrarian Disorder. Ongoing civil violence drained the treasury. Caliphs increased the debt by building newer and bigger imperial centers. Peasants were severely taxed. Farm villages were abandoned, irrigation systems fell apart. Bandits were everywhere; they aided peasant rebellions instigated by dissident religious groups.
The Declining Position of Women.Women’s freedom and influence maintainedduring the 1st centuries of Islam severely declined. Male-dominated Abbasid society imagined women possessed incurable lust, and men must be segregated from all but their family women. The haremand the veilsymbolized subjugation to males. Seclusion of elite women, wives and concubines, continued. Veiling spread to all. Abbasid class wealth created a large demand for concubines and male slaves. Most came from non-Muslim neighboring lands. Poor women remained economically active, the rich were kept at home. Elite women married at puberty and spent their lives in domestic work and childbearing. At the highest political levels women practiced intrigue for their sons' careers.
Nomadic Invasions and the Loss of Caliphal Power. By the mid-10th centurybreakaway former provinces began to break away. TheBuyids of Persiacaptured Baghdad in 945. From then on, the caliphs became puppets controlled by sultans, the true rulers. The Abbasid Empire was in name only. The Seljuk Turks defeated the Buyids in 1055 and ruled the deminished Abbasid Empire for two centuries. The Seljuks were staunch Sunnis who purged the Shi’i. For a time Seljuk military power restored much of the original caliphate. Egyptians and Byzantines were conquered , opening Anatolia, the heart of the future Ottoman Empire, to be settled by Turkic nomads.
Buyid Invasions
See Maps in book
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The Impact of the Christian Crusades. West European Christian knights in 1096 invaded Muslim territory to capture the Holy Land. They created small, Christian kingdoms around the Holy land. Most were recaptured near the close of the 12th century by Saladin. The last fell in 1291. The Crusades intensified the borrowing by Europe of the more sophisticated technology, architecture, medicine, mathematics, science, and general culture of Muslim civilization. Europeans recovered much Greek learning lost after the fall of Rome. Italian merchants remained in Islamic centers after the Crusaders left and were the key carriers of Islamic advanced knowledge. Muslim peoples were little interested in European civilization.
Golden Age of Learning. The turmoil of late Abbasid times did not stop Muslim thinkers and craftsmen from Spain to Persiaproduce one of the great ages of human creativity. Rapid urban growth and prosperity persisted. Jobs for skilled individuals were abundant. Merchants amassed fortunes supplying urban needs and from long-distance trade to India, Southeast Asia, China, North Africa, and Europe. Artisans created mosques, palaces, tapestries, rugs, bronzes, and ceramics.
Persian Literature. Persian replaced Arabic as the primary written language of the Abbasid court. Arabic remained the language of religion, law, and the natural sciences, but Persian became the language of "high culture," used for literary expression, administration, and scholarship. With no human forms allowed, beautiful calligraphy made literature a visual art form. Perhaps the greatest work was Firdawsi's epic poem, Shah-Nama, a history of Persia from creation to Islamic conquest. Other writers, as the great poet Sa’di and Omar Khayyam in theRubiyat, blended mystical and commonplace themes in their work.
Science. During the Abbasid EmpireMuslim society surpassed all others in scientific and technological discoveries. In mathematics thinkers corrected ancient Greek theories. In chemistry they created the objective experiment. Al-Razi classified all material substances into three categories: animal, vegetable, mineral. Al-Biruni calculated the exact specific weight of 18 major minerals. Sophisticated astronomical instruments, like the astrolabe, mapped the heavens. Much Muslim achievement was practical. In medicine formal courses of studies accompanied important experimental work. Hospitals continued to improve. Traders and craftsmen introduced Chinese paper making, silk weaving, and ceramic firing. Cartographers made the most accurate maps to date.
Religious Trends and Expansion. Sufisdeveloped vibrant mysticism, but ulama (religious scholars) became more conservative and suspicious of non-Muslim influences. They feared Greek rationalism and insisted that the Quran was the only required source of knowledge. However, al-Ghazali struggled to fuse Greek and Quranic traditions. He often was opposed by orthodox scholars. The Sufis created the most innovative religious movement. They reacted against the arid teachings of the ulama and sought personal union with Allah through asceticism, meditation, songs, dancing, or drugs. Many Sufis gained reputations as healers and miracle workers; Sufism was key to the continuing expansion of Islam.
More Nomadic Invasions and the End of the Caliphate. In the early 13th century central Asian nomads, the Mongols, threatened Islamic lands. Chinggis Khan destroyed the spin-off Turkic-Persian kingdoms east of Baghdad. His grandson, Hulegu, continued the assault. The last Abbasid ruler was killed when Baghdad fell in 1258. The once great Abbasid capital became a backwater in the Muslim world
Islam in South Asia. 7th century Muslim invasions made Indian civilization more complex. Previous nomadic invaders had blended into India’s advanced civilization. Muslims, with their own advanced culture, were a new factor. Comparing the two cultures, Hinduism is open, tolerant, and inclusive, but based in a rigid social caste system..Islam was doctrinal, monotheistic, evangelical, egalitarian and often militaristic. Initial contact brought conflict , but eventually, whiletensions persisted, peaceful commercial and religious exchange occurred in a society where Muslim rulers in the north governed Hindu subjects.
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North Indiaprior to Muslim Invasion. North India remained politically divided between regional rival dynasties after the 5th century fall of the Gupta until Harsha in the 7th century created a smaller, temporary, but stable successor empire in the central and eastern Ganges plain. While bigger than any European kingdom of the time, Harsha failed to unite India’s subcontinent. Harsha's reign was peaceful andprosperous. He built roads, rest houses, and hospitals; he endowed temples and Buddhist monasteries. Urban areas, like the capital at Kanuji, flourished and artistic creativity revived. Harsha, a Hindu, was tolerant of all faiths and strongly attracted to Buddhism.
The First Muslim Invasions. Harsha's empire collapsed with his death in 646. Hindu culture flourished, but political divisions left north India open to Umayyad Caliphate invasions beginning in 711. The Umayyad general Muhammad ibn Qasim conquered and annexed Sind, and , despite quarrels among successor Muslim dynasties, the occupation endured. Many Hindus now "people of the book," welcomed the new rulers because they offered religious tolerance and lower taxes. Most Hindu officials kept their positions, and brahmin castes were respected. Few Arabs resided in the areas cities or garrison towns, and minimal conversion to Islam took place.
Indian Influences on Islam. Although Islam's impact in India was minimal, Islamic civilization was enriched by Indian culture. Indian achievements in science, mathematics,, medicine, music, and astronomy passed to the Arabs. Indian numerals were accepted, later to pass to Europe as "Arabic" numerals. Colonies of Arabs settled along India's coasts, adopted local customs, and later extended Islam to island and mainland Southeast India and Asia.
The Second Wave of Muslim Invasions. After initial Muslim conquests, internal divisions weakened Muslim rule and allowed limited Hindu reconquest. In the 10th century a Turkish dynasty gained power in Afghanistan. Its third ruler, Mahmud of Ghazni, began two centuries of incursions into northern India. In the 12th century the Persian Muhammad of Ghur created an extensive state in the Indus valley and north-central India. Later campaigns extended it along the plains of the Ganges to Bengal. A lieutenant to Muhammad, Qutb-ud-Din Aibak, later formed a new state, with its capital at Delhion the Ganges plain. The succeeding dynasties, the Sultanatesof Delhi, were military states; their authority was limited by factional strife and dependence upon Hindu subordinates. They ruled much of north-central India for the next 300 years.
Patterns of Conversion . While conquerors, Muslim interaction with Indians early was through peaceful exchanges. The main carriers of Islam were traders and Sufi mystics, the latter drawing followers because of similarities to Indian holy men. Their mosques and schools became centers of regional political power providing protection to local populations. Low and outcast Hindus were welcomed. Buddhists were the most numerous converts. Buddhist spiritual decline had debased its practices and turned interest to the vigorous new religion of Islam. Others converted to escape taxes or through intermarriage. Muslim migrants fleeing 13th and 14th century Mongol incursions also increased the Islamic community.
Patterns of Accommodation. Islam initially had little impact on the general Hindu community. High-caste Hindus did not accept the invaders as their equals. Although serving as administrators or soldiers, they remained socially aloof, living in separate quarters and not intermarrying. Hindus thought the Muslims, as earlier invaders, would be absorbed by Hindu society. Muslim communities did adopt many Indian ways; they accepted Hindu social hierarchies, foods, and attitudes toward women.
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Islamic Challenge and Hindu Revival. Even under Hindu influence, Muslims did not change the basic principles of Islam. Hindus, loosing followers, responded by opening up their faith to all individuals from all castes. They increased emphasis on devotional cults of gods and goddesses (bhakti). These cults, open to all, stressed the importance of strong emotional bonds to the gods. Mira Bai, a low-caste woman, and Kabir, a Muslim weaver, composed songs and poems in regional languages accessible to common people. Ecstasy brought removal of past sins and made caste distinctions meaningless. Shiva, Vishnu, and the goddess Kali were the most worshipped gods. The movement helped, especially among low-caste groups, to stop conversion to Islam.
Stand-off: Muslim Presence at the End of the Sultanate Period. Similarities in style and message between Sufis and bhaktic devotees led to efforts to fuse Islam with Hinduism. But, orthodox Brahmins denounced Muslims as temple destroyers and Muslim ulamasaw the two faiths as incompatible. By the close of the sultanate period there were two distinct religious communities. The great majority remained Hindu. They were convinced of the capability to absorb the Muslim invaders. South Asia remained the least converted region under Muslim political control.
The Spread of Islam to Southeast Asia. Southeast Asiawas middle of global trade where Chinese products and culture met the Indian Ocean zone. By the 7th and 8th centuries Southeast Asian sailors and ships were active in trade. When Muslims, from the 8th century, gained control of Indian commerce, Islamic culture reached Southeast Asia. The 13th century collapse of the trading empire ofShrivijaya, ruled by devout Buddhists and located on the Straits of Malacca and northern Sumatra, made possible large-scale, peaceful, Muslim entry.
Trading Contacts and Conversion. Voluntary conversion was more important to Islam’s spread in S.E> Asia than force. Trading contacts prepared the way carried forward by Sufis. The first conversions occurred in small northern Sumatran ports. On the mainland the key was the city of Malacca, the smaller successor to Shrivijaya. From Malacca Islam went to Malaya, Sumatra, and the state of Demak on Java's north coast. Islam spread into Java and moved on to Mindanao in the southernPhilippines. Coastal cities were the most receptive. Their conversion linked them to a profitable Muslim global trade system and Indian Ocean ports. Buddhist dynasties were present in many regions, but since Buddhist conversions were limited to the elite, the mass of the population was open to the massage of Sufis. The island of Bali and mainland Southeast Asia, where Buddhism had gained popular support, remained predominantly Buddhist.
Sufi Mystics and the Nature of Southeast Asian Islam. The mystical quality of Islam in Southeast Asia was due to Sufis. They were tolerant of Buddhist and Hindu beliefs and converts kept pre-Islamic practices, especially for regulating social interaction. Islamic law ruled legal transactions. Women held a stronger position than they had in the Middle East or India. They dominated local markets, while in some regions matrilineal descent persisted. Many pre-Muslim beliefs were incorporated into Islamic ceremonies.
The Legacy of the Abbasid Age. Despite the political instability of the Abbasids, Islam's central position in global history was solidified. The expanding Muslim world linked ancient civilizations through conquest and commerce. Islam made nomadic peoples in Asia and Africa literate. Its cultural contributions diffused widely from great cities and universities. However, the growth of the ulama caused Muslims to become less receptive to new ideas and technologies at a time when Europe was being transformed into a global power of its own. This close-mindedness would make global Islam less competitive after 1500 CE.
KEY TERMS
al-Mahdi: 3rd Abbasid caliph (775-785); failed to reconcile Shi’i moderates to his dynasty and to resolve the succession problem.
Harun al-Rashid: most famous of the Abbasid caliphs (786-809); renowned for sumptuous and costly living recounted in The Thousand and One Nights;.
Buyids: Persian invaders of the 10th century; captured Baghdad; and as sultans through Abbasid figureheads.
Seljuk Turks:nomadic invaders from central Asia; staunch Sunnis; ruled from the 11th century in the name of the Abbasids.
Crusades:invasions of western Christians into Muslim lands, especially Palestine; captured Jerusalem and established Christian kingdoms enduring until 1291.
Saladin: 12th century Muslim ruler; reconquered most of the Crusader kingdoms.
Ibn Khaldun: Great Muslim historian; author of The Muqaddimah; sought to