Islam“Submission”

Muslim“Those who submit”

Byzantines and Sassanids 4th through

early 7th centuries CE

• Extensive trade along the Silk Road

• Parthia: 247 BCE -224 CE• Sassanids: 224-640 CE

Islam• Strong, self-confident faith

• Tolerated Diversity

• Promoted egalitarianism

• Influenced by Persian, Greek, Roman and Jewish cultures

• Arabic as lingua franca: Spain to India

Mauritania Tunisia Pakistan Algeria

Crescent = ProgressStar = Light & Knowledge

Green = color of Islam

Prophet and Statesman: Muhammed

• 570-632

• His life and teachings are in: Quran and hadith (“tradition”) literature– These two together are called the Shariah

• Political & Religious rule closely associated

His message came out of and addressed 7th century Arabia

• A religious, political and military leader of a community-state

• Muslims look to his example for guidance in all aspects of life

courses.wcupa.edu/jones/ his311/lectures/..%5C..

Muhammed’s Early Life

• Orphaned as a child

• Raised by his Uncle, Abu Talib, a respected tribal leader who protected Muhammed and his followers

• Muhammed managed trade caravans for Khadija whom he married

Muhammed as Prophet • Known for trustworthiness and

reflective nature• Would retreat to a hilltop in the

desert• 610 - “Night of Power and

Excellence” called to be prophet of God and later leader of the Muslim state– Heard a voice commanding him to

“recite” (Angel Gabriel / mediator)

• Received revelations for 22 years until his death in 632– Later compiled into the Quran

Muhammed’s Challenge

• Muhammed’s message challenged the order of the day– Called for social justice for the poor and women,

children and orphans – Based on belief in one god rather than in loyalty to

tribes

• Kaaba had been a place of annual pilgrimmage and festival for polytheistic tribes– Loss of revenue for tribal leaders

The Hijra• After 10 years in Mecca, went

to Medina (“hijra”) due to persecution (622 CE)– Muslim calendar begins with this

event– Islam goes from religious to

political system as well

• In Medina, 1st community-state was founded, led by Muhammed himself for 10 years

From Medina to success in Mecca

• Created the Charter of Medina: rights & duties of all citizens– Recognizes people of the book / tolerance in

return for loyalty and poll tax

• Muslims and Jews continued to exist in Medina

Mecca• Truce in 628 between

Muhammed and Meccans

• Muslims won right to pilgrimmage at Mecca

• Muslim rule consolidated over the rest of Arabia through diplomacy and military battles

• 632 Muhammed died

Quran as Sculptured Design

Abu Bakr - 1st Caliph

• Father-in-law (Aisha) • Ordered revelations into a book• Died 634

Umar I - 2nd Caliph

• 636 – Damascus• 637 – Sasanid Empire & Iraq• 638 –Jerusalem• 641-643 – Egypt and Tripoli• 644 - Assassinated

Uthman - 3rd Caliph

• Assassinated in 656 / Buried in Medina

• 656-661: Ali supported by Shi’a /Shi’ites

• Believed Muhammed’s successors should be related to him

• Religious purity emphasized

• 661 - Ali was assassinated – Was and is considered a martyr

Uthman’s tomb

4th & 5th Umayyad Caliphs• 4th Caliph: Mu’awiya (Umayyad Family)

• Moved the capital to Damascus

• 5th Caliph Yazid I (Umayyad Family) • Ali’s son Husayn died tried to take power from Yazid causing

civil war– Husayn died /2nd martyr for Shi’as / Tomb: Karbala

Islamic Spain• Muslim Kingdoms in

Spain: 8th-16th centuries

• Revitalized Mediterranean trade

• Culture flourished:– Christians,Jews and

Muslims lived in Spain– Classical writings entered

Europe through Spain

Mezquita / Cordoba Mosque

Abbasids 762-1258

• Descended from Muhammad’s Uncle

• Revolted against Umayyads– Shi’as and non-Arabs supported them– Protested high taxes

Abbasids 762-1258 CE

• “Golden Age”of commerce, architecture, arts, scholarship

• The 1st 100 years: relative peace and stability

• Baghdad on Tigris River– Trade via river to and from the Persian Gulf

• Baghdad on the Silk Road Trade Route• Goods and ideas exchanged from one end of the world to the

other

Abbasids

• Allowed non-Arabs into governmental administration– Nestorian Christians, Jews, Shi’as had

prominent roles

• Good relations with local authorities– Rotated officers– Regulated taxes

Abbasids in Decline

• 9th & 11th centuries : revolts in Iran, Egypt, Afghanistan, India, Central Asia, Turkey and North Africa led to regional rule

• Tang expansion pushed Seljuk Turks westward

• Seljuk Turks became powerful as military mercenaries under the Abbasids

Seljuk Turks• 1055 - 1258: Seljuk Turks ruled

Islamic territories

• Called themselves “Sultans” (secular rulers) – Kept Abbasid Caliphs as religious

rulers

• 1071: Turks defeated the Byzantines in the Battle of Manzikert– Beginning point for Crusades

1st Crusade: 1096-1099

• Captured Antioch, Edessa & Jerusalem– French Baldwin declared himself King of

Jerusalem (r.1100-1118)– 1144 Muslims won Edessa back

2nd Crusade: 1146-1148

• Holy Roman Emperor Conrad and King of France, Louis the VII attacked Damascus– Retreated to Europe in defeat– 1187- Saladin recaptured Jerusalem for Islam

3rd Crusade: 1189-1192• Richard the Lionheart of England and

Saladin battle in Acre, Jaffa & Jerusalem – Ended with a peace treaty between the two

4th Crusade: 1202-1204

• Sailed to Jerusalem

• Attacked Constantinople against the direct orders of the Pope – Ended with Europeans defeated

Mongolian Empire

1258 - Mongol ruler, Hulegu, executed the last Abbasid caliph

Delhi Sultanate• Freed slave soldiers created a

new Muslim government in Ghazni, Afghanistan

• Conquered Delhi in 1211• After 1335, controlled entire

subcontinent under five dynasties until 1526

• Granted Hindus religious tolerance as long as they accepted Islamic rule

The Mughal Empire 1556 - • 1556 - Beginning of

the Mughal Empire in India

• Established by Mongol and Turkish soldiers

• Tolerance of Hindus as long as they accepted Islamic rule

Islam and Trade in Africa

Ottomans 1289-1923

Fight for Palestine• 1917 Balfour Declaration -

– Britain’s support for limited Jewish settlement in Palestine following World War I (Britain was expected to take over Turkey)

– Most Jews (not Reform Jews) supported this Zionist realization

• 1947 United Nations decision to partition Palestine into separate Jewish and Arab areas / Jerusalem was to be a neutral, international zone

• 1948 - Jews declared Israel an independent state• Arabs didn’t agree with partition and invaded Israel when

British troops left– Attack was aided by Jordan, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and Egypt– The first of many Arab-Israeli Wars

• This particular war ended in 1949 with Israelis gaining more territory than they would have had granted by the United Nations

• 1967 - Israel launched a pre-emptive strike against Palestine: “Six-Day War”

• 1973 - Egypt and Syria conducted a surprise attack on Israel, but were stopped

• 2003 - Geneva Accords created two independent states of Palestine and Israel

Islamic History at a glance• 622-632: Expansion on Arabian peninsula under

Muhammed• 632-656 Relatives of Muhammed lead Muslim

conquest• 656-762: Umayyad Dynasty• 762-1258 Abbasid Dynasty (splinter states)• 14th/15th centuries: Arab merchants and Sufis from

India led mass conversions of SE Asians to Islam (Malaysia / Indonesia)

• By 1601: the last Muslims and Jews out of Spain• 14th century – WWI: Ottoman Turks in Anatolia

Sura 87:14-20

• “He who makes himself pure will flourish, who remembers the name of his lord and performs the prayer…Better is the life ultimate, the life that endures. As is set down in the scrolls of the ancients, the scrolls of Ibrahim and Musa.”

Sura 83:1-7

• “Cursed are the cheats who when their portion is measured among people take their full share, who when they measure the share of others are frauds. Do they think they will not be raised again for a momentous day, a day humankind will stand before the lord of all beings.”

Quran as Sculptured Design