Islamic World
Origins of Islam
In 600 CE the northern portion of Middle East was dominated by the Christian Byzantine Empire and the Zoroastrian Sassanid Persian Empire. The Arabian Peninsula lacked any centralized political authority and was dominated by independent Arab tribes that profited from a lucrative trade route that transported frankincense and myrrh from southern Arabia and East Africa to the Byzantine and Sassanid Empires. In 570 Muhammad was born in a prosperous trading town along this trade route, Mecca. Mecca also served as an important pilgrimage site for the polytheistic Arabs as it was home to an important temple to these gods, the Ka’aba. As an adult, Muhammad had a lucrative career as a merchant and eventually married a wealthy widow, Khadijah. Financially secure, Muhammad now turned to spiritual pursuits which included meditating in the mountain caves outside of Mecca.
In about 610, Muhammad began to have visions while meditating. He came to believe that these visions were the Angel Gabriel who had been charged by the one true God (Allah in Arabic) to deliver a message to Muhammad. The message delivered in this revelation, outlined the basic beliefs of Islam and were eventually recorded in the Quran. While Muslims believe that the Jewish and Christian holy books contain religious truth, only the Quran contains the exact words of God. These basic beliefs of Islam (outlined in the Six Articles of Faith) include the belief in one God that created all of things. Muslims believe that God sent a series of messengers (prophets) including Noah, Abraham, Moses, and Jesus. Each prophet delivered a divine message which is preserved in the Books of God, these include the Torah, Gospels, Psalms, and Scrolls. According to Islam, Muhammad is God’s final messenger and he has delivered God’s exact words in the form of the Quran. In addition to the Quran and Books of God, Muslims look to the words and deeds of the Prophet Muhammad for guidance. These traditions of Muhammad are found in the Hadith and Sunnah. Additionally, basic practices of Islam are outlined in the Five Pillars of Islam and over the course of many hundreds of years, Muslim scholars have used these various sources of religious truth to compile the Shariah or Islamic law that regulated public and private affairs in the Muslim states.
Muhammad began to share his message with the people of Mecca after 610. The message was not well received as it threatened Mecca’s traditional role as a pilgrimage destination for the polytheistic Arabs. Facing hostility in Mecca, Muhammad led his followers to the city of Medina in 622. Most of the population of Medina accepted Muhammad as the Messenger of God and converted to the new faith. The Meccan migrants and the converts of Medina, unified under a single faith, now formed the Umma, a political and religious union led by Muhammad. The conflict with the city of Mecca continued until 630 when the armies of the Umma successfully defeated Mecca. After this defeat, the Umma led by Muhammad continued to expand and by his death in 632, most of the Arabian Peninsula was unified under the authority of the Umma.
After Muhammad’s death leadership of the Umma passed to a successor called a caliph in Arabic. Under the first four caliphs, the Umma now known as a caliphate continued to expand. By 661, the caliphate included all of the Arabian Peninsula, Persia, Palestine, and Egypt. While the political authority of the caliphate expanded rapidly, religious conversion proceed very slowly. A civil war broke out in the caliphate in 656 (the details of this conflict will be discussed in the notes for element b) this resulted in a power shift to a new dynasty of caliphs, the Umayyads who ruled from 661 to 750 (Umayyad caliphs remained in power in Spain until 1031). Under the Umayyads the caliphate expanded to include all of North Africa, the Iberian Peninsula and parts of Central Asia. The Umayyad government and army was dominated by Arabs, however the empire was ethnically diverse. This discrepancy led to unrest and in 750 the Umayyad dynasty was overthrown and replaced with the Abbasid Caliphate which held the position until the last Abbasid Caliph was killed by the Mongols in 1258. The Abbasid caliphs were never able to maintain the level of political unity or centralized authority of the Umayyads. Abbasid authority never extended to Iberia and by 969 a rival caliphate, the Fatimids controlled Northern Africa and parts of Palestine and the Arabian Peninsula.
Sunni and Shi’a Split
While alive, Muhammad never established a plan for leadership of the Umma after his death. The first three caliphs were selected from among his close companions and generally ruled without controversy until 656 when rebels from the army assassinated Uthman, the third caliph. The assassins then nominated Ali, a relative of Muhammad for the position. Many in the community believed that Ali was Muhammad’s legitimate heir because of sermon delivered by the Prophet at Ghadir al-Khumm in which he alluded to Ali as leader. Ali accepted the position of caliph but he faced a challenge from two of Muhammad's close friends and his favorite wife A’isha. This challenge resulted in the Battle of the Camel from which Ali emerged victorious. However, after the battle Ali faced another challenge from a relative of the slain Uthman, the Syrian governor Mu’awiya. This led to more armed conflict but this time the battles were inconclusive. Ali and Mu’awiya agreed to negotiate a truce. Some of Ali’s followers, aggravated by his willingness to negotiate, assassinated him in 661. The assassination of Ali cleared the way for Mu’awiya to assume the position of caliph and establish the Umayyad Caliphate. However, Ali’s son Husayn revolted in 680 hoping to reestablish his family’s right to rule. The Umayyad caliph ordered Husayn and his family massacred. The violent death of Husayn made him a martyr to his followers who broke away and formed the Shi’a branch of Islam while the supports of the Umayyads became known as the Sunni.
Muslim Trade
The Islamic world laid at the heart of four of the world’s major trade routes in the period from 600 to 1300. The stability offered by vast the Islamic caliphates fostered the growth of these trade routes and the economic prosperity of the regions they connected. These trade routes include the Mediterranean, trans-Saharan caravan route, Silk Road, and the Indian Ocean maritime system. Together these interconnected routes linked the manufactures, mines and markets of China, Southeast Asia, India, East Africa, the Middle East, Central Asia, West Africa, and Europe. The trade on these routes include the exchange of key commodities like silk and porcelain from China, spices and textiles from South and Southeast Asia, ivory, slaves, and gold from Africa, glass from Europe, and metal ware, slaves, and textiles from the Middle East. This trade was facilitated by technological advances. The Arab dhow made travel in the Indian Ocean easier; it was equipped with a triangular lateen sail that increased the ship’s maneuverability. Arabian camel saddles that diffused to North Africa improved the security and efficiency of trans-Saharan trade. The common moral code that Islam offered also promoted the growth of trade in the region. Taken together, these Afro-Eurasian trade routes that meet in the Muslim world spurred the entire region’s economic growth. This growth is evidenced by the increased prosperity in major trading cities like Timbuktu, Mombasa, Alexandra, Constantinople, Venice, Hormuz, Baghdad, Melaka, Calicut, Canton, and Hangzhou among others.
Islamic Scholars
Two key factors intercepted in the period 600 to 1300 to make the Islamic world a center of learning. First, the Islamic world was at the intersection of Afro-Eurasia’s major trade routes, this fostered a cosmopolitan atmosphere were intellectuals from different regions could meet and exchange ideas. Early scholarship from Greece and Rome was translated, preserved and improved upon. Indian mathematics including the number system that becomes known as Arabic numerals in the West was applied to the development of algebra. Chinese paper making technology allowed the creation of vast libraries and Chinese technologies related to navigation, astronomy, and gunpowder were refined. These refinements would eventually facilitate the age of exploration in Europe. Second, the expectation that all believers read the Quran promoted literacy in a universal language, Arabic, and the establishment of an extensive educational system. Baghdad, Damascus, Cordoba, and Timbuktu among other cities became what we might call university towns in modern parlance. This intellectual development was centered on the madrasas, a religious college were scholars studied many disciplines of learning. In the field of science, Ibn Sina authored Canon of Medicine. This work became the authoritative medical text in the Middle East and Europe until the 1600s. In the field of geography, Ibn Battuta’s Travels vastly improved knowledge of cultural and physical geography in the Islamic world and beyond.
Abrahamic Religions
Judaism, Christianity and Islam developed in succession with Christianity developing out of Judaism and Islam developing out of both Judaism and Christianity. As a result of this common heritage the three faiths share several key features.
First and most important, Judaism, Christianity and Islam are monotheistic religions that believe in an all powerful God that created the world and everything in it. They all believe that this God is benevolent, trustworthy, and just. In all three faiths, humanity is directed to follow God’s will; those who obey are rewarded and those who do not are punished.
Next, the three faiths believe in divinely directed messengers, humans who bring God’s message to the people. These messages direct people’s actions and beliefs and for all three faiths they are preserved in Holy Scripture. Judaism, Christianity and Islam share several of these messengers including, among others, Abraham, Noah, and Moses. Christianity and Islam also share John the Baptist and Jesus, however Islam does not recognize Jesus as a Messiah while Christianity does.
Judaism, Christianity and Islam also share some scripture. While the value placed on this scripture varies from faith to faith, all three recognize much of the content of the Torah as religious truth. Christianity and Islam also share much of the New Testament of the Bible.
The faiths also share a common spiritual geography in the city of Jerusalem. All three faiths consider Jerusalem profoundly important as a holy place.
In 600 CE the northern portion of Middle East was dominated by the Christian Byzantine Empire and the Zoroastrian Sassanid Persian Empire. The Arabian Peninsula lacked any centralized political authority and was dominated by independent Arab tribes that profited from a lucrative trade route that transported frankincense and myrrh from southern Arabia and East Africa to the Byzantine and Sassanid Empires. In 570 Muhammad was born in a prosperous trading town along this trade route, Mecca. Mecca also served as an important pilgrimage site for the polytheistic Arabs as it was home to an important temple to these gods, the Ka’aba. As an adult, Muhammad had a lucrative career as a merchant and eventually married a wealthy widow, Khadijah. Financially secure, Muhammad now turned to spiritual pursuits which included meditating in the mountain caves outside of Mecca.
In about 610, Muhammad began to have visions while meditating. He came to believe that these visions were the Angel Gabriel who had been charged by the one true God (Allah in Arabic) to deliver a message to Muhammad. The message delivered in this revelation, outlined the basic beliefs of Islam and were eventually recorded in the Quran. While Muslims believe that the Jewish and Christian holy books contain religious truth, only the Quran contains the exact words of God. These basic beliefs of Islam (outlined in the Six Articles of Faith) include the belief in one God that created all of things. Muslims believe that God sent a series of messengers (prophets) including Noah, Abraham, Moses, and Jesus. Each prophet delivered a divine message which is preserved in the Books of God, these include the Torah, Gospels, Psalms, and Scrolls. According to Islam, Muhammad is God’s final messenger and he has delivered God’s exact words in the form of the Quran. In addition to the Quran and Books of God, Muslims look to the words and deeds of the Prophet Muhammad for guidance. These traditions of Muhammad are found in the Hadith and Sunnah. Additionally, basic practices of Islam are outlined in the Five Pillars of Islam and over the course of many hundreds of years, Muslim scholars have used these various sources of religious truth to compile the Shariah or Islamic law that regulated public and private affairs in the Muslim states.
Muhammad began to share his message with the people of Mecca after 610. The message was not well received as it threatened Mecca’s traditional role as a pilgrimage destination for the polytheistic Arabs. Facing hostility in Mecca, Muhammad led his followers to the city of Medina in 622. Most of the population of Medina accepted Muhammad as the Messenger of God and converted to the new faith. The Meccan migrants and the converts of Medina, unified under a single faith, now formed the Umma, a political and religious union led by Muhammad. The conflict with the city of Mecca continued until 630 when the armies of the Umma successfully defeated Mecca. After this defeat, the Umma led by Muhammad continued to expand and by his death in 632, most of the Arabian Peninsula was unified under the authority of the Umma.
After Muhammad’s death leadership of the Umma passed to a successor called a caliph in Arabic. Under the first four caliphs, the Umma now known as a caliphate continued to expand. By 661, the caliphate included all of the Arabian Peninsula, Persia, Palestine, and Egypt. While the political authority of the caliphate expanded rapidly, religious conversion proceed very slowly. A civil war broke out in the caliphate in 656 (the details of this conflict will be discussed in the notes for element b) this resulted in a power shift to a new dynasty of caliphs, the Umayyads who ruled from 661 to 750 (Umayyad caliphs remained in power in Spain until 1031). Under the Umayyads the caliphate expanded to include all of North Africa, the Iberian Peninsula and parts of Central Asia. The Umayyad government and army was dominated by Arabs, however the empire was ethnically diverse. This discrepancy led to unrest and in 750 the Umayyad dynasty was overthrown and replaced with the Abbasid Caliphate which held the position until the last Abbasid Caliph was killed by the Mongols in 1258. The Abbasid caliphs were never able to maintain the level of political unity or centralized authority of the Umayyads. Abbasid authority never extended to Iberia and by 969 a rival caliphate, the Fatimids controlled Northern Africa and parts of Palestine and the Arabian Peninsula.
Sunni and Shi’a Split
While alive, Muhammad never established a plan for leadership of the Umma after his death. The first three caliphs were selected from among his close companions and generally ruled without controversy until 656 when rebels from the army assassinated Uthman, the third caliph. The assassins then nominated Ali, a relative of Muhammad for the position. Many in the community believed that Ali was Muhammad’s legitimate heir because of sermon delivered by the Prophet at Ghadir al-Khumm in which he alluded to Ali as leader. Ali accepted the position of caliph but he faced a challenge from two of Muhammad's close friends and his favorite wife A’isha. This challenge resulted in the Battle of the Camel from which Ali emerged victorious. However, after the battle Ali faced another challenge from a relative of the slain Uthman, the Syrian governor Mu’awiya. This led to more armed conflict but this time the battles were inconclusive. Ali and Mu’awiya agreed to negotiate a truce. Some of Ali’s followers, aggravated by his willingness to negotiate, assassinated him in 661. The assassination of Ali cleared the way for Mu’awiya to assume the position of caliph and establish the Umayyad Caliphate. However, Ali’s son Husayn revolted in 680 hoping to reestablish his family’s right to rule. The Umayyad caliph ordered Husayn and his family massacred. The violent death of Husayn made him a martyr to his followers who broke away and formed the Shi’a branch of Islam while the supports of the Umayyads became known as the Sunni.
Muslim Trade
The Islamic world laid at the heart of four of the world’s major trade routes in the period from 600 to 1300. The stability offered by vast the Islamic caliphates fostered the growth of these trade routes and the economic prosperity of the regions they connected. These trade routes include the Mediterranean, trans-Saharan caravan route, Silk Road, and the Indian Ocean maritime system. Together these interconnected routes linked the manufactures, mines and markets of China, Southeast Asia, India, East Africa, the Middle East, Central Asia, West Africa, and Europe. The trade on these routes include the exchange of key commodities like silk and porcelain from China, spices and textiles from South and Southeast Asia, ivory, slaves, and gold from Africa, glass from Europe, and metal ware, slaves, and textiles from the Middle East. This trade was facilitated by technological advances. The Arab dhow made travel in the Indian Ocean easier; it was equipped with a triangular lateen sail that increased the ship’s maneuverability. Arabian camel saddles that diffused to North Africa improved the security and efficiency of trans-Saharan trade. The common moral code that Islam offered also promoted the growth of trade in the region. Taken together, these Afro-Eurasian trade routes that meet in the Muslim world spurred the entire region’s economic growth. This growth is evidenced by the increased prosperity in major trading cities like Timbuktu, Mombasa, Alexandra, Constantinople, Venice, Hormuz, Baghdad, Melaka, Calicut, Canton, and Hangzhou among others.
Islamic Scholars
Two key factors intercepted in the period 600 to 1300 to make the Islamic world a center of learning. First, the Islamic world was at the intersection of Afro-Eurasia’s major trade routes, this fostered a cosmopolitan atmosphere were intellectuals from different regions could meet and exchange ideas. Early scholarship from Greece and Rome was translated, preserved and improved upon. Indian mathematics including the number system that becomes known as Arabic numerals in the West was applied to the development of algebra. Chinese paper making technology allowed the creation of vast libraries and Chinese technologies related to navigation, astronomy, and gunpowder were refined. These refinements would eventually facilitate the age of exploration in Europe. Second, the expectation that all believers read the Quran promoted literacy in a universal language, Arabic, and the establishment of an extensive educational system. Baghdad, Damascus, Cordoba, and Timbuktu among other cities became what we might call university towns in modern parlance. This intellectual development was centered on the madrasas, a religious college were scholars studied many disciplines of learning. In the field of science, Ibn Sina authored Canon of Medicine. This work became the authoritative medical text in the Middle East and Europe until the 1600s. In the field of geography, Ibn Battuta’s Travels vastly improved knowledge of cultural and physical geography in the Islamic world and beyond.
Abrahamic Religions
Judaism, Christianity and Islam developed in succession with Christianity developing out of Judaism and Islam developing out of both Judaism and Christianity. As a result of this common heritage the three faiths share several key features.
First and most important, Judaism, Christianity and Islam are monotheistic religions that believe in an all powerful God that created the world and everything in it. They all believe that this God is benevolent, trustworthy, and just. In all three faiths, humanity is directed to follow God’s will; those who obey are rewarded and those who do not are punished.
Next, the three faiths believe in divinely directed messengers, humans who bring God’s message to the people. These messages direct people’s actions and beliefs and for all three faiths they are preserved in Holy Scripture. Judaism, Christianity and Islam share several of these messengers including, among others, Abraham, Noah, and Moses. Christianity and Islam also share John the Baptist and Jesus, however Islam does not recognize Jesus as a Messiah while Christianity does.
Judaism, Christianity and Islam also share some scripture. While the value placed on this scripture varies from faith to faith, all three recognize much of the content of the Torah as religious truth. Christianity and Islam also share much of the New Testament of the Bible.
The faiths also share a common spiritual geography in the city of Jerusalem. All three faiths consider Jerusalem profoundly important as a holy place.