Chapter 10

The Islamic World

Rome’s Three Heirs

Byzantium

Islam

Latin Christendom

Islam

Arabs before Muhammad

Polytheism

Kaaba, a pilgrimage shrine located in Mecca, in which the sacred Black Stone (probably a meteorite) is housed.

Politically disunited

The Prophet Muhammad

c. 570: Birth of Muhammadc. 610: Mohammed’s conversion;

revelations from Gabriel622: The hijra (“migration”)

Muhammad fled to Medina First year in Muslim calendar

630: Muhammad captured Mecca 632: Muhammad died.

Orthodox Caliphate

632-661 (the first four caliphs)

634-644: Omar

634: Conquest of Damascus

636: Conquest of Jerusalem and

Persia

640: Conquest of Egypt

The Expansion of Islam, 622 - ca. 750

http://mh1.xplana.com/imagevault/upload/44cdc9b11080f6cc70ca.jpg

Omayyad Caliphate (Damascus)

661-750

Conquest of North Africa and Spain.

Abbasid Caliphate (Baghdad)

750-1258

1258: Mongols sacked Baghdad. Abbasid Caliphate ended.

Two Governing Orientations

Umayyads vs. Abbasids

Westward Eastward

Damascus Baghdad

661-750 8th-10th

centuries

Omayyad Emirate in Spain

756-1031

1056: Ferdinand I of Castile proclaimed himself “Emperor of Spain,” beginning the “Reconquista.”

1492: End of the Reconquista in Spain.

The Ottoman Empire

1350-1918

1453: Constantinople was conquered.

1914: The Ottoman Empire entered World War I

1919-1924: End of the Ottoman Empire

Referenceshttp://campus.northpark.edu/history/WebChron/Islam/Islam.html

http://campus.northpark.edu/history/WebChron/Islam/Beliefs.html

Islamic Culture

Allah = God

Islam = submission to God’s will

Muslims = those who submit

Jihad = the struggle to lead a virtuous life and to further the universal mission of Islam through teaching, preaching, and when necessary, warfare.

Religion

Strict monotheism.

Emphasis on personal morality set by the Quran (or Koran; literally, “recitation”).

Absence of clergy.

Five Pillars of Faith

(1) Declaring the central belief: “There is no god but Allah, and Muhammad is the Messenger of God.”

(2) Saying prayers five times a day

(3) Almsgiving

(4) Fasting from dawn until sunset during the sacred month of Ramadan

(5) Making the pilgrimage to Mecca

Government

Theocracy: government and religion are inseparable.

Caliph: the supreme religious and political leader of all Muslims.

ScholarshipArab scholars preserved hundreds of ancient Greek manuscripts, copying and editing them in Arabic translations (Fiero 227).

ScholarshipThe fund of scientific and technological knowledge, along with Arabic scholarship on Aristotle, stimulated a rebirth of learning in the 12th century and contributed to the rise of Western universities (Fiero 227).

LiteraturePoetry: Romantic love was a favorite subject, which had profound influence on the medieval romance (troubadour poetry) and the Renaissance poet Petrarch (Fiero 228).

LiteratureSufi Poetry: A sufi is an ascetic Islam mystic who seeks to hold communion with the deity through contemplation and ecstasy.“Whatsoever I say in exposition and explanation of Love, when I come to Love itself I am ashamed of that explanation.” (Rumi)

LiteratureProse:

The Thousand and One Night

Islamic ArtTaken from http://www.victorynewsmagazine.com/Arabesque.htm

Idolatry Is Forbidden.

Calligraphy

ArabesqueThus, depiction of foliage in its varied forms became a very prominent feature of Arabesque art. One can visualize a strong link between art and nature in Islamic monuments where scrolling vines, surreal flowers and gracefully flowing leaves can be seen everywhere . . . .

InspirationThe single most important factor that influenced the creation and evolution of Islamic Art is the Quran itself. One can find many verses in the Quran mentioning the beauty and abundance of Paradise with its exquisite gardens beneath which rivers flow.

Geometric FormsIslam and science were never seen as two separate subjects. From the Islamic viewpoint, geometry is one of the streams that flows from the Fountainhead of Islam. This belief that science is an integral part of Islam led to many discoveries and advancements in the field of mathematics by Muslims.

Islamic Art is therefore characterized by a beautiful combination of artistic foliage designs with geometric principles. The combination creates exquisite works of art unique only to the Islamic Cultural heritage.

Regulating Principles

Repetition

Infinite extension

The looping together of motifs to form a meandering, overall pattern (Fiero 231).

Arches of the Great Mosque, Córdoba, Spain, begun 784-787. White marble and red sandstone,

http://mh1.xplana.com/imagevault/upload/08fcc1f55767cf1eb258.jpg

Court of the Lions, Alhambra palace, Granada. Mid-14th century. http://mh1.xplana.com/imagevault/upload/727024f6dfff6a69cf5f.jpg

Sinan the Great, Mosque of Suleyman I, Istanbul, Turkey, begun 1550.

http://mh1.xplana.com/imagevault/upload/f7e3dee5e1758fc86ce5.jpg

http://www.greatbuildings.com/cgi-bin/gbi.cgi/Suyleman_Mosque.html/cid_1723343.html

Sinan the Great. Interior of the mosque of Suleyman l, Istanbul, Turkey.

http://mh1.xplana.com/imagevault/upload/274a26e864a3c729b69a.jpg

Entry portal, Shah Mosque, Isfahan, Persia (Iran), 1611-1666. http://mh1.xplana.com/imagevault/upload/b33a2d823416578dce23.jpg

The End