Chapter 7Abbasid Decline and Spread of Islam

I. Excess and Decline

Abbasid caliphs lived extremely lavish lifestyles

Concubines, wives and courtiers

Succession was a problemAl Mahdi’s son was poisoned 1 year after his death

Solved with Harun al-Rashid (786-809)1001 Arabian Nights

His death resulted in civil warIssues with slave armies

II. Breakdown and Decline

Women lost rightsHarem & veil represented subjugation to men

Wealth generated greater need forSlaves

Concubines

Rich womenNo careers, domestic management, child bearing

Poor WomenClothing, silk and rug production

II. Breakdown and Decline

Civil violence led to drain on treasury

Slave armies were used during civil wars

Extravagant building projectsHigh taxes

Irrigation fell apart

Bandits and vagabonds roam kingdom

Peasant uprisings, often inspired by Shi’ites

II. Breakdown and decline

InvadersBuyids (945 AD)

Persian invaders

Captured Baghdad

Sultans (victorious)

Seljuk Turks (1055 AD)200 years

Sunnis who purged Shi’ites

Came to rule the Ottoman empire

III. CrusadesCatholic invasions to free Jerusalem (Holy Land) from the Muslims

Encouraged by Byzantium

Pope Urban II

Series of 8 crusades 1st most successful by Christians

3rd- Muslims united under SaladinEnded with King Richard the Lion Hearted and Saladin making peace

Most were failures

Helped revive classical culture lost to the west

Brought desire to trade with Middle East

III. Crusades

IV. Learning and Prosperity

Town life grewWealth in trade grew

Art flourishedTapestry/Rugs

Mosque grew

LiteraturePersian replaces Arabic

Illuminate text

PoetryShah-Nama (Book of Kings)- Firdwasi

History book

اسالمي

IV. Learning and Prosperity

Science and MathImproved Greek Algebra and Geometry

TrigonometrySine, cosine and tangent

Objective experimentation

Al-Biruni: calculated specific mass of 18 minerals

Astronomical tables

Star maps

Medicine

Map Making

V. End of Abbasid Caliphate

Was divided early on due to Succession

Mongols Chinggis Khan (1220s) aka Ghengis Khan

Raided Eastern provinces

HuleguChinggis’s grandson

Took Baghdad in 1258 (ended Abbasid rule)

Pushed west and was defeated by the Mamluks of Egypt

Cairo becomes Islam capital

V. End of Abbasid Caliphate

VI. Islam spreads to Asia

Main region of spread was IndiaInevitable encounters

Encountered some problemsDid not spread easily and resulted in violence

Islam is open socially while Hinduism is not

Islam is strict religiously and Hinduism is flexible

VI. Islam spreads to Asia

1st invasion (711 AD)Effects were not enduring

Result of trade and Indian attacks on Arab ships

General Muhammad ibn QasimUmayyad

17 years old

No real effect

Treated as Dhimili

Indian culture had more influence

Did not add much territory

VI. Islam spreads to Asia

2nd Invasion (962 AD)Turkish Slave dynasty

Pushed to Afghanistan and into the Indus Valley

Mahmud of Ghazni pushed raiding and conquest

3rd ruler of dynasty

Pushed deep into India

Pursuit of wealth

Muhammad of GhurSucceeded Mahmud and conquered central India

Qutb-ud-din AibakSlave lieutenant took over after Muhammad’s assassination

VI. Islam spreads to Asia

Indian convertsSeparated Arabs and Hindus

Muslims put themselves into the top of the caste system

Some gave themselves divine rule

Most Muslims assimilated themselves into Arab society

VI. Islam spreads to Asia

Hindus couldn’t assimilate IslamUsed cults to make their religion more desirable

Bhaktic

Kabir and Mira Bai

Gurus and mystics

Islam tried to accommodate these differences

Conversion did not happen frequently

VI. Islam spreads to Asia

Southeast AsiaSpread to Sumatra, and Strait of Malacca and Malaya

Spread through trade

Sufi Mystics spread IslamMixed mysticism and Islam

Allowed for pre-Islam belief

More flexible