ISLAMIC LANDS

Intro  600 – 1200, information based in chronicles or tawarikh,

Rise
The institution of Caliphate
biographies, records.
 Legal texts, geographies, travelogues, and poems & stories
also help.
 Official orders and private correspondences are the most
reliable.
 Some evidences lie in excavations, numismatics and
epigraphies.
 During 612-632, Prophet preached existence of single God
and a community of believers called Umma.
 He was an Arab merchant.
 Arabs were divided into tribes called qabila. They formed out
of blood relation. Non Muslims called Mawali became
members by patronage. Qabila was led by a chief. Each tribe
had its God worshipped in a shrine.
 Bedouins were nomadic tribes. Moved from dry areas to
oases, in search of dates and fodder. Some settled in cities.
 Muhammad’s tribe was Quraysh which controlled the main
shrine Kaba in which idols were placed. It was considered
holy by other tribes too and pilgrimages were made here.
 Mecca was located in routes of trade between Yemen and
Syria.
 Polytheistic Arabs were not familiar with Muhammad’s
monotheistic preaching which did lead to conflicts at first.
 In 612, he declared himself the messenger of God.
 Worship involved simple rituals like daily prayers, distributing
alms and abstaining from theft.
 Followers were promised salvation on the day of judgement.
 In 622, he was forced to travel with his followers to Medina
which was called hijra, which became the start of Muslim
calendar.
 He created a political order there. He also added and refined
rituals.
 The community survived on agriculture and alms tax.
 Expeditionary raids were also organised to nearby oases.
 Mecca opposed this, and in a series of wars Mecca was
conquered.
 Kaba was cleansed of idols.
 After prophet’s death in 632, political authority went to the
caliphate. He was the deputy (khalifa) of the prophet.
 Objectives of caliphate – retain control over umma’s tribes
and raise resources for the state.
 Some tribes broke away and some established their own
prophet.
 ABU BAKR – Suppressed revolts by a series of campaigns.
 UMAR – Shaped umma’s policy on expansion of power,
 conquered lands belonging to Byzantine empire in west and
Sasanian empire in the east which had grown weak due to
religious conflicts and revolts of the aristocracy.
 In 3 successful campaigns, 637-42, Syria, Iraq, Iran and Egypt
were brought under their control.
 UTHMAN – extended to Central Asia.
 New admin. Structure was put in conquered areas. Taxes
were paid by people.
 Bedouins settled at the edge of deserts for military help and
closeness to home.
 Kharaj and Jaziya were paid by non Muslims.
 But, unity of the umma became threatened.
 Opposition in Iraq and Egypt combined with opposition in
Medina led to assassination of Uthman.
 ALI – 656. Fought 2 wars against those who represented
aristocracy. Defeated an army led by Muhammad’s wife
Aisha at the battle of the camel, 657. He couldn’t suppress
Muawiya’s faction, governor of Syria.
 In his loss at battle of Siffin, his followers split into 2 groups,
some remained loyal and some left being called as Kharjis. Ali
was assassinated by a Kharji at Kufa. After death, his
followers paid allegiance to his son, Hussein.
 Muawiya became the next caliph founding Umayyad dynasty.
The Umayyads  Muawiya moved his capital to Damascus, adopted some
ceremonies and institutions of Byzantines.
 He introduced hereditary succession.
 The centre grew close to Syrian ways.
 They always appealed unity and suppressed rebellions.
 ABD AL MALIK – 685, both Arab and Islamic identities were
emphasised. he adopted Arab as the language of
administration. Introduced Islamic coinage.
 Gold dinar and silver dirham were copies of denarius and
drachm.
 He also made Dome of the Rock. Earliest Islamic architectural
work. In Jerusalem. Associated with mystical Night Journey of
prophet to heaven called miraj.
Abbasid Revolution  Dawa brought down Umayyads in 750.
 They promised restoration of original islam.
 The revolution broke out in Khurasan.
 The area had a mix of Arab Iranian population which revolted
because – Arab soldiers in Iran resented the dominance of
Syrians; Civilians disliked Umayyads because of unfulfilled
promises of tax concessions and privileges; Mawalis of Iran
were exposed to scorn of race conscious Arabs.
 Abbasids were descendents of Abbas, prophet’s uncle.
 Their army was led by an Iranian slave ABU MUSLIM, who
defeated Umayyad king Marwah at battle of river Zab.
 Arab influence declined under them. Importance of Iranian
culture increased.
 Capital was established at Baghdad.
  Maintained magnificent architecture and elaborate court
ceremonials.
 Mosque at al Mutawwakil in Samarra was built in 850. It was
the largest mosque in the world for many centuries.
Rise of Sultanates  Abbasid state became weaker by 9th century due to conflict
between Arabs and Iranians.
 810, civil war broke out between supporters of Amin and
Mamun.
 Minor dynasties like Tahirids and Samanids in Khurasan and
Transoxiana and Tulunids in Egypt and Syria.
 In 945, a Buyids, Shiite clan, captured Baghdad, ending
Abbasid power.
 Fatimids claimed to be descended from Prophet’s daughter
Fatima.
 Turkish sultanates rose in 10th and 11th centuries. They were
nomads of Turkistan. Skilled riders and warriors.
 Ghaznavid sultanate rose in 961 by Alptegin, consolidated by
Mahmud of Ghazni. He got title of Sultan from Caliphate.
 NISHAPUR – Imp. Perso-Islamic centre of culture and
birthplace of Umar Khayyam.

Crusades  Christians were regarded as people of the book.
 Palestine and Jerusalem were important for Christians.
 Muslims became their greatest enemies.
 Peace of God deflected aggressive tendencies of feudal
classes towards enemies of God. Fighting against enemies of
God became commendable.
 Byzantine emperor Alexius I tried to regain Asia Minor and
Syria.
 Pope Urban II joined him in calling for war to liberate the
holy land.
 1098-1099 – soldiers from France and Italy captured Antioch
and claimed Jerusalem leading to slaughter of Muslims and
Jews.
 1145-1149 – Pope ordered it after Turks captured Edessa in
1144. They made attempt to capture Damascus but failed.
 Salah al-Din gave a call for Jihad, defeating them in 1187.
 1189 – gained little but coastal towns of Palestine.
 Impact – harsher attitude of Muslim state towards Christian
subjects; trade influence of Christians in place of Muslims.
Economy  Estate owners collected taxes in place of state.
 Kharaj tax varied from ½ to 1/5th of produce.
 Ushr tax was taken from Muslims which is 1/10th of produce.
 Non muslims started converting to Islam, so state adopted
uniform taxation policy.
 Iqtas – Revenue assignments.
 State sponsored building of dams and canals and wells.
 Crops such as cotton, bananas, watermelon, spinach, brinjals
were grown and exported.
 Geography favoured Muslim empire which lied between
 trading routes of Indian Ocean and the Mediterranean.
 Importance of money increased. Gold for coins came from
Sudan and silver from central Asia.
 Cheques and bills were used by traders.
 Interest bearing transactions were unlawful.
Learning & Culture  Religious scholars called ulama devoted themselves to
writing tafsir and documenting Muhammad’s hadith.
 Some prepared a body of laws called Sharia. Differences in
interpretation of Quran led to formation of 4 schools –
Maliki, Hanafi, Shafii, Hanbali. Sharia provided quidance in
legal issues.
 SUFIS – Sought deeper and personal connection with God.
Through ascetism and mysticism. Pantheism was advocated
which is the idea of oneness of God. Unity with God can be
achieved through intense love. Saint Rabia of Basra preached
this. Bayazid Bustami was first to teach the idea of fana. They
used musical concerts to induce ecstasy and passion.
 Alternate vision was developed by scientists and
philosophers. Greek and Syriac books were translated to
Arab. Works of Euclid, Ptolemy and Aristotle were brought.
Ibn Sina (Avicenna) did not believe in resurrection and wrote
a book called Canon.
 Firdausi took 30 years to complete the Shahnam, an epic of
50,000 couplets which became a masterpiece of Islamic
literature. Some literary works are of Alexander and those of
unhappy lovers. Thousand and One Nights is also a collection
of stories.
 Major historical works – Ansab al-Ashraf of Baladhuri and
Tarikh al Kasul wal Muluk.
 World was divided into 7 climates parallel with equator.
 Alberuni’s famous Tahqiq mal lil Hind is the history of India.
 Mosques and shrines contained basic designs – arches,
domes, minarets, courtyards. In the open courtyard, a pond
was placed leading to a vaulted hall accommodating the
worshippers. Special features inside the hall – a niche in wall
indicating direction to Mecca; a pulpit through which
sermons were delivered. Same construction appeared in
hospitals, palaces, etc.
 5 daily prayers and weekly sermons.
 Representation of living beings in art was rejected.
 New art forms – calligraphy (khattati) and arabesque
(geometric and vegetal designs). Calligraphy appeared in
manuscripts of Quran. Books ike kitab al Aghani and
Maqamat of Harisi were illustrated with miniature paintings.
Plant and floral designs were used in buildings and books’
illustrations.