Transcript Chapter 7: Abbasid Decline and the Spread of Islam

Abbasid Decline and the
Spread of Islam in India &
Southeast Asia
Spread of Islam: Early
History
Spread of Islam: Abbasid Dynasty
The Late Abbasid Era
 As early as the third Abbasid Caliph, al-Mahdi (775785), issues related to the decline of the Abbasid
Caliphate were apparent.
 Somewhat typical pattern:
 Caliph abandons frugal ways of predecessors
 Caliph does NOT establish clear pattern of succession
The Late Abbasid Era
 Harun al-Rashid (786809) ascended to the
throne after the death
of al-Mahdi (and the
poisoning of his eldest
son)
 Harun al-Rashid
enjoyed the sumptuous
palace living like his
dad.
 Charlemagne’s
emissaries sent in the 9th
century were dazzled
with the splendor of
Baghdad
Harun al-Rashid
 Power of Royal Advisors grew throughout the rule of
Harun al-Rashid.
 Upon al-Rashid’s death, full-scale civil war broke out
amongst those vying for power.
 While al-Ma’mum (813-833) was the victor…what he
did next truly changed the nature of the Caliphate…
Slave Armies
 Al-Ma’mum was convinced to conscript thousands of
mostly Turkic-speaking slaves as his personal
bodyguards.
 As the number eclipsed 70,000 the slave regiment
became a power center, in its own right.
 By 846, they had murdered the reigning caliph, and in
the coming decades would murder at least four more
Abbasid Decline
 Caliphs struggle to control the Slave Regiments
 Some Caliphs want to move capital away from Baghdad
turmoil
 Increased spending
 Public works fall into disrepair
 Spiraling taxation/pillaging, etc…
Late Abbasid Decline…women
 The Harem and the Veil are
the twin emblems of
women’s increasing
subjugation to men and
confinement.
 The Abbasid court created
the concept of the Harem
for the Caliphate.
Further Abbasid Decline

Egypt and Syria break away from
Abbasid rule

In once-provincial areas of the
Islamic Caliphate, independent
kingdoms had arose to challenge
the Abbasids
 In 945, the Buyids of
Persia invade and capture
Baghdad.
 Caliphs became puppets
controlled by families,
like the Buyids.
 Buyid leaders took the
title of “sultan” meaning
“victorious” in Arabic,
which will designate
Muslim rulers.
The Seljuks
 By 1055, the Buyid
control over the
Caliphate was broken
 In 1055, Central
Asian Nomadic
warriors known as the
Seljuk Turks ruled
over the Abbasid
lands.
 Staunch Sunnis…kick
Shia’s out of
governmental
positions
Seljuk Turks
 Defeat of the Byzantines led
to the settlement of Asia
Minor which would
eventually become the seat
of the Ottoman Empire
The Crusades
The Crusades
 Knights from Western Europe launched crusades to
capture portions of the Islamic world that made up the
Holy Land of Biblical times.
 Muslim divisions and the element of surprise made the
first Crusade a Christian success.
 1099: Christian knights took Jerusalem.
 Muslim and Jewish inhabitants were massacred
First Crusade
The Crusades
 For the next two centuries, Europeans would mount 8
crusades.
 Varying degrees of success
 When Muslim were united under powerful rule like
Salah-ud-Din (Saladin) they re-conquer most of the
lands they lost.
 The last crusader kingdom fell in Acre in 1291
Impact of Crusades
 The Crusaders’ experiences in the Eastern
Mediterranean intensified European “borrowing” from
the Muslim world.
 Through increased cultural contacts, Europeans began to
recover much of the Greek learning lost during the
waves of nomadic invasions after the fall of the Roman
Empire
Age of Muslim Learning and
Refinement
 Ironically, even though the caliphate was steeped in
political turmoil, the Muslim Empire still experienced
growth and prosperity until late in the Abbasid era.
 Muslim/Jewish/Christian entrepreneurs amass great
fortunes supplying cities with staples (grain/barley),
essentials (cotton, woolen textiles for clothing), and luxury
items.
 Long-Distance trade flourishes
Age of Muslim Learning and
Refinement
 Artists and Artisans benefit
 Mosques and palaces became more ornate.
 Tapestries and rugs from Persia were in great demand from
Europe to China.
 Persian becomes the language of “high culture.”
 Arabic remains language of religion, law, and natural
sciences
 Persian was language of literary expression, administration,
and scholarship.
Age of Muslim Learning and
Refinement
 Not only did Muslims revive Greco-Roman scientific
traditions…they developed their own theories as well!
 Major corrections to algebraic and geometric theories
 Advances in trigonometry
Age of Muslim Learning and Refinement
 Cairo: best hospitals in
the world
 Muslim traders
introduce techniques
like papermaking and
silk-weaving that was
developed in China.
Age of Muslim Learning
and Refinement
 Contradictory trends in
Islamic Civilization

Social strife and political
divisions


Vs
Expanded trading links
and intellectual creativity
 This was felt in the religious
world, as well…
 A resurgence of mysticism
 Vs
 Orthodox religious scholars
become wary of non-Islamic
ideas and scientific thinking
(crusades)
Religious contradictions
 Orthodox religious scholars felt that the revival of Greco-Roman
philosophical traditions would erode the absolute authority of the
Qur’an
 Sufi movement…
 Sufis are wandering mystics who sought a personal union with
Allah
 A reaction against the abstract divinity of the Qur’an
 Sufis gain reputations as healers and miracle workers…gain sizeable
followings
The End of the Caliphate
 By the 10th and 11th
centuries, the Abbasid
Caliphate was
compromised by many
different factions
 In the early 13th century,
the Mongols, united
under Chinggis Khan
became a powerful
force in Asia, smashing
through Turko-Persian
kingdoms to the east of
Baghdad by 1220 CE.
The End of the Caliphate
 Genghis dies before
conquest of the Islamic
Heartlands, but his
grandson, renewed the
assault on the Islamic lands
in the 1250s.
 By 1258, the Abbasid capital
of Baghdad was taken by the
Mongols
The End of the Caliphate
 The 37th and last Abbasid
Caliph was put to death by
the Mongols.
 The Mongol advance was
stopped by the Mamluks, or
Turkic Slaves who ruled
Egypt.
 In 1401, Baghdad suffers
from another capture and
round of pillaging by the
forces of Tamerlane.
 Baghdad’s glory becomes
supplanted by Cairo to the
west and Istanbul to the
North
The Spread of Islam
Islam’s arrival in South
Asia
 India through the Gupta Empire had been a crossroads
of migration for Central Asian nomads seeking refuge
 Generally, those people were accepted, and assimilated
into Indian Society.
 The arrival of the Muslims in the 7th Century CE, will
alter that.
The Hindu/Islam mix
India…Hinduism
India…Islam

Open, tolerant, and inclusive of
varying forms of religious
devotion.

Based on doctrines, practices
(specific) and exclusive worship
of a single god.

Search of union with spiritual
source of all creation.

Highly egalitarian in the sight
of god.

Social hierarchy structured on
the caste system

Religious practices are
mandatory and obvious
The Hindu/Islam mix
 Early centuries were characterized by violent conflict.
 However, a good deal of trade and religious interchange.
 In time, peaceful interactions became the norm
 There were contacts via traders in the Indian Ocean Trade
network as early as 711 CE
 Indian overlords who took over land in South Asia
brought little change to most inhabitants of the Indian
Subcontinent.
 Many people welcomed the Arabs because they promised
lighter taxation and religious tolerance
Early Muslim encounters
in India
 Muslim leaders decided to treat Hindus and Buddhists as
the dhimmi, or “people of the book” even though they
had no connection to the Bible.
 This meant that Hindus and Buddhists had to pay the tax
on non-believers, but they enjoyed the freedom to worship
as they pleased.
 Little effort was put towards conversion, so most people
remained Hindu or Buddhist.
Indian/Muslim cultural
diffusion
 Muslims inherit the Indian scientific learning, which rivaled
the Greeks as the most advanced in the world.
 Arabic numerals originated in India
 Indian learning was transferred to Baghdad in the age of the
Abbasids.
 Indian doctors, scientists, etc.
 Muslims adopt Indian styles of dress, food, and ride on
elephants as the Hindu rajas (kings) did.
 Muslims also adopt and infuse Indian architectural styles
Move towards Empire…
 Early interactions did little to add territory to the Muslim
Empire, and in some cases, lost territory
 BUT, in 962 CE, a Turkish slave dynasty seized power in
Afghanistan.
 Their third ruler, Mahmud of Ghazni, began two
CENTURIES of Muslim raiding and conquest in
Northern India
 Throughout the 11th century, Mahmud defeated one
confederation of Hindu princes after another in the
name of Islam.
 The efforts of Mahmud of
Ghazni were continued by
Muhammad of Ghur

Assassinated in 1206
 A slave lieutenant seizes
power…Qutb-ud-din Aibak
The Delhi Sultanate

A new Muslim empire was
proclaimed with the capital at
Delhi, on the Gengetic Plain.
 For the next 300 years, a
succession of dynasties known
as the Delhi Sultante (literally,
princes of the heartland) ruled
North and Central India
The Delhi Sultanate
 This was a period of
clashing control between the
sultanate princes themselves,
as well as Mongol and
Turkic invaders.
 MAPS OF DELHI
SULTANATE OVER TIME
Conversion
 Carriers of the new faith on the subcontinent were often
merchants and Sufi mystics
 Sufis shared many characteristics with Indian gurus and
wandering ascetics.
 Belief in magical healing powers
 Accepted lower-caste and outcaste groups into Islamic
faith
 Most Muslims were NOT from the Indo-Gangetic
centers of the Delhi Sultanate, indicating low forced
conversions
Conversion
 Most conversions came from low-caste or Buddhist
groups.
 Buddhism became largely debased as a result of corrupt
practices
 Buddhist temples and monasteries became lucrative
targets for raids, etc.
 Many lower-caste, untouchables, animistic tribes, and
Buddhists were attracted to the egalitarian nature of
Islam
Accommodation
 Hindus were convinced that Muslims would soon be absorbed
by the superior religions and more sophisticated cultures of
India
 Many things pointed that way!

Muslim princes adopted regal styles

Muslim rulers claim divine descent

Muslim rulers mint coins with Hindu images
 Muslim communities also became socially divided along
Caste lines
 Violation of the original tenets of Islam!
Islam in South Asia at the end of the
Sultanate
 Attempts to fuse Hinduism and Islam soon were
recognized as impossible.
 Brahmans soon denounce Muslim leaders, etc.
 Bhakti Movement
 After centuries of political domination though, South Asia
remained one of the least converted and integrated of all
the areas Islam reached.
Southeast
Asia
Importance
 Southeast Asia was
CRITICAL to the
connection of trade from
Chinese ports to Indian
vessels along the Indian
Ocean Trade network
Southeast Asian
contribution
 Aromatic woods from
rainforests of Borneo and
Sumatra
 Spices: cloves, nutmeg from
Indonesia
 From 8th Century onward,
coastal trade in India
became dominated by
Muslims
SE ASIA
 As a result, elements of
Islam began to filter into the
southeast Asian region
 The collapse of the
Shrivijaya trading empire
(Buddhist) in the 13th
century opened the door for
the widespread introduction
of Islam
SE ASIA
 Trading contacts paved the
way for conversion

NOT conquest and force
 Muslim ships also carry
Sufis to the various parts of
SE Asia
 Conversion begins in
Sumatra, then across the
Strait of Malacca to Malaya
SE ASIA
 Muslims impressed SE Asians by telling them how much of the world had
already been converted
Malacca
 Mainland conversion was
centered on Malacca, a
powerful trading city
 Spreads to east Sumatra and to
DEMAK on the north coast of
Java
 From there, spread to the
Celebes and then the Spice
Islands, then to Mindanao and
Southern Philippines
The Spice Island(s)
Conversion
 Trading was the key to
conversion.
 Regulation of commonality in
Muslim laws was good to
regulate business.
 Conversion linked centers
culturally, and economically to
Indian merchants and ports in
India, the Middle East, and the
Mediterranean
SE Asian Islam
 Some areas (like Central
Java) saw conversion take
longer than others

Hindu-Buddhist dynasties
contested its spread
 Mainland Southeast Asia
did NOT see wholesale
conversion, and remained
largely Buddhist
 Because it was spread
primarily by Sufis, SE Asian
Islam was more dynamic
than orthodox Islam

Infused with mythical
strains

Tolerated animist, Hindu,
and Buddhist beliefs and
rituals.
Women in SE Asian
Islamic Society
 Women retained a strong position in the family and the
community
 Trading in local and regional markets was dominated by
small-scale female merchants
 As in Western Sumatra, lineage and inheritance was
traced through female lines
 Many cultural elements were blended from SE Asian
Culture with Muslim Culture.