Transcript Alexander the Not-So-Great? - Brookdale Community College

Western Monotheistic Religions
The “Axial Age”
500BCE – 100CE
China
Confucius
Laozi
India
Buddha
Hinduism
The
Axial
Age
Palestine
Jesus
Greece
Socrates
Plato
Aristotle
Persia
Zaruthustra
Revolutionary monotheisms:
Jews, Christians, and Muslims (Abrahamic
faiths)
(J-C-I Tradition) believe:
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There is ONE God (monotheism)
God is above nature and human
weakness (transcendent)
Sacred books are revealed
Judaism
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Approximately 3800 years
old
Founder of Judaism:
Abraham
Foundational stories of
Judaism are ones of
journey, exile, return
Descendants of Abraham
comprise a divinely chosen
family and ethnic group
World’s first ethical
monotheistic religion
Rembrandt’s Abraham
Key Historical Events
Judaism
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Moses and the 10 Commandmentsethical monotheism-the Covenant
Hebrew Kingdoms—David and
Solomon
Diaspora – Torah (“Bible”) and
Talmud (Law)
Chosen People
Sacred Geography-Israel, Jerusalem
Exodus
Moses and his Covenant with God
Basic Beliefs of Judaism
Meaning in God – ethical monotheism
“God is righteous and loves man”
Meaning in Creation
“The universe is god-created”
Meaning in Man
“Man is created in God’s image”
“The Chosen People”
Meaning in History
“The Promised Land”
Basic Beliefs of Judaism
Meaning in Morality – the Covenant with
God
“Ten Commandments” and Torah
Meaning in Justice
“injustice breeds its own demise”
Talmud
Meaning in Suffering-Last Judgment,
Salvation
Jews within the Roman Empire
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During Roman times,
there was already a
“Jewish diaspora”
Jewish communities
often came into conflict
with Romans when they
refused to worship
Roman deities or
emperors
66-70 CE—Jerusalem
defeated by Rome,
second temple
destroyed
Diaspora
922 B.C. The Jewish kingdom is established
70 A.D. The Romans conquer the Jewish kingdom – the Temple of Solomon is
destroyed.
11-12th Cent. Massacres on Jews in the Rhineland and by the Crusaders.
1215 Jews in Europe are forced to dress in a certain way or carry the Jewish mark.
1290 The Jews are expelled from England.
14th Cent. The Jews are expelled from France.
1492 The Jews are expelled from Spain, unless they are willing to be baptised.
1648 Massacres on Jews in Poland and the Ukraine.
19th Cent. The Jews are gradually emancipated in Germany and in other Westernm
European countries.
1819 Pogrom against the Jews of Copenhagen.
1881 Pogroms in Russia following the murder of the Tsar.
1919 Pogroms in Eastern Europe – 60,000 Jews are killed in the Ukraine by Ukrainian
nationalists.
Judaism during the Middle Ages
Forced to wear yellow star
Burning the Talmud
Examples of
Anti-Semitism
Burned to Death
Jesus
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Born c. 4 BCE
Independent-minded
Jewish Rabbi?
Political
revolutionary?
Executed for activities
and teachings c. 30
CE
JESUS PREACHING TO FOLLOWERS
See RGH #45 “The Ranking of Jesus in History”
CHRIST BEFORE PILATE
CRUCIFIXION
RESURRECTION OF CHRIST
Basic Beliefs of Jesus
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love your fellow man-Golden Rule
turn the other cheek – pacifism,
nonviolence?
social justice-live simply
equality of men and women
opposed to the ceremonialism of
Judaism
Early Christianity
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Splinter group within
Judaism
Spread by Paul of Tarsus
and others; enabled by pax
romana
Many poor and
disenfranchised were
attracted to Christianity
• “Blessed are the meek for
they shall inherit the
earth” Mark 5
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A religion of conversion
3rd century: ONE TENTH of
Western Roman Empire
Christian
Paul of Tarsus
Paul’s Additions to Christianity
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Christian theology-role of the church
and the priests
original sin
Jesus divine, the “son of God”
subordinate role for women
faith in God-saving stuff is “grace”
universal mission – seek converts
no longer follow Jewish practices
celibacy
Paul’s Third Trip to Rome
Christianization of the Roman
Empire
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Christianization of
“pagan” cults and
temples
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Christianization of
Roman feast days
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Celebration of
“martyrs”
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Conversion of
Germanic peoples
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Persecuted religion
intolerance of
“pagans”
Catholic Church in Assisi
Formerly Temple of Minerva
CHARLEMAGNE DEFEATS THE SAXONS
Conversion by the Sword?
Allah in Arabic
Arabia before Muhammad
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Arabia was situated
between two world
powers: Roman
Byzantine Empire and
Persian Sasanid Empire
The Arabian peninsula
was inhabited by
nomadic, warring tribesbedouins
Major religions of the
region: Christianity and
Zoroastrianism
The Prophet, Muhammad
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Born c. 570 C.E. in Mecca
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At 40, he began to receive revelations from archangel
Gabriel
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In 622 Muhammad and followers fled to Yathrib, later
known as Medina [the hijra]. 622 = year one of the Muslim
calendar
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In 630 Muhammad and followers returned to Mecca
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In 632 Muhammad led the first haj to the Ka’ba
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Muhammad died in 632
See RGH# 48 “The Ranking of Muhammad in History”
The Hijra - “Flight”
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Muhammad flees to Yathrib (Medina) 622 CE
• Year 0 in Muslim calendar
Organizes followers into communal society
• (the umma)
Legal, spiritual code
Commerce, raids on Meccan caravans for sake
of umma
The Ka’aba
PROPHET MUHAMMAD AT THE KA'BA WITH ANGEL SEIZING IDOLS
Islam – Basic Beliefs
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Monotheism
• “Do not say ‘three’—Allah is but one
God. Allah forbid that he should
have a son.”
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Prophecy – Muhammad “the
Seal”
Quran – literal word of Allah, in
Arabic
Angels – hierarchy, role of
Gabriel
Last Judgment
GRAND MOSQUE IN MECCA
The Five Pillars of Islam
MUSLIMS MUST:
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Profession of the Faith:
Acknowledge Allah as the
only god and Muhammad
as his prophet
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Pray: five times daily,
facing Mecca
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Fast during Ramadan
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Charity: Give alms to the
weak and poor
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Haj: If able, make a
pilgrimage to Mecca once
in their lifetimes
The Ka’ba at Mecca
The Quran [Koran]
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“Recitations”
It is considered the
absolute and
uncorrupted word of
God
It should be chanted
and studied in the
original Arabic, other
versions are
considered
“translations” or
“interpretations”
See RGH #51 “Islam: The Koran”
The Opening Prayer
In the name of God
the Compassionate the Caring
Praise be to God
lord sustainer of the worlds
the Compassionate the Caring
Master of the day of reckoning
To you we turn to worship
and to you we turn in time of need
Guide us along the road straight
the road of those to whom you are giving
not those which anger upon them
not those who have lost the way.
Prayer in Islam
Call to Prayer
Organization
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Sunna – hadith, or traditions of
Muhammad
Sharia – Quran + Sunna = The Law
Ulema and Imams – like rabbis
“Sabbath” – Friday noon, Mosques
BUT
No priests, no hierarchy, no pope, no
idols, no sacraments, no original sin,
no separation between church and
state, no sabbath.
“Bestseller in Mideast: Barbie With a Prayer Mat” NYT 9/22/05
Women in Islam
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Muhammad sought to
improve the
treatment of women
Muslims adopted the
pre-existing
Byzantine and Persian
custom of veiling to
observe “modesty” as
required for Muslim
women and men
The Quran enjoins women believers to
“lower their gaze and be mindful of their
chastity, and not to display their charms
[in public] beyond what may [decently]
be apparent thereof.” 24:31
Similarities:
Judaism, Christianity, Islam
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Yahweh, God, Allah: One
god, the same god
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Same lineage, from
Abraham
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All have holy books
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All require acts of faith
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All advocate ethical and
moral behavior
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All originate from
histories of opposition
and persecution
All claim Jerusalem as a
holy city
The Temple Mount in Jerusalem: Featuring
the Western Wall and Dome of the Rock
Holy City of Jerusalem
The Western Wall
Dome of the Rock
Church of the Holy
Sepulcher
Sunni / Shia Schism
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Sunni:
• Largest branch of Islam
• Believe in the
legitimacy of the
earliest caliphs
• Believe the role of the
caliph is to protect the
divine law, act of judge,
and rule over
community
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Shia:
• Minority opposition to
Sunni
• Believe leadership
should reside in the line
of Ali
• Believe that the caliph
can interpret the Quran
and law; that he
possesses inward
knowledge
Chronology of the Islamic Empires
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570-632
Life of Muhammad
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661-750
Umayyad Dynasty
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750-1258 Abbasid Dynasty
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1096-1204 Crusades from Europe
1258
Mongol capture of Baghdad
The Islamic Empires
EARLY EXPANSION OF MUSLIM RULE
Conversion by the sword? No.
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Islam transcended tribal divisions and united
Arab tribes
Conquests were not about conversion by the
sword but about uniting Arab tribes and
expanding Arab territory
“People of the Book” were not pressured to
convert
Non-Muslims paid higher taxes so Arabs had
“little material incentive to encourage conversion”
Umayyad Dynasty
661-750
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Time of conquest but little conversion
Control monopolized by Arabs which
caused tension
Abbasid Dynasty
750-1258
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The “golden age” of
Islam
Islamic empires revived
the economic unity of
the region and became
the hub between Asia
and Europe
Time of the “Muslim
synthesis”
Harun al Rashid
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Baghdad the capital
The “Muslim Synthesis”-First
World Civilization?
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Muslims merged the
scientific and
intellectual traditions
of Greece and India
and enhanced them
with their own
commentary
They preserved Greek
philosophy at a time
that Europe was a
“cultural backwater”
ARTERIES OF TRADE AND TRAVEL IN THE ISLAMIC WORLD, TO 1500
“First World Civilization”
Relationship with Christianity
al-Andalus - Spain
Great Mosque at Cordoba, 786
When the Abbasids attempted to massacre 800 family members of the Umayyad
dynasty at a dinner of peace, a few of them escaped, fled to Spain, and established
Cordoba as their capital. The Great Mosque of Cordoba, begun in 786, contains all of
the usual features of a mosque, but it is best known for its interior double set of
horseshoe-shaped arches, one above the other, which are mounted on the capitals of
The Crusades
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Crusade = “holy war”
Series of military
campaigns undertaken
by European
Christendom against
the Abbasid empire
Five military campaigns
between 1095-1300
Offensive or defensive
wars?
Map of the Crusades and the Reconquest of Spain
Reasons for the Crusades
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To “recapture”
Jerusalem
To end wars among
Europe’s knights
Desire for wealth
and information
from the more
advanced Islamic
civilization
Important turning points…
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First crusade conquered Jerusalem
1099; recaptured by Saladin 1187
Fourth crusade targeted
Constantinople, weakening Byzantine
empire against the rising power of
the Turks
Long-term effects of the Crusades
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The Crusades were never a mortal threat to the
Abbasids but they eroded their long-held culture
of religious toleration
Weakened the Byzantine empire against the
rising power of the Turks
The Crusades stimulated Europe’s economy and
“reintegrat[ed] Western Europe into the larger
economy of the Eastern hemisphere” TE
Helped unify Europe vis a vis the “East”
Seige of Constantinople
Conquest by Ottomans,
1453
End of the Byzantine Empire
Map of Constantinople