Although the sources concerning theSasanian realm of influence for the 6th century AD, which represents the time period before the beginning of Islam according to the traditional understanding, are poor, the sources for theByzantine provinces of Syria and Iraq in the same period, complemented bySyriac Christian writings, provide a superior quality.[24] At the same time the study of the earliest periods in Islamic history is made difficult by a lack of sources.[25] Most Islamic history wastransmitted orally until after the rise of theAbbasid Caliphate.[26] One of the most importanthistorical sources for which the above-mentioned stories about the birth of Islam were compiled is the work of theMuslim historianAbū Jaʿfar al-Ṭabarī (839–923 CE).[27] The stories were written in the form of “founding conquest stories” based on nostalgia for the golden age then. Humphrey, quoted by Antoine Borrut, explains that the stories related to this period were created according to a pact-betrayal-redemption principle.[28] Regarding the depicting of early Islamic history, four trends are prominent concerning the utilization on available (irrational) sources;
Thedescriptive method uses the outlines of Islamic traditions, adjusted for the stories of miracles and faith-centred claims within those sources.[30]Edward Gibbon (1737–1794) andGustav Weil (1808–1889) represent some of the first historians following the descriptive method.
In thesource critical method, scholars compare all available sources in order to identify which informants to the sources are weak and thereby to distinguish spurious material.[31] The work ofWilliam Montgomery Watt (1909–2006) and that ofWilferd Madelung (1930–2023) exemplify source-critical study.
In thetradition critical method, the sources are believed to be based on oral traditions with unclear origins and transmission history, and so are treated very cautiously.[32]Ignác Goldziher (1850–1921) pioneered the tradition critical method, andUri Rubin (1944–2021) continued this approach.
Theskeptical method doubts nearly all of the material in the traditional sources, regarding any possible historical core as too difficult to decipher from distorted and fabricated material.[33] An early example of the sceptical method was the work ofJohn Wansbrough (1928–2002).
Nowadays, the popularity of the different methods employed varies on the scope of the studies produced. Overview treatments of the history of early Islam tend to take the descriptive approach. Scholars who look at the beginnings of Islam in depth generally follow the source-critical and tradition-critical methods.[34] Until the early 1970s,[35]Non-Muslim scholars ofIslamic studies—while not accepting mythical accounts, such asdivine intervention—did accept its origin story in most of its details.[36][37]
Mecca was not a settlement, nor an important commercial center, for thousands of years before Islam—as is claimed in traditional Islamic sources. In addition,geographical descriptions in the Quran andḥadīth literature don't match with the location of Mecca. Rather, these sources point to somewhere in north-western Arabia, e.g.Petra inJordan[41] as Islamic origin.
Almost all of the traditional texts on the beginnings of Islam were written during theAbbasid Caliphate (750–1258 CE) and through these fabricated texts, the Abbasids tried to legitimize their own rule.[49]
Gabriel Said Reynolds critizizes that the conclusions are rather speculative and lack substantial support from the 6th to 7th century.[50] The quality of historical sources improves after the 8th century CE.[51] Those sources which treated earlier times with a large temporal and cultural gap now begin to give accounts which are more contemporaneous, the quality of genre of available historical accounts improves, and new documentary sources—such as official documents, correspondence and poetry—appear.[51]
Early Islam arose within the historical, social, political, economic, and religious context oflate antiquity in theMiddle East.[51]Religion in pre-Islamic Arabia may be summarized as follows;Judaism became the dominant religion of theHimyarite Kingdom in Yemen after about 380 CE, whileChristianity took root in thePersian Gulf.[52] The second half of the 6th century CE saw political disorder inpre-Islamic Arabia, and communication routes were no longer secure.[53] Religious divisions played an important role in the crisis.[52] There was also a yearning for a more "spiritual form of religion", and "the choice of religion increasingly became an individual rather than a collective issue."[52] While someArabs were reluctant to convert to a foreign faith, thoseAbrahamic religions provided "the principal intellectual and spiritual reference points", and Jewish and Christian loanwords fromAramaic began to replace the old pagan vocabulary ofArabic throughout the peninsula.[52] TheḤanīf ("renunciates"), a group ofmonotheists that sought to separate themselves both from the foreign Abrahamic religions and the traditional Arab polytheism,[54] were looking for a new religious worldview to replace the pre-Islamic Arabian religions,[54] focusing on "the all-encompassing father godAllah whom they freely equated with the JewishYahweh and the ChristianJehovah."[55] In their view,Mecca was originally dedicated to this monotheistic faith that they considered to be the one true religion, established by the patriarchAbraham.[54][55] However, the polytheisticKaaba temple in Mecca was a popularpilgrimage site and for this reason an important source of income for the surrounding pagan Arabs in those days.[56][57]
In 622 CE, a few years after losing protection with the death of his influential uncleʾAbū Ṭālib ibn ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib, Muhammad migrated to the city of Yathrib (subsequently calledMedina) where he was joined by his followers.[66] Later generations would count this event, known as thehijra, as the start of the Islamic era.[67] Thesurahs of this period emphasized his place among thelong line of Biblical prophets, but also differentiated the message of the Quran from the sacred texts of Christianity and Judaism.[67]Armed conflict with the Arab Meccans andJewish tribes of the Yathrib area soon broke out.[68] After a series of military confrontations and political manoeuvres, Muhammad was able tosecure control of Mecca and allegiance of the Quraysh in 629 CE.[67] In the time remaining untilhis death in 632 CE, tribal chiefs across the Arabian peninsula entered into various agreements with him, some under terms of alliance, others acknowledging his claims of prophethood and agreeing to follow Islamic practices, including paying thealms levy to his government, which consisted of a number of deputies, an army of believers, and a public treasury.[67]
With an approach that has been developed and popularized recently,[69] Muhammad established aconstitutional state in Medina - on the basis of the Quran verses in line with the new concept, and ofa treaty in which the rights and duties of the different communities in Medina were determined - and maderadical reforms to create an Islamic society.[67] The compatibility of the concept of the state, which essentially has the power to coerce,[70] with religion and prophethood, which are essentially advice,[71] is a controversial issue. (See also:Al-Baqara 256) The real intentions of Muhammad regarding thespread of Islam, its political undertone, and hismissionary activity (da'wah) during his lifetime are a contentious matter of debate, which has been extensively discussed both amongMuslim scholars andNon-Muslim scholars within the academic field ofIslamic studies.[72] Poston Larry states;
Was it in Muhammad's mind to produce a world religion or did his interests lie mainly within the confines of his homeland? Was he solely anArab nationalist—a politicalgenius intent upon uniting the tribal clans under the banner of a new religion—or was his vision a truly international one, a desire to produce a reformed humanity in the midst of a new world order? These questions are not without significance, for a number of the proponents of contemporary da'wah activity trace their inspiration to the prophet himself.[...] Despite the claims of these writers, it is difficult to prove that Muhammad intended to found a world-encompassing faith superseding the religions of Christianity and Judaism. His original aim appears to have been the establishment of a succinctly Arab brand ofmonotheism, as indicated by his many references to the Qurʾān as an "Arabic book" and by his accommodations to other monotheistic traditions.[72]
Alongside the growth of theUmayyad Caliphate, the major political development within early Islam in this period was the sectarian split and political divide betweenKharijite,Sunnī, andShīʿaMuslims; this had its roots in a dispute over the succession for the role of caliph.[2][16] Sunnīs believed the caliph was elective and any Muslim from the Arab clan ofQuraysh, the tribe of Muhammad, might serve as one.[17] Shīʿītes, on the other hand, believed the title of caliph should be hereditary in thebloodline of Muhammad,[74] and thus all the caliphs, with the exceptions of Muhammad's cousin and son-in-lawʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib and his firstborn sonḤasan, were actually illegitimateusurpers.[17] However, the Sunnī sect emerged as triumphant in most regions of theMuslim world, with the exceptions ofIran andOman.Muhammad's closest companions (ṣaḥāba), the four "rightly-guided" caliphs who succeeded him, continued to expand the Islamic empire to encompassJerusalem,Ctesiphon, andDamascus, and sending Arab Muslim armies as far as theSindh region.[75] The early Islamic empire stretched fromal-Andalus (Muslim Iberia) to thePunjab region under the reign of theUmayyad dynasty.
After Muhammad's death,Abū Bakr, one of his closest associates, was chosen as the firstcaliph ("successor"). Although the office of caliph retained an aura of religious authority, it laid no claim to prophecy.[7][76] A number oftribal Arab leaders refused to extend the agreements made with Muhammad to Abū Bakr, ceasing payments of the alms levy and in some cases claiming to be prophets in their own right.[76] Abū Bakr asserted his authority in a successful military campaign known as theRidda wars, whose momentum was carried into the lands of theByzantine andSasanian empires.[77] By the end of the reign of the second caliphʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb, the Arab Muslim armies, whose battle-hardened ranks were now swelled by the defeated rebels[78] and former imperial auxiliary troops,[79]invaded the eastern Byzantine provinces of Syria and Egypt, whilethe Sasanids lost their western territories, with the rest of Persia to follow soon afterwards.[76]
ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb improved the administration of the fledgling Islamic empire, ordering improvement of irrigation networks, and playing a role in foundation of cities likeBasra. To be close to the poor, he lived in a simple mud hut without doors and walked the streets every evening. After consulting with the poor, ʿUmar established theBayt al-mal,[81][82][83] a welfare institution for the Muslim andNon-Muslim poor, needy, elderly, orphans, widows, and the disabled. TheBayt al-mal ran for hundreds of years under the Rāshidūn Caliphate in the 7th century CE and continued through theUmayyad period and well into theAbbasid era. ʿUmar also introduced child benefit for the children and pensions for the elderly.[84][85][86][87] When he felt that a governor or a commander was becoming attracted to wealth or did not meet the required administrative standards, he had him removed from his position.[88] The expansion was partially halted between 638 and 639 CE during the years of great famine and plague in Arabia and the Levant, respectively, but by the end of ʿUmar's reign, Syria, Egypt, Mesopotamia, and much of Persia were incorporated into the early Islamic empire.
Local populations ofJews andindigenous Christians, who lived as religious minorities and were forced to pay thejizya tax under the Muslim rule in order to finance the wars with Byzantines and Sasanids, often aided Muslims to take over their lands from the Byzantines and Persians, resulting in exceptionally speedy conquests.[89][90] As new areas were conquered, they also benefited from free trade with other areas of the growing Islamic empire, where, to encourage commerce, taxes were applied to wealth rather than trade.[91] The Muslims paidzakat on their wealth for the benefit of the poor. Since theConstitution of Medina, drafted by theIslamic prophetMuhammad, the Jews and the Christians continued to use their own laws and had their own judges.[92][93]
Early Muslim armies stayed in encampments away from cities because ʿUmar feared that they may get attracted to wealth and luxury, moving away from the worship of God, accumulating wealth and establishing dynasties.[88][100][101][102] Staying in these encampments away from the cities also ensured that there was no stress on the local populations which could remain autonomous. Some of these encampments later grew into cities likeBasra andKufa inIraq andFustat in Egypt.[103]
When ʿUmar was assassinated in 644 CE,ʿUthmān ibn ʿAffān, second cousin and twice son-in-law of Muhammad, became the third caliph. As the Arabic language is written without vowels, speakers ofdifferent Arabic dialects and other languages recited the Quran with phonetic variations that could alter the meaning of the text. When ʿUthmān became aware of this, he ordered a standard copy of the Quran to be prepared. Begun during his reign, thecompilation of the Quran was finished some time between 650 and 656 CE, and copies were sent out to the different centers of the expanding Islamic empire.[104] After Muhammad's death, the old tribal differences between theArabs started to resurface. Following theRoman–Persian wars and theByzantine-Sasanian wars, deep-rooted differences betweenIraq (formerly under theSasanian Empire) andSyria (formerly under theByzantine Empire) also existed. Each wanted the capital of the newly established Islamic empire to be in their area.[105]
As ʿUthmān became very old,Marwan I, a relative of Muawiyah slipped into the vacuum, becoming his secretary and slowly assuming more control. When ʿUthmān was assassinated in 656 CE,ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib, cousin and son-in-law of Muhammad, assumed the position of caliph and moved the capital to Kufa in Iraq. Muawiyah I, the governor of Syria, and Marwan I demanded arrest of the culprits. Marwan I manipulated every one and created conflict, which resulted in thefirst Muslim civil war (the "First Fitna"). ʿAlī was assassinated by theKharijites in 661 CE. Six months later, ʿAlī's firstborn sonḤasan made a peace treaty with Muawiyah I, in the interest of peace. In theHasan–Muawiya treaty, Ḥasan ibn ʿAlī handed over power to Muawiyah I on the condition that he would be just to the people and not establish a dynasty after his death.[106][107] Muawiyah I subsequently broke the conditions of the agreement and established theUmayyad dynasty, with a capital inDamascus.[108]Ḥusayn ibn ʿAlī, by then Muhammad's only surviving grandson, refused to swear allegiance to the Umayyads; he was killed in theBattle of Karbala the same year, in an event still mourned byShīʿa Muslims on theDay of Ashura. Political unrest called thesecond Muslim civil war (the "Second Fitna") continued, but Muslim rule was extended under Muawiyah I toRhodes,Crete,Kabul,Bukhara, andSamarkand, and expanded intoNorth Africa. In 664 CE, Arab Muslim armies conqueredKabul,[109] and in 665 CE pushed further into theMaghreb.[110]
A Greek inscription crediting Mu'awiya for restoring the Roman-era bath facilities atHamat Gader in 663, the sole epigraphic attestation of Mu'awiya's rule inSyria
The Umayyad dynasty (or Ommiads), whose name derives fromUmayya ibn Abd Shams, the great-grandfather of the first Umayyad caliph, ruled from 661 to 750 CE. Although the Umayyad family came from the city ofMecca,Damascus was the capital. After the death ofAbdu'l-Rahman ibn Abu Bakr in 666,[111][112]Muawiyah I consolidated his power. Muawiyah I moved his capital to Damascus fromMedina, which led to profound changes in the empire. In the same way, at a later date, the transfer of the Caliphate from Damascus to Baghdad marked the accession of a new family to power.
As the state grew, the state expenses increased. Additionally theBayt al-mal and the Welfare State expenses to assist the Muslim and the non-Muslim poor, needy, elderly, orphans, widows, and the disabled, increased, the Umayyads asked the new converts (mawali) to continue paying the poll tax. The Umayyad rule, with its wealth and luxury also seemed at odds with the Islamic message preached by Muhammad.[113][114][115] All this increased discontent.[116][117] The descendants of Muhammad's uncleAbbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib rallied discontentedmawali, poor Arabs, and some Shi'a against the Umayyads and overthrew them with the help of the generalAbu Muslim, inaugurating theAbbasid dynasty in 750, which moved the capital toBaghdad.[118] A branch of theUmmayad family fled across North Africa to Al-Andalus, where they established theCaliphate of Córdoba, which lasted until 1031 before falling due to theFitna of al-Andalus. The Bayt al-mal, the Welfare State then continued under the Abbasids.
At its largest extent, the Umayyad dynasty covered more than 5,000,000 square miles (13,000,000 km2) making it one of thelargest empires the world had yet seen,[119] and the fifthlargest contiguous empire ever.
Muawiyah beautified Damascus, and developed a court to rival that ofConstantinople. He expanded the frontiers of the empire, reaching the edge of Constantinople at one point, though theByzantines drove him back and he was unable to hold any territory inAnatolia.Sunni Muslims credit him with saving the fledgling Muslim nation from post-civil war anarchy. However,Shia Muslims accuse him of instigating the war, weakening the Muslim nation by dividing theUmmah, fabricating self-aggrandizingheresies[120] slanderingthe Prophet's family[121] and even selling his Muslim critics into slavery in the Byzantine empire.[122] One of Muawiyah's most controversial and enduring legacies was his decision to designate his son Yazid as his successor. According to Shi'a doctrine, this was a clear violation of the treaty he made with Hasan ibn Ali.In 682, Yazid restoredUqba ibn Nafi as the governor of North Africa. Uqba won battles against theBerbers and Byzantines.[123] From there Uqba marched thousands of miles westward towardsTangier, where he reached the Atlantic coast, and then marched eastwards through theAtlas Mountains.[124] With about 300cavalrymen, he proceeded towards Biskra where he was ambushed by a Berber force under Kaisala. Uqba and all his men died fighting. The Berbers attacked and drove Muslims from north Africa for a period.[125] Weakened by the civil wars, the Umayyad lost supremacy at sea, and had to abandon the islands ofRhodes andCrete. Under the rule ofYazid I, some Muslims in Kufa began to think that ifHusayn ibn Ali the descendant of Muhammad was their ruler, he would have been more just. He was invited to Kufa but was later betrayed and killed. Imam Husain's son, ImamAli ibn Husain, was imprisoned along with Husain's sister and other ladies left inKarbala war. Due to opposition by public they were later released and allowed to go to their native place Medina. One Imam after another continued in the generation of Imam Husain but they were opposed by the Caliphs of the day as their rivals till ImamAbdullah al-Mahdi Billah came in power as first Caliph ofFatimid in North Africa when Caliphate and Imamate came to same person again after Imam Ali. These Imams were recognized by Shia Islam taking Imam Ali as first Caliph/Imam and the same is institutionalized by theSafavids and many similar institutions named now asIsmaili,Twelver, etc.
The period underMuawiya II was marked by civil wars (Second Fitna). This would ease in the reign ofAbd al-Malik ibn Marwan, a well-educated and capable ruler. Despite the many political problems that impeded his rule, all important records were translated into Arabic. In his reign, acurrency for the Muslim world was minted. This led to war with the Byzantine Empire underJustinian II (Battle of Sebastopolis) in 692 inAsia Minor. The Byzantines were decisively defeated by the Caliph after the defection of a large contingent ofSlavs. The Islamic currency was then made the exclusive currency in the Muslim world.[citation needed] He reformed agriculture and commerce.[citation needed] Abd al-Malik consolidated Muslim rule and extended it, made Arabic the state language, and organized a regularpostal service.
TheMosque of Uqba (Great Mosque of Kairouan), founded by the Umayyad general Uqba Ibn Nafi in 670, is the oldest and most prestigious mosque in the Muslim West; its present form dates from the 9th century,Kairouan,Tunisia.
Under Al-Walid, the caliphate empire stretched from the Iberian Peninsula to India.Al-Hajjaj ibn Yusuf played a crucial role in the organization and selection of military commanders. Al-Walid paid great attention to the expansion of an organized military, building the strongest navy in the Umayyad era. This tactic was crucial for the expansion to the Iberian Peninsula. His reign is considered to be the apex of Islamic power.
Sulayman ibn Abd al-Malik was hailed as caliph the day al-Walid died. He appointedYazid ibn al-Muhallab governor ofMesopotamia. Sulayman ordered the arrest and execution of the family ofal-Hajjaj, one of two prominent leaders (the other wasQutayba ibn Muslim) who had supported the succession of al-Walid's son Yazid, rather than Sulayman. Al-Hajjaj had predeceased al-Walid, so he posed no threat. Qutaibah renounced allegiance to Sulayman, though his troops rejected his appeal to revolt. They killed him and sent his head to Sulayman. Sulayman did not move toDamascus on becoming Caliph, remaining inRamla. Sulayman sentMaslama ibn Abd al-Malik to attack the Byzantine capital (siege of Constantinople). The intervention ofBulgaria on the Byzantine side proved decisive. The Muslims sustained heavy losses. Sulayman died suddenly in 717.
Yazid II came to power on the death of Umar II. Yazid fought the Kharijites, with whom Umar had been negotiating, and killed the Kharijite leader Shawdhab. In Yazid's reign, civil wars began in different parts of the empire.[126] Yazid expanded the Caliphate's territory into the Caucasus, before dying in 724. Inheriting the caliphate from his brother,Hisham ibn Abd al-Malik ruled an empire with many problems. He was effective in addressing these problems, and in allowing the Umayyad empire to continue as an entity. His long rule was an effective one, and renewed reforms introduced by Umar II. Under Hisham's rule, regular raids against the Byzantines continued. In North Africa, Kharijite teachings combined with local restlessness to produce theBerber Revolt. He was also faced with a revolt byZayd ibn Ali. Hisham suppressed both revolts. The Abbasids continued to gain power in Khurasan and Iraq. However, they were not strong enough to make a move yet. Some were caught and punished or executed by eastern governors. TheBattle of Akroinon, a decisive Byzantine victory, was during the final campaign of the Umayyad dynasty.[127] Hisham died in 743.
Umayyad army invades France after conquering the Iberian Peninsula
Al-Walid I began the next stage of Islamic conquests. Under him the early Islamic empire reached its farthest extent. He reconquered parts of Egypt from the Byzantine Empire and moved on intoCarthage and across to the west of North Africa. Muslim armies underTariq ibn Ziyad crossed theStrait of Gibraltar and began toconquer the Iberian Peninsula using North AfricanBerber armies. TheVisigoths of theIberian Peninsula were defeated when the Umayyad conqueredLisbon. The Iberian Peninsula was the farthest extent of Islamic control of Europe (they were stopped at theBattle of Tours). In the east, Islamic armies underMuhammad ibn al-Qasim made it as far as theIndus Valley.
Al-Walid II saw political intrigue during his reign.Yazid III spoke out against his cousin Walid's "immorality" which included discrimination on behalf of theBanu Qays Arabs against Yemenis andnon-Arab Muslims, and Yazid received further support from the Qadariya and Murji'iya (believers in humanfree will).[128] Walid was shortly thereafter deposed in acoup.[129] Yazid disbursed funds from the treasury and acceded to the Caliph. He explained that he had rebelled on behalf of theBook of God and the Sunna. Yazid reigned for only six months, while various groups refused allegiance and dissident movements arose, after which he died.Ibrahim ibn al-Walid, named heir apparent by his brother Yazid III, ruled for a short time in 744, before he abdicated.Marwan II ruled from 744 until he was killed in 750. He was the last Umayyad ruler to rule from Damascus. Marwan named his two sons Ubaydallah and Abdallah heirs. He appointed governors and asserted his authority by force. Anti-Umayyad feeling was very prevalent, especially in Iran and Iraq. The Abbasids had gained much support. Marwan's reign as caliph was almost entirely devoted to trying to keep the Umayyad empire together. His death signalled the end of Umayyad rule in the East, and was followed by the massacre of Umayyads by the Abbasids. Almost the entire Umayyad dynasty was killed, except for the talented princeAbd al-Rahman who escaped to the Iberian Peninsula and founded a dynasty there.
The capital was moved from Damascus toBaghdad, due to the importance placed by the Abbasids upon eastern affairs inPersia andTransoxania.[134] At this time the caliphate showed signs of fracture amid the rise of regional dynasties. Although the Umayyad family had been killed by the revolting Abbasids, one family member,Abd ar-Rahman I, escaped to Spain and established an independent caliphate there in 756. In theMaghreb, Harun al-Rashid appointed the ArabAghlabids as virtually autonomous rulers, although they continued to recognize central authority. Aghlabid rule was short-lived, and they were deposed by theShiiteFatimid dynasty in 909. By around 960, the Fatimids had conquered Abbasid Egypt, building a capital there in 973 called "al-Qahirah" (meaning "the planet of victory", known today asCairo).
During its decline, the Abbasid Caliphate disintegrated into minor states and dynasties, such as theTulunid and theGhaznavid dynasty. The Ghaznavid dynasty was a Muslim dynasty established byTurkic slave-soldiers from another Islamic empire, theSamanid Empire. In Persia the Ghaznavids snatched power from the Abbasids.[139][140] Abbasid influence had been consumed by theGreat Seljuq Empire (a Muslim Turkish clan which had migrated into mainland Persia) by 1055.[134] Two other Turkish tribes, theKarahanids and theSeljuks, converted to Islam during the 10th century. Later, they were subdued by the Ottomans, who share the same origin and language. The Seljuks played an important role in the revival of Sunnism when Shi'ism increased its influence. The Seljuk military leaderAlp Arslan (1063 – 1072) financially supported sciences and literature and established theNezamiyeh university in Baghdad.[141]
Expansion continued, sometimes by force, sometimes by peacefulproselytising.[130] The first stage in theconquest of India began just before the year 1000. By some 200 (from 1193 to 1209) years later, the area up to theGanges river had fallen. In sub-Saharan West Africa, Islam was established just after the year 1000. Muslim rulers were inKanem starting from sometime between 1081 and 1097, with reports of a Muslim prince at the head ofGao as early as 1009. TheIslamic kingdoms associated with Mali reached prominence in the 13th century.[142]
The Abbasids developed initiatives aimed at greater Islamic unity. Different sects of the Islamic faith and mosques, separated by doctrine, history, and practice, were pushed to cooperate. The Abbasids also distinguished themselves from the Umayyads by attacking the Umayyads' moral character and administration. According toIra Lapidus, "The Abbasid revolt was supported largely by Arabs, mainly the aggrieved settlers of Marw with the addition of the Yemeni faction and theirMawali".[143] The Abbasids also appealed to non-Arab Muslims, known asmawali, who remained outside thekinship-based society of the Arabs and were perceived as a lower class within the Umayyad empire. Islamicecumenism, promoted by the Abbasids, refers to the idea of unity of theUmmah in the literal meaning: that there was a single faith. Islamic philosophy developed as theShariah was codified, and the fourMadhabs were established. This era also saw the rise of classicalSufism. Religious achievements included completion of the canonical collections ofHadith ofSahih Bukhari and others.[144] Islam recognized to a certain extent the validity of theAbrahamic religions, the Quran identifyingJews,Christians,Zoroastrians, andSabians (commonly identified with theMandaeans) as "people of the book". Toward the beginning of the high Middle Ages, the doctrines of theSunni andShia, two majordenominations of Islam, solidified and thedivisions of the world theologically would form. These trends would continue into the Fatimid and Ayyubid periods.
According to Arab sources in the year 750,Al-Saffah, the founder of the Abbasid Caliphate, launched a massive rebellion against the Umayyad Caliphate from the province of Khurasan near Talas. After eliminating the entire Umayyad family and achieving victory at theBattle of the Zab, Al-Saffah and his forces marched into Damascus and founded a new dynasty. His forces confronted many regional powers and consolidated the realm of the Abbasid Caliphate.[148]
An Arabic manuscript written under the second half of the Abbasid Era.
InAl-Mansur's time, Persian scholarship emerged. Many non-Arabs converted to Islam. The Umayyads actively discouraged conversion in order to continue the collection of the jizya, or the tax on non-Muslims. Islam nearly doubled within its territory from 8% of residents in 750 to 15% by the end of Al-Mansur's reign.Al-Mahdi, whose name means "Rightly-guided" or "Redeemer", was proclaimed caliph when his father was on his deathbed. Baghdad blossomed during Al-Mahdi's reign, becoming the world's largest city. It attracted immigrants from Arabia, Iraq, Syria, Persia and as far away as India and Spain. Baghdad was home to Christians, Jews, Hindus, and Zoroastrians, in addition to the growing Muslim population. Like his father,Al-Hadi[149] was open to his people and allowed citizens to address him in the palace at Baghdad. He was considered an "enlightened ruler", and continued the policies of his Abbasid predecessors. His short rule was plagued by military conflicts and internal intrigue.
The military conflicts subsided asHarun al-Rashid ruled.[150] His reign was marked by scientific, cultural and religious prosperity. He established the libraryBayt al-Hikma ("House of Wisdom"), and the arts and music flourished during his reign. TheBarmakid family played a decisive advisorial role in establishing the Caliphate, but declined during Rashid's rule.[151]
Al-Amin received the Caliphate from his father Harun Al-Rashid, but failed to respect the arrangements made for his brothers, leading to theFourth Fitna.Al-Ma'mun's generalTahir ibn Husayntook Baghdad, executing Al-Amin.[152] The war led to a loss of prestige for the dynasty.
Regional powers born out of the fragmentation of the Abbasid caliphate
The Abbasids soon became caught in a three-way rivalry amongCoptic Arabs,Indo-Persians, and immigrant Turks.[153] In addition, the cost of running a large empire became too great.[154] The Turks, Egyptians, and Arabs adhered to the Sunnite sect; the Persians, a great portion of the Turkic groups, and several of the princes in India were Shia. The political unity of Islam began to disintegrate. Under the influence of the Abbasid caliphs, independent dynasties appeared in the Muslim world and the caliphs recognized such dynasties as legitimately Muslim. The first was theTahirids inKhorasan, which was founded during the caliphAl-Ma'mun's reign. Similar dynasties included theSaffarids,Samanids,Ghaznavids andSeljuqs. During this time, advancements were made in the areas of astronomy, poetry, philosophy, science, and mathematics.[155]
Upon Al-Amin's death,Al-Ma'mun became Caliph. Al-Ma'mun extended the Abbasid empire's territory during his reign and dealt with rebellions.[156] Al-Ma'mun had been named governor of Khurasan by Harun, and after his ascension to power, the caliph named Tahir as governor of his military services in order to assure his loyalty. Tahir and his family became entrenched in Iranian politics and became powerful, frustrating Al-Ma'mun's desire to centralize and strengthen Caliphal power. The rising power of theTahirid family became a threat as Al-Ma'mun's own policies alienated them and other opponents.
Al-Ma'mun worked to centralize power and ensure a smooth succession. Al-Mahdi proclaimed that the caliph was the protector of Islam against heresy, and also claimed the ability to declare orthodoxy. Religious scholars averred that Al-Ma'mun was overstepping his bounds in theMihna, theAbbasid inquisition which he introduced in 833 four months before he died.[157] TheUlama emerged as a force in Islamic politics during Al-Ma'mun's reign for opposing the inquisitions. TheUlema and the major Islamic law schools took shape in the period of Al-Ma'mun. In parallel, Sunnism became defined as a religion of laws. Doctrinal differences between Sunni and Shi'a Islam became more pronounced.
During the Al-Ma'mun regime,border wars increased. Al-Ma'mun made preparations for a major campaign, but died while leading an expedition inSardis. Al-Ma'mun gathered scholars of many religions at Baghdad, whom he treated well and with tolerance. He sent an emissary to the Byzantine Empire to collect the most famous manuscripts there, and had them translated into Arabic.[158] His scientists originatedalchemy. Shortly before his death, during a visit to Egypt in 832, the caliph ordered the breaching of theGreat Pyramid of Giza to search for knowledge and treasure. Workers tunnelled in near where tradition located the original entrance. Al-Ma'mun later died near Tarsus under questionable circumstances and was succeeded by his half-brother,Al-Mu'tasim, rather than his son, Al-Abbas ibn Al-Ma'mun.
As Caliph, Al-Mu'tasim promptly ordered the dismantling of al-Ma'mun's military base at Tyana. He faced Khurramite revolts. One of the most difficult problems facing this Caliph was the ongoing uprising of Babak Khorramdin. Al-Mu'tasim overcame the rebels and secured a significant victory.Byzantine emperor Theophilus launched an attack against Abbasid fortresses. Al-Mu'tasim sent Al-Afshin, who met and defeated Theophilus' forces at theBattle of Anzen. On his return he became aware of a serious military conspiracy which forced him and his successors to rely upon Turkish commanders andghilman slave-soldiers (foreshadowing theMamluk system). The Khurramiyyah were never fully suppressed, although they slowly declined during the reigns of succeeding Caliphs. Near the end of al-Mu'tasim's life there was an uprising in Palestine, but he defeated the rebels.
During Al-Mu'tasim's reign, the Tahirid family continued to grow in power. The Tahirids were exempted from many tribute and oversight functions. Their independence contributed to Abbasid decline in the east. Ideologically, al-Mu'tasim followed his half-brother al-Ma'mun. He continued his predecessor's support for the Islamic Mu'tazila sect, applying brutal torture against the opposition. Arab mathematicianAl-Kindi was employed by Al-Mu'tasim and tutored the Caliph's son. Al-Kindi had served at the House of Wisdom and continued his studies in Greek geometry and algebra under the caliph's patronage.[159]
Al-Wathiq succeeded his father. Al-Wathiq dealt with opposition in Arabia, Syria, Palestine and in Baghdad. Using a famous sword he personally joined the execution of the Baghdad rebels. The revolts were the result of an increasingly large gap between Arab populations and the Turkish armies. The revolts were put down, but antagonism between the two groups grew, as Turkish forces gained power. He also secured a captive exchange with the Byzantines. Al-Wathiq was a patron of scholars, as well as artists. He personally had musical talent and is reputed to have composed over one hundred songs.[160]
When Al-Wathiq died of high fever,Al-Mutawakkil succeeded him. Al-Mutawakkil's reign is remembered for many reforms and is viewed as a golden age. He was the last great Abbasid caliph; after his death the dynasty fell into decline. Al-Mutawakkil ended the Mihna. Al-Mutawakkil built theGreat Mosque of Samarra[161] as part of an extension of Samarra eastwards. During his reign, Al-Mutawakkil met famous Byzantine theologianConstantine the Philosopher, who was sent to strengthen diplomatic relations between the Empire and the Caliphate byEmperor Michael III. Al-Mutawakkil involved himself in religious debates, as reflected in his actions against minorities. The Shīʻi faced repression embodied in the destruction of theshrine of Hussayn ibn ʻAlī, an action that was ostensibly carried out to stop pilgrimages. Al-Mutawakkil continued to rely on Turkish statesmen and slave soldiers to put down rebellions and lead battles against foreign empires, notably capturing Sicily from the Byzantines. Al-Mutawakkil was assassinated by a Turkish soldier.
Al-Muntasir succeeded to the Caliphate on the same day with the support of the Turkish faction, though he was implicated in the murder. The Turkish party had al-Muntasir remove his brothers from the line of succession, fearing revenge for the murder of their father. Both brothers wrote statements of abdication. During his reign, Al-Muntasir removed the ban on pilgrimage to the tombs of Hassan and Hussayn and sent Wasif to raid the Byzantines. Al-Muntasir died of unknown causes. The Turkish chiefs held a council to select his successor, electingAl-Musta'in. The Arabs and western troops from Baghdad were displeased at the choice and attacked. However, the Caliphate no longer depended on Arabian choice, but depended on Turkish support. After the failed Muslim campaign against the Christians, people blamed the Turks for bringing disaster on the faith and murdering their Caliphs. After the Turks besieged Baghdad, Al-Musta'in planned to abdicate toAl-Mu'tazz but was put to death by his order. Al-Mu'tazz was enthroned by the Turks, becoming the youngest Abbasid Caliph to assume power.
Al-Mu'tazz proved too apt a pupil of his Turkish masters, but was surrounded by parties jealous of each other. AtSamarra, the Turks were having problems with the "Westerns" (Berbers andMoors), while the Arabs and Persians at Baghdad, who had supported al-Musta'in, regarded both with equal hatred. Al-Mu'tazz put his brothers Al-Mu'eiyyad and Abu Ahmed to death. The ruler spent recklessly, causing a revolt of Turks, Africans, and Persians for their pay. Al-Mu'tazz was brutally deposed shortly thereafter.Al-Muhtadi became the next Caliph. He was firm and virtuous compared to the earlier Caliphs, though the Turks held the power. The Turks killed him soon after his ascension.Al-Mu'tamid followed, holding on for 23 years, though he was largely a ruler in name only. After theZanj Rebellion, Al-Mu'tamid summonedal-Muwaffak to help him. Thereafter, Al-Muwaffaq ruled in all but name. TheHamdanid dynasty was founded byHamdan ibn Hamdun when he was appointed governor ofMardin in Anatolia by the Caliphs in 890. Al-Mu'tamid later transferred authority to his son,al-Mu'tadid, and never regained power. TheTulunids became the first independent state in Islamic Egypt, when they broke away during this time.
Al-Mu'tadid ably administered the Caliphate. Egypt returned to allegiance and Mesopotamia was restored to order. He was tolerant towards Shi'i, but toward the Umayyad community he was not so just. Al-Mu'tadid was cruel in his punishments, some of which are not surpassed by those of his predecessors. For example, the Kharijite leader at Mosul was paraded about Baghdad clothed in a robe of silk, of which Kharijites denounced as sinful, and then crucified. Upon Al-Mu'tadid's death, his son by a Turkish slave-girl,Al-Muktafi, succeeded to the throne.
Al-Muktafi became a favourite of the people for his generosity, and for abolishing his father's secret prisons, the terror of Baghdad. During his reign, the Caliphate overcame threats such as theCarmathians. Upon Al-Muktafi's death, the vazir next choseAl-Muqtadir. Al-Muqtadir's reign was a constant succession of thirteen Vazirs, one rising on the fall or assassination of another. His long reign brought the Empire to its lowest ebb. Africa was lost, and Egypt nearly. Mosul threw off its dependence, and the Greeks raided across the undefended border. The East continued to formally recognize the Caliphate, including those who virtually claimed independence.
At the end of the Early Baghdad Abbasids period, EmpressZoe Karbonopsina pressed for an armistice with Al-Muqtadir and arranged for the ransom of the Muslim prisoner[162] while the Byzantine frontier was threatened by Bulgarians. This only added to Baghdad's disorder. Though despised by the people, Al-Muqtadir was again placed in power after upheavals. Al-Muqtadir was eventually slain outside the city gates, whereupon courtiers chose his brotheral-Qahir. He was even worse. Refusing to abdicate, he was blinded and cast into prison.
His sonal-Radi took over only to experience a cascade of misfortune. Praised for his piety, he became the tool of the de facto ruling Minister,Ibn Raik (amir al-umara; 'Amir of the Amirs'). Ibn Raik held the reins of government and his name was joined with the Caliph's in public prayers. Around this period, theHanbalis, supported by popular sentiment, set up in fact a kind of 'Sunni inquisition'. Ar-Radi is commonly regarded as the last of the real Caliphs: the last to deliver orations at the Friday service, to hold assemblies, to commune with philosophers, to discuss the questions of the day, to take counsel on the affairs of State; to distributealms, or to temper the severity of cruel officers. Thus ended the Early Baghdad Abbasids.
In the late mid-930s, theIkhshidids of Egypt carried the Arabic title "Wali" reflecting their position as governors on behalf of the Abbasids, The first governor (Muhammad bin Tughj Al-Ikhshid) was installed by the Abbasid Caliph. They gave him and his descendants the Wilayah for 30 years. The last name Ikhshid is Soghdian for "prince".
Also in the 930s,'Alī ibn Būyah and his two younger brothers,al-Hassan andAḥmad founded theBūyid confederation. Originally a soldier in the service of theZiyārīds ofṬabaristān, 'Alī was able to recruit an army to defeat a Turkish general fromBaghdad named Yāqūt in 934. Over the next nine years the three brothers gained control of the remainder of the caliphate, while accepting the titular authority of the caliph in Baghdad. The Būyids made large territorial gains.Fars andJibal were conquered. Central Iraq submitted in 945, before the Būyids tookKermān (967),Oman (967), theJazīra (979), Ṭabaristān (980), andGorgan (981). After this the Būyids went into slow decline, with pieces of the confederation gradually breaking off and local dynasties under their rule becomingde facto independent.[163]
At the beginning of the Middle Baghdad Abbasids, the Caliphate had become of little importance. Theamir al-umaraBajkam contented himself with dispatching his secretary to Baghdad to assemble local dignitaries to elect a successor. The choice fell onAl-Muttaqi. Bajkam was killed on a hunting party by marauding Kurds. In the ensuing anarchy in Baghdad, Ibn Raik persuaded the Caliph to flee to Mosul where he was welcomed by the Hamdanids. They assassinated Ibn Raik. HamdanidNasir al-Dawla advanced on Baghdad, where mercenaries and well-organised Turks repelled them. Turkish generalTuzun becameamir al-umara. The Turks were staunch Sunnis. A fresh conspiracy placed the Caliph in danger. Hamdanid troops helped ad-Daula escape to Mosul and then to Nasibin. Tuzun and the Hamdanid were stalemated. Al-Muttaqi was atRaqqa, moving to Tuzun where he was deposed. Tuzun installed the blinded Caliph's cousin as successor, with the title ofAl-Mustakfi. With the new Caliph, Tuzun attacked theBuwayhid dynasty and theHamdanids. Soon after, Tuzun died, and was succeeded by one of his generals, Abu Ja'far. The Buwayhids then attacked Baghdad, and Abu Ja'far fled into hiding with the Caliph. Buwayhid Sultan Muiz ud-Daula assumed command forcing the Caliph into abject submission to the Amir. Eventually, Al-Mustakfi was blinded and deposed. The city fell into chaos, and the Caliph's palace was looted.[164]
Once the Buwayhids controlled Baghdad,Al-Muti became caliph. The office was shorn of real power and Shi'a observances were established. The Buwayhids held on Baghdad for over a century. Throughout the Buwayhid reign the Caliphate was at its lowest ebb, but was recognized religiously, except inIberia. Buwayhid SultanMu'izz al-Dawla was prevented from raising a Shi'a Caliph to the throne by fear for his own safety, and fear of rebellion, in the capital and beyond.[165]
The next Caliph,Al-Ta'i, reigned over factional strife in Syria among the Fatimids, Turks, and Carmathians. The Hideaway dynasty also fractured. The Abbasid borders were the defended only by small border states.Baha' al-Dawla, the Buyid amir of Iraq, deposed al-Ta'i in 991 and proclaimedal-Qadir the new caliph.[166]
During al-Qadir's Caliphate,Mahmud of Ghazni looked after the empire. Mahmud of Ghazni, of Eastern fame, was friendly towards the Caliphs, and his victories in the Indian Empire were accordingly announced from the pulpits of Baghdad in grateful and glowing terms. Al-Qadir fostered the Sunni struggle against Shiʿism and outlawed heresies such as theBaghdad Manifesto and the doctrine that the Quran was created. He outlawed theMuʿtazila, bringing an end to the development of rationalist Muslim philosophy. During this and the next period,Islamic literature, especiallyPersian literature, flourished under the patronage of the Buwayhids.[167] By 1000, the global Muslim population had climbed to about 4 percent of the world, compared to the Christian population of 10 percent.
DuringAl-Qa'im's reign, the Buwayhid ruler often fled the capital and the Seljuq dynasty gained power.Toghrül overran Syria and Armenia. He then made his way into the Capital, where he was well-received both by chiefs and people. InBahrain, the Qarmatian state collapsed inAl-Hasa. Arabia recovered from the Fatimids and again acknowledged the spiritual jurisdiction of the Abbasids.Al-Muqtadi was honoured by the Seljuq SultanMalik-Shah I, during whose reign the Caliphate was recognized throughout the extending range of Seljuq conquest. The Sultan was critical of the Caliph's interference in affairs of state, but died before deposing the last of the Middle Baghdad Abbasids.[168]
The Late Baghdad Abbasids reigned from the beginning of theCrusades to theSeventh Crusade. The first Caliph wasAl-Mustazhir. He was politically irrelevant, despite civil strife at home and theFirst Crusade in Syria.Raymond IV of Toulouse attempted to attack Baghdad, losing at theBattle of Manzikert. The global Muslim population climbed to about 5 per cent as against the Christian population of 11 per cent by 1100.Jerusalem was captured by crusaders who massacred its inhabitants. Preachers travelled throughout the caliphate proclaiming the tragedy and rousing men to recover theAl-Aqsa Mosque compound from theFranks (European Crusaders). Crowds of exiles rallied for war against theinfidel. Neither the Sultan nor the Caliph sent an army west.[167]
Al-Mustarshid achieved more independence while the sultanMahmud II of Great Seljuq was engaged in war in the East. TheBanu Mazyad (Mazyadid State) general,Dubays ibn Sadaqa[169] (emir ofAl-Hilla), plunderedBosra and attacked Baghdad together with a young brother of the sultan,Ghiyath ad-Din Mas'ud. Dubays was crushed by a Seljuq army underZengi, founder of theZengid dynasty. Mahmud's death was followed by a civil war between his son Dawud, his nephew Mas'ud and the atabeg Toghrul II. Zengi was recalled to the East, stimulated by the Caliph and Dubays, where he was beaten. The Caliph then laid siege to Mosul for three months without success, resisted by Mas'ud and Zengi. It was nonetheless a milestone in the caliphate's military revival.[170]
After the siege of Damascus (1134),[171] Zengi undertookoperations in Syria. Al-Mustarshid attacked sultan Mas'ud of western Seljuq and was taken prisoner. He was later found murdered.[172] His son,Al-Rashid failed to gain independence from Seljuq Turks. Zengi, because of the murder of Dubays, set up a rival Sultanate. Mas'ud attacked; the Caliph and Zengi, hopeless of success, escaped to Mosul. The Sultan regained power, a council was held, the Caliph was deposed, and his uncle, son ofAl-Muqtafi, appointed as the new Caliph. Ar-Rashid fled toIsfahan and was killed by Hashshashins.[167]
Continued disunion and contests between Seljuq Turks allowed al-Muqtafi to maintain control in Baghdad and to extend it throughout Iraq. In 1139, al-Muqtafi granted protection to PatriarchAbdisho III of theChurch of the East. While the Crusade raged, the Caliph successfully defended Baghdad against Muhammad II of Seljuq in theSiege of Baghdad (1157). The Sultan and the Caliph dispatched men in response to Zengi's appeal, but neither the Seljuqs, nor the Caliph, nor their Amirs, dared resist the Crusaders.
The next caliph,Al-Mustanjid, sawSaladin extinguish theFatimid dynasty after 260 years, and thus the Abbasids again prevailed.Al-Mustadi reigned when Saladin became the sultan of Egypt and declared allegiance to the Abbasids.
An-Nasir, "The Victor for the Religion of God", attempted to restore the Caliphate to its ancient dominant role. He consistently held Iraq from Tikrit to the Gulf without interruption. His forty-seven-year reign was chiefly marked by ambitious and corrupt dealings with the Tartar chiefs, and by his hazardous invocation of the Mongols, which ended his dynasty. His son,Az-Zahir, was Caliph for a short period before his death and An-Nasir's grandson,Al-Mustansir, was made caliph.
Al-Musta'sim was the last Abbasid Caliph in Baghdad and is noted for his opposition to the rise of Shajar al-Durr to the Egyptian throne during the Seventh Crusade. To the east, Mongol forces underHulagu Khan swept through theTransoxiana andKhorasan.Baghdad was sacked and the caliph deposed soon afterwards. The Mamluk sultans and Syria later appointed a powerless Abbasid Caliph in Cairo.
The Abbasid "shadow" caliph ofCairo reigned under the tutelage of theMamluk sultans and nominal rulers used to legitimize the actual rule of the Mamluk sultans. All the Cairene Abbasid caliphs who preceded or succeededAl-Musta'in were spiritual heads lacking any temporal power. Al-Musta'in was the only Cairo-based Abbasid caliph to even briefly hold political power.Al-Mutawakkil III was the last "shadow" caliph. In 1517, Ottoman sultan Selim I defeated the Mamluk Sultanate, and made Egypt part of the Ottoman Empire.[176][177]
Unlike other governments in the area, Fatimid advancement in state offices was based more on merit than heredity. Members of other branches of Islam, including Sunnis, were just as likely to be appointed to government posts as Shiites. Tolerance covered non-Muslims such as Christians and Jews; they took high levels in government based on ability.[184] There were, however, exceptions to this general attitude of tolerance, notablyAl-Hakim bi-Amr Allah.
The Fatimid palace was in two parts. It was in theKhan el-Khalili area at Bin El-Quasryn street.[185]
During the beginning of the Middle Baghdad Abbasids, theFatimid Caliphs claimed spiritual supremacy not only in Egypt, but also contested the religious leadership of Syria. At the beginning of the Abbasid realm in Baghdad, the Alids faced severe persecution by the ruling party as they were a direct threat to the Caliphate. Owing to the Abbasid inquisitions, the forefathers opted for concealment of the Dawa's existence. Subsequently, they travelled towards the Iranian Plateau and distanced themselves from the epicenter of the political world. Al Mahdi's father, Al Husain al Mastoor returned to control the Dawa's affairs. He sent two Dai's to Yemen and Western Africa. Al Husain died soon after the birth of his son, Al Mahdi. A system of government helped update Al Mahdi on the development which took place in North Africa.[186]
Al MahdiAbdullah al-Mahdi Billah established the firstImam of the Fatimid dynasty. He claimed genealogic origins dating as far back as Fatimah through Husayn and Ismail. Al Mahdi established his headquarters at Salamiyah and moved towards north-western Africa, underAghlabid rule. His success of laying claim to being the precursor to the Mahdi was instrumental among the Berber tribes of North Africa, specifically the Kutamah tribe. Al Mahdi established himself at the former Aghlabid residence at Raqqadah, a suburb ofAl-Qayrawan in Tunisia. In 920, Al Mahdi took up residence at the newly established capital of the empire,Al-Mahdiyyah. After his death, Al Mahdi was succeeded by his son, Abu Al-Qasim Muhammad Al-Qaim, who continued his expansionist policy.[187] At the time of his death he had extended his reign to Morocco of theIdrisids, as well as Egypt itself. The Fatimid Caliphate grew to includeSicily and to stretch acrossNorth Africa from theAtlantic Ocean toLibya.[188] Abdullāh al-Mahdi's control soon extended over all of centralMaghreb, an area consisting of the modern countries ofMorocco,Algeria,Tunisia, andLibya, which he ruled fromMahdia, in Tunisia. Newly built capitalAl-Mansuriya,[Note 3] or Mansuriyya (Arabic:المنصوريه), nearKairouan,Tunisia, was the capital of the Fatimid Caliphate during the rules of the ImamsAl-Mansur Billah (r. 946–953) andAl-Mu'izz li-Din Allah (r. 953–975).
The Fatimid general Jawhar conquered Egypt in 969, and he built a new palace city there, near Fusṭāt, which he also called al-Manṣūriyya. UnderAl-Muizz Lideenillah, the Fatimids conquered theIkhshidid Wilayah (seeFatimid Egypt), founding a new capital atal-Qāhira (Cairo) in 969.[180] The name was a reference to the planet Mars, "The Subduer",[190] which was prominent in the sky at the moment that city construction started. Cairo was intended as a royal enclosure for the Fatimid caliph and his army, though the actual administrative and economic capital of Egypt was in cities such asFustat until 1169. After Egypt, the Fatimids continued to conquer the surrounding areas until they ruled from Tunisia toSyria, as well asSicily.
Under theFatimids, Egypt became the center of an empire that included at its peakNorth Africa, Sicily,Palestine,Jordan,Lebanon, Syria, theRed Sea coast of Africa,Tihamah,Hejaz, andYemen.[191] Egypt flourished, and the Fatimids developed an extensive trade network in both the Mediterranean and the Indian Ocean. Their trade and diplomatic ties extended all the way to China and itsSong dynasty, which eventually determined the economic course of Egypt during theHigh Middle Ages.
After the eighteenth Imam,al-Mustansir Billah, the Nizari sect believed that his sonNizar was his successor, while another Ismāʿīlī branch known as the Mustaali (from whom the Dawoodi Bohra would eventually descend), supported his other son,al-Musta'li. The Fatimid dynasty continued with al-Musta'li as both Imam and Caliph, and that joint position held until the 20th Imam,al-Amir bi-Ahkami l-Lah (1132). At the death of Imam Amir, one branch of the Mustaali faith claimed that he had transferred the imamate to his sonat-Tayyib Abi l-Qasim, who was then two years old.After the decay of the Fatimid political system in the 1160s, theZengid rulerNūr ad-Dīn had his general,Shirkuh, seize Egypt from the vizierShawar in 1169. Shirkuh died two months after taking power, and the rule went to his nephew,Saladin.[192] This began theAyyubid Sultanate of Egypt and Syria.
In the early period of the Crusades, the ChristianKingdom of Jerusalem emerged and for a time controlled Jerusalem. The Kingdom of Jerusalem and other smallerCrusader kingdoms over the next 90 years formed part of the complicated politics of theLevant, but did not threaten the Islamic Caliphate nor other powers in the region. AfterShirkuh ended Fatimid rule in 1169, uniting it with Syria, the Crusader kingdoms were faced with a threat, and his nephew Saladin reconquered most of the area in 1187, leaving the Crusaders holding a few ports.[194]
In theThird Crusade armies from Europe failed to recapture Jerusalem, though Crusader states lingered for several decades, and other crusades followed. The Christian Reconquista continued in Al-Andalus, and was eventually completed with thefall of Granada in 1492. During the low period of the Crusades, theFourth Crusade was diverted from the Levant and instead tookConstantinople, leaving the Eastern Roman Empire (now the Byzantine Empire) further weakened in their long struggle against theTurkish peoples to the east. However, the crusaders did manage to damage Islamic caliphates; according toWilliam of Malmesbury, preventing them from further expansion intoChristendom[195] and being targets of the Mamluks and the Mongols.
TheAyyubid dynasty was founded bySaladin and centered in Egypt. In 1174, Saladin proclaimed himself Sultan and conquered the Near East region. The Ayyubids ruled much of the Middle East during the 12th and 13th centuries, controlling Egypt, Syria, northern Mesopotamia, Hejaz, Yemen, and the North African coast up to the borders of modern-day Tunisia. After Saladin, his sons contested control over the sultanate, but Saladin's brother al-Adil eventually established himself in 1200. In the 1230s, Syria's Ayyubid rulers attempted to win independence from Egypt and remained divided until Egyptian Sultan as-Salih Ayyub restored Ayyubid unity by taking over most of Syria, excludingAleppo, by 1247. In 1250, the dynasty in the Egyptian region was overthrown by slave regiments. A number of attempts to recover it failed, led by an-Nasir Yusuf of Aleppo. In 1260, the Mongols sacked Aleppo and wrested control of what remained of the Ayyubid territories soon after.[196]
TheIlkhans ofChingisid descendence understood themselves as defenders of Islam, perhaps even as the legitimate heirs of the Abbasid Caliphate.[201](p59)Al-Nuwayri, stated that the Mongols had heavenly approval and would live in accordance with the restrictions ofIslamic law.[202] SomeSufi Muslim writers, such as the Persian poet and mysticJalāl ad-Dīn Muhammad Rūmī and his biographer Šams al-Dīn Aḥmad Aflākī, regarded the Mongols andTurkic peoples from theEurasian Steppe as morepious than theMuslim scholars,ascetics, andmuftis of their time, and hence expressed favor of their conquests, considering theinvasion as divine punishment fromGod.[201](p81) Aflaki identifies the invasion with ahadith, describing the Turks (and Mongols) as the army of Muhammad's wrath. In hisManaqib al-'Arifin, the Turks and Mongols are described as God's "punishment from hell", and by that, people who follow the will of the Creator.[203]
Many scholars had argued that the conversion of the Turks and Mongols has been filtered through the mediation ofPersian andCentral Asian culture.[199][204] Rather than converting to Islamic orthodoxy, they encountered Islam mostly through the preaching ofSufi Muslim wandering ascetics and mystics (fakirs anddervishes).[199][205] Recently this view has been challenged on grounds that a defined Islamic orthodoxy has not yet existed during the conversion of the Turks and Mongols.[199][203]
In the 13th to the 14th centuries, bothSunnī andShīʿa practices were intertwined, and historical figures commonly associated with the history of Shīʿa Islam, likeʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib andJaʿfar al-Ṣādiq (respectively, the first and sixthShīʿīte Imams), played an almost universal role for Muslim believers to understand "the Unseen" (al-Ghaib).[201](p24) A sharp distinction between Sunnī, Shīʿa, and heterodox Islamic beliefs did not exist. Therefore, ideas from foreign cultures were easier to integrate into the Islamic worldview.[199] During this era, the Persian Sufi poet and mysticJalaluddin Rumi (1207–1273) wrote his masterpiece, theMasnavi, which he believed to be "sent down" from God and understood it as theproper explanation of the Quran (tafsīr).[201](p97) According to Aflaki, the invading Mongols were impressed by Rumi's devotion to God, so they did not assault him, believing it would cause the wrath of God upon them.[203]
On the other hand, Turks and Mongols also faced criticism. Opposition to them have been formulated byIbn Taymiyya (1263–1328), who did not accept the Mongols' conversion to Sunnism.[206] Feeling threatened by theCrusaders and theMongols, ibn Taymiyya called for elimination bya militantjihād against whom he deemed "heretic", includingShias,al-Ashʿariyya andfalāsifa (philosophers),[207] and established his own theological doctrines.[208] His theology was characterized by a literal understanding of the Quran,[208][209] aphysicalist ontology,[210] and a rejection of most philosophical and mystical approaches in favor of a simplistic and dogmatic theology.[208]
Another unique characteristic of his theological approach was the importance of atheocratic state. Prior to ibn Taimiyya, religious wisdom was meant to guide governmental authorities, while ibn Taymiyya demandedpolitical power to promote religious piety.[208] Having a deep-rooting discern for the Mongols, ibn Taimiyya sought to pronouncetakfīr (excommunication) upon the Turco-Mongol rulers, despite their profession of theshahada (Islamic testimony of faith), or regular observance ofaṣ-Ṣalāh (obligatory prayers),sawm (fasting) and other expressions of religiosity.[211] His discipleibn Kathir ( d. 1373), propounded the same belief in histafsīr.[212]
During his lifetime, ibn Taimiyya played only a marginal role and most of his writings were rejected. He was repeatedly accused of blasphemy by anthropomorphizing God, and his discipleIbn Kathir distanced himself from his mentor.[213] Yet, some of Ibn Taymiyya's teaching influenced Ibn Kathir's methodology ontafsīr, discounted much of the exegetical tradition since then.[214][215] Only centuries later, amongWahhabis and in 21st centurySalafism, their writings gained notable importance.[207][208][209][216]
Ultimately, theIlkhanate,Golden Horde, and theChagatai Khanate – three of the four principal Mongol khanates – embraced Islam.[217][218][219] In power in Syria, Mesopotamia, Persia, and further east, over the rest of the 13th century gradually all converted to Islam. Most Ilkhanid rulers were replaced by the new Mongol power founded byTimur (himself a Muslim), who conquered Persia in the 1360s, and moved against theDelhi Sultanate in India and theOttoman Turks inAnatolia. Timur's ceaseless conquests were accompanied by displays of brutality matched only byChinggis Khan, whose example Timur consciously imitated.[220]Samarqand, the cosmopolitan capital of Timur's empire, flourished under his rule as never before, while Iran and Iraq suffered large-scale devastation.[220] Muslim scholars, such asNasir al-Din al-Tusi andQutb al-Din al-Shirazi, studied in theMaragheh observatory, erected byHulegu Khan.[221]
The Middle East was still recovering from theBlack Death, which may have killed one third of the population in the region. The plague began in China, and reachedAlexandria in Egypt in 1347, spreading over the following years to most Islamic areas. The combination of the plague and the wars left the Middle Eastern Islamic world in a seriously weakened position. TheTimurid dynasty would found many strong empires of Islam, including theMughals of India.[222][223]
Remarkable was the invention ofTamerlane Chess, reconstruction of the city ofSamarkand, and substantial contributions made by the family of SultanShah Rukh, which includesGawhar Shad, polymathUlugh Begh, andSultan Husayn Bayqara in the fields of astronomy, mathematics, and architecture. The empire received widespread support from multipleIslamic scholars and scientists. A number of Islamic learning centres and mosques were built, most notably theUlugh Beg Observatory.
The prosperity of the city ofHerat is said to have competed with those ofFlorence, the birthplace of theItalian Renaissance as the center of a cultural rebirth.[225][226]
In the 1260s, the Mongols sacked and controlled the Islamic Near East territories. The Mongol invaders were finally stopped by Egyptian Mamluks north of Jerusalem in 1260 at the pivotalBattle of Ain Jalut.[231] The Mamluks, who wereslave-soldiers predominantly ofTurkic,Caucasian, andSoutheastern European origins[232][233][234] (seeSaqaliba), forced out the Mongols (seeBattle of Ain Jalut) after the final destruction of the Ayyubid dynasty. The Mongols were again defeated by the Mamluks at theBattle of Hims a few months later, and then driven out of Syria altogether.[140] With this, the Mamluks were able to concentrate their forces and to conquer the last of theCrusader states in the Levant. Thus they united Syria and Egypt for the longest interval between the Abbasid and Ottoman empires (1250–1517).[235]
The Mamluks experienced a continual state of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the "Muslim territory" (Dar al-Islam) and "non-Muslim territory" (Dar al-Harb).[233] TheBattle of Ain Jalut and the gloriousBattle of Marj al-Saffar (1303), the latter partly led by ImamIbn Taymiyyah, marked the end of theMongol invasions of the Levant.Fatwas given during these conflicts changed the course ofPolitical Islam.[236] As part of their chosen role as defenders of Islamic orthodoxy, the Mamluks sponsored many religious buildings, including mosques,madrasas andkhanqahs. Though some construction took place in the provinces, the vast bulk of these projects expanded the capital. Many Mamluk buildings in Cairo have survived to this day, particularly in Old Cairo (for further informations, seeMamluk architecture).
The Arabs, under the command of the Berber GeneralTarik ibn Ziyad, first began their conquest of southern Spain or al-Andalus in 711. A raiding party led by Tarik was sent to intervene in a civil war in theVisigothic kingdom inHispania. Crossing theStrait of Gibraltar (named after the General), it won a decisive victory in the summer of 711 when the Visigothic kingRoderic was defeated and killed on 19 July at theBattle of Guadalete. Tariq's commander,Musa bin Nusair crossed with substantial reinforcements, and by 718 the Muslims dominated most of the peninsula. Some later Arabic and Christian sources present an earlier raid by a certainṬārif in 710 and also, the Ad Sebastianum recension of theChronicle of Alfonso III, refers to an Arab attack incited byErwig during the reign ofWamba (672–80). The two large armies may have been in the south for a year before the decisive battle was fought.[237]
The rulers of Al-Andalus were granted the rank ofEmir by theUmayyadCaliphAl-Walid I inDamascus. After theAbbasids came to power, some Umayyads fled to Muslim Spain to establish themselves there. By the end of the 10th century, the rulerAbd al-Rahman III took over the title ofCaliph of Córdoba (912–961).[238] Soon after, the Umayyads went on developing a strengthened state with its capital asCórdoba.Al-Hakam II succeeded to the Caliphate after the death of his father Abd ar-Rahman III in 961. He secured peace with the Christian kingdoms of northern Iberia,[239] and made use of the stability to develop agriculture through the construction of irrigation works.[240] Economic development was also encouraged through the widening of streets and the building of markets. The rule of the Caliphate is known as the heyday of Muslim presence in the peninsula.[241]
The Umayyad Caliphate collapsed in 1031 due to political divisions and civil unrest during the rule ofHicham II who was ousted because of his indolence.[242] Al-Andalus then broke up into a number of states calledtaifa kingdoms (Arabic,Muluk al-ṭawā'if; English, Petty kingdoms). The decomposition of the Caliphate into thosepetty kingdoms weakened the Muslims in the Iberian Peninsulavis-à-vis the Christian kingdoms of the north. Some of thetaifas, such as that of Seville, were forced to enter into alliances with Christian princes and pay tributes in money to Castille.[243]
Abd al-Rahman I and Bedr (a former Greek slave) escaped with their lives after the popular revolt known as theAbbasid Revolution. Rahman I continued south through Palestine, the Sinai, and then into Egypt. Rahman I was one of several surviving Umayyad family members to make a perilous trek to Ifriqiya at this time. Rahman I and Bedr reached modern day Morocco nearCeuta. Next step would be to cross to sea to al-Andalus, where Rahman I could not have been sure whether he would be welcome. Following theBerber Revolt (740s), the province was in a state of confusion, with theUmmah torn by tribal dissensions among the Arabs and racial tensions between the Arabs and Berbers. Bedr lined up three Syrian commanders –Obeid Allah ibn Uthman andAbd Allah ibn Khalid, both originally of Damascus, and Yusuf ibn Bukht of Qinnasrin and contacted al-Sumayl (then inZaragoza) to get his consent, but al-Sumayl refused, fearing Rahman I would try to make himself emir. After discussion with Yemenite commanders, Rahman I was told to go to al-Andalus. Shortly thereafter, he set off with Bedr and a small group of followers for Europe. Abd al-Rahman landed atAlmuñécar in al-Andalus, to the east ofMálaga.
During his brief time in Málaga, he quickly amassed local support. News of the prince's arrival spread throughout the peninsula. In order to help speed his ascension to power, he took advantage of the feuds and dissensions. However, before anything could be done, trouble broke out in northern al-Andalus. Abd al-Rahman and his followers were able tocontrol Zaragoza. Rahman I fought to rule al-Andalus in a battle at theGuadalquivir river, just outside Córdoba on the plains of Musarah (Battle of Musarah). Rahman I was victorious, chasing his enemies from the field with parts of their army. Rahman I marched into the capital, Córdoba, fighting off acounterattack, but negotiations ended the confrontation. After Rahman I consolidated power, he proclaimed himself the al-Andalus emir. Rahman I did not claim the Muslim caliph, though.[244] The last step was to have al-Fihri's general, al-Sumayl, garroted in Córdoba's jail. Al-Andalus was asafe haven for the house of Umayya that managed to evade the Abbasids.[245]
In Baghdad, the Abbasid caliphal-Mansur had planned to depose the emir. Rahman I and his army confronted the Abbasids, killing most of the Abbasid army. The main Abbasid leaders were decapitated, their heads preserved in salt, with identifying tags pinned to their ears. The heads were bundled in a gruesome package and sent to the Abbasid caliph who was on pilgrimage at Mecca. Rahman I quelled repeated rebellions in al-Andalus. He began the building of the great mosque [cordova], and formed ship-yards along the coast; he is moreover said to have been the first to transplant the palm and the pomegranate into the congenial climate of Spain: and he encouraged science and literature in his states. He died on 29 September 788, after a reign of thirty-four years and one month.[246]
The exterior of the Mezquita.
Rahman I's successor was his sonHisham I. Born in Córdoba, he built manymosques and completed theMezquita. He called for ajihad that resulted in a campaign against theKingdom of Asturias and theCounty of Toulouse; in this second campaign he was defeated at Orange byWilliam of Gellone, first cousin toCharlemagne. His successorAl-Hakam I came to power and was challenged by his uncles, other sons of Rahman I. One, Abdallah, went to the court of Charlemagne inAix-la-Chapelle to negotiate for aid. In the meantime Córdoba was attacked, but was defended. Hakam I spent much of his reign suppressing rebellions in Toledo, Saragossa and Mérida.[247]
Abd ar-Rahman II succeeded his father and engaged in nearly continuous warfare againstAlfonso II of Asturias, whose southward advance he halted. Rahman II repulsed an assault byVikings who had disembarked inCádiz, conqueredSeville (with the exception of itscitadel) and attacked Córdoba. Thereafter he constructed a fleet and navalarsenal atSeville to repel future raids. He responded toWilliam of Septimania's requests of assistance in his struggle againstCharles the Bald's nominations.[248]
Muhammad I's reign was marked by the movements of theMuwallad (ethnic Iberian Muslims) andMozarabs (Muslim-Iberia Christians). Muhammad I was succeeded by his sonMundhir I. During the reign of his father, Mundhir I commanded military operations against the neighbouring Christian kingdoms and the Muwallad rebellions. At his father's death, he inherited the throne. During his two-year reign, Mundhir I fought againstUmar ibn Hafsun. He died in 888 at Bobastro, succeeded by his brotherAbdullah ibn Muhammad al-Umawi.
Umawi showed no reluctance to dispose of those he viewed as a threat. His government was marked by continuous wars between Arabs, Berbers and Muwallad. His power as emir was confined to the area of Córdoba, while the rest had been seized by rebel families. The son he had designated as successor was killed by one of Umawi's brothers. The latter was in turn executed by Umawi's father, who named as successorAbd ar-Rahman III, son of the killed son of Umawi.[249][250][251]
TheGreat Mosque of Kairouan also known as the Mosque of Uqba was established in 670 by the Arab general and conqueror Uqba ibn Nafi, it is the oldest mosque in the Maghreb, situated in the city ofKairouan,Tunisia.
This part of Islamic territory has had independent governments during most of Islamic history. TheIdrisid were the first Arab rulers in the westernMaghreb (Morocco), ruling from 788 to 985. The dynasty is named after its firstsultanIdris I.[254]
TheAlmoravid dynasty was a Berber dynasty from theSahara flourished over a wide area of North-Western Africa and theIberian Peninsula during the 11th century. Under this dynasty theMoorish empire was extended over present-day Morocco, Western Sahara, Mauritania, Gibraltar,Tlemcen (in Algeria) and a part of what is nowSenegal andMali in the south, and Spain and Portugal in the north.[255]
TheAlmohad Dynasty or "the Unitarians", were a Berber Muslim religious power which founded the fifthMoorish dynasty in the 12th century, and conquered all Northern Africa as far as Egypt, together with Al-Andalus.[256]
The history of Islam in theHorn of Africa is almost as old as the faith itself. Through extensive trade and social interactions with their converted Muslim trading partners on the other side of theRed Sea, in theArabian peninsula, merchants and sailors in the Horn region gradually came under the influence of the new religion.[257]
Early Islamic disciples fled to the port city ofZeila in modern-day northernSomalia to seek protection from theQuraysh at the court of theEmperor of Aksum. Some of the Muslims that were granted protection are said to have then settled in several parts of the Horn region to promote the religion. The victory of the Muslims over the Quraysh in the 7th century had a significant impact on local merchants and sailors, as their trading partners in Arabia had by then all adopted Islam, and the major trading routes in theMediterranean and the Red Sea came under the sway of theMuslim Caliphs. Instability in the Arabian peninsula saw further migrations of early Muslim families to the Somali seaboard. These clans came to serve as catalysts, forwarding the faith to large parts of the Horn region.[257]
Islam came to theSwahili coast and South Eastern Africa along existing trade routes.[258] They learned from them the manners of the Muslims and this led to their conversion by the Muslim Arabs.
Local Islamic governments centered inTanzania (thenZanzibar). The people ofZayd were Muslims that immigrated to the region. In the pre-colonial period, the structure of Islamic authority here was held up through theUlema (wanawyuonis, inSwahili language). These leaders had some degree of authority over most of the Muslims in South East Africa before territorial boundaries were established. The chiefQadi there was recognized for having the final religious authority.[259]
On theIndian subcontinent, Islam first appeared in the southwestern tip of the peninsula, in today'sKerala state. Arabs traded withMalabar even before the birth of Muhammad. Native legends say that a group ofSahaba, underMalik Ibn Deenar, arrived on theMalabar Coast and preached Islam. According to that legend,the first mosque of India was built by Second Chera King Cheraman Perumal, who accepted Islam and received the nameTajudheen. Historical records suggest that theCheraman Perumal Mosque was built in around 629.[260]
Islamic rule first came to the Indian subcontinent in the 8th century, whenMuhammad bin Qasim conqueredSindh, though this was a short-lived consolidation of Indian territory. Islamic conquests expanded underMahmud of Ghazni in the 12th century CE, resulting in the establishment of theGhaznavid Empire in the Indus River basin and the subsequent prominence ofLahore as an eastern bastion of Ghaznavid culture and rule. Ghaznavid rule was eclipsed by theGhurid Empire ofMuhammad of Ghor andGhiyath al-Din Muhammad, whose domain under the conquests ofMuhammad bin Bakhtiyar Khalji extended until theBengal, where IndianIslamic missionaries achieved their greatest success in terms ofdawah and number of converts toIslam.[261][262][page needed]Qutb-ud-din Aybak conqueredDelhi in 1206 and began the reign of theDelhi Sultanate,[263] a successive series of dynasties that synthesized Indian civilization with the wider commercial and cultural networks of Africa and Eurasia, greatly increased demographic and economic growth in India and deterred Mongol incursion into the prosperousIndo-Gangetic plain and enthroned one of the few female Muslim rulers,Razia Sultana.
Many prominent sultanates and emirates administered various regions of the Indian subcontinent from the 13th to the 16th centuries, such as theQutb Shahi,Gujarat,Kashmir,Bengal,Bijapur andBahmani Sultanates, but none rivaled the power and extensive reach of theMughal Empire at its zenith.[264] The Bengal Sultanate in particular was a major global trading nation in the world, described by the Europeans to be the "richest country to trade with",[265] while the Shah Mir dynasty ensured the gradual conversion ofKashmiris to Islam.
Persian culture, art, language, cuisine and literature grew in prominence in India due to Islamic administration and the immigration of soldiers, bureaucrats, merchants, Sufis, artists, poets, teachers and architects from Iran and Central Asia, resulting in the early development ofIndo-Persian culture.
Islam first reachedMaritime Southeast Asia through traders from Mecca in the 7th century,[140] particularly via the western part of what is nowIndonesia. Arab traders from Yemen already had a presence in Asia through trading and travelling by sea, serving as intermediary traders to and from Europe and Africa. They traded not only Arabian goods but also goods from Africa, India, and so on which included ivory, fragrances, spices, and gold.[266]
According toT. W. Arnold inThe Preaching of Islam, by the 2nd century of theIslamic calendar, Arab traders had been trading with the inhabitants ofCeylon, modern-day Sri Lanka. The same argument has been told by Dr. B.H. Burger and Dr. Mr. Prajudi inSedjarah Ekonomis Sosiologis Indonesia (History of Socio Economic of Indonesia).[267] According to an atlas created by the geographer Al-Biruni (973–1048), the Indian or Indonesian Ocean used to be called the Persian Ocean. After Western Imperialist rule, this name was changed to reflect the name used today; the Indian Ocean.[268]
As Islam spread, societal changes developed from the individual conversions, and five centuries later it emerged as a dominant cultural and political power in the region. Three main Muslim political powers emerged. TheAceh Sultanate was the most important, controlling much of the area between Southeast Asia and India from its centre in northernSumatra. The Sultanate also attractedSufi poets. The second Muslim power was theSultanate of Malacca on the Malay Peninsula. TheSultanate of Demak on Java was the third power, where the emerging Muslim forces defeated the localMajapahit kingdom in the early 16th century.[271] Although the sultanate managed to expand its territory somewhat, its rule remained brief.[140]
Portuguese forces captured Malacca in 1511 under naval generalAfonso de Albuquerque. With Malacca subdued, theAceh Sultanate andBruneian Empire established themselves as centres of Islam in Southeast Asia. The Sultanate's territory, although vastly diminished, remains intact to this day as the modern state ofBrunei Darussalam.[140]
In China, four Sahabas (Sa'ad ibn abi Waqqas, Wahb Abu Kabcha,Jafar ibn Abu Talib andJahsh ibn Riyab) preached in 616/17 and onwards after following theChittagong–Kamrup–Manipur route after sailing fromAbyssinia in 615/16. After conquering Persia in 636, Sa'ad ibn abi Waqqas went withSa'id ibn Zaid,Qais ibn Sa'd andHassan ibn Thabit to China in 637 taking the complete Quran. Sa'ad ibn abi Waqqas headed for China for the third time in 650–51 after Caliph Uthman asked him to lead an embassy to China, which the Chinese emperor received.[272]
According to Ottoman historiography, thelegitimation of a ruler is attributed toSheikh Edebali who interpreted a dream ofOsman Gazi as God's legitimation of his reign.[274] SinceMurad I'sconquest of Edirne in 1362, the caliphate was claimed by the Turkish sultans of the empire.[275] During the period of Ottoman growth, claims on caliphal authority were recognized in 1517 asSelim I became the "Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques" in Mecca and Medina through the conquering and unification of Muslim lands, strengthening their claim to the caliphate in theMuslim world.[276]
The Seljuq Turks declined in the second half of the 13th century, after theMongol invasion of Anatolia.[277] This resulted in the establishment of multiple Turkish principalities, known asbeyliks.Osman I, the founder of theOttoman dynasty, assumed leadership of one of these principalities (Söğüt) at the end of the 13th century, succeeding his fatherErtuğrul. Osman I afterwards led it in a series of battles with the Byzantine Empire.[278] By 1331, theOttoman Turks had capturedNicaea, the former Byzantine capital, under the leadership of Osman's son and successor,Orhan I.[279] Victory at theBattle of Kosovo against theSerbian Empire in 1389 then facilitated their expansion into Europe. The Ottomans were established in the Balkans and Anatolia by the timeBayezid I ascended to power in the same year, now at the helm of a growing empire.[280]
The Ottoman Empire and sphere of influence at itsgreatest extent (1683)
Growth halted when Mongol warlordTimur (also known as "Tamerlane") captured Bayezid I in theBattle of Ankara in 1402, beginning theOttoman Interregnum. This episode was characterized by the division of the Ottoman territory amongst Bayezid I's sons, who submitted toTimurid authority. When a number of Ottoman territories regained independent status, ruin for the Empire loomed. However, the empire recovered as the youngest son of Bayezid I,Mehmed I, waged offensive campaigns against his ruling brothers, thereby reunitingAsia Minor and declaring himself sultan in 1413.[140] Around 1512 theOttoman naval fleet developed under the rule ofSelim I,[281] such that the Ottoman Turks were able to challenge theRepublic of Venice, anaval power which established itsthalassocracy alongside the otherItalianmaritime republics upon theMediterranean Region.[282] They also attempted to reconquer the Balkans. By the time of Mehmed I's grandson,Mehmed II (ruled 1444–1446; 1451–1481), the Ottomans could lay siege toConstantinople, the capital of Byzantium. A factor in this siege was the use ofmuskets and largecannons introduced by the Ottomans. The Byzantine fortresssuccumbed in 1453, after 54 days of siege. Without its capital the Byzantine Empire disintegrated.[140] The future successes of the Ottomans and later empires would depend upon the exploitation ofgunpowder.[273]
In the early 16th century, the ShiʿiteSafavid dynasty assumed control in Persia under the leadership ofShahIsmail I, defeating the rulingTurcoman federationAq Qoyunlu (also called the "White Sheep Turkomans") in 1501. The Ottoman sultanSelim I sought to repel Safavid expansion, challenging and defeating them at theBattle of Chaldiran in 1514. Selim I also deposed the ruling Mamluks in Egypt, absorbing their territories in 1517.Suleiman I (nicknamed "Suleiman the Magnificent"), Selim I's successor, took advantage of the diversion of Safavid focus to theUzbeks on the eastern frontier and recaptured Baghdad, which had fallen under Safavid control. Despite this, Safavid power remained substantial, rivalling the Ottomans. Suleiman I advanced deep into Hungary following theBattle of Mohács in 1526 –reaching as far as the gates of Vienna thereafter, and signed a Franco-Ottoman alliance withFrancis I of France againstCharles V of theHoly Roman Empire 10 years later. While Suleiman I's rule (1520–1566) is often identified as the apex of Ottoman power, the empire continued to remain powerful and influential until a relative fall in its military strength in the second half of the 18th century.[283][284]
In 1524,Tahmasp I acceded to the throne, initiating a revival of the arts.Carpetmaking became a major industry. The tradition ofPersian miniature painting in manuscripts reached its peak, until Tahmasp turned to strict religious observance in middle age, prohibiting the consumption ofalcohol andhashish and removingcasinos,taverns, andbrothels. Tahmasp's nephewIbrahim Mirza continued to patronize a last flowering of the arts until he was murdered, after which many artists were recruited by theMughal dynasty.
Tahmasp's grandson,Shah Abbas I, restored the shrine of the eighth Twelver Shīʿīte Imam,Ali al-Ridha atMashhad, and restored the dynastic shrine atArdabil. Both shrines received jewelry, fine manuscripts, and Chinese porcelains. Abbas moved the capital toIsfahan, revived old ports, and established thriving trade with Europeans. Amongst Abbas' most visible cultural achievements was the construction ofNaqsh-e Jahan Square ("Design of the World"). The plaza, located near a Friday mosque, covered 20 acres (81,000 m2).[296] TheSafavid dynasty was toppled in 1722 by theHotaki dynasty, which ended their forceful conversion of Sunni areas to Twelver Shīʿīsm.
The beginning of the empire is conventionally dated to the victory by its founderBabur overIbrahim Lodi, the last ruler of theDelhi Sultanate, in theFirst Battle of Panipat (1526). During the reign ofHumayun, the successor of Babur, the empire was briefly interrupted by theSur Empire established bySher Shah Suri, who re-established theGrand Trunk Road across the northern Indian subcontinent, initiated therupee currency system and developed much of the foundations of the effective administration of Mughal rule. The "classic period" of the Mughal Empire began in 1556, with the ascension ofAkbar to the throne. Some Rajput kingdoms continued to pose a significant threat to the Mughal dominance of northwestern India, but most of them were subdued by Akbar. All Mughal emperors wereMuslims; Akbar, however, propounded a syncretic religion in the latter part of his life calledDīn-i Ilāhī, as recorded in historical books likeAin-i-Akbari andDabistān-i Mazāhib.[307] The Mughal Empire did not try to intervene in native societies during most of its existence, rather co-opting and pacifying them through concilliatory administrative practices[308][309] and a syncretic, inclusive ruling elite,[310] leading to more systematic, centralized and uniform rule.[311] Traditional and newly coherent social groups in northern and western India, such as theMarathas, theRajputs, thePashtuns, theHindu Jats and theSikhs, gained military and governing ambitions during Mughal rule which, through collaboration or adversity, gave them both recognition and military experience.[312][313][314][315]
After the death ofAurangzeb, which marks the end of Medieval India and beginning of the European colonialism in India, internal dissatisfaction arose due to the weakness of the empire's administrative and economic systems, leading to its break-up and declarations of independence of its former provinces by theNawab of Bengal, theNawab of Awadh, theNizam of Hyderabad, the major economic and military power known asKingdom of Mysore ruled byTipu Sultan and other small states. In 1739, the Mughals were crushingly defeated in theBattle of Karnal by the forces ofNader Shah, the founder of theAfsharid dynasty in Persia, and Delhi wassacked and looted, drastically accelerating their decline.
"Why do the Christian nations, which were so weak in the past compared with Muslim nations begin to dominate so many lands in modern times and even defeat the once victorious Ottoman armies?"..."Because they have laws and rules invented by reason."
The modern age brought technological and organizational changes to Europe while the Islamic region continued the patterns of earlier centuries. The Europeangreat powers globalized economically and colonized much of the region.[citation needed]
By the end of the 19th century, the Ottoman Empire had declined. The decision to backGermany inWorld War I meant they shared theCentral Powers' defeat in that war. The defeat led to the overthrow of the Ottomans by Turkish nationalists led by the victorious general of theBattle of Gallipoli:Mustafa Kemal, who became known to his people as Atatürk, "Father of the Turks." Atatürk was credited with renegotiating thetreaty of Sèvres (1920) which ended Turkey's involvement in the war and establishing the modernRepublic of Turkey, which was recognized by theAllies in theTreaty of Lausanne (1923). Atatürk went on to implement an ambitious program of modernization that emphasized economic development andsecularization. He transformed Turkish culture to reflect European laws, adoptedArabic numerals, theLatin script, separated the religious establishment from the state, and emancipated woman—even giving them the right to vote in parallel withwomen's suffrage in the west.[325]
During the First World War, the Allies cooperated with Arab partisans against the Ottoman Empire, both groups being united in opposition to a common enemy. The most prominent example of this was during theArab Revolt, when the British, led by secret intelligence agentT. E. Lawrence—better known as "Lawrence of Arabia" cooperated with Arabguerillas against the Ottoman forces, eventually securing the withdrawal of all Ottoman troops from the region by 1918. Following the end of the war, the vast majority of former Ottoman territory outside of Asia Minor was handed over to the victorious European powers asprotectorates. However, many Arabs were left dismayed by theBalfour Declaration, which directly contradicted theMcMahon–Hussein Correspondence publicized only a year earlier.[326] Ottoman successor states include today'sAlbania,Bosnia and Herzegovina,Bulgaria, Egypt, Greece, Iraq,Israel, Lebanon,Romania,Saudi Arabia,Serbia,Syria,Jordan, Turkey, Balkan states, North Africa and the north shore of theBlack Sea.[327]
Many Muslim countries sought to adopt European political organization andnationalism began to emerge in the Muslim world. Countries like Egypt, Syria and Turkey organized their governments and sought to develop national pride among their citizens. Other places, like Iraq, were not as successful due to a lack of unity and an inability to resolve age-old prejudices between Muslim sects and against non-Muslims.
Some Muslim countries, such as Turkey and Egypt, sought to separate Islam from the secular government. In other cases, such as Saudi Arabia, the government brought out religious expression in the re-emergence of the puritanical form of Sunni Islam known to its detractors asWahabism, which found its way into theSaudi royal family.
TheSix-Day War of 5–10 June 1967, was fought betweenIsrael and the neighbouring states ofEgypt,Jordan, andSyria. The Arab countries closed theSuez Canal and it was followed in May 1970 by the closure of the "tapline" fromSaudi Arabia through Syria toLebanon. These developments had the effect of increasing the importance ofpetroleum inLibya, which is a short (and canal-free) shipping distance from Europe. In 1970,Occidental Petroleum broke with other oil companies and accepted the Arab demands for price increases.
In October 1973, a new war between Israel and its Muslim neighbours, known as theYom Kippur War, broke out just as the oil companies began meeting with theOrganization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries (OAPEC). Its leaders had been emboldened by the success ofSadat's campaigns and the war strengthened their unity. In response to the emergency resupply effort by theWestern Bloc that enabled Israel to put up a resistance against the Egyptian and Syrian forces, the Arab world imposed the1973 oil embargo against the United States and Western Europe. Faisal agreed that Saudi Arabia would use some of its oil wealth to finance the "front-line states", those that bordered Israel, in their struggle. The centrality of petroleum, theArab–Israeli conflict, political and economic instability, and uncertainty about the future remain constant features of the politics of the region.
Many countries, individuals, andnon-governmental organizations elsewhere in the world feel involved in this conflict for reasons such as cultural and religious ties with Islam,Arab culture,Christianity,Judaism,Jewish culture, or for ideological,human rights, or strategic reasons. Although some consider the Arab–Israeli conflict a part of (or a precursor to) a widerclash of civilizations between theWestern world and theMuslim world,[328][329] others oppose this view.[330] Animosity emanating from this conflict has caused numerous attacks on supporters (or perceived supporters) of each side by supporters of the other side in many countries around the world.
In 1979 theIranian revolution transformedIran from a constitutional monarchy to apopulisttheocraticIslamic republic under the rule ofAyatollahRuhollah Khomeini, a Shi'i Muslim cleric andmarja. Following the Revolution, a new constitution was approved and a referendum established the government, electing Ruhollah Khomeini asSupreme Leader. During the following two years, liberals, leftists, and Islamic groups fought each other, and the Islamics captured power.
The development of the two opposite fringes, theSafavid conversion of Iran to Shia Islam, the Twelver Shia version, and its reinforcement by theIranian revolution and theSalafi in Saudi Arabia, coupled with theIran–Saudi Arabia relations resulted in these governments using sectarian conflict to enhance their political interests.[331][332] Gulf states such as Saudi Arabia and Kuwait (despite being hostile to Iraq) encouragedSaddam Hussein to invade Iran,[333] which resulted in theIran–Iraq War, as they feared that an Islamic revolution would take place within their own borders. Certain Iranian exiles also helped convince Saddam that if he invaded, the fledgling Islamic republic would quickly collapse.
^"Key themes in these early recitations include the idea of the moral responsibility of man who was created by God and the idea of the judgment to take place on the day of resurrection. [...] Another major theme of Muhammad's early preaching, [... is that] there is a power greater than man's, and that the wise will acknowledge this power and cease their greed and suppression of the poor."[8]
^"At first Muhammad met with no serious opposition [...] He was only gradually led to attack on principle the gods of Mecca. [...] Meccan merchants then discovered that a religious revolution might be dangerous to their fairs and their trade."[8]
^The nameMansuriyya means "the victorious", after its founder Ismāʿīl Abu Tahir Ismail Billah, calledal-Mansur, "the victor."[189]
^Nanda, J. N (2005).Bengal: the unique state. Concept Publishing Company. p. 10. 2005.ISBN978-81-8069-149-2.Bengal [...] was rich in the production and export of grain, salt, fruit, liquors and wines, precious metals and ornaments besides the output of its handlooms in silk and cotton. Europe referred to Bengal as the richest country to trade with.
^Borrut A., "From Arabia to the Empire - conquest and caliphal construction in early Islam", in The Historians' Quran , vol. 1 , 2019, pp. 249-289
^Under theUmayyad caliphʿAbd al-Malik ibn Marwān, theDome of the Rock was built inJerusalem (691–692). There the wordIslām appears for the first time. Until this moment the Muslims called themselves simply "believers", and coins were minted in the Arabic empire showing Christian symbols. Ibn Marwān also plays a major role in thereworking of the Quranic text. See: Patricia Crone / Michael Cook:Hagarism (1977) p. 29; Yehuda D. Nevo:Crossroads to Islam: The Origins of the Arab Religion and the Arab State (2003) pp. 410-413; Karl-Heinz Ohlig (Hrsg.):Der frühe Islam. Eine historisch-kritische Rekonstruktion anhand zeitgenössischer Quellen (2007) pp. 336 ff.
^Patricia Crone / Michael Cook:Hagarism (1977) pp. 22-24; Patricia Crone:Meccan Trade and the Rise of Islam (1987); and the private researcher Dan Gibson:Quranic Geography (2011)
^"Chapter 1. "A Prophet Has Appeared, Coming with the Saracens": Muhammad's Leadership during the Conquest of Palestine According to Seventh- and Eighth-Century Sources". The Death of a Prophet: The End of Muhammad's Life and the Beginnings of Islam, Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2012, pp. 18-72.https://doi.org/10.9783/9780812205138.18
^G. R. Hawting:The Idea of Idolatry and the Rise of Islam: From Polemic to History (1999); Fred Donner:Muhammad and the Believers. At the Origins of Islam (2010) p. 59
^Fred Donner:Muhammad and the Believers. At the Origins of Islam (2010) pp. 68 ff.; cf. also Hans Jansen: Mohammed (2005/7) pp. 311-317 (German edition 2008)
^Robert G. Hoyland:In God's Path. The Arab Conquests and the Creation of an Islamic Empire (2015)
^Donner,Muhammad and the Believers. At the Origins of Islam (Harvard University Press; 2010)ISBN978-0-674-05097-6
^Patricia Crone / Michael Cook:Hagarism (1977) p. 29; Yehuda D. Nevo:Crossroads to Islam: The Origins of the Arab Religion and the Arab State (2003) pp. 410-413; Karl-Heinz Ohlig (Hrsg.):Der frühe Islam. Eine historisch-kritische Rekonstruktion anhand zeitgenössischer Quellen (2007) pp. 336 ff.
^Patricia Crone:Slaves on Horses. The Evolution of the Islamic Polity (1980) pp. 7, 12, 15; also: Hans Jansen:Mohammed (2005/7)
^Reynolds, G. S. (2005). Crossroads to Islam: The Origins of the Arab Religion and the Arab State.
^"The very first question a biographer has to ask, namely when the person was born, cannot be answered precisely for Muhammad. [...] Muhammad's biographers usually make him 40 or sometimes 43 years old at the time of his call to be a prophet, which [...] would put the year of his birth at about 570 A.D." F. Buhl & A.T. Welch,Encyclopaedia of Islam 2nd ed., "Muhammad", vol. 7, p. 361.
^"Key themes in these early recitations include the idea of the moral responsibility of man who was created by God and the idea of the judgment to take place on the day of resurrection. [...] Another major theme of Muhammad's early preaching, [... is that] there is a power greater than man's, and that the wise will acknowledge this power and cease their greed and suppression of the poor." F. Buhl & A.T. Welch,Encyclopaedia of Islam 2nd ed., "Muhammad", vol. 7, p. 363.
^"At first Muhammad met with no serious opposition [...] He was only gradually led to attack on principle the gods of Mecca. [...] Meccan merchants then discovered that a religious revolution might be dangerous to their fairs and their trade." F. Buhl & A.T. Welch,Encyclopaedia of Islam 2nd ed., "Muhammad", vol. 7, p. 364.
^W. Montgomery Watt (1956).Muhammad at Medina. Oxford at the Clarendon Press. pp. 1–17,192–221.
^For example,Maududi, the leader of the Jamaat-e-Islami organization, was one of the leading representatives of this view. According to Maududi, one of the purposes of sending prophets was the establishment of a state governed by divine laws (Maududi, 2006: 73)https://dergipark.org.tr/en/download/article-file/1319648
^It is not possible to find a verse that signifies any other characteristic of Muhammad rather than his prophethood and gives him the right of coercion explicitly, which is one of the essential requirements of ruling. The dilemma of the view that claims that Muhammad was given the task of establishing a state in addition to his duty of notification begins at this point. If Muhammad was given the duty of establishing a state by divine power, the privilege of using force on his followers should also have been given (Dabashi, 1989: 37-38).https://dergipark.org.tr/en/download/article-file/1319648
^"The immediate outcome of the Muslim victories was turmoil. Medina's victories led allied tribes to attack the non-aligned to compensate for their own losses. The pressure drove tribes [...] across the imperial frontiers. The Bakr tribe, which had defeated a Persian detachment in 606, joined forces with the Muslims and led them on a raid in southern Iraq [...] A similar spilling over of tribal raiding occurred on the Syrian frontiers. Abu Bakr encouraged these movements [...] What began as inter-tribal skirmishing to consolidate a political confederation in Arabia ended as a full-scale war against the two empires."Lapidus (2002, p. 32)
^"In dealing with captured leaders Abu Bakr showed great clemency, and many became active supporters of the cause of Islam." W. Montgomery Watt,Encyclopaedia of Islam 2nd ed., "Abu Bakr", vol. 1, p. 110. "Umar's subsequent decision (reversing the exclusionary policy of Abu Bakr) to allow those tribes which had rebelled during the course of the Ridda wars and been subdued to participate in the expanding incursions into and attacks on the Fertile Crescent [...] incorporated the defeated Arabs into the polity as Muslims."Berkey (2003, p. 71)
^[N]on-Muslim sources allow us to perceive an additional advantage, namely, that Arabs had been serving in the armies of Byzantium and Persia long before Islam; they had acquired valuable training in the weaponry and military tactics of the empires and had become to some degree acculturated to their ways. In fact, these sources hint that we should view many in Muhammad's west Arabian coalition, its settled members as well as its nomads, not so much as outsiders seeking to despoil the empires but as insiders trying to grab a share of the wealth of their imperial masters.Hoyland (2014, p. 227)
^Album, Stephen; Bates, Michael L.;Floor, Willem (30 December 2012) [15 December 1992]."COINS AND COINAGE".Encyclopædia Iranica. Vol. VI/1.New York:Columbia University. pp. 14–41.doi:10.1163/2330-4804_EIRO_COM_7783.ISSN2330-4804.Archived from the original on 17 May 2015. Retrieved23 May 2022.As the Arabs of the Ḥejāz had used thedrahms of the Sasanian emperors, the only silver coinage in the world at that time, it was natural for them to leave many of the Sasanian mints in operation, striking coins like those of the emperors in every detail except for the addition of brief Arabic inscriptions likebesmellāh in the margins. [...] In the year 79/698 reformed Islamic dirhams with inscriptions and no images replaced the Sasanian types at nearly all mints. During this transitional period in the 690s specifically Muslim inscriptions appeared on the coins for the first time; previously Allāh (God) had been mentioned but not the prophet Moḥammad, and there had been no reference to any Islamic doctrines. Owing to civil unrest (e.g., the revolt of ʿAbd-al-Raḥmān b. Ašʿaṯ, q.v., against Ḥajjāj in 81/701), coins of Sasanian type continued to be issued at certain mints in Fārs, Kermān, and Sīstān, but by 84/703 these mints had either been closed down or converted to production of the new dirhams. The latest known Arab-Sasanian coin, an extraordinary issue, is dated 85/704-05, though some mints in the east, still outside Muslim control, continued producing imitation Arab-Sasanian types for perhaps another century.
^Islam: An Illustrated History by Greville Stewart Parker Freeman-Grenville, Stuart Christopher Munro-Hay p. 40
^R. B. Serjeant (1978). "Sunnah Jami'ah, pacts with the Yathrib Jews, and the Tahrim of Yathrib: analysis and translation of the documents comprised in the so-called 'Constitution of Medina'".Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies.41:1–42.doi:10.1017/S0041977X00057761.S2CID161485671.
^R. B. Serjeant (1964). "The Constitution of Medina".Islamic Quarterly.8: 4.
^Blankinship, Khalid Yahya (1994).The End of the Jihad State, the Reign of Hisham Ibn 'Abd-al Malik and the collapse of the Umayyads. State University of New York Press. p. 37.ISBN978-0-7914-1827-7.
^Kokab wa Rifi Fazal-e-Ali Karam Allah Wajhu, Page 484, by Syed Mohammed Subh-e-Kashaf AlTirmidhi, Urdu translation by Syed Sharif Hussein Sherwani Sabzawari, Published by Aloom AlMuhammed, number B12 Shadbagh, Lahore, 1 January 1963. p. 484.
^In the Al-Andalus (the Iberian Peninsula), North Africa and in the east populations revolted. In A.H. 102 (720–721) in Ifriqiyah, the harsh governor Yazid ibn Muslim was overthrown and Muhammad ibn Yazid, the former governor, restored to power. The caliph accepted this and confirmed Muhammad ibn Yazid as governor of Ifriqiyah.
^*Eggenberger, David (1985).An Encyclopedia of Battles: Accounts of Over 1,560 Battles from 1479 BC. to the Present. Courier Dover Publications.ISBN0-486-24913-1 p. 3.
^abc"Abbasid Dynasty",The New Encyclopædia Britannica (2005)
^abBrague, Rémi (2009).The Legend of the Middle Ages: Philosophical Explorations of Medieval Christianity, Judaism, and Islam. University of Chicago Press. p. 164.ISBN9780226070803.Neither were there any Muslims among the Ninth-Century translators. Almost all of them were Christians of various Eastern denominations: Jacobites, Melchites, and, above all, Nestorians... A few others were Sabians.
^Hill, Donald.Islamic Science and Engineering. 1993. Edinburgh Univ. Press.ISBN0-7486-0455-3, p.4
^An universal history: from the earliest accounts to the present time, Volume 2 By George Sale, George Psalmanazar, Archibald Bower, George Shelvocke, John Campbell, John Swinton.p. 319
^Chamber's Encyclopaedia: A Dictionary of Universal Knowledge, Volume 5. W. & R. Chambers, 1890.p. 567.
^Johannes P. Schadé (ed.). Encyclopedia of World Religions.
^Muhammad ibn Jarir al-Tabari History volume xxxi, "The War Between Brothers," transl. Michael Fishbein, SUNY, Albany, 1992
^Hindu rebellions in Sindh were put down, and most of Afghanistan was absorbed with the surrender of the leader of Kabul. Mountainous regions of Iran were brought under a tighter grip of the central Abbasid government, as were areas of Turkestan. There were disturbances in Iraq during the first several years of Al-Ma'mun's reign. Egypt continued to be unquiet. Sindh was rebellious, but Ghassan ibn Abbad subdued it. An ongoing problem for Al-Ma'mun was the uprising headed by Babak Khorramdin. In 214 Babak routed a Caliphate army, killing its commander Muhammad ibn Humayd.
^The Mihna subjected traditionalist scholars with social influence and intellectual quality to imprisonment, religious tests, and loyalty oaths. Al-Ma'mun introduced the Mihna with the intention to centralize religious power in the caliphal institution and test the loyalty of his subjects. The Mihna had to be undergone by elites, scholars, judges and other government officials, and consisted of a series of questions relating to theology and faith. The central question was about the state of the creation of the Qur'an: if the person interrogated stated he believed the Qur'an to be created, he was free to leave and continue his profession.
^Had he been victorious over the Byzantine Emperor, Al-Ma'mun would have made a condition of peace be that the emperor hand over of a copy of the "Almagest".
^Muhammad ibn Jarir al-Tabari, History v. 32 "The Reunification of the Abbasid Caliphate," SUNY, Albany, 1987; v. 33 "Storm and Stress along the Northern frontiers of the Abbasid Caliphate," transl. C.E. Bosworth, SUNY, Albany, 1991
^Its minarets were spiraling cones 55 metres (180 ft) high with a spiral ramp, and it had 17 aisles with walls paneled with mosaics of dark blue glass.
^A sum of 120,000 golden pieces was paid for the freedom of the captives.
^Examples of the former include the loss ofMosul in 990, and the loss of Ṭabaristān and Gurgān in 997. An example of the latter is theKakūyid dynasty ofIsfahān, whose fortunes rose with the decline of the Būyids of northern Iran.
^R. N. Frye (1975). The Cambridge History of Iran, Volume Four: From the Arab Invasion to the Saljuqs.ISBN0-521-20093-8
^Hanne, Eric, J. (2007).Putting the Caliph in His Place: Power, Authority, and the Late Abbasid Caliphate. Fairleigh Dickinson Univ Press. p. 55.ISBN978-0-8386-4113-2.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
^Jonathan Riley-Smith, The Oxford History of the Crusades, (Oxford University Press, 2002), 213.
^ʻIzz al-Dīn Ibn al-Athīr, Donald Sidney Richards,The chronicle of Ibn al-Athīr for the crusading period from al-Kāmil fī'l-ta'rīkh: The years 491–541/1097–1146 : the coming of the Franks and the Muslim response.
^Richard, Jean (1979).The Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem. Vol. 1. Translated by Shirley, Janet. North-Holland Publishing Company. p. 36.ISBN978-0-444-85092-8.
^It is supposed by an emissary of theHashshashins, who had no love for the Caliph. Modern historians have suspected that Mas'ud instigated the murder although the two most important historians of the period Ibn al-Athir and Ibn al-Jawzi did not speculate on this matter.
^Henry Melvill Gwatkin; James Pounder Whitney; Joseph Robson Tanner; Charles William Previté-Orton; Zachary Nugent Brooke (1913).The Cambridge Medieval History. Macmillan. pp. 379–.
^Jennifer A. Pruitt,Building the Caliphate: Construction, Destruction, and Sectarian Identity in Early Fatimid Architecture (New Haven CT: Yale University Press, 2020).ISBN0-300-24682-X, 9780300246827
^Armstrong, Lyall. "The Making of a Sufi: al-Nuwayri's Account of the Origin of Genghis Khan (MSR X. 2, 2006)." (2006).
^abcDechant, John. "Depictions of the Islamization of the Mongols in the" Manāqib al-ʿārifīn" and the Foundation of the Mawlawī Community." Mawlana Rumi Review 2 (2011): 135-164.
^Sivan, Emmanuel (1990). "Four: The Sunni revolution".Radical Islam: Medieval Theology and Modern Politics. Vail-Ballou Press, Binghamton, N.Y., USA: Yale University Press. pp. 96–98.ISBN0-300-04914-5.
^Sivan, Emmanuel (1990). "Four: The Sunni revolution".Radical Islam: Medieval Theology and Modern Politics. Vail-Ballou Press, Binghamton, N.Y., USA: Yale University Press. pp. 97–98.ISBN0-300-04914-5.
^Encyclopedia Americana, Grolier Incorporated, p. 680
^The spread of Islam: the contributing factors By Abū al-Faz̤l ʻIzzatī, A. Ezzati, p. 274
^Islam in Russia: the four seasons By Ravilʹ Bukharaev, p. 145
^ab"Tamerlane, or Timur".Medieval Islamic Civilization: An Encyclopedia. Routledge. 2014.While Timur's capital, Samarqand, became a cosmopolitan imperial city that flourished as never before, Iran and Iraq suffered devastation at a greater degree than that caused by the Mongols. [...] Timur's conquests also consciously aimed to restore the Mongol Empire, and the deliberate devastation that accompanied them was a conscious imitation of the Mongol onslaught.S. Starr, S. Frederick (2014).Lost Enlightenment: Central Asia's Golden Age from the Arab Conquest to Tamerlane. HarperCollins Publishers India. p. 411.ISBN978-93-5136-186-2.Timur's ceaseless conquests were accompanied by a level of brutality matched only by Chinggis Khan himself. At Isfahan his troops dispatched some 70,000 defenders, while at Delhi his soldiers are reported to have systematically killed 100,000 Indians.
^Kuru, A. T. (2019). Islam, Authoritarianism, and Underdevelopment: A Global and Historical Comparison. Vereinigtes Königreich: Cambridge University Press. p. 128
^Periods of World History: A Latin American Perspective – Page 129
^The Empire of the Steppes: A History of Central Asia – Page 465
^Strange Parallels: Volume 2, Mainland Mirrors: Europe, Japan, China, South Asia, and the Islands: Southeast Asia in Global Context, C.800-1830 by Victor Lieberman Page 712
^Imperial Identity in the Mughal Empire by Lisa Page 4
^Sufism and Society: Arrangements of the Mystical in the Muslim World, 1200–1800 edited by John Curry, Erik Ohlander, Page 141
^The Silk Road: A Very Short Introduction by James A. Millward.
^Stowasser, Karl (1984). "Manners and Customs at the Mamluk Court".Muqarnas.2 (The Art of the Mamluks).Leiden:Brill Publishers:13–20.doi:10.2307/1523052.ISSN0732-2992.JSTOR1523052.S2CID191377149.The Mamluk slave warriors, with an empire extending fromLibya to theEuphrates, fromCilicia to theArabian Sea and theSudan, remained for the next two hundred years the most formidable power of theEastern Mediterranean and theIndian Ocean – champions ofSunni orthodoxy, guardians ofIslam's holy places, their capital, Cairo, the seat of the Sunni caliph and a magnet for scholars, artists, and craftsmen uprooted by theMongol upheaval in the East or drawn to it from all parts of the Muslim world by its wealth and prestige. Under their rule, Egypt passed through a period of prosperity and brilliance unparalleled since the days of thePtolemies. [...] They ruled as amilitaryaristocracy, aloof and almost totally isolated from the native population, Muslim and non-Muslim alike, and their ranks had to be replenished in each generation through fresh imports of slaves from abroad. Only those who had grown up outside Muslim territory and who entered as slaves in the service either of thesultan himself or of one of the Mamlukemirs were eligible for membership and careers within their closed military caste. The offspring of Mamluks were free-born Muslims and hence excluded from the system: they became theawlād al-nās, the "sons of respectable people", who either fulfilled scribal and administrative functions or served as commanders of the non-Mamlukḥalqa troops. Some two thousand slaves were imported annually:Qipchaq,Azeris,Uzbec Turks,Mongols,Avars,Circassians,Georgians,Armenians,Greeks,Bulgars,Albanians,Serbs,Hungarians.
^This was likely because al-Andalus was a land besieged by many different loyalties, and the proclamation of caliph would have likely caused much unrest. Abd al-Rahman's progeny would, however, take up the title of caliph.
^Michael Hamilton Morgan. Lost History: The Enduring Legacy of Muslim Scientists, Thinkers, and Artists. National Geographic Books, 2008.
^Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
^Fierro, Maribel (2005).Abd-al-Rahman III of Córdoba. Oxford: Oneworld Publications.ISBN978-1-85168-384-0.
^Ibn Idhari (1860) [Composed c. 1312].Al-Bayan al-Mughrib (in Spanish). Vol. 1. Translated by Francisco Fernández y González. Granada: Francisco Ventura y Sabatel.OCLC557028856.
^Nicolini, B., & Watson, P.-J. (2004). Makran, Oman, and Zanzibar: Three-terminal cultural corridor in the western Indian Ocean, 1799–1856. Leiden: Brill. p. 35
^Nimtz, August H. Jr. (1980).Islam and Politics in East Aftrica. the Sufi Order in Tanzania. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.
^Nanda, J. N (2005). Bengal: the unique state. Concept Publishing Company. p. 10. 2005.ISBN978-81-8069-149-2. Bengal [...] was rich in the production and export of grain, salt, fruit, liquors and wines, precious metals and ornaments besides the output of its handlooms in silk and cotton. Europe referred to Bengal as the richest country to trade with.
^Gustave Le Bon. (1956).Hadarat al Arab. Translation of La Civilisation-des Arabes. 3rd Print. Cairo. p. 95.
^Suryanegara, Ahmad Mansyur. (2009).Sedjarah Ekonomis Sosiologis Indonesia (History of Socio-Economic of Indonesia). API Sejarah. Bandung. Indonesia. pp. 2–3
^SirThomas Arnold and Alfred Guilaume, (eds.), (1965).The Legacy of Islam. Oxford University Press, New York, p. 87.
^Faroqhi, Suraiya (1994). "Crisis and Change, 1590–1699". In İnalcık, Halil; Donald Quataert (eds.).An Economic and Social History of the Ottoman Empire, 1300–1914. Vol. 2. Cambridge University Press. p. 553.ISBN978-0-521-57456-3.In the past fifty years, scholars have frequently tended to view this decreasing participation of the sultan in political life as evidence for "Ottoman decadence", which supposedly began at some time during the second half of the sixteenth century. But recently, more note has been taken of the fact that the Ottoman Empire was still a formidable military and political power throughout the seventeenth century, and that noticeable though limited economic recovery followed the crisis of the years around 1600; after the crisis of the 1683–99 war, there followed a longer and more decisive economic upswing. Major evidence of decline was not visible before the second half of the eighteenth century.
Roemer, H.R. (1986). "The Safavid Period" in Jackson, Peter; Lockhart, Laurence.The Cambridge History of Iran, Vol. 6: The Timurid and Safavid Periods. Cambridge University Press. pp. 214, 229
Blow, David (2009).Shah Abbas: The Ruthless King Who Became an Iranian Legend. I.B.Tauris. p. 3
Savory, Roger M.; Karamustafa, Ahmet T. (1998)ESMĀʿĪL I ṢAFAWĪ.Encyclopaedia Iranica Vol. VIII, Fasc. 6, pp. 628-636
^Khanbaghi, Aptin (2006).The Fire, the Star and the Cross: Minority Religions in Medieval and Early. London & New York: IB Tauris.ISBN1-84511-056-0., pp. 130–1
^Anthony Bryer. "Greeks and Türkmens: The Pontic Exception",Dumbarton Oaks Papers, Vol. 29 (1975), Appendix II "Genealogy of the Muslim Marriages of the Princesses of Trebizond"
^Peter B. Golden (2002) "An Introduction to the History of the Turkic Peoples"; In: Osman Karatay, Ankara, p. 321
^Why is there such confusion about the origins of this important dynasty, which reasserted Iranian identity and established an independent Iranian state after eight and a half centuries of rule by foreign dynasties? RM Savory,Iran under the Safavids (Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1980), p. 3.
^Alireza Shapur Shahbazi (2005), "The History of the Idea of Iran", in Vesta Curtis ed., Birth of the Persian Empire, IB Tauris, London, p. 108: "Similarly the collapse of Sassanian Eranshahr in AD 650 did not end Iranians' national idea. The name "Iran" disappeared from official records of the Saffarids, Samanids, Buyids, Saljuqs and their successor. But one unofficially used the name Iran, Eranshahr, and similar national designations, particularly Mamalek-e Iran or "Iranian lands", which exactly translated the old Avestan term Ariyanam Daihunam. On the other hand, when the Safavids (not Reza Shah, as is popularly assumed) revived a national state officially known as Iran, bureaucratic usage in the Ottoman empire and even Iran itself could still refer to it by other descriptive and traditional appellations".
^Hasan, Farhat (1991). "Conflict and Cooperation in Anglo-Mughal Trade Relations during the Reign of Aurangzeb".Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient.34 (4):351–360.doi:10.1163/156852091X00058.JSTOR3632456.
^Vaugn, James (September 2017). "John Company Armed: The English East India Company, the Anglo-Mughal War and Absolutist Imperialism, c. 1675–1690".Britain and the World.11 (1).
^Causes of Anti-Americanism in the Arab World: a Socio-Political perspective[2]Archived 3 August 2018 at theWayback Machine by Abdel Mahdi Abdallah (MERIA Journal). Volume 7, No. 4. December 2003
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