AMSCO 1.2 Developments in Dar al-Islam

📍Topic 1.2 Developments in Dar al-Islam

📖 AMSCO p.15 - p.19

Main Idea

Key Timeline

Image Courtesy of Samhitha

Things to Know

Invasions and Shifts in Trade Routes

• Egyptian Mamluks:
  • Arabs purchased enslaved people known as Mamluks, often were ethnic Turks from Central Asia, serving as soldiers and bureaucrats.
  • Mamluks in Egypt seized government control, establishing the Mamluk Sultanate.
  • Trade Prosperity and Decline:
    • Prosperity came through facilitating cotton and sugar trade between the Islamic world and Europe.
• Seljuk Turks:
  • Central Asian Conquerors:
    • Seljuk Turks, Muslims from Central Asia, began conquering parts of the Middle East in the 11th century.
    • The Seljuk leader adopted the title of sultan, decreasing the highest ranking Abbasid role from caliph to chief.
• Crusaders:
  • Restrictions on Christian Travel:
    • Seljuk Turks restricted Christians' travel to holy sites, prompting European Christians to organize Crusaders to regain access.
• Mongols:
  • Mongols, also from Central Asia, conquered the remaining Abbasid Empire in 1258, ending Seljuk rule.
  • Mongol westward expansion was halted in Egypt by the Mamluks.
• Economic Changes and Decline:
  • Abbasid Trade Routes:
    • Since the 8th century, Abbasids played a crucial role in connecting Asia, Europe, and North Africa through trade routes.
  • Shift in Trade Patterns:
    • Trade patterns shifted northward, away from Baghdad, causing economic decline.
    • Baghdad lost its central role in trade, leading to a decline in wealth and population.
  • Infrastructure Decay:
    • The loss of trade prominence led to the deterioration of infrastructure in Baghdad, impacting its status as a great city.

Cultural and Social Life

• Political Fragmentation and Turkic Influence:
  • New states, including the Mamluks, Seljuks, and Delhi Sultanate, adopted Abbasid practices but were ethnically distinct—largely shaped by Turkic peoples from Central Asia.
  • By the 16th century, major Islamic states rooted in Turkic cultures included the Ottoman Empire, Safavid Empire, and Mughal Empire.
• Cultural Innovations and Achievements:
  • Islamic scholars followed the directive to seek knowledge, leading to cultural innovations:
    • Translating Greek classics into Arabic, preserving works of Aristotle and other Greek thinkers.
    • Studying mathematics texts from India and transferring the knowledge to Europeans.
    • Adopting paper-making techniques from China, impacting European paper production.
• Commerce, Class, and Diversity:
  • Merchants were esteemed in Islamic society, and some were sent as missionaries.
  • Islamic expansion led to discrimination against non-Arabs, gradually fading into the 9th century.
• Slavery in Islamic Societies:
  • Enslaved people converted to Islam; owners sometimes freed them.
  • Enslaved women, serving as concubines, had more independence than legal wives.

Free Women in Islam

• Cultural Practices in Central Asia and Byzantine Empire:
  • Practices now associated with Islam, such as head and face coverings, were common in Central Asia and the Byzantine Empire before Muhammad's time
    • Women covering their heads and faces solidified under Islam, with hijab being a term encompassing modest dressing or specific coverings.
    • Men commonly wore head coverings, including turbans and skull caps.
• Muhammad’s Policies:
  • Muhammad elevated the status of women through his treatment of his wives with love and devotion.
  • Dowries were insisted upon to be paid directly to the future wife, not her father.
  • Muhammad forbade female infanticide and set a precedent by having an educated wife with her own business.
• Status of Women in Islam:
  • Women could inherit property and retain ownership after marriage.
  • They had the right to remarry if widowed and could receive a cash settlement if divorced.
    • Under specific conditions, a wife could initiate divorce.
  • Women were allowed to practice birth control.
  • Women testifying in court under shariah were to be protected from retaliation, but their testimony was valued at half that of a man.
  • The rise of towns and cities in Islamic-ruled areas led to new limitations on women’s rights.

Islamic Rule in Spain

• Umayyads in Spain:
  • Umayyads ruled briefly in the Middle East but had a prolonged reign in Spain.
• Battle of Tours:
  • In 732, Islamic forces faced a rare defeat at the Battle of Tours against Frankish forces which limited the rapid Islamic expansion into Western Europe.
    • Despite this, Muslims continued to rule Spain for the next seven centuries.
• Prosperity Under Islam in Spain:
  • Umayyad rulers in Cordoba promoted religious toleration among Muslims, Christians, and Jews.
  • Trade flourished, allowing Chinese and Southeast Asian goods to enter Spain and eventually the rest of Europe through ships called dhows.
• Cultural and Scholarly Transfers:
  • The Islamic state in Spain, al-Andalus, became a center of learning and Cordoba had the world's largest library at the time.
  • Notable scholar Ibn Rushd in the 12th century wrote influential works on law, secular philosophy, and natural sciences.
  • Islamic scholarship and scientific innovations, as well as knowledge from India and China laid the groundwork for the Renaissance and Scientific Revolution in Europe.

Terms to Remember