Muslim history is the history of
MuslimA Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
people. In the
history of Islam the followers of the religion of Islam have impacted
political historyPolitical history is the narrative and analysis of political events, ideas, movements, and leaders. It is distinct from, but related to, other fields of history such as Diplomatic history, social history, economic history, and military history, as well as constitutional history and public...
,
economic historyEconomic history is the study of economies or economic phenomena in the past. Analysis in economic history is undertaken using a combination of historical methods, statistical methods and by applying economic theory to historical situations and institutions...
, and
military historyMilitary history is a humanities discipline within the scope of general historical recording of armed conflict in the history of humanity, and its impact on the societies, their cultures, economies and changing intra and international relationships....
. The concept of the Islamic world is useful in observing the different periods of
Islamic history; similarly useful is an understanding of the identification with a quasi-political community of believers, or
ummahUmmah is an Arabic word meaning "community" or "nation." It is commonly used to mean either the collective nation of states, or the whole Arab world...
. The Islamic cultural identity, or identity as a member of the ummah, has influenced the history of the world. Islamic world territories haves included populations of people of other religions, such as Christian and Jews, and the levels have varied over the centuries.
Three centuries after the death of the Islamic prophet
MuhammadMuhammad |ligature]] at U+FDF4 ;Arabic pronunciation varies regionally; the first vowel ranges from ~~; the second and the last vowel: ~~~. There are dialects which have no stress. In Egypt, it is pronounced not in religious contexts...
(
High Middle AgesThe High Middle Ages was the period of European history around the 11th, 12th, and 13th centuries . The High Middle Ages were preceded by the Early Middle Ages and followed by the Late Middle Ages, which by convention end around 1500....
), the Arab Caliphates extended from the Atlantic Ocean in the west to Central Asia in the east. The subsequent empires of the Umayyads, Abbasids, Fatimids, Ghaznavids,
SeljuqsThe Great Seljuq Empire was a medieval Persianate, Turko-Persian Sunni Muslim empire, originating from the Qynyq branch of Oghuz Turks. The Seljuq Empire controlled a vast area stretching from the Hindu Kush to eastern Anatolia and from Central Asia to the Persian Gulf...
, Safavids,
MughalsThe Mughal Empire , or Mogul Empire in traditional English usage, was an imperial power from the Indian Subcontinent. The Mughal emperors were descendants of the Timurids...
, and
OttomansThe Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
were among the influential and distinguished powers in the world. The
Islamic civilizationDuring the Islamic Golden Age philosophers, scientists and engineers of the Islamic world contributed enormously to technology and culture, both by preserving earlier traditions and by adding their own inventions and innovations...
gave rise to many centers of culture and science and produced notable scientists, astronomers, mathematicians, doctors, nurses and
philosophersIslamic philosophy is a branch of Islamic studies. It is the continuous search for Hekma in the light of Islamic view of life, universe, ethics, society, and so on...
during the Golden Age of Islam. Technology flourished; there was investment in economic infrastructure, such as irrigation systems and canals; and the importance of reading the Qur'an produced a comparatively high level of literacy in the general populace.
In the later Middle Ages, destructive
Mongol invasionsMongol invasions progressed throughout the 13th century, resulting in the vast Mongol Empire which covered much of Asia and Eastern Europe by 1300....
from the East, and the loss of population in the
Black DeathThe Black Death was one of the most devastating pandemics in human history, peaking in Europe between 1348 and 1350. Of several competing theories, the dominant explanation for the Black Death is the plague theory, which attributes the outbreak to the bacterium Yersinia pestis. Thought to have...
, greatly weakened the traditional centre of the Islamic world, stretching from Persia to Egypt, and the
Ottoman EmpireThe Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
was able to conquer most Arabic-speaking areas, creating an Islamic
world powerWorld Power is the debut album of German Eurodance project Snap!, released in 1990 on Bookmark/Ariola Records. The album received generally positive reviews from music critics, as the project's musical style and its vocalists, Turbo B and Penny "Tiny" Ford, were well-received...
again, although one that was to prove unable to develop to meet the challenges of the Early Modern period.
Later, in
modern historyModern history, or the modern era, describes the historical timeline after the Middle Ages. Modern history can be further broken down into the early modern period and the late modern period after the French Revolution and the Industrial Revolution...
(18th and 19th centuries), many Islamic regions fell under the influence of European
Great powerA great power is a nation or state that has the ability to exert its influence on a global scale. Great powers characteristically possess military and economic strength and diplomatic and cultural influence which may cause small powers to consider the opinions of great powers before taking actions...
s. After the First World War, the territorial possessions of the Ottoman empire (a
Central PowersThe Central Powers were one of the two warring factions in World War I , composed of the German Empire, the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Ottoman Empire, and the Kingdom of Bulgaria...
member) were
partitioned and divided into several nationsThe Partitioning of the Ottoman Empire was a political event that occurred after World War I. The huge conglomeration of territories and peoples formerly ruled by the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire was divided into several new nations.The partitioning was planned from the early days of the war,...
under the terms of the
Treaty of SèvresThe Treaty of Sèvres was the peace treaty between the Ottoman Empire and Allies at the end of World War I. The Treaty of Versailles was signed with Germany before this treaty to annul the German concessions including the economic rights and enterprises. Also, France, Great Britain and Italy...
. Since 1924, there has been no degree of an accepted claim as
CaliphThe Caliph is the head of state in a Caliphate, and the title for the ruler of the Islamic Ummah, an Islamic community ruled by the Shari'ah. It is a transcribed version of the Arabic word which means "successor" or "representative"...
(tr., "successor") to the
caliphateThe term caliphate, "dominion of a caliph " , refers to the first system of government established in Islam and represented the political unity of the Muslim Ummah...
(tr.,"dominion of successor") [ed., This had been last claimed by the Ottomans].
Modern notions of the texts of Islam portrays the unification of religion and state ruled by a
CaliphThe Caliph is the head of state in a Caliphate, and the title for the ruler of the Islamic Ummah, an Islamic community ruled by the Shari'ah. It is a transcribed version of the Arabic word which means "successor" or "representative"...
, and the aspiration of achieving such a contemporary polity has been powerful in the recent centuries of Islamic history; although the size of the Islamic world, and the ambitions of local rulers, meant it has been unrealized since the early Islamic city-states and universal imperial period beginnings. The common slogan
al-islam dinun was dawlatun` (tr., Islam is a religion and a state) is neither a Koranic verse nor a quote from the
hadithThe term Hadīth is used to denote a saying or an act or tacit approval or criticism ascribed either validly or invalidly to the Islamic prophet Muhammad....
but a 19th century political
SalafiA Salafi come from Sunni Islam is a follower of an Islamic movement, Salafiyyah, that is supposed to take the Salaf who lived during the patristic period of early Islam as model examples...
slogan popularized in opposition to Western Egyptian influence — a 19th century political origin being no problem for many other ideologies, but a handicap for a belief system predicated on following the scripture revealed in, and the ways of those who lived in, twelve centuries earlier.
Although affected by various other ideologies, such as
communismCommunism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production...
, during much of the 20th century, the Islamic identity and the dominance of
Islam on political issuesPolitical aspects of Islam are derived from the Qur'an, the Sunna , Muslim history, and elements of political movements outside Islam....
have intensified during the
contemporary periodContemporary history describes the period timeframe that is without any intervening time closely connected to the present and is a certain perspective of modern history. The term "contemporary history" has been in use at least by the early 19th century. In the widest context of this use,...
(early 21st century). The fast-growing global interests in Islamic regions, international conflicts and
globalizationGlobalization refers to the increasingly global relationships of culture, people and economic activity. Most often, it refers to economics: the global distribution of the production of goods and services, through reduction of barriers to international trade such as tariffs, export fees, and import...
have changed the influence of Islam on the world of the 21st century.
Islamic State periods
According to the professor of Middle Eastern studies,
Majid KhadduriMajid Khadduri was an Iraqi–born founder of the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies Middle East Studies program. Internationally, he was recognized as a leading authority on a wide variety of Islamic subjects, modern history and the politics of the Middle East...
, the
Islamic stateAn Islamic state is a type of government, in which the primary basis for government is Islamic religious law...
and
Muslim's system of governmentThe idea of secularism in Islam means favoring a modern secular democracy with separation of mosque and state, as opposed to Islam as a political movement. Secularism in the Muslim countries refers to the ideology of promoting the secular as opposed to the religion. It is often used to describe...
evolved through various stages. The precise dates of various periods in history are more or less arbitrarily assumed according to the point of view adopted. The
City-state period lasted from 620s to 630s. The
Imperial period lasted from 630s to 750s. The
Universal period lasted from 750s to around 900s. These corresponds to the
early periodThe Early Middle Ages was the period of European history lasting from the 5th century to approximately 1000. The Early Middle Ages followed the decline of the Western Roman Empire and preceded the High Middle Ages...
of the Middle Ages. The
"Decentralization" period lasted from around 900s to the early 1500s. This correspond to the
high periodThe High Middle Ages was the period of European history around the 11th, 12th, and 13th centuries . The High Middle Ages were preceded by the Early Middle Ages and followed by the Late Middle Ages, which by convention end around 1500....
and
late periodThe Late Middle Ages was the period of European history generally comprising the 14th to the 16th century . The Late Middle Ages followed the High Middle Ages and preceded the onset of the early modern era ....
of the Middle Ages. The
"Fragmentation" period lasted from around 1500s, the beginning with the
early modern periodIn history, the early modern period of modern history follows the late Middle Ages. Although the chronological limits of the period are open to debate, the timeframe spans the period after the late portion of the Middle Ages through the beginning of the Age of Revolutions...
, to the late 1910s. The
contemporary periodContemporary history describes the period timeframe that is without any intervening time closely connected to the present and is a certain perspective of modern history. The term "contemporary history" has been in use at least by the early 19th century. In the widest context of this use,...
, referred to as the
National period, lasted from 1910s to the present day. Any hard and fast line drawn to designate either the beginning or close of the period in question is arbitrary.
-
-
- Dates are approximate, consult particular article for details.
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Islamic Origins
Pre-Islamic ArabiaPre-Islamic Arabia refers to the Arabic civilization which existed in the Arabian Plate before the rise of Islam in the 630s. The study of Pre-Islamic Arabia is important to Islamic studies as it provides the context for the development of Islam.-Studies:...
saw Arab people who lived in the
Arabian PlateThe Arabian Plate is one of three tectonic plates which have been moving northward over millions of years and colliding with the Eurasian Plate...
before the rise of Islam in the 630s. In the south of Hedjaz (principal religious and commercial centre of Middle Ages Arabia),
the Arabic tribeTribes of Arabia refers to Arab clans hailing from the Arabian Peninsula.Much of the lineage provided before Ma'ad relies on biblical genealogy and therefore questions persist concerning the accuracy of this segment of Arab genealogy...
of Quraysh (
Adnani ArabsAdnan is the traditional ancestor of the Adnani Arabs of northern, central and western Arabia, as opposed to the Qahtani of Southern and south eastern Arabia who descend from Qahtan.-Origin:...
), to which Mohammed belonged, had been in existence. Near Mecca, the tribe was increasing in power. The Quraysh were the guardians of the
KaabaThe Kaaba is a cuboid-shaped building in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, and is the most sacred site in Islam. The Qur'an states that the Kaaba was constructed by Abraham, or Ibraheem, in Arabic, and his son Ishmael, or Ismaeel, as said in Arabic, after he had settled in Arabia. The building has a mosque...
, within the town of
MeccaMecca is a city in the Hijaz and the capital of Makkah province in Saudi Arabia. The city is located inland from Jeddah in a narrow valley at a height of above sea level...
and was the dominant tribe of Mecca upon the appearance of the religion of Islam. The Kaaba was an important Pagan shrine which also brought revenues to Mecca because of the multitude of pilgrims that it attracted. Muhammad was born into the
Banu HashimBanū Hāshim was a clan in the Quraysh tribe. Muhammad, was a member of this clan; his great-grandfather was Hashim, for whom the clan is named. Members of this clan are referred to by the Anglicised version of their name as Hashemites, or Huseini or Hasani...
tribe of the Quraysh clan, a branch of the
Banu KinanahBanu Kinanah is the largest Adnanite tribe of western Saudi Arabia in Hejaz. Since Islamization they started to claim that they are descended from Kinanah, who was a grandson of Ilyas who was named after the prophet Elijah.- Ancestry :The tribe traces a genealogical history backwards from their...
tribe, descended from
KhuzaimahMudhar or Mudar , is one of two major branches of the "North arabian" tribes, the other branch being Rabi'ah....
and derived its inheritance from the
Khuza'imahthe Khuza'a or Banu Khuza'a form a branch of the South Arabian tribe of Azd-Origin:Most traditionalists trace the origins of the tribe to Amr ibn Lahi al-Khuza'i, and agree that with the other branches of the Azd they at some point left the Yemen and moved north. 'Amr ibn Luhay and his clan...
(House of Khuza'a).
According to the traditional Islamic view, the
Qur'anThe Quran , also transliterated Qur'an, Koran, Alcoran, Qur’ān, Coran, Kuran, and al-Qur’ān, is the central religious text of Islam, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God . It is regarded widely as the finest piece of literature in the Arabic language...
(Koran) began with revelations to Muhammad
Koranic revelationsWahi is the Arabic word for revelation. In Islamic context, it refers to the revelations of God to his prophets, for all humankind. In Islam, the Qur'an is considered a wahi given to Muhammad.-Awha:...
in 610. The verses of the Qur'an were revealed to the
SahabahIn Islam, the ' were the companions, disciples, scribes and family of the Islamic prophet...
during Muhammad's life and were written down in the history of the Qur'an. The rise of Islam begins around the time the Muslims took flight, the
HijraThe Hijra is the migration or journey of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and his followers from Mecca to Medina in 622 CE. Alternate spellings of this Arabic word are Hijrah, Hijrat or Hegira, the latter following the spelling rules of Latin.- Hijra of Muhammad :In September 622, warned of a plot to...
, to the city of Medina. With Islam, the effects of
blood feud"Blood Feud" is the twenty-second and final episode of The Simpsons second season. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on July 11, 1991. In the episode, Mr. Burns falls ill and desperately needs a blood transfusion. Homer discovers Bart has Burns' rare blood type and urges...
s among the Arabs were lessened. Compensation was paid in money rather than blood or the culprit himself only could be executed.
In 628, the Makkah tribe of Quraish and the Muslim community in Madina had signed a truce called the Treaty of Hudaybiyya beginning a ten-year period of peace, which was broken when the Quraish and their allies, the tribe of 'Bakr', attacked the tribe of 'Khuza'ah', who were allies of the Muslims. In the year 630,
MeccaMecca is a city in the Hijaz and the capital of Makkah province in Saudi Arabia. The city is located inland from Jeddah in a narrow valley at a height of above sea level...
was conquered by the Muslims. Muhammad died in June 632. The
Battle of YamamaThe Battle of Yamama was fought in December AD 632 as part as the Ridda or apostate wars on the plain of Aqraba in the region of Yamama between the forces of Muslim Caliph Abu Bakr and Musaylimah, an apostate.-Background:...
was fought in December of the same year, between the forces of the first caliph
Abu Bakr Abu Bakr was a senior companion and the father-in-law of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. He ruled over the Rashidun Caliphate from 632-634 CE when he became the first Muslim Caliph following Muhammad's death...
and Musailima.
City-states and Imperial period
After Muhammed died, a series of Caliphs governed the Islamic State:
Abu Bakr Abu Bakr was a senior companion and the father-in-law of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. He ruled over the Rashidun Caliphate from 632-634 CE when he became the first Muslim Caliph following Muhammad's death...
(632-634), Umar ibn al-Khattab (Umar І, 634-644), Uthman ibn Affan (644-656), Ali ibn Abi Talib (656-661). These first Caliphs are known as the "
RashidunThe Rightly Guided Caliphs or The Righteous Caliphs is a term used in Sunni Islam to refer to the first four Caliphs who established the Rashidun Caliphate. The concept of "Rightly Guided Caliphs" originated with the Abbasid Dynasty...
" or "rightly guided" Caliphs in
Sunni IslamSunni Islam is the largest branch of Islam. Sunni Muslims are referred to in Arabic as ʾAhl ūs-Sunnah wa āl-Ǧamāʿah or ʾAhl ūs-Sunnah for short; in English, they are known as Sunni Muslims, Sunnis or Sunnites....
, and oversaw the initial phase of the
Muslim conquestsMuslim conquests also referred to as the Islamic conquests or Arab conquests, began with the Islamic prophet Muhammad. He established a new unified polity in the Arabian Peninsula which under the subsequent Rashidun and Umayyad Caliphates saw a century of rapid expansion of Muslim power.They...
, conquering Persia,
EgyptEgypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
, the Middle East and North Africa. Begun in the time of Uthman ibn Affan, the compilation of the Qur'an was finished sometime between 650 and 656, Uthman sent copies of it to the different centers of the expanding Islamic empire. From then on, thousands of Muslim scribes began copying the Qur'an. Afterwards, factions arose and the last two Rashidun caliphs were murdered. The death of Uthman was followed by a civil war known as the
First FitnaThe First Islamic Civil War , also called the First Fitna , was the first major civil war within the Islamic Caliphate. It arose as a struggle over who had the legitimate right to become the ruling Caliph...
, and the succession to Ali ibn Abi Talib was disputed, leading to the split between the Sunni and Shia traditions in Islam, and later to competing caliphates when the descendants of Muhammad through his daughter
FatimahFatimah was a daughter of the Islamic prophet Muhammad from his first wife Khadijah bint Khuwaylid. She is regarded by Muslims as an exemplar for men and women. She remained at her father's side through the difficulties suffered by him at the hands of the Quraysh of Mecca...
and Ali set up their own
FatimidThe Fatimid Islamic Caliphate or al-Fāṭimiyyūn was a Berber Shia Muslim caliphate first centered in Tunisia and later in Egypt that ruled over varying areas of the Maghreb, Sudan, Sicily, the Levant, and Hijaz from 5 January 909 to 1171.The caliphate was ruled by the Fatimids, who established the...
caliphate.
After the peace treaty with Ali's son, Hassan ibn Ali, and the suppression of the revolt of the
KharijitesKharijites is a general term embracing various Muslims who, while initially supporting the authority of the final Rashidun Caliph Ali ibn Abi Talib, the son-in-law and cousin of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, then later rejected his leadership...
,
Muawiyah IMuawiyah I was the first Caliph of the Umayyad Dynasty. After the conquest of Mecca by the Muslims, Muawiyah's family converted to Islam. Muawiyah is brother-in-law to Muhammad who married his sister Ramlah bint Abi-Sufyan in 1AH...
proclaimed himself Caliph in 661 and began consolidating power. In 663, a new Kharijite revolt resulted in the death of their chief. In 664, Muawiyah and
Ziyad ibn Abi SufyanZiyad ibn Abeeh where 'Abeeh' means 'his father' since his ancestry is disputed. was a Muslim general and administrator and a member of the clan of the Umayyads.-Biography:...
reached an agreement: the Caliph recognised Ziyad as a brother - Ziyad now adopted the name ibn Abi Sufyan - and appointed him governor at Basra. Muawiyah had arranged for his son
Yazid IYazīd ibn Mu‘āwiya ibn Abī Sufyān , commonly known as Yazid I, was the second Caliph of the Umayyad Caliphate . He ruled for three years from 680 CE until his death in 683 CE. Many Muslims condemn Yazid's rule as contentious and unjust...
to be appointed caliph on his death, which came in 680. Husain ibn Ali, by then Muhammad's only living grandson, refused to swear alleigance to Yazid, and he was killed in the
Battle of KarbalaThe Battle of Karbala took place on Muharram 10, in the year 61 of the Islamic calendar in Karbala, in present day Iraq. On one side of the highly uneven battle were a small group of supporters and relatives of Muhammad's grandson Husain ibn Ali, and on the other was a large military detachment...
the same year, an event still mourned by Shia's on the
Day of AshuraThe Day of Ashura is on the 10th day of Muharram in the Islamic calendar and marks the climax of the Remembrance of Muharram.It is commemorated by Shia Muslims as a day of mourning for the martyrdom of Husayn ibn Ali, the grandson of the Islamic Prophet Muhammad at the Battle of Karbala on 10...
. Unrest continued in the
Second FitnaThe Second Fitna, or Second Islamic Civil War, was a period of general political and military disorder that afflicted the Islamic empire during the early Umayyad dynasty, following the death of the first Umayyad caliph Muawiyah I...
, but Muslim rule was extended under Muawiyah to
RhodesRhodes is an island in Greece, located in the eastern Aegean Sea. It is the largest of the Dodecanese islands in terms of both land area and population, with a population of 117,007, and also the island group's historical capital. Administratively the island forms a separate municipality within...
,
CreteCrete is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, and one of the thirteen administrative regions of Greece. It forms a significant part of the economy and cultural heritage of Greece while retaining its own local cultural traits...
,
KabulKabul , spelt Caubul in some classic literatures, is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. It is also the capital of the Kabul Province, located in the eastern section of Afghanistan...
,
BukharaBukhara , from the Soghdian βuxārak , is the capital of the Bukhara Province of Uzbekistan. The nation's fifth-largest city, it has a population of 263,400 . The region around Bukhara has been inhabited for at least five millennia, and the city has existed for half that time...
, and
SamarkandAlthough a Persian-speaking region, it was not united politically with Iran most of the times between the disintegration of the Seleucid Empire and the Arab conquest . In the 6th century it was within the domain of the Turkic kingdom of the Göktürks.At the start of the 8th century Samarkand came...
, and expanded in North Africa. In 664, Arab armies conquered
KabulKabul , spelt Caubul in some classic literatures, is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. It is also the capital of the Kabul Province, located in the eastern section of Afghanistan...
, and in 665 pushed into the
MaghrebThe Maghreb is the region of Northwest Africa, west of Egypt. It includes five countries: Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, and Mauritania and the disputed territory of Western Sahara...
.
Succession and Umayyad accession
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- Consult particular article for details
The Umayyad Caliphate
| City-states and Imperial period |
|
The
Umayyad dynasty (or
Ommiads), whose name derives from
Umayya ibn Abd ShamsThe clan of Banu Umayyad as well as the dynasty that ruled the Umayyad Caliphate are named after Umayya ibn Abd Shams.Umayya was the son of Abd Shams ibn Abd Manaf, and the father of Harb ibn Umayya and Abu al-'As....
, the great-grandfather of the first Umayyad caliph, ruled as Caliphs from 661 to 750. Although the Umayyad family came from the city of
MeccaMecca is a city in the Hijaz and the capital of Makkah province in Saudi Arabia. The city is located inland from Jeddah in a narrow valley at a height of above sea level...
,
DamascusDamascus , commonly known in Syria as Al Sham , and as the City of Jasmine , is the capital and the second largest city of Syria after Aleppo, both are part of the country's 14 governorates. In addition to being one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, Damascus is a major...
was the capital of their Caliphate. After the death of Abdu'l-Rahman ibn Abu Bakr in 666,
Muawiyah IMuawiyah I was the first Caliph of the Umayyad Dynasty. After the conquest of Mecca by the Muslims, Muawiyah's family converted to Islam. Muawiyah is brother-in-law to Muhammad who married his sister Ramlah bint Abi-Sufyan in 1AH...
had consolidated his power in the Umayyad Caliphate. The causes which occurred in the Al-Rashidun and Warring period which brought about the triumph of the Umayyad dynasty led Muawiyah I to substitute Damascus for
MedinaMedina , or ; also transliterated as Madinah, or madinat al-nabi "the city of the prophet") is a city in the Hejaz region of western Saudi Arabia, and serves as the capital of the Al Madinah Province. It is the second holiest city in Islam, and the burial place of the Islamic Prophet Muhammad, and...
as the seat of the Caliphate; an event which led to profound changes in the historical power and Muslim empire, and exercised a considerable influence on its development. 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 the supreme power, and gave Islam a new direction. The Umayyads viewed Islam as a religion exclusively for Arabs. Umayyads, the Muslim minority ruling class, structured the state based on a system that the Dhimmis would pay taxes. A non-Arab who wanted to convert to Islam was supposed to first become a client of an Arab tribe. After conversion in the period, non-Arab converts, called
mawaliMawali or mawālá is a term in Classical Arabic used to address non-Arab Muslims.The term gained prominence in the centuries following the early Arab Muslim conquests in the 7th century, as many non-Arabs such as Persians, Egyptians, and Turks converted to Islam...
, did not achieve social and economic equality with Arab Muslims.
At its largest extent, the Umayyad dynasty covered more than five million square miles, making it one of the
largest empires the world had yet seen, and the fifth largest contiguous empire ever to exist. After the Umayyads were overthrown by the Abbasid Caliphate, they fled across North Africa to
Al-AndalusAl-Andalus was the Arabic name given to a nation and territorial region also commonly referred to as Moorish Iberia. The name describes parts of the Iberian Peninsula and Septimania governed by Muslims , at various times in the period between 711 and 1492, although the territorial boundaries...
, where they established the
Caliphate of CórdobaThe Caliphate of Córdoba ruled the Iberian peninsula and part of North Africa, from the city of Córdoba, from 929 to 1031. This period was characterized by remarkable success in trade and culture; many of the masterpieces of Islamic Iberia were constructed in this period, including the famous...
, which lasted until 1031.
Caliphs at Damascus
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- Consult particular article for details
Muawiyah beautified Damascus, and developed a court to rival that of
ConstantinopleConstantinople was the capital of the Roman, Eastern Roman, Byzantine, Latin, and Ottoman Empires. Throughout most of the Middle Ages, Constantinople was Europe's largest and wealthiest city.-Names:...
. He expanded the frontiers of the empire, reaching the very gates of Constantinople at one point, though the Byzantines drove him back and he was unable to hold any territory in Anatolia.
Sunni MuslimsSunni Islam is the largest branch of Islam. Sunni Muslims are referred to in Arabic as ʾAhl ūs-Sunnah wa āl-Ǧamāʿah or ʾAhl ūs-Sunnah for short; in English, they are known as Sunni Muslims, Sunnis or Sunnites....
credit him with saving the fledgling Muslim nation from post civil war anarchy. However, Shia Muslims charge that if anything, he was the instigator of the civil war, and weakened the Muslim nation and divided the Ummah, fabricating self-aggrandizing heresies and slander against the Prophet's family and even selling his Muslim critics into slavery in the Byzantine empire. 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 which Muawiyah said he would not make his son his successor.
During the caliphate of
Yazid-Given name:* Yazid I , second Umayyad Caliph upon succeeding his father Muawiyah* Yazid II, Umayyad caliph* Yazid III, Umayyad caliph* Yazid Kaïssi, French-born Moroccan footballer* Yazid Mansouri, French-born Algerian footballer...
, Muslims suffered several setbacks. In 682 AD Yazid restored
Uqba ibn NafiUqba ibn Nafi was an Arab hero and general who was serving the Umayyad dynasty, in Amir Muavia and Yazid periods, who began the Islamic conquest of the Maghreb, including present-day Algeria, Tunisia, Libya and Morocco in North Africa. He was the nephew of 'Amr ibn al-'As. Uqba is often surnamed...
as the governor of North Africa. Uqba won battles against the
BerbersBerbers are the indigenous peoples of North Africa west of the Nile Valley. They are continuously distributed from the Atlantic to the Siwa oasis, in Egypt, and from the Mediterranean to the Niger River. Historically they spoke the Berber language or varieties of it, which together form a branch...
and
ByzantinesThe Byzantine Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire during the periods of Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, centred on the capital of Constantinople. Known simply as the Roman Empire or Romania to its inhabitants and neighbours, the Empire was the direct continuation of the Ancient Roman State...
. From there Uqba marched on thousands of miles westward towards
TangierTangier, also Tangiers is a city in northern Morocco with a population of about 700,000 . It lies on the North African coast at the western entrance to the Strait of Gibraltar where the Mediterranean meets the Atlantic Ocean off Cape Spartel...
, where he reached the
Atlantic coastThe Atlantic Coast is any coast fronting the Atlantic Ocean. The term differentiates the coasts of countries or continents with coastlines on more than one body of water, such as North America, South America, Africa and Europe.-See also:*Indian Ocean...
, and then marched eastwards through the
Atlas MountainsThe Atlas Mountains is a mountain range across a northern stretch of Africa extending about through Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia. The highest peak is Toubkal, with an elevation of in southwestern Morocco. The Atlas ranges separate the Mediterranean and Atlantic coastlines from the Sahara Desert...
. With cavalry numbering about 300, he proceeded towards Biskra where he was ambushed by a Berber force under Kaisala. Uqba and all his men died fighting. The Berbers launched an attack and drove Muslims from north Africa for a period. This was a major setback for the Muslims, because of this they lost supremacy at sea, and had to abandon the islands of
RhodesRhodes is an island in Greece, located in the eastern Aegean Sea. It is the largest of the Dodecanese islands in terms of both land area and population, with a population of 117,007, and also the island group's historical capital. Administratively the island forms a separate municipality within...
and
CreteCrete is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, and one of the thirteen administrative regions of Greece. It forms a significant part of the economy and cultural heritage of Greece while retaining its own local cultural traits...
.
The following years the Umayyad's reign, under
Muawiya IIMuawiyah II was an Umayyad caliph for about four months after the death of his father Yazīd...
, was marked by civil wars (
Second FitnaThe Second Fitna, or Second Islamic Civil War, was a period of general political and military disorder that afflicted the Islamic empire during the early Umayyad dynasty, following the death of the first Umayyad caliph Muawiyah I...
). This would ease in the reign of Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan, a well-educated man and capable ruler. Despite the many political problems that impeded his rule, all important records were translated into Arabic. In his reign, a special currency for the Muslim world was minted. This led to war with the Byzantine Empire under Justinian II (Battle of Sebastopolis) in 692 in Asia Minor. The Byzantines were decisively defeated by the Caliph after the defection of a large contingent of Slavs. The Islamic currency was then made the only currency exchange in the Muslim world. Also, many reforms happened in his time as regards agriculture and commerce. Abd al-Malik consolidated Muslim rule and extended it, made Arabic the state language, and organized a regular postal service.
Al-Walid I began the next stage of the Islamic conquests and took the early Islamic empire to its farthest extents. He reconquered parts of Egypt from the Byzantine Empire and moved on into Carthage and across to the west of North Africa. Muslim armies under Tariq ibn Ziyad crossed the Strait of Gibraltar and began to conquer Spain using North African Berber armies. The Visigoths of Spain had been defeated when the Umayyad conquered
LisbonLisbon is the capital city and largest city of Portugal with a population of 545,245 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Lisbon extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of 3 million on an area of , making it the 9th most populous urban...
. Spain would be the farthest extent of Islamic control of Europe (they were stopped at the
Battle of ToursThe Battle of Tours , also called the Battle of Poitiers and in Battle of the Court of the Martyrs, was fought in an area between the cities of Poitiers and Tours, located in north-central France, near the village of Moussais-la-Bataille, about northeast of Poitiers...
). In the east, Islamic armies under
Muhammad bin QasimMuhammad bin Qasim Al-Thaqafi was a Umayyad general who, at the age of 17, began the conquest of the Sindh and Punjab regions along the Indus River for the Umayyad Caliphate. He was born in the city of Taif...
made it as far as the Indus Valley — under Al-Walid, the caliphate empire stretched from Spain to India.
Al-Hajjaj bin Yousef 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 Ummayad era, it was this tactic that supported the ultimate expansion to Spain. His reign is considered as the apex of Islamic power.
Sulayman ibn Abd al-MalikSulayman bin Abd al-Malik was an Umayyad caliph who ruled from 715 until 717. His father was Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan, and he was a younger brother of the previous caliph, al-Walid I.-Early years:...
was hailed as caliph the day al-Walid died. He appointed
Yazid ibn al-MuhallabYazid ibn al-Muhallab was a provincial governor in the time of the Umayyad dynasty.In A.H. 78 Al-Hajjaj ibn Yusuf appointed al-Muhallab Khurasan's governor. In A.H. 82 al-Muhallab's son Mughirah died and al-Muhallab sent Yazid to replace him. Soon afterwards al-Muhallab died and al-Hajjaj...
governor of Mesopotamia. Sulayman ordered the arrest and execution of the family of al-Hajjaj, one of two prominent leaders (the other was
Qutaibah bin MuslimQutayba ibn Muslim was an Arab commander of the Umayyad Caliphate army in the East, and made his greatest gains during the reign of Caliph Al-Walid I. Qutayba belonged to the Bahila tribe. He was appointed as Governor of Khurasan at the request of Al-Hajjaj ibn Yusuf, Governor of Iraq...
) who had supported the succession of al-Walid's son Yazid, rather than Sulayman. Al-Hajjaj had predeceased al-Walid, so he was no longer alive to pose a 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 to
DamascusDamascus , commonly known in Syria as Al Sham , and as the City of Jasmine , is the capital and the second largest city of Syria after Aleppo, both are part of the country's 14 governorates. In addition to being one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, Damascus is a major...
on becoming Caliph, but rather he remained in
RamlaRamla , is a city in central Israel. The city is predominantly Jewish with a significant Arab minority. Ramla was founded circa 705–715 AD by the Umayyad Caliph Suleiman ibn Abed al-Malik after the Arab conquest of the region...
in Palestine. Sulayman sent
Maslamah ibn Abd al-MalikMaslamah ibn Abd al-Malik was an Umayyad prince and one of the most prominent Arab generals of the early decades of the 8th century, leading several campaigns against the Byzantine Empire and the Khazar Khaganate...
to attack the Byzantine capital (siege of Constantinople). After the intervention of
BulgariaThe First Bulgarian Empire was a medieval Bulgarian state founded in the north-eastern Balkans in c. 680 by the Bulgars, uniting with seven South Slavic tribes...
on Byzantine side it ultimately proved to be unsuccessful. The siege of Constantinople failed to take the city and was sustaining heavy losses at the hands of allied Byzantine and Bulgarian forces. Sulayman died suddenly in 717.
Umar IIUmar ibn Abd al-Aziz was an Umayyad caliph who ruled from 717 to 720. He was also a cousin of the former caliph, being the son of Abd al-Malik's younger brother, Abd al-Aziz. He was also a great-grandson of the companion of the Prophet Muhammad, Umar bin Al-Khattab.-Lineage:Umar was born around...
, after the death of Sulayman and ascension to the Caliph position, strictly enforced the
ShariaSharia law, is the moral code and religious law of Islam. Sharia is derived from two primary sources of Islamic law: the precepts set forth in the Quran, and the example set by the Islamic prophet Muhammad in the Sunnah. Fiqh jurisprudence interprets and extends the application of sharia to...
. Though, he would abolish the
JizyaUnder Islamic law, jizya or jizyah is a per capita tax levied on a section of an Islamic state's non-Muslim citizens, who meet certain criteria...
tax for converts to Islam, who were former dhimmis and were taxed even after they had converted under other Umayyad rulers. Umar II ordered the first collection of hadith material in an official manner, fearing that some of it might be lost.
Abu Bakr ibn Muhammad ibn HazmAbu Bakr ibn Muhammad ibn Hazm was a 8th century Sunni Islamic scholarHe is among those who compiled hadiths at Umar II’s behest.-References:...
and
Ibn Shihab al-ZuhriFor the geographer from Al-Andalus see Mohammed Ibn Abu Bakr al-ZuhriMuhammad ibn Muslim ibn Ubaydullah ibn Shihab al-Zuhri , usually called simply Ibn Shihab or al-Zuhri...
, are among those who compiled hadiths at Umar's behest. Umar also sent Ibn Hatim ibn al-Nu'man to repel Turks invading
AzerbaijanAzerbaijan , officially the Republic of Azerbaijan is the largest country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded by the Caspian Sea to the east, Russia to the north, Georgia to the northwest, Armenia to the west, and Iran to...
. He faced Kharijite uprising and preferred negotiations to armed conflict, personally holding talks with two Kharijite envoys shortly before his death. He recalled the troops besieging Constantinople. This was a serious blow to Umayyad prestige.
Yazid IIYazid bin Abd al-Malik or Yazid II was an Umayyad caliph who ruled from 720 until his death in 724.According to the medieval Persian historian Muhammad ibn Jarir al-Tabari, Yazid came to power on the death of Umar II on February 10, 720. His forces engaged in battle the Kharijites with whom Umar...
came to power on the death of Umar II. Yazid fought the Kharijites, whom Umar had been negotiating, and killed the Kharijite leader Shawdhab. In Yazid's reign, numerous civil wars began to break out in different parts of the empire. Yazid pushed into the Caucasus and expanded the Caliphate's territory. He died in 724. Inheriting the caliphate from his brother Yazid II,
Hisham ibn Abd al-MalikHisham ibn Abd al-Malik 10th Umayyad caliph who ruled from 723 until his death in 743. When he was born in 691 his mother named him after her father....
was ruling an empire with many different problems. He would, however, be effective in attending to these problems, and in allowing the Umayyad empire to continue as an entity. His long rule was an effective one, and it saw a rebirth of reforms that were originated by Umar II. Under Hisham's rule, regular raids against the Byzantines continued. In North Africa, Kharijite teachings combined with natural local restlessness to produce a significant
Berber revoltThe Great Berber Revolt of 739/740-743 AD took place during the reign of the Umayyad Caliph Hisham ibn Abd al-Malik and marked the first successful secession from the Arab caliphate...
. He was also faced with a revolt by Zayd bin Ali. Hisham put down both revolts. Despite Hisham's successes, the Abbasids continued to gain power, building power bases in Khurasan and Iraq. However, they would not prove strong enough to make a move yet. Some of them were caught, punished or executed by eastern governors. The
Battle of AkroinonThe Battle of Akroinon was fought at Akroinon or Akroinos in Phrygia, on the western edge of the Anatolian plateau, in 740 between an Umayyad Arab army and the Byzantine forces. The Arabs had been conducting regular raids into Anatolia for the past century, and the 740 expedition was the largest...
, a decisive Byzantine victory, was in the final campaign of the Umayyad dynasty. Hisham died in 743.
Al-Walid IIWalid ibn Yazid or Walid II was an Umayyad caliph who ruled from 743 until 744. He succeeded his uncle, Hisham ibn Abd al-Malik....
saw political intrigue in his reign as Caliph. During the reign of his cousin al-Walid II,
Yazid IIIYazid ibn al-Walid ibn 'Abd al-Malik or Yazid III was an Umayyad caliph. He reigned for six months, from April 15 to October 3 or 4, 744; and died in that office....
spoke out against Walid's "immorality" which included discrimination on behalf of the Banu Qays Arabs against Yemenis and
non-Arab MuslimsMawali or mawālá is a term in Classical Arabic used to address non-Arab Muslims.The term gained prominence in the centuries following the early Arab Muslim conquests in the 7th century, as many non-Arabs such as Persians, Egyptians, and Turks converted to Islam...
, and Yazid received further support from the Qadariya and Murji'iya (believers in human
free will"To make my own decisions whether I am successful or not due to uncontrollable forces" -Troy MorrisonA pragmatic definition of free willFree will is the ability of agents to make choices free from certain kinds of constraints. The existence of free will and its exact nature and definition have long...
). Walid was shortly thereafter deposed in a
coup. Following this up with a disbursement of funds from the treasury, Yazid acceded to the Caliph and explained that he had rebelled on behalf of the Book of Allah and the Sunna. Yazid reigned for six months, having various groups refuse allegiance to him and experiencing the rise of dissident movements, and died.
Ibrahim ibn al-WalidIbrahim ibn Al-Walid was an Umayyad caliph. He only ruled for a short time in 744 before he abdicated, and went into hiding out of fear of his political opponents. The shortness of this time and his incomplete acceptance led Muhammad ibn Jarir al-Tabari to state that he did not succeed in...
, named heir apparent by his brother Yazid III, only ruled for a short time in 744 before he abdicated.
Marwan IIMarwan ibn Muhammad ibn Marwan or Marwan II was an Umayyad caliph who ruled from 744 until 750 when he was killed. He was the last Umayyad ruler to rule from Damascus.In A.H. 114 Caliph Hisham appointed Marwan governor of Armenia and Azerbaijan. In A.H...
ruled from 744 until 750 when he was killed. He was the last Umayyad ruler to rule from Damascus. Marwan named his two sons Ubaydallah and Abdallah heirs. He appointed governors and proceeded to assert his authority by force. However, anti-Umayyad feeling was very prevalent, especially in Iran and Iraq. The Abbasids had gained much support. As such, Marwan's reign as caliph was almost entirely devoted to trying to keep the Umayyad empire together. Marwan's death signalled the end of Umayyad fortunes in the East, and was followed by the mass-killing of Umayyads by the Abbasids. Almost the entire Umayyad dynasty was killed, except for the talented prince Abd ar-Rahman who escaped to Spain and founded an Umayyad dynasty there.
Islamic Golden Age
The gains of the Ummayad empire were consolidated upon when the
AbbasidThe Abbasid Caliphate or, more simply, the Abbasids , was the third of the Islamic caliphates. It was ruled by the Abbasid dynasty of caliphs, who built their capital in Baghdad after overthrowing the Umayyad caliphate from all but the al-Andalus region....
dynasty rose to power in 750, with the conquest of the
Mediterranean islands including the Balearics and
SicilySicily is a region of Italy, and is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Along with the surrounding minor islands, it constitutes an autonomous region of Italy, the Regione Autonoma Siciliana Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music, literature,...
. The
ruling partyThe ruling party or governing party in a parliamentary system is the political party or coalition of the majority in parliament. Within a parliamentary system, the majority in the legislature also controls the executive branch of government, thus leaving no possibility of dueling parties...
had been instated on the wave of dissatisfaction propagated against the Ummayads, cultured by the Abbasid revolutionary,
Abu Muslim- External links :* *...
. Under the Abbasids, Islamic civilization flourished. Most notable was the development of Arabic
proseArabic literature is the writing produced, both prose and poetry, by writers in the Arabic language. The Arabic word used for literature is adab which is derived from a meaning of etiquette, and implies politeness, culture and enrichment....
and
poetryArabic poetry is the earliest form of Arabic literature. Present knowledge of poetry in Arabic dates from the 6th century, but oral poetry is believed to predate that. Arabic poetry is categorized into two main types, rhymed, or measured, and prose, with the former greatly preceding the latter...
, termed by
The Cambridge History of Islam as its "golden age". This was also the case for commerce and industry (considered a
Muslim Agricultural RevolutionThe Arab Agricultural Revolution is a term coined by the historian Andrew Watson in his influential 1974 paper postulating a fundamental transformation in agriculture from the 8th century to the 13th century in the Muslim...
), and the arts and sciences (considered a
Muslim Scientific RevolutionScience in the medieval Islamic world, also known as Islamic science or Arabic science, is the science developed and practised in the Islamic world during the Islamic Golden Age . During this time, Indian, Iranian and especially Greek knowledge was translated into Arabic...
), which prospered, under the rule of Abbasid caliphs
al-MansurAl-Mansur, Almanzor or Abu Ja'far Abdallah ibn Muhammad al-Mansur was the second Abbasid Caliph from 136 AH to 158 AH .-Biography:...
(ruled 754 — 775),
Harun al-RashidHārūn al-Rashīd was the fifth Arab Abbasid Caliph in Iraq. He was born in Rey, Iran, close to modern Tehran. His birth date remains a point of discussion, though, as various sources give the dates from 763 to 766)....
(ruled 786 — 809),
al-Ma'munAbū Jaʿfar Abdullāh al-Māʾmūn ibn Harūn was an Abbasid caliph who reigned from 813 until his death in 833...
(ruled 809 — 813), and their immediate successors.
| Islamic States |
| Universal Golden period |
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| Decentralized territory |
|
BaghdadBaghdad is the capital of Iraq, as well as the coterminous Baghdad Governorate. The population of Baghdad in 2011 is approximately 7,216,040...
was made the capital of the caliphate (moved from the previous capital, Damascus) due to the importance placed by the Abbasids upon eastern affairs in Persia and Transoxania. It was at this time however, that the caliphate showed signs of fracture and we witness the uprising of regional dynasties. Although the Ummayad family had been killed by the revolting Abbasids, one family member,
Abd ar-Rahman IAbd al-Rahman I, or, his full name by patronymic record, Abd al-Rahman ibn Mu'awiya ibn Hisham ibn Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan was the founder of the Umayyad Emirate of Córdoba , a Muslim dynasty that ruled the greater part of Iberia for nearly three centuries...
, was able to flee to Spain and establish an independent caliphate there in 756. In the Maghreb region, Harun al-Rashid appointed the Arab
AghlabidThe Aghlabids were a dynasty of emirs, members of the Arab tribe of Bani Tamim, who ruled Ifriqiya, nominally on behalf of the Abbasid Caliph, for about a century, until overthrown by the new power of the Fatimid.-History:...
s as virtually autonomous rulers, although they continued to recognise the authority of the central caliphate. Aghlabid rule was short lived, as they were deposed by the Shiite
FatimidThe Fatimid Islamic Caliphate or al-Fāṭimiyyūn was a Berber Shia Muslim caliphate first centered in Tunisia and later in Egypt that ruled over varying areas of the Maghreb, Sudan, Sicily, the Levant, and Hijaz from 5 January 909 to 1171.The caliphate was ruled by the Fatimids, who established the...
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 as
CairoCairo , is the capital of Egypt and the largest city in the Arab world and Africa, and the 16th largest metropolitan area in the world. Nicknamed "The City of a Thousand Minarets" for its preponderance of Islamic architecture, Cairo has long been a centre of the region's political and cultural life...
). Similar was the case in Persia, where the
TurkicThe Turkic peoples are peoples residing in northern, central and western Asia, southern Siberia and northwestern China and parts of eastern Europe. They speak languages belonging to the Turkic language family. They share, to varying degrees, certain cultural traits and historical backgrounds...
Ghaznavids managed to snatch power from the Abbasids. Whatever
temporal powerA state is an organized political community, living under a government. States may be sovereign and may enjoy a monopoly on the legal initiation of force and are not dependent on, or subject to any other power or state. Many states are federated states which participate in a federal union...
of the Abbasids remained had been consumed by the
Great Seljuq EmpireThe Great Seljuq Empire was a medieval Persianate, Turko-Persian Sunni Muslim empire, originating from the Qynyq branch of Oghuz Turks. The Seljuq Empire controlled a vast area stretching from the Hindu Kush to eastern Anatolia and from Central Asia to the Persian Gulf...
(a Muslim Turkish clan which had migrated into mainland Persia), in 1055.
During this time, expansion continued, sometimes by military warfare, sometimes by peaceful
proselytismDa‘wah or Dawah usually denotes the preaching of Islam. Da‘wah literally means "issuing a summons" or "making an invitation", being the active participle of a verb meaning variously "to summon" or "to invite"...
. The first stage in the conquest of India began just before the year 1000. By some 200 (from 1193 — 1209) years later, the area up to the
Ganges riverThe Ganges or Ganga, , is a trans-boundary river of India and Bangladesh. The river rises in the western Himalayas in the Indian state of Uttarakhand, and flows south and east through the Gangetic Plain of North India into Bangladesh, where it empties into the Bay of Bengal. By discharge it...
had been conquered. In sub-Saharan West Africa, it was just after the year 1000 that Islam was established. Muslim rulers are known to have been in
KanemKanem is one of the 22 regions of Chad, corresponding to the former prefecture of Kanem. Its capital is Mao. It is named after the famous Kanem Empire, which was centered in this vicinity.The region of Kanem is divided into 3 departments:-Demography:...
starting from sometime between 1081 to 1097, with reports of a Muslim prince at the head of
GaoGao is a town in eastern Mali on the River Niger lying ESE of Timbuktu. Situated on the left bank of the river at the junction with the Tilemsi valley, it is the capital of the Gao Region and had a population of 86,663 in 2009....
as early as 1009. The
Islamic kingdoms associated with MaliThe Mali Empire or Mandingo Empire or Manden Kurufa was a West African empire of the Mandinka from c. 1230 to c. 1600. The empire was founded by Sundiata Keita and became renowned for the wealth of its rulers, especially Mansa Musa I...
reached prominence later, in the 13th century.
The Abbasids began to develop Islamic initiatives aimed at greater unity. Islamic faith and mosques separated by doctrine, history, and practice were driven to cooperate. The Abbasids also distinguished themselves from the Umayyads by attacking their moral character and administration in general. According to Ira Lapidus, "The Abbasid revolt was supported largely by Arabs, mainly the aggrieved settlers of Marw with the addition of the Yemeni faction and their
MawaliMawali or mawālá is a term in Classical Arabic used to address non-Arab Muslims.The term gained prominence in the centuries following the early Arab Muslim conquests in the 7th century, as many non-Arabs such as Persians, Egyptians, and Turks converted to Islam...
". The Abbasids also appealed to non-Arab Muslims, known as
mawali, who remained outside the kinship-based society of the Arabs and were perceived as a lower class within the Umayyad empire. Islamic ecumenism, promoted by the Abbasids, refers to the idea of unity of the
UmmahUmmah is an Arabic word meaning "community" or "nation." It is commonly used to mean either the collective nation of states, or the whole Arab world...
in the literal meaning: that there was a single faith. Islamic philosophy developed as the Shariah was codified, and the four Madhabs were established and built. This era also saw the rise of classical
SufismSufism or ' is defined by its adherents as the inner, mystical dimension of Islam. A practitioner of this tradition is generally known as a '...
. The achievement, however, was completion of the canonical collections of
HadithThe term Hadīth is used to denote a saying or an act or tacit approval or criticism ascribed either validly or invalidly to the Islamic prophet Muhammad....
of
Sahih BukhariṢaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī , as it is commonly referred to, is one of the six canonical hadith collections of Islam. These prophetic traditions, or hadith, were collected by the Persian Muslim scholar Muhammad ibn Ismail al-Bukhari, after being transmitted orally for generations. Muslims view this as one of...
and others. Islam recognized to a certain extent the validity of the Abrahamic religions, the Qur'an identifying Jews, Christians, Zoroastrians, and "Sabi'un" or "baptists" (usually taken as a reference to the Mandeans and related Mesopotamian groups) as "people of the book". Toward the beginning of the high Middle Ages, the Abbasids saw the doctrines of the Sunni and Shia, two major
denominations of IslamMuslims are basically divided in two major factions, Sunnis and Shias, that are further divided into various Schools of Jurisprudence and orders of Imamate. All other movements within such as Salafi, Modernists, the Mystical Sufi Orders, Deobandi and Barelvi are either Sunni or Shia or both...
, created and the divisions of the world beyond their control would form. These trends would continue into the Fatimid and Ayyubid periods.
In addition, the Caliphate under the Abbasid evolved into an Islamic
monarchyA monarchy is a form of government in which the office of head of state is usually held until death or abdication and is often hereditary and includes a royal house. In some cases, the monarch is elected...
(
unitary system of governmentA unitary state is a state governed as one single unit in which the central government is supreme and any administrative divisions exercise only powers that their central government chooses to delegate...
) and the regional Sultanate and
EmirateAn emirate is a political territory that is ruled by a dynastic Muslim monarch styled emir.-Etymology:Etymologically emirate or amirate is the quality, dignity, office or territorial competence of any emir ....
governors' existence, validity, or legality were acknowledge for unity of the state. In
early Islamic philosophyEarly Islamic philosophy or classical Islamic philosophy is a period of intense philosophical development beginning in the 2nd century AH of the Islamic calendar and lasting until the 6th century AH...
of the Iberian Umayyads,
Averroes' , better known just as Ibn Rushd , and in European literature as Averroes , was a Muslim polymath; a master of Aristotelian philosophy, Islamic philosophy, Islamic theology, Maliki law and jurisprudence, logic, psychology, politics, Arabic music theory, and the sciences of medicine, astronomy,...
presented an argument in
The Decisive Treatise providing a justification for the emancipation of science and philosophy from official
Ash'ariThe Ashʿari theology is a school of early Muslim speculative theology founded by the theologian Abu al-Hasan al-Ash'ari...
theology, thus
AverroismAverroism is the term applied to either of two philosophical trends among scholastics in the late 13th century: the Arab philosopher Averroës or Ibn Rushd's interpretations of Aristotle and his reconciliation of Aristotelianism with Islamic faith; and the application of these ideas in the Latin...
has been considered a precursor to modern
secularismSecularism is the principle of separation between government institutions and the persons mandated to represent the State from religious institutions and religious dignitaries...
.
Golden Baghdad Abbasids
Early Middle Ages
-
-
- Consult particular article for details
According to Arab sources in the year 750, Al-Saffah, the founder of the Abbasid Caliphate, launched a massive rebellion against the discriminatory Umayyad Caliphate from the province of Khurasan near Talas. After eliminating the entire Umayyad family and victory at the
Battle of the ZabThe Battle of the Zab took place on the banks of the Great Zab river in what is now Iraq on January 25, 750. It spelled the end of the Umayyad Caliphate and the rise of the Abbasids, a dynasty that would last until the 13th century.-Background:A serious rebellion had broken out in 747 against...
, 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.
In
Al-MansurAl-Mansur, Almanzor or Abu Ja'far Abdallah ibn Muhammad al-Mansur was the second Abbasid Caliph from 136 AH to 158 AH .-Biography:...
's time, there was an emergence of Persian scholarship. Also, there was a conversion of many non-Arabs to Islam. The Umayyads actively tried to discourage conversion in order to continue the collection of the jizya, or the tax on non-Muslims. The inclusiveness of the Abbasid regime, and that of al-Mansur, saw the expansion of Islam among its territory; in 750, roughly 8% of residents in the Caliphate were Muslims. This would double to 15% by the end of Al-Mansur's reign.
Al-MahdiMuhammad ibn Mansur al-Mahdi , was the third Abbasid Caliph who reigned from 158 AH to 169 AH . He succeeded his father, al-Mansur....
, whose name means "Rightly-guided" or "Redeemer", was proclaimed caliph when his father was on his deathbed. The cosmopolitan city of Baghdad blossomed during Al-Mahdi's reign. The city attracted immigrants from all of Arabia, Iraq, Syria, Persia, and lands as far away as India and Spain. Baghdad was home to Christians, Jews, Hindus, and Zoroastrians, in addition to the growing Muslim population. It became the world's largest city.
Al-HadiAbu Abdullah Musa ibn Mahdi al-Hadi was the fourth Abbasid caliph who succeeded his father Al-Mahdi and ruled from 169 AH until his death in 170 AH ....
was, like his father, very open to the people of his empire and allowed citizens to visit him in the palace at Baghdad to address him. As such, he was considered an "enlightened ruler", and continued the progressive moves of his Abbasid predecessors. His short rule was wreaked with numerous military conflicts.
The military conflicts would subside as
Harun al-RashidHārūn al-Rashīd was the fifth Arab Abbasid Caliph in Iraq. He was born in Rey, Iran, close to modern Tehran. His birth date remains a point of discussion, though, as various sources give the dates from 763 to 766)....
ruled. Al-Rashid reign was marked by scientific, cultural and religious prosperity. He established the library Bayt al-Hikma ("House of Wisdom") and the arts and music flourished during his reign. The family of Barmakids which played a deciding role in establishing the Abbasid Caliphate declined gradually during his rule.
Al-AminMuhammad ibn Harun al-Amin , Abbasid Caliph. He succeeded his father, Harun al-Rashid in 809 and ruled until he was killed in 813.-Caliph:...
, according to signed pledges during a pilgrimage to Mecca, received the Caliphate from his father Harun Al-Rashid. Al-Amin faced Internal rebellions. The rebellion by Tahir resulted in
Baghdad being besiegedSiege of Baghdad was a part of a civil war between Al-Amin and Al-Ma'mun for the Abbasid Caliphate of Baghdad. The siege lasted from August 812 until September 813...
. Tahir led reinforcements to regain positions lost by another officer. When Tahir pushed into the city, Al-Amin sought to negotiate safe passage out. Tahir agreed on the condition Al-Amin turn over his sceptre, seal and other signs of being caliph. Al-Amin tried to leave on a boat and rejected warnings he should wait. Tahir noticed the boat. Al-Amin was thrown into the water, swam to shore, was captured and executed. His head was placed on the Al-Anbar Gate.
Regional powers
The Abbasids soon became caught within a three-way rivalry of Coptic Arabs, Indo-Persians, and the immigrant Turks. In addition, the cost of running a large empire became too great. The Turks, Egyptians, and Arabs belong to the Sunnite sect; the tenets of the Shiites are professed by the Persians, a great portion of the Turkic groups, and several of the princes in India. The political unity of Islam began to disintegrate. Independent dynasties, but still under the influence of the theoretical leadership of Abbasid caliphs, appeared in the Muslim world, and the caliphs recognized such dynasties as legitimate Muslim dynasties. The first of such dynasties was the
Tahirid dynastyThe Tahirid Dynasty, was a Persian dynasty that governed from 820 to 872 over the northeastern part of Greater Iran, in the region of Khorasan . The dynasty was founded by Tahir ibn Husayn, a leading general in the service of the Abbasid caliph al-Ma'mun...
which was founded during the caliph
Al-Ma'munAbū Jaʿfar Abdullāh al-Māʾmūn ibn Harūn was an Abbasid caliph who reigned from 813 until his death in 833...
in the eastern portions of the empire, in
KhorasanGreater Khorasan or Ancient Khorasan is a historical region of Greater Iran mentioned in sources from Sassanid and Islamic eras which "frequently" had a denotation wider than current three provinces of Khorasan in Iran...
, and was nominally subject to the Abbasid caliphate. Subsequent similar dynasties which were independent yet recognized by the Abbasid caliph were the Saffarids, Samanids, Ghaznavids and Seljuqs. During this time, advancements were made in the areas of astronomy, poetry, philosophy, science, and mathematics.
High Baghdad Abbasids
Early Middle Ages
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-
- Consult particular article for details
On Al-Amin's death,
Al-Ma'munAbū Jaʿfar Abdullāh al-Māʾmūn ibn Harūn was an Abbasid caliph who reigned from 813 until his death in 833...
became Caliph. Al-Ma'mun grew the Abbasid empire somewhat during his reign and dealt with rebellions. Al-Ma'mun had been named governor of Khurasan by Harun, and after his ascension to power, the caliph named Tahir as governor for his military services in order to assure his loyalty. Tahir and his family became entrenched in Iranian politics and became powerful in the state, contrary to Al-Ma'mun's desire to centralize and strengthen Caliphal power. The rising power of the
Tahirid dynastyThe Tahirid Dynasty, was a Persian dynasty that governed from 820 to 872 over the northeastern part of Greater Iran, in the region of Khorasan . The dynasty was founded by Tahir ibn Husayn, a leading general in the service of the Abbasid caliph al-Ma'mun...
became a threat as Al-Ma'mun's own policies alienated them and his other opponents.
Al-Ma'mun directed his efforts toward the centralization of power and the certainty of succession. Although Al-Mahdi had proclaimed that the caliph was the protector of Islam against heresy, and had also claimed the ability to declare orthodoxy, religious scholars in the Islamic world believed that Al-Ma'mun was overstepping his bounds in the
MihnaThe Mihna refers to a test instituted by the Abassid Caliph al-Ma'mun in 218 AH/833 AD, in which religious scholars were required to answer whether or not the Qu'ran was a created text. Those who answered in the affirmative were retained; those who answered in the negative were dismissed...
. The Mihna was the Abbasid inquisitions. The Ulama emerged as a real force in Islamic politics during Al-Ma'mun's reign for opposing the inquisitions, which was initiated in 833, only four months before he died. The
Ulema and the major Islamic law schools became truly defined in the period of Al-Ma'mun and Sunnism, as a religion of legalism, became defined in parallel. Doctrinal differences between Sunni and Shi'a Islam began to become more pronounced.
In the time Al-Ma'mun as Caliph, the Arabs and the Byzantines
border wars increased. Al-Ma'mun made preparations for a major campaign and died on the way while leading an expedition in Sardis. Al-Ma'mun's relations with the Byzantine Greeks is marked by his efforts in the translation of Greek philosophy and science. 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. His reign also saw alchemy developed and the pioneers of the science. Shortly before his death, during a visit to Egypt in 832, the caliph ordered the breaching of the Great Pyramid of Giza looking for knowledge and treasure. He entered the pyramid by tunneling into the Great Pyramid near where tradition located the original entrance. Al-Ma'mun later died near Tarsus under questionable circumstances and was succeeded not by his son, Al-Abbas ibn Al-Ma'mun, but by his half-brother,
Al-Mu'tasimAbu Ishaq 'Abbas al-Mu'tasim ibn Harun was an Abbasid caliph . He succeeded his half-brother al-Ma'mun...
.
As Caliph, Al-Mu'tasim promptly ordered the dismantling of al-Ma'mun's military base at Tyana. He dealt with Khurramite revolts. One of the most difficult problems facing this Caliph, as faced his predecessor, was the uprising of Babak Khorramdin, but overcame the rebels and secured a significant victory of this reign. The
Byzantine emperor TheophilusTheophilos was the Byzantine emperor from 829 until his death in 842. He was the second emperor of the Phrygian dynasty, and the last emperor supporting iconoclasm...
launched an attack against a number of Abbasid fortresses. Al-Mu'tasim launched a well planned response. Al-Afshin met and defeated Theophilus at the
Battle of AnzenThe Battle of Anzen or Dazimon was fought on July 22, 838 at Anzen or Dazimon between the Byzantine Empire and the forces of the Abbasid Caliphate...
. On his return home, he became aware of a serious military commanders conspiracy which lead to reliance of this caliph and his successors upon Turkish commanders and the
ghilmanGhilman Ghilman Ghilman (singular ghulam describes either young servants in paradise or slave-soldiers in the Ottoman, Mughal and Persian Empires.-Islamic Theology:...
slave-soldiers (foreshadowing the Mamluk system). The Khurramiyyah were never fully suppressed, although they slowly vanished 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.
In Al-Mu'tasim's reign, the Tahirid dynasty continued to grow in power. The Tahirids were exempted from many tributes and oversight functions. The independence of the Tahirids contributed to the decline of Abbasid supremacy in the east. Ideologically, al-Mu'tasim followed the footstep of his half-brother al-Ma'mun. He continued his predecessors support for the islamic sect of Mu'tazila, applying his brutal military methods for torture. Also of note, the Arab mathematician Al-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.
Al-WathiqAl-Wathiq ibn Mutasim was an Abbasid caliph who reigned from 842 until 847 AD .-Biography:...
succeeded his father, Al-Mutasim. Al-Wathiq dealt with opposition in Arabia, Syria, Palestine and in Baghdad. He, using a famous sword, personally joined in 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 continued to widen, with the Turkish forces gaining power. He also secured a captive exchange of with the Byzantines. Al-Wathiq was a patron of scholars, as well as artists. He personally had musical talents and is reputed to have composed over one-hundred songs.
When Al-Wathiq died of high fever,
Al-MutawakkilAl-Mutawakkil ʻAlā Allāh Jaʻfar ibn al-Muʻtasim was an Abbasid caliph who reigned in Samarra from 847 until 861...
succeeded him to the Caliph position. Al-Mutawakkil's reign is remembered for its many reforms and viewed as a golden age of the Abbasids. He would be the last great Abbasid caliph; after his death the dynasty would fall into a decline. Al-Mutawakkil put an end to the Mihna. Al-Mutawakkil built the
Great Mosque of SamarraThe Great Mosque of Samarra is a 9th century mosque located in Samarra, Iraq. The mosque was commissioned in 848 and completed in 851 by the Abbasid caliph Al-Mutawakkil who reigned from 847 until 861....
. This was part of an extension of Samarra eastwards that built upon part of the walled royal hunting park. Al-Mutawakkil also built many palaces. During his reign, Al-Mutawakkil met the famous Byzantine theologian
Constantine the PhilosopherSaints Cyril and Methodius were two Byzantine Greek brothers born in Thessaloniki in the 9th century. They became missionaries of Christianity among the Slavic peoples of Bulgaria, Great Moravia and Pannonia. Through their work they influenced the cultural development of all Slavs, for which they...
, who was sent to tighten the diplomatic relations between the Empire and the Caliphate in a state mission by the
Emperor Michael IIIMichael III , , Byzantine Emperor from 842 to 867. Michael III was the third and traditionally last member of the Amorian-Phrygian Dynasty...
. Al-Mutawakkil was also keen to involve himself in many religious debates, something that would show in his actions against different minorities. The Shīʻa population faced repression and this was embodied in the destruction of the
shrine of Hussayn ibn ʻAlīThe Shrine of Husayn ibn ‘Alī is one of the oldest mosques on Earth and a holy site of Shīah Islām in the city of Karbalā, Iraq. It stands on the site of the grave of Husayn ibn ‘Alī, the second grandson of Muhammad, near the place where he was killed during the Battle of Karbalā in 680 C.E....
, an action that was carried out obstensibly in order to stop pilgrimages to that site. Al-Mutawakkil continued to rely on Turkish statesmen and slave soldiers to put down rebellions and lead battles against foreign empires, notably the Byzantines, from who Sicily was captured. Al-Mutawakkil was assassinated, murdered by a Turkish soldier.
Al-MuntasirAl-Muntasir was the Abbasid caliph in Baghdad from 861 to 862. His pious title means He that Triumphs in the Lord.Muhammad ibn Jarir al-Tabari records that in A.H. 236 al-Muntasir led the pilgrimage. The previous year al-Mutawakkil had named his three son's heirs and seeming to favour al-Muntasir...
succeeded to the throne of the Caliphate on that same day Al-Mutawakkil was killed with the support of the Turkish faction, though he was implicated in the crime. The Turkish party had al-Muntasir remove his brothers from the succession, fearing revenge for the murder of their father. Both brothers wrote statements of abdication. In 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's reign ended with his death of unknown causes. The Turkish chiefs held a council to select al-Muntasir successor. and elected
Al-Musta'inAl-Musta'in was the Abbasid Caliph in Baghdad from 862 to 866. After the death of previous Caliph, al-Muntasir, the Turkish chiefs held a council to select his successor; they would have none of al-Mu'tazz, nor his brothers; so they elected him, another grandson of al-Mu'tasim.The Arabs and...
. The Arabs and western troops from Baghdad, displeased at the choice, attacked. Baghdad had yet to learn that the Caliphate no longer depended on Arabian choice, but had passed into other hands. After the Muslim campaign against the Christians which were unfortunate for the caliphate, people blamed the Turks that had brought disaster on the faith and murdered their Caliphs; setting up others at their pleasure. After the Turks besiege Baghdad, Al-Musta'in planned to abdicate to Al-Mu'tazz but was put to death by the order of
Al-Mu'tazzAl-Mu'tazz was the title of the Abbasid Caliph in Baghdad from 866 to 869. Placed upon the throne by the Turks, he proved but too apt a pupil of his Turkish masters.He became the caliph at 19 he was the youngest Abbasaid Caliph to assume power. He was surrounded by parties each jealous of the other...
. Al-Mu'tazz was placed upon the throne by the Turks, the youngest Abbasaid Caliph to assume power.
High Abbasids
Jurisprudence |
Four constructions of Islamite law
- Abu Hanifa (Iraq teacher)
- Malik bin Anas (Medina Imam)
- Muhammad ibn Idris ash-Shafi`i
Abū ʿAbdullāh Muhammad ibn Idrīs al-Shafiʿī was a Muslim jurist, who lived from 767 CE to 820 CE. He was active in juridical matters and his teaching eventually led to the Shafi'i school of fiqh named after him. Hence he is often called Imam al-Shafi'i...
(Egyptian Iman)
- Ahmad ibn Hanbal
Ahmad bin Muhammad bin Hanbal Abu `Abd Allah al-Shaybani was an important Muslim scholar and theologian. He is considered the founder of the Hanbali school of fiqh...
(Baghdad teacher) |
Early Abbasids
Literature and Science |
- Hunayn ibn Ishaq
Hunayn ibn Ishaq was a famous and influential Assyrian Nestorian Christian scholar, physician, and scientist, known for his work in translating Greek scientific and medical works into Arabic and Syriac during the heyday of the Islamic Abbasid Caliphate.Ḥunayn ibn Isḥaq was the most productive...
, physician, Greek translator;
- Ibn Fadlan, explorer;
- Al Battani, astronomer;
- Tabari
Abu Ja'far Muhammad ibn Jarir al-Tabari was a prominent and influential Sunni scholar and exegete of the Qur'an from Persia...
, historian and theologian;
- Al-Razi
Muhammad ibn Zakariyā Rāzī , known as Rhazes or Rasis after medieval Latinists, was a Persian polymath,a prominent figure in Islamic Golden Age, physician, alchemist and chemist, philosopher, and scholar....
, philosopher, medic, chemist;
- Al-Farabi
' known in the West as Alpharabius , was a scientist and philosopher of the Islamic world...
, chemist and philosopher;
- Abu Nasr Mansur
Abu Nasr Mansur ibn Ali ibn Iraq was a Persian Muslim mathematician. He is well known for his work with the spherical sine law....
, mathematician;
- Alhazen, mathematician;
- Al-Biruni
Abū al-Rayḥān Muḥammad ibn Aḥmad al-BīrūnīArabic spelling. . The intermediate form Abū Rayḥān al-Bīrūnī is often used in academic literature...
, mathematician, astronomer, physicist;
- Omar Khayyám
Omar Khayyám was aPersian polymath: philosopher, mathematician, astronomer and poet. He also wrote treatises on mechanics, geography, mineralogy, music, climatology and theology....
, poet, mathematician, and astronomer;
- Mansur Al-Hallaj
Mansur al-Hallaj was a Persian mystic, revolutionary writer and pious teacher of Sufism most famous for his poetry, accusation of heresy and for his execution at the orders of the Abbasid Caliph Al-Muqtadir after a long, drawn-out investigation.-Early life:Al-Hallaj was born around 858 in Fars...
, Sufism mystic, writer and teacher |
Al-Mu'tazz proved but too apt a pupil of his Turkish masters and was surrounded by parties each jealous of the other. At Samarra, the Turks were having problems with the "Westerns" (Berbers and Moors); while the Arabs and Persians at Baghdad, who had supported al-Musta'in, regarded both with equal hatred. Al-Mu'tazz put to death his brothers, Al-Mu'eiyyad and Abu Ahmed. The revenues were squandered at the reckless Court, which resulted in a revolt of Turks, Africans, and Persians for their pay. Al-Mu'tazz was shortly thereafter depose, with brutal inhumanity.
Al-MuhtadiAl-Muhtadi was the Abbasid Caliph in Baghdad from 869 to 870.After the death of al-Mu'tazz, the Turks chose his cousin, al-Muhtadi, son of al-Wathiq by a Grecian slave-girl, as the new Caliph. Al-Muhtadi turned out be firm and virtuous compared to the last few Caliphs...
was next was appointed to be the Caliph. He was a firm and virtuous Caliph compared to the earlier appoint Caliphs, though the Turks held the power of the state. Under him, the Court soon saw a transformation of virtue. He, though, was killed by the Turks soon after ascending to the throne.
Al-Mu'tamidThis article is about the Abbasid Caliph al-Mu'tamid of Baghdad. For the Andalusi Arabic poet who was also the Abbadid king of Seville, see Muhammad Ibn Abbad Al Mutamid...
next held the title of caliph for 23 years, though he was a largely a ruler in name only. After the
Zanj RebellionThe Zanj Rebellion was the culmination of series of small revolts. It took place near the city of Basra, located in southern Iraq over a period of fifteen years . It grew to involve over 500,000 slaves who were imported from across the Muslim empire and claimed over “tens of thousands of lives in...
, Al-Mu'tamid summoned
al-MuwaffakAbu Ahmad ibn al-Mutawakkil , better known as al-Muwaffaq , was the brother and regent of the Abbasid Caliph Al-Mu'tamid....
to help him. From that point forward, Al-Muwaffaq essentially ruled as Caliph in all but name. The
HamdanidsThe Hamdanid dynasty was a Shi'a Muslim Arab dynasty of northern Iraq and Syria . They claimed to have been descended from the ancient Banu Taghlib Christian tribe of Mesopotamia....
were founded by Hamdan ibn Hamdun (after whom it is named), when he was appointed governor of Mardin in Anatolia by the Caliphs in 890. Al-Mu'tamid later transferred substantial authority to his son,
al-Mu'tadidAl-Mu'tadid was the Abbasid Caliph in Baghdad from 892 to 902. As the son and heir of the powerful vizier and virtual regent Al-Muwaffaq , Mu'tadid was already in possession of supreme power even before he was appointed Caliph, and continued as Caliph to ably administer the Government...
, and never regained any real power. The
TulunidsThe Tulunids were the first independent dynasty in Islamic Egypt , when they broke away from the central authority of the Abbasid dynasty that ruled the Islamic Caliphate during that time...
were the first independent state in Islamic Egypt, when they broke away during this time from the central authority of the Abbasids.
Al-Mu'tadid ably administer the Caliphate. Egypt returned to is allegiance and Mesopotamia was for the time restored to order. He was tolerant towards Shi'a community, 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-MuktafiAl-Muktafi was the Abbasid Caliph in Baghdad from 902 to 908. He was the son of the previous Caliph, al-Mu'tadid, by a Turkish slave-girl. In command of ar Raqqah at the time of his father's death, he at once returned to the Capital, where he became a favorite of the people for his generosity,...
, succeeded to the throne.
Al-Muktafi became a favorite of the people for his generosity, and for abolishing his father's secret prisons, the terror of Baghdad. During his reign, the Caliphate was threatened by various dangers, such as the Carmathians, which were overcome. Hostilities prevailed more or less with the Byzantines, who were not slow to take advantage of the difficulties of the Caliphate. War was kept up with various fortune on both sides. Upon his death, the vazir chose
Al-MuqtadirAl-Muqtadir was the Abbasid Caliph in Baghdad from 908 AD to 932 AD .After the previous Caliph, al-Muktafi, was confined for several months to his sick-bed, intrigue was made for some time as to his successor...
as the next Caliph. Al-Muqtadir's reign was a constant record of his thirteen Vazirs, one rising on the fall, or on the assassination, of another. The long reign of this Caliph brought the Empire to the lowest ebb. The stand made during the last three reigns to stay the downward progress at last came to an end and the Abbasid continued its decline. Africa was lost, and Egypt nearly. Mosul had thrown off its dependence, and the Greeks could make raids at pleasure on the helpless border. In the East, thought, there still was kept up a formal recognition of the Caliphate, even by those who virtually claimed their independence.
At the end of the Early Baghdad Abbasids period, Empress
Zoe KarbonopsinaZoe Karbonopsina, also Karvounopsina or Carbonopsina, i.e., "with the Coal-Black Eyes" , was fourth wife of the Byzantine Emperor Leo VI the Wise and the mother of Constantine VII....
pressed for an armistice with Al-Muqtadir and arranged for the ransom of the Muslim prisoner while the Byzantine frontier was threatened by Bulgarians. This only added to the disorder of the city of Baghdad. Though despised by the people, Al-Muqtadir was again placed in power after upheavals in the capital. Al-Muqtadir was eventually slain outside the city gates. On the death of al-Muqtadir, the courtiers chose the late Caliph's brother
al-QahirAl-Qahir bi'llah Abu Mansour Muhammad Al Qahir Bellah was the 19th Abbasid Caliph in Baghdad from 932 to 934. He was born 286 Hijri and 899 C.E...
; but he was an even worse than al-Muqtadir. Refusing to abdicate, his eyes were blinded, and he was cast into prison.
Ar-RadiAr-Radi was the Abbasid Caliph in Baghdad from 934 to his death at the age of thirty-three in 940.The seven years' reign of ar-Radi, son of al-Muqtadir, was but a succession of misfortune. Praised for his piety, he became the mere tool of the chief minister of the day. The authority of the Caliph...
, son of al-Muqtadir, ascended to the position of Calip but saw only a succession of misfortune. Praised for his piety, he became the mere 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 conjoined with the Caliph's in the public prayers. Around this period, the
HanbaliThe Hanbali school is one the schools of Fiqh or religious law within Sunni Islam. The jurisprudence school traces back to Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal but was institutionalized by his students. Hanbali jurisprudence is considered very strict and conservative, especially regarding questions of dogma...
s, supported by popular sentiment, carried things and set up in fact a kind of 'Sunni inquisition'. Ar-Radi is commonly spoken of as the last of the real Caliphs: the last to deliver orations at the Friday service, to hold assemblies to discuss with philosophers and discuss the questions of the day, or to take counsel on the affairs of State; the last to distribute largess among the needy, or to interpose to temper the severity of cruel officers. Thus ended the Early Baghdad Abbasids.
In the late mid-930s, the
IkhshididsThe Ikhshidid dynasty of Egypt ruled from 935 to 969. The dynasty carried the Arabic title "Wali" reflecting their position as governors on behalf of the Abbasids, the first governor was Muhammad bin Tughj Al-Ikhshid, a Turkic slave soldier, who was installed by the Abbasid Caliph and gave him and...
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" by the Caliph.
Also in the 930s, the founders of the Būyid confederation were
‘Alī ibn BūyahAli ibn Buya "'Imad al-Daula" was the founder of the Buyid dynasty in Iran .- Early career :'Ali first entered the services of the Samanids under Nasr II, where he became a member of the ruler's entourage. From there he eventually joined Makan, who ruled Gorgan and Ray as a governor of the...
and his two younger brothers,
al-HassanHasan , known as Rukn al-Dawla, was the first Buyid amir of northern and central Iran . He was the son of Buya.-Struggle for power:...
and
AḥmadAhmad was the first of the Buwayhid emirs of Iraq, ruling from 945 until his death. He was the son of Buya.During the Buwayhid conquest of Fars, Ahmad distinguished himself in battle. In 935 or 936, Ahmad's oldest brother 'Ali sent Ahmad to Kerman with the task of conquering that province from the...
. Originally a soldier in the service of the Ziyārīds of Ṭabaristān, ‘Alī was able to recruit an army to defeat a Turkish general from
BaghdadBaghdad is the capital of Iraq, as well as the coterminous Baghdad Governorate. The population of Baghdad in 2011 is approximately 7,216,040...
named Yāqūt in 934. Over the next nine years the three brothers gained control of the remainder of the
'Abbāsid CaliphateThe Abbasid Caliphate or, more simply, the Abbasids , was the third of the Islamic caliphates. It was ruled by the Abbasid dynasty of caliphs, who built their capital in Baghdad after overthrowing the Umayyad caliphate from all but the al-Andalus region....
. While they accepted the titular authority of the caliph in Baghdad, the Būyid rulers assumed effective control of the state. The Būyid confederation had large territorial gains.
Fars and
JibalJibāl was a short-lived Arab-ruled province located in western Iran, under the Abbasid Caliphate of Baghdad. It was roughly coterminous with the ancient country of the Medes. In 10th century it came back under Persian rule ....
were conquered. Central Iraq, which submitted in 945, the Būyids took
Kermān- Geological characteristics :For the Iranian paleontologists, Kerman has always been considered a fossil paradise. Finding new dinosaur footprints in 2005 has now revealed new hopes for paleontologists to better understand the history of this area.- Economy :...
(967),
OmanOman , officially called the Sultanate of Oman , is an Arab state in southwest Asia on the southeast coast of the Arabian Peninsula. It is bordered by the United Arab Emirates to the northwest, Saudi Arabia to the west, and Yemen to the southwest. The coast is formed by the Arabian Sea on the...
(967), the Jazīra (979), Ṭabaristān (980), and
GorganGorgan Some east of Gorgan is the Golestan National Park. The city has a regional airport and several universities. Gorgan Airport was opened in September 2005.-Etymology:...
(981). After this, however, the Būyids went into a slow decline, with pieces of the confederation gradually breaking off and local dynasties under their rule becoming
de facto independent.
Middle Baghdad Abbasids
Early High Middle Ages
-
-
- Consult particular article for details
Mediterrean Region
and the States of the Crusades |
|
During the beginning of the Middle Baghdad Abbasids, the Caliphate had become of little importance. Bajkam, Amir al-Umara, contented himself with despatching to Baghdad his secretary, who assembled the chief men to elect a successor. The choice fell on the
Al-MuttaqiAl-Muttaqi was the Abbasid caliph in Baghdad from 940 to 944.Of such little importance the Caliphate had become by now that when the previous Caliph al-Radi died, Bajkam, Amir al-Umara , contented himself with despatching to Baghdad his secretary, who assembled the chief men to elect a successor...
. Bajkam shortly thereafter went out on a hunting party and met his death at the hands of a band of marauding Kurds. In the ensuing anarchy in Baghdad, Ibn Raik persuaded the Caliph to flee to Mosul and was welcomed by the Hamdanid. The Hamdanid assassinated Ibn Raik and the Hamdanid Nasir ad-Daula advanced on Baghdad. At Baghdad, mercenaries and the well-organised Turks repelled the Hamdanid; the Turkish general Tuzun gained the position of Amir al-Umara. The Turks were staunch Sunnis. A fresh a conspiracy placed the Caliph in danger. Hamdanid troops helped him escape; fleeing to Mosul and, after, to Nasibin. Tuzun and the Hamdanid were stalemated and Al-Muttaqi was at
Ar RaqqahAr-Raqqah , also spelled Rakka, is a city in north central Syria located on the north bank of the Euphrates, about 160 km east of Aleppo. It is the capital of the Ar-Raqqah Governorate and one of the main cities of the historical Diyār Muḍar, the western part of the Jazīra...
. Later, Al-Muttaqi went to Tuzun and was deposed from the Caliphate. Tuzun installed the blinded Caliph's cousin as successor, with the title of
Al-MustakfiAl-Mustakfi was the Abbasid Caliph in Baghdad from 944 to 946. He was installed by Tuzun, a Turkish general who disposed and blinded the previous Caliph al-Muttaqi....
. Tuzun, with the Caliph, marched against the Buwayhid dynasty and the Hamdanids. Soon after, Tuzun died, and was succeeded by Abu Ja'far, one of his generals. The Buwayhids marched on Baghdad and Abu Ja'far with the Caliph fled into hiding. Buwayhid Sultan Muiz ud-Daula assumed the command and the Caliph was in abject submission to the Amir. Eventually, Al-Mustakfi was blinded and deposed. The city rose in chaos, and the Caliph's palace was looted.
| Significant Middle Abbasid Muslims |
- Ibn Rushd (Averoes), philosopher;
- al-Farabi
' known in the West as Alpharabius , was a scientist and philosopher of the Islamic world...
, Persian (Soghdian) philosopher;
- Al-Mutanebbi, Arabic poet;
- Abu Ali Husain ibn Abdallah ibn Sina (Avicenna
Abū ʿAlī al-Ḥusayn ibn ʿAbd Allāh ibn Sīnā , commonly known as Ibn Sīnā or by his Latinized name Avicenna, was a Persian polymath, who wrote almost 450 treatises on a wide range of subjects, of which around 240 have survived...
), physician, philosopher, and scientist |
After the Buwayhids controlled Baghdad,
Al-MutiAl-Muti was the Abbasid Caliph in Baghdad from 946 to 974. He had long aspired to the office. Between him and the previous Caliph, al-Mustakfi, bitter enmity existed, which led him to retire into hiding....
became caliph. the office was shorn real power and Shi'a observances were set up. the Buwayhids maintained their hold on Baghdad over one hundred years. The Caliphate of Baghdad through the Buwayhid reign was at its lowest ebb but was recognized religiously, except Iberia. Buwayhid Sultan Muiz ud-Daula was prevented from raising to throne a Shi'a Caliph by alarm for his own safety, and fear of rebellion, not in the capital alone, but all around. The next Abbasid Baghdad Caliph, Al-Ta'i, saw the strife of Syria's factions — Fatimid, Turkish, and Carmathian. The Buwayhid dynasyty was also fractured. The Abbasid borders were the responsibility of the petty states on the borders of the dominion. After Byzantine Emperor John Tzimisces' campaign, Al-Ta'i was deposed.
Al-QadirAl-Qadir was the Abbasid Caliph in Baghdad from 991 to 1031. Grandson of al-Muqtadir, he was chosen in place of the deposed Caliph, at-Taʾi, his cousin. Banished from the Capital earlier, he was now recalled and appointed to the office he had long desired. He held the Caliphate for 40 years...
was recalled and appointed to the office. During his Caliphate,
Mahmud of GhazniMahmud of Ghazni , actually ', was the most prominent ruler of the Ghaznavid dynasty who ruled from 997 until his death in 1030 in the eastern Iranian lands. Mahmud turned the former provincial city of Ghazni into the wealthy capital of an extensive empire which covered most of today's Iran,...
look after the empire. The great Mahmud of Ghazni, of Eastern fame, held always a friendly attitude towards the Caliphs, and his victories in the Indian Empire were accordingly announced from the pulpits of Baghdad in grateful and glowing terms. The global Muslim population had climbed to about 4 per cent as against the Christian population of 10 per cent by 1000. Al-Qadir fostered the Sunni struggle against Shiʿism and decreed against heresies such as the
Baghdad ManifestoThe manifesto of Baghdad was a testimony ordered by The Abbasid Caliph Al-Qadir in response to the growth of the Fatimid-supporting Ismaili sect of Islam within his borders.Most Ismailis viewed the Fatimids as their rightful spiritual and political leaders...
and the createdness of the Qurʾan. He in fact outlawed the Muʿtazila and the end of
Islamic philosophyIslamic philosophy is a branch of Islamic studies. It is the continuous search for Hekma in the light of Islamic view of life, universe, ethics, society, and so on...
. During this and the next Caliphs' period,
Islamic literatureIslamic literature is literature written with an Islamic perspective, in any language.The most well known fiction from the Islamic world was The Book of One Thousand and One Nights , which was a compilation of many earlier folk tales told by the Persian Queen Scheherazade...
, especially
Persian literaturePersian literature spans two-and-a-half millennia, though much of the pre-Islamic material has been lost. Its sources have been within historical Persia including present-day Iran as well as regions of Central Asia where the Persian language has historically been the national language...
, flourished under the patronage of the Buwayhids. During
Al-Qa'imAl-Qa'im was the Abbasid Caliph in Baghdad from 1031 to 1075. He was the son of the previous Caliph al-Qadir. During the first half of al-Qa'im's long reign, hardly a day passed in the capital without turmoil. Frequently the city was left without a ruler; the Buwayhid ruler was often forced to...
'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. In Bahrain, the Qarmatian state collapsed in
Al-HasaAl-Ahsa is the largest governorate in Saudi Arabia's Eastern Province, named after Al-Ahsa oasis. The name Al-Ahsa is also given to the biggest city in the region, Hofuf. In classic Arabic, Ahsa means the sound of water underground. It has one of the largest oases in the world with Date Palms of...
. Arabia, recovered from the Fatimids, acknowledged again the spiritual jurisdiction of the Abbasids.
Al-MuqtadiAl-Muqtadi was the Abbasid Caliph in Baghdad from 1075 to 1094.He was honored by the Seljuk Sultan Malik Shah, during whose reign the Caliphate was recognized throughout the extending range of Seljuk conquest. Arabia, with the Holy Cities now recovered from the Fatimids, acknowledged again the...
was honored by the Seljuq Sultan Malik-Shah I, during whose reign the Caliphate was recognized throughout the extending range of Seljuq conquest. The Sultan, though, grew critical of the Caliph's interference in affairs of state but died before deposing the last of the Caliphs of the Middle Baghdad Abbasids.
Late Baghdad Abbasids
Late High Middle Ages
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- Consult particular article for details
The Late Baghdad Abbasids reigned from the beginning of the
CrusadesThe Crusades were a series of religious wars, blessed by the Pope and the Catholic Church with the main goal of restoring Christian access to the holy places in and near Jerusalem...
to the
Seventh CrusadeThe Seventh Crusade was a crusade led by Louis IX of France from 1248 to 1254. Approximately 800,000 bezants were paid in ransom for King Louis who, along with thousands of his troops, was captured and defeated by the Egyptian army led by the Ayyubid Sultan Turanshah supported by the Bahariyya...
. Here, the Baghdad Abbasids reign began with
Al-MustazhirAl-Mustadhir was the Abbasid caliph in Baghdad from 1094 to 1118. He succeeded his father al-Muqtadi. During his twenty-four year incumbency he was politically irrelevant, despite the civil strife at home and the appearance of the First Crusade in Syria. An attempt was even made by crusader...
. Al-Mustadhir was politically irrelevant, despite the civil strife at home and the appearance of the
First CrusadeThe First Crusade was a military expedition by Western Christianity to regain the Holy Lands taken in the Muslim conquest of the Levant, ultimately resulting in the recapture of Jerusalem...
in Syria. An attempt was even made by
Raymond IV of ToulouseRaymond IV of Toulouse , sometimes called Raymond of St Gilles, was Count of Toulouse, Duke of Narbonne, and Margrave of Provence and one of the leaders of the First Crusade. He was a son of Pons of Toulouse and Almodis de La Marche...
to attack Baghdad, but he was defeated at the
Battle of ManzikertThe Battle of Manzikert , was fought between the Byzantine Empire and Seljuq Turks led by Alp Arslan on August 26, 1071 near Manzikert...
. The global Muslim population had climbed to about 5 per cent as against the Christian population of 11 per cent by 1100. In the Late Baghdad Abbasids, Jerusalem was captured by the crusaders and its inhabitants were massacred. Preachers travelled throughout the caliphate proclaiming the tragedy and rousing men to recover the
Al-Aqsa MosqueAl-Aqsa Mosque also known as al-Aqsa, is the third holiest site in Sunni Islam and is located in the Old City of Jerusalem...
from hands of the European Crusaders (Muslim
infidelAn infidel is one who has no religious beliefs, or who doubts or rejects the central tenets of a particular religion – especially in reference to Christianity or Islam....
s) . The eastern provinces, though, were occupied with their own troubles. Crowds of exiles rallied for war against the
Franks (the name used by Muslims for the crusaders). Neither the Sultan nor the Caliph were interested in sending an army west.
Al-MustarshidAl-Mustarshid was the Abbasid Caliph in Baghdad from 1118 to 1135.Son of the preceding Caliph, he achieved more independence as a ruler while the Seljuq sultan Mahmud II was engaged in war in the East....
achieved more independence as a ruler while the sultan Mahmud II of Great Seljuq was engaged in war in the East. The Banu Mazyad (Mazyadid State) general, Dubays ibn Sadaqa
[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.] (emir of Al-Hilla), plundering
BosraBosra , also known as Bostra, Busrana, Bozrah, Bozra, Busra Eski Şam, Busra ash-Sham, and Nova Trajana Bostra, is an ancient city administratively belonging to the Daraa Governorate in southern Syria...
and attacked Baghdad together with a young brother of the sultan,
Ghiyath ad-Din Mas'udGhiyath ad-Din Mas'ud was the Seljuq Sultan of Iraq and western Persia in 1133-1152.He was the son of sultan Mehmed I of Great Seljuq. At the age of twelve , he rebelled unsuccessfully against his elder brother, Mahmud II, who however forgave him...
. Dubays was however crushed by a Seljuq army under
ZengiImad ad-Din Zengi was the atabeg of Mosul, Aleppo, Hama and Edessa and founder of the Zengid dynasty, to which he gave his name.-Early life:...
, founder of
Zengid dynastyThe Zengid dynasty was a Muslim dynasty of Turkic origin, which ruled parts of Syria and northern Iraq on behalf of the Seljuk Empire.-History:...
. Mahmud's death was followed by a Seljuq western territories civil war between his son Dawud, his nephew Mas'ud and the atabeg Toghrul II. Zengi was recalled to the East by certain rebel members, stimulated by the Caliph and Dubays. Zengi was beaten and fled. The Caliph pursued him to Mosul, and besieged him there but without success for three months. Mas'ud supported Zengi, besieged by al-Mustarshid's troops in Mosul. It was nonetheless a milestone in the revival of the military power of the caliphate.
After the siege of Damascus (1134), Zengi undertook operations in Syria. Al-Mustarshid launched a military campaign against sultan Mas'ud of western Seljuq and was taken prisoner. He was later found murdered. His son, Al-Rashid failed at independence from Seljuq Turks. Zengi, because of the murder of Dubays, set up a rival Sultan. Mas'ud attacked; the Caliph and Zengi, hopeless of success, escaped to Mosul. The Sultan's power restored, a council was held, the Caliph deposed, and his uncle, son of Al-Muqtafi, appointed as the new Caliph. Ar-Rashid fled to Isfahan and was killed by Hashshashins.
Continued disunion and contests between Seljuq Turks afforded al-Muqtafi opportunity of not only maintaining his authority in Baghdad, but also extending it throughout Iraq. In 1139, al-Muqtafi granted protection to the Nestorian patriarch
Abdisho IIIAbdisho III bar Moqli was Patriarch of the Church of the East from 1139 to 1148.- Sources :Brief accounts of Abdisho's patriarchate are given in the Ecclesiastical Chronicle of the Jacobite writer Bar Hebraeus , in the ecclesiastical history of the twelfth-century Nestorian writer Mari, and in the...
. The Caliph, as the Crusade was raging furiously, successfully defended Baghdad against Muhammad II of Seljuq in the
Siege of Baghdad (1157)The Siege of Baghdad was the last Seljuq attempt to capture Baghdad from the Abbasids. Caliph al-Muqtafi successfully defended his capital against the collation armies of Seljuk Sultan Muhammad of Hamadan, and Qutb ad-Din of Mosul.- Background :...
. The Sultan and the Caliph despatched men in response to an appeal Zengi, but neither the Seljuqs, nor the Caliph, nor their Amirs, had any enthusiasm in war against Crusaders. The next caliph,
Al-MustanjidAl-Mustanjid was the Abbasid Caliph in Baghdad from 1160 to 1170. He was the son of previous Caliph al-Muqtafi. One of al-Muqtafi's wives wanted her own son to succeed. She gained over many Amirs to her side, and had their slave-girls armed with daggers to kill the new Caliph...
, saw the Fatimid dynasty extinguished (lasting over 260 years) by
SaladinṢalāḥ ad-Dīn Yūsuf ibn Ayyūb , better known in the Western world as Saladin, was an Arabized Kurdish Muslim, who became the first Sultan of Egypt and Syria, and founded the Ayyubid dynasty. He led Muslim and Arab opposition to the Franks and other European Crusaders in the Levant...
and thus the spiritual supremacy of the Abbasids again prevailed.
Al-MustadiHassan al-Mustadi Ibn Yusuf al-Mustanjid was the Abbasid Caliph in Baghdad from 1170 to 1180. Like his predecessor, he continued to occupy a more or less independent position, with a Vazir and courtly surroundings, and supported by only a small force sufficient for an occasional local campaign...
's reign was during the time that Saladin become the sultan of Egypt and declared his allegiance to the Abbasids.
An-NasirAn-Nasir li-Din Allah was the 34th Abbasid Caliph in Baghdad from 1180 until his death. His laqab literally means The Victor for the Religion of God. He attempted to restore the Caliphate to its ancient dominant role and achieved a surprising amount of success, despite the fact that the...
, "
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 long reign of forty-seven years is chiefly marked by ambitious and corrupt dealings with the Tartar chiefs, and by his hazardous invocation of the Mongols, which so soon brought his own dynasty to an end. His son, Az-Zahir, was Caliph for a short period before his death and An-Nasir's grandson,
Al-MustansirAl-Mustansir was the penultimate Abbasid Caliph in Baghdad from 1226 to 1242. He was the son of az-Zahir and the grandson of an-Nasir. His lasting contribution was the founding of the Mustansiriya Madrasah on the banks of the Tigris in 1233....
, was made caliph. Al-Mustansir founded the Mustansiriya Madrasah. In 1236
Ögedei KhanÖgedei Khan, born Ögedei was the third son of Genghis Khan and second Great Khan of the Mongol Empire by succeeding his father...
commanded to raise up
KhorassanGreater Khorasan or Ancient Khorasan is a historical region of Greater Iran mentioned in sources from Sassanid and Islamic eras which "frequently" had a denotation wider than current three provinces of Khorasan in Iran...
and populated
HeratHerāt is the capital of Herat province in Afghanistan. It is the third largest city of Afghanistan, with a population of about 397,456 as of 2006. It is situated in the valley of the Hari River, which flows from the mountains of central Afghanistan to the Karakum Desert in Turkmenistan...
. The Mongol military governors mostly made their camp in
Mughan plainMugan plain is a plain in northwestern Iran and the southern part of the Republic of Azerbaijan. The highest density of irrigation canals is in the section of the Mugan plain which lies in the Republic of Azerbaijan. It is located on the bank of the Aras river extending to Iran...
, Azerbaijan. Realizing the danger of the Mongols, rulers of
MosulMosul , is a city in northern Iraq and the capital of the Ninawa Governorate, some northwest of Baghdad. The original city stands on the west bank of the Tigris River, opposite the ancient Assyrian city of Nineveh on the east bank, but the metropolitan area has now grown to encompass substantial...
and Cilician Armenia submitted to the Great Khan. Chormaqan divided the Transcaucasia region into three districts based on military hierarchy. In Georgia, the population were temporarily divided into eight tumens. By 1237 the Mongol Empire had subjugated most of Persia, excluding
AbbasidThe Abbasid Caliphate or, more simply, the Abbasids , was the third of the Islamic caliphates. It was ruled by the Abbasid dynasty of caliphs, who built their capital in Baghdad after overthrowing the Umayyad caliphate from all but the al-Andalus region....
Iraq and
Ismaili' is a branch of Shia Islam. It is the second largest branch of Shia Islam, after the Twelvers...
strongholds, and all of
AfghanistanAfghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
and
KashmirKashmir is the northwestern region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term Kashmir geographically denoted only the valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir Panjal mountain range...
.
Al-Musta'simAl-Musta'sim Billah was the last Abbasid Caliph in Baghdad; he ruled from 1242 until his death.-Biography:...
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 under
Hulagu KhanHulagu Khan, also known as Hülegü, Hulegu , was a Mongol ruler who conquered much of Southwest Asia...
which swept through the
TransoxianaTransoxiana is the ancient name used for the portion of Central Asia corresponding approximately with modern-day Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, southern Kyrgystan and southwest Kazakhstan. Geographically, it is the region between the Amu Darya and Syr Darya rivers...
and
KhorasanGreater Khorasan or Ancient Khorasan is a historical region of Greater Iran mentioned in sources from Sassanid and Islamic eras which "frequently" had a denotation wider than current three provinces of Khorasan in Iran...
. Baghdad was sacked and the caliph deposed soon afterwards. The Mamluk sultans and Syria later appointed an Abbasid Caliph in Cairo, but they were symbolic as the late Abbasid Caliphs in Baghdad were.
Cairo Abbasid Caliphs
Abbasid "shadow" caliph of Cairo
Late Middle Ages
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- Consult particular article for details
The Abbasid "shadow" caliph of Cairo reigned under the tutelage of the Mamluk sultans and nominal rulers used to legitimize the actual rule of the Mamluk sultans. All the Cairene Abbasid caliphs who preceded or succeeded
Al-Musta'inAl-Musta'in Billah was the tenth Abbasid "shadow" caliph of Cairo, reigning under the tutelage of the Mamluk sultans from 1406 to 1414. He was the only Cairo-based Abbasid caliph to hold political power as Sultan of Egypt, albeit for only six months in 1412...
were spiritual heads lacking any temporal power. Al-Musta'in was the only Cairo-based Abbasid caliph to shortly hold political power.
Al-Mutawakkil IIIAl-Mutawakkil III was caliph from 1508 to 1516, and again in 1517. He was the last caliph of the later, Egyptian-based period of the Abbasid dynasty...
was the last "shadow" caliph. In 1517, Ottoman sultan Selim I defeated the Mamluk Sultanate, and made Egypt part of the Ottoman Empire.
Fatimid Empire
The Fatimids had their origins in
IfriqiyaIn medieval history, Ifriqiya or Ifriqiyah was the area comprising the coastal regions of what are today western Libya, Tunisia, and eastern Algeria. This area included what had been the Roman province of Africa, whose name it inherited....
(modern-day
TunisiaTunisia , officially the Tunisian RepublicThe long name of Tunisia in other languages used in the country is: , is the northernmost country in Africa. It is a Maghreb country and is bordered by Algeria to the west, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Its area...
and eastern
AlgeriaAlgeria , officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria , also formally referred to as the Democratic and Popular Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of Northwest Africa with Algiers as its capital.In terms of land area, it is the largest country in Africa and the Arab...
). The dynasty was founded in 909 by , who legitimised his claim through descent from Muhammad by way of his daughter
Fātima as-ZahraFatimah was a daughter of the Islamic prophet Muhammad from his first wife Khadijah bint Khuwaylid. She is regarded by Muslims as an exemplar for men and women. She remained at her father's side through the difficulties suffered by him at the hands of the Quraysh of Mecca...
and her husband , the first Imām, hence the name
al-Fātimiyyūn "Fatimid".
Abdullāh al-Mahdi's control soon extended over all of central
MaghrebThe Maghreb is the region of Northwest Africa, west of Egypt. It includes five countries: Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, and Mauritania and the disputed territory of Western Sahara...
, an area consisting of the modern countries of
MoroccoMorocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...
,
AlgeriaAlgeria , officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria , also formally referred to as the Democratic and Popular Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of Northwest Africa with Algiers as its capital.In terms of land area, it is the largest country in Africa and the Arab...
,
TunisiaTunisia , officially the Tunisian RepublicThe long name of Tunisia in other languages used in the country is: , is the northernmost country in Africa. It is a Maghreb country and is bordered by Algeria to the west, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Its area...
and
LibyaLibya is an African country in the Maghreb region of North Africa bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Sudan to the southeast, Chad and Niger to the south, and Algeria and Tunisia to the west....
, which he ruled from
MahdiaMahdia is a provincial centre north of Sfax. It is important for the associated fish-processing industry, as well as weaving. It is the capital of Mahdia Governorate.- History :...
, his capital in Tunisia.
The Fatimids entered Egypt in the late 10th century, conquering the
Ikhshidid dynastyThe Ikhshidid dynasty of Egypt ruled from 935 to 969. The dynasty carried the Arabic title "Wali" reflecting their position as governors on behalf of the Abbasids, the first governor was Muhammad bin Tughj Al-Ikhshid, a Turkic slave soldier, who was installed by the Abbasid Caliph and gave him and...
and founding a capital at
al-Qāhira(
CairoCairo , is the capital of Egypt and the largest city in the Arab world and Africa, and the 16th largest metropolitan area in the world. Nicknamed "The City of a Thousand Minarets" for its preponderance of Islamic architecture, Cairo has long been a centre of the region's political and cultural life...
) in 969. The name was a reference to the planet Mars, "The Subduer", 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 as Fustat until 1169. After Egypt, the Fatimids continued to conquer the surrounding areas until they ruled from Tunisia to
SyriaSyria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....
and even crossed over into
SicilySicily is a region of Italy, and is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Along with the surrounding minor islands, it constitutes an autonomous region of Italy, the Regione Autonoma Siciliana Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music, literature,...
and southern Italy.
Under the Fatimids, Egypt became the center of an
empireThe term empire derives from the Latin imperium . Politically, an empire is a geographically extensive group of states and peoples united and ruled either by a monarch or an oligarchy....
that included at its peak North Africa,
SicilySicily is a region of Italy, and is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Along with the surrounding minor islands, it constitutes an autonomous region of Italy, the Regione Autonoma Siciliana Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music, literature,...
,
PalestinePalestine is a conventional name, among others, used to describe the geographic region between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River, and various adjoining lands....
,
LebanonLebanon , officially the Republic of LebanonRepublic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies. The term Lebanese Republic, a literal translation of the official Arabic and French names that is not used in today's world. Arabic is the most common language spoken among...
,
SyriaSyria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....
, the
Red SeaThe Red Sea is a seawater inlet of the Indian Ocean, lying between Africa and Asia. The connection to the ocean is in the south through the Bab el Mandeb strait and the Gulf of Aden. In the north, there is the Sinai Peninsula, the Gulf of Aqaba, and the Gulf of Suez...
coast of Africa,
YemenThe Republic of Yemen , commonly known as Yemen , is a country located in the Middle East, occupying the southwestern to southern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the north, the Red Sea to the west, and Oman to the east....
and the
Hejazal-Hejaz, also Hijaz is a region in the west of present-day Saudi Arabia. Defined primarily by its western border on the Red Sea, it extends from Haql on the Gulf of Aqaba to Jizan. Its main city is Jeddah, but it is probably better known for the Islamic holy cities of Mecca and Medina...
. 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 its
Song DynastyThe Song Dynasty was a ruling dynasty in China between 960 and 1279; it succeeded the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period, and was followed by the Yuan Dynasty. It was the first government in world history to issue banknotes or paper money, and the first Chinese government to establish a...
, which determined the economic course of Egypt during the
High Middle AgesThe High Middle Ages was the period of European history around the 11th, 12th, and 13th centuries . The High Middle Ages were preceded by the Early Middle Ages and followed by the Late Middle Ages, which by convention end around 1500....
.
Unlike other governments in the area, Fatimid advancement in state offices was based more on merit than on heredity. Members of other branches of Islam, like the Sunnis, were just as to be appointed to government posts as Shiites. Tolerance covered non-Muslims such as
ChristianA Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
s and Jews; they took high levels in
governmentGovernment refers to the legislators, administrators, and arbitrators in the administrative bureaucracy who control a state at a given time, and to the system of government by which they are organized...
founded on ability. There were, however, exceptions to this general attitude of tolerance, notably
Al-Hakim bi-Amr AllahAbu ‘Ali Mansur Tāriqu l-Ḥākim, called Al-Hakim bi Amr al-Lāh , was the sixth Fatimid caliph and 16th Ismaili imam .- History :...
.
The Fatimid palace was two parts. It used to be in the
Khan el-Khalilithumb|200px|An old chandeliers shop at Khan el-KhaliliKhan el-Khalili is a major souk in the Islamic district of Cairo. The bazaar district is one of Cairo's main attractions for tourists and Egyptians alike.-History:...
area at Bin El-Quasryn street.
Fatimid caliphs
Early and High Middle Ages
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-
- Consult particular article for details
- Also see: Cairo Abbasid Caliphs (above)
During the beginning of the Middle Baghdad Abbasids, the Fatimid Caliphs claimed spiritual supremacy not only in Egypt, but also contested the pulpits 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 Abbasid Caliphate. Owing to the Abbasid inquisitions, the forefathers opted for concealment of the Dawa's existence. Subsequently, they traveled towards the Iranian Plateau and distanced themselves from the epicenter of the political world. Al Mahdi's father, Al Husain al Mastoor returned in 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 information gatherers helped Al Mahdi to be updated on each development which took place in North Africa.
After establishing the first Imam of the Fatimid dynasty, claims to genealogic origins dating as far back as Fatimah through Husayn and Ismail. Al Mahdi began his conquest by establishing his headquarters at Salamiyah and moving towards north-western Africa, under Aghlabid rule, following the 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 of Al-Qayrawan in Tunisia. At the time of his death he had extended his reign to Morocco of the Idrisids, as well as Egypt itself. 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.
Berbers and Iberian Umayyads
The Arabs, under the command of the
BerberBerbers are the indigenous peoples of North Africa west of the Nile Valley. They are continuously distributed from the Atlantic to the Siwa oasis, in Egypt, and from the Mediterranean to the Niger River. Historically they spoke the Berber language or varieties of it, which together form a branch...
General Tarik 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 the
Visigothic kingdomThe Visigothic Kingdom was a kingdom which occupied southwestern France and the Iberian Peninsula from the 5th to 8th century AD. One of the Germanic successor states to the Western Roman Empire, it was originally created by the settlement of the Visigoths under King Wallia in the province of...
in
HispaniaAnother theory holds that the name derives from Ezpanna, the Basque word for "border" or "edge", thus meaning the farthest area or place. Isidore of Sevilla considered Hispania derived from Hispalis....
. Crossing the
Strait of GibraltarThe Strait of Gibraltar is a narrow strait that connects the Atlantic Ocean to the Mediterranean Sea and separates Spain in Europe from Morocco in Africa. The name comes from Gibraltar, which in turn originates from the Arabic Jebel Tariq , albeit the Arab name for the Strait is Bab el-Zakat or...
(named after the General), it won a decisive victory in the summer of 711 when the Visigothic king
RodericRuderic was the Visigothic King of Hispania for a brief period between 710 and 712. He is famous in legend as "the last king of the Goths"...
was defeated and killed on July 19 at the
Battle of GuadaleteThe Battle of Guadalete was fought in 711 or 712 at an unidentified location between the Christian Visigoths of Hispania under their king, Roderic, and an invading force of Muslim Arabs and Berbers under Ṭāriq ibn Ziyad. The battle was significant as the culmination of a series of Arab-Berber...
. Tariq's commander,
Musa bin NusairMusa bin Nusayr al-Balawi was a balawi who served as a governor and general under the Umayad caliph Al-Walid I. He had ruled over the Muslim provinces of North Africa , and directed the islamic opening of the Visigothic kingdom in Hispania....
crossed with substantial reinforcements, and by 718 the Muslims dominated most of the peninsula. There are some later Arabic and Christian sources that present an earlier raid by a certain
ṬārifTarif is a surname and may refer to:*Mowafak Tarif*Salah Tarif*Salih ibn Tarif*Yemek tarifi...
in 710 and also, the
Ad Sebastianum recension of the
Chronicle of Alfonso III, refers to an Arab attack incited by
ErwigErwig was a king of the Visigoths in Hispania . He was the only Visigothic king to be a complete puppet of the bishops and palatine nobility....
during the reign of Wamba (672–80). The two large armies may have been in the south for a year before the decisive battle was fought.
The rulers of Al-Andalus were granted the rank of
EmirEmir , meaning "commander", "general", or "prince"; also transliterated as Amir, Aamir or Ameer) is a title of high office, used throughout the Muslim world...
by the
UmayyadThe Umayyad Caliphate was the second of the four major Arab caliphates established after the death of Muhammad. It was ruled by the Umayyad dynasty, whose name derives from Umayya ibn Abd Shams, the great-grandfather of the first Umayyad caliph. Although the Umayyad family originally came from the...
CaliphThe Caliph is the head of state in a Caliphate, and the title for the ruler of the Islamic Ummah, an Islamic community ruled by the Shari'ah. It is a transcribed version of the Arabic word which means "successor" or "representative"...
Al-Walid I in
DamascusDamascus , commonly known in Syria as Al Sham , and as the City of Jasmine , is the capital and the second largest city of Syria after Aleppo, both are part of the country's 14 governorates. In addition to being one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, Damascus is a major...
. After the Abbasids came to power in the, some Umayyads fled to
Muslim SpainAl-Andalus was the Arabic name given to a nation and territorial region also commonly referred to as Moorish Iberia. The name describes parts of the Iberian Peninsula and Septimania governed by Muslims , at various times in the period between 711 and 1492, although the territorial boundaries...
to establish themselves there. By the end of the 10th century, the ruler Abd al-Rahman III took over the title of
Emir of CórdobaThe Caliphate of Córdoba ruled the Iberian peninsula and part of North Africa, from the city of Córdoba, from 929 to 1031. This period was characterized by remarkable success in trade and culture; many of the masterpieces of Islamic Iberia were constructed in this period, including the famous...
(912-961). Soon after, the Umayyads went on developing a strengthened state with its capital as
Córdoba-History:The first trace of human presence in the area are remains of a Neanderthal Man, dating to c. 32,000 BC. In the 8th century BC, during the ancient Tartessos period, a pre-urban settlement existed. The population gradually learned copper and silver metallurgy...
.
Al-Hakam IIAl-Hakam II was the second Caliph of Cordoba, in Al-Andalus , and son of Abd-ar-rahman III . He ruled from 961 to 976....
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, and made use of the stability to develop agriculture through the construction of irrigation works. Economical 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.
The rule of the Umayyad Caliphate collapsed in 1031 due to political divisions and civil unrest during the rule of Hicham II who was ousted because of his indolence. Al-Andalus then broke up into a number of states called
taifa kingdoms (Arabic,
Muluk al-ṭawā'if; English, Petty kingdoms). The decomposition of the Caliphate into those
petty kingdomA petty kingdom is one of a number of small kingdoms, described as minor or "petty" by contrast to an empire or unified kingdom that either preceded or succeeded it...
s would then weaken the power of the Muslims in the Iberian Peninsula
vis-à-vis the Christian kingdoms of the north. Some of the
taifas such as that of Seville would be forced to enter into alliances with the Christian princes and pay tributes in money to Castille.
Emirs of Córdoba
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Abd al-Rahman I and Bedr (a former Greek slave, a freedman) escaped with their lives after the popular revolt known as the Abbasid Revolution. Rahman I continued south through Palestine, the Sinai, and then into Egypt. Rahman I was only 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 near
CeutaCeuta is an autonomous city of Spain and an exclave located on the north coast of North Africa surrounded by Morocco. Separated from the Iberian peninsula by the Strait of Gibraltar, Ceuta lies on the border of the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. Ceuta along with the other Spanish...
. Next step would be to cross to sea to
al-AndalusAl-Andalus was the Arabic name given to a nation and territorial region also commonly referred to as Moorish Iberia. The name describes parts of the Iberian Peninsula and Septimania governed by Muslims , at various times in the period between 711 and 1492, although the territorial boundaries...
, where Rahman I could not have been sure if he would be welcomed or not in that far-flung province of the empire. Following the
Berber RevoltThe Great Berber Revolt of 739/740-743 AD took place during the reign of the Umayyad Caliph Hisham ibn Abd al-Malik and marked the first successful secession from the Arab caliphate...
(740s), the province was in a state of confusion, with the
UmmahUmmah is an Arabic word meaning "community" or "nation." It is commonly used to mean either the collective nation of states, or the whole Arab world...
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 and Abd Allah ibn Khalid, both originally of Damascus, and Yusuf ibn Bukht of Qinnasrin and contacted al-Sumayl (then in
ZaragozaZaragoza , also called Saragossa in English, is the capital city of the Zaragoza Province and of the autonomous community of Aragon, Spain...
) 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 at
AlmuñécarAlmuñécar is a municipality in the Spanish Autonomous Region of Andalusia on the Costa Tropical between Nerja and Motril . It has a subtropical climate...
in al-Andalus, to the east of
MálagaMálaga is a city and a municipality in the Autonomous Community of Andalusia, Spain. With a population of 568,507 in 2010, it is the second most populous city of Andalusia and the sixth largest in Spain. This is the southernmost large city in Europe...
.
During his brief time in Málaga, he was able to amass local support quickly. News of the prince's arrival spread like wildfire throughout the peninsula. In order to help speed his ascension to power, he was prepared to take 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 to control Zaragoza. The fight for the right to rule al-Andalus saw two contingents meeting at the
Guadalquivir riverThe Guadalquivir is the fifth longest river in the Iberian peninsula and the second longest river to be its whole length in Spain. The Guadalquivir is 657 kilometers long and drains an area of about 58,000 square kilometers...
, just outside of Córdoba on the plains of Musarah (Battle of Musarah). After a long and difficult fight, Rahman I was victorious with his enemies escaping the field with parts of their army. Rahman I marched into the capital, Córdoba. A
counterattackA counterattack is a tactic used in response against an attack. The term originates in military strategy. The general objective is to negate or thwart the advantage gained by the enemy in attack and the specific objectives are usually to regain lost ground or to destroy attacking enemy units.It is...
was mounted but negotiations were ended the confrontation. After Rahman I consolidated power, he proclaimed himself the al-Andalus emir. Rahman I did not claim the Muslim caliph, though. One final act had to be performed, however: al-Fihri's general, al-Sumayl, had to be dealt with, and he was garroted in Córdoba's jail. Al-Andalus was a
safe havenThe term safe harbor has several special usages, in an analogy with its literal meaning, that of a harbor or haven which provides safety from weather or attack.-Legal definition:...
for the house of Umayya that managed to evade the Abbasids.
In Baghdad, the Abbasid caliph
al-MansurAl-Mansur, Almanzor or Abu Ja'far Abdallah ibn Muhammad al-Mansur was the second Abbasid Caliph from 136 AH to 158 AH .-Biography:...
had planne to depose the Umayyad emir of al-Andalus. Rahman I and his army confronted the Abbasids, with most of the Abbasid army killed. The heads of the main Abbasid leaders were cut off. Their heads were preserved in salt, and identifying tags pinned to their ears. The heads were bundled together in a gruesome package and sent to the Abbasid caliph who was on pilgrimage at Mecca.Rahman I continued to put down rebellions in al-Andalus. Near the end of his life, it is said that Abd al-Rahman became increasingly paranoid and would sequester himself to his palaces.
Upon his death, Rahman I's successor was his son
Hisham IHisham I or Hisham Al-Reda was the second Umayyad Emir of Cordoba, ruling from 788 to 796 in the Al-Andalus .Hisham was born in Cordoba. He was the 1st son of Abd ar-Rahman I and his wife, Halul and the younger half brother of Suleiman. He built many mosques and completed the Mezquita. In 792 he...
. Hisham I, born in Córdoba, built many mosques and completed the
MezquitaThe Cathedral and former Great Mosque of Córdoba, in ecclesiastical terms the Catedral de Nuestra Señora de la Asunción , and known by the inhabitants of Córdoba as the Mezquita-Catedral , is today a World Heritage Site and the cathedral of the Diocese of Córdoba...
. He called for a jihad that resulted in a campaign against the
Kingdom of AsturiasThe Kingdom of Asturias was a Kingdom in the Iberian peninsula founded in 718 by Visigothic nobles under the leadership of Pelagius of Asturias. It was the first Christian political entity established following the collapse of the Visigothic kingdom after Islamic conquest of Hispania...
and the County of Toulouse; in this second campaign he was defeated at Orange by
William of GelloneSaint William of Gellone was the second Count of Toulouse from 790 until his replacement in 811. His Occitan name is Guilhem, and he is known in French as Guillaume d'Orange, Guillaume Fierabrace, and the Marquis au court nez.He is the hero of the Chanson de Guillaume, an early chanson de geste,...
, first cousin to
CharlemagneCharlemagne was King of the Franks from 768 and Emperor of the Romans from 800 to his death in 814. He expanded the Frankish kingdom into an empire that incorporated much of Western and Central Europe. During his reign, he conquered Italy and was crowned by Pope Leo III on 25 December 800...
. His successor
Al-Hakam IAl-Hakam Ibn Hisham Ibn Abd-ar-Rahman I was Umayyad Emir of Cordoba from 796 until 822 in the Al-Andalus .Al-Hakam was the second son of his father, his older brother having died at an early age. When he came to power, he was challenged by his uncles Sulayman and Abdallah, sons of Abd ar-Rahman I...
came to power and was challenged by his uncles, sons of Rahman I. Abdallah went to the court of Charlemagne in Aix-la-Chapelle to negotiate for aid. In the mean time Córdoba was attacked, but was defended. Hakam I spent much of his reign suppressing rebellions in Toledo, Saragossa and Mérida.
Abd ar-Rahman IIAbd ar-Rahman II was Umayyad Emir of Córdoba in the Al-Andalus from 822 until his death.He was born in Toledo, the son of Emir Al-Hakam I...
, the son of Hakam I, succeeded his father and engaged in nearly continuous warfare against
Alfonso II of AsturiasAlfonso II , called the Chaste, was the king of Asturias from 791 to his death, the son of Fruela I and the Basque Munia.He was born in Oviedo in 759 or 760. He was put under the guardianship of his aunt Adosinda after his father's death, but one tradition relates his being put in the monastery of...
, whose southward advance he halted. Rahman III repulsed an assault by Vikings who had disembarked in
CadizCadiz is a city and port in southwestern Spain. It is the capital of the homonymous province, one of eight which make up the autonomous community of Andalusia....
, conquered
SevilleSeville is the artistic, historic, cultural, and financial capital of southern Spain. It is the capital of the autonomous community of Andalusia and of the province of Seville. It is situated on the plain of the River Guadalquivir, with an average elevation of above sea level...
(with the exception of its citadel) and attacked Córdoba. Thereafter he constructed a fleet and naval
arsenalAn arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, issued to authorized users, or any combination of those...
at
SevilleSeville is the artistic, historic, cultural, and financial capital of southern Spain. It is the capital of the autonomous community of Andalusia and of the province of Seville. It is situated on the plain of the River Guadalquivir, with an average elevation of above sea level...
to repel future raids. He responded to
William of SeptimaniaWilliam of Septimania was the son of Bernard and Dhuoda. He was the Count of Toulouse from 844 and Count of Barcelona from 848....
's requests of assistance in his struggle against
Charles the BaldCharles the Bald , Holy Roman Emperor and King of West Francia , was the youngest son of the Emperor Louis the Pious by his second wife Judith.-Struggle against his brothers:He was born on 13 June 823 in Frankfurt, when his elder...
's nominations.
Muhammad IMuhammad I was the Umayyad emir of Córdoba from 852 to 886 in the Al-Andalus .-Biography:Muhammad was born in Córdoba...
's reign was marked by the movements of the
MuladiThe Muladi were Muslims of ethnic Iberian descent or of mixed Arab, Berber and European origin, who lived in Al-Andalus during the Middle Ages. They were also called "Musalima" .-Etymology:...
(ethnic Iberian Muslims) and
MozarabThe Mozarabs were Iberian Christians who lived under Arab Islamic rule in Al-Andalus. Their descendants remained unconverted to Islam, but did however adopt elements of Arabic language and culture...
s (Muslim-Iberia Christians). Muhammad I and succeeded by his son Mundhir I. Mundhir I, during the reign of his father, commanded the military operations against the neighbouring Christian kingdoms and the Muladi rebellions. At his father's death, Mundhir I inherited the throne of Córdoba. During the two years of reign Mundhir I fought against
Umar ibn Hafsun`Umar ibn Hafsun ibn Ja'far ibn Salim , known in Spanish history as Omar ben Hafsun, was a 9th century Christian leader of anti-Ummayad dynasty forces in southern Iberia.-Ancestry:...
. Mundhir I died in 888 at Bobastro and his brother Abdullah ibn Muhammad al-Umawi succeeded him. Umawi showed no reluctance to dispose of those he viewed as a threat. Umawi's government was marked by continuous wars between Arabs, Berbers and Muladi. His power as emir was confined to the area of Córdoba, while the rest had been seized by rebel families that did not accept his authority. 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 successor Abd ar-Rahman III, son of the killed son of Umawi.
Caliphs at Córdoba
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Rahman III to help in his fight against the invasion by the Fatimids claimed the Caliphate in opposition to the generally recognized Abbasid Caliph of Baghdad.
Almoravid Ifriqiyah and Iberia
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- Ifriqiyah, Iberian
The Crusades
Beginning in the 8th century, the
Iberian Christian kingdomsAfter the disorders of the passage of the Vandals and Alans down the Mediterranean coast of Hispania from 408, the history of Medieval Spain begins with the Iberian kingdom of the Arianist Visigoths , who were converted to Catholicism with their king Reccared in 587...
had begun the
ReconquistaThe Reconquista was a period of almost 800 years in the Middle Ages during which several Christian kingdoms succeeded in retaking the Muslim-controlled areas of the Iberian Peninsula broadly known as Al-Andalus...
aimed at retaking
Al-AndalusAl-Andalus was the Arabic name given to a nation and territorial region also commonly referred to as Moorish Iberia. The name describes parts of the Iberian Peninsula and Septimania governed by Muslims , at various times in the period between 711 and 1492, although the territorial boundaries...
from the
MoorsThe description Moors has referred to several historic and modern populations of the Maghreb region who are predominately of Berber and Arab descent. They came to conquer and rule the Iberian Peninsula for nearly 800 years. At that time they were Muslim, although earlier the people had followed...
. In 1095,
Pope Urban II Pope Urban II , born Otho de Lagery , was Pope from 12 March 1088 until his death on July 29 1099...
, inspired by the conquests in Spain by Christian forces and implored by the
eastern Roman emperorAlexios I Komnenos, Latinized as Alexius I Comnenus , was Byzantine emperor from 1081 to 1118, and although he was not the founder of the Komnenian dynasty, it was during his reign that the Komnenos family came to full power. The title 'Nobilissimus' was given to senior army commanders,...
to help defend Christianity in the East, called for the
First CrusadeThe First Crusade was a military expedition by Western Christianity to regain the Holy Lands taken in the Muslim conquest of the Levant, ultimately resulting in the recapture of Jerusalem...
from Western Europe which captured Edessa,
AntiochAntioch on the Orontes was an ancient city on the eastern side of the Orontes River. It is near the modern city of Antakya, Turkey.Founded near the end of the 4th century BC by Seleucus I Nicator, one of Alexander the Great's generals, Antioch eventually rivaled Alexandria as the chief city of the...
,
TripoliTripoli is the capital and largest city in Libya. It is also known as Western Tripoli , to distinguish it from Tripoli, Lebanon. It is affectionately called The Mermaid of the Mediterranean , describing its turquoise waters and its whitewashed buildings. Tripoli is a Greek name that means "Three...
and
Jerusalem.
In the early period of the Crusades, the Christian
Kingdom of JerusalemThe Kingdom of Jerusalem was a Catholic kingdom established in the Levant in 1099 after the First Crusade. The kingdom lasted nearly two hundred years, from 1099 until 1291 when the last remaining possession, Acre, was destroyed by the Mamluks, but its history is divided into two distinct periods....
emerged and for a time controlled Jerusalem. The Kingdom of Jerusalem and other smaller Crusader kingdoms over the next 90 years formed part of the complicated politics of the
LevantThe Levant or ) is the geographic region and culture zone of the "eastern Mediterranean littoral between Anatolia and Egypt" . The Levant includes most of modern Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Israel, the Palestinian territories, and sometimes parts of Turkey and Iraq, and corresponds roughly to the...
, but did not in a serious manner threaten the Islamic Caliphate nor other powers in the region. After
ShirkuhAsad ad-Din Shirkuh bin Shadhi , also known as Shêrko or "Shêrgo" was an important Kurdish military commander, and uncle of Saladin....
ended the
FatimidThe Fatimid Islamic Caliphate or al-Fāṭimiyyūn was a Berber Shia Muslim caliphate first centered in Tunisia and later in Egypt that ruled over varying areas of the Maghreb, Sudan, Sicily, the Levant, and Hijaz from 5 January 909 to 1171.The caliphate was ruled by the Fatimids, who established the...
rule of Egypt in 1169, uniting it with Syria, the Crusader kingdoms were faced with a threat, and his nephew
SaladinṢalāḥ ad-Dīn Yūsuf ibn Ayyūb , better known in the Western world as Saladin, was an Arabized Kurdish Muslim, who became the first Sultan of Egypt and Syria, and founded the Ayyubid dynasty. He led Muslim and Arab opposition to the Franks and other European Crusaders in the Levant...
(see Ayyubids below) reconquered most of the Kingdom of Jerusalem in 1187, leaving the Crusaders holding a few ports.
In the
Third CrusadeThe Third Crusade , also known as the Kings' Crusade, was an attempt by European leaders to reconquer the Holy Land from Saladin...
armies from Europe were unsuccessful in attempts to recapture Jerusalem, though Crusader states lingered on for several decades, and there were further crusades with the intent to recapture the holy city and other Near East lands. The Christian Reconquista continued in Al-Andalus, and was eventually completed with the
fall of GranadaThe Granada War was a series of military campaigns between 1482 and 1492, during the reign of the Catholic Monarchs Isabella I of Castile and Ferdinand II of Aragon, against the Nasrid dynasty's Emirate of Granada...
in 1492. During the low period of the Crusades, the
Fourth CrusadeThe Fourth Crusade was originally intended to conquer Muslim-controlled Jerusalem by means of an invasion through Egypt. Instead, in April 1204, the Crusaders of Western Europe invaded and conquered the Christian city of Constantinople, capital of the Eastern Roman Empire...
was diverted from the Levant and instead took
ConstantinopleConstantinople was the capital of the Roman, Eastern Roman, Byzantine, Latin, and Ottoman Empires. Throughout most of the Middle Ages, Constantinople was Europe's largest and wealthiest city.-Names:...
, leaving the Eastern Roman Empire (now the
Byzantine EmpireThe Byzantine Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire during the periods of Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, centred on the capital of Constantinople. Known simply as the Roman Empire or Romania to its inhabitants and neighbours, the Empire was the direct continuation of the Ancient Roman State...
) further weakened in their long struggle against the Turkish peoples to the east. However, the crusaders did manage to damage existing Islamic caliphates; preventing them from further expansion into
ChristendomChristendom, or the Christian world, has several meanings. In a cultural sense it refers to the worldwide community of Christians, adherents of Christianity...
and open to the
MamlukA Mamluk was a soldier of slave origin, who were predominantly Cumans/Kipchaks The "mamluk phenomenon", as David Ayalon dubbed the creation of the specific warrior...
s and the
MongolsMongols ) are a Central-East Asian ethnic group that lives mainly in the countries of Mongolia, China, and Russia. In China, ethnic Mongols can be found mainly in the central north region of China such as Inner Mongolia...
.
Ayyubid dynasty
The
Ayyubid dynastyThe Ayyubid dynasty was a Muslim dynasty of Kurdish origin, founded by Saladin and centered in Egypt. The dynasty ruled much of the Middle East during the 12th and 13th centuries CE. The Ayyubid family, under the brothers Ayyub and Shirkuh, originally served as soldiers for the Zengids until they...
was founded by
SaladinṢalāḥ ad-Dīn Yūsuf ibn Ayyūb , better known in the Western world as Saladin, was an Arabized Kurdish Muslim, who became the first Sultan of Egypt and Syria, and founded the Ayyubid dynasty. He led Muslim and Arab opposition to the Franks and other European Crusaders in the Levant...
and centered in Egypt. In 1174, Saladin proclaimed himself Sultan and went to conquest the Near East region. The Ayyubids ruled much of the Middle East during the 12th and 13th centuries, controlling included Egypt, Syria, northern Mesopotamia, Hejaz, Yemen, and the North African coast up to the borders of modern-day Tunisia. After the death of Saladin, his sons contested control over the sultanate, but Saladin's brother al-Adil eventually established himself as Sultan in 1200. In the 1230s, the Ayyubid rulers of Syria attempted to assert their independence from Egypt and remained divided until Egyptian Sultan as-Salih Ayyub restored Ayyubid unity by taking over most of Syria, excluding Aleppo, by 1247. In 1250, the dynasty in the Egyptian region was overthrown by a slave regiments. A number of attempts by the rulers of Syria, led by an-Nasir Yusuf of Aleppo, to recover it failed. In 1260, the Mongols sacked Aleppo and wrested control of what remained of the Ayyubid territories soon after.
Mongol invasions
The Islamic Caliphate after the Crusades saw the
Mongol invasionsMongol invasions progressed throughout the 13th century, resulting in the vast Mongol Empire which covered much of Asia and Eastern Europe by 1300....
from the East of the 13th century, from which some historians believe the eastern Islamic world never fully recovered, and which mark the end of the
Islamic Golden AgeDuring the Islamic Golden Age philosophers, scientists and engineers of the Islamic world contributed enormously to technology and culture, both by preserving earlier traditions and by adding their own inventions and innovations...
. The wave of
Mongol invasionsMongol invasions progressed throughout the 13th century, resulting in the vast Mongol Empire which covered much of Asia and Eastern Europe by 1300....
, which had commenced in the early 13th century under the leadership of
Genghis KhanGenghis Khan , born Temujin and occasionally known by his temple name Taizu , was the founder and Great Khan of the Mongol Empire, which became the largest contiguous empire in history after his death....
, marked a violent end to the Abbasid era. The
Mongol invasion of Central AsiaThe Mongol invasion of Central Asia occurred after the unification of the Mongol and Turkic tribes on Mongolian plateau in 1206. It finally completed when Genghis Khan conquered the Khwarizmian Empire in 1221....
began in 1219 and, as in other regions conquered later, resulted in a huge loss of civilian life and economic devastation. The Mongols spread throughout Central Asia and Persia: the Persian city of Isfahan had fallen to them by 1237.
With the election of Khan
MongkeMöngke Khan , born Möngke, , was the fourth Great Khan of the Mongol Empire from July 1, 1251 – August 11, 1259. He was the first Great Khan from the Toluid line, and made significant reforms to improve the administration of the Empire during his reign...
in 1251, Mongol sights were set upon the Abbasid capital, Baghdad. Mongke's brother, Hulegu, was made leader of the Mongol Army assigned to the task of subduing Baghdad. The fall of Bagdhad in 1258 destroyed what had been the largest city in Islam. The last Abbasid caliph,
al-Musta'simAl-Musta'sim Billah was the last Abbasid Caliph in Baghdad; he ruled from 1242 until his death.-Biography:...
, was captured and killed; and Baghdad was ransacked and destroyed. The cities of Damascus and
AleppoAleppo is the largest city in Syria and the capital of Aleppo Governorate, the most populous Syrian governorate. With an official population of 2,301,570 , expanding to over 2.5 million in the metropolitan area, it is also one of the largest cities in the Levant...
fell afterwards, in 1260. Plans for the conquest of Egypt were delayed due to the death of Mongke at around the same time. The Abbasid army was defeated by the superior Mongol army, but the Mongol invaders were finally held by the Egyptian Mamluks north of Jerusalem in 1260.
Ultimately, the
IlkhanateThe Ilkhanate, also spelled Il-khanate , was a Mongol khanate established in Azerbaijan and Persia in the 13th century, considered a part of the Mongol Empire...
,
Golden HordeThe Golden Horde was a Mongol and later Turkicized khanate that formed the north-western sector of the Mongol Empire...
, and the
Chagatai KhanateThe Chagatai Khanate was a Turko-Mongol khanate that comprised the lands ruled by Chagatai Khan , second son of the Great Khan Genghis Khan, and his descendents and successors...
- three of the four principal Mongol khanates - embraced Islam, as the Mongol elite favored Islam over other religions. The Mongols remained in power in Syria, Mesopotamia, Persia and further east and over the rest of the 13th century gradually all converted to Islam. Most Ilkhanid rulers were replaced by the new invasion of the new Mongol power founded by
TimurTimur , historically known as Tamerlane in English , was a 14th-century conqueror of West, South and Central Asia, and the founder of the Timurid dynasty in Central Asia, and great-great-grandfather of Babur, the founder of the Mughal Dynasty, which survived as the Mughal Empire in India until...
(himself a Muslim), who conquered Persia in the 1360s, and moved against the
Delhi SultanateThe Delhi Sultanate is a term used to cover five short-lived, Delhi based kingdoms or sultanates, of Turkic origin in medieval India. The sultanates ruled from Delhi between 1206 and 1526, when the last was replaced by the Mughal dynasty...
in India and the
Ottoman TurksThe Ottoman Turks were the Turkish-speaking population of the Ottoman Empire who formed the base of the state's military and ruling classes. Reliable information about the early history of Ottoman Turks is scarce, but they take their Turkish name, Osmanlı , from the house of Osman I The Ottoman...
in
AnatoliaAnatolia is a geographic and historical term denoting the westernmost protrusion of Asia, comprising the majority of the Republic of Turkey...
. His invasions were equally destructive, sacking Bagdhad,
DamascusDamascus , commonly known in Syria as Al Sham , and as the City of Jasmine , is the capital and the second largest city of Syria after Aleppo, both are part of the country's 14 governorates. In addition to being one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, Damascus is a major...
,
DelhiDelhi , officially National Capital Territory of Delhi , is the largest metropolis by area and the second-largest by population in India, next to Mumbai. It is the eighth largest metropolis in the world by population with 16,753,265 inhabitants in the Territory at the 2011 Census...
and many other cities, with enormous loss of life. Timur had attacked areas still recovering from the
Black DeathThe Black Death was one of the most devastating pandemics in human history, peaking in Europe between 1348 and 1350. Of several competing theories, the dominant explanation for the Black Death is the plague theory, which attributes the outbreak to the bacterium Yersinia pestis. Thought to have...
, which may have killed one third of the population of the Middle East. It began in China, and reached
AlexandriaAlexandria is the second-largest city of Egypt, with a population of 4.1 million, extending about along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea in the north central part of the country; it is also the largest city lying directly on the Mediterranean coast. It is Egypt's largest seaport, serving...
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. The
Timurid dynastyThe Timurids , self-designated Gurkānī , were a Persianate, Central Asian Sunni Muslim dynasty of Turko-Mongol descent whose empire included the whole of Iran, modern Afghanistan, and modern Uzbekistan, as well as large parts of contemporary Pakistan, North India, Mesopotamia, Anatolia and the...
would found had many branches of Islam, including the Mughals of India.
The Mamluks
In 1250, the Ayyubid Egyptian dynasty was overthrown by slave regiments, and a dynasty — the
MamluksThe Mamluk Sultanate of Egypt was the final independent Egyptian state prior to the establishment of the Muhammad Ali Dynasty in 1805. It lasted from the overthrow of the Ayyubid Dynasty until the Ottoman conquest of Egypt in 1517. The sultanate's ruling caste was composed of Mamluks, Arabised...
— was born. In the 1260s, the Mongols sacked and wrested control of the Islamic Near East territories. The Mamluks, who were Turkic, forced out the Mongols (see
Battle of Ain JalutThe Battle of Ain Jalut took place on 3 September 1260 between Mamluks and the Mongols in eastern Galilee, in the Jezreel Valley, not far from Ein Harod....
) after the final destruction of the Ayyubid dynasty. Thus they united
SyriaSyria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....
and
EgyptEgypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
for the longest period of time between the Abbasid and Ottoman empires (1250–1517). The Mamluks saw 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).
As part of their chosen role as defenders of Islamic orthodoxy, the Mamluks sponsored numerous religious buildings, including mosques, madrasas and khanqahs. Though some construction took place in the provinces, the vast bulk of these projects took place in the capital. Many Mamluk buildings in Cairo survive until today, particularly in the district of Old Cairo.
Bahri Sultans
-
-
- Consult particular article for details
The dynasty ruling over Egypt had been replaced in 1250 by a man who was born a prince and struggled as a
MamlukA Mamluk was a soldier of slave origin, who were predominantly Cumans/Kipchaks The "mamluk phenomenon", as David Ayalon dubbed the creation of the specific warrior...
s slave,
AybakIzz al-Din AybakThe name Aybeg or Aybak is a combination of two Turkic words, "Ay" = Moon and "Beg" or variant "Bak" = Emir in Arabic. - Izz al-Din AybakThe name Aybeg or Aybak is a combination of two Turkic words, "Ay" = Moon and "Beg" or variant "Bak" = Emir in Arabic. -(Al-Maqrizi, Note...
(known as
Lion of Ain Jaloot). This had been done through the marriage between Shajar al-Durr, the widow of Ayyubid caliph al-Salih Ayyub, with the Mamluk general Aybak. Military prestige was at the center of Mamluk society, and it played a key role in the confrontations with the Mongol forces. After the assassination of Aybak, and the succession of
QutuzSaif ad-Din Qutuz, also spelled Kutuz, was the third of the Mamluk Sultans of Egypt in the Turkic line from 1259 until his death in 1260. It was under his leadership that the Mamluks achieved success against the Mongols in the key Battle of Ain Jalut...
in 1259, the Mamluks challenged and routed the Mongols at the
Battle of Ain JalutThe Battle of Ain Jalut took place on 3 September 1260 between Mamluks and the Mongols in eastern Galilee, in the Jezreel Valley, not far from Ein Harod....
in late 1260. This signalled an adverse shift in fortunes for the Mongols, who were again defeated by the Mamluks at the
Battle of HimsThe first Battle of Homs was fought on December 10, 1260, between the armies of the Mongol Ilkhanate of Persia and the forces of Egypt, in Syria....
a few months later, and then driven out of Syria altogether. With this, the Mamluks were able to concentrate their forces and to conquer the last of the crusader territories in the Levant.
Burji Sultans
-
-
- Consult particular article for details
- See also: Islamic Egypt governors, Mamluks Era
The global Muslim population had climbed to about 8 per cent as against the Christian population of 14 per cent by 1400.
African region
The first continent outside of Arabia to have an Islamic history was Africa, particularly Abyssinia (modern day
EthiopiaEthiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...
via modern day
EritreaEritrea , officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in the Horn of Africa. Eritrea derives it's name from the Greek word Erethria, meaning 'red land'. The capital is Asmara. It is bordered by Sudan in the west, Ethiopia in the south, and Djibouti in the southeast...
).
Maghreb region
KairouanKairouan , also known as Kirwan or al-Qayrawan , is the capital of the Kairouan Governorate in Tunisia. Referred to as the Islamic Cultural Capital, it is a UNESCO World Heritage site. The city was founded by the Arabs around 670...
in
TunisiaTunisia , officially the Tunisian RepublicThe long name of Tunisia in other languages used in the country is: , is the northernmost country in Africa. It is a Maghreb country and is bordered by Algeria to the west, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Its area...
was the first city founded by Muslims in the
MaghrebThe Maghreb is the region of Northwest Africa, west of Egypt. It includes five countries: Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, and Mauritania and the disputed territory of Western Sahara...
region. Arab general
Uqba ibn NafiUqba ibn Nafi was an Arab hero and general who was serving the Umayyad dynasty, in Amir Muavia and Yazid periods, who began the Islamic conquest of the Maghreb, including present-day Algeria, Tunisia, Libya and Morocco in North Africa. He was the nephew of 'Amr ibn al-'As. Uqba is often surnamed...
erected the city (in 670) and, in the same time, the Great Mosque of Kairouan considered as the oldest and most prestigious sanctuary in the western Islamic world.
This part of Islamic territory has had independent governments during most of Islamic history, with a number being of historical importance.
The Idrisid dynasty were the first Arab rulers in the western
MaghrebThe Maghreb is the region of Northwest Africa, west of Egypt. It includes five countries: Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, and Mauritania and the disputed territory of Western Sahara...
(Morocco), ruling from 788 to 985. The dynasty is named after its first
sultanSultan is a title with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic language abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", and "dictatorship", derived from the masdar سلطة , meaning "authority" or "power". Later, it came to be used as the title of certain rulers who...
Idris IIdris I was the first ruler and founder of the Idrisid Dynasty, ruling from 788 to 791 AD. He is credited with founding the dynasty that was instrumental in the early Islamization of Morocco.-History:...
.
The Almoravid dynasty was a
BerberBerbers are the indigenous peoples of North Africa west of the Nile Valley. They are continuously distributed from the Atlantic to the Siwa oasis, in Egypt, and from the Mediterranean to the Niger River. Historically they spoke the Berber language or varieties of it, which together form a branch...
dynasty from the
SaharaThe Sahara is the world's second largest desert, after Antarctica. At over , it covers most of Northern Africa, making it almost as large as Europe or the United States. The Sahara stretches from the Red Sea, including parts of the Mediterranean coasts, to the outskirts of the Atlantic Ocean...
that flourished over a wide area of North-Western Africa and the
Iberian PeninsulaThe Iberian Peninsula , sometimes called Iberia, is located in the extreme southwest of Europe and includes the modern-day sovereign states of Spain, Portugal and Andorra, as well as the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar...
during the 11th century. Under this dynasty the Moorish empire was extended over present-day
MoroccoMorocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...
,
Western SaharaWestern Sahara is a disputed territory in North Africa, bordered by Morocco to the north, Algeria to the northeast, Mauritania to the east and south, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west. Its surface area amounts to . It is one of the most sparsely populated territories in the world, mainly...
,
MauritaniaMauritania is a country in the Maghreb and West Africa. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean in the west, by Western Sahara in the north, by Algeria in the northeast, by Mali in the east and southeast, and by Senegal in the southwest...
,
GibraltarGibraltar is a British overseas territory located on the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula at the entrance of the Mediterranean. A peninsula with an area of , it has a northern border with Andalusia, Spain. The Rock of Gibraltar is the major landmark of the region...
,
TlemcenTlemcen is a town in Northwestern Algeria, and the capital of the province of the same name. It is located inland in the center of a region known for its olive plantations and vineyards...
(in
AlgeriaAlgeria , officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria , also formally referred to as the Democratic and Popular Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of Northwest Africa with Algiers as its capital.In terms of land area, it is the largest country in Africa and the Arab...
) and a part of what is now
SenegalSenegal , officially the Republic of Senegal , is a country in western Africa. It owes its name to the Sénégal River that borders it to the east and north...
and
MaliMali , officially the Republic of Mali , is a landlocked country in Western Africa. Mali borders Algeria on the north, Niger on the east, Burkina Faso and the Côte d'Ivoire on the south, Guinea on the south-west, and Senegal and Mauritania on the west. Its size is just over 1,240,000 km² with...
in the south, and Spain and Portugal in the north.
The Almohad Dynasty or "the Unitarians", were a
BerberBerbers are the indigenous peoples of North Africa west of the Nile Valley. They are continuously distributed from the Atlantic to the Siwa oasis, in Egypt, and from the Mediterranean to the Niger River. Historically they spoke the Berber language or varieties of it, which together form a branch...
Muslim
religiousReligion is a collection of cultural systems, belief systems, and worldviews that establishes symbols that relate humanity to spirituality and, sometimes, to moral values. Many religions have narratives, symbols, traditions and sacred histories that are intended to give meaning to life or to...
power which founded the fifth Moorish
dynastyA dynasty is a sequence of rulers considered members of the same family. Historians traditionally consider many sovereign states' history within a framework of successive dynasties, e.g., China, Ancient Egypt and the Persian Empire...
in the 12th century, and conquered all Northern Africa as far as
EgyptEgypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
, together with
Al-AndalusAl-Andalus was the Arabic name given to a nation and territorial region also commonly referred to as Moorish Iberia. The name describes parts of the Iberian Peninsula and Septimania governed by Muslims , at various times in the period between 711 and 1492, although the territorial boundaries...
.
East African region
Islam in East Africa can be dated back to the founding of the religion and the beginning with the
hijraThe Hijra is the migration or journey of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and his followers from Mecca to Medina in 622 CE. Alternate spellings of this Arabic word are Hijrah, Hijrat or Hegira, the latter following the spelling rules of Latin.- Hijra of Muhammad :In September 622, warned of a plot to...
; in 615, when a group of Muslims were counseled by Muhammad
to escape persecutionIn the early days of Islam at Mecca, the new Muslims were often subjected to abuse and persecution.-Overview:Some were killed, such as Sumayyah bint Khabbab, the seventh convert to Islam, who was tortured first by Abu Jahl...
in
MeccaMecca is a city in the Hijaz and the capital of Makkah province in Saudi Arabia. The city is located inland from Jeddah in a narrow valley at a height of above sea level...
and
travel to AbyssiniaThe migration known as the first Hijarat was made in two groups totalling more than a hundred persons. According to Islamic tradition, eleven male and five female Sahabah, the Muslims who originally converged in Mecca, sought refuge from Quraysh persecution in the Kingdom of Aksum in of in the...
(an act known as the First migration to Abyssinia), which was ruled by, in Muhammad's estimation, a pious Christian king named
al-Najashi (Negus, King of Abyssinia). The people were angered with the current ruler, so they sought to over throw them and they did. Moreover, Islamic tradition states that the first
muezzinA muezzin , or muzim, is the chosen person at a mosque who leads the call to prayer at Friday services and the five daily times for prayer from one of the mosque's minarets; in most modern mosques, electronic amplification aids the muezzin in his task.The professional muezzin is chosen for his...
Bilal al-Habeshi, a companions of Muhammad, was from Abyssinia (
Habasha).
There were Islamic governments in
TanzaniaIslam is, as of 2007, the religion in Tanzania with 35% of the population of the mainland and more than 99% of the population in Zanzibar being Muslim.-History:...
. The people of
Zayd were Muslims that immigrated to East Africa. Islam came to East Africa through trade routes. The African peoples that lived along these routes became converts due to the close contact they had with Arab traders in areas like
TaboraTabora is the capital city of Tanzania's Tabora Region with a population of 127,880 . Tabora region is one of the largest geographical regions of Tanzania.- History :...
. They learned from them the manners of the Muslims and this led to their conversion by the Muslim Arabs. In pre-colonial East Africa, the structure of Islamic authority was held up through the
UlemaUlama , also spelt ulema, refers to the educated class of Muslim legal scholars engaged in the several fields of Islamic studies. They are best known as the arbiters of shari‘a law...
(
wanawyuonis, in
Swahili languageSwahili or Kiswahili is a Bantu language spoken by various ethnic groups that inhabit several large stretches of the Mozambique Channel coastline from northern Kenya to northern Mozambique, including the Comoro Islands. It is also spoken by ethnic minority groups in Somalia...
). Their base was in
ZanzibarZanzibar ,Persian: زنگبار, from suffix bār: "coast" and Zangi: "bruin" ; is a semi-autonomous part of Tanzania, in East Africa. It comprises the Zanzibar Archipelago in the Indian Ocean, off the coast of the mainland, and consists of numerous small islands and two large ones: Unguja , and Pemba...
. These leaders had some degree of authority over most of the Muslims in East Africa at this time; before territorial boundaries were established. This is because the majority of Muslims lived within the sphere of influence of the Sultanate in Zanzibar. The chief
QadiQadi is a judge ruling in accordance with Islamic religious law appointed by the ruler of a Muslim country. Because Islam makes no distinction between religious and secular domains, qadis traditionally have jurisdiction over all legal matters involving Muslims...
there was recognized for having the final religious authority.
West African region
Usman dan FodioShaihu Usman dan Fodio , born Usuman ɓii Foduye, was the founder of the Sokoto Caliphate in 1809, a religious teacher, writer and Islamic promoter. Dan Fodio was one of a class of urbanized ethnic Fulani living in the Hausa States in what is today northern Nigeria...
after the
Fulani WarThe Fulani War of 1804-1810, also known as the Fulani Jihad or Jihad of Usman dan Fodio, was a military conquest in present day Nigeria and Cameroon. Expelled from Gobir by his former student Yunfa in 1802, Islamic reformer Usman dan Fodio assembled a Fulani army to lead in jihad against the Hausa...
, found himself in command of the largest state in Africa, the
Fulani EmpireThe Sokoto Caliphate is an Islamic spiritual community in Nigeria, led by the Sultan of Sokoto, Sa’adu Abubakar. Founded during the Fulani Jihad in 1809 by Usuman dan Fodio, it was one of the most powerful empires in sub-Saharan Africa prior to European conquest and colonization...
. Dan Fodio worked to establish an efficient government, one grounded in Islamic laws. Already aged at the beginning of the war, dan Fodio retired in 1815 passing the title of Sultan of Sokoto to his son
Muhammed BelloMuhammed Bello was the son and aide of Usman dan Fodio. He became the second Sultan of Sokoto following his father's 1815 retirement from the throne. Bello faced early challenges from dissident leaders such as 'Abd al-Salam, and rivalries between the key families of his father's jihad...
.
South Asia
On the Indian subcontinent, Islam first appeared in the south western tip of the peninsula, in today's
Keralaor Keralam is an Indian state located on the Malabar coast of south-west India. It was created on 1 November 1956 by the States Reorganisation Act by combining various Malayalam speaking regions....
state. Arabs had trade relations with Malabar even before the birth of Muhammad. The native legends say that a group of
SahabaIn Islam, the ' were the companions, disciples, scribes and family of the Islamic prophet...
, under
Malik Ibn DeenarMālik bin Dīnār was a Tabi‘in. He is mentioned as a reliable traditionist, transmitting from such authorities as Malik ibn Anas and Ibn Sirin. He was the son of a Persian slave from Kabul who became a disciple of Hasan al-Basri...
, arrived on the
Malabar CoastThe Malabar Coast is a long and narrow coastline on the south-western shore line of the mainland Indian subcontinent. Geographically, it comprises the wettest regions of southern India, as the Western Ghats intercept the moisture-laden monsoon rains, especially on their westward-facing mountain...
and preached Islam. According to that legend,
the first mosque of IndiaCheraman Juma Masjid is a mosque in Methala, Kodungallur Taluk in the Indian state of Kerala. The Cheraman Masjid is said to be the very first mosque in India, built in 629 AD by Malik lbn Dinar. But, according to Nathan Katz, the accuracy of these claims is uncertain. It is believed that this...
was built by
Second CheraKulasekhara or Later Chera dynasty was a classical Hindu dynasty founded by the saint King Kulashekhara Varman. The dynasty ruled the whole of modern Kerala state , Guddalore and some parts of Nilgiri district and Salem - Coimbatore region in southern India between 9th and 12th centuries AD...
King Cheraman Perumal, who accepted Islam and received the name
Tajudheen. He traveled to Arabia to meet Muhammad and died on the trip back, somewhere in today's Oman. There are historical records which suggests that the
Cheraman Perumal MosqueCheraman Juma Masjid is a mosque in Methala, Kodungallur Taluk in the Indian state of Kerala. The Cheraman Masjid is said to be the very first mosque in India, built in 629 AD by Malik lbn Dinar. But, according to Nathan Katz, the accuracy of these claims is uncertain. It is believed that this...
was built in Hijra 5(629 CE).
Islamic rule came to Pakistan in the 8th century, when
Muhammad bin QasimMuhammad bin Qasim Al-Thaqafi was a Umayyad general who, at the age of 17, began the conquest of the Sindh and Punjab regions along the Indus River for the Umayyad Caliphate. He was born in the city of Taif...
conquered
SindhSindh historically referred to as Ba'ab-ul-Islam , is one of the four provinces of Pakistan and historically is home to the Sindhi people. It is also locally known as the "Mehran". Though Muslims form the largest religious group in Sindh, a good number of Christians, Zoroastrians and Hindus can...
. Muslim conquests were expanded under
MahmudMahmud of Ghazni , actually ', was the most prominent ruler of the Ghaznavid dynasty who ruled from 997 until his death in 1030 in the eastern Iranian lands. Mahmud turned the former provincial city of Ghazni into the wealthy capital of an extensive empire which covered most of today's Iran,...
and the Ghaznavids until the late 12th century, when the
GhuridsThe Ghurids or Ghorids were a medieval Muslim dynasty of Iranian origin that ruled during the 12th and 13th centuries in Khorasan. At its zenith, their empire, centred at Ghōr , stretched over an area that included the whole of modern Afghanistan, the eastern parts of Iran and the northern section...
overran the Ghaznavids and extended the conquests in Northern India.
Qutb-ud-din AybakQutb-ud-din Aibak was a Turkic king of Northwest India who ruled from his capital in Delhi where he built the Qutub Minar and the Quwwat Al Islam mosque. He was of Turkic descent from central Asia, the first Sultan of Delhi and founder of the Slave dynasty of India. He ruled for only four years,...
conquered Delhi in 1206 and began the reign of the
Delhi SultanateThe Delhi Sultanate is a term used to cover five short-lived, Delhi based kingdoms or sultanates, of Turkic origin in medieval India. The sultanates ruled from Delhi between 1206 and 1526, when the last was replaced by the Mughal dynasty...
s.
In the 14th century,
Alauddin KhiljiAli Gurshap Khan better known by his titular name as Sultan Ala-ud-din Khilji was the second ruler of the Turko-Afghan Khilji dynasty in India.He was a well and capable ruler. He belonged to the Afghanized Turkic tribe of the Khiljis...
extended Muslim rule south to
Gujarat,
RajasthanRājasthān the land of Rajasthanis, , is the largest state of the Republic of India by area. It is located in the northwest of India. It encompasses most of the area of the large, inhospitable Great Indian Desert , which has an edge paralleling the Sutlej-Indus river valley along its border with...
and Deccan. Various other Muslim dynasties also formed and ruled across India from the 13th to the 18th century such as the Qutb Shahi and the Bahmani, but none rivalled the power and extensive reach of the
Mughal EmpireThe Mughal Empire , or Mogul Empire in traditional English usage, was an imperial power from the Indian Subcontinent. The Mughal emperors were descendants of the Timurids...
at its peak.
China
In China, four Sahabas (Sa'ad ibn abi Waqqas, Wahb Abu Kabcha, Jafar ibn Abu Talib and Jahsh) preached in 616/17 and onwards after coming from
ChittagongChittagong ) is a city in southeastern Bangladesh and the capital of an eponymous district and division. Built on the banks of the Karnaphuli River, the city is home to Bangladesh's busiest seaport and has a population of over 4.5 million, making it the second largest city in the country.A trading...
–
KamrupKamrup district is an administrative district in the state of Assam in India, named after Kamarupa, a name by which Assam was previously known in ancient times. The district, however, is now a small western part of Assam, with a distinctive native Kamrupi culture and dialect . The distinctive...
–
ManipurManipur is a state in northeastern India, with the city of Imphal as its capital. Manipur is bounded by the Indian states of Nagaland to the north, Mizoram to the south and Assam to the west; it also borders Burma to the east. It covers an area of...
route after sailing from
AbyssiniaThe Ethiopian Empire also known as Abyssinia, covered a geographical area that the present-day northern half of Ethiopia and Eritrea covers, and included in its peripheries Zeila, Djibouti, Yemen and Western Saudi Arabia...
in 615/16. Sa'ad ibn abi Waqqas later, after conquest of Persia in 636, went with Sa'id ibn Zaid, Qais ibn Sa'd and
Hassan ibn ThabitHassan ibn Thabit was an Arabian poet and one of the Sahaba, or companions of Muhammad. He was born in Yathrib , and was member of the Banu Khazraj tribe. According to tradition, he was the court poet to Muhammad.-Life:...
to China in 637 taking the complete volume of the Quran. Sa'ad ibn abi Waqqas again 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.
Southeast Asia
Many of historian predict that Islam reached South East Asia, espescially western part of Indonesia Archipelago on the 13th Century. But, More than Two Thousands years ago Arab traders from Yaman had been connected to other far east Asia through trading and traveling by sea. The trader from Arab is the intermediary trader between Europe to African, Indian, South East Asian, and Far East Asian, including Japan and China. They were not just sold goods from Arab, but also goods from Africa, India, and so on, such as ivory, fragrance, spice, seasoning, gold, etc.
Islam reached the islands of Southeast Asia through traders from Mecca in the first century of Islamic Calendar or in the 7th century. The traders who also a good Islamic Believers was mingled to native. In their interaction, many of the native in south east Asia adopt Islam as their new faith. Because Islam offer them more freedom of speech, freedom of faith, and also freedom of caste in society.
There are many strong possibility that Islam had been spread by Arab traders to South East Asia in the 1st Century of Islamic Calendar or 7th Century of Christian/Gregorian Calendar. This Fact is much stronger, according to T.W. Arnold in The Preaching of Islam - In the 2nd Century of Islamic Calender (Hijri), Arab trader had been trade to Ceylon or Srilangka (island in southern part of India). The same argument has been told by Prof.Dr. B.H. Burger and Prof.Dr.Mr. Prajudi in
Sedjarah Ekonomis Sosiologis Indonesia (History of Socio Economic of Indonesia)
There are more possibility that Islam was spread by Arab Traders to South East Asia. According to Al Biruni, the Muslim Scholar Geographical Experty, 973 - 1048 AD, in his World Atlas written that Indian or Indonesia Ocean used to be call as Persian Ocean. After the Western Imperialist ruled, it is replaced Persian Ocean to be Indian Ocean.
Soon, many Sufi missionaries translated classical Sufi literature from Arabic and Persian into
MalayMalay is a major language of the Austronesian family. It is the official language of Malaysia , Indonesia , Brunei and Singapore...
. Coupled with the composing of original
Islamic literatureIslamic literature is literature written with an Islamic perspective, in any language.The most well known fiction from the Islamic world was The Book of One Thousand and One Nights , which was a compilation of many earlier folk tales told by the Persian Queen Scheherazade...
in Malay, this led the way to the transformation of Malay into an Islamic language. By 1292, when
Marco PoloMarco Polo was a Venetian merchant traveler from the Venetian Republic whose travels are recorded in Il Milione, a book which did much to introduce Europeans to Central Asia and China. He learned about trading whilst his father and uncle, Niccolò and Maffeo, travelled through Asia and apparently...
visited Sumatra, most of the inhabitants had converted to Islam. The Sultanate of Malacca was founded by Parameswara, a Srivijayan Prince in the Malay peninsula. Through trade and commerce, Islam spread to
BorneoBorneo is the third largest island in the world and is located north of Java Island, Indonesia, at the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia....
and Java, Indonesia. By the late 15th century, Islam had been introduced to the
PhilippinesThe Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
.
As Islam Spread from 7th Century AD, the social changes had been developed, from the individual faith changes to society changes. Soon, after five centuris of mingled and interaced with assimilation and acculturation with the native south east Asia society, Islam was emerged as political power in the region.
So, As Islam spread, three main Muslim political powers emerged.
AcehAceh is a special region of Indonesia, located on the northern tip of the island of Sumatra. Its full name is Daerah Istimewa Aceh , Nanggroë Aceh Darussalam and Aceh . Past spellings of its name include Acheh, Atjeh and Achin...
, the most important Muslim power, was based in Northern Sumatra. It controlled much of the area between Southeast Asia and India. The Sultanate also attracted Sufi poets. The second Muslim power was the Sultanate of Malacca on the Malay peninsula. The Sultanate of Demak was the third power, appearing in Java, where the emerging Muslim forces defeated the local Majapahit kingdom in the early 16th century. Although the sultanate managed to expand its territory somewhat, its rule remained brief.
PortugueseThe Portuguese Empire , also known as the Portuguese Overseas Empire or the Portuguese Colonial Empire , was the first global empire in history...
forces captured Malacca in 1511 under the naval general
Afonso de AlbuquerqueAfonso de Albuquerque[p][n] was a Portuguese fidalgo, or nobleman, an admiral whose military and administrative activities as second governor of Portuguese India conquered and established the Portuguese colonial empire in the Indian Ocean...
. With Malacca subdued, the
Aceh SultanateThe Sultanate of Aceh, officially the Kingdom of Aceh Darussalam was a sultanate centered in the modern area of Aceh Province, Sumatra, Indonesia, which was a major regional power in the 16th and 17th centuries, before experiencing a long period of decline...
and Brunei established themselves as centers of Islam in Southeast Asia. Brunei's sultanate remains intact even to this day.
Fragmentation period
Three Early Modern empires
In the 15th and 16th centuries three major Muslim empires were created: the aforementioned
Ottoman EmpireThe Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
in much of the Middle East, the
BalkansThe Balkans is a geopolitical and cultural region of southeastern Europe...
and Northern Africa; the Safavid Empire in
Greater IranGreater Iran refers to the regions that have significant Iranian cultural influence. It roughly corresponds to the territory on the Iranian plateau and its bordering plains, stretching from Iraq, the Caucasus, and Turkey in the west to the Indus River in the east...
; and the Mughul Empire in South Asia. These imperial powers were made possible by the discovery and exploitation of
gunpowderGunpowder, also known since in the late 19th century as black powder, was the first chemical explosive and the only one known until the mid 1800s. It is a mixture of sulfur, charcoal, and potassium nitrate - with the sulfur and charcoal acting as fuels, while the saltpeter works as an oxidizer...
, and a more efficient administration. By the end of the 19th century, all three had declined, and by the early 20th century, with the Ottomans' defeat in World War I, the last Muslim empire collapsed.
Dar al-'Ahd (House of truce) began to developed in the
Ottoman Empire's relationship with its tributary statesVassal States were a number of tributary or vassal states, usually on the periphery of the Ottoman Empire under suzerainty of the Porte, over which direct control was not established, for various reasons.-Functions:...
. In the contemporary
National period, the term refers to those non-Muslim governments which have armistice or peace agreements with Muslim governments. Today, the actual status of the non-Muslim country in question may vary from acknowledged equality to tributary states.
Mughal Empire
The Mughal Empire was a product of various
Central AsiaCentral Asia is a core region of the Asian continent from the Caspian Sea in the west, China in the east, Afghanistan in the south, and Russia in the north...
n invasions into the
Indian subcontinentThe Indian subcontinent, also Indian Subcontinent, Indo-Pak Subcontinent or South Asian Subcontinent is a region of the Asian continent on the Indian tectonic plate from the Hindu Kush or Hindu Koh, Himalayas and including the Kuen Lun and Karakoram ranges, forming a land mass which extends...
. It was founded by the
TimuridThe Timurids , self-designated Gurkānī , were a Persianate, Central Asian Sunni Muslim dynasty of Turko-Mongol descent whose empire included the whole of Iran, modern Afghanistan, and modern Uzbekistan, as well as large parts of contemporary Pakistan, North India, Mesopotamia, Anatolia and the...
prince
BaburBabur was a Muslim conqueror from Central Asia who, following a series of setbacks, finally succeeded in laying the basis for the Mughal dynasty of South Asia. He was a direct descendant of Timur through his father, and a descendant also of Genghis Khan through his mother...
in 1526 with the destruction of the
Delhi sultanateThe Delhi Sultanate is a term used to cover five short-lived, Delhi based kingdoms or sultanates, of Turkic origin in medieval India. The sultanates ruled from Delhi between 1206 and 1526, when the last was replaced by the Mughal dynasty...
, with its capital in
AgraAgra a.k.a. Akbarabad is a city on the banks of the river Yamuna in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, India, west of state capital, Lucknow and south from national capital New Delhi. With a population of 1,686,976 , it is one of the most populous cities in Uttar Pradesh and the 19th most...
. Babur's death some years later, and the indecisive rule of his son,
HumayunNasir ud-din Muhammad Humayun was the second Mughal Emperor who ruled present day Afghanistan, Pakistan, and parts of northern India from 1530–1540 and again from 1555–1556. Like his father, Babur, he lost his kingdom early, but with Persian aid, he eventually regained an even larger one...
, brought a degree of instability to Mughal rule. The resistance of the
AfghaniAfghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
Sher ShahSher Shah Suri , birth name Farid Khan, also known as Sher Khan , was the founder of the short-lived Sur Empire in northern India, with its capital at Delhi, before its demise in the hands of the resurgent Mughal Empire...
, through which a string of defeats had been dealt to Humayun, weakened the Mughals. Just a year before his death, however, Humayun managed to recover much of the lost territories, leaving a substantial legacy for his son, the 13 year old
AkbarAkbar , also known as Shahanshah Akbar-e-Azam or Akbar the Great , was the third Mughal Emperor. He was of Timurid descent; the son of Emperor Humayun, and the grandson of the Mughal Emperor Zaheeruddin Muhammad Babur, the ruler who founded the Mughal dynasty in India...
(later known as
Akbar the Great), in 1556. Under Akbar, consolidation of the Mughal Empire occurred through both expansion and administrative reforms. After Akbar, Jahangir and Shah Jahan came to power. Subsequently, Aurangazeb ruled vast areas including Afghanisthan, Pakistan, India and Bangladesh.
The empire ruled most of present-day India, Pakistan,
BangladeshBangladesh , officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh is a sovereign state located in South Asia. It is bordered by India on all sides except for a small border with Burma to the far southeast and by the Bay of Bengal to the south...
and
AfghanistanAfghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
for several centuries, before it declined in the early 18th century, which led to India being divided into smaller kingdoms and states. The Mughal dynasty was dissolved by the
British EmpireThe British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom. It originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height, it was the...
after the
Indian rebellion of 1857The Indian Rebellion of 1857 began as a mutiny of sepoys of the British East India Company's army on 10 May 1857, in the town of Meerut, and soon escalated into other mutinies and civilian rebellions largely in the upper Gangetic plain and central India, with the major hostilities confined to...
. It left a lasting legacy on Indian culture and architecture. Famous buildings built by the Mughals, include: the
Taj MahalThe Taj Mahal is a white Marble mausoleum located in Agra, India. It was built by Mughal emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his third wife, Mumtaz Mahal...
, the Red Fort, the
Badshahi MosqueThe Badshahi Mosque or the 'King's Mosque' in Lahore, commissioned by the sixth Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb in 1671 and completed in 1673, is the second largest mosque in Pakistan and South Asia and the fifth largest mosque in the world...
, the
Lahore FortThe Lahore Fort, locally referred to as Shahi Qila is citadel of the city of Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. It is located in the northwestern corner of the Walled City of Lahore...
, the
Shalimar GardensThe Shalimar Gardens , sometimes written Shalamar Gardens, is a Persian garden and it was built by the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan in Lahore, modern day Pakistan. Construction began in 1641 CE and was completed the following year...
and the
Agra FortAgra Fort, is a monument situated at Agra, is a UNESCO World Heritage site located in Agra, Uttar Pradesh, India. It is about 2.5 km northwest of its more famous sister monument, the Taj Mahal...
. During the empire's reign, Muslim communities flourished all over India, in
Gujarat,
BengalBengal is a historical and geographical region in the northeast region of the Indian Subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal. Today, it is mainly divided between the sovereign land of People's Republic of Bangladesh and the Indian state of West Bengal, although some regions of the previous...
and Hyderabad. Various Sufi orders from Afghanistan and
IranIran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
were very active throughout the region. Consequently, more than a quarter of the population converted to Islam.
Safavid Empire
The Safavids dynasty from Azarbaijan ruled from 1501 to 1736, and which established Twelver Shi'a Islam as
regions's official religionThe Safavid conversion of Iran from Sunnism to Shiism made Iran the spiritual bastion of Shia Islam against the onslaughts of orthodox Sunni Islam, and the repository of Persian cultural traditions and self-awareness of Iranianhood, acting as a bridge to modern Iran...
and united its provinces under a single sovereignty, thereby reigniting the Persian identity.
Although claiming to be the descendants of Ali ibn Abu Talib, the Safavids were Sunni (the name "Safavid" comes from a Sufi order called
Safavi). Their origins go back to Firuz Shah Zarrinkolah, a local dignitary from the north. During their rule, the Safavids recognized Twelver Shi'a Islam as the State religion, thus giving the region a separate identity from its Sunni neighbours.
In 1524,
Tahmasp ITahmasp or Tahmasb I was an influential Shah of Iran, who enjoyed the longest reign of any member of the Safavid dynasty...
acceded to the throne, initiating a revival of the arts in the region. Carpet making became a major industry, gaining importance. The tradition of
Persian miniatureA Persian miniature is a small painting on paper, whether a book illustration or a separate work of art intended to be kept in an album of such works called a muraqqa. The techniques are broadly comparable to the Western and Byzantine traditions of miniatures in illuminated manuscripts...
painting in manuscripts reached its peak, until Tahmasp turned to strict religious observance in middle age, when he prohibited the drinking of wine, forbade the use of
hashishHashish is a cannabis preparation composed of compressed stalked resin glands, called trichomes, collected from the unfertilized buds of the cannabis plant. It contains the same active ingredients but in higher concentrations than unsifted buds or leaves...
and ordered the removal of gambling casinos, taverns and brothels. Tahmasp's nephew
Ibrahim MirzaPrince Ibrahim Mirza, Solṭān Ebrāhīm Mīrzā, in full Abu'l Fat'h Sultan Ibrahim Mirza was a Persian prince of the Safavid dynasty, who was a favourite of his uncle and father-in-law Shah Tahmasp I. He is now mainly remembered as a patron of the arts, especially the Persian miniature...
continued to patronize a last flowering of the tradition until he was murdered, after which many artists were recruited by the Mughal dynasty.
Tahmasp's grandson, Shah Abbas I, also managed to increase the glory of the empire. Abbas restored the shrine of the eighth Twelver Shi'a Imam, Ali al-Ridha at Mashhad, and restored the dynastic shrine at
ArdabilArdabil is a historical city in north-western Iran. The name Ardabil probably comes from the Zoroastrian name of "Artavil" which means a holy place. Ardabil is the center of Ardabil Province. At the 2006 census, its population was 412,669, in 102,818 families...
. Both shrines received jewelry, fine manuscripts and Chinese porcelains. Abbas also moved the empire's capital to
IsfahanIsfahan , historically also rendered in English as Ispahan, Sepahan or Hispahan, is the capital of Isfahan Province in Iran, located about 340 km south of Tehran. It has a population of 1,583,609, Iran's third largest city after Tehran and Mashhad...
, revived old ports, and established thriving trade with the Europeans. Amongst Abbas's most visible cultural achievements was the construction of
Naqsh-e Jahan Square ("Design of the World"). The plaza, located near a Friday mosque, covered 20 acres (80,937.2 m²).
Ottoman Empire
The Seljuq Turks declined in the second half of the 13th century, after the
Mongol invasion of AnatoliaThe Mongol conquest of Anatolia was a fast process, effectively lasting from 1241 to 1243. Real power over Anatolia was exercised by the Mongols after the Seljuks surrendered in 1243 until the fall of the Ilkhanate...
. This resulted in the establishment of multiple Turkish principalities, known as
beyBey is a title for chieftain, traditionally applied to the leaders of small tribal groups. Accoding to some sources, the word "Bey" is of Turkish language In historical accounts, many Turkish, other Turkic and Persian leaders are titled Bey, Beg, Bek, Bay, Baig or Beigh. They are all the same word...
liks.
Osman IOsman I or Othman I or El-Gazi Sultan Osman Ghazi, or Osman Bey or I. Osman, Osman Gazi Han), nicknamed "Kara" for his courage, was the leader of the Ottoman Turks, and the founder of the dynasty that established and ruled the Ottoman Empire...
, the founder of the
Ottoman dynastyThe Ottoman Dynasty ruled the Ottoman Empire from 1299 to 1922, beginning with Osman I , though the dynasty was not proclaimed until Orhan Bey declared himself sultan...
, assumed leadership of one of these principalities (
SöğütSöğüt is a town and district of Bilecik Province in the Marmara region of Turkey. Söğüt has an area of and borders Bilecik to the west, Gölpazarı to the north, İnhisar to the northeast, Eskişehir to the southeast, and Bozüyük to the southwest. The 2000 census put the population at 21,012 citizens,...
) in 1281, succeeding his father
ErtuğrulErtuğrul was the father of Osman I, the founder of the Ottoman Empire. He was the leader of the Kayı clan of the Oghuz Turks...
. Declaring an independent Ottoman emirate in 1299, Osman I afterwards led it in a series of consecutive battles with the Byzantine Empire. By 1331, the Ottomans had captured Nicaea, the former Byzantine capital, under the leadership of Osman's son and successor,
Orhan IOrhan I or Orhan Bey was the second bey of the nascent Ottoman Empire from 1326 to 1359...
. Victory at the
Battle of KosovoThe Battle of Kosovo took place on St. Vitus' Day, June 15, 1389, between the army led by Serbian Prince Lazar Hrebeljanović, and the invading army of the Ottoman Empire under the leadership of Sultan Murad I...
against the Serbs in 1389 then facilitated their expansion into Europe. The Ottomans were established in the
BalkansThe Balkans is a geopolitical and cultural region of southeastern Europe...
and Anatolia by the time
Bayezid IBayezid I was the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire, from 1389 to 1402. He was the son of Murad I and Valide Sultan Gülçiçek Hatun.-Biography:Bayezid was born in Edirne and spent his youth in Bursa, where he received a high-level education...
ascended to power in the same year, now at the helm of a growing empire.
Further growth was brought to a halt, as Bayezid I had been captured by Mongol warlord
TimurTimur , historically known as Tamerlane in English , was a 14th-century conqueror of West, South and Central Asia, and the founder of the Timurid dynasty in Central Asia, and great-great-grandfather of Babur, the founder of the Mughal Dynasty, which survived as the Mughal Empire in India until...
(also known as "
Tamerlane") in the
Battle of AnkaraThe Battle of Ankara or Battle of Angora, fought on July 20, 1402, took place at the field of Çubuk between the forces of the Ottoman sultan Bayezid I and the Turko-Mongol forces of Timur, ruler of the Timurid Empire. The battle was a major victory for Timur, and it led to a period of crisis for...
in 1402, upon which a period known as the
Ottoman InterregnumThe Ottoman Interregnum began in 20 July 1402, when chaos reigned in the Ottoman Empire following the defeat of Sultan Bayezid I by the Turco-Mongol warlord Timur...
ensued. This episode was characterized by the division of the Ottoman territory amongst Bayezid I's sons, who submitted to
TimuridThe Timurids , self-designated Gurkānī , were a Persianate, Central Asian Sunni Muslim dynasty of Turko-Mongol descent whose empire included the whole of Iran, modern Afghanistan, and modern Uzbekistan, as well as large parts of contemporary Pakistan, North India, Mesopotamia, Anatolia and the...
authority. When a number of the territories conquered by the Ottomans regained independent status, potential ruin for the Ottoman Empire became imminent. However, the empire recovered, as the youngest son of Bayezid I,
Mehmed I Mehmed I Çelebi was a Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1413 to 1421. He was one of the sons of Bayezid I and Valide Sultan Devlet Hatun Mehmed I Çelebi (Ottoman: چلبی محمد, Mehmed I or Mehmed Çelebi) (1382, Bursa – May 26, 1421, Edirne, Ottoman Empire) was a Sultan of the Ottoman Empire...
, waged offensive campaigns against his ruling brothers, thereby reuniting
Asia MinorAsia Minor is a geographical location at the westernmost protrusion of Asia, also called Anatolia, and corresponds to the western two thirds of the Asian part of Turkey...
and declaring himself the Ottoman sultan in 1413.
Around this time the
navalA navy is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake- or ocean-borne combat operations and related functions...
fleet of the Ottomans developed, such that they were able to challenge
VeniceThe Republic of Venice or Venetian Republic was a state originating from the city of Venice in Northeastern Italy. It existed for over a millennium, from the late 7th century until 1797. It was formally known as the Most Serene Republic of Venice and is often referred to as La Serenissima, in...
, a naval power. Focus was also directed towards reconquering the Balkans. By the time of Mehmed I's grandson,
Mehmed IIMehmed II , was Sultan of the Ottoman Empire for a short time from 1444 to September 1446, and later from...
(ruled 1444 — 1446; 1451 — 1481), the Ottomans felt strong enough to lay siege to
ConstantinopleConstantinople was the capital of the Roman, Eastern Roman, Byzantine, Latin, and Ottoman Empires. Throughout most of the Middle Ages, Constantinople was Europe's largest and wealthiest city.-Names:...
, the capital of Byzantium. A factor in this siege was the use of
firearmsA musket is a muzzle-loaded, smooth bore long gun, fired from the shoulder. Muskets were designed for use by infantry. A soldier armed with a musket had the designation musketman or musketeer....
and large
cannonA cannon is any piece of artillery that uses gunpowder or other usually explosive-based propellents to launch a projectile. Cannon vary in caliber, range, mobility, rate of fire, angle of fire, and firepower; different forms of cannon combine and balance these attributes in varying degrees,...
s introduced by the Ottomans, against which the Byzantines were unable to compete. The Byzantine fortress
succumbed to the Ottoman invasionThe Fall of Constantinople was the capture of the capital of the Byzantine Empire, which occurred after a siege by the Ottoman Empire, under the command of Ottoman Sultan Mehmed II, against the defending army commanded by Byzantine Emperor Constantine XI...
in 1453, after 54 days of siege. Mehmed II, entering the city victorious, renamed it
IstanbulIstanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...
. With its capital fallen to the Ottomans, the rest of the Byzantine Empire disintegrated. The future successes of the Ottomans and later empires would depend upon the exploitation of
gunpowderGunpowder, also known since in the late 19th century as black powder, was the first chemical explosive and the only one known until the mid 1800s. It is a mixture of sulfur, charcoal, and potassium nitrate - with the sulfur and charcoal acting as fuels, while the saltpeter works as an oxidizer...
.
In the early 16th century, the Shi'ite
Safavid dynastyThe Safavid dynasty was one of the most significant ruling dynasties of Iran. They ruled one of the greatest Persian empires since the Muslim conquest of Persia and established the Twelver school of Shi'a Islam as the official religion of their empire, marking one of the most important turning...
assumed control in Persia under the leadership of
ShahShāh is the title of the ruler of certain Southwest Asian and Central Asian countries, especially Persia , and derives from the Persian word shah, meaning "king".-History:...
Ismail IIsmail I , known in Persian as Shāh Ismāʿil , was a Shah of Iran and the founder of the Safavid dynasty which survived until 1736. Isma'il started his campaign in Azerbaijan in 1500 as the leader of the Safaviyya, an extremist heterodox Twelver Shi'i militant religious order and unified all of Iran...
, upon the defeat of the ruling
TurcomanThe Turkmen are a Turkic people located primarily in the Central Asian states of Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, and northeastern Iran. They speak the Turkmen language, which is classified as a part of the Western Oghuz branch of the Turkic languages family together with Turkish, Azerbaijani, Qashqai,...
federation Aq Qoyunlu (also called the "White Sheep Turkomans") in 1501. The Ottoman sultan
Selim ISelim I, Yavuz Sultân Selim Khan, Hâdim-ül Haramain-ish Sharifain , nicknamed Yavuz "the Stern" or "the Steadfast", but often rendered in English as "the Grim" , was the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1512 to...
sought to repel Safavid expansion, challenging and defeating them at the
Battle of ChaldiranThe Battle of Chaldiran or Chaldoran occurred on 23 August 1514 and ended with a victory for the Ottoman Empire over the Safavid Empire of Persia . As a result, the Ottomans gained immediate control over eastern Anatolia and northern Iraq...
in 1514. Selim I also deposed the ruling Mamluks in Egypt, absorbing their territories into the Ottoman Empire in 1517. Suleiman I (also known as
Suleiman the Magnificent), Selim I's successor, took advantage of the diversion of Safavid focus to the
UzbeksThe Uzbeks are a Turkic ethnic group in Central Asia. They comprise the majority population of Uzbekistan, and large populations can also be found in Afghanistan, Tajikstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Russia, Pakistan, Mongolia and the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of China...
on the eastern frontier and recaptured Baghdad, which had fallen under Safavid control. Despite this, Safavid power remained substantial, with their empire rivalling the Ottomans'. Suleiman I also advanced deep into Hungary following the
Battle of MohácsThe Battle of Mohács was fought on August 29, 1526 near Mohács, Hungary. In the battle, forces of the Kingdom of Hungary led by King Louis II of Hungary and Bohemia were defeated by forces of the Ottoman Empire led by Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent....
in 1526 —
reaching as far as the gates of ViennaThe Siege of Vienna in 1529 was the first attempt by the Ottoman Empire, led by Suleiman the Magnificent, to capture the city of Vienna, Austria. The siege signalled the pinnacle of the Ottoman Empire's power, the maximum extent of Ottoman expansion in central Europe, and was the result of a...
thereafter, and signed a Franco-Ottoman alliance with
Francis I of FranceFrancis I was King of France from 1515 until his death. During his reign, huge cultural changes took place in France and he has been called France's original Renaissance monarch...
against
Charles VCharles V was ruler of the Holy Roman Empire from 1519 and, as Charles I, of the Spanish Empire from 1516 until his voluntary retirement and abdication in favor of his younger brother Ferdinand I and his son Philip II in 1556.As...
of the
Roman EmpireThe Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
10 years later. Suleiman I's rule (1520 — 1566) signified the height of the Ottoman Empire, after which it fell into a relative decline with the rapid industrialization of the European empires.
Modern history
The
modern ageModern Age is an American conservative academic quarterly journal, founded in 1957 by Russell Kirk in close collaboration with Henry Regnery...
brought technological and organizational changes to Europe and the Islamic countries continued the previous patterns of earlier centuries. Europe's state-based government allowed the Great Powers to the globalize economically and several Islamic countries faced colonization.
Ottoman Empire partition
By the end of the 19th century, the Ottoman empire had declined due to internal conflict. The decision to back Germany in World War I meant they shared the Central Powers' defeat in that war, which led to the overthrow of the Ottomans by Turkish nationalists led by the victorious general of the
Battle of GallipoliThe Gallipoli Campaign, also known as the Dardanelles Campaign or the Battle of Gallipoli, took place at the peninsula of Gallipoli in the Ottoman Empire between 25 April 1915 and 9 January 1916, during the First World War...
:
Mustafa KemalMustafa Kemal Atatürk was an Ottoman and Turkish army officer, revolutionary statesman, writer, and the first President of Turkey. He is credited with being the founder of the Republic of Turkey....
, who became known to his people as Atatürk, "Father of the Turks." It was Atatürk who was were credited with renegotiating the
treaty of SèvresThe Treaty of Sèvres was the peace treaty between the Ottoman Empire and Allies at the end of World War I. The Treaty of Versailles was signed with Germany before this treaty to annul the German concessions including the economic rights and enterprises. Also, France, Great Britain and Italy...
(1920) which ended their involvement in the war and establishing the modern Republic of Turkey, which was recognized by the Allies in the
Treaty of LausanneThe Treaty of Lausanne was a peace treaty signed in Lausanne, Switzerland on 24 July 1923, that settled the Anatolian and East Thracian parts of the partitioning of the Ottoman Empire. The treaty of Lausanne was ratified by the Greek government on 11 February 1924, by the Turkish government on 31...
(1923). Atatürk went on to implement an ambitious program of modernization that emphasized economic development and secularization. He transformed Turkish culture to reflect European style laws and, adopted Hindu-Arabic numerals, the Roman alphabet, separated the religious establishment from the state, and emancipated woman- even giving them the right to vote analogous with the same transformation in western law for the first time.
Following World War I, the vast majority of former Ottoman territory located outside of Asia Minor was handed over to the victorious European powers as European
protectorateIn history, the term protectorate has two different meanings. In its earliest inception, which has been adopted by modern international law, it is an autonomous territory that is protected diplomatically or militarily against third parties by a stronger state or entity...
s. The Allies had promised the subjected people of the former Ottoman Empire during the war future independence in exchange for their assistance fighting the central Turkish powers in Asia Minor. To their dismay, old-fashioned European imperialism was put into practice through this system of "protectorates" which was a mere smoke-screen for their continued subjugation by the powers in the region: the British and the French. The struggles for independence from their Turkish overlords and the cooperation of partisan forces with the British were romanticized in the stories of British secret intelligence agent T.E. Lawrence- later known as "Lawrence of Arabia." Ottoman successor states include today's
AlbaniaAlbania , officially known as the Republic of Albania , is a country in Southeastern Europe, in the Balkans region. It is bordered by Montenegro to the northwest, Kosovo to the northeast, the Republic of Macedonia to the east and Greece to the south and southeast. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea...
,
Bosnia and HerzegovinaBosnia and Herzegovina , sometimes called Bosnia-Herzegovina or simply Bosnia, is a country in Southern Europe, on the Balkan Peninsula. Bordered by Croatia to the north, west and south, Serbia to the east, and Montenegro to the southeast, Bosnia and Herzegovina is almost landlocked, except for the...
,
BulgariaBulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...
,
EgyptEgypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
,
GreeceGreece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
,
IraqIraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
,
LebanonLebanon , officially the Republic of LebanonRepublic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies. The term Lebanese Republic, a literal translation of the official Arabic and French names that is not used in today's world. Arabic is the most common language spoken among...
,
MontenegroMontenegro Montenegrin: Crna Gora Црна Гора , meaning "Black Mountain") is a country located in Southeastern Europe. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea to the south-west and is bordered by Croatia to the west, Bosnia and Herzegovina to the northwest, Serbia to the northeast and Albania to the...
,
RomaniaRomania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
,
Saudi ArabiaThe Kingdom of Saudi Arabia , commonly known in British English as Saudi Arabia and in Arabic as as-Sa‘ūdiyyah , is the largest state in Western Asia by land area, constituting the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and the second-largest in the Arab World...
,
SerbiaSerbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...
,
SyriaSyria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....
,
JordanJordan , officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan , Al-Mamlaka al-Urduniyya al-Hashemiyya) is a kingdom on the East Bank of the River Jordan. The country borders Saudi Arabia to the east and south-east, Iraq to the north-east, Syria to the north and the West Bank and Israel to the west, sharing...
,
TurkeyTurkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
, other Balkan states, North Africa and the north shore of the Black sea.
Many Muslim countries sought to adopt European political organization and
nationalismNationalism is a political ideology that involves a strong identification of a group of individuals with a political entity defined in national terms, i.e. a nation. In the 'modernist' image of the nation, it is nationalism that creates national identity. There are various definitions for what...
began to emerge in the Muslim world. Countries like Egypt, Syria and Turkey organized their governments with definable policies and sought to develop national pride amongst 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 as Wahabism which found its way into the Saudi royal family.
Indian partition
The
partition of IndiaThe Partition of India was the partition of British India on the basis of religious demographics that led to the creation of the sovereign states of the Dominion of Pakistan and the Union of India on 14 and 15...
refers to the creation in August 1947 of the two sovereign states of India and Pakistan. The two nations were formed out of the former
British RajBritish Raj was the British rule in the Indian subcontinent between 1858 and 1947; The term can also refer to the period of dominion...
, including treaty states, when Britain granted independence to the area (see Undivided India). In particular, the term refers to the partition of
BengalBengal is a historical and geographical region in the northeast region of the Indian Subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal. Today, it is mainly divided between the sovereign land of People's Republic of Bangladesh and the Indian state of West Bengal, although some regions of the previous...
and
PunjabPunjab was a province of British India, it was one of the last areas of the Indian subcontinent to fall under British rule. With the end of British rule in 1947 the province was split between West Punjab, which went to Pakistan, and East Punjab, which went to India...
, the two main provinces of what would be Pakistan.
In 1947, after the partition of India, Pakistan became the largest Islamic country in the world (by population) and the tenth largest post-World War II state in the modern world. In 1971, after a bloody war of independence, the Bengal part of Pakistan became an independent state called
BangladeshBangladesh , officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh is a sovereign state located in South Asia. It is bordered by India on all sides except for a small border with Burma to the far southeast and by the Bay of Bengal to the south...
. Pakistan in the contemporary era is the second largest Islamic country in the world following Indonesia. Pakistan is the only known nuclear power of the Muslim world.
Post-1945 era
Between 1953 and 1964, King Saud reorganized the government of the monarchy his father, Ibn Saud, had created. Saudi Arabia's ministries included Communication (1953), Agriculture and Water (1953), Petroleum (1960), Pilgrimage and Islamic Endowments (1960), Labour and Social Affairs (1962) and Information (1963). He also put Talal, one of his many younger brothers (by 29 years his junior) in charge of the Ministry of Transport.
In 1958-59, Talal proposed the formation of a National Council. As he proposed it, it would have been a consultative body, not a legislature. Still, he thought of it as a first step toward broader popular participation in the government. Talal presented this proposal to the king when the Crown Prince was out of the country. Saud forwarded the proposal to the
ulamaUlama , also spelt ulema, refers to the educated class of Muslim legal scholars engaged in the several fields of Islamic studies. They are best known as the arbiters of shari‘a law...
asking them whether a National Council was a legitimate institution in Islam. The idea seems to have died in committee, so to speak. It would be revived more than three decades later. A Consultative Council came into existence in 1992.
Meantime, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries came into existence in 1960. For the first decade or more of its existence, it was ineffectual in terms of increasing revenue for the member nations. But that would change. Tension between Faisal and Saud continued to mount until a final showdown in 1964. Saud threatened to mobilize the Royal Guard against Faisal and Faisal threatened to mobilize the National Guard against Saud. It was Saud who blinked, abdicating and leaving for Cairo, then Greece, where he would die in 1969. Faisal then became King.
The Six-Day War of June 5–10, 1967, a war between Israel and the neighbouring states of Egypt, Jordan, and Syria. had other effects. It closed the
Suez canalThe Suez Canal , also known by the nickname "The Highway to India", is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, connecting the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea. Opened in November 1869 after 10 years of construction work, it allows water transportation between Europe and Asia without navigation...
, it may have contributed to the revolution in Libya that put
Muammar al-GaddafiMuammar Muhammad Abu Minyar Gaddafi or "September 1942" 20 October 2011), commonly known as Muammar Gaddafi or Colonel Gaddafi, was the official ruler of the Libyan Arab Republic from 1969 to 1977 and then the "Brother Leader" of the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya from 1977 to 2011.He seized power in a...
in power, and it led in May 1970 to the closure of the "tapline" from Saudi Arabia through
SyriaSyria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....
to
LebanonLebanon , officially the Republic of LebanonRepublic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies. The term Lebanese Republic, a literal translation of the official Arabic and French names that is not used in today's world. Arabic is the most common language spoken among...
. These developments had the effect of increasing the importance of petroleum in
LibyaLibya is an African country in the Maghreb region of North Africa bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Sudan to the southeast, Chad and Niger to the south, and Algeria and Tunisia to the west....
, which is a short (and canal-free) shipping distance from Europe.
In 1970, it was
Occidental PetroleumOccidental Petroleum Corporation is a California-based oil and gas exploration and production company with operations in the United States, the Middle East, North Africa, and South America...
which constituted the first crack in the wall of oil company solidarity in dealing with the oil producing nations; specifically, in this case, with the demands for price increases from the Qaddafi government.
In October 1973, another war between Israel and its Muslim neighbors, known as the
Yom Kippur WarThe Yom Kippur War, Ramadan War or October War , also known as the 1973 Arab-Israeli War and the Fourth Arab-Israeli War, was fought from October 6 to 25, 1973, between Israel and a coalition of Arab states led by Egypt and Syria...
, broke out just as oil company executives were heading to
ViennaVienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
, site of a planned meeting with
OPECOPEC is an intergovernmental organization of twelve developing countries made up of Algeria, Angola, Ecuador, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, Nigeria, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Venezuela. OPEC has maintained its headquarters in Vienna since 1965, and hosts regular meetings...
leaders. OPEC had been emboldened by the success of Libya's demands anyway, and the war strengthened the unity of their demands.
The Arab defeats in the Six Day and the victory in 1973 Arab-Israeli wars triggered the
1973 oil crisisThe 1973 oil crisis started in October 1973, when the members of Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries or the OAPEC proclaimed an oil embargo. This was "in response to the U.S. decision to re-supply the Israeli military" during the Yom Kippur war. It lasted until March 1974. With the...
. In response to the emergency resupply effort by the
WestWest is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography.West is one of the four cardinal directions or compass points. It is the opposite of east and is perpendicular to north and south.By convention, the left side of a map is west....
that enabled Israel to defeat Egyptian and Syrian forces, the Arab world imposed the 1973 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, the Arab-Israeli Conflict and political and economic instability and uncertainty remain constant features of the politics of the region.
Persian revolutions
The
Iranian Constitutional RevolutionThe Persian Constitutional Revolution or Iranian Constitutional Revolution took place between 1905 and 1907...
took place between 1905 and 1911. The revolution marked the beginning of the end of Iran's feudalistic society and led to the establishment of a parliament in Persia and the restriction of the power of
ShahShāh is the title of the ruler of certain Southwest Asian and Central Asian countries, especially Persia , and derives from the Persian word shah, meaning "king".-History:...
(king). The first constitution of Iran was approved. But after the final victory of the revolutionaries over the Shah, the modernist and conservative blocks began to fight with each other. Then World War I took place and all of the combatants invaded Iran and this weakened the government and threatened the independence of Iran. The system of constitutional monarchy created by the decree of
Mozzafar al-Din ShahMozaffar ad-Din Shah Qajar, KG was the fifth Qajar king of Iran. He reigned between the years 1896 and 1907.He is credited with the creation of the Iranian constitution, and often wrongly credited with the rise of the Persian Constitutional Revolution which took place immediately after his...
that was established in Persia as a result of the Revolution, was weakened in 1925 with the dissolution of the Qajar dynasty and the ascension of Reza Shah Pahlavi to the throne.
In 1979 the
Iranian RevolutionThe Iranian Revolution refers to events involving the overthrow of Iran's monarchy under Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi and its replacement with an Islamic republic under Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the leader of the...
, the regional "The Islamic Revolution", transformed
IranIran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
from a
constitutional monarchyThe Pahlavi dynasty consisted of two Iranian/Persian monarchs, father and son Reza Shah Pahlavi and Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi The Pahlavi dynasty consisted of two Iranian/Persian monarchs, father and son Reza Shah Pahlavi (reg. 1925–1941) and Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi The Pahlavi dynasty ...
, under
ShahShāh is the title of the ruler of certain Southwest Asian and Central Asian countries, especially Persia , and derives from the Persian word shah, meaning "king".-History:...
Mohammad Reza PahlaviMohammad Rezā Shāh Pahlavi, Shah of Iran, Shah of Persia , ruled Iran from 16 September 1941 until his overthrow by the Iranian Revolution on 11 February 1979...
, to a
populistPopulism can be defined as an ideology, political philosophy, or type of discourse. Generally, a common theme compares "the people" against "the elite", and urges social and political system changes. It can also be defined as a rhetorical style employed by members of various political or social...
theocraticTheocracy is a form of organization in which the official policy is to be governed by immediate divine guidance or by officials who are regarded as divinely guided, or simply pursuant to the doctrine of a particular religious sect or religion....
Islamic republicIslamic republic is the name given to several states in the Muslim world including the Islamic Republics of Pakistan, Iran, Afghanistan, and Mauritania. Pakistan adopted the title under the constitution of 1956. Mauritania adopted it on 28 November 1958. Iran adopted it after the 1979 Iranian...
under the rule of
AyatollahAyatollah is a high ranking title given to Usuli Twelver Shī‘ah clerics. Those who carry the title are experts in Islamic studies such as jurisprudence, ethics, and philosophy and usually teach in Islamic seminaries. The next lower clerical rank is Hojatoleslam wal-muslemin...
Ruhollah KhomeiniGrand Ayatollah Sayyed Ruhollah Musavi Khomeini was an Iranian religious leader and politician, and leader of the 1979 Iranian Revolution which saw the overthrow of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the Shah of Iran...
, a Shi`i Muslim
clericClergy is the generic term used to describe the formal religious leadership within a given religion. A clergyman, churchman or cleric is a member of the clergy, especially one who is a priest, preacher, pastor, or other religious professional....
and
marjaMarja , also known as a marja-i taqlid or marja dini , literally means "Source to Imitate/Follow" or "Religious Reference"...
. Following the Revolution, an Iranian referendum established the Islamic republic as a government, and a constitution was approved, electing Ruhollah Khomeini as
Supreme LeaderA supreme leader typically refers to a figure in the highest leadership position of an entity, group, organization, or state, who exercises strong or all-powerful authority over it. In religion, the supreme leader or supreme leaders is God or Gods...
of Iran. During the following two years, liberals, leftists, and Islamic groups fought with each other, and the Islamics captured power. At the same time, the U.S., the USSR, and most of the Arab governments of the Middle East feared that their dominance in the region was challenged by the Islamic ideology, so they encouraged and supported
Saddam HusseinSaddam Hussein Abd al-Majid al-Tikriti was the fifth President of Iraq, serving in this capacity from 16 July 1979 until 9 April 2003...
to invade Iran, which resulted in the
Iran-Iraq warThe Iran–Iraq War was an armed conflict between the armed forces of Iraq and Iran, lasting from September 1980 to August 1988, making it the longest conventional war of the twentieth century...
.
National period
| Contemporary National period |
|
Arab-Israeli conflict
The Arab-Israeli conflict spans about a century of political tensions and open hostilities. It involves the establishment of the modern
State of IsraelThe State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
as a Jewish
nation stateThe nation state is a state that self-identifies as deriving its political legitimacy from serving as a sovereign entity for a nation as a sovereign territorial unit. The state is a political and geopolitical entity; the nation is a cultural and/or ethnic entity...
, the consequent displacement of the Palestinian people, as well as the adverse relationship between the
ArabArab people, also known as Arabs , are a panethnicity primarily living in the Arab world, which is located in Western Asia and North Africa. They are identified as such on one or more of genealogical, linguistic, or cultural grounds, with tribal affiliations, and intra-tribal relationships playing...
nations and the state of Israel (see related
Israeli-Palestinian conflictThe Israeli–Palestinian conflict is the ongoing conflict between Israelis and Palestinians. The conflict is wide-ranging, and the term is also used in reference to the earlier phases of the same conflict, between Jewish and Zionist yishuv and the Arab population living in Palestine under Ottoman or...
). Despite at first involving only the Arab states bordering Israel, animosity has also developed between other
Muslim nationsThe term Muslim world has several meanings. In a religious sense, it refers to those who adhere to the teachings of Islam, referred to as Muslims. In a cultural sense, it refers to Islamic civilization, inclusive of non-Muslims living in that civilization...
and Israel. Many countries, individuals and non-governmental organizations elsewhere in the world feel involved in this conflict for reasons such as cultural and religious ties with Islam, Arab culture,
ChristianityChristianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
,
JudaismJudaism ) is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people...
, Jewish culture or for ideological,
human rightsHuman rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...
, or strategic reasons. While some consider the Arab-Israeli conflict a part of (or a precursor to) a wider
clash of civilizationsThe Clash of Civilizations is a theory, proposed by political scientist Samuel P. Huntington, that people's cultural and religious identities will be the primary source of conflict in the post-Cold War world....
between the
Western WorldThe Western world, also known as the West and the Occident , is a term referring to the countries of Western Europe , the countries of the Americas, as well all countries of Northern and Central Europe, Australia and New Zealand...
and the Arab or
Muslim worldThe term Muslim world has several meanings. In a religious sense, it refers to those who adhere to the teachings of Islam, referred to as Muslims. In a cultural sense, it refers to Islamic civilization, inclusive of non-Muslims living in that civilization...
, others oppose this view. 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.
Anatolian region
Since the establishment of the
Republic of TurkeyTurkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
in 1923, there has been a strong tradition of
secularism in TurkeySecularism in Turkey defines the relationship between religion and state in the country of Turkey. Secularism was first introduced with the 1928 amendment of the Constitution of 1924, which removed the provision declaring that the "Religion of the State is Islam", and with the later reforms of...
established and institutionalized by
Atatürk's ReformsAtatürk's Reforms were a series of political, legal, cultural, social and economic reforms that were designed to modernize the new Republic of Turkey into a democratic and secular nation-state...
. Although the First Grand National Assembly of Turkey had rallied support from the population for the Independence War against the occupying forces on behalf of Islamic principles, Islam was omitted from the public sphere after the Independence War. The principle of secularism was thus inserted in the Turkish Constitution as late as 1937. This legal action was assisted by stringent state policies against domestic Islamist groups and establishments to neutralize the strong appeal of Islam in Turkish society. Even though an overwhelming majority of the population, at least nominally, adheres to
Islam in TurkeyThe region secacomprising modern Turkey has a long and rich Islamic tradition stretching back to the dawn of the Seljuk period and Ottoman Empire. The country has many historical mosques present throughout the cities and towns, including many in Istanbul...
, the state, which was established with the
Kemalist ideologyKemalist Ideology, "Kemalism" or also known as the "Six Arrows" is the principle that defines the basic characteristics of the Republic of Turkey. It was developed by the Turkish national movement and its leader Mustafa Kemal Atatürk.-Fundamentals:...
has no official religion nor promotes any and it monitors the area between the religions using the Presidency of Religious Affairs. The
Republic ProtestsThe Republic Protests were a series of peaceful mass rallies that took place in Turkey in 2007 in support of a strict principle of state secularism....
were a series of mass rallies by Turkish secular citizens that took place in Turkey in 2007. The target of the first protest was the possible presidential candidacy of the Prime Minister
Recep Tayyip ErdoğanRecep Tayyip Erdoğan has been Prime Minister of Turkey since 2003 and is chairman of the ruling Justice and Development Party , which holds a majority of the seats in the Grand National Assembly of Turkey. Erdoğan served as Mayor of Istanbul from 1994 to 1998. He graduated in 1981 from Marmara...
, afraid that if elected President of Turkey Erdoğan would alter the
Turkish secularist stateSecularism in Turkey defines the relationship between religion and state in the country of Turkey. Secularism was first introduced with the 1928 amendment of the Constitution of 1924, which removed the provision declaring that the "Religion of the State is Islam", and with the later reforms of...
. The struggle between the secularist and democratic citizens and the Islamic fanatics who has just emigrated from rural areas are still a argument over both religion and democracy.
Arab Spring
In the Near East and North Africa, a series of protests and demonstrations calling for democracy and freedom across the region became known as the
Arab SpringThe Arab Spring , otherwise known as the Arab Awakening, is a revolutionary wave of demonstrations and protests occurring in the Arab world that began on Saturday, 18 December 2010...
. The protests, uprisings and revolutions brought about the overthrow of the Tunisian and Egyptian governments. The period of political liberalization also affected countries that were not part of the
Arab worldThe Arab world refers to Arabic-speaking states, territories and populations in North Africa, Western Asia and elsewhere.The standard definition of the Arab world comprises the 22 states and territories of the Arab League stretching from the Atlantic Ocean in the west to the Arabian Sea in the...
.
Dynasties of Muslim Rulers
There are Muslim Dynasties which can be found in list of dynasties of Muslim Rulers
See also
- History of the Balkans
The Balkans is an area of southeastern Europe situated at a major crossroads between mainland Europe and the Near East. The distinct identity and fragmentation of the Balkans owes much to its common and often violent history and to its very mountainous geography.-Neolithic:Archaeologists have...
- Islam by country
Islam is the world's second largest religion after Christianity. According to a 2009 demographic study, Islam has 1.57 billion adherents, making up 23% of the world population....
- a list
- List of the Muslim Empires
External links