'Muslim history' began in
Arabia with
Muhammad's first recitations of the Qur'an in the
7th century. Islam's historical development has affected political, economic, and military trends both inside and outside the
Islamic world. As with
Christendom, the concept of an ''Islamic world'' is useful in looking at different periods of human history; similarly useful is an understanding of the identification with a quasi-political community of believers, or ''
ummah'', on the part of Islam's practitioners down the centuries.
Background
Within a century of Muhammad's final recitations of the
Qur'an, an Islamic state stretched from the
Atlantic Ocean in the west to
Central Asia in the east. This new polity soon broke into a civil war known to Islamic historians as the
Fitna, and later affected by a
Second Fitna. Through its history, there would be rival dynasties claiming the
caliphate, or leadership of the Muslim world, and many Islamic states and empires offered only token obedience to a
caliph unable to unify the Islamic world.
The subsequent empires of the
Ummayyads,
Abbasids, the
Mughals, and the
Seljuk Turk,
Safavid Persia and
Ottomans were among the largest and most powerful in the world. People in the Islamic world made many centers of culture and science and produced notable scientists, astronomers, mathematicians, doctors and
philosophers during the
Golden Age of Islam. Technology flourished; there was much investment in economic infrastructure, such as irrigation systems and canals; stress on the importance of reading the Qur'an produced a comparatively high level of literacy in the general populace.
In the 18th and 19th centuries A.D., Islamic regions fell under the sway of European imperial powers. Following World War I, the remnants of the Ottoman empire were parcelled out as European
protectorates. Since then, no major widely-accepted claim to the caliphate (which had been last claimed by the Ottomans) remained.
Although affected by various ideologies, such as
communism, during much of the twentieth century, Islamic identity and Islam's salience on political questions have arguably increased during the late
twentieth century and early
twenty-first century. Rapid growth, western interests in Islamic regions, international conflicts and
globalization influenced Islam's importance in shaping the world of the
twenty-first century.
Note on early Islamic historiography
There are several Muslim versions of
early Islamic history as written by the
Sunni,
Shi'a, and
Ibadi sects. Nineteenth century Western scholars tended to privilege the Sunni versions; the Sunni are the largest sect, and their books and scholars were easily available. Over the last hundred years, Western scholars have become much more willing to question the orthodox view and to advance new theories and new narratives.
Muhammad
By his death in
632, Muhammad had managed to unite the entire Arabian peninsula.
Arabia before Muhammad was scantily populated by various
Arabic-speaking people. Some were
Bedouin, pastoral
nomads organized in tribes. Some were agriculturalists, living either in oases in the north, or in the more fertile and thickly settled areas to the south (now
Yemen and
Oman). At that time the majority of Arabs followed
polytheistic religions, although a few tribes followed
Judaism,
Christianity (including
Nestorians) or
Zoroastrianism. The city
Mecca was a religious center for some of the northern Arabian polytheists, as it contained the sacred well of
Zamzam and a small temple, the
Ka'aba.
Muhammad was born on the outskirts of Mecca in the
Year of the Elephant. Most Muslims equate this with the Gregorian year
570 but a few prefer
571. He was orphaned at an early age and was raised by his uncle
Abu Talib, and taught by Waraqah ibn Nawfal, Khadijah's cousin. He became a merchant, married a wealthy widow and could have looked forward to a life of ease and prosperity.
However, when he was some forty years old, he received a revelation while he was meditating in a cave outside Mecca. This would have been in 610 C.E. After an initial period of doubt and fear, he started to preach to his kinfolk and then in public, to all Meccans.
Muhammad claimed that he had been chosen by
God, like the
Abrahamic religions prophets (Moses, Elijah, etc.) before him, to preach the absolute oneness of God, repentance, submission to God, and a coming day of judgment. He said he was not preaching a new religion, just reviving the old and pure tradition which the Christians and Jews had debased.
In 615 C.E. a band of Muslims were counseled by Muhammad to escape persecution in Mecca and travel to
Ethiopia, which was ruled by a Christian king. In 622 Muhammad and many of his followers fled to the neighboring city of
Yathrib, which later became known as
Medina. This migration is called the ''
Hijra''; it was the first year of Muhammad's reign as a political as well as a religious leader. Following the custom of the time, later historians took that year as the start of the
Muslim calendar.
The two cities of Mecca and Medina went to war. Muhammad and his followers won one battle (
Battle of Badr) and managed to stalemate a Meccan attack in the
Battle of the Trench. Through conquest and conversion, Muhammad was able to unite the surrounding tribes behind him and eventually assembled such a large force that Mecca capitulated without a fight. By the time Muhammad died, on
June 8,
632, he and his followers had united the entire
Arabian peninsula under Islam, and had started to expand into the areas now known as
Syria and
Iraq.
Early Caliphate
After Prophet Muhammad died, a series of Caliphs governed the Islamic State: Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman, and Ali. These first Caliphs are popularly known as the "
Rashidun" or "rightly-guided" Caliphs. After the
Rashidun, a series of
Caliphates were established. Each
caliphate was like a monarchy, developed its own unique laws and adopted a particular sect of Islam as a State religion. Until the ninth century the
Muslim World would remain a single political entity under the leadership of one
Caliph. The early
Caliphate is also known as the
Arab Empire or Islamic Empire.
Timeline
ImageSize = width:700 height:80
PlotArea = width:680 height:60 left:10 bottom:20
Colors =
id:yellow value:rgb(0.7,0.7,1) # light yellow
id:red value:rgb(1,0.7,0.7) # light red
id:green value:rgb(0.7,1,0.7) # light green
id:blue value:rgb(1,1,0.7) # light blue
id:cyan value:rgb(0.7,1,1) # light blue
id:purple value:rgb(1,0.7,1) # light purple
id:grey value:gray(0.8) # grey
Period = from:630 till:960
TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal
ScaleMajor = unit:year increment:30 start:630
ScaleMinor = unit:year increment:10 start:630
BarData=
bar:barre1
PlotData=
align:center textcolor:black fontsize:8 mark:(line,black) shift:(5,20)
bar:barre1
from: 632 till: 661 color:orange text:Al-Rashidun
from: 661 till: 750 color:cyan text:Ummayad
from: 750 till: 960 color:green text:Abbasid
Al-Rashidun - "The Rightly-Guided Khalifahs"
Main articles: Rashidun,
Muslim conquests
The Rashidun made significant conquests, and brought large areas under the fold of Islam.
With the Prophet Muhammad's death in
632, there was a moment of confusion about who would succeed to leadership of the Muslim community. With a dispute flaring between the Medinese
Ansar and the Meccan
Muhajirun as to who would undertake this task,
Umar ibn al-Khattab, a prominent
companion of Prophet Muhammad, nominated
Abu Bakr: Prophet Muhammad's intimate friend and collaborator.
[1][2] Others added their support and Abu Bakr was made the first Khalifah, literally "successor", leader of the community of Islam.
Abu Bakr's immediate task was to avenge the recent stalemate between the Muslims and [the Byzantine Empire] forces of the Eastern Roman Empire, although a more potent threat soon surfaced in the form of a number of Arab tribes who were in revolt after having learned of the death of Prophet Muhammad. Some of these tribes refused to pay the
Zakat tax to the new caliph, whilst other tribes touted individuals claiming to be prophets. Abu Bakr swiftly
declared war upon, and subdued these tribes, in the period of time known as the
Ridda wars, or "Wars of Apostasy".
Abu Bakr's death in
634 resulted in the succession of Umar as the caliph, and after him,
Uthman ibn al-Affan, and then
Ali ibn Abi Talib. These four are known as the "''khulafa rashidūn''" ("
Rightly Guided Caliphs").
[3] Under them, the territory under Muslim rule expanded greatly. The decades of warring between the neighboring
Persian and
Byzantine empires during the
Roman-Persian Wars had rendered both sides weakened and exhausted.
Not only that, it had also caused them to underestimate the strength of the growing new power, especially their excellent military leaders,
Khalid ibn al-Walid and
‘Amr ibn al-‘As, as well as the Arabs' superior
military horsemanship. This, coupled with the precipitation of internal strife within
Byzantium and its exposure to a string of barbarian invasions, made conditions somewhat favorable for the Muslims.
At the
Battle of Yarmuk (636), Muslim armies led by
Khalid ibn al-Walid won a crushing victory over the
Byzantines, thus paving the way for the
conquest of Roman Syria and
Palestine (634—
640) and
Roman Egypt (
639—
642). After a decisive victory over the
Sassanid Empire at the
Battle of al-Qādisiyyah in 637, Muslims
conquered the Persian Empire, including
Iraq. Five years later, after a revolt during the
Battle of Nihawānd, the conquest of Persia was effectively complete.
Conquest also included the lands of
Armenia (
642) and even as far as
Transoxiana and
Chinese Turkestan.
Depopulation and decline caused by the
Plague of Justinian may have contributed to the success of the
Arabs.
[1]
The First ''Fitna''
Main articles: First Islamic civil war
Despite the military successes of the Muslims at this time, the political atmosphere was not without controversy. With Umar assassinated in
644,
the election of Uthman as successor was met with gradually increasing opposition.
[5] He was subsequently accused of
nepotism,
favoritism and of introducing reprehensible
religious innovations, though in reality the motivations for such charges were economic.
Like Umar, Uthman too was then assassinated, in
656. Ali then assumed the position of caliph, although tensions soon escalated into what became the "
First Fitna" (first civil war]] when numerous companions of Muhammad, including Uthman's relative
Muawiyah (who was assigned by Uthman as governor of Syria) and Muhammad's wife
Aisha, sought to avenge the slaying of Uthman. Ali's forces defeated the latter at the
Battle of the Camel, but the
encounter with Muawiyah proved indecisive, with both sides agreeing to arbitration. Ali retained his position as caliph but had been unable to bring Mu'awiyah's territory under his command.
[6] When Ali was fatally stabbed by a
Khawarijite dissenter in
661, Mu'awiyah was ordained as the caliph, marking the start of the hereditary
Ummayad caliphate.
[7]
Umayyads
The territory of the Caliphate in the year 750
The first
Ummayad caliph,
Muawiya I, was able to conquer much of
North Africa, mainly through the efforts of Muslim general
Uqba ibn Nafi.
[8] There was much contention surrounding Mu'awiyah's assignment of his son
Yazid as successor upon the eve of his death in
680,
[9] drawing protest from
Husayn bin Ali, grandson of Muhammad, and
Ibn az-Zubayr, a companion of Muhammad. Both led separate and ultimately unsuccessful revolts, and Ummayad attempts to pacify them became known as the "
Second Fitna". Thereafter, the Ummayad dynasty continued rulership for a further seventy years (with caliph
Umar II's tenure especially notable
[10]), and were able to conquer the
Maghrib (
699—
705), as well as
Spain and the
Narbonnese Gaul at a similar date.
Under the Ummayads, the Muslim world expanded into
North Africa and
Iberia in the West, and
Central Asia in the East. According to
Jonathan Bloom and
Sheila Blair, "The Muslims, no longer
Arab merchants from the heartland of Arabia, became masters of the economic and cultural heartland of the Near East, and their faith,
Islam, was no longer as obscure Arabian cult but the religion of an imperial elite."
[11]
Much of the population of this new empire was non-Muslim, and aside from a protection tax (''
jizya'') and
other restrictions, the conquered people found their religions tolerated. Indeed, Muslim authorities often discouraged conversions. Nevertheless, most of the population eventually converted to Islam, which created tension as greater numbers of non-Arabs (mostly Persians) converted. The tensions increased when
Shiites joined the protest against Ummayad rule.
[12]
Umayyad rule was interrupted by a second civil war (the
Second Fitna) in the early 680s, re-established, then ended in 750.
Abbasids
The gains of the Ummayad empire were consolidated upon when the
Abbasid dynasty rose to power in
750, with the conquest of the
Mediterranean islands including the
Balearics and
Sicily.
The new
ruling party had been instated on the wave of dissatisfaction propagated against the Ummayads, cultured mainly by the Abbasid revolutionary,
Abu Muslim.
[13][14] Under the Abbasids, Islamic civilization flourished. Most notable was the development of Arabic
prose and
poetry, termed by ''The Cambridge History of Islam'' as its "
golden age."
[15] This was also the case for commerce, industry, the arts and sciences, which prospered especially under the rule of Abbasid caliphs
al-Mansur (ruled
754—
775),
Harun al-Rashid (ruled
786—
809), and
al-Ma'mun (ruled
809—
813).
[16]
Abbasid Caliphate and contemporary states and empires in
820.
was made the new 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.
16 It was at this time, however, that the caliphate showed signs of fracture and the uprising of regional dynasties. Although the Ummayad family had been killed by the revolting Abbasids, one family member,
Abd ar-Rahman I, was able to flee to Spain and establish an independent caliphate there, in
756. In the Maghreb region, Harun al-Rashid appointed the Arab
Aghlabids 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 Fatimid dynasty in
909. By around
960, the Fatimids had conquered Abbasid Egypt, building a new capital there in
973 called "''al-Qahirah''" (meaning "the planet of victory", known today as
Cairo). Similar was the case in Persia, where the
Turkic Ghaznavids managed to snatch power from the Abbasids.
[17][18] Whatever
temporal power of the Abbasids remained had eventually been consumed by the
Seljuq Turks (a Muslim Turkish clan which had migrated into mainland Persia), in
1055.
16
During this time, expansion continued, sometimes by military warfare, sometimes by peaceful
proselytism.
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 river 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
Kanem starting from sometime between
1081 to
1097, with reports of a Muslim prince at the head of
Gao as early as
1009. The
Islamic kingdoms associated with Mali reached prominence later, in the 13th century.
During the Abbasid reign,
Baghdad became one of the greatest cultural centers of the world.
The
Abbasids were said to be descendents of Abbas the uncle of the Prophet claiming that they were the 'messiha' or saviours of the people under the
Ummayad rule.
Abbasid caliphs
Harun al-Rashid and
Al-Mamun were great patrons of arts and sciences, and enabled these domains to flourish.
Islamic philosophy also developed as the
Shariah was codified, and the four
Madhabs were established. This era also saw the rise of classical
Sufism. The greatest achievement, however, was completion of the canonical collections of
Hadith of
Sahih Bukhari and others.
[19]
Regional powers
The Abbasids soon became caught within a three-way rivalry of Arabs, Persians and the immigrant Turks.
[20] In addition, the cost of running a large empire became too great.
[21] The political unity of Islam began to disintegrate. The Emirates, still recognizing the theoretical leadership of the caliphs, drifted into independence, and a brief revival of control was ended with the establishment of rival caliphates. Eventually the Abbasids ruled as puppets for the
Buwayhid emirs. During this time, great advancements were made in the areas of astronomy, poetry, philosophy science and mathematics.
Spain & the Umayyads
The Arabs first began their conquest of southern Spain or al-Andalus in 710 and created a province under the Caliphate which extended as far as the north of the peninsula.
[22] After the Abbasids came to power, some Ummayads fled to Muslim
Spain and established themselves in
Córdoba. By the end of the 10th century, the ruler Abd al-Rahman III (912-61) took over the title of caliph, and established with it a caliphate parallel to the one in
Baghdad. A large number of Berbers from Morocco migrated to Andalus, but also large numbers of Jews and Christians lived alongside Muslims.
"Toleration, a common language and a long tradition of separate rule all helped to create a distinctive Andalusian consciousness and society. Its Islamic religious culture developed on rather different lines from those of the eastern countries."
[23]
During the 11th century, the Umayyad kingdom of al-Andalus broke down into small kingdoms, which in the end built the preconditions for the
Christian reconquest.
[24] The latter re-established Christian rule more and more southwards, ending all Muslim rule in 1492 with the reconquest of the kingdom of Granada.
[25]
The Fatimids
The
Fatimids, (Fatimid Caliphate), who are believed to be the descendants of ''
Fatima'', is the
Shi'a Ismaili dynasty that ruled from
5 January 910 to
1171. The ruling elite of the state belonged to the
Ismaili branch of Shi'ism. The leaders of the dynasty were also
Shia Ismaili Imams, hence, they had a religious significance to Ismaili Muslims.
The
Fatimids established sovereignty over
Egypt, North Africa,
Sicily and
Syria. Under the Fatimids, the city of
Cairo was established and built into an imperial military and cultural center.
The Fatimid territories of Syria and Palestine fell to the invading
Seljuks in the late eleventh century. They would, however, continue to rule in Egypt until its conquest by
Saladin in the late twelfth century.
The Seljuks
A series of new invasions swept over the Islamic world. The newly converted
Seljuk Turks swept across and conquered most of Islamic Asia, Syria and Palestine. The Seljuks made religion an instrument of the state, while giving the clergy significant say over the affairs of the government. They also put an end to Caliphal institutions. These policies would be carried out by successive governments of
Nur al-Din,
Saladin and
Mamluks.
Shortly after, they won a decisive victory over the
Byzantines, at the
Battle of Manzikert, paving the way for further conquest of Christian
Anatolia.
The Crusaders
Main articles: The Crusades
Beginning in the 8th century the
Christian kingdoms of
Spain had begun the
Reconquista aimed at retaking
Al-Andalus from the
Moors. In
1095,
Pope Urban II, inspired by the perceived holy wars in Spain and implored by the
eastern Roman emperor to help defend Christianity in the East, called for the
First Crusade from Western Europe which captured Edessa,
Antioch,
Tripoli and
Jerusalem. The Christian
Kingdom of Jerusalem emerged and for a time controlled many
holy sites of Islam.
Saladin, however, restored unity, defeated the Fatimids and put an end to the Kingdom of Jerusalem in
1187.
Other crusades were launched with at least the nominal intent to recapture the holy city and other holy lands, but hardly more was ever accomplished than the errant looting and occupation of Christian
Constantinople, leaving the Eastern Roman, or Byzantine, Empire severely weakened and ripe for later conquest. However, the crusaders did manage to weaken Muslim territories preventing them from further expansion into Christendom.
The Mamluks
In 1250, the short-lived
Ayyubid dynasty (established by
Saladin) was overthrown by slave regiments, and a new dynasty - the
Mamluks - was born. The Mamluks soon expanded into Palestine, expelled the remaining Crusader states and repelled the Mongols from invading Syria. Thus they united
Syria and
Egypt for the longest period of time between the Abbasid and Ottoman empires (1250-1517).
[26]
Islam in Africa
The first continent outside of Arabia to have an Islamic history was
Africa beginning with the hijirah to
Ethiopia. Islam in Ethiopia can be dated back to the founding of the religion; in 615, when a band of Muslims were counseled by the Prophet Muhammad to escape persecution in Mecca and travel to Ethiopia, which was ruled by, in the Prophet Muhammad's estimation, a pious Christian king. Moreover, Islamic tradition states that Bilal, one of the foremost companions of the Prophet Muhammad, was from Ethiopia.
Islam in Maghreb
The 'Maghreb' meaning "place of
sunset" or "
western" in Arabic, is the region of
Africa north of the
Sahara Desert and west of the
Nile — specifically, coinciding with the
Atlas Mountains. Geopolitically, the area includes
Morocco,
Algeria,
Tunisia, and
Libya,
Western Sahara, and sometimes
Mauritania, which is often placed in
West Africa instead. This part of Islamic territory has independent governments during most part of history of Islam. There were some great governments.
'
Idrisid dynasty' The 'Idrisids' were the first Arab dynasty in the western
Maghreb, ruling from
788 to
985. The dynasty is named after its first
sultan Idris I.
'
Almoravid dynasty' was a
Berber dynasty from the
Sahara that flourished over a wide area of
North-Western Africa and the
Iberian peninsula during the
11th century. Under this dynasty the
Moorish empire was extended over present-day
Morocco,
Western Sahara,
Mauritania,
Gibraltar,
Tlemcen (in
Algeria) and a great part of what is now
Senegal and
Mali in the south, and
Spain and
Portugal in the north.
'
Almohad Dynasty' or "the Unitarians," were a
Berber Muslim
religious power which founded the fifth
Moorish dynasty in the
12th century, and conquered all northern
Africa as far as
Egypt, together with
Al-Andalus.
Islam in East Africa
There were Islamic governments in
Tanzania.
Islam in West Africa
Usman dan Fodio after the
Fulani War, found himself in command of the largest state in Africa, the
Fulani Empire. Dan Fodio worked to establish an efficient government, one grounded in Islamic law. Already aged at the beginning of the war, dan Fodio retired in
1815 passing the title of
Sultan of Sokoto to his son
Muhammed Bello.
Islam in the Far East
Main articles: Islam in Asia
Indian Subcontinent
Main articles: Muslim conquest in the Indian subcontinent
:''See also:
Islam in India,
Islam in Pakistan''
Islamic rule came to the region in the 8th century, when
Muhammad bin Qasim conquered
Sindh, (
Pakistan). Muslim conquests were expanded under
Mahmud and the
Ghaznavids until the late twelfth century, when the
Ghurids overran the Ghaznavids and extended the conquests in northern India.
Qutb-ud-din Aybak, conquered Delhi in 1206 and began the reign of the
Delhi Sultanates.
In the fourteenth century,
Alauddin Khilji extended Muslim rule south to
Gujarat,
Rajasthan 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 Empire at its peak.
China
Main articles: Islam in China
During the lifetime of Muhammad, Arab merchants reached China via the
Silk Road and introduced Islam. Then, in 650, the third
Caliph,
Uthman ibn Affan, sent an official delegation to the
Tang dynasty. The Chinese emperor ordered the establishment of the first Chinese
mosque in the city of
Chang'an, and this event is considered to be the birth of Islam in China. By the early ninth century Islam had reached as far south as
Hangzhou.
The Mongol invasions of China and
Persia, brought the two regions under a single political entity. This led to increased contacts and cultural exchange between China and the
Muslim world. Following the Mongols, the succeeding
Ming dynasty was also tolerant of Muslims. During its reign, many Muslim attained high posts. These policies were, however, reversed by the
Qing dynasty, when it came to power.
[27]
Southeast Asia
Main articles: Pasai,
Demak Sultanate,
Malacca Sultanate
:''See also:
The spread of Islam in Indonesia (1200 to 1600)''
Islam reached the islands of
Southeast Asia through
Indian Muslim traders near the end of the 13th century.
Soon, many
Sufi missionaries translated classical
Sufi literature from Arabic and Persian into
Malay. Coupled with the composing of original
Islamic literature in Malay, this led the way to the transformation of Malay into an Islamic language.
[28] By 1292, when
Marco Polo 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
Borneo and
Java, Indonesia. By late 15th century, Islam had been introduced to the
Philippines.
As Islam spread, three main Muslim political powers emerged.
Aceh, the most important Muslim power, was based firmly in Northern Sumatra. It controlled much of the area between Southeast Asia and India. The Sultunate 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 emerged in
Java, where the Muslim emerging forces defeated the local
Majapahit kingdom in the early 16th century.
[29] Although the sultanate managed to expand its territory somewhat, its rule remained brief.
forces captured Malacca in
1511 under the naval general
Afonso de Albuquerque. With Malacca subdued,
Aceh Sultanate and Brunei established themself as the centre of Islam in Southeast Asia. Brunei sultanate remains intact even to this day.
Mongol Invasions
The wave of
Mongol invasions, which had initially commenced in the early
13th century under the leadership of
Genghis Khan, marked a violent end to the Abbasid era. The
Mongol Empire had spread rapidly throughout Central Asia and Persia: the Persian city of
Isfahan had fallen to them by
1237. With the election of Khan
Mongke in
1251, sights were set upon the Abbasid capital, Baghdad. Mongke's brother,
Hulegu, was made the head of the
Mongol Army assigned with the task of subduing Baghdad. This was achieved at the
Battle of Baghdad (1258), which saw the Abbasids overrun by the superior Mongol army. The last Abbasid caliph,
al-Musta'sim, was captured and killed; and Baghdad was ransacked and subsequently destroyed. The cities of Damascus and
Aleppo fell shortly afterwards, in
1260. Any prospective conquest of Egypt was temporarily delayed due to the death of Mongke at around the same time.
With Mongol conquest in the east, the
Ayyubid dynasty ruling over Egypt had been surpassed by the slave-soldier
Mamluks in
1250. This had been done through the marriage between
Shajar al-Durr, the widow of Ayyubid caliph
al-Salih Ayyub, with 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
Qutuz in
1259, the Mamluks challenged and decisively routed the Mongols at the
Battle of Ain Jalut in late 1260. This signalled an adverse shift in fortunes for the Mongols, who were again defeated by the Mamluks at the Battle of
Homs a few months later, and then driven out of Syria altogether.
18 With this, the Mamluks were also able to conquer the last of the crusader territories.
Three Muslim empires
In the
15th century and
16th centuries three major Muslim empires were created: the aforementioned
Ottoman Empire in much of the
Middle East,
Balkans and
Northern Africa; the
Safavid Empire in
Greater Iran; and the
Mughul Empire in
Greater India. These new imperial powers were made possible by the discovery and exploitation of
gunpowder, and more efficient administration.
[30] By the end of the
19th century, all three had declined significantly, and by the early 20th century, with the Ottomans' defeat in World War I, the last Muslim empire collapsed.
'Mughal Empire'
Main articles: Mughal Empire
The Mughal Empire was a product of various
Central Asian invasions into the
Indian subcontinent. It was founded by the
Timurid prince
Babur in 1526 with the destruction of the
Delhi sultanate, with its capital in
Agra. Babur's death some years later, and the indecisive rule of his son,
Humayun, brought a degree of instability to Mughal rule. The resistance of the
Afghani Sher Shah, through which a string of defeats had been dealt to Humayun, significantly 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
Akbar (later known as ''Akbar the Great''), in
1556. Under Akbar, consolidation of the Mughal Empire occurred through both expansion and administrative reforms.
[31]
The empire ruled most of present-day
India,
Pakistan,
Bangladesh and
Afghanistan for several centuries, before it declined in the early 18th century, which led to India being divided into smaller kingdoms and princely states. The Mughal dynasty was eventually dissolved by the
British Empire after the
Indian rebellion of 1857.
[31] It left a lasting legacy on Indian culture and architecture. Amongst the famous buildings built by the Mughals, include:
Taj Mahal,
Red Fort,
Badshahi Mosque,
Lahore Fort,
Shalimar Gardens and
Agra Fort. During the empire's reign of power, Muslim communities flourished all over India, particularly in
Gujarat,
Bengal and
Hyderabad. Various Sufi orders from
Afghanistan and
Iran were very active throughout the region. Consequently, more than a quarter of the population converted to
Islam.
[31]
Safavid Empire
Main articles: Safavids
The 'Safavids' (
Persian: صفویان) were an
Iranian dynasty from
Iranian Azarbaijan that ruled from
1501 to
1736, and which established
Shi'a Islam as Iran's official religion and united its provinces under a single Iranian sovereignty, thereby reigniting the
Persian identity.
Although claiming to be the descendants of
Ali ibn Abu Talib, the Safavids were originally
Sunni (the name "Safavid" comes from a Sufi order called ''Safavi''). Their origins go back to
Firuz Shah Zarrinkolah, an Iranian local dignitary from Iran's north. During their rule, the Safavids recognized
Shiism as the State religion, thus giving
Iran a separate identity from its
Sunni neighbours.
In 1524,
Tahmasp acceded to the throne, initiating reviving arts in the region. Carpet making became a major industry, gaining new importance in
Iran's cities. But the finest of all artistic revivals was the commissioning of the ''Shahnama''. The ''Shahnama'' was meant to glorify the reign of the ''Shah'' through artistic means. The two-volume copy contained 258 large paintings to illustrate the works of
Firdawsi, a Persian poet. The Shah also prohibited the drinking of wine, forbade the use of
hashish and ordered the removal of gambling casinos, taverns and brothels.
Tahmasp's grandson,
Shah Abbas I, also managed to increase the glory of the empire. Abbas restored the shrine of
Imam Reza at Mashhad, and restored the dynastic shrine at
Ardabil. Both shrines received jewelry, fine manuscripts and Chinese porcelains. Abbas also moved the empire's capital to
Isfahan, revived old ports, and established thriving trade with the Europeans. Amongst Abbas's most visible cultural achievements was the construction of ''
Naqsh-i Jahan'' ("Design of the World"). The plaza, located near a Friday mosque, covered twenty acres, thus dwarfing
Piazza San Marco and
St. Peter's Square.
[34]
Ottoman Empire
Main articles: Ottoman Empire
The Seljuk Turks fell apart rapidly in the second half of the 13th century, especially after the Mongol invasions in Anatolia.
[35] This resulted in the establishment of multiple Turkish principalities, known as
beyliks.
Osman I, the founder of the
Ottoman dynasty, assumed leadership of one of these principalities (
Söğüt) in
1281, succeeding his father
Ertuğrul. Declaring an independent Ottoman emirate in
1299, Osman I led it to a series of consecutive victories over the Byzantine Empire. By
1331, the Ottomans had captured
Nicaea, the former Byzantine capital, under the leadership of Osman's son and successor,
Orhan I.
[36] Victory at the
Battle of Kosovo against the
Serbs in
1389 then facilitated their expansion into Europe. The Ottomans were firmly established in the
Balkans and Anatolia by the time
Bayezid I ascended to power in the same year, now at the helm of a swiftly growing empire.
[37]
Further growth was brought to a sudden halt, as Bayezid I had been captured by Mongol warlord
Timur (also known as "''Tamerlane''") in the
Battle of Ankara in
1402, upon which a turbulent period known as the
Ottoman Interregnum ensued. This episode was characterized by the division of the Ottoman territory amongst Bayezid I's sons, who submitted to
Timurid authority. When a number of the territories recently conquered by the Ottomans regained independent status, potential ruin for the Ottoman Empire became apparent. However, the empire quickly recovered, as the youngest son of Bayezid I,
Mehmed I, waged offensive campaigns against his other ruling brothers, thereby reuniting
Asia Minor and declaring himself the new Ottoman sultan in
1413.
[18]
At around this time the
naval fleet of the Ottomans developed considerably, such that they were able to challenge
Venice, traditionally a naval power. Focus was also directed towards reconquering the Balkans. By the time of Mehmed I's grandson,
Mehmed II (ruled
1444—
1446;
1451—
1481), the Ottomans felt strong enough to lay siege to
Constantinople, the capital of Byzantium. A decisive factor in this siege was the use of
firearms and large
cannons introduced by the Ottomans (adapted from Europe and improved upon), against which the Byzantines were unable to compete. The Byzantine fortress finally
succumbed to the Ottoman invasion in
1453, 54 days into the siege. Mehmed II, entering the city victorious, renamed it to ''
Istanbul''. With its capital conceded to the Ottomans, the rest of the Byzantine Empire quickly disintegrated.
The future successes of the Ottomans and later empires would depend heavily upon the exploitation of
gunpowder.
[39]
In the early 16th century, the Shi'ite
Safavid dynasty assumed control in Persia under the leadership of
Shah Ismail I, upon the defeat of the ruling
Turcoman federation
Aq Qoyunlu (also called the "White Sheep Turkomans") in
1501. The Ottoman sultan
Selim I quickly sought to repel Safavid expansion, challenging and defeating them at the
Battle of Chaldiran 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 against the
Uzbeks on the eastern frontier and recaptured Baghdad, which had previously 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 Mohács in
1526 —
reaching as far as the gates of Vienna thereafter, and signed a Franco-Ottoman alliance with
Francis I of France against
Charles V of the
Holy Roman Empire 10 years later. Suleiman I's rule (
1520—
1566) signified the height of the Ottoman Empire, after which it fell into gradual decline.
Wahhabism
Main articles: Wahhabism
During the
18th century,
Muhammad ibn Abd al Wahhab (
1703–
1792) led a religious movement (
Wahhabism) in
Najd (central Arabia) that sought to purify Islam. Wahhab wanted to return Islam to what he thought were its original principles as taught by the ''as-salaf as-saliheen'' (the earliest converts to Islam) and rejected what he regarded as corruptions introduced by
bid‘ah (religious innovation) and
Shirk (polytheism). He allied himself with the
House of Saud, which eventually triumphed over the
Rashidis to control Central Arabia, and led several revolts against the Ottoman empire. Initial success (the conquest of Mecca and Medina) was followed by ignominious defeat, then a resurgence which culminated in the creation of
Saudi Arabia.
The 20th century
The modern age brought radical technological and organizational changes to Europe and Islamic countries found themselves less modern when compared to the many western nations. Europe's state-based government and rampant colonization allowed the West to dominate the globe economically and forced Islamic countries to question change.
Partitioning of the Ottoman Empire
By the end of the 19th century, the Ottoman empire had declined due to internal conflict and the failure to keep pace with European technological and economic development. Their decision to back Germany in World War I meant they shared the Central Powers' defeat in that war, which led directly to the overthrow of the Ottomans by Turkish nationalists led by Kemal Ataturk. Following
World War I, its remnants were parceled out as European
protectorates or
spheres of influence. Ottoman successor states include today's
Albania,
Bosnia and Herzegovina,
Bulgaria,
Egypt,
Greece,
Iraq,
Lebanon,
Montenegro,
Romania,
Saudi Arabia,
Serbia,
Syria,
Jordan,
Turkey, other Balkan states,
North Africa and the north shore of Black sea.
[40]
Many Muslim countries sought to imitate European political organization and
nationalism 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.
Some Muslim countries, such as
Turkey and
Egypt, sought to separate Islam from the secular government. In other cases, such as
Saudi Arabia, the new government brought out new religious expression in the re-emergence of the puritanical form of Sunni Islam known to its detractors as
Wahhabism which found its way into the
Saudi royal family.
Partition of India and establishment of Pakistan
Main articles: Partition of India
The ''partition of India'' refers to the creation in August 1947 of two sovereign states of
India and
Pakistan. The two nations were formed out of the former
British Raj, including treaty states, when Britain granted independence to the area (see
Undivided India). In particular, the term refers to the partition of
Bengal and
Punjab, the two main provinces of the 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-WWII state in the modern world. In 1971, after a bloody war of independence the Bengal part of Pakistan became an independent state called Bangladesh.
Today, Pakistan is still the second largest Islamic country in the world. Pakistan is presently the only nuclear power of the Muslim world and is one of the more developed nations among the Muslim countries.
Indonesia is the largest Muslim country in the world, by population. India has the third largest Muslim population, followed by
Bangladesh.
Arab-Israeli conflict
Main articles: 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 Israel as a
Jewish
nation state, the consequent
displacement of the
Palestinian people, as well as the adverse relationship between the
Arab nations and the state of Israel (see related
Israeli-Palestinian conflict). Despite initially involving the Arab states, animosity has developed between other
Muslim nations 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,
Christianity,
Judaism,
Jewish culture or for ideological,
human rights, or strategic reasons. While some consider the Arab-Israeli conflict a part of (or a precursor to) a wider
clash of civilizations between the
Western World and the Arab or
Muslim world,
[41][42] others oppose this view.
[43] 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.
Oil wealth and petropolitics dominate the Middle East
Between
1953 and
1964, King Saud re-organized the government of the monarchy his father, Ibn Saud, had created. Saudi Arabia's new 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 his Talal, one of his many younger brothers (by 29 years his younger) 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 simply forwarded the proposal to the
ulama 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 member nations. But it would have its day. 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 1967 war had other effects. It effectively closed the
Suez canal, it may have contributed to the revolution in Libya that put
Muammar al-Qaddafi in power, and it led in
May 1970 to the closure of the "tapline" from Saudi Arabia through
Syria to
Lebanon. These developments had the effect of increasing the importance of the petroleum in
Libya, which is a conveniently short (and canal-free) shipping distance from Europe.
In 1970, it was
Occidental Petroleum 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 of the new Qaddafi government.
In October 1973, another war between Israel and its Muslim neighbors, known as the
Yom Kippur War, got underway just as oil company executives were heading to
Vienna, Austria, site of a planned meeting with
OPEC leaders. OPEC had been emboldened by the success of Libya's demands anyway, and the war strengthened the unity of their new demands.
The Arab defeats in the
Six Day and
1973 Arab-Israeli wars triggered the
1973 oil crisis. In response to the emergency re-supply effort by the
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.
Two Iranian revolutions
The
Iranian Constitutional Revolution 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 restriction of the power of
Shah (king). The first constitution of Iran was approved. But after the final victory of revolutionaries over 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 weakened the government and threated the independence of Iran. The system of constitutional monarchy created by the decree of
Mozzafar al-Din Shah that was established in
Persia as a result of the Revolution was weakened in
1925 with the dissolution of the
Qajar dynasty and the accession of
Reza Shah Pahlavi to the throne.
In
1979 the
Iranian Revolution (also called "The Islamic Revolution" ) transformed
Iran from a
constitutional monarchy, under
Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, to a
populist theocratic Islamic republic under the rule of
Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, a
Shi`i Muslim cleric and ''
marja''. Following the Revolution, an Iranian referendum established the
Islamic republic as a new government, and a new constitution was approved, electing Ruhollah Khomeini
Supreme Leader of Iran. During the following two years, liberals, leftists, and Islamic groups fought with each other, and ultimately Islamics captured power. At the same time, the
U.S.,
USSR, and most of the Arab governments of the
Middle East feared that their dominance in the region was challenged by the new Islamic ideology, so they encouraged and supported
Saddam Hussein to invade Iran, which resulted in the
Iran-Iraq war.
The 21st century
Islam in Turkey
Main articles: Islam in Turkey,
Secularism in Turkey
Since the establishment of the
Republic of Turkey in 1923, there has been a strong tradition of
secularism in Turkey established by
Atatürk's Reforms. Even though an overwhelming majority of the population, at least nominally, adheres to
Islam in Turkey; the state, which was established with the
Kemalist ideology has no
official religion nor promotes any and it actively monitors the area between the religions using the
Presidency of Religious Affairs. The
Republic Protests were a series of peaceful 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 Erdoğan, afraid that if elected President of Turkey Erdoğan would alter the
Turkish secularist state [44]
European Islam
:''Main article:
European Islam.''
Certain academics, such as
Jorgen Nielsen (''Towards a European Islam'', London: Macmillan Press, 1999), suggest that there is currently emerging a new brand of Islam in Europe, which is often termed ''European Islam''. While this new kind of Islam is not exactly defined, it could be described as combining on the one hand the religion's basic duties and on the other European culture, values and traditions (such as secularism, democracy, gender equality as perceived by the west, the European system of law, etc.).
:''See also:
Islam in Europe,
Muslims in Western Europe.
Chronology
Dynasties of Muslim Rulers
There are
Muslim Dynsties which the can be found in
list of dynasties of Muslim Rulers
See also
★
Averroes
★
Avicenna
★
Al-Andalus
★
History of the Balkans
★
Muslim conquests
★
Islamic Golden Age
★
Islam by country - a list
★
List of wars in the Islamic world
★
List of the Muslim Empires
★
Muslim World
★
Timeline of Islamic history
★
Disputes over Islamic historical dates
Notes
1. Holt (1977a), p.57
2. Hourani (2003), p.22
3. Holt (1977a), p.74
4. Hart (1978), p. 274
5. Holt (1977a), p.67
6. Holt (1977a), pp.68-72
7. Holt (1977a), p.72
8. Holt (1977a), p.79
9. Holt (1977a), p.80
10. Holt (1977a), p.92
11. Bloom and Blair (2000), p. 50
12. Nasr (2003), p.119
13. Lewis (1993), p.84
14. Holt (1977a), p.105
15. Holt (1977b), pp.661-663
16. "Abbasid Dynasty", ''The New Encyclopedia Britannica'' (2005)
17. "Islam", ''The New Encyclopedia Britannica'' (2005)
18. The Islamic World to 1600 Applied History Research Group
19. Nasr (2003), p.121
20. Nasr (2003), p. 121-122
21. Lapidus (1988), p.129
22. Hourani, pg.41
23. Hourani, pg.43
24. Hourani, pg.85
25. Hourani, pg.86
26. Hourani, pg.85
27. Nasr (2003), p. 147
28. Nasr (2003), p. 143
29. Bloom and Blair (2000), p. 226-230
30. Armstrong (2000) p. 116
31. Bloom and Blair (2000), p. 211-219
32. Bloom and Blair (2000), p. 211-219
33. Bloom and Blair (2000), p. 211-219
34. Bloom and Blair (2000), p. 199-204
35. Holt (1977a), p.263
36. Koprulu (1992), p.109
37. Koprulu (1992), p.111
38. The Islamic World to 1600 Applied History Research Group
39. Armstrong (2000), p.116
40. ''Berkshire Encyclopedia of World History'', vol.4, p.1402
41. Causes of Anti-Americanism in the Arab World: A Socio-Political Perspective by Abdel Mahdi Abdallah (MERIA Journal. Volume 7, No. 4 - December 2003
42. Arab-Israeli Conflict: Role of religion (Israel Science and Technology)
43. Arab-American Psychiatrist Wafa Sultan: There is No Clash of Civilizations but a Clash between the Mentality of the Middle Ages and That of the 21st Century
44. "Secular rally targets Turkish PM", BBC News, April 14, 2007.
References and further reading
'Books and journals'
★
Islam: A Short History, , Karen, Armstrong, Modern Library, 2000, ISBN 978-0679640400
★
Islam:A Thousand Years of Faith and Power, , , Bloom and Blair, , 2000,
★
Oxford History of Islam, , John, Esposito, Oxford University Press, 2000b, 978-0195107999
★
The 100:Ranking of the most influential persons in history, , Michael, Hart, Carol Publishing Group, 1978, ISBN 0-8065-1057-9
★
Cambridge History of Islam, Vol. 1, , P. M., Holt, Cambridge University Press, 1977a, ISBN 0521291364
★
Cambridge History of Islam, Vol. 2, , P. M., Holt, Cambridge University Press, 1977b, ISBN 0521291372
★
A History of the Arab Peoples, , Albert, Hourani, Belknap Press; Revised edition, 2003, ISBN 978-0674010178
★
The Origins of the Ottoman Empire, , Mehmed Fuad, Koprulu, SUNY Press, 1992, ISBN 0791408191
★
A History of Islamic societes, , Ira M., Lapidus, Cambridge University Press, 1988, ISBN 0-521-22552-3
★
The Arabs in History, , B., Lewis, Oxford University Press, 1993, ISBN 0-19-285258-2
★
Islam & Modernity: Transformation of an Intellectual Tradition, , F., Rahman, University of Chicago Press, 1982, ISBN 0-226-70284-7
★
Islam:Religion, History and Civilization, , Seyyed Hossein, Nasr, HarperCollins Publishers, 2003, ISBN 0-06-050714-4
★
A Brief History of Islam, , Tamara, Sonn, Blackwell Publishing Ltd, 2004, ISBN 1-4051-0900-9
★ Hourani, Albert, ''A History of the Arab Peoples'', Faber & Faber, 2002, ISBN 0-571-21591-2
'Encyclopedias'
★
'', 'Encyclopaedia of Islam Online' ISSN 1573-3912
★
'', 'Berkshire Encyclopedia of World History' ISBN 978-0974309101
★
'', 'The New Encyclopedia Britannica' ISBN 978-1593392369
External links
★
BBC Islamic History Special
★
Chronological history of Islam and Muslims up to current time
★
Islam: 662AD - Present
★
Internet Islamic History Sourcebook
★
A history of Islam in America
★
Brief history of Islam
★
Chronological history of Islam
★
A history of Islamic culture
★
Islamic Civilization
العربية
中国
Français
Deutsch
Ελληνική
हिन्दी
Italiano
日本語
Português
Русский
Español
