Abbasid Decline and the Spread of Islam Through Asia

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Abbasid Decline and the Spread of Islam Through
Asia
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Abbasid Excesses

• Al-Mahdi 3rd Abbasid caliph during his reign
  it was already evident that courtly excesses and
  political divisions would plague the dynasty
• Al-Mahdi tried to reconcile with moderate Shia
  but this effort failed Shia revolts and
  intrigue followed
• Al-Mahdi opulence, dependent wives, concubines
  and courtiers drained the imperial treasury.

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• HARUN AL-RASHID came to the Abbasid throne after
  al-Mahdis son and successor was poisoned.
• Haruns lavish court was on display in the early
  800s, when the Holy Roman Emperor Charlemagne
  sent emissaries to the Abbasid court.
• Haruns reign also saw the rise of the power of
  advisors. Later caliphs would have to struggle
  for power within their own court among different
  factions led by such advisors.
• Haruns death was marked by questions of
  succession and civil war.

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• The Thousand and One Nights
• Scheherazade

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• The civil wars after the death of Harun al-Rashid
  caused greater imperial breakdown
• New caliphs built new imperial palaces and
  mosques
• The imperial bureaucracy needed more and more
  state officials
• The cost of the court led to massive taxes many
  of which were imposed on peasants in the lands
  under firm Abbasid control
• The growing armies also added to the tax burden
• Infrastructure including irrigation systems
  failed leading many peasants to leave Abbasid
  control, join bandit gangs, or to move to the
  cities as homeless.
• Dissident Shia often encouraged peasant revolts
  against the Abbasid

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• The failure of smooth successions led not only to
  civil wars but to the growth of personal armies
  teams of bodyguards were often in the thousands
• Slave Armies
• Mercenaries

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Women and Slavery in the Abbasid Empire

• The harem and the veil growing confinement of
  women to the home in the Abbasid dynasty. Slave
  women were allowed to leave the home and did not
  have to wear the veils and robes forced on free
  women.
• Concubines often slaves they could earn their
  freedom if their sons were healthy and strong
• Eunuchs (as in China) eunuchs often were behind
  palace plots and intrigue
• Thousands of slaves were obtained from the
  regions surrounding the empire the Balkans,
  Africa, central Asia, etc.
• Intelligent slaves of both sexes were prized
  with many of the dynasties best educated men and
  women were slaves. Caliphs and other court
  officials often used their slaves as trusted
  advisors and personal soldiers.

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Nomadic Invaders

• As with all empires of the time, border regions
  were often prone to attack by invaders and a loss
  of direct control by the central government.
• 945 C.E. Buyids a Persian dynasty that took
  control of Baghdad and made the caliphs their
  puppets the Buyids tried to increase the
  influence of the Shia/
• Sultan victorious in Arabic title taken by
  the Buyids
• Seljuk Turks 1055 C.E. the central Asian Seljuk
  Turks entered the Abbasid Empire through Persia.
  The Turks ruled the empire in the name of the
  caliphs. As Sunnis, the Turks moved against the
  Shia and then against the Byzantines.
• The Turks began to move into Asia Minor
  Anatolia.

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Crusades

• See separate PowerPoint

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Persian Literature

• Rubaiyat Omar Khayyam Persian poetry
• Shah-Nama Book of Kings Persian historical
  conquests
• The calligraphy made the actual texts examples of
  Islamic art.

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Sciences

• Occupying a central place in Asian trade, the
  Abbasids gained knowledge from the Greeks and
  Indians.
• In cultural centers such as Baghdad, the Muslims
  made great scientific breakthroughs as well as
  refining and improving the work of the Greeks and
  Indians
• Trigonometry sine, cosine, and tangent
• Objective experiment
• Classification of animal, vegetable and mineral
• Astronomical tables and maps of the stars (trade)
• Cairo hospitals
• Schools and examinations for doctors and
  pharmacists
• Taught papermaking, silk weaving and ceramic
  firing from China to Europe

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Complex Religious Trends

• Ulama orthodox religious scholars their
  conservative stand on Islam was a counterbalance
  to a growing Islamic mysticism
• Al-Ghazali tried to blend Greek and Islamic
  traditions but was rejected by the Ulama
• Sufi Islamic mysticism

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Mongols

• See separate PowerPoint

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Islamic Movement East

• Hinduism and Islam Muslim warriors, merchants,
  etc. moved into South Asia.
• Muslim inroads in India led to a unique
  relationship between Islam and Hinduism as
  Hindus were viewed as people of the book.
• Islam was egalitarian while Hinduism was based
  upon the caste system.
• Hinduism was adaptive while Islam was religiously
  rigid.
• Conversion to Islam was relatively limited
  mainly in trading centers and among people of
  lower castes.

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• Muhammad ibn Qasim was 17 when he led 10,000
  Muslim warriors into Pakistan in 711 C.E. to
  avenge attacks on Arab shipping by the king of
  Sindh this began an eventual conquest of India
• Muslim rulers controlled a vast population of
  Hindus and Buddhists.
• Muslims also began to adopt Indian dress and
  customs.

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The Second Wave of Muslim Invasions in India

• MAHMUD OF GHAZNI 3rd ruler of a Turkish slave
  dynasty in Afghanistan he led a series of raids
  that led to the Muslim domination of northern
  India
• Muhammad of Ghur in the late 12th century he
  expanded upon the gains of Mahmud of Ghazni into
  the Gangetic plain.
• Qutb-ud-din Aibak seized power after the
  assassination of Muhammad of Ghur
• Sultans of Delhi the Muslims built their
  capital at Delhi in the center of northern India.
  Muslim dynasties fought each other, the Mongols,
  the Turks, and the Hindu princes for control of
  India.

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Hindu Revivals in the Face of Islam

• BHAKTIC mystical devotional cults to the gods
  developed as to counter the appeal of Islam to
  the lower castes.
• Mira Bai female writer who wrote religious
  poetry and songs as part of the bhaktic cults.
• Kabir a Muslim mystic and weaver who tried to
  play down the religious differences and build
  common ground.

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Muslim Sailors and Traders

• Muslim sailors and traders took their religion
  east into Indonesia
• Shrivijaya the 13th century collapse of this
  empire along the Strait of Malacca led to opening
  for Islam in the port cities of the Buddhist
  Shrivijaya.
• Malacca and Demak trading center that became an
  Islamic center
• Conversion linked to business and trading centers