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Lecture 7B: The Islamic Civilization- Prophets and Caliphs

Introduction: The People of Ancient Saudi Arabia

I want to switch now to talk about another civilization that emerged in the East in the early Middle Ages. This was the Islamic Civilization. Islamic civilization began in the Arabian Peninsula in the 7th century CE before it spread outwards. To understand how the religion of Islam took hold in Arabia and created a new civilization, we need to know a little more about the history of the region.

Much of the Arabian Peninsula is desert, which made farming and the development of cities difficult. But in the 500s, a group of Arab tribes allied together and began to establish urban centers along the western coast of the peninsula, near the Red Sea, which is where the land was fertile. If you look at the map on your screen, the Red Sea is located to the left of the Arabian Peninsula. The Arabs living there became wealthier, and new trade routes appeared, connecting people there to the outside world. Cities like Mecca and Medina grew into prominent centers of trade. You'll find these two cities located on the left side of the Arabian Peninsula, near the Red Sea. As you'll see on the map on your screen, the Arabian Peninsula is near the Byzantine Empire and the Persian Empire. And in fact, Arabia often served as a sort of buffer between these two empires. But neither Christianity, nor Zoroastrianism, the religion of Persia, ever took hold in Arabia. Instead, prior to the early 600s CE, most Arabs were polytheistic, worshipping many gods and goddesses. The city of Mecca possessed a famous temple called The Kaaba. And throughout the year, many people from around Arabia traveled to Mecca to worship at this temple. Records from the 5th and the 6th centuries note that the Kaaba housed shrines for 360 different gods and goddesses. And amidst all of these shrines, at the center, was a sacred black meteorite.

In the 500s and the early 600s, the Byzantines and the Persians were the primary superpowers of the East, and they considered themselves to be the pinnacle of civilization. In contrast, the Byzantines and the Persians saw the Arabs as backwards and ignorant. And if you surveyed Byzantines and Persians about Arabs at this time, the Byzantines and the Persians would have made three basic assumptions. They would have said that the Arabs as a people would never amount to anything; that Arabia would be conquered by the Byzantine or Persian empires; and that the Arabs would eventually become Christian or Zoroastrian. Well, the complete opposite occurred.

The Origins of Islam

Around 610 CE, Muhammad, a middle-aged merchant from Mecca, began to have religious visions. An angel appeared to him and ordered him to "recite in the name of thy lord, who created man. Recite in the name of thy lord, who taught man what he knew not." Muhammad, fearing that he was being attacked by an evil spirit, fled down the mountain in terror. The voice called after him, "Oh, Muhammad, you are the messenger of God, and I am the Angel Gabriel." After a while, Muhammad began to accept these visions, and the angel told Muhammad to spread God's message.

Central to this message was the idea that Allah alone is God. In other words, this was strict monotheism. According to the religion that would become known as Islam, Abraham, Moses, Jesus, and Muhammad were all prophets of Allah. So, followers of Muhammad accepted the historical truth and legitimacy of Judaism and Christianity, but Muslims believed then and now that the revelations of Muhammad were the final stage of God's plan. And they view Muhammad as God's final prophet. Muhammad's religious visions, which took place over a period of about 23 years, were recorded in a text known as the Qur’an. Muslims regard the Qur’an as the most important religious text. And the Qur’an lays out basic principles or directions, which are known as the five pillars of Islam. The five pillars are: acknowledge that there is only one God and Muhammad is his prophet. State this belief in prayer five times a day. Fast between sunrise and sunset during Ramadan, which is the ninth month of the Muslim calendar. Donate money and food to the needy. And make a pilgrimage to Mecca at least once in your life. By performing the five pillars of Islam, Muslims demonstrate what they believe is obedience to the will of God.

Quiz Question #4

Muhammad’s Hijra and Successors

When Muhammad began to teach others about Islam, he started with his own family and then spread outwards Soon, Muhammad attracted a following. This, however, made the rich and powerful merchants of Mecca angry. Remember, the city of Mecca was home to the Ka'aba, and this temple attracted people from all over who wanted to worship at it. These visitors spent money on food, lodging, and entertainment when they came to Mecca, which went into the pockets of the local merchants. The merchants of Mecca were afraid that if Muhammad succeeded in spreading his new religion, it would discourage people from coming, and it would hurt their businesses. So, in 622 CE, the merchants of Mecca threatened Muhammad and his followers, who were forced to flee for their lives Muhammad and his followers fled to the city of Medina. This flight is known as Muhammad's Hijra. Muhammad and his followers stayed in Medina for six years. During this time, he gained more followers and more power, and soon he created an Islamic community, at the center of which stood the mosque. The mosque was the place where his followers gathered to pray and hear Muhammad speak about his visions and God's law as he had received them. By 628, Muhammad had gained so many followers that he was able to re-enter Mecca at the head of an army of 10,000 men. According to tradition, when Muhammad entered Mecca, he proceeded directly to the Kaaba and ordered it to be converted into a sanctuary of the Islamic religion. Today, the Kaaba shrine is still considered by Muslims to be the most sacred spot on earth.

By the year 631, almost all people in the Arabian Peninsula had become Muslim and Muhammad was more than just a religious leader. He became a political leader, as well, and he created instruction for all aspects of society. As we’ve discussed, the fact that Muhammad had both religious and political authority wasn't unusual. When Muhammad went to Medina, he became a political leader at the same time that he was preaching in the mosque. His Qu’ran came to include laws about all aspects of Islamic society, not just religious aspects. And after Muhammad died in 632 CE, Muslim leaders who succeeded him were known as caliphs. "Caliph" literally translates to "successor," and like Muhammad, the caliphs served as both political and religious leaders of the Islamic community. You can think of caliphs as Muslim kings. What sets Muhammad apart from other political/religious leaders, however, is that he was first a religious leader and later became a political leader. What we’ve seen so far has been the reverse- government officials who influence religion and make decisions about it.

Quiz Question #5

The Expansion of Islamic Civilization

During his life, Muhammad was focused on converting the people of the Arabian Peninsula to Islam. After his death though, the caliphs began to look outwards to conquered territory and convert conquered people to Islam. The swiftness of the Muslim advance and the decisiveness of their military victories was stunning. Muslim armies invaded the Persian and Byzantine Empire, but these two empires couldn't seem to get their act together in response to this invasion. In an effort to stop the Muslim armies, the Byzantine and Persian emperors allied together in 636 CE, and they agreed that they would meet up and combine their troops in the city of Yarmuk, near Syria and Jordan. Unfortunately, the Persian troops never showed up, and the Byzantines were forced to face the incoming Muslim armies by themselves. By all accounts, this was an all-out massacre of the Byzantines. 40,000 soldiers died in the battle. And many Byzantine soldiers tried to flee, but they fell to their deaths in a nearby ravine. The Battle of Yarmuk ended Byzantine rule in Syria, and Muslim armies continued on to the rest of Palestine.

Most of the cities of Syria and Palestine surrendered without struggle, especially since the Muslim armies promised not to sack any city that did not resist. Jerusalem finally fell in 637 CE. That same year, the Muslims crushed the Persian army, it captured the Persian capital. By 651 CE, Muslim forces completed their conquest of all of Persia. Muslim armies took Egypt and continued through North Africa. They reached the Atlantic Ocean in 670 CE. By the year 711, they had taken most of Spain and were threatening a Barbarian people called the Franks, in what is today, southern France. In 732, at the Battle of Tours, the Frankish king, Charles Martel, stopped the advance of Muslim armies. This created a western border for the Islamic Empire. Muslim armies also moved into the Byzantine Empire, and in 669, they reached the gates of Constantinople. They failed to take Constantinople because of its solid walls, and because the Byzantines had recently discovered an incendiary substance known as "Greek Fire." Greek Fire was a flammable liquid that was similar to the napalm used in 20th century warfare.

All in all, within a century, the people of the Arabian Peninsula- those people who the Byzantine and Persian Empires had considered so inferior- they had upended the entire organization and way of life of the known world. By the middle of the 8th century, the Western world was completely different from the way it had been before. The Persian Empire was gone. The kingdom of the Franks in Northwestern Europe had a new aggressive neighbor. And the Byzantine Empire had been further reduced. The map on your screen shows Islamic territory marked in purple. For the next 400 years, this Islamic territory would remain pretty much the same.

The Caliphates

Let's turn now to look a little more closely at the rulers of this Islamic territory. When Muhammad died in 632 CE, he didn't specifically name anyone to rule after him. Consequently, Muhammad's death left a bit of a power vacuum in which people fought with each other to be the caliph, the ruler of Islamic civilization. After Muhammad came a series of caliphs who ruled for short periods of time, either because they died or were assassinated. Finally, in 661 CE, the first Muslim dynasty was established under a man named Mu'awiyah. Remember, dynasties are families of rulers who passed down control to members within that family. Mu'awiyah established the Umayyad Caliphate. A caliphate refers to the dynasty ruling it, as well as the territory they control and their government. So, if caliphs are Muslim kings, then you can think of caliphates as Muslim kingdoms with Muslim governments. The Umayyad Dynasty continued to expand Muslim territory, reaching all the way to India.

In 750 CE, a man named Abu al-Abbas succeeded in overthrowing the Umayyad Caliph. Abu al- Abbas declared himself the new caliph, and he created a new dynasty and a new government called the Abbasid Caliphate. In order to submit his claim to power and prevent future rebellions, al-Abbas slaughtered 82 members of the Umayyad family. The only remaining Umayyad fled to Spain, where he established his own kingdom. In contrast to previous Muslim rulers, the Abbasid Dynasty stopped trying to expand Muslim territory. As a result, Muslim society reached new cultural heights in the 9th and 10th centuries. Greek documents, as well as Persian and Sanskrit texts, were translated into Arabic during this period, introducing new knowledge. Trade was encouraged, which brought in exotic products and riches. Islamic civilization reached its zenith under the caliph named Harun al-Rashid, who was featured in the exotic tales of the Arabian Nights. The Arabian Nights is a collection of Middle Eastern tales, and you probably actually know some of the tales of this collection without even realizing it. The Disney character, Aladdin and his magical lamp, are featured in these stories. Although, you might be interested to know that there is no Jasmine. In Arabian Nights, Aladdin marries Princess Badroulbadour. Her name is Arabic for “full moon,” which a metaphor for female beauty. The Abbasid Dynasty ended in 1258, when the Mongols destroyed Baghdad and killed the last Abbasid caliph.

Causes of Success for Muslim Expansion

There were a few reasons for the incredible success of Muslim armies in expanding the Islamic Civilization. In terms of factors strengthening and motivating the Arabs, we can know that the Arabs of the Arabian Peninsula were, of course, unified under the Islamic religion, which encouraged cooperation. In addition, some scholars have argued that the Arabian Peninsula was getting progressively drier during the 7th and 8th centuries. This encouraged many Arabs to move into surrounding territories in order to survive and make a living. Finally, we should not discount the power of the Arab armies. Led by the caliphs and a series of brilliant generals, Arabs put together a large and very zealous army. They were not only large in number and unified through a religious and economic goal, but they were also skilled in combat. The Arab cavalry excelled at speedy raids, surprise attacks, and elusive retreats. In any case, in Persia and Byzantine, they encountered very little opposition. Sources from this time indicate that the Muslim armies moved so quickly that most people in Persia and Byzantium had no idea who they were.

On the other hand, as we’ve talked about, the Byzantines and Persians had been fighting for centuries. This constant fighting exhausted both sides so that when the Muslim armies invaded, both the Byzantines and Persians were already economically and physically exhausted. Finally, when Muslims conquered a region, they did not force Jews and Christians and Persian Zoroastrians to convert to Islam. And this was because these religious groups were monotheistic, and Muslim leaders believed that all of them were worshipping the same God, even if they didn't recognize Muhammad as a prophet. Muslims gave conquered Christians, Jews, and Zoroastrians a special protected status called a dhimmi. The term "dhimmi" means an inferior protected group. This status meant that Jews, Christians, and Zoroastrians were allowed to keep practicing their religion, as long as they didn't do it loudly or offensively. In fact, at first, Arabs actually discouraged Christians, Jews, and Zoroastrians from converting to Islam because these non-Muslims had to pay a special tax, called the jizya, to keep their protected status. This tax provided another source of revenue for the caliphs. This sort of religious tolerance encouraged many Christians, Jews, and Zoroastrians living in conquered territory to acquiesce to Muslim control. They may not have liked it, but it wasn't intolerable.

Quiz Question #6