The Islamic World The Middle Ages: Asia and Africa

Learning Goal 2 Describe the historical origins, central ideas and spread of Islam

Islam  An Abrahamic Religion  Muslims are strict monotheists.  They believe in the Judeo- Christian God, which they call Allah.  Muslims believe that the Torah and the Bible, like the Qur’an, is the word of God.  Peoples of the Book

 Shahada: the declaration of faith  Salat: mandatory prayers 5x a day  Zakat: alms-giving; charity to the poor  Sawn: fasting; done during the Holy month of Ramadan  Hajj: required pilgrimage to the holy city of Mecca The Five Pillars of Islam

Learning Goal 1  Describe how the Islamic world developed and describe the political, economic, and social effects of this development.

Development of Islamic caliphates and their impact on Asia, Africa, and Europe Causes  Arab soldiers committed to the promise of plunder unified around Islam and conquered territory from Spain to India across North Africa, Arabia and Anatolia  Weak Sassanid and Byzantine Empires made conquest easier  Followers were attracted to ideas of equality among believers and familiar with monotheism from Jewish and Christian traditions

Effects  Caliphate’s introduced bureaucratic structure and established first Muslim Empire  Arabs, Persians and other groups unified politically and culturally as Muslims  Trade flourished, as merchants agreed on a common set of Muslim business dealings  Intellectual development led to algebra, preservation of Classical texts especially those of the Greeks  Mosques, hospitals, schools, orphanages and the House of Wisdom were built  Islam spread via trade routes to West Africa and to Southeast via the Indian Ocean to Central Asia and China via the Silk Routes

What was the political, economic, and social impact of Islam on Europe ?  Political  Battle of Tours in 732AD stopped the Muslim advance into Europe and left only Spain in Muslim control.  In 1096 Western Christians marched through the Byzantine Empire to take back the Holy Land from the Muslims. This conflict brought about the end of the feudal system in Western Europe.

Impact of the Caliphates on Europe Cont’. Economic  Increased interaction with the Islamic Empire during the Crusades led to a revival of European trade with Asia. This trade led to a rise in the economic prosperity of Western Europe Social  Increased interaction with the Islamic Empire as a result of the Crusades opened Europeans up to new knowledge of science, medicine, and technology from the Muslims.  Cordoba Spain was a cultural hub of the Islamic Empire in Europe.  Europeans adopted Indian numerals from the Muslims

What was the political, economic, and social impact of Islam on Asia? Political  Abbasid caliphate politically unified North Africa, Arabia, Persia and Asia Minor.  Bureaucratic system was established and rule was centralized Economic  Silk Road trade flourished  Indian Ocean Trade Network thrived as Muslim merchants traded with Indian and Chinese merchants

Impact of the Caliphates on Asia Cont’. Social  Tolerance of “people of the book” led to conversions  Split between Shi’a (supporters of Ali’s descendents) and Sunni (supporters of the Umayyad)  Geometric patterns  Architecture – Mosques – use of domes and minarets  Calligraphy – developed as a result of the ban on the use of human figures as decoration in mosques  Poetry – reflects oral heritage  Islam also spread through merchants and Sufis

Political  Trade kingdoms emerged in West Africa – Ghana, Mali, & Songhay and rulers converted to Islam to gain trade advantages  Eastern coastal city-states gained power as rulers converted to Islam Economic  Trans-Saharan trade grew with trade in salt, gold and slaves.  Eastern coastal city-states were a source of slaves in Indian Ocean Trade Complex. What was the political, economic, and social impact of Islam on Africa?

Impact of the Caliphates on Africa Cont’. Social  Islam spread to sub-Saharan African through trade contacts mostly merchants and rulers who converted, such as Mansa Musa of Mali.  Local beliefs mixed with Islamic beliefs  Swahili – mix of Bantu and Arabic became widespread

Learning Goal 3  Analyze the role trade played in the spread of Islam to Africa and India and describe what was characteristic of Muslim contact with societies in Africa and India

After the collapse of classical empires:  New political, economic and social systems evolved and expanded from  Let’s look at how the Silk Road and the African gold-salt trade facilitated the spread of Ideas and trade

The Silk Road  Helped to spread ideas and trade  The Silk Roads included not only land routes but also sea lanes in the Indian Ocean.

Silk Road Trade  Silk Road Trade under the Tang and the Mongols was protected and the Mongols kept it safe.  During this time the Silk Road Trade flourished and allowed people from different countries with different ideas to meet and interact through trade.  In fact the Mongols were responsible to carrying the bubonic plague into Eurasia over the Silk Road

Silk Road Trade  Silks and porcelain from China  Woolen and linen cloth, glass, horses and ivory from other trading partners  The interaction of peoples from various areas allowed the spread of Buddhism and Christianity  These interactions also spurred European interest in finding a water route to China

Indian Ocean Trade Network  The Indian Ocean Trade Network thrived as Muslim merchants traded with Indian and Chinese merchants.

 Increased interaction with the Islamic Empire during the Crusades led to a revival of European trade with Asia. This trade led to a rise in the economic prosperity of Western Europe.  Slaves, ivory, gold, and iron from Africa  Porcelain from China  Pottery from Burma  Cloth from India

Trans-Sahara Trade  There was an increase in the use of trade routes during this period ( )  The use of camels, caravans and Berber traders increased contact with Muslims. This route connected West Africa with the Muslim world and beyond

Trans-Sahara Trade  Sub-Sahara Africa had lots of gold, little salt—the Mediterranean had little gold, lots of salt Slaves, ivory, gold and iron came from below the Sahara Salt, cloth and metalware came from the Sahara

Trans-Sahara Trade  These trade routes helped the rise of African empires and kingdoms in West Africa  These trade routes helped to spread Islam through West Africa.

Economic Interactions Muslims controlled trade routes and port cities in between Europe and Asia therefore, Islamic merchants served as a middle man for trade.

How did Muslims, Christians and Jews interact?  Europe: Jews were ostracized in European communities and often forced to live in independent communities (ghettos) Many Jews lived in Spain under control of the Moors (Muslims in Spain)—the Jews were treated well as Muslim values of toleration were practiced

How did Muslims, Christians and Jews interact?  Around 1031, the Reconquista began in Spain and Jews along with Muslims were persecuted during this struggle to return Spain to Christian control.  Jews living in Europe were often persecuted by the Roman Catholic Church and communities of Jews in Europe were attacked as part of the Crusades.

How did Muslims, Christians and Jews interact?  Asia: Throughout the Asian world (specifically in the Southwest Asia) the monotheistic faiths were somewhat tolerant of Islam and were tolerant of “each other”, provided they paid the Jizya (tax on non-believers).

How did Muslims, Christians and Jews interact  Jews were integral to the Abbasid and later Islamic Empires. As a rule Muslims are not allowed to charge interest. They were able to circumnavigate this rule by allowing Jews to extend credit and monitor trade networks.  Most prominent interaction between Muslims and Christians took place during the Crusades, a series of wars that lasted from

 North Africa As Islam entered northern Africa some kingdoms remained Christian such as Nubian, Ethiopia, and the Coptics in Egypt. North Africa provided many converts to Islam How did Muslims, Christians and Jews interact

How did the Muslim and Hindu societies interact in South Asia  Islam enters South Asia via merchants and later conquered Northern territories of India and eventually spread to Southeast Asia  Few Islamic converts were won forcefully but easily converted lower castes through the ideas of equality of the believers. The Hindu social structure was more restrictive than that of the Muslims. Muslims living in India adopted many aspects of Hindu culture.

How did the Muslim and Hindu societies interact in South Asia  Many Islamic converts were converted form the lower castes of Hindu society through the ideas of equality of the believers. Muslims living in India adopted many aspects of Hindu culture.