1. Chapters 6, 7, & 8 Cultural

2. Pre-Islam Again culture of violence ◦ Strong dependence on and loyalty to one’s family ◦ Survival depended on it ◦ War ◦ Ones honor depended on respect ◦ Code of chivalry ◦ Revenge ◦ Weakened them as a society

3. Religion Before Muhammad The clans blended animism and polytheism ◦ Met the needs of their individual clan Allah: ◦ Quraysh tribe’s supreme god ◦ Ka’ba was used as a religious place for multiple gods Material culture ◦ Not highly developed because they had to concentrate on survival ◦ Oral poetry

4. Islam Started very small ◦ Muhammad was very respected so it helped to get his message out Universal elements ◦ Monotheism ◦ Highly developed legal code ◦ Egalitarianism ◦ Strong sense of community

5. Islam Unifying  being Arab wasn’t enough Islam provided a religion that was distinctly Arab ◦ equal to other religions ◦ But also different  No intermediaries between the individual and God ◦ The umma transcended only tribal boundaries

6. Conquest Before Islam ◦ Men proved themselves as warriors by fighting the other clans and killing Now there wasn’t infighting so what to do? ◦ Conquest as the answer ◦ They were still fighting and killing but it was other people not Muslims  Problem solved

7. Conversion change over time Originally they didn’t want to convert people, ◦ it would mean they had to share their Booty (Umayyads) Once the Umayyads fell the Abbasids encouraged conversion Islam was spreading ◦ Merchants traded in Southeast Asia ◦ New lands decided they wanted it

8. What cultural achievements did the Abbasid empire make??? New techniques in investigation New technology Preserving learning of Ancient civilizations 2 discoveries in chemistry ◦ Creation of objective experiment ◦ Al-razi’s scheme of classifying all material substances into 3 categories  Animal, vegetable, mineral Best hospitals in world Telescopes and anatomy advances Muslim scientists work on optics and bladder ailments Made world’s best maps Introduced into Islamic world and Europe many basic machines and techniques ◦ Paper making ◦ Silk weaving ◦ Ceramic firing

9. What influence did India have on Islam? Hindu scholars introduced Arab scholars to their numeral system Indian algebra and geometry were translated into Arabic for Islamic use Indian physicians, brought to Baghdad to run hospitals cured many Islamic officials Indian statecrafts were translated into Arabic for Islamic use The Indian game of chess traveled to the Arabic people Arabs who immigrated Indian areas, adopted Indian dress and hairstyles, and ate Indian food Arab colonies in India provided staging areas for Islam to spread to parts of Asia

10. Who were the Sufi and why were they important? The Sufi’s were wandering mystics ◦ They hoped for personal union with Allah ◦ There goal was this relationship ◦ They will be responsible for some of the spread of Islam during the Abbasids Later in the Abbasids the Suffist movement will bring a lot of vitality within Islam Included both Sunni and Shi’a manifestations in its various guises Some Sufis gained reputations as great healers and miracle workers Led militant bands that tried to spread Islam to nonbelievers Used ascetism or bodily denial to find Allah ◦ Meditation, songs, drugs and ecstatic dancing was also used to find Allah

11. Africa common themes Culture – Similar language base – Bantu ◦ Comes along with some shared cultural characteristics, but should not be interpreted as creating uniformity Religion - Similar early religious beliefs & practices ◦ Animism, as well as belief in a creator deity ◦ Ancestor worship Existence of magic and need to combat it (priest class)  Similar to W. Europe ◦ Moral and legal foundation for society

12. Religion - Influence of Major Religions Introduced through trade rather than missionary work Religious Divisions: ◦ North-Eastern Africa becomes Christian  Ethiopia and Nubia ◦ Northern (Ifriqiya), Western (Maghrib), and South-Eastern (Zenj)Africa becomes Muslim  Ghana – 10 th century  Songhay – 11 th century  Mali – 13 th century Syncretism ◦ Fusion of Islam with animistic/pagan traditions

13. Bantu again (I said it was important) We have talked about the Bantu ◦ These are a group of people who migrated throughout Africa. ◦ We can follow their process by following their language ◦ This is also one of the reasons there are so many languages in Africa today  About 500 different languages  Swahili is one of them  Cultural diffusion ◦ We also see a spread of ideas and technology

14. Nubia and Ethiopia Christian States ◦ The people were unhappy with Byzantine Christians and welcomed Islam Nubia resisted Muslim incursions until the 13 th century Ethiopia retained Christianity even with the increasing pressure from Muslims and a growing Muslim population Islam spread from here into Somalia

15. Ghana culture The animism rulers converted to Islam ◦ Still maintained some of their old beliefs Much of the population did not convert to Islam Large heterogeneous population (small ethnic core)

16. Mali Mansa Musa: Most famous of Sundiata Successors ◦ First Mali king to pilgrimage to Mecca ◦ Clear social divisions under Mansa Sundiata Muslim Empire Rulers supported Islam ◦ Built Mosques and encouraged prayer ◦ 5 pillars helped to keep order Islam spread throughout the area

17. Songhay Created a unique brand of Islam ◦ A fusion of Islam and local spiritual beliefs Islam spread through ◦ merchants who joined the local community ◦ Intermarriage Rulers were generally Muslim but the population was generally not Muslims

18. Central African States Mostly beyond the influence of Islam Kongo converted to Christianity Art: weaving, pottery, blacksmithing

19. Swahili States Almost all rulers and merchants were Muslims Islamicized trading cities developed as a result of contacts with trading partners from Arabia, Persia, India, and China Islam provided a universal set of ethics and beliefs that made their maritime contacts easier Shared language Mosques were build Royal courts