Abbasid Decline and Spread of Islamic Civilization to South and

Southeast Asia

Spread of Islamic Civilization

• 1. The Islamic heartlands in the Middle and Late Abbasid Era

• 2. An Age of Learning and Artistic Refinements• 3. The Coming of Islam of South Asia• 4. The Spread of Islam to Southeast Asia

The Islamic Heartlands in the Middle and Late Abbasid Eras

• Abbasid Empire weakened, 9th-13th centuries– Peasant revolts

• Al-Mahdi (775-785)– Shi’a unreconciled– Succession not secure

The Islamic Heartlands in the Middle and Late Abbasid Eras

• Imperial Extravagance and Succession Disputes– Harun al-Rashid• Son of Al-Mahdi• The Thousand and one Nights• Barmicides

– Persian Advisors

• Death followed by the civil war

– Al-Ma’mun

Imperial Breakdown and Agrarian Disorder

• Civil Unrest• Caliphs Build Lavishly– Tax Burden increase– Agriculture suffers

The Declining position of Women in the Family and Society

• Seclusion, veil• Polygyny

Nomadic Incursions and the Eclipse of Caliphal Power

• Former Province threaten Abbasids• Buyids, Persia– Take Baghdad, 945– Sultans

• Seljuk Turks– 1055, Defeated the Buyids– Sunnis• Shi’a Purges

– Defeat Byzantines, Egypt

The Impact of the Christian Crusades

• 1096, western European Christian Knights– Small Kingdoms established

• Saladin retakes lands– Last in 1291

The Full Flowering of Persian Literature

• Persian the court Language – Administration, literature

• Arabic in religion, law, science• Calligraphy• Firdawsi– Shah- Nama

• Epic Poem• Sa’di• Omar Kayyan– Rubaiyat

Achievements in Science • Math– Build on Greek work

• Chemistry– Experiments

• Al-Razi• Al-Biruni– Specific weights

• Medicine – Hospitals– Courses of Study

Religious Trends and the New Push for Expansion

• Sufis– Mysticism

• Ulama– Conservation– Against outside influences– Greek Philosophy rejected

• Qur’an Sufficient– Al-Ghazali

• Synthesis of Greek, Qur’anic Ideas• Opposed by Orthodoxy

New Waves of Nomadic Invasions and the ne of the Caliphate

• Mongols– Chinggis Khan

• Hulegu• 1258, Baghdad falls – Last Abbasid Killed

The Coming of Islam to South Asia

• By 1200, Muslims rule much of north, central• Conflict between two different system– Hindu religion v. Muslim monotheism– Muslim Egalitarianism v. India cast system

Political Divisions and the First Muslim Invasion

• First as traders, 8th century– Attacks lead to invasion

• Muhammad ibn Qasim– Umayyad general– Takes Sind, Indus Valley– Indian treated as Dhimmi

Indian Influences on Islamic Civilization

• Science, math, medicine, music, astronomy– India influences Arab

From Booty to Empire: The second wave of Muslim Invasions

• 10th century, Turkish dynasty established in Afghanistan– Mahmud of Ghazni

• Begin invasion of India• Muhammad of Ghur

– Persian – State of Indus– Thence of Bengal– His Lieutenant, Quta-ud-Din Aibak

• Forms state at Delhi• Delhi Sultanate rules for 300 years

Patterns of Conversion

• Converts especially among Buddhists , lower castes, untouchables– Also, conversion to escape taxes

• Muslim fleeing Mongols, 13th, 14th centuries

Patterns of Accommodation

• High-Caste Hindus remain apart– Muslims also often fail to integrate

Islamic Challenge and Hindu Revival

• Bhakti– Devotional Cults– Emotional Approach– Caste Distinctions dissovled– Shiva, Vishnu, Kali especially

• Mira Bai, Kabir– Songs in regional languages

Stand off: the Muslim Presence in India at the End of the Sultanate

Period• Brahmins v Ulama– Separate communites

The Spread of Islam to Southeast Asia

• Shrivijaya• Trading Contacts and Conversion– Trading leads to peaceful conversion• Sufis Important• Starting with Sumatra ports

The Spread of Islam to Southeast Asia

• Malacca– Thence to Malaya, Sumatra, Demak (Java)

• Coastal Cities especially receptive – Buddhist elites, but population converts to Islam

• Sufi Mystics and the Nature of Southeast Asian Islam