the word ‘christian’ refers to the follower of jesus the development of christianity into an...

THE ADVENT OF CHRISTIANITY

The word ‘Christian’ refers to the follower of Jesus

The development of Christianity into an organized religion is largely due to the efforts of a disciple of Jesus, named Paul

Jesus was born of humble parents, Joseph and Mary, about ten years before the death of Augustus Caesar

The birth of Jesus marked the beginning of AD (Anno Domini which in Latin means the year of our Lord)

He was a Jew and was born in the tiny village of Bethlehem

When Jesus was 30 years old, He began preaching

His teachings were simple

As He went around preaching, Jesus performed miracles like healing the sick, giving sight to the blind, calming the storm and restoring hearing and speech to the impaired

He also raised the dead back to life

The Jews could not accept the fact that Jesus opposed many a Jewish law which was framed according to the code of conduct laid down by Moses

The followers of Jesus began to call Him ‘Christ’ or the ‘Messiah’

In Greek, the word “Christ’ means the ‘anointed one’

The Jewish prophets had predicted that a Messiah would be born who would become king of the Jews and save them from roman domination

However, they could not accept Jesus as the Messiah

The Jews hated Jesus because He claimed to be the Son of God

They convinced the Roman Governor, Pontius Pilate that Jesus had called upon the people to revolt against the Roman government

He was arrested and tried

The charge of treason was insufficient. However, the Jews wanted Him dead

Jesus was sentenced to death on the cross

He was crucified on a Friday at the age of 33

This day is observed by Christians all over the world till as Good Friday

On the third day, some of his followers went and discovered an empty tomb where they had buried Jesus

He had risen back to life

This event is known as Resurrection and is celebrated as Easter throughout the world

It was nearly 300 years after the death of Jesus, that the Roman empire tried to get rid of Christianity

Christians were persecuted badly because they refused to worship the Roman emperor as a god

As punishment, they were burnt at the stake or thrown into amphitheatres or cages to be killed or eaten by wild animals

Also Christians did not participate in Roman festivals and were against Roman sports like chariot racing and the gladiatorial fights with wild animals

Thus, Christian s were considered unpatriotic and disloyal

In AD 67, during the reign of emperor Nero, a great fore broke out in Rome and he blamed the Christians for the disaster

Paul was put to death in AD 67 as punishment and Christians were tortured

Much later, the Eastern Roman emperor, Galerius Constantine founder of Constantinople (now Istanbul), realized that the Christians might help to defend the empire if attacked by the barbarian tribes of northern Europe

In AD 1311, he became a Christian and accepted Christianity as the official religion

The foundation of the Holy Roman Empire was thus laid

Gradually, Christianity made its way to most of the European countries like Great Britain, France, Portugal, Spain, Germany, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Russia etc.

It now includes all the five continents and is the religion with the largest number of followers in the world

Impacts

During the Middle Ages, Churches were the only centres of education

Monks and nuns were the only literate people

They prepared handwritten copies of many Greek and Roman classics which helped in the revival of learning after the fall of Constantinople

Since there were few books to read, drama became the most powerful mode of expression

As time passed, monasteries became the owners of large land estates

They began to collect huge wealth

Corruption set in

Exploitation of the people rather than service of mankind became the rule of the day

Advent of Islam

Arabia, a rectangular peninsula bordered by three seas and the countries of Mesopotamia (Iraq), Syria and Palestine was the birthplace of one of the greatest religions of the world – ISLAM.

It was founded by prophet Muhammad.

ARABIA

The Arabs were divided into nomadic tribes, the most powerful being the Quraysh tribe.

These tribes constantly fought against one another.

They had no definite religion.

Most of them indulged in idol worship and believed in superstitions and rituals.

At such a time, prophet Muhammad was born in Mecca in 570 AD.

He was born in a merchant family of the Quraysh tribe and spent his early life in caravan trade.

He discovered that the chief cause of backwardness among his fellow countrymen was the disunity.

It is said that one day in 610 AD, while meditating, he had a vision from god asking him to spread true faith among the people.

This vision changed the life of Muhammad and he came to be regarded as the prophet.

The main idea of his teachings was that there is only one god who is All knowing, All Powerful and Invisible. His will is made known through prophets.

The prophet was at first strongly opposed by many in Mecca.

His preaching against image worship made them fear loss of income.

There were even attempts to kill him.

Fearing for the safety of his life, Muhammad fled Mecca, to a nearby city, Medina in 622 AD.

After his flight, his rise to power began.

The Muslim era starts from the date 2nd July, 622 AD.

Teachings of Muhammad

The teachings of Muhammad were compiled into a holy book called the Koran. Some important teachings are:

Image worship is a curse.

The Koran is the authority which cannot be challenged.

All men are equal. There should be no class hatred.

Women should be respected.

One should stay away from drinking, gambling, eating pork and charging interest on loans.

One should observe the Five Pillars of Islam- KALMA- reciting hymns from the Koran NAMAZ- praying five times a day ZAQAT- charity RAMZAN – holy month of fasting HAJ – pilgrimage to Mecca at least once in a

life time.

Impact of Islam

POLITICAL The Caliphs were the successors of prophet Muhammad

and all power was in the hands of the Caliph.

He ruled as a despot, though benevolent at times.

He had a well ordered system of government and an efficient system of collecting taxes.

He built a network of roads for better trade and maintained law and order.

He patronized arts and sciences.

ECONOMIC The Arabs adapted scientific methods of

farming- they practiced crop- rotation and used fertilizers as well as irrigation.

They introduced many trees and fruits from the East like dates, pomegranates, peaches, apricots and lemons to the West.

They were skilled metal workers, masters in leather work and produced fine quality textiles.

They also developed trade with India and China in the East and Spain in the West.

They traded in weapons, armour, glassware, porcelain pottery, carpets, wine, leather goods, textiles etc.

Baghdad, Bukhara and Samarkhand became important centres of trade.

CULTURAL The Arabic language was used to develop literature.

Baghdad, Cairo, Cordoba, Seville and Barcelona became famous as centres of learning and universities were established.

Great libraries were set up.

In prose, the Arabian Nights became the most famous work.

In poetry, Rubaiyat by Omar Khayyam and Gulistan by Sheikh Saadi were very famous works.

SCIENTIFIC Algebra was invented by Algeber-Wal-Mukablai.

They borrowed the decimal system and the concept of Zero from the Indians.

They developed geometry and trigonometry.

They performed major surgeries and treated mentally ill people in a scientific way.

They developed the principle of the pendulum.

They improved the use of the compass.

The use of the astrolabe for navigation is another example of their mathematical and scientific skills.

The Arabs discovered alcohol, potash, nitrate of silver, nitric acid and sulphuric acid.

They discovered the causes of smallpox and tuberculosis.

ARTS They developed the Arabesque style of

ornamentation which is a pattern of flowers, leaves, branches and scrollwork.

The art of calligraphy was developed by them and is used very effectively in decoration.

ARCHITECTURE The Arabs developed a beautiful style of

architecture.

They used round arches, onion shaped domes, minars, minarets and pillars to construct their mosques and palaces.

Mosaics were used to beautify their buildings.

The most famous examples are the palaces and mosques in Baghdad and the Taj Mahal in India.