The Caliphate: From Medina to Damascus and Bagdad

Succession to the leadership of the Prophet Muhammad (632)
—possible choices:
- ‘Ali (cousin and son-in-law) ?
-Ansar (supporters from Medina) ?
-Muhajirun (emigrants from Mecca) ?

The Rightly-Guided Caliphs (“Rashidun”):

Abu Bakr (632-34)
‘Umar (634-44)
‘Uthman (644-56)
‘Ali (656-61)

imam = supreme leader of the Muslim community (umma)
imama = supreme leadership, imamate

khalifa (“deputy”) = caliph
khilafa = caliphate
amir al-mu’minin (“commander of the faithful”) = caliph



misr / amsar (garrison town/s): Kufa, Basra, Fustat, Kairawan

diwan: register of Arab soldiers
sabiqa: social priority based on the time of conversion to Islam, used to determine salaries of soldiers, etc.

ahl al-dhimma: “protected people” (Jews, Christians, Zoroastrians) living in conquered lands
dhimmi: a member of the ahl al-dhimma
jizya: poll tax on dhimmis

mawla (pl. mawali): non-Arab (Muslim) clients of Arab tribes

First Civil War (656-661)

-Assassination of ‘Uthman after an uprising in Kufa (656)
-‘Ali became 4th caliph

-Unresolved issue of the punishment of ‘Uthman’s assassins fueled the First Civil War

- ‘Ali challenged by Mu’awiya (governor of Syria)

‘Ali agreed to arbitration on issue of punishment

- Assassination of ‘Ali (661); Mu’awiya became caliph



Mu’awiya:
-governor of Syria
-member of Banu Umayya clan
-became caliph in 661
-established the Umayyad Caliphate (661-750)




Umayyad Caliphate (661-750)
-capital: Damascus


‘Abd al-Malik (r. 685-705):

-ended the Second Civil War in 692 by force

-administrative reforms to create a centralized empire
-Arabic as official language

-monetary reforms

-establishment of a state with all necessary institutions



‘Abd al-Malik’s monetary reform:
-central issues
-standard weight
-inscriptions instead of images

Dinar (gold coin): 696-7
Dirham (silver coin): 698-9


Dome of the Rock (Jerusalem), built in 691-2 on the site of the old Jewish Temple (destroyed prior to Islam)




Caliph al-Walid I (r. 705-15)
Conquest of Central Asia
Conquest of Spain


Great Mosque of Damascus, begun 705/6 by Caliph al-Walid I (r. 705-15)

Problems faced by the Umayyads in the 8th c.:
1. Dissatisfaction of the Shi’is regarding the basis of Umayyad power (believed to be illegitimate)
2. Resentment against Syria from the provinces
Resentment against Arabs by non-Arabs

749: Abbasid Revolution (led by descendents of the Prophet’s uncle ‘Abbas)
750: Establishment of Abbasid Caliphate
-new capital established by caliph al- Mansur-- Baghdad

Religion in the Irano-Mediterranean World

Islamic World (“Dar al-Islam”) up to the 9th c.


Late Antiquity
3rd to 7th centuries:
Byzantine and Sasanian Empire


Christianity, 4th – 5th c.

-Debates over the true nature of Jesus Christ (Human? Divine? Both?)
-3 main Christological positions:

-Nestorian: Human nature
-Nestorian Church (Iraq, Iran and Asia)

-Monophysite: Divine nature
-Eastern Christian Churches [Armenian, Syrian, Coptic (Egyptian)]

-Chalcedonian: Both natures united in one person
-Orthodox Church (official church of the Byz. Empire)

Sasanian Empire: 221-651
-capital: Ctesiphon
-wars with Byzantine Empire: 602-28
Dualist religions (cosmic struggle between good and evil deities):

Zoroastrianism
-teachings of Zoroaster (11th c. BC)
-state religion of the Sasanian Empire
-Ahura Mazda (supreme god, principle of good)
-Ahriman (deity responsible for evil)

Manicheism
-teachings of Mani (3rd c.)
-universal message, drawing on Christianity, Zoroastrianism, etc.
-conflict between good and evil
-missionary activities in Iran, Central Asia and Inner Asia




•Arabian society in the 6th c.

-pastoralists
-agriculturalists
-merchants

•Tribal customs instead of government
•Arabic as common language


Mecca, 19th c. view of the Haram (“holy site”) with the Ka’ba in the center




Lineage of the Prophet Muhammad


Tribe: Quraysh
Clan: Banu Hashim
570: birth
610: first revelation

622: hijra (emigration) to Medina (Yathrib)
-emergence of the Muslim community (umma)
-Constitution of Medina
-struggles against Mecca (until 630)



Ka‘ba, Haram of Mecca

Revelation of the Qur’an, 610-632:
First Revelation:

Recite (iqra’): In the name of your Lord who created
Created mankind from a clot of blood.

Recite: And your Lord is most generous
He who instructed with the pen
Instructed mankind what he knew not.

(Opening verses of Chapter 96)
Q – R – ‘ (root)
 iqra‘ : recite, read (imperative)
 Qur’an : recitation

Central message of the Qur’an:

God (Allah):
-almighty, all-knowing, eternal, omnipresent Creator
-transcendent (no associates in any form)
-One (doctrine of tawhid: Unity of God)
-merciful and compassionate
Bismillah al-rahman al-rahim (basmala)

Feudal Japan

Until the 12th century, Japan was a monarchy with a civilian aristocracy. However, in the 12th century, a new warrior class, namely the samurai, emerged as a new political power so as to shape the medieval times in Japan until the Meiji Restoration of 1867.


This came about with the rise of land owners who had freedom from taxation called shoen and thus could deny government officials of agents entrance to their estates. The rise of the Shôen was directly related to the rise of the Japanese warrior. This meant the establishment of a system of parcellized power in the hands of a new warrior class which replaced the Heian aristocracy as the ruling class of the country and founded a feudal government, the Bakufu or the tent government without challenging the sanctity of the imperial throne. Ever since the abandonment of military conscription in 792 local governors and shoen managers relied upon their own military recruits selected form among local chieftains. These local chieftains formed lord and vassal relationships with the shoen managers.


At the center of the class of warriors termed as samurai meaning servant were the chieftains of the great clans of the Taira and Minamoto whose rivalry formed the drama of political history in the rise of a military society. Both clans were led by men of arictocratic origin or royal blood who were descendents from an offsrping of the imperial family made into separate families and settled in the countryside. Family and pride of ancestry were important elements of a warlike spirit anda tradition of loyalty. These were unruly storng men who were warlike and the cause of much internal dissent and chaos in the countryside.

Above is a picture of a samurai armor. It was indeed used by a samurai, as you can see from the bullet

hole in the middle. This armor, which belonged to an ancestor of Emperor Meiji, was sent by Meiji to

Abdulhamid II as a gift to enhance Ottoman-Japanese diplomatic relations.

New Schedule

Dear all,

Since we cancelled the lecture on December 15, we have changed the schedule so as to compensate the one-hour loss. Therefore, Wednesday's cancelled lecture will be held on Friday, and Friday's on Monday etc. According to this new schedule, we will also have a proper lecture on December 31.

Tomorrow's Lecture - 15 December

Dear all,

Tomorrow's lecture will be cancelled due to Professor Oya Pancaroglu's health issues. 

Apologies for the late notice.

Medieval Europe: Towns and Urban Institutions

Feudal structure allowed the formation of a distinct relationship between the rural and the urban (urbs means city in Latin). Earlier, cities were formed, or at least supported, by a central political authority. Think of Rome that had 1.000.000 residents. Yet, there was no authority to support the feudal cities. In other words, the relationship between a city and the countryside during the medieval ages requires a closer scrutiny, for it is the product of a new relationship.

The medieval “town” was paradoxical in the sense that whereas the feudal agriculture was based on serfdom (or in other words, unfree labor), the citizens of a town were free. It had its own jurisdiction, meaning if there was a dispute between the residents, it was not the lord who looked over the affair. Even though the town in a way represented the limits of the landlords, it was also promoted by them, for they saw profit in doing so. Almost half the towns in medieval Europe were established by feudal lords due to the immense financial gains.

Two points are important in speaking of towns:

1)      They were the main centers of trade.

2)      They were autonomous centers of commodity production.

Thus, in the dichotomy of the rural and the urban, couple of things require emphasis:

-          Division of Labor between the town and the countryside. The residents of a town were mainly the consumers of the goods produced in the countryside. They were people who were tied to the countryside for their survival.

-          Guilds: The residents of the towns, because they were not engaged in agricultural production, were craftsmen, thus they engaged in another form of production. Their labor could directly be utilized in the market, strengthening the town’s role as the center of trade. These craftsmen sometimes belonged to the guilds, and thus the guild-system became an important tool in the social, economic and political life of the towns. The artisans who formed the guilds even had their own courts of justice.

-          Fortification: These towns which were centers of trade required protection since they acquired the wealth that other places lacked. Therefore, the medieval towns in Europe were mostly fortified. Indeed, in German, the word for fortress is “burg,” and “bourgeoisie” derives from this word.

Some towns in Europe are described as the best examples of town-formation. Italy, which did not have any sort of political authority after the fall of the Roman Empire, characterizes the feudal city-formation in the best possible way. Its flourishing cities such as Venice, Florence, Mantua etc. are the places where we may observe how “free” the city was and how it fed on its rural hinterland. Moreover, as the Italian cities started to control the Mediterranean sea-trade, they also became important monetary centers – and we see the formation of banking systems in Italy in the twelfth century.

Medieval Crafts


San Gimignano

Medieval European Politics: Popes and Bishops

POPE

Definition: “Father” in Greek, or, Papa
Head of the Catholic Church, one of the oldest institutions on earth.
Ruler of the independent mini-state of the Vatican.
Apostolic succession: Vicar of St. Peter. Vicar of Christ. Roman Pontiff.
First used in A.D. 495.



Donation of Constantine


Election
Carried out by secret ballot by a full vote of the Sacred College of Cardinals.
Election takes place in the Sistine Chapel.
Cardinals meet in “conclave” (cum clavi)

Political Power of The Papacy
Excommunication
Anathema
Dogma


Emblem of The Papacy


Pentarchy
Rome, Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch, Jerusalem
Council of Chalcedon (451)


The Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople
Primus Inter Pares in the Eastern Orthodox Faith
Seen by followers as the One, Holy, and Apostolic Church


Papal Infallibility
The Pope must be speaking as the Roman Pontiff that is the heir of St. Peter.
He must be speaking ex cathedra “that is in the discharge of his office as a shepherd and teacher of all Christians, and by virtue of his apostolic authority...”
He must clearly state that whoever opposes this ruling will be excommunicated.
He must be speaking of a matter of faith or morals.
His declaration must be made for the whole church.