FINAL EXAM PLACES

The final exam for HIST 105 will be on January 14, at 16:00. You are required to study all the topics from midterm onwards. The exam places are as follows:

AÇIKGÖZ - BORA: NH 101
BORAN - ERDİM: NH 105
ERDOĞAN - KARALDI: NH 301
KARAMAN - ÖZSOY: NH 305
ÖZTÜRK - YÜKSEL: NH 401
Wish you all the best of luck!

MEDIEVAL ENCOUNTERS IN THE MEDITERRANEAN WORLD: CONVIVENCIA

Reminiscent of the cultural symbiosis in Asia created by the nomads and later bolstered by the Mongolians, the Mediterranean world was also passing through a similar stage during the same ages. When scrutinizing the period from the fall of the Roman Empire to the Renaissance, however, the stress should not only lie solely on Europe. A simple and reductionist focus on Europe would take us to the bloodshed of the Crusades and the gloomy atmosphere of the Middle Ages; but, if we widen our perspective and include North Africa and Eastern Mediterranean in our analysis, then we are faced with a completely different picture. This part of the world possessed an undivided cultural space that had shared patterns of co-existence. In other words, what we observe in the Middle Ages is not irreconcilable groups of people (ex. Christians vs. Muslims), but rather harmonious co-existence, i.e. “convivencia – living together”.

            Although the Muslim invasions are sometimes regarded as an interruption, we today know that the end result of these invasions did not diminish trade relations. On the contrary, after the invasions, Europe witnessed a booming cultural resurrection in the cities, and the population also increased together with intensified trading activities. These cities that were at the intersection points of a European culture and an Islamic one were indeed the “cultural contact zones”. For instance, Anatolia and the Levant, Islamic Spain, and Sicily were all frontiers where “convivencia” produced fruitful results which may be seen through the artistic value of the churches built in these regions. Besides, this cultural encounter is also well observed in the example of the Umayyads. In Damascus, the official language of the Umayyads was Greek, and in Cairo, it was Coptic.

            This mixed cultural space is best represented by 2 epic romances: Digenes Akritas and Seyyid Battal Gazi. Akritas fights on the Byzantine border against the Arabs, and Battal Gazi fights on the same border against the Byzantines. The interesting thing to point out is the extreme similarity of these two epics, which seemingly belong to two different cultures, in terms of narrative and the values upheld in the stories. For example, the enemies are never portrayed as evil but chivalrous.

MEDIEVAL INDIA

•       6th to 15th centuries, political and religious diversity

•       Small kingdoms and military aristocracies,

•       RAJPUTS and autonomous villages

•       Scholasticism and ritualistic religion

•       8th century Abbasid invasion from the north

•       Central Asian Islam penetrates via raids & sufism

Afghano-Turkic Islamic Raids in the 1000s

•       Turks, Afghans, Persians and Mongols entered into India, most prominently from Ghazni (today in Afghanistan)with Mahmud of Ghazni (998-1030) making the Punjabi region a gateway to Islam

•       North Indians, low-caste Hindus and Buddhists converted

The Delhi Sultanate

•       The first Muslim state 1206 in Delhi by Qutb-ud-din Aybak constantly expanding and contracting

•       Mixing very well with the indidgenous populaces

•       Divided into 5 dynasties : the Tughluqs were crushed by Timur from Samarkand (1398-99) desolating the entire sultanate but the last dynasty (Lodis) nonetheless survived until 1526

•       The Delhi Sultanate : saving South Asia from the Empire of Cengiz Khan but establishing a stronger Mongol legacy together with Islam

Medieval Near Eastern Societies

Non-Muslim Communities in the Early Islamic World

Ahl al-dhimma (“Protected People”): dhimmi
-obliged to pay poll tax (jizya) and land tax (kharaj)
-allowed to practice and organize own religion
-dhimmi women allowed to marry Muslim men (but not vice-versa); children would be Muslim
-conversion of Muslims not permitted
-allowed to hold positions in administration
-generally held to be inferior in social standing to Muslims

Who were the ahl al-dhimma?

Ahl al-kitab (“People of the Book”)
1. Jews (Banu Isra’il, Yahud)
-isra’iliyyat (stories about Hebrew prophets and Biblical figures)

2. Christians (Nasara / Nasrani: “from Nazareth”): Monophysites, Chalcedonians, Nestorians
-monasticism
-transmission of ancient Greek learning

Extension of ahl al-kitab (and dhimmi) status:
1. Zoroastrians (Majus – “Magians”)
-dualist religion
-written scriptures (Avesta)
2. Sabians (Sabi’un)
a. Judeo-Christian baptising sects esp. in Iraq
b. Pagan star-worshippers of Harran

Manicheaism (zandaqa; zindiq):
-not included among the ahl al-dhimma
-dualist teachings of 3rd c. prophet Mani
-zandaqa came to mean “heresy”
-repressed and persecuted



Page from a Qur’an manuscript, probably Iraq, 9th c., parchment
Kufic script

Translation movement:
-began under Abbasid caliph al-Mansur
-continued for some 200 years
-inspired by Sasanian imperial ideology
-Bayt al-hikma (“House of Wisdom”) in Baghdad
-initially translations from Pahlavi (Middle Persian)
-later translations from Greek

Subjects covered by the Translation Movement (750-950):
-Quadrivium (arithmetic, geometry, astronomy, music)
-Entire field of Aristotelian philosophy
-metaphysics -ethics -logic -physics -zoology -botany
-Health sciences (medicine, pharmacology, veterinary science)
-Occult sciences: (magic, alchemy, astrology)

Revival of the Persian literary in the 10th c.:
Samanid dynasty (819-1005):
-Iranian aristocratic family
-establish a state in Eastern Iran and Central Asia

capital Bukhara
-active sponsorship of learning and New Persian literature (esp. poetry)
-translations from Arabic into Persian
-Shahnama (“Book of Kings”)
– Persian national epic of the pre-Islamic Iranian kings by the poet Firdawsi: highly influential text for later Iranian and Turkish societies.

Religious and Political Fragmentation in the Islamic World

Abbasid Revolution 749-50
Al-Andalus: first breakaway province: Umayyad state


Political fragmentation of the Islamic world in the 9th c.


Khariji movement:
-begins with opposition to ‘Ali regarding the decision to arbitrate over the punishment of ‘Uthman’s assassins
-responsible for the assassination of ‘Ali in 661
-first definite dissent and division in the Islamic community
(kharijis: “those who went out”)
-emphasis on egalitarian and morally puritannical leadership

Ibadi movement:
-later development from the Kharijis
-formed groups of opposition to the Abbasids in N. Africa among native Berber people
Rustamid dynasty (761-909)
-anti-Abbasid independent state
-conceived as a “correction” to past and present Islamic states

Sect: a dissenting or schismatic religious group, sometimes considered extreme or heretical by opponents… (sectarian, sectarianism)
Shi‘a: party or faction
Shi‘at ‘Ali: party (supporters) of ‘Ali and ‘Alids
Shi‘i: a member of Shi‘at ‘Ali
‘Alid: a descendent of ‘Ali


Genealogy of the Shi‘i imamate

Principles of the Shi‘i imamate as developed in the 8th c.:

-divinely-guided

-sovereign in religious and political terms

-keeper of authority and secret knowledge for the interpretation of the Qur’an, hadith, law

-free from sin and error (infallibility)

-explicity designated by his predecessor (nass)

-a necessary institution

Divisions within Shi’ism:

- “Fiver” / Zaydi
- “Sevener”/Isma‘ili
- “Twelver” / Imami


Fatimids:
-‘Ubayd Allah claims to be the manifestation (zuhur) of the Hidden Imam :took the title al-Mahdi
-909: Declaration of the Fatimid Caliphate (title: amir al-mu’minin) in N. Africa: ideological and military challenge to the Abbasids
-969: Conquest of Egypt

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)