What Is the Enduring Significance of the Islamic Empire: Essay

Introduction to the Islamic World's Emergence

To understand when and how the 'Islamic world' arose according to Hourani, I will cover a period of Arab history of about 300 years (from the 600s to the 900s). So, I will try to highlight the period of time before and after the coming of Islam as well as the influence of Islam over different eras, during different dynasties, and over different social segments. This will cover the life period of Arab peoples before and during and a little bit after the Umayyads and Abbasid rule.

Pre-Islamic Sociopolitical Landscape

For many centuries, The Roman Empire was ruling many countries of the Mediterranean basin and people were sharing Greek and Latin cultures of the empire. From the beginning of the fourth century, the imperial power had moved eastwards where Constantinople replaced Rome as the capital city, and the emperor became the focus of loyalty and the symbol of cohesion. In its last stages, Constantinople was called Byzantine than Roman. The empire was ruled mainly by people who spoke Greek, and Christianity formally prevailed over the whole empire on different levels giving another dimension of loyalty to the emperor and a united framework for the local cultures (Hourani, 1991, 28- 29).

The Byzantine and Sasanian Empires: Precursors to Islamic Expansion

Across the Euphrates river, there was another great empire that lay to the east of the Byzantine Empire: the Sasanian Empire or Persian Empire (near today's Baghdad) (Myrne, 2018). The Sasanian Empire extended to Yemen. The power was laid among the Persian-speaking peoples of southern Iran. The Sasanian Empire tried to revive the ancient religion of Iran which was associated with the teachings of Zoroaster. Iraq, however, was also the main center of the Christians of the Nestorian Church and the teachings of the Jewish religion (Hourani, 1991,30).

In the sixth and early seventh centuries, a change happened near the Eastern world. Long wars between the Byzantine and Sasanian Empires lasted from 540 to 629. They were mainly fought in Syria and Iraq. The Sasanian armies could occupy parts of Alexandria and Jerusalem but were defeated by Emperor Heraclius in 620s. At this time too, the Sasanian rule extended to Yemen which lost most of its power because of the Ethiopian invasion (Hourani, 1991,33).

The influence of the two empires touched many countries in the Arabian Peninsula. A lot of the people of the Arabian Peninsula moved to the countryside, to areas such as from the north and the center of Syria, the lands around the Euphrates in lower Iraq, and in upper Iraq (the Jazira) whose population were mainly Arab. These people brought their forms of social life and organization with them. In certain places such as Hira the capital of Lakhmids, the people of these states acquired military knowledge and could build a stable political power. From Yemen and the trade routes, Arab people could get some knowledge of other people's cultures and a form of highly refined language of grammar and vocabulary is evolved and used among the pastoral tribesmen giving them a sense of cultural identity (ibid.).

The Advent of Islam and Muhammad's Unification of the Arabs

The Arabs lived a barbaric life where they were divided into hundreds of family clans who had conflicts and fought most of the time. It seemed that no one could unite these Arab desert villages before the appearance of Islam (Hourani, 1991,38). However, the beginning of the seventh century witnessed a combination of a world that lost some of its strength and assurance and another world that was in close contact with its neighbors and their cultures. The whole of the Syrian and Egyptian provinces of the Byzantine Empire and the Sasanian lands were ruled by Arabs from western Arabia, and to a great extent from Mecca, not by the peoples of the empires.

The Early Islamic Conquests and Expansion

Before the end of the seventh century, in Mecca, a camel driver Muhammad who belonged to a trader tribe called Quraysh came to lay the foundation of a doctrine that emerged in the world with the religion (Islam). He united the Arabs through revelations given to him by God, i.e., all was done in accordance with careful instructions Allah (God) himself had given to the Prophet Muhammad. The world would end in a day and that day is called The Day of Judgement, where God will assemble people and reward or punish them and send them to Heaven or Hell according to their good or bad deeds in worldly life. The doctrine is recorded in the Quran, the holy book of Muslims (Andreen, 2018).

Muhammad could gather a small group of believers from minor families, but many people in Quraysh refused to give up their belief in their old gods and idols (Hourani, 1991,40). The opposition grew more and more as the number of his followers grew larger, so Muhammad, as well as, his followers left Mecca in 622 and settled in Yathrib, which is called Madina later on. A new phase known as ‘hijra’ started, and Islam grew stronger. Muhammad gathered great power and shaped his strong army to expand Islam where Muslims started their fights in the name of God against Quraysh and other opponents. The Prophet’s teaching took its final form. A great concern was given to social morality, marriage and inheritance and property, and many other social disciplines. These universal teachings separated themselves from those of the Jews and Christians (Hourani, 1991,44).

The Umayyad and Abbasid Dynasties: Consolidation and Cultural Flourishing

After Muhammad’s death, the power of authority moved to his followers. They were called the caliphs and were responsible to complete Muhammed’s message: to spread Islam all over the whole world.). The first caliph, Abu Bakr, took control after the Prophet's death and continued to rule the Islamic state in the Prophet's footsteps. He affirmed his authority against the two great empires: the Byzantine and Sasanian Empires in a form of (the ‘wars of the riddle), a war against those who refuse to follow Islam. Byzantine and Sasanian resistance proved to be weak. First, because of the spreading of an epidemic plague, and, second, because of the war that exhausted the powers of the two empires. These reasons made it an easy task for Umar ibn al-Khattab, the second caliph, to conquer them and spread Islam all over the Syrian and Egyptian provinces of the Byzantine Empire and part of the Sasanian Empire (Hourani, 1991,51).

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The Arabs made rapid progress also in the fields of culture and society. In many ways, they applied the same moderate imperial policy that the Persians had once done. The management systems of the various countries were preserved, and the subdued peoples left quite a lot of freedom. The Arabs did not force the conquered peoples to become Muslims, but those who did not become Muslims had to pay far more in taxes. That's why many people became Muslims. The Arab aristocracy became a ruling upper class (Andreen, 2018).

Hourani (1991,53) explained that possible reasons for the quick Islamic expansions extended in those areas could be due to the fact, that the people who lived there did not care much about who ruled them whether Iranians, Greeks or Arabs “provided they were at peace, secure and reasonably taxed”. It made little difference for most of the people who lived in the cities. For those who lived in parts of Syria and Iraq, and who were originally Arab, it was easier for them to offer their loyalty to the new Arab leader instead of the emperors.

Hourani (2010, 61) mentioned also that many factors played a very important role in spreading Islam in all its different eras. Some immigrants converted to Islam in order to avoid taxes paid by non-Muslims. The ancient Persian religious people, Zoroastrians, found Islam easier than Christianity because as Hourani described that Zoroastrians’ churches had been weakened at the end of the Sasanian’s rule. Some Christians were really touched by the revelation and by controversies about the nature of God that Islam spoke about. They were strongly attracted by the simplicity and the easy process of the Islamic rituals along with the absence of an elaborate ritual of conversion in Christian Churches.

After the end of the first civil war in Syria, Umar ibn al-Khattab assigned Mu‘awiya ibn, bi Sufyan (661–80), a close kinsman of ‘Uthman’ and an ancestor of ‘Umayya’, a governor ‘wali’ of Syria. The capital of the empire moved to Damascus which has very geographic importance, and the power was in the hands of the Umayyads: “from now on the position was virtually hereditary” (Hourani, 1991, 56). According to Hourani, the public lacked transparency and influence over authorities' decisions, even though these authorities were chosen by counsel. After selecting the caliph, public influence ceased, and the caliph could control everything. Shura is seen by the secular thinker as a religious boardroom that is contrary to the basic rules of democracy (Andreen, 2018).

Lapidus (2002, 49) writes also that Mu’awiya had great talent to lead the people, as he expanded his power and centralized the board. This contributed to increasing opposition against him. Umayyads forces expanded through Maghrib and reached Spain. They made their first steps into northwestern India. They also ruled lands where people were neither Muslims nor speakers of Arabic. Their dynasty was characterized as directed toward worldly ends which served their self-interest decisions. This fact endangered their authority and caused them to face many problems and opposition.

During the Umayyad dynasty, the caliphate territory grew quickly. The Islamic Caliphate ruled over three continents (Africa, Europe, and Asia). The Islamic empire became one of the largest unitary states in history. Two important developments occurred during the caliph Abdul Malik. The first one was to translate the tax documentation from Greek and Persian to Arabic. The second one was to generate an Arab currency and currency system which, in fact, was very similar to the Sassanid currency system in Persia (Lapidus, 2002, 50).

But the mighty Islamic empire could no longer be held together. People were spilt by factional and personal differences. This was so prominent in the reign of the third caliph, ‘Uthman ibn Affan’, and after the assassination of Umar ibn al-Khattab. ‘Uthman ibn Affan’ followed a policy of appointing his own clans as provincial governors, and by doing so he aroused feelings of hatred and opposition both in Madina and Kufa. This opened the first door for many civil wars in the community causing great tension among the Muslim community in the eastern cities. Umayyad rulers attempted to deal with some opposition movements, but in the 740s they failed in the face of another civil war in Khurasan (led by Abu Muslim Al Khurasani). The Umayyad Caliphate ended and a new effective leadership that came from ‘Abu l Abbas’, the descendants of the Prophet’s uncle, started (Hourani, 1991,55 & Lapidus 2002, 49)

The power of Abu’l-‘Abbas (749–54) moved the capital of the Muslim Caliphate from Syria to Iraq where Abu Al Abbas Al Saffah was the first to rule. The most prominent rulers in this area were al-Mansur (754–75) and Harun al-Rashid (786–809). Abbasid rule was not that much different from that of the later Umayyads. They had a lot of problems with the validity of their rights to rule the Islamic empire, therefore; the caliph claimed that he ruled by divine authority in accordance with the Qur’an and Sunna and according to Islamic terms. They applied religion and religious symbols during their leadership. They created societies with equal rights for all Muslims. An Arab had no benefit on the grounds of their ethnicity. The local leader became secretary and administrators (wazir) to caliph (Hourani, 1991,67-68).

The Abbasid Golden Age: A Focus on Science and Education

This era was more peaceful than the previous one. The powers of the Abbasids had moved more towards science and education instead of wars and expansion of the Islamic empire. Under Abbasid leadership, the Islamic empire was in its Golden Age. Abbasid rulers cultivated intellectual, cultural, and scientific developments. They created a more open society. Harun al-Rashid and his son al-Ma'mun were known to assimilate all citizens. The Abbasid dynasty produced great advances in sciences such as mathematics, astronomy, chemistry, biology, medicine, etc. Islamic empire became multicultural under the Umayyads, and the Abbasids came to express the multicultural population both on political and cultural levels (Andreen, 2018).

The Legacy of the Islamic Empire in Andalus and Beyond

The most important achievement in the history of Isalm was when they reached Spain or as they called it at that time Andalus in 710. However, the Abbasid caliph’s power was limited, and as time passed the authority of the caliph was weakened and threatened in the middle of the contradictions of the bureaucratic systems of government. Even though the caliph tried his best to control the falling system, it was taken over by a member of the Umayyad family who could escape the assault of the Abbasids and their oppression and could find his way to Spain where he found supporters. In Spain, a new Umayyad dynasty was created and ruled again for almost 300 hundred years. The common language and toleration helped develop a good and distinctive Andalusian consciousness and society. The spread of the Arabic language helped us understand the language of the Qur’an and the message behind it (Hourani, 1991,80-82).

References

1. Förlisning: Pernilla Myrne (2018-10-02). Araberna, Profeten och kalifatet.
2. Hourani, A. H. A history of the Arab Peoples (1991) Saknar stad på Översättningen. Faber and Faber Limited (Svensk Översättning, Alhmbra Förlag AB 1992)
3. Lapudis I. M. A history of islamic societies (2002) New York: Cambridge University Press
4. Per G Andreen, f.d. (2018) docent i historia vid Stockholms universitet.
5. https://www.so-rummet.se/fakta-artiklar/arabernas-och-islams-historia-fran-600-talet-till 1500-talet /(Hämtad 2018-01-13)
6. Bild: Arabernas och islams historia - från 600-talet till 1500-talet. Finns på https://www.so-rummet.se/fakta-artiklar/arabernas-och-islams-historia-fran-600-talet-till-1500-talet.