The Rise and Role of the Dar-al-Islam and Influence in Eurasia and Africa from 600-1450

WHAP RR-9

The Islamic spread was extremely important. The biggest cause for the major influence was due to trading. Trading began exposing Islam to areas that were fragmented which naturally made Islam a unifying force. The spread of Islam began with the death of Mohammad in 632. The lack of a clear line of succession caused many problems. However, this gave way to the very important Umayyad Dynasty.

Umayyad Dynasty

The Umayyad Dynasty was important because it was the beginning of the major spread of Islam. This dynasty spread to northern Africa and into Spain around the southern Iberian peninsula. Their capital was at Damascus, which is in present day Syria. Despite the failed attempts to spread further, the Umayyad Dynasty greatly contributed to the spread of Islam.

Sunni and Shiite Split

Despite the success, the Muslims split into two sects of Islam, the Sunnis and the Shiites. This split was due to the controversy of who was the rightful successor to be the caliphate. The battles between the Shiite and the Sunnis led to the decline and defeat of the Umayyad Dynasty due to the success of the Shiites. However, this became the rise of the Abbasid Dynasty.

Abbasid Dynasty (150-160)

The Abbasid Dynasty began around 750 to about 1260. The Abbasids had their capital at Baghdad. The Abbasid Dynasty experienced a golden age that made them advance in many aspects such as art and sciences, which contributed to economic and political advances as well.

Sciences/Intellectual Advancements

  • Mohammad al-Razi composed a medical encyclopedia.
  • Islamic mathematicians expanded India’s knowledge on math. This was helpful in math subjects such as algebra.
  • The Abbasids are credited for building many libraries, museums and universities that were known across the Western world and even beyond.
  • The Abbasids translated the teachings of Plato and Aristotle so Arab scholars could learn.

Economic Advancements

  • Adopted from the Chinese, the Abbasids began using paper money, which allowed trading to become easier and less dangerous, for coins were easier to rob.
  • They began to monopolize trade routes mainly due to the fact of their location. The Abbasid Dynasty was located in center of most major trade routes between Europe and Asia.
  • Manufacturing goods such as steel was also important to their economy.

Religious Advancements

  • The Abbasids, like the Umayyads, were religiously tolerant. The conquered were encouraged to convert, not forced. However, those who chose not to convert had to pay taxes, which was the system in the Umayyad Dynasty as well.
  • The rise of the Sufis also began. These were Islamic mystics, who had many missionaries attempting to convert others.
  • These factors of religion allowed Islam to be very adaptable, allowing it to be easy to convert.
The Spread and Influence of Islam in Africa

Islam in Africa (Pgs. 172-193)

Before Islam came to Africa, Africa was made up of many stateless societies. However, the native Africans all shared similar languages, cultures, and religions.

North Africa was a place where many civilizations traded, settled, and built, among other things. With the rise of Islam around the seventh and eighth centuries, many Muslims came to Africa and even ruled areas such as Tunisia for a while. Although still somewhat divided, conversions to Islam happened rapidly because it provided a form of unity. Muslims attempted to attract Africans to converting to Islam by teaching that all Muslims are equal and the unity of state and religion, which appealed to African kings. However, these attempts generally only worked with the upper class. The lower class continued with their traditional religions.

After Islam took its toll on North Africa, it quickly began to stretch farther. Travelers and merchants who traded in North Africa with other regions such as West Africa led to the spread of Islam there.

West African Islamic Kingdoms

The Sahel in Africa provided as a middle ground for the traders. People from North Africa came to the Sahel trading salt for gold while the West Africans traded gold in search of salt. As this trading occurred, many trading cities rose in these areas. One example is Ghana, which rose in the third century. This empire converted to Islam and became at the height of its power, although maintained many traditions. Other Sudanic states that rose in this time were Mali and Songhay. They were also Islamic nations with a mixture of their native cultures due to trading and expansion.

The empire of Mali rose during the decline of Ghana. Islam reinforced the kingships in Mali. For example, the rulers built mosques and attended prayers while the sermons emphasized supporting the king. A Mali successor of the ruler Sundiata named Mansa Musa who took a pilgrimage to Mecca. There he brought back attention of Islam to Mali as well as a poet and architect who built mosques. This shows the importance of Islam influence. One of the biggest Mali cities was Timbuktu, which had great mosques and had a library that contained many Muslim teachings about the Islamic world.

The Songhay kingdom rose when the Mali empire began to decline. The Songhay kingdom was a big mix of Islam and tradition pagan beliefs. Many great Muslim rulers ruled over Songhay such as Sunni Ali and Muhammad the Great. Also, many great cities in this kingdom became centers for Muslim learning such as Kano and Hausa.

East Africa Islamic Kingdoms

Islam came to East Africa through trading in the Indian Ocean. Many great Muslim towns arose such as Kilwa, Zanzibar, Mogadishu, and many others. Islamic influence in these areas provided access to long distance commerce. Institutions, mosques, and palaces were built in these trading ports. The rulers of these areas tended to be Muslim, however the majority of the population maintained their old beliefs. They continued to spread these influences along the coast of east Africa.

The Spread and Influence of Islam in Eurasia

Islam in Eurasia

Islam’s major influence in Eurasia came later in the 1450-1750-time period with the rise of the Ottoman Empire. However, in this era was the beginning of the Islamic influence. The end of the Abbasid dynasty was due to the Seljuk Turks. These Turks were able to take away from the Abbasid dynasty because it was already in decline. Once taken, the Seljuks and the Byzantine Empire began fighting. The Byzantines hoped to take advantage of the broken dynasty but was crushed by the Turks. This laid the foundations of the Ottoman Empire.

Next, influence came through the Crusades, which began in the 1100s. The Crusades were religious wars fought in order for the European Christians to take over the Holy Land from the Muslims and convert them to Christianity. These wars as well as trade and Muslim kingdoms in Spain and Italy brought many new things to Europe. Europeans adapted fortification methods, weapons, mathematics and other sciences, as well as rugs and carpet textiles, among many other things. This shows Islam’s place in Eurasia spread influence into Western Europe.

Islam with the Mongol Empire

One of the biggest Islamic influences on Eurasia was with the Mongols. The first encounter with the Islamic empire the Mongols had been with the Khwarazm Empire. By 1227, the Mongol empire stretched to eastern Persia, allowing Islamic influence to enter the empire. Chinggis Khan, the emperor at the time, was extremely tolerant of all religions and had many influences. He had Muslim engineers build siege weapons and to improve trade. After the death of Chinggis Khan under the rule of his grandson Kubilai Khan, the Mongols continued to penetrate into the Islamic world where the Abbasid caliphate stood in 1258. The Mongols success devastated the Muslim civilization. However, in the Yuan Dynasty, even greater Muslim influence and tolerance came. In the Yuan court, many scholars, artists, artisans, and many other skilled workers came. The most favored came from the Muslim kingdoms. These Muslims were included in Kubilai’s administration. The Muslims brought much advancement such as medicine, astronomical tools, and improved the Chinese calendar.