United Nations World Court of Historical Affairs

Amicus Brief

Southwest Asia

Post-Classical Situation Report

The United Nations is charged with the maintenance and order of world affairs. Keeping in line with this mission to provide stability and justice in the world the UN Council on Historical Affairs has compiled the following brief to serve as an overview of cultural affairs on the planet from 600 C.E. to 1450 C.E.

The UNWCHA will be charged with hearing evidence from the seven regions of the planet outlining their behaviors in creating frameworks of socio-cultural behaviors to provide for their people.

In the interest of full disclosure this amicus brief will provide litigation teams with all information already gathered by the court on each of the seven cultures. The following is that evidence.

The Nile, Euphrates and Tigris rivers are each obvious in this satellite image. These rivers are the population centers for both ancient and modern nations in the Middle East. Also notice the Mediterranean Sea, the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf which are essential to trade throughout this region.

n Muhammad and Islam unites the Arab Tribes

• Muslims must read the Quran in Arabic

• All Muslims pray in Arabic

n Levant and Irag

• Arabs flooded into as part of early conquests of Islam

• 661 CE: Ummayad Caliphs move capital to Damascus

n Arabs compromise ruling military elite

• Established garrison towns

n Ramla, ar-Raggah, Basra, Kufa, Mosul, Samarra

n All eventually became major non-military cities

• Enjoyed special privileges

• Proud of Arab ancestry, sponsored poetry, culture of pre-Islamic Arabia

• Intermarried with local women, children raised within Arab culture

n Abd al-Malik established Arabic as the Caliphate's official language in 686.

• Reform greatly influenced the conquered non-Arab peoples

• Fueled the Arabization of the region.

n Tensions lead to a new Dynasty

• Arabs had a higher status among non-Arab Muslim converts

• Converts still had obligation to pay heavy taxes caused resentment.

• Caliph Umar II demanded that all Muslims be treated as equals but nothing happened

• Discontent swept the region and a bloody uprising occurred

n Abbasids came to power

n Moved capital to newly constructed city of Baghdad

n Abbasids were also Arabs and descendants of Muhammad's uncle Abbas

n Abbasids had the support of non-Arab Islamic groups.

n Islam and Arabic as the language of administration

n The Levantine and Iraqi populations were eventually Arabized.

n North Africa and the Iberian Peninsula

• In 8th Century, Arabic armies conquered the region

• Arab Muslims settled the old Roman, Vandal, Carthaginian towns

• Berbers remained dominant inland

n Military Conquest

• Whole tribes mobilized to conquer Arabia; pushed into Persia, Byzantines

• Arabs settled as garrison units on desert, arable land borders

• Whole garrison towns constructed to administer empire

• Whole tribes resettled to maintain military control

n Muslim Pilgrimage

• One of the Five Pillars of Islam

n Originally was to be a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, replaced by Mecca

n All Muslims must try at least once in life to make journey to Mecca

• Shia-Sunni Split

n Shia developed holy sites of dead martyrs and saints

n Faithful made regular pilgrimages to venerate heroes

• The Hajji and the Gadis

n Learned Muslims often traveled between cities teaching, dispensing justice

n Itinerant preachers, wanders such as gadis (judges) and sufis (mystics)

n Commerce and Intellectual Migration

• Arab Empire encouraged commerce, trade

n Empire becomes one long linked trade route of exchanges

n Arabs become trade diaspora at first but intermarry spreading Arab culture, language

• Arab Centers of Learning in Major Cities

n Islam encouraged intellectual pursuits, caliphs built schools and libraries

n Centers of Learning in Cordoba, Cairo, Damascus, Baghdad attracted travelers

• Bedouin Migration

n Overcrowding of Arabia, constant warfare led Arab Bedouin tribes (Banu) to migrate

n Sahara, Libyan and Central Asian deserts witness migrations

• 639 CE: Arabs conquer Egypt from Byzantines

n Egyptians were largely Monophysite Christians

n Coptic Christians were heavily persecuted by the Byzantines and seek Muslim protection

n Arabs establish military garrisons at Fustat (al Cairo)

n Many Egyptians began to convert to Sunni Islam for economic, political reasons

• Muslim Egypt was ruled by outsiders

n Fatimid Dynasty (Shia Dynasty descendent from Muhammad’s daughter Fatima

n Ayyubid Sultans: Kurdish sultans of the Abbasid Caliphs

n Mameluks: Circassian-Turkish slave soldiers loyal first to Abbasids and later independent

• Distinguish between the settled farming lands of the Nile and the deserts

n The Bedouin migrated into the desert regions but did not settle the Nile lands

n Often came for economic reasons and used by Arabs to police border regions

Islam: The Details

The Early Years:

• Muhammad's return to Mecca

– Conquered Mecca, 630

– Imposed a theocratic government dedicated to Allah

– Destroyed pagan shrines and built mosques

• The Kaa'ba

– The Kaa'ba shrine was not destroyed

– In 632, Muhammad led the first Islamic pilgrimage to the Ka'ba

• The Five Pillars of Islam

– Obligations taught by Muhammad, known as the Five Pillars

– The Five Pillars bound the umma into a cohesive community of faith

– Profession of faith, prayer, tithing, pilgrimage, fasting at Ramadan

• Islamic law: the sharia

– Emerged during the centuries after Muhammad

– Detailed guidance on proper behavior in almost every aspect of life

– Drew laws, precepts from the Quran

– Drew traditions from Arabic culture, Hadith

– Through the sharia, Islam became a religion and a way of life

The Expansion of Islam:

• The caliph

– Upon Muhammad's death, Abu Bakr served as caliph ("deputy")

– Became head of state, chief judge, religious leader, military commander

– First four called Orthodox caliphs because they were original followers

• The expansion of Islam

– 633-637, seized Byzantine Syria, Palestine, Mesopotamia

– 640's, conquered Egypt and north Africa

– 651, toppled Sassanid dynasty

– 711-718, conquered the Hindu kingdom of Sind, Iberia, NW Africa

– Success due to weakness of enemies, vigor of Islam

• Dar al Islam

– The Islamic world where the Sharia is in force, Islam dominates

– Dar el Harb is the land of the unbelievers, or non-Muslims

• The Shia and Sunnis

– The Sunnis ("traditionalists") accepted legitimacy of early caliphs

• Were Arab as opposed to Islamic

• Did not feel caliphs had to be related to Muhammad

– The Shia sect supported Ali (last caliph and son in law of Muhammad)

• A refuge for non-Arab converts, poor; followers in Irag, Iran

• Felt caliphs should be directly related to Muhammad

– Two sects struggled over succession; produced a civil war, murder

The Umayyad Dynasty:

• The Umayyad dynasty (661-750 C.E.)

– New caliph won civil war; murdered Ali; established dynasty

– Established capital city at Damascus in Syria

– Ruled for the interests of Arabian military aristocracy

• Policy toward conquered peoples

– Dhimmis were the conquered Christians, Jews, Zoroastrians

– Levied jizya (head tax) on those who did not convert to Islam

– Even the converts did not enjoy wealth, position of authority

• Umayyad decline

– Caliphs became alienated from Arabs by early 8th century

– By the mid-century, faced strong resistance of the Shia faction

– The discontent of conquered peoples also increased

– Umayyad family slaughtered; only one son escaped to Spain

– Formed breakaway Umayyad Dynasty in Spain

The Abbasid Dynasty:

• Abu al-Abbas

– A descendant of Muhammad's uncle; allied with Shias and non-Arab Muslims

– Seized control of Persia and Mesopotamia during 740's

– Shattered Umayyad forces at a battle in 750; annihilated the Umayyad clan

• The Abbasid dynasty (750-1258 C.E.)

– Showed no special favor to Arab military aristocracy

– Empire still growing, but not initiated by the central government

• Abbasid administration

– Relied heavily on Persians, Persian techniques of statecraft

– Central authority ruled from the court at Baghdad, newly built city

– Governors ruled provinces; Ulama, qadis (judges) ruled local areas

• Harun al-Rashid (786-809 C.E.)

– Represented the high point of the dynasty

– Baghdad became metropolis, center for commerce, industry, and culture

• Abbasid decline

– Struggle for succession between Harun's sons led to civil war

– Governors built their own power bases, regional dynasties

– Local military commanders took title of Sultan

– Popular uprisings and peasant rebellions weakened the dynasty

– A Persian noble seized control of Baghdad in 945

– Later, the Seljuk Turks controlled the imperial family

An Urban Civilization:

• Arab Urban History

– Pre-Islamic Arabs were both urban, bedouin

• Mecca, Medina, Yemeni cities, cities of Palmyra, Arab Petropolis

• Center of the city was a market place often shared with religious center

• Cities designed with human-environment interaction in mind

• Nomads came to city to trade, city often settled by whole tribes

• Arabs had settled in cities in Syria, Iraq, Jordan

– Arabic cities linked to wider world through merchants, trade

– Arab cities exposed to Jews, Persians, Monophysites, Sabeans

• Arabic Empire and Urban Growth

– Islam as a culture requires mosque, merchant: very urban in outlook

• Capital moved from Mecca to Damascus by Umayyads

• Arabs founded military cities on edges of desert to rule empire

– As empire grew, needed something more permanent

• Abbasids moved capital from Damascus, Kufa to Baghdad

• Other designed for purpose cities include Fez, Cairo, Tunis

– Increasing agricultural production contributed to growth of cities

• Cities: centers for administration, industry, trade, education, faith

• Many different ethnic minorities settled in Muslim cities (quarters)

• Mosque at center surrounded by suk, square, in decreasing social order

Changed Economics:

• Merchants, pilgrims, travelers exchanged foods across empire

• The exchange and spread of food and industrial crops

– Indian plants traveled to other lands of the empire

– Staple crops: sugarcane, rice, new varieties of sorghum and wheat

– Vegetables: spinach, artichokes, eggplants

– Fruits: oranges, lemons, limes, bananas, coconuts, watermelons, mangoes

– Industrial crops: cotton, indigo, henna

• Effects of new crops

– Increased varieties and quantities of food

– Industrial crops became the basis for a thriving textile industry

– Foodstuffs increased health, populations of cities

• Agricultural experimentation

– Numerous agricultural manuals

– Agricultural methods and techniques improved

– Improved irrigation

A Vast Trade Zone:

• Camels and caravans

– Overland desert trade traveled mostly by camel caravan

– Caravanserais (motel, corrals) in Islamic cities

– Trading goods usually luxury in nature

• Maritime trade based on technological borrowing

– Arab, Persian mariners borrowed

• Compass from the Chinese

• Lateen sail from southeast Asian, Indian mariners

• Astrolabe from the Hellenistic mariners

– Organization and dominance of trade

• In North Africa across Sahara, down Nile, SW Asia, to India

• Eastern Mediterranean, Red Sea, Persian Gulf, Arabia Gulf down coasts

• Many cities grew rich from trade

• Entrepreneurs often pooled their resources in group investments

• Different kinds of joint endeavors

• Banks

– Operated on large scale and provided extensive services

– Letters of credit, or sakk, functioned as bank checks

• Exchange of Ideas included Islam, technology, culture

Other Islamic Regions:

• Al-Andalus

– Islamic Spain, conquered by Muslim Berbers

– Claimed independence from the Abbasid dynasty

– Participated in commercial life of the larger Islamic world

– Products of al-Andalus enjoyed a reputation for excellence

– Cordoba was a center of learning, commerce, architecture

– After death of Abd al Rahman III broke up into petty kingdoms

– A unique blended culture

• Arab, Latin, German, Islamic, Christian, Jewish

• Very tolerant and integrated society

– Warred for 700 years with Christian kingdoms in north

• North Africa

– Strong followers of Shia, broke with Abbassids

– Berbers followed many puritanical Shia like movements

– Eventually Fatimids conquered Egypt, formed rival caliphate

• Central Asia

– Largely Turkish, Persian and Islamic but not Arabic

– Tended to be distant from Baghdad and more tolerant

– Integrated into trans-Eurasian trade network

Women’s Changing Status:

• Pre-Islamic Arab Women

– Arabs as nomads allowed women many rights

– Women often poets, tribe leaders

– Some evidence of matrilineal tribes

• The Quran and women

– Quran enhanced rights, security of women

– Forced husbands to honor contracts, love women

– Allowed women to own property, protected from exploitation

• What produced the change

– Foreign Contacts changed the perspective

• Adopted veiling from Mesopotamia, Persia

• Isolation from India through purdah, harem

– Muslim rights for women

• Often weaken through Hadith, traditions

• Often reduced, ignored

• Patriarch beliefs reinforced by conquest

• Yet Quran, sharia also reinforced male domination

• Role of Hadith, Arab traditions reinforced male domination

Islamic Cultural Traditions:

• Quran, sharia were main sources to formulate moral guidelines

• Constant struggle between what is Arabic and what is Islamic

– Use of Arabic script as only language of Islam strengthened trend

– Persians, Turks, Indians, and Africans struggled for acceptance

• Promotion of Islamic values

– Ulama, qadis, and missionaries were main agents

– Education also promoted Islamic values

• Sufis

– Islamic mystics, effective missionaries

– Encouraged devotion by singing, dancing

– Led ascetic, holy lives, won respect

– Encouraged followers to revere Allah in own ways

– Tolerated those who associated Allah with other beliefs

• The hajj

– The Kaa'ba became the symbol of Islamic cultural unity

– Pilgrims helped to spread Islamic beliefs and values

Islamic Cross-Cultural Influences:

• Persian influence on Islam

– After Arabs most prominent of Muslims, resisted Arabization

• Cultural traditions often borrowed heavily by Islam

• Became early followers of Shia

– Government and regionalism

• Many advisors (vizer is Persian word) to Caliphs were Persian

• Cultured, diplomatic language of Abbassid court became Persian