Gunpowder Empires :
197-627: The history of Islam concerns the political , social , economic , military , and cultural developments of the Islamic civilization . Most historians believe that Islam originated with Muhammad's mission in Mecca and Medina at the start of the 7th century CE, although Muslims regard this time as a return to the original faith passed down by the Abrahamic prophets , such as Adam , Noah , Abraham , Moses , David , Solomon , and Jesus , with
394-477: A Muslim Agricultural Revolution ) and the arts and sciences (considered a Muslim Scientific Revolution ) also prospered under Abbasid caliphs al-Mansur (ruled 754–775), Harun al-Rashid (ruled 786–809), al-Ma'mun (ruled 809–813) and their immediate successors. Many non-Muslims, such as Christians , Jews and Sabians , contributed to the Islamic civilization in various fields, and the institution known as
591-733: A "Persian style mosque" by Timurid Sultan Ulugh Beg is observed. The mausoleums of Timurid princes, with their turquoise and blue-tiled domes, remain among the most refined and exquisite Persian architecture . Axial symmetry is a characteristic of all major Timurid structures, notably the Shāh-e Zenda in Samarkand , the Musallah complex in Herat, and the mosque of Gawhar Shad in Mashhad . Double domes of various shapes abound, perfused on
788-459: A Muslim prince at the head of Gao as early as 1009. The Islamic kingdoms associated with Mali reached prominence in the 13th century. The Abbasids developed initiatives aimed at greater Islamic unity. Different sects of the Islamic faith and mosques, separated by doctrine, history, and practice, were pushed to cooperate. The Abbasids also distinguished themselves from the Umayyads by attacking
985-567: A benefactor and patron of learning in his kingdom. Sultan Husayn built numerous structures including a famous school. He has been described as "the quintessential Timurid ruler of the later period in Transoxiana ." His sophisticated court and generous artistic patronage was a source of admiration, particularly from his cousin, Babur of Mughal India . Timurid architecture drew on aspects of Seljuk architecture . Turquoise and blue tiles forming intricate linear and geometric patterns decorated
1182-465: A caliph, none had ever dared delineate the powers of the caliphate as an institution." During the Abbasid caliphate: When Caliph Al-Mutawakkil had been killed in 861, jurists had retroactively validated his murder with a fatwa . Eight years later, they had testified to the lawful abdication of a successor, after he had been dragged from a toilet, beaten unconscious, and thrown into a vault to die. By
1379-723: A capital there in 973 called " al-Qahirah " (meaning "the planet of victory", known today as Cairo ). During its decline, the Abbasid Caliphate disintegrated into minor states and dynasties, such as the Tulunid and the Ghaznavid dynasty . The Ghaznavid dynasty was a Muslim dynasty established by Turkic slave-soldiers from another Islamic empire, the Samanid Empire . In Persia the Ghaznavids snatched power from
1576-553: A center for arts and culture. Soon, many of the Timurid cultural expressions became mixed with those of other traditions. Timurid art absorbed and improved upon the traditional Persian concept of the "Arts of the Book". The new, Timurid-inflected works of art saw illustrated paper (as opposed to parchment ) manuscripts produced by the empire's artists. These illustrations were notable for their rich colors and elaborate designs. Due to
1773-588: A certain extent the validity of the Abrahamic religions , the Quran identifying Jews , Christians , Zoroastrians , and Sabians (commonly identified with the Mandaeans ) as " people of the book ". Toward the beginning of the high Middle Ages, the doctrines of the Sunni and Shia , two major denominations of Islam , solidified and the divisions of the world theologically would form. These trends would continue into
1970-549: A clear separation of powers in socio-political governance. While the United States and some other systems of government have three separate branches of government —executive, legislative, and judicial—Islamic monarchies had two: the sultan and the ulama . According to the French political scientist and professor Olivier Roy , this " de facto separation between political power" of sultans and emirs and religious power of
2167-556: A combination of diplomacy and military conquests . The real intentions of Muhammad regarding the spread of Islam, its political undertone, and his missionary activity ( da’wah ) during his lifetime are a contentious matter of debate, which has been extensively discussed both among Muslim scholars and Non-Muslim scholars within the academic field of Islamic studies . Various authors, Islamic activists, and historians of Islam have proposed several understandings of Muhammad's intent and ambitions regarding his religio-political mission in
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#17327807792122364-463: A creature against his creator," again clearly limits the authority of the ruler, whatever form of ruler that may be. According to the exegetical interpretation of the medieval Sunnī Muslim scholar Ibn Taymiyyah , for this verse "there is no obedience in sin"; that people should ignore the order of the ruler if it would disobey the divine law and shouldn't use this as excuse for revolution because it will spill Muslims' blood. According to Ibn Taymiyyah,
2561-469: A decision (from them), put your trust in Allah" The majlis were also the means to elect a new caliph. Al-Mawardi wrote that members of the majlis should satisfy three conditions: they must be just, they must have enough knowledge to distinguish a good caliph from a bad one, and must have sufficient wisdom and judgment to select the best caliph. Al-Mawardi also stated that in case of emergencies when there
2758-456: A desire to produce a reformed humanity in the midst of a new world order? These questions are not without significance, for a number of the proponents of contemporary da’wah activity in the West trace their inspiration to the prophet himself, claiming that he initiated a worldwide missionary program in which they are the most recent participants. [...] Despite the claims of these and other writers, it
2955-407: A few years after losing protection with the death of his influential uncle ʾAbū Ṭālib ibn ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib , Muhammad migrated to the city of Yathrib (subsequently called Medina ) where he was joined by his followers. Later generations would count this event, known as the hijra , as the start of the Islamic era. In Yathrib, where he was accepted as an arbitrator among the different communities of
3152-454: A leader from amongst themselves, although there was no specified procedure for this shura , or consultative assembly. Candidates were usually from the same lineage as the deceased leader but they were not necessarily his sons. Capable men who would lead well were preferred over an ineffectual direct heir, as there was no basis in the majority Sunnī view that the head of state or governor should be chosen based on lineage alone. Deliberations in
3349-652: A loss of prestige for the dynasty. The Abbasids soon became caught in a three-way rivalry among Coptic Arabs, Indo-Persians , and immigrant Turks. In addition, the cost of running a large empire became too great. The Turks, Egyptians, and Arabs adhered to the Sunnite sect; the Persians, a great portion of the Turkic groups, and several of the princes in India were Shia. The political unity of Islam began to disintegrate. Under
3546-590: A period as one of cultural revival. The use of the term for the description of this period has raised reservations among scholars, some of whom see it as a swan song of Timurid culture. The Timurid Renaissance was marked slightly earlier than the Renaissance movement in Europe . Some have described it as equal in glory to the Italian Quattrocento . The Timurid Renaissance reached its peak in
3743-475: A relative of Muawiyah slipped into the vacuum, becoming his secretary and slowly assuming more control. When ʿUthmān was assassinated in 656 CE, ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib , cousin and son-in-law of Muhammad, assumed the position of caliph and moved the capital to Kufa in Iraq. Muawiyah I, the governor of Syria, and Marwan I demanded arrest of the culprits. Marwan I manipulated every one and created conflict, which resulted in
3940-450: A short time in 744, before he abdicated. Marwan II ruled from 744 until he was killed in 750. He was the last Umayyad ruler to rule from Damascus. Marwan named his two sons Ubaydallah and Abdallah heirs. He appointed governors and asserted his authority by force. Anti-Umayyad feeling was very prevalent, especially in Iran and Iraq. The Abbasids had gained much support. Marwan's reign as caliph
4137-476: A system for granting protection of individuals, a judicial system for resolving disputes, and also regulated the paying of blood money (the payment between families or tribes for the slaying of an individual in lieu of lex talionis ). After the death of Muhammad in 632 CE, his community needed to appoint a new leader, giving rise to the title of caliph ( Arabic : خَليفة , romanized : khalīfa , lit. 'successor'). Thus,
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#17327807792124334-630: A welfare institution for the Muslim and Non-Muslim poor, needy, elderly, orphans, widows, and the disabled. The Bayt al-mal ran for hundreds of years under the Rāshidūn Caliphate in the 7th century CE and continued through the Umayyad period and well into the Abbasid era . ʿUmar also introduced child benefit for the children and pensions for the elderly. When he felt that a governor or a commander
4531-413: A worldwide missionary program in which they are the most recent participants. [...] Despite the claims of these and other writers, it is difficult to prove that Muhammad intended to found a world-encompassing faith superseding the religions of Christianity and Judaism . His original aim appears to have been the establishment of a succinctly Arab brand of monotheism , as indicated by his many references to
4728-480: Is Concerning the Supposed Dependence of Astronomy upon Philosophy . Under the influence of Islamic theologians who opposed the interference of Aristotelianism in astronomy, Qushji rejected Aristotelian physics and completely separated natural philosophy from Islamic astronomy , allowing astronomy to become a purely empirical and mathematical science. This allowed him to explore alternatives to
4925-544: Is also commanded. Some commands did not extend past the life of Muhammad, such as ones to refer quarrels to Allah and Muhammad or not to shout at or raise your voice when talking to Muhammad. Limiting its political teaching is the fact that the Quran doesn't mention "any formal and continuing structure of authority", only orders to obey Muhammad, and that its themes were of limited use when the success of Islam meant governance of "a vast territory populate mainly peasants, and dominate by cities and states" alien to nomadic life in
5122-515: Is difficult to prove that Muhammad intended to found a world-encompassing faith superseding the religions of Christianity and Judaism . His original aim appears to have been the establishment of a succinctly Arab brand of monotheism , as indicated by his many references to the Qurʾān as an Arab book and by his accommodations to other monotheistic traditions. Most likely Muhammad was "intimately aware of Jewish belief and practices," and acquainted with
5319-519: Is no caliphate and no majlis , the people themselves should institute a council of majlis , select a list of candidates for the role of caliph, then the majlis should select from the list of candidates. Some modern political interpretations regarding the role of the Majlis ash-Shura include those expressed by the Egyptian Islamist author and ideologue Sayyid Qutb , prominent member of
5516-583: Is overflowing with treatises on governing, advice to sovereigns, and didactic tales. They do not reflect on the nature of politics, but on the nature of the good ruler and of good government (advice, techniques, paradigms, anecdotes). Al-Mawardi , a Sunnī Muslim jurist of the Shāfiʿī school of Islamic jurisprudence , wrote that the caliph should be a member of the Quraysh tribe. Abu Bakr al-Baqillani , an Ashʿarī Sunnī Muslim scholar and Mālikī jurist, wrote that
5713-468: The hijra (622 CE). It effectively established the first Islamic state. The Constitution established: the security of the community, religious freedoms, the role of Medina as a haram or sacred place (barring all violence and weapons), the security of women, stable tribal relations within Medina, a tax system for supporting the community in time of conflict, parameters for exogenous political alliances,
5910-519: The jizya tax under the Muslim rule in order to finance the wars with Byzantines and Sasanids, often aided Muslims to take over their lands from the Byzantines and Persians, resulting in exceptionally speedy conquests. As new areas were conquered, they also benefited from free trade with other areas of the growing Islamic empire, where, to encourage commerce, taxes were applied to wealth rather than trade. The Muslims paid zakat on their wealth for
6107-523: The mazalim courts administered by the ruler's council and application of "corrective" discretionary punishments for petty offenses. However, under the Mamluk sultanate , non-qadi courts expanded their jurisdiction to commercial and family law, running in parallel with sharia courts and dispensing with some formalities prescribed by fiqh. Further developments of the doctrine attempted to resolve this tension between statecraft and jurisprudence. In later times
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6304-493: The ulama , a group regarded as the guardians of Islamic law . Since the sharia law was established and regulated by the schools of Islamic jurisprudence , this prevented the caliph from dictating legal results. Sharia -compliant rulings were established as authoritative based on the ijma (consensus) of legal Muslim scholars, who theoretically acted as representatives of the entire Ummah (Muslim community). After law colleges ( madrasa ) became widespread beginning with
6501-753: The Arab–Byzantine wars , in 649 Muawiyah set up a navy, with ships crewed by Monophysite Christians , Egyptian Coptic Christians , and Jacobite Syrian Christians sailors and Muslim troops, which defeated the Byzantine navy at the Battle of the Masts in 655 CE, opening up the Mediterranean Sea to Muslim ships. Early Muslim armies stayed in encampments away from cities because ʿUmar feared that they may get attracted to wealth and luxury, moving away from
6698-841: The Banu Qays Arabs against Yemenis and non-Arab Muslims , and Yazid received further support from the Qadariya and Murji'iya (believers in human free will ). Walid was shortly thereafter deposed in a coup . Yazid disbursed funds from the treasury and acceded to the Caliph. He explained that he had rebelled on behalf of the Book of God and the Sunna. Yazid reigned for only six months, while various groups refused allegiance and dissident movements arose, after which he died. Ibrahim ibn al-Walid , named heir apparent by his brother Yazid III, ruled for
6895-537: The Battle of Tours ). In the east, Islamic armies under Muhammad ibn al-Qasim made it as far as the Indus Valley . Under Al-Walid, the caliphate empire stretched from the Iberian Peninsula to India. Al-Hajjaj ibn Yusuf played a crucial role in the organization and selection of military commanders. Al-Walid paid great attention to the expansion of an organized military, building the strongest navy in
7092-534: The Battle of the Zab , Al-Saffah and his forces marched into Damascus and founded a new dynasty. His forces confronted many regional powers and consolidated the realm of the Abbasid Caliphate. In Al-Mansur 's time, Persian scholarship emerged. Many non-Arabs converted to Islam. The Umayyads actively discouraged conversion in order to continue the collection of the jizya, or the tax on non-Muslims. Islam nearly doubled within its territory from 8% of residents in 750 to 15% by
7289-800: The Berber Revolt . He was also faced with a revolt by Zayd ibn Ali . Hisham suppressed both revolts. The Abbasids continued to gain power in Khurasan and Iraq. However, they were not strong enough to make a move yet. Some were caught and punished or executed by eastern governors. The Battle of Akroinon , a decisive Byzantine victory, was during the final campaign of the Umayyad dynasty. Hisham died in 743. Al-Walid II saw political intrigue during his reign. Yazid III spoke out against his cousin Walid's "immorality" which included discrimination on behalf of
7486-642: The Byzantines drove him back and he was unable to hold any territory in Anatolia . Sunni Muslims credit him with saving the fledgling Muslim nation from post- civil war anarchy. However, Shia Muslims accuse him of instigating the war, weakening the Muslim nation by dividing the Ummah , fabricating self-aggrandizing heresies slandering the Prophet 's family and even selling his Muslim critics into slavery in
7683-566: The Constitution of Medina . The laws Muhammad established during his rule, based on the Quran and his own doing, are considered by Muslims to be sharīʿa or Islamic law, which Islamic movements seek to re-establish in the present day. Muhammad gained a widespread following and an army, and his rule expanded first to the city of Mecca and then spread across the Arabian peninsula through
7880-569: The Earth's rotation in his treatise, Concerning the Supposed Dependence of Astronomy upon Philosophy . In addition to his contributions to Ulugh Beg's famous work Zij-i-Sultani and to the founding of Sahn-ı Seman Medrese , one of the first centers for the study of various traditional Islamic sciences in the Ottoman caliphate, Ali Kuşçu was also the author of several scientific works and textbooks on astronomy. Qushji's most important astronomical work
8077-767: The French conquest of Algeria (1830), the fall of the Mughal Empire in India (1857), the Russian incursions into the Caucasus (1828) and Central Asia (1830-1895), and ultimately in the 20th century with the defeat and dissolution of the Ottoman Empire (1908–1922), to which the Ottoman officer and Turkish revolutionary statesman Mustafa Kemal Atatürk had an instrumental role in ending and replacing it with
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8274-798: The Hashemite family. A member of the Dhawu Awn clan ( Banu Hashim ) from the Qatadid emirs of Mecca, he was perceived to have rebellious inclinations and in 1893 was summoned to Istanbul , where he was kept on the Council of State. In 1908, in the aftermath of the Young Turk Revolution , he was appointed Emir of Mecca by the Ottoman sultan Abdul Hamid II . In 1916, with the promise of British support for Arab independence, he proclaimed
8471-679: The Himyarite Kingdom in Yemen after about 380 CE, while Christianity took root in the Persian Gulf . There was also a yearning for a more "spiritual form of religion", and "the choice of religion increasingly became an individual rather than a collective issue." While some Arabs were reluctant to convert to a foreign faith, those Abrahamic religions provided "the principal intellectual and spiritual reference points", and Jewish and Christian loanwords from Aramaic began to replace
8668-575: The House of Wisdom employed Christian and Persian scholars to both translate works into Arabic and to develop new knowledge. The capital was moved from Damascus to Baghdad , due to the importance placed by the Abbasids upon eastern affairs in Persia and Transoxania . At this time the caliphate showed signs of fracture amid the rise of regional dynasties. Although the Umayyad family had been killed by
8865-533: The Islamic Golden Age had a much lesser degree of democratic participation, but since "no one was superior to anyone else except on the basis of piety and virtue" in Islam, and following the example of Muhammad, later Islamic rulers often held public consultations with the people in their affairs. The legislative power of the caliph (or later, the sultan ) was always restricted by the scholarly class,
9062-584: The Maghreb (north-west Africa), the Sahel , the Swahili Coast , Somalia , southern Iberia ( al-Andalus ), Transoxania ( Central Asia ), Hindustan (including modern-day North India , Bangladesh , and Pakistan ), and Anatolia (modern-day Turkey ). It is necessarily an approximation, since rule over some regions was sometimes divided among different centers of power, and authority in larger polities
9259-616: The Mongol conquest of Khwarezmia , became the center of the Renaissance and Islamic civilization in general due to the reconstruction during the period. The Timurid Renaissance differed from previous Buyid dynasty cultural and artistic developments in that it was not a direct revival of classical models, but rather a broadening of their cultural appeal by including more colloquial styles in Persian language . The Timurid Renaissance
9456-427: The Muslim Brotherhood , and the Palestinian Muslim scholar and propagandist Taqiuddin al-Nabhani , founder of the pan-Islamist political party Hizb ut-Tahrir . In an analysis of the shura chapter of the Quran, Qutb argued that Islam requires only that the ruler consult with at least some of the ruled (usually the elite), within the general context of divine laws that the ruler must execute. Al-Nabhani argued that
9653-455: The Nezamiyeh university in Baghdad. Expansion continued, sometimes by force, sometimes by peaceful proselytising . The first stage in the conquest of India began just before the year 1000. By some 200 (from 1193 to 1209) years later, the area up to the Ganges river had fallen. In sub-Saharan West Africa, Islam was established just after the year 1000. Muslim rulers were in Kanem starting from sometime between 1081 and 1097, with reports of
9850-411: The Persian Gulf . There was also a yearning for a more "spiritual form of religion", and "the choice of religion increasingly became an individual rather than a collective issue." While some Arabs were reluctant to convert to a foreign faith, those Abrahamic religions provided "the principal intellectual and spiritual reference points", and Jewish and Christian loanwords from Aramaic began to replace
10047-430: The Punjab region under the reign of the Umayyad dynasty . An important Islamic concept concerning the structure of ruling is the shura or "consultation" with people regarding their affairs, which is the duty of rulers mentioned in two Quranic verses : 3:153 and 42:36 . One type of ruler not part of the Islamic ideal was the king , which was disparaged in the Quranic mentions of the Pharaoh , "the prototype of
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#173278077921210244-413: The Quran , ḥadīth literature , and sunnah (accounts of the sayings and living habits attributed to the Islamic prophet Muhammad during his lifetime), the history of Islam , and elements of political movements outside Islam. Traditional political concepts in Islam include leadership by elected or selected successors to Muhammad, known as Caliphs in Sunnī Islam and Imams in Shīʿa Islam ;
10441-448: The Quran . These inspirations urged him to proclaim a strict monotheistic faith , as the final expression of Biblical prophetism earlier codified in the sacred texts of Judaism and Christianity; to warn his compatriots of the impending Judgement Day ; and to castigate social injustices of his city. Muhammad's message won over a handful of followers (the ṣaḥāba ) and was met with increasing persecution from Meccan notables . In 622 CE,
10638-418: The Qurʾān as an Arab book and by his accommodations to other monotheistic traditions. After the death of Muhammad in 632 CE, his community needed to appoint a new leader, giving rise to the title of caliph ( Arabic : خَليفة , romanized : khalīfa , lit. 'successor'). Thus, the subsequent Islamic empires were known as " caliphates ", and a series of four caliphs governed
10835-402: The Reconquista . Nonetheless, in the early modern period , the gunpowder empires —the Ottomans , Timurids , Mughals , and Safavids —emerged as world powers. During the 19th and early 20th centuries, most of the Muslim world fell under the influence or direct control of the European Great Powers . Some of their efforts to win independence and build modern nation-states over the course of
11032-481: The Republic of Turkey , a modern , secular democracy ( see also : Abolition of the Caliphate , Abolition of the Ottoman sultanate , Kemalism , and Secularism in Turkey ). The first Muslim reaction to European colonization was of "peasant and religious", not urban origin. "Charismatic leaders", generally members of the ulama or leaders of religious orders, launched the call for jihad and formed tribal coalitions. Sharia , in defiance of local common law,
11229-421: The Ridda wars , whose momentum was carried into the lands of the Byzantine and Sasanian empires. By the end of the reign of the second caliph ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb , the Arab Muslim armies, whose battle-hardened ranks were now swelled by the defeated rebels and former imperial auxiliary troops, invaded the eastern Byzantine provinces of Syria and Egypt , while the Sasanids lost their western territories , with
11426-653: The Sun and Moon , and the planets in terms of elliptical orbits ; the latitudes of the Sun, Moon, and planets; and the ecliptic of the Sun. The instrument also incorporated an alhidade and ruler . Ulugh Begh founded an institute in Samarkand which soon became a prominent university. Students from all over Central Asia, and beyond, flocked to this academy in the capital city of his sultanate. Consequently, Ulugh Beg gathered many great mathematicians and scientists, including Ali Qushji . Ali made significant development of astronomical physics independent from natural philosophy , and for providing empirical evidence for
11623-447: The Treaty of Versailles , in protest at the Balfour Declaration and the establishment of British and French mandates in Syria , Iraq , and Palestine . He later refused to sign the Anglo-Hashemite Treaty and thus deprived himself of British support when his kingdom was attacked by Ibn Saud . After the Kingdom of Hejaz was invaded by the Al Saud - Wahhabi armies of the Ikhwan , on 23 December 1925 King Hussein bin Ali surrendered to
11820-408: The Umayyad Caliphate , the major political development within early Islam in this period was the sectarian split and political divide between Kharijite , Sunnī , and Shīʿa Muslims ; this had its roots in a dispute over the succession for the role of caliph. Sunnīs believed the caliph was elective and any Muslim from the Arab clan of Quraysh , the tribe of Muhammad, might serve as one. Shīʿītes, on
12017-438: The alms levy to his government, which consisted of a number of deputies, an army of believers, and a public treasury. In Islam, "the Qurʾān is conceived by Muslims to be the word of God spoken to Muḥammad and then passed on to humanity in exactly the same form as it was received". While the Quran doesn't dwell on politics, it does make mention of concepts such as "the oppressed" ( mustad'afeen ), "emigration" ( hijra ),
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#173278077921212214-406: The alms levy to his government, which consisted of a number of deputies, an army of believers, and a public treasury. The real intentions of Muhammad regarding the spread of Islam, its political undertone, and his missionary activity ( da'wah ) during his lifetime are a contentious matter of debate, which has been extensively discussed both among Muslim scholars and Non-Muslim scholars within
12411-410: The celestial sphere , such as the transformation from the ecliptic coordinate system to the equatorial coordinate system . The Sullam al-Sama was authored, which provided the resolution of difficulties met by predecessors in the determination of distances and sizes of heavenly bodies such as the Earth , the Moon , the Sun and the Stars . The Treatise on Astronomical Observational Instruments
12608-413: The desert . The Constitution of Medina was drafted by Muhammad. It constituted a formal agreement between Muhammad and all of the significant tribes and families of Yathrib (later known as Medina ), including Muslims , Jews , Christians , and Arab Pagans . This constitution formed the basis of the first Islamic state . The document was drawn up with the explicit concern of bringing to an end
12805-418: The first Muslim civil war (the "First Fitna"). ʿAlī was assassinated by the Kharijites in 661 CE. Six months later, ʿAlī's firstborn son Ḥasan made a peace treaty with Muawiyah I, in the interest of peace. In the Hasan–Muawiya treaty , Ḥasan ibn ʿAlī handed over power to Muawiyah I on the condition that he would be just to the people and not establish a dynasty after his death. Muawiyah I subsequently broke
13002-462: The political and religious succession to the guidance of the Muslim community ( Ummah ) after the death of the Islamic prophet Muhammad . From their essentially political position, the Kharijites developed extreme doctrines that set them apart from both mainstream Sunnī and Shīʿa Muslims. Shīʿas believe ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib is the true successor to Muhammad, while Sunnīs consider Abu Bakr to hold that position. The Kharijites broke away from both
13199-438: The shura is important and part of "the ruling structure" of the Islamic caliphate, "but not one of its pillars", and may be neglected without the caliphate's rule becoming un-Islamic. However, these interpretations formulated by Qutb and al-Nabhani are not universally accepted in the Islamic political thought, and Islamic democrats consider the shura to be an integral part and important pillar of Islamic political system. In
13396-414: The shura , loosely translated as "consultation", is a function of the Islamic caliphate. The Majlis-ash-Shura advise the caliph. The importance of this is premised by the following verses of the Quran: "...those who answer the call of their Lord and establish the prayer, and who conduct their affairs by Shura. [are loved by God]" "...consult them (the people) in their affairs. Then when you have taken
13593-403: The Ḥanīf . Like the Ḥanīf , Muhammad practiced Taḥannuth , spending time in seclusion at mount Hira and "turning away from paganism." When he was about 40 years old, he began receiving at mount Hira' what Muslims regard as divine revelations delivered through the angel Gabriel , which would later form the Quran . These inspirations urged him to proclaim a strict monotheistic faith , as
13790-423: The "Muslim community" ( Ummah ), and "fighting" or "struggling" in the way of God ( jihād ), that can have political implications. A number of Quranic verses (such as 4:98 ) talk about the mustad'afeen , which can be translated as "those deemed weak", "underdogs", or "the oppressed", how they are put upon by people such as the pharaoh , how God wishes them to be treated justly, and how they should emigrate from
13987-406: The 11th and 12th century CE, students of Islamic jurisprudence often had to obtain an ijaza-t al-tadris wa-l-ifta ("license to teach and issue legal opinions") in order to issue valid legal rulings. In many ways, classical Islamic law functioned like a constitutional law . Practically, for hundreds of years after the fall of the Rāshidūn Caliphate (7th century CE) and until the first half of
14184-601: The 15th century, after the end of the period of Mongol invasions and conquests . Based on Islamic ideals, the foundations of the Timurid Renaissance include the rebuilding of Samarkand and the invention of Tamerlane Chess by Timur , the reign of Shah Rukh and his consort Gawhar Shad in Herat (a city which rivaled Florence of the Italian Renaissance as the center of a cultural rebirth),
14381-549: The 20th century, Muslim-majority countries usually adopted a system of government based on the coexistence of the sultan and ulama which followed the rules of the sharia law. This system resembled to some extent some Western governments in possessing an unwritten constitution (like the United Kingdom ), and possessing separate, countervailing branches of government (like the United States ), which provided
14578-418: The Abbasids. At its largest extent, the Umayyad dynasty covered more than 5,000,000 square miles (13,000,000 km) making it one of the largest empires the world had yet seen, and the fifth largest contiguous empire ever. Muawiyah beautified Damascus, and developed a court to rival that of Constantinople . He expanded the frontiers of the empire, reaching the edge of Constantinople at one point, though
14775-799: The Abbasids. Abbasid influence had been consumed by the Great Seljuq Empire (a Muslim Turkish clan which had migrated into mainland Persia) by 1055. Two other Turkish tribes, the Karahanids and the Seljuks , converted to Islam during the 10th century. Later, they were subdued by the Ottomans, who share the same origin and language. The Seljuks played an important role in the revival of Sunnism when Shi'ism increased its influence. The Seljuk military leader Alp Arslan (1063 – 1072) financially supported sciences and literature and established
14972-728: The Arab Meccans and Jewish tribes of the Yathrib area soon broke out. After a series of military confrontations and political manoeuvres, Muhammad was able to secure control of Mecca and allegiance of the Quraysh in 629 CE. In the time remaining until his death in 632 CE, tribal chiefs across the Arabian peninsula entered into various agreements with him, some under terms of alliance, others acknowledging his claims of prophethood and agreeing to follow Islamic practices, including paying
15169-472: The Aristotelian notion of a stationary Earth, as he explored the idea of a moving Earth instead (though Emilie Savage-Smith asserts that no Islamic astronomers proposed a heliocentric universe ). He also found empirical evidence for the Earth's rotation through his observation on comets and concluded, on the basis of empirical evidence rather than speculative philosophy, that the moving Earth theory
15366-541: The Atlantic coast, and then marched eastwards through the Atlas Mountains . With about 300 cavalrymen , he proceeded towards Biskra where he was ambushed by a Berber force under Kaisala. Uqba and all his men died fighting. The Berbers attacked and drove Muslims from north Africa for a period. Weakened by the civil wars, the Umayyad lost supremacy at sea, and had to abandon the islands of Rhodes and Crete . Under
15563-620: The Byzantine Empire and moved on into Carthage and across to the west of North Africa. Muslim armies under Tariq ibn Ziyad crossed the Strait of Gibraltar and began to conquer the Iberian Peninsula using North African Berber armies. The Visigoths of the Iberian Peninsula were defeated when the Umayyad conquered Lisbon . The Iberian Peninsula was the farthest extent of Islamic control of Europe (they were stopped at
15760-511: The Byzantine empire. One of Muawiyah's most controversial and enduring legacies was his decision to designate his son Yazid as his successor. According to Shi'a doctrine, this was a clear violation of the treaty he made with Hasan ibn Ali. In 682, Yazid restored Uqba ibn Nafi as the governor of North Africa. Uqba won battles against the Berbers and Byzantines. From there Uqba marched thousands of miles westward towards Tangier , where he reached
15957-652: The Byzantine side proved decisive. The Muslims sustained heavy losses. Sulayman died suddenly in 717. Yazid II came to power on the death of Umar II. Yazid fought the Kharijites, with whom Umar had been negotiating, and killed the Kharijite leader Shawdhab. In Yazid's reign, civil wars began in different parts of the empire. Yazid expanded the Caliphate's territory into the Caucasus, before dying in 724. Inheriting
16154-467: The Caliph after the defection of a large contingent of Slavs . The Islamic currency was then made the exclusive currency in the Muslim world. He reformed agriculture and commerce. Abd al-Malik consolidated Muslim rule and extended it, made Arabic the state language, and organized a regular postal service . Al-Walid I began the next stage of Islamic conquests. Under him the early Islamic empire reached its farthest extent. He reconquered parts of Egypt from
16351-608: The Fatimid and Ayyubid periods. Politically, the Abbasid Caliphate evolved into an Islamic monarchy ( unitary system of government .) The regional Sultanate and Emirate governors' existence, validity, or legality were acknowledged for unity of the state. In the early Islamic philosophy of the Iberian Umayyads , Averroes presented an argument in The Decisive Treatise , providing a justification for
16548-737: The Great Arab Revolt against the Ottoman Empire, accusing the Committee of Union and Progress of violating tenets of Islam and limiting the power of the sultan-caliph. Shortly after the outbreak of the revolt, Hussein declared himself "King of the Arab Countries". However, his pan-Arab aspirations were not accepted by the Allies , who recognized him only as King of the Hejaz. In the aftermath of World War I , Hussein refused to ratify
16745-405: The Islamic legal tradition, sought to transform Shariah from a body of doctrines and principles to be discovered by the human efforts of the scholars into a set of rules that could be looked up in a book. [...] Once the law existed in codified form, however, the law itself was able to replace the scholars as the source of authority. Codification took from the scholars their all-important claim to have
16942-582: The Jewish Yahweh and the Christian Jehovah ." In their view, Mecca was originally dedicated to this monotheistic faith that they considered to be the one true religion, established by the patriarch Abraham . According to the traditional account , the Islamic prophet Muhammad was born in Mecca around the year 570 CE. His family belonged to the Arab clan of Quraysh , which was
17139-428: The Jewish Yahweh and the Christian Jehovah ." In their view, Mecca was originally dedicated to this monotheistic faith that they considered to be the one true religion, established by the patriarch Abraham . According to the traditional account , the Islamic prophet Muhammad was born in Mecca , an important caravan trading center, around the year 570 CE. His family belonged to the Arab clan of Quraysh , which
17336-543: The Levant , Egypt , and North Africa . Alongside the growth of the Umayyad Caliphate , the major political development within early Islam in this period was the sectarian split and political divide between Kharijite , Sunnī , and Shīʿa Muslims ; this had its roots in a dispute over the succession for the role of caliph. Sunnīs believed the caliph was elective and any Muslim from the Arab clan of Quraysh ,
17533-753: The Muslim community during the Rashidun Caliphate . The early Muslim conquests were responsible for the spread of Islam . By the 8th century CE, the Umayyad Caliphate extended from Iberian Al-Andalus in the west to the Indus River in the east. Polities such as those ruled by the Umayyad and Abbasid caliphates (in the Middle East and later in Spain and Southern Italy ), the Fatimids , Seljuks , Ayyubids , and Mamluks were among
17730-903: The Muslim world, stretching from Persia to Egypt, but saw the emergence of the Timurid Renaissance and major economic powers such as the Mali Empire in West Africa and the Bengal Sultanate in South Asia . Following the deportation and enslavement of the Muslim Moors from the Emirate of Sicily and elsewhere in southern Italy , the Islamic Iberia was gradually conquered by Christian forces during
17927-417: The Muslim world. Early Islam arose within the historical, social, political, economic, and religious context of Late Antiquity in the Middle East . The second half of the 6th century CE saw political disorder in the pre-Islamic Arabian peninsula , and communication routes were no longer secure. Religious divisions played an important role in the crisis. Judaism became the dominant religion of
18124-460: The Plate of Conjunctions was seen, an analog computing instrument used to determine the time of day at which planetary conjunctions will occur, and for performing linear interpolation . Invented was also a mechanical planetary computer which he called the Plate of Zones, which could graphically solve a number of planetary problems, including the prediction of the true positions in longitude of
18321-523: The Prophet and universally accepted as authentic are indicative. One says, "there is no obedience in sin"; in other words, if the ruler orders something contrary to the divine law, not only is there no duty of obedience, but there is a duty of disobedience. This is more than the right of revolution that appears in Western political thought. It is a duty of revolution, or at least of disobedience and opposition to authority. The other pronouncement, "do not obey
18518-645: The Saudis, bringing both the Kingdom of Hejaz and the Sharifate of Mecca to an end. The second Muslim reaction to European encroachment later in the century and early 20th century was not violent resistance but the adoption of some Western political, social, cultural and technological ways. Members of the urban elite, particularly in Egypt , Iran , and Turkey , advocated and practiced "Westernization". The failure of
18715-573: The Shīʿas and the Sunnīs during the First Fitna (the first Islamic Civil War); they were particularly noted for adopting a radical approach to takfīr (excommunication), whereby they declared both Sunnī and Shīʿa Muslims to be either infidels ( kuffār ) or false Muslims ( munāfiḳūn ), and therefore deemed them worthy of death for their perceived apostasy ( ridda ). The Islamic tradition traces
18912-586: The Timurids conquered Persia in the early 15th century, many Islamic artistic traits became interwoven with existing Mongol art . Timur's establishment of the Islamic Sharia law later in life made Samarkand one of the centers of Islamic art . In the mid 15th century the empire moved its capital to Herat , which became a focal point for Timurid art. As with Samarkand, artisans and intellectuals of various ethnic backgrounds soon established Herat as
19109-556: The Umayyad empire. Islamic ecumenism , promoted by the Abbasids, refers to the idea of unity of the Ummah in the literal meaning: that there was a single faith. Islamic philosophy developed as the Shariah was codified, and the four Madhabs were established. This era also saw the rise of classical Sufism . Religious achievements included completion of the canonical collections of Hadith of Sahih Bukhari and others. Islam recognized to
19306-435: The Umayyad era. This tactic was crucial for the expansion to the Iberian Peninsula. His reign is considered to be the apex of Islamic power. Sulayman ibn Abd al-Malik was hailed as caliph the day al-Walid died. He appointed Yazid ibn al-Muhallab governor of Mesopotamia . Sulayman ordered the arrest and execution of the family of al-Hajjaj , one of two prominent leaders (the other was Qutayba ibn Muslim ) who had supported
19503-632: The Umayyads and overthrew them with the help of the general Abu Muslim , inaugurating the Abbasid dynasty in 750, which moved the capital to Baghdad . A branch of the Ummayad family fled across North Africa to Al-Andalus, where they established the Caliphate of Córdoba , which lasted until 1031 before falling due to the Fitna of al-Andalus . The Bayt al-mal, the Welfare State then continued under
19700-505: The Umayyads' moral character and administration. According to Ira Lapidus , "The Abbasid revolt was supported largely by Arabs, mainly the aggrieved settlers of Marw with the addition of the Yemeni faction and their Mawali ". The Abbasids also appealed to non-Arab Muslims, known as mawali , who remained outside the kinship -based society of the Arabs and were perceived as a lower class within
19897-464: The Yathrib area soon broke out. After a series of military confrontations and political manoeuvres, Muhammad was able to secure control of Mecca and allegiance of the Quraysh in 629 CE. In the time remaining until his death in 632 CE, tribal chiefs across the Arabian peninsula entered into various agreements with him, some under terms of alliance, others acknowledging his claims of prophethood and agreeing to follow Islamic practices, including paying
20094-558: The academic field of Islamic studies . Various authors, Islamic activists, and historians of Islam have proposed several understandings of Muhammad's intent and ambitions regarding his religio-political mission in the context of the pre-Islamic Arabian society and the founding of his own religion: Was it in Muhammad's mind to produce a world religion or did his interests lie mainly within the confines of his homeland? Was he solely an Arab nationalist —a political genius intent upon uniting
20291-527: The attempts at political westernization, according to some, was exemplified by the Tanzimat reorganization of the Ottoman rulers. Sharia was codified into law (which was called the Mecelle ) and an elected legislature was established to make law. These steps took away the ulama ' s role of "discovering" the law and the formerly powerful scholar class weakened and withered into religious functionaries, while
20488-444: The beginning of Islam post-date the events by several generations, al-Tabari having died in 923 CE. Differing views about how to deal with the available sources has led to the development of four different approaches to the history of early Islam. All four methods have some level of support today. Nowadays, the popularity of the different methods employed varies on the scope of the works under consideration. For overview treatments of
20685-643: The beginning of the 16th century, mastering firearms was achieved. Major commissions from the Timur's lifetime were the Summer Palace in Shahrisabz , Bibi-Khanym Mosque , and the construction of the Registan . The city of Herat became an important center of intellectual and artistic life in the Muslim world during this time. Samarkand , a center of scholarly study which was previously destroyed during
20882-513: The benefit of the poor. Since the Constitution of Medina , drafted by the Islamic prophet Muhammad , the Jews and the Christians continued to use their own laws and had their own judges. In 639 CE, ʿUmar appointed Muawiyah ibn Abi Sufyan as the governor of Syria after the previous governor died in a plague along with 25,000 other people. To stop the Byzantine harassment from the sea during
21079-533: The bitter intertribal fighting between the clans of the Aws ( Aus and Khazraj ) within Medina. To this effect it instituted a number of rights and responsibilities for the Muslim, Jewish, Christian, and Pagan communities of Medina, bringing them within the fold of one community: the Ummah . The precise dating of the Constitution of Medina remains debated but generally scholars agree it was written shortly after
21276-404: The caliph was "created and institutionalized ... as early as the end of the first century of the hegira ." The sovereign's religious function was to defend the Muslim community against its enemies, institute the sharia, ensure the public good ( maslaha ). The state was instrument to enable Muslims to live as good Muslims and Muslims were to obey the sultan if he did so. The legitimacy of the ruler
21473-430: The caliphate from his brother, Hisham ibn Abd al-Malik ruled an empire with many problems. He was effective in addressing these problems, and in allowing the Umayyad empire to continue as an entity. His long rule was an effective one, and renewed reforms introduced by Umar II. Under Hisham's rule, regular raids against the Byzantines continued. In North Africa, Kharijite teachings combined with local restlessness to produce
21670-429: The celebrated Mughal (or Mongol ) school of architecture . Timurid architecture started with the sanctuary of Ahmed Yasawi in present-day Kazakhstan and culminated in Timur's mausoleum Gur-e Amir in Samarkand . Timur's Gur-I Amir , the 14th-century mausoleum of the conqueror is covered with "turquoise Persian tiles". Nearby, in the center of the ancient town, a "Persian style madrassa" (religious school) and
21867-500: The chief tribe of Mecca and a dominant force in western Arabia. To counter the effects of anarchy, they upheld the institution of "sacred months" when all violence was forbidden and travel was safe. The polytheistic Kaaba shrine in Mecca and the surrounding area was a popular pilgrimage destination, which had significant economic consequences for the city. The origins of Islam as a religious and political movement are to be found in
22064-399: The city of Mecca , Damascus was the capital. After the death of Abdu'l-Rahman ibn Abu Bakr in 666, Muawiyah I consolidated his power. Muawiyah I moved his capital to Damascus from Medina , which led to profound changes in the empire. In the same way, at a later date, the transfer of the Caliphate from Damascus to Baghdad marked the accession of a new family to power. As the state grew,
22261-467: The city of Yathrib (now known as Medina ), where he began to unify the tribes of Arabia under Islam, returning to Mecca to take control in 630 and order the destruction of all pagan idols. By the time Muhammad died c. 11 AH (632 CE), almost all the tribes of the Arabian Peninsula had converted to Islam, but disagreement broke out over who would succeed him as leader of
22458-440: The city under the terms of the Constitution of Medina , Muhammad began to lay the foundations of the new Islamic society, with the help of new Quranic verses which provided guidance on matters of law and religious observance. The surahs of this period emphasized his place among the long line of Biblical prophets , but also differentiated the message of the Quran from the sacred texts of Christianity and Judaism. Armed conflict with
22655-419: The city. Most likely Muhammad was "intimately aware of Jewish belief and practices," and acquainted with the Ḥanīf . Like the Ḥanīf , Muhammad practiced Taḥannuth , spending time in seclusion at mount Hira and "turning away from paganism." When he was about 40 years old, he began receiving at mount Hira' what Muslims regard as divine revelations delivered through the angel Gabriel , which would later form
22852-501: The collapse of the Timurid Empire, several Iranian and Mesopotamian cultures co-opted Timurid metalwork. Chinese-style ceramics were produced by Timurid artisans. Jade carving also had some presence in Timurid art. Jamshid al-Kashi was one of the most influential contributors in the fields of mathematics and astronomy. He got immense support from both Emperor Shah Rukh and Queen Goharshad , who were very interested in
23049-538: The conditions of the agreement and established the Umayyad dynasty , with a capital in Damascus . Ḥusayn ibn ʿAlī , by then Muhammad's only surviving grandson, refused to swear allegiance to the Umayyads; he was killed in the Battle of Karbala the same year, in an event still mourned by Shīʿa Muslims on the Day of Ashura . Political unrest called the second Muslim civil war (the "Second Fitna") continued, but Muslim rule
23246-416: The context of the pre-Islamic Arabian society and the founding of his own religion: Was it in Muhammad's mind to produce a world religion or did his interests lie mainly within the confines of his homeland? Was he solely an Arab nationalist —a political genius intent upon uniting the proliferation of tribal clans under the banner of a new religion—or was his vision a truly international one, encompassing
23443-446: The death of his influential uncle ʾAbū Ṭālib ibn ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib , Muhammad migrated to the city of Yathrib (subsequently called Medina) where he was joined by his followers. Later generations would count this event, known as the hijra , as the start of the Islamic era. In Yathrib, where he was accepted as an arbitrator among the different communities of the city under the terms of the Constitution of Medina , Muhammad began to lay
23640-632: The defeat of Arab armies in the Six-Day War , the collapse of the Soviet Union , the end of the Cold War and the fall of communism as a viable alternative have increased the appeal of Islamic movements such as Islamism , Islamic fundamentalism , and Islamic democracy , especially in the context of the global sectarian divide and conflict between Sunnīs and Shīʿītes , along with the popular dissatisfaction with secularist ruling regimes in
23837-792: The different centers of the expanding Islamic empire. After Muhammad's death, the old tribal differences between the Arabs started to resurface. Following the Roman–Persian wars and the Byzantine-Sasanian wars , deep-rooted differences between Iraq (formerly under the Sasanian Empire ) and Syria (formerly under the Byzantine Empire ) also existed. Each wanted the capital of the newly established Islamic empire to be in their area. As ʿUthmān became very old, Marwan I ,
24034-407: The difficulties raised by the strict procedural requirements of Islamic law. The law rejected circumstantial evidence and insisted on witness testimony, making criminal convictions difficult to obtain in courts presided over by qadis (sharia judges). In response, Islamic jurists permitted greater procedural latitude in limited circumstances, such as adjudicating grievances against state officials in
24231-405: The doctrine has been employed to justify legal changes made by the state in consideration of public interest , as long as they were deemed not to be contrary to sharia. It was, for example, invoked by the Ottoman rulers who promulgated a body of administrative, criminal, and economic laws known as qanun . In Shīʿa Islam , three attitudes towards rulers predominated — political cooperation with
24428-480: The earliest periods in Islamic history is made difficult by a lack of sources. For example, the most important historiographical source for the origins of Islam is the work of al-Tabari . While al-Tabari is considered an excellent historian by the standards of his time and place, he made liberal use of mythical, legendary, stereotyped, distorted, and polemical presentations of subject matter—which are however considered to be Islamically acceptable—and his descriptions of
24625-601: The early 13th century, the Delhi Sultanate conquered the northern Indian subcontinent , while Turkic dynasties like the Sultanate of Rum and Artuqids conquered much of Anatolia from the Byzantine Empire throughout the 11th and 12th centuries. In the 13th and 14th centuries, destructive Mongol invasions , along with the loss of population due to the Black Death , greatly weakened the traditional centers of
24822-417: The early 19th century: How the scholars lost their exalted status as keepers of the law is a complex story, but it can be summed up in the adage that partial reforms are sometimes worse than none at all. In the early 19th century, the Ottoman empire responded to military setbacks with an internal reform movement. The most important reform was the attempt to codify Shariah. This Westernizing process, foreign to
25019-431: The early Islamic caliphates, the caliph was the head of state , and had a position based on the notion of a successor to Muhammad's political authority, who, according to Sunnī Muslims , were ideally elected by the people or their representatives, as was the case for the election of Abū Bakr (632–634), ʿUthmān ibn ʿAffān (644–656), and ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib (656–661). After the rāshidūn caliphs, later caliphates during
25216-460: The early Islamic empire: Abū Bakr (632–634), ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb (Umar І, 634–644), ʿUthmān ibn ʿAffān (644–656), and ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib (656–661). These leaders are known as the rāshidūn ("rightly-guided") caliphs in Sunnī Islam . They oversaw the initial phase of the early Muslim conquests , advancing through Persia , the Levant , Egypt , and North Africa . Alongside the growth of
25413-506: The emancipation of science and philosophy from official Ash'ari theology; thus, Averroism has been considered a precursor to modern secularism . Early Middle Ages According to Arab sources in the year 750, Al-Saffah , the founder of the Abbasid Caliphate, launched a massive rebellion against the Umayyad Caliphate from the province of Khurasan near Talas. After eliminating the entire Umayyad family and achieving victory at
25610-399: The end of Al-Mansur's reign. Al-Mahdi , whose name means "Rightly-guided" or "Redeemer", was proclaimed caliph when his father was on his deathbed. Baghdad blossomed during Al-Mahdi's reign, becoming the world's largest city. It attracted immigrants from Arabia, Iraq, Syria, Persia and as far away as India and Spain. Baghdad was home to Christians, Jews, Hindus, and Zoroastrians, in addition to
25807-556: The exceptions of Iran and Oman ; thus, most modern Islamic political ideologies and movements are founded in Sunnī thought. Muhammad's closest companions ( ṣaḥāba ), the four " rightly-guided " caliphs who succeeded him, continued to expand the Islamic empire to encompass Jerusalem , Ctesiphon , and Damascus , and sending Arab Muslim armies as far as the Sindh region . The early Islamic empire stretched from al-Andalus (Muslim Iberia) to
26004-415: The expression "those who have been given authority" ( uulaa al-amr ) refers to the rulers (caliphs and kings), but for Shīʿas it refers to the Imams. According to the British historian and Orientalist scholar Bernard Lewis , this Quranic verse has been elaborated in a number of sayings attributed to Muhammad. But there are also sayings that put strict limits on the duty of obedience. Two dicta attributed to
26201-438: The extreme Kharijites tended to fragment into small groups. One of the few points that the various Kharijite splinter groups held in common was their view of the caliphate, which differed from other Muslim theories on two points. By the time that Ibn al-Muqaffa' wrote his political treatise early in the 'Abbasid period, the Kharijites were no longer a significant political threat, at least in the Islamic heartlands . The memory of
26398-468: The facades of buildings. Sometimes building interiors were decorated similarly, with painting and stucco relief further enriching the effect. Timurid architecture was the pinnacle of Islamic art in Central Asia . There were spectacular and stately edifices erected by Tamerlane and his successors in Samarkand and Herat . These monumental works helped to disseminate the influence of the Ilkhanid school of art as far as India , where it gave rise to
26595-403: The final expression of Biblical prophetism earlier codified in the sacred texts of Judaism and Christianity; to warn his compatriots of the impending Judgement Day ; and to castigate social injustices of his city. Muhammad's message won over a handful of followers (the ṣaḥāba ) and was met with increasing opposition from Meccan notables . In 622 CE, a few years after losing protection with
26792-434: The final say over the content of the law and transferred that power to the state. According to scholar Moojan Momen, "One of the key statements in the Qur'an around which much of the exegesis" on the issue of what Islamic doctrine says about who is in charge is based on the verse "O believers! Obey God and obey the Apostle and those who have been given authority [ uulaa al-amr ] among you" ( Quran 4:59 ). For Sunnīs,
26989-472: The following results: The following timeline can serve as a rough visual guide to the most important polities in the Islamic world prior to World War I . It covers major historical centers of power and culture, including the Arabian peninsula (modern-day Oman , Saudi Arabia , United Arab Emirates , and Yemen ), Mesopotamia (modern-day Iraq ), Persia (modern-day Iran ), Levant (modern-day Syria , Lebanon , Jordan , and Israel/Palestine ), Egypt ,
27186-402: The foundations of the new Islamic society, with the help of new Quranic verses which provided guidance on matters of law and religious observance. The surahs of this period emphasized his place among the long line of Biblical prophets , but also differentiated the message of the Quran from the sacred texts of Christianity and Judaism. Armed conflict with the Arab Meccans and Jewish tribes of
27383-412: The four " rightly-guided " caliphs who succeeded him, continued to expand the Islamic empire to encompass Jerusalem , Ctesiphon , and Damascus , and sending Arab Muslim armies as far as the Sindh region . The early Islamic empire stretched from al-Andalus (Muslim Iberia) to the Punjab region under the reign of the Umayyad dynasty . After Muhammad's death, Abū Bakr , one of his closest associates,
27580-513: The gains of the earlier Caliphates . Initially, they conquered Mediterranean islands including the Balearics and, after, in 827 the Southern Italy . The ruling party had come to power on the wave of dissatisfaction with the Umayyads, cultivated by the Abbasid revolutionary Abu Muslim . Under the Abbasids Islamic civilization flourished. Most notable was the development of Arabic prose and poetry , termed by The Cambridge History of Islam as its " golden age ". Commerce and industry (considered
27777-490: The generation of Imam Husain but they were opposed by the Caliphs of the day as their rivals till Imam Abdullah al-Mahdi Billah came in power as first Caliph of Fatimid in North Africa when Caliphate and Imamate came to same person again after Imam Ali. These Imams were recognized by Shia Islam taking Imam Ali as first Caliph/Imam and the same is institutionalized by the Safavids and many similar institutions named now as Ismaili , Twelver , etc. The period under Muawiya II
27974-460: The growing Muslim population. Like his father, Al-Hadi was open to his people and allowed citizens to address him in the palace at Baghdad. He was considered an "enlightened ruler", and continued the policies of his Abbasid predecessors. His short rule was plagued by military conflicts and internal intrigue. The military conflicts subsided as Harun al-Rashid ruled. His reign was marked by scientific, cultural and religious prosperity. He established
28171-450: The historical, social, political, economic, and religious context of Late Antiquity in the Middle East . The second half of the 6th century CE saw political disorder in the pre-Islamic Arabian peninsula , and communication routes were no longer secure. Religious divisions played an important role in the crisis. Judaism became the dominant religion of the Himyarite Kingdom in Yemen after about 380 CE, while Christianity took root in
28368-405: The history of early Islam, the descriptive approach is more popular. For scholars who look at the beginnings of Islam in depth, the source critical and tradition critical methods are more often followed. After the 8th century CE, the quality of sources improves. Those sources which treated earlier times with a large temporal and cultural gap now begin to give accounts which are more contemporaneous,
28565-508: The importance of following the Islamic law ( sharīʿa ); the duty of rulers to seek consultation ( shūrā ) from their subjects; and the importance of rebuking unjust rulers. A significant change in the Muslim world was the defeat and dissolution of the Ottoman Empire (1908–1922). In the modern era (19th–20th centuries), common Islamic political themes have been resistance to Western imperialism and enforcement of sharīʿa law through democratic or militant struggle. Events such as
28762-541: The influence of the Abbasid caliphs, independent dynasties appeared in the Muslim world and the caliphs recognized such dynasties as legitimately Muslim. The first was the Tahirids in Khorasan , which was founded during the caliph Al-Ma'mun 's reign. Similar dynasties included the Saffarids , Samanids , Ghaznavids and Seljuqs . During this time, advancements were made in the areas of astronomy, poetry, philosophy, science, and mathematics. Political aspects of Islam Political aspects of Islam are derived from
28959-436: The land where they are oppressed ( 4:99 ). Abraham was an "emigrant unto my Lord" ( 29:25 ). War against " unbelievers " ( kuffār ) is commanded and divine aid promised, although some verses state this may be when unbelievers start the war and treaties may end the war. The Quran also devotes some verses to the proper division of spoils captured in war among the victors. War against internal enemies or " hypocrites " ( munāfiḳūn )
29156-514: The last two centuries continue to reverberate to the present day, as well as fuel conflict-zones in regions such as Palestine , Kashmir , Xinjiang , Chechnya , Central Africa , Bosnia , and Myanmar. The oil boom stabilized the Arab States of the Gulf Cooperation Council (comprising Bahrain , Kuwait , Oman , Qatar , Saudi Arabia , and the United Arab Emirates ), making them the world's largest oil producers and exporters, which focus on capitalism , free trade , and tourism . The study of
29353-498: The late medieval period, Sunni fiqh elaborated the doctrine of siyasa shar'iyya , which literally means governance according to sharia , and is sometimes called the political dimension of Islamic law. Its goal was to harmonize Islamic law with the practical demands of statecraft. The doctrine emphasized the religious purpose of political authority and advocated non-formalist application of Islamic law if required by expedience and utilitarian considerations. It first emerged in response to
29550-405: The leader of the Muslims simply should be elected from the majority. Abu Hanifa an-Nu‘man , the founder of the Sunnī Ḥanafī school , also wrote that the leader must come from the majority. Western scholar of Islam, Fred Donner , argues that the standard Arabian practice during the early caliphates was for the prominent men of a kinship group, or tribe, to gather after a leader's death and elect
29747-478: The legislature was suspended less than a year after its inauguration and never recovered to replace the Ulama as a separate "branch" of government providing separation of powers . The "paradigm of the executive as a force unchecked by either the sharia of the scholars or the popular authority of an elected legislature became the dominant paradigm in most of the Sunni Muslim world in the 20th century." Political Timurid Renaissance The Timurid Renaissance
29944-474: The library Bayt al-Hikma ("House of Wisdom"), and the arts and music flourished during his reign. The Barmakid family played a decisive advisorial role in establishing the Caliphate, but declined during Rashid's rule. Al-Amin received the Caliphate from his father Harun Al-Rashid, but failed to respect the arrangements made for his brothers, leading to the Fourth Fitna . Al-Ma'mun 's general Tahir ibn Husayn took Baghdad , executing Al-Amin. The war led to
30141-448: The life and times of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and his successors. In 622 CE, in recognition of his claims to prophethood, Muhammad was invited to rule the city of Medina . At the time the local Arab tribes of Aus and Khazraj dominated the town, and were in constant conflict. Medinans considered Muhammad as an impartial outsider who could resolve the conflict. Muhammad and his followers thus moved to Medina, where Muhammad drafted
30338-417: The menace they had posed to Muslim unity and of the moral challenge generated by their pious idealism still weighed heavily on Muslim political and religious thought, however. Even if the Kharijites could no longer threaten, their ghosts still had to be answered. The Ibadis are the only Kharijite group to survive into modern times. In the 19th century, European colonization of the Muslim world coincided with
30535-418: The middle of the tenth century, judges were solemnly confirming that the onset of blindness had disqualified a caliph, without mentioning that they had just been assembled to witness the gouging of his eyes. According to Noah Feldman , law professor at Harvard University , the Muslim legal scholars and jurists lost their control over Islamic law due to the codification of sharia by the Ottoman Empire in
30732-406: The most influential powers in the world. Highly Persianized empires built by the Samanids , Ghaznavids , and Ghurids significantly contributed to technological and administrative developments. The Islamic Golden Age gave rise to many centers of culture and science and produced notable polymaths , astronomers , mathematicians , physicians , and philosophers during the Middle Ages . By
30929-427: The oasis town of al-Ta'if. The Azariqa, considered to be the extreme faction of the Kharijites, controlled parts of western Iran under the Umayyads until they were finally put down in 699 CE. The more moderate Ibadi Kharijites were longer-lived, continuing to wield political power in North and East Africa and in eastern Arabia during the Abbasid period . Because of their readiness to declare any opponent as apostate,
31126-409: The old pagan vocabulary of Arabic throughout the peninsula. The Ḥanīf ("renunciates"), a group of monotheists that sought to separate themselves both from the foreign Abrahamic religions and the traditional Arab polytheism , were looking for a new religious worldview to replace the pre-Islamic Arabian religions, focusing on "the all-encompassing father god Allah whom they freely equated with
31323-406: The old pagan vocabulary of Arabic throughout the peninsula. The Ḥanīf ("renunciates"), a group of monotheists that sought to separate themselves both from the foreign Abrahamic religions and the traditional Arab polytheism , were looking for a new religious worldview to replace the pre-Islamic Arabian religions, focusing on "the all-encompassing father god Allah whom they freely equated with
31520-598: The origin of the Kharijities to the battle between ʿAlī and Mu'awiya at Siffin in 657 CE. When ʿAlī was faced with a military stalemate and agreed to submit the dispute to arbitration, some of his party withdrew their support from him. "Judgement belongs to God alone" (لاَ حُكْكْ إلَا لِلّهِ) became the slogan of these secessionists. They also called themselves al-Shurat ("the Vendors"), to reflect their willingness to sell their lives in martyrdom . These original Kharijites opposed both ʿAlī and Mu'awiya, and appointed their own leaders. They were decisively defeated by ʿAlī, who
31717-441: The other hand, believed the title of caliph should be hereditary in the bloodline of Muhammad , and thus all the caliphs, with the exceptions of Muhammad's cousin and son-in-law ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib and his firstborn son Ḥasan , were actually illegitimate usurpers . However, the Sunnī sect emerged as triumphant in most regions of the Muslim world , with the exceptions of Iran and Oman . Muhammad's closest companions ( ṣaḥāba ),
31914-402: The outside with brilliant colors. Timur's dominance of the region strengthened the influence of his capital and Persian architecture upon the Indian Subcontinent . The Timurid Empire also produced quality pieces of metalwork. Steel , iron , brass , and bronze were commonly used as mediums. Timurid silver- inlaid steel is often being cited as being of particularly high quality. Following
32111-483: The period of the astronomer and mathematician Ulugh Begh (along with notable polymaths and Islamic scholars ), and the construction of additional learning centers by the art patron Sultan Husayn Bayqara . The Timur reign experienced revived interest in classical Persian art . Large-scale building projects were undertaken, creating mausoleums , madrasas , and kitabhane - medieval Islamic book workshops. Mathematical and astronomical studies were reinvigorated, and at
32308-400: The politics of the early caliphates, most notably the Rāshidūn Caliphate , were not "democratic" in the modern sense of the term; rather, decision-making power laid with a council ( shura ) of notable and trusted companions of Muhammad ( ṣaḥāba ) and representatives of different Arab tribes (most of them selected or elected within their tribes). Traditional Sunnī Muslim jurists agree that
32505-399: The proliferation of tribal clans under the banner of a new religion—or was his vision a truly international one, encompassing a desire to produce a reformed humanity in the midst of a new world order? These questions are not without significance, for a number of the proponents of contemporary da'wah activity in the West trace their inspiration to the prophet himself, claiming that he initiated
32702-422: The quality of genre of available historical accounts improves, and new documentary sources—such as official documents, correspondence and poetry—appear. For the time prior to the beginning of Islam—in the 6th century CE—sources are superior as well, if still of mixed quality. In particular, the sources covering the Sasanian realm of influence in the 6th century CE are poor, while the sources for Byzantine areas at
32899-562: The quality of the miniature paintings found in these manuscripts, archaeologist and art historian Suzan Yalman of the Metropolitan Museum of Art noted that "the Herat school [of manuscript painting] is often regarded as the apogee of Persian painting. Timurid silver- inlaid steel is often cited as being of particularly high quality. Painting was not limited to manuscripts. Many Timurid artists also created intricate wall paintings . Many of these wall paintings depicted landscapes derived from both Persian and Chinese artistic tradition. While
33096-408: The rest of Persia to follow soon afterwards. ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb improved the administration of the fledgling Islamic empire, ordering improvement of irrigation networks, and playing a role in foundation of cities like Basra . To be close to the poor, he lived in a simple mud hut without doors and walked the streets every evening. After consulting with the poor, ʿUmar established the Bayt al-mal ,
33293-447: The revolting Abbasids, one family member, Abd ar-Rahman I , escaped to Spain and established an independent caliphate there in 756. In the Maghreb , Harun al-Rashid appointed the Arab Aghlabids as virtually autonomous rulers, although they continued to recognize central authority. Aghlabid rule was short-lived, and they were deposed by the Shiite Fatimid dynasty in 909. By around 960, the Fatimids had conquered Abbasid Egypt, building
33490-476: The rule of Yazid I , some Muslims in Kufa began to think that if Husayn ibn Ali the descendant of Muhammad was their ruler, he would have been more just. He was invited to Kufa but was later betrayed and killed. Imam Husain's son, Imam Ali ibn Husain , was imprisoned along with Husain's sister and other ladies left in Karbala war. Due to opposition by public they were later released and allowed to go to their native place Medina. One Imam after another continued in
33687-410: The ruler, political activism challenging the ruler, and aloofness from politics — with "writings of Shi'i ulama through the ages" showing "elements of all three of these attitudes." Islamic extremism dates back to the early history of Islam with the emergence of the Kharijites in the 7th century CE. The original schism between Kharijites , Sunnīs , and Shīʿas among Muslims was disputed over
33884-494: The saying "sixty years with an unjust imam is better than one night without a sultan" was confirmed by experience. He believed that the Quranic injunction to " enjoin good and forbid evil " ( al-amr bi-l-maʿrūf wa-n-nahy ʿani-l-munkar , found in Quran 3:104 , Quran 3:110 , and other verses) was the duty of every state functionary with charge over other Muslims, from the caliph to "the schoolmaster in charge of assessing children's handwriting exercises." Starting from
34081-513: The sciences and encouraged theirs court to study the various fields in great depth. Consequently, the period of their power became one of many scholarly achievements. The reign of Sultan Ulugh Begh saw the scientific peak of the empire. During his rule, al-Kashi produced sine tables to four sexagesimal digits (equivalent to eight decimal places) of accuracy for each degree and includes differences for each minute. He also produced tables dealing with transformations between coordinate systems on
34278-550: The state expenses increased. Additionally the Bayt al-mal and the Welfare State expenses to assist the Muslim and the non-Muslim poor, needy, elderly, orphans, widows, and the disabled, increased, the Umayyads asked the new converts (mawali) to continue paying the poll tax. The Umayyad rule, with its wealth and luxury also seemed at odds with the Islamic message preached by Muhammad. All this increased discontent. The descendants of Muhammad's uncle Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib rallied discontented mawali , poor Arabs, and some Shi'a against
34475-410: The subject matter of these paintings was borrowed from other cultures, Timurid wall paintings were eventually refined into their own, unique style. Mongol artistic traditions were not entirely phased out, as the highly stylized depictions of human figures seen in 15th century Timurid art are derived from this culture. Sultan Husayn Bayqara 's reign saw a further rise in the arts. He was renowned as
34672-500: The submission ( Islām ) to the will of God . According to the traditional account , the Islamic prophet Muhammad began receiving what Muslims consider to be divine revelations in 610 CE, calling for submission to the one God, preparation for the imminent Last Judgement , and charity for the poor and needy. As Muhammad's message began to attract followers (the ṣaḥāba ) he also met with increasing hostility and persecution from Meccan elites . In 622 CE Muhammad migrated to
34869-441: The subsequent Islamic empires were known as " caliphates ", and a series of four caliphs governed the early Islamic empire: Abū Bakr (632–634), ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb (Umar І, 634–644), ʿUthmān ibn ʿAffān (644–656), and ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib (656–661). These leaders are known as the rāshidūn ("rightly-guided") caliphs in Sunnī Islam . They oversaw the initial phase of the early Muslim conquests , advancing through Persia ,
35066-473: The succession of al-Walid's son Yazid, rather than Sulayman. Al-Hajjaj had predeceased al-Walid, so he posed no threat. Qutaibah renounced allegiance to Sulayman, though his troops rejected his appeal to revolt. They killed him and sent his head to Sulayman. Sulayman did not move to Damascus on becoming Caliph, remaining in Ramla . Sulayman sent Maslama ibn Abd al-Malik to attack the Byzantine capital ( siege of Constantinople ). The intervention of Bulgaria on
35263-456: The taking of Kharoum in 1885." Hussein bin Ali , the Sharif and Emir of Mecca from 1908, enthroned himself as King of the Hejaz after proclaiming the Great Arab Revolt against the Ottoman Empire , and continued to hold both of the offices of Sharif and King from 1916 to 1924. At the end of his reign he also briefly laid claim to the office of Sharifian Caliph ; he was a 37th-generation direct descendant of Muhammad , as he belongs to
35460-433: The third caliph. As the Arabic language is written without vowels, speakers of different Arabic dialects and other languages recited the Quran with phonetic variations that could alter the meaning of the text. When ʿUthmān became aware of this, he ordered a standard copy of the Quran to be prepared. Begun during his reign, the compilation of the Quran was finished some time between 650 and 656 CE, and copies were sent out to
35657-771: The time are of a respectable quality, and complemented by Syriac Christian sources for Syria and Iraq. Until the early 1970s, Non-Muslim scholars of Islamic studies—while not accepting accounts of divine intervention—did accept its origin story in most of its details. On the dates said, historians called Revisionist school of Islamic studies began to use relevant archaeology , epigraphy , numismatics and contemporary non-Arabic literature to crosscheck writings from 150 to 250 years after Muhammad. The school included scholars such as John Wansbrough and his students Andrew Rippin , Norman Calder , G. R. Hawting , Patricia Crone and Michael Cook , as well as Günter Lüling , Yehuda D. Nevo and Christoph Luxenberg . These studies yielded
35854-419: The tribe of Muhammad, might serve as one. Shīʿītes, on the other hand, believed the title of caliph should be hereditary in the bloodline of Muhammad , and thus all the caliphs, with the exceptions of Muhammad's cousin and son-in-law ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib and his firstborn son Ḥasan , were actually illegitimate usurpers . However, the Sunnī sect emerged as triumphant in most regions of the Muslim world , with
36051-447: The unjust and tyrannical ruler" ( 18:70 , 18:79 ) and elsewhere ( 28:34 ). The phrase Ahl al-Ḥall wa’l-‘Aḳd ( Arabic : أهل الحلّ والعقد , lit. 'those who are qualified to unbind and to bind' or sometimes 'the people of the solution and the contract') was used in order to denote those qualified to appoint or depose a caliph or another ruler on behalf of the Ummah. Olivier Roy writes that Classical Islamic thought
36248-435: The worship of God, accumulating wealth and establishing dynasties. Staying in these encampments away from the cities also ensured that there was no stress on the local populations which could remain autonomous. Some of these encampments later grew into cities like Basra and Kufa in Iraq and Fustat in Egypt. When ʿUmar was assassinated in 644 CE, ʿUthmān ibn ʿAffān , second cousin and twice son-in-law of Muhammad, became
36445-399: Was "symbolized by the right to coin money and to have the Friday prayer ( Jumu'ah khutba ) said in his name." British lawyer and journalist Sadakat Kadri argues that a large "degree of deference" was shown to the caliphate by the ulama and this was at least at times "counterproductive". "Although jurists had identified conditions from mental incapacity to blindness that could disqualify
36642-413: Was a historical period in Asian and Islamic history spanning the late 14th, the 15th, and the early 16th centuries. Following the gradual downturn of the Islamic Golden Age , the Timurid Empire , based in Central Asia ruled by the Timurid dynasty , witnessed the revival of arts and sciences . Its movement spread across the Muslim world . The French word renaissance means "rebirth", and defines
36839-412: Was almost entirely devoted to trying to keep the Umayyad empire together. His death signalled the end of Umayyad rule in the East, and was followed by the massacre of Umayyads by the Abbasids. Almost the entire Umayyad dynasty was killed, except for the talented prince Abd al-Rahman who escaped to the Iberian Peninsula and founded a dynasty there. The Abbasid dynasty rose to power in 750, consolidating
37036-486: Was also written which described a variety of different instruments, including the triquetrum and armillary sphere , the equinoctial armillary and solsticial armillary of Mo'ayyeduddin Urdi , the sine and versine instrument of Urdi, the sextant of al-Khujandi , the Fakhri sextant at the Samarqand observatory, a double quadrant Azimuth - altitude instrument he invented, and a small armillary sphere incorporating an alhidade which he invented. The invention of
37233-511: Was becoming attracted to wealth or did not meet the required administrative standards, he had him removed from his position. The expansion was partially halted between 638 and 639 CE during the years of great famine and plague in Arabia and the Levant, respectively, but by the end of ʿUmar's reign, Syria, Egypt, Mesopotamia, and much of Persia were incorporated into the early Islamic empire. Local populations of Jews and indigenous Christians , who lived as religious minorities and were forced to pay
37430-418: Was chosen as the first caliph ("successor"). Although the office of caliph retained an aura of religious authority, it laid no claim to prophecy. A number of tribal Arab leaders refused to extend the agreements made with Muhammad to Abū Bakr, ceasing payments of the alms levy and in some cases claiming to be prophets in their own right. Abū Bakr asserted his authority in a successful military campaign known as
37627-419: Was extended under Muawiyah I to Rhodes , Crete , Kabul , Bukhara , and Samarkand , and expanded into North Africa . In 664 CE, Arab Muslim armies conquered Kabul , and in 665 CE pushed further into the Maghreb . The Umayyad dynasty (or Ommiads), whose name derives from Umayya ibn Abd Shams , the great-grandfather of the first Umayyad caliph, ruled from 661 to 750 CE. Although the Umayyad family came from
37824-408: Was imposed to unify tribes. Examples include Abd al-Qadir in Algeria , Muhammad Ahmad in Sudan , Shamil in the Caucasus , the Senussi in Libya and Chad , Mullah-i Lang in Afghanistan , the Akhund of Swat in India, and later, Abd al-Karim in Morocco . All these movements eventually failed "despite spectacular victories such as the massacre of the British army in Afghanistan in 1842 and
38021-461: Was in turn assassinated by a Kharijite. Kharijites engaged in guerilla warfare against the Umayyads , but only became a movement to be reckoned with during the Second Fitna (the second Islamic Civil War) when they at one point controlled more territory than any of their rivals. The Kharijites were, in fact, one of the major threats to Ibn al-Zubayr's bid for the caliphate; during this time they controlled Yamama and most of southern Arabia, and captured
38218-435: Was inherited by Mughal India and had significant influence on the other states of the Age of the Islamic Gunpowders ( Ottoman Turkey and Safavid Iran ). The Timurid Empire was founded by Amir Tamerlane in 1370 after the conquest of several Ilkhanate successor states. After conquering a city, the Timurids commonly spared the lives of the local artisans and deported them to the Timurid capital of Samarkand . After
38415-463: Was marked by civil wars ( Second Fitna ). This would ease in the reign of Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan , a well-educated and capable ruler. Despite the many political problems that impeded his rule, all important records were translated into Arabic. In his reign, a currency for the Muslim world was minted. This led to war with the Byzantine Empire under Justinian II ( Battle of Sebastopolis ) in 692 in Asia Minor . The Byzantines were decisively defeated by
38612-446: Was often distributed among several dynasties. For example, during the later stages of the Abbasid Caliphate , even the capital city of Baghdad was effectively ruled by other dynasties such as the Buyyids and the Seljuks , while the Ottoman Turks commonly delegated executive authority over outlying provinces to local potentates , such as the Deys of Algiers , the Beys of Tunis , and the Mamluks of Iraq . Early Islam arose within
38809-423: Was the chief tribe of Mecca and a dominant force in western Arabia. To counter the effects of anarchy (particularly raiding for booty between tribes), they upheld the institution of "sacred months" when all violence was forbidden and travel was safe. The polytheistic Kaaba shrine in Mecca and the surrounding area was a popular pilgrimage destination for surrounding Arabs, which was a significant source of revenue for
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