Medieval Middle East {600-1100} Study Guide 1

 

#1: Near Eastern Geography (Lecture)

General

      Greece

      Crete

      Cyprus

      Anatolia/Turkey

      Syria

      Palestine (Israel)

      (Trans) Jordan

      Mesopotamia (Iraq) = Jazira (N) and Sawad (S)

      Iran                                                                             

      Egypt

      Libya

      Armenia

Seas and Rivers

      Aegean

      Mediterranean Sea

      Black Sea

      Red Sea

      Caspian Sea

      Persian Gulf

      Arabian Sea

      Nile

      Tigris

      Euphrates

Arabia

      Syrian Desert

      Najd

      Hijaz

      Yaman (Yemen)

      Yamama

      Empty Quarter (Rub al-Khali)

      Uman (Oman)

      Bahrayn (Bahrain)

      Mecca, Medina

#1, Near Eastern Ethnic Groups (Lecture)

      Greeks

      Copts (Egyptians)

      Syrians (Syriac)

      Kurds

      Iranians

      Arabs

      Jews

 

#2, Pre-Islamic Middle East (Kennedy ix-14, Morgan viii-13, Berkey 1x-38)

      Byzantine

      Sasanid

      Ghassanid

      Lakhmid

      Great War (610-28) between Byzantines and Sasanids

      Heraclius

      Khusrau II and the Persian conquests

      Dissent in Syria and Egypt

            language and religion (Monophysite)

            lack of loyalty to the empire

      Zoroastrianism

            Ahura Mazda

      Persian conquest of Arabia: Bahrayn, Uman, Yaman

      Turks

      Mazdak

      dihqans = rural Sasanid aristocracy

      Nesotrianism

      Jews

      Manichaeans

      Divine kingship

      universal empires

      bi-polar world

      relation of Church and State

 

#3, Pre-Islamic (Jahiliyya) Arabia (Kennedy 15-33, Berkey 39-53)

      Jahiliyya

      Nomadism

      Bedouin

      Arab language

      Ghassanid (client kingdoms)

      Lakhmid

      Abraha and the Year of the Elephant {570}

      urban life in Arabia

      ghazwa = raid

            Arab militarism

      tribal social life and government

      religion in Arabia

      role of trade in Arabia

      haram

      Ukaz

      Quraysh

      poetry

tribal confederations

      city-states

      shaykh

      tribal democracy

      patron-client

      trade

      Mecca

            Ka’ba

            pilgrimage

 

#4, Muhammad and the Qur’an (Kennedy 33-49, Berkey, 57-69)

hanif

merchant

Khadija

first vision

Meccan period

hijra

umma

Medina

Badr

conquest of Mecca

“conversion” of Arabia

Sura

Organization of Qur’an

Uthman and collection

literary style

themes

      prophets

      monotheism

      creation

      last day

      social justice

      community law

 

#5, Rashidun (Kennedy 50-81, Morgan 13-18, Berkey 70-75)

      “seal of the Prophets”

      succession crisis

            heredity vs. election

      Abu Bakr {632-634}

            Khalifat (caliph) Rasul Allah, (successor to the apostle of God)

            amir al-mu’minin = commander of the faithful

            Ridda wars

                  disunity of the opposition

            the false prophets

                  Musaylima of the B. Hanifa in Yamama

      Umar {634-644}

            nepotism

            The Arab conquests

                  Palestine, Yarmuk {636}

                  Khalid’s desert march from Iraq {634}

                  Syria, Damascus {637}

                  Iraq, Battle of the Bridge {634}, Qadisiya {637}

                  Egypt, Heliopolis {640}, Amr b. al-As

                  Capture of Jerusalem {638}

            Reasons for success

                  seek to unite all Arabs

                  skill at warfare

                  weakness of Byzantium and Sasanids

                  patronage system

                  jihad/holy war and apocalyptic

                  promise of paradise

            historiographical problem of anecdotal evidence

            Jund  and Garrison towns

                  Basra

                  Kufa

                  Fustat

                  Migration and settlement of Arab tribes in conquered provinces

            jizya

            Mu’awiya b. Abi Sufyan as governor of Damascus

            Umar murdered by disgruntled slave

      Uthman {644-656}

            collection of the Qur’an

            Rise of Arab naval power

                  Caesarea and Alexandria as ports

                  Battle of the Masts {655}

            Conquest of Iran

            Battle of Nihavand {642}

            Treaties, conversion and patronage

      Rise of discontent

      elites of early converts

      nepotism of Uthman and the Umayyad clan

            struggle for control over state revenues (sawafi)

            late converts and apostates vs. early converts

            conflict between first conquerors and later immigrants

            rejection of Uthman’s governors

            murder of Uthman by rebels

      ‘Ali {656-661}

            civil war (battles of Camel and Siffin)

            arbitration and compromise

            Mu’awiya

            Khariji

            Shi’ites

 

 

#6, Umayyads {661-750} (Kennedy, 82-123)

      Mu’awiya {661-680}

      factionalism

            Shi’ite

            Khariji

            non-Arabs

      client system (mawla)

      Battle of Karbala {680}

      Abd al-Malik {684-705}

            victory in civil wars

            sack of Mecca

            Dome of the Rock

            Arabic language and coinage

      final phase of conquests

            Spain and S. France, 711-753; Battle of Tours/Potiers 732

            Transoxania, 706-759; Battle of Talas, 751

                  Muslim contact with the Turks

            Indus valley, 712-3

            Great Siege of Constantinople, 716-718

            Caucasus, 732-9; 738 Khazar campaign

      Financial reorganization of taxes

            did revenues belong to all Muslims or the central government?

            stipends to Muslims? (cf. jizya)

      Problem of non-Arab converts (mawla/mawali)

            Client system

      Relationship with conquered elites

            inner provinces were driven out

            outer provinces became allies

      Nomadic confederations

            Turks and Berbers

 

#6-7, Late Umayyads and the Abbasid Revolution, 743-750 (Kennedy 112-133, 102-109)

      Tensions within the Umayyad Caliphate

            Qays vs. Yaman

            Arabs vs. Mawali

            Shi’i and Khariji vs. Sunni

      Umayyad civil war {744-746}

            Murder of al-Walid II {744}

            Factional struggles between Qays and Yaman = no unity

      anti-Umayyad rebellions

            Khariji and Shi’i in Iraq

            Marwan barely succeeds in subduing

            Khariji in N. Africa

      Abbasid revolution in Khurasan

            region where 70,000+ Arab warriors had settled

            leader Abu Muslim; Shi’i support

            mawla = Iranian support

            Advance to Iraq; Battle of the Zab, Feb. 750

            massacre of the Umayyad clan (Abd al-Rahman escapes to Spain)

      Weaknesses of the Umayyads

            secular, lack of religious charismatic support

            power base on clan and factions, no integration of non-Arabs

                  ethnic struggle between Arab, Berber (Moor), Iranian, and Turk

            collapse of clan unity

      Developments of Umayyad Age

            Arabic language and culture in Iraq, Syria and Egypt

            Islamic religion

            beginning of Cultural synthesis of Arab, Hellenistic and Iranian cultures

            New trade routes: Silk Road, Indian Ocean, Mediterranean Sea

 

#7, Islam (Berkey 83-101)

      Qur'an

      Hadith

      Shari'a

      Law Schools

      Consensus

      Five Pillars

      Jihad

      pilgrimage

      prayer

      mosque

      mihrab

      minbar

      minaret

      qadi

      ulema

      Sunni

      Shi'ites (Twelvers, Seveners)

Occultation of the Twelfth Imam

      zahir = exoteric, literal vs. batin = esoteric

      Neoplatonic emanations and Shi'i thought

      Ghulat

Religious extremists

Infallible Imam

Succession disputes

Mahdi

      Sufis

Mysticism

Renunciation of the world

Prayer, reading Qur’an, meditation, chanting

Allegorical reading of the Qur’an

            Different schools (tariqat)

 

 

#8, Abbasids (Kennedy 124-157; Berkey 102-109)

      Khurasan

      religious opposition to Umayyads

      support by Shi'ites and non-Arabs

      Abu Muslim

      Battle of the Zab (750)

      massacre of the Umayyads

      Baghdad

      wazir (Barmakids)

      mamluk

      harem

      independence of the provinces

      Golden age of culture

      Harun al-Rashid

      translations

 

#9, Golden Age of Culture (Kennedy 200-211, Berkey 113-123)

Golden Age of Islam

      Courtly Islam

      Urban Islam

      Absorption of Greek culture

            Philosophy

            Science

      Absorption of Iranian culture

            Literature

            Art and Architecture

            Court ritual and government

      Translation schools

Government

      caliph

      church and state?

      wazir

      sultan

      problem of legitimacy

      military victory as sign from God

      Economy

      agriculture

      hydraulic technology

      economic degradation

      nomadism

      textiles, metals working

      banking and usury

      control of international trade

      naval power of Islamic world

      suq

 

#10, Early Islamic Iran (Morgan 19-24; Kennedy 212-249)

      Persians, Soghdians, Afghans

      Survival of Persia as literary language

            Adoption of Arabic Script

            Rise of Persian as second literary language

      mixed nomadic, agricultural and urban society in Iran

            irrigation and qanat; dihqan = agricultural aristocracy

      Arab conquests, survival of Iranian ethnicity and langauge

      Conversion to Islam from Zoroastrianism

            Fall of Zoroastrian state

      Change in policies towards Turkish frontier

      Iranian influence on Islamic civilization

            royal tradition and governmental theory

            literature, art and architecture

      Rise of Independent Iranian states from 821

            mawlas and governors

      Ghaznawids {998-1040}

            Mahmud of Ghazni, raids into India

      Firdawsi, Shah-nama

      Buyids {934/945-1055/1062}

            Adud al-Dawla

      revival of Iranian world

            language, literature and culture

            shift in relations with Turks

 

#11, Decline of Abbasids (Kennedy 158-199; Berkey 124-129)

      court and harem factions

      wazirs in control

      corruption

      independence of governors and provinces

      tax farming and fiefs

      rise of Turks

      decline of Revenues

      rival caliphates (Umayyads, Fatimids, Shi'ites in Yemen)

 

#12, Islam in Medieval Africa (Berkey 141-158)

      Berbers

      Tunisia

      Heterodox Islam

      Berber States

            al-Murabitun (Almoravids)

            al-Muwahhidun (Almohadids)

      Spanish Islam = Andalusia

            Tariq

            Umayyad State 756-1030 (Caliphate from 928)

            Cordoba

            Party Kings                 

            Great Golden Age of Culture

            Reconquista

                  Berber invasions

                  1212 Las Navas de Tolosa

            Granada (Alhambra)

      Berber jihad in Sub-saharan Africa

            Ghana (pagan), falls in 1071

      Islam in West Africa

            Saharan Trade (Golden trade of the Moors)

                  Gold, salt, slaves

            conversion of black elites; alliance with N African scholars and merchants

            Mali

            Mansa Musa

            Songhai

            Timbuktu

  

#13, Egypt and Fatimids (Kennedy 309-345; Berkey 130-140)

      Ibn Tulun

      Kafur

      Kutama Berbers

      Fatmid origins

      Conquest of Egypt and founding of Cairo {969}

      al-Azhar university

      Isma'ili (Seveners) vs. Twelvers (Imami)

      al-Hakim

            Druze

      military factions

      power of the wazirs

            Badr al-Jamali

      Nizari Isma’ilis (Assassins)

            Hasan al-Sabbah (Hasan-i Sabbah) {r. 1090-?}

            Alamut