Tuesday, July 14, 2009
The Fatimid Empire
Al-Hakim Mosque, Cairo, Egypt
The Fatimids had their origins in Ifriqiya (modern-day Tunisia and eastern Algeria). The dynasty was founded in 909 byˤAbdullāh al-Mahdī Billah, who legitimised his claim through descent from Muhammadby way of his daughter Fātima as-Zahra and her husband ˤAlī ibn-Abī-Tālib, the firstShīˤa Imām, hence the name al-Fātimiyyūn "Fatimid".
Abdullāh al-Mahdi's control soon extended over all of central Maghreb, an area consisting of the modern countries ofMorocco, Algeria, Tunisia and Libya, which he ruled from Mahdia, his newly-built capital in Tunisia.
The Fatimids entered Egypt in the late 900s, conquering the Ikhshidid dynasty and founding a new capital at al-Qāhira(Cairo) in 969.[12] The name was a reference to the planet Mars, "The Subduer", which was prominent in the sky at the moment that city construction started. Cairo was intended as a royal enclosure for the Fatimid caliph and his army, though the actual administrative and economic capital of Egypt was in cities such as Fustat until 1169. After Egypt, the Fatimids continued to conquer the surrounding areas until they ruled from Tunisia to Syria and even crossed over into Sicily and southernItaly.
Under the Fatimids, Egypt became the center of an empire that included at its peak North Africa, Sicily, Palestine,Lebanon, Syria, the Red Sea coast of Africa, Yemen and the Hejaz[citation needed]. Egypt flourished, and the Fatimids developed an extensive trade network in both the Mediterranean and the Indian Ocean. Their trade and diplomatic ties extended all the way to China and its Song Dynasty, which eventually determined the economic course of Egypt during the High Middle Ages.
Unlike other governments in the area, Fatimid advancement in state offices was based more on merit than on heredity. Members of other branches of Islam, like the Sunnis, were just as likely to be appointed to government posts as Shiites. Tolerance was extended even to non-Muslims such as Christians and Jews, who occupied high levels in government based on ability.[citation needed] There were, however, exceptions to this general attitude of tolerance, most notably Al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah.
The Fatimid palace was two parts. it used to be in the Khan el-Khalili area at Bin El-Quasryn street[1].
Early Caliphate
Main articles: Caliphate, Arab Empire, and Islamic Golden Age
After Muhammad died, a series of Caliphs governed the Islamic State: Hazrat Abu Bakr Siddique, Hazrat Umar, Hazrat Uthman, Hazrat Ali and Hazrat Hasan. These first Caliphs are popularly known as the "Rashidun" or "rightly-guided" Caliphs in Sunni Islam. After the Rashidun, a series of Caliphates were established. Each caliphate developed its own unique laws based on the sharia. There were at times competing claims to the Sunni caliphate, and the Imams of Ismaili Shi'a Islam, descended from Ali and Muhammad through his daughter Hazrat Fatimah, set up their own caliphate which ruled the Fatimid Empire.
[edit] Timeline
[edit] Al-Rashidun - "The Rightly-Guided Khalifahs"
Main articles: Rashidun and Muslim conquests
Following Muhammad's death, a series of four Caliphs lead the Islamic Empire during this period. Starting with Abu Bakr, Omar, Uthman, and ending with Ali.
[edit] Abbasids - "Islamic Golden Age"
Main articles: Abbasid and Islamic Golden Age
The gains of the Ummayad empire were consolidated upon when the Abbasid dynasty rose to power in 750, with the conquest of the Mediterranean islands including the Balearics and Sicily.[2] The new ruling party had been instated on the wave of dissatisfaction propagated against the Ummayads, cultured mainly by the Abbasid revolutionary, Abu Muslim.[3][4] 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."[5] This was also the case for commerce and industry (considered a Muslim Agricultural Revolution), and the arts and sciences (considered a Muslim Scientific Revolution), which prospered, especially under the rule of Abbasid caliphs al-Mansur (ruled 754 — 775), Harun al-Rashid (ruled 786 — 809), al-Ma'mun (ruled 809 — 813), and their immediate successors.[6]
Abbasid Caliphate and contemporary states and empires in 820.
Baghdad was made the new capital of the caliphate (moved from the previous capital, Damascus) due to the importance placed by the Abbasids upon eastern affairs in Persia and Transoxania.[6] It was at this time however, that the caliphate showed signs of fracture and we witness the uprising of regional dynasties. Although the Ummayad family had been killed by the revolting Abbasids, one family member, Abd ar-Rahman I, was able to flee to Spain and establish an independent caliphate there in 756. In the Maghreb region, Harun al-Rashid appointed the Arab Aghlabids as virtually autonomous rulers, although they continued to recognise the authority of the central caliphate. Aghlabid rule was short lived, as they were deposed by the Shiite Fatimid dynasty in 909. By around 960, the Fatimids had conquered Abbasid Egypt, building a new capital there in 973 called "al-Qahirah" (meaning "the planet of victory", known today as Cairo). Similar was the case in Persia, where the Turkic Ghaznavids managed to snatch power from the Abbasids.[7][8] Whatever temporal power of the Abbasids remained had eventually been consumed by the Seljuq Turks (a Muslim Turkish clan which had migrated into mainland Persia), in 1055.[6]
During this time, expansion continued, sometimes by military warfare, sometimes by peaceful proselytism.[2] The first stage in the conquest of India began just before the year 1000. By some 200 (from 1193 — 1209) years later, the area up to the Ganges river had been conquered. In sub-Saharan West Africa, it was just after the year 1000 that Islam was established. Muslim rulers are known to have been in Kanem starting from sometime between 1081 to 1097, with reports of a Muslim prince at the head of Gao as early as 1009. The Islamic kingdoms associated with Mali reached prominence later, in the 13th century.[2]
During the Abbasid reign, Baghdad became one of the greatest cultural centers of the world. The Abbasids were said to be descendents of Abbas the uncle of Muhammad claiming that they were the 'messiah' or saviours of the people under the Ummayad rule. Abbasid caliphs Harun al-Rashid and Al-Mamun were great patrons of arts and sciences, and enabled these domains to flourish. Islamic philosophy also developed as the Shariah was codified, and the four Madhabs were established and built. This era also saw the rise of classical Sufism. The greatest achievement, however, was completion of the canonical collections of Hadith of Sahih Bukhari and others.[9]
After Muhammad died, a series of Caliphs governed the Islamic State: Hazrat Abu Bakr Siddique, Hazrat Umar, Hazrat Uthman, Hazrat Ali and Hazrat Hasan. These first Caliphs are popularly known as the "Rashidun" or "rightly-guided" Caliphs in Sunni Islam. After the Rashidun, a series of Caliphates were established. Each caliphate developed its own unique laws based on the sharia. There were at times competing claims to the Sunni caliphate, and the Imams of Ismaili Shi'a Islam, descended from Ali and Muhammad through his daughter Hazrat Fatimah, set up their own caliphate which ruled the Fatimid Empire.
[edit] Timeline
[edit] Al-Rashidun - "The Rightly-Guided Khalifahs"
Main articles: Rashidun and Muslim conquests
Following Muhammad's death, a series of four Caliphs lead the Islamic Empire during this period. Starting with Abu Bakr, Omar, Uthman, and ending with Ali.
[edit] Abbasids - "Islamic Golden Age"
Main articles: Abbasid and Islamic Golden Age
The gains of the Ummayad empire were consolidated upon when the Abbasid dynasty rose to power in 750, with the conquest of the Mediterranean islands including the Balearics and Sicily.[2] The new ruling party had been instated on the wave of dissatisfaction propagated against the Ummayads, cultured mainly by the Abbasid revolutionary, Abu Muslim.[3][4] 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."[5] This was also the case for commerce and industry (considered a Muslim Agricultural Revolution), and the arts and sciences (considered a Muslim Scientific Revolution), which prospered, especially under the rule of Abbasid caliphs al-Mansur (ruled 754 — 775), Harun al-Rashid (ruled 786 — 809), al-Ma'mun (ruled 809 — 813), and their immediate successors.[6]
Abbasid Caliphate and contemporary states and empires in 820.
Baghdad was made the new capital of the caliphate (moved from the previous capital, Damascus) due to the importance placed by the Abbasids upon eastern affairs in Persia and Transoxania.[6] It was at this time however, that the caliphate showed signs of fracture and we witness the uprising of regional dynasties. Although the Ummayad family had been killed by the revolting Abbasids, one family member, Abd ar-Rahman I, was able to flee to Spain and establish an independent caliphate there in 756. In the Maghreb region, Harun al-Rashid appointed the Arab Aghlabids as virtually autonomous rulers, although they continued to recognise the authority of the central caliphate. Aghlabid rule was short lived, as they were deposed by the Shiite Fatimid dynasty in 909. By around 960, the Fatimids had conquered Abbasid Egypt, building a new capital there in 973 called "al-Qahirah" (meaning "the planet of victory", known today as Cairo). Similar was the case in Persia, where the Turkic Ghaznavids managed to snatch power from the Abbasids.[7][8] Whatever temporal power of the Abbasids remained had eventually been consumed by the Seljuq Turks (a Muslim Turkish clan which had migrated into mainland Persia), in 1055.[6]
During this time, expansion continued, sometimes by military warfare, sometimes by peaceful proselytism.[2] The first stage in the conquest of India began just before the year 1000. By some 200 (from 1193 — 1209) years later, the area up to the Ganges river had been conquered. In sub-Saharan West Africa, it was just after the year 1000 that Islam was established. Muslim rulers are known to have been in Kanem starting from sometime between 1081 to 1097, with reports of a Muslim prince at the head of Gao as early as 1009. The Islamic kingdoms associated with Mali reached prominence later, in the 13th century.[2]
During the Abbasid reign, Baghdad became one of the greatest cultural centers of the world. The Abbasids were said to be descendents of Abbas the uncle of Muhammad claiming that they were the 'messiah' or saviours of the people under the Ummayad rule. Abbasid caliphs Harun al-Rashid and Al-Mamun were great patrons of arts and sciences, and enabled these domains to flourish. Islamic philosophy also developed as the Shariah was codified, and the four Madhabs were established and built. This era also saw the rise of classical Sufism. The greatest achievement, however, was completion of the canonical collections of Hadith of Sahih Bukhari and others.[9]
Origins
Main articles: Muhammad in Mecca, Wahy, Origin and development of the Qur'an, Hijra (Islam), Muhammad in Medina, Conquest of Mecca, Muhammad after the conquest of Mecca, and Succession to Muhammad
According to the traditionalist view, the Qur'an began with revelations on Muhammad's divine revelations in AD 610. The verses of the Qur'an were written down and memorized during his life. Mecca was conquered by the Muslims in the year AD 630. In 628 the Meccan tribe of Quraish and the Muslim community in Medina had signed a truce called the Treaty of Hudaybiyya beginning a ten-year period of peace, which was broken when the Quraish and their allies, the tribe of Bakr, attacked the tribe of Khuza'ah, who were allies of the Muslims. Muhammad died in June 632. The Battle of Yamama was fought in December of the same year, between the forces of Rashidun Caliph Abu Bakr and Musailima.
Andrey Korotayev and his colleagues suggest to view the origins of Islam against the background of the 6th century AD Arabian socioecological crisis whose model is specified by Korotayev and his colleagues through the study of climatological, seismological, volcanological and epidemiological history of the period. They find that most sociopolitical systems of the Arabs reacted to the socioecological crisis by getting rid of the rigid supratribal political structures (kingdoms and chiefdoms) which started posing a real threat to their very survival. The decades of fighting which led to the destruction of the most of the Arabian kingdoms and chiefdoms (reflected in Ayyam al-`Arab tradition) led to the elaboration of some definite "antiroyal" freedom-loving tribal ethos. At the beginning of the 7th century a tribe which would recognize themselves as subjects of some terrestrial supratribal political authority, a "king", risked to lose its honour. However, this seems not to be applicable to the authority of another type, the "celestial" one. At the meantime the early 7th century evidences the merging of the Arabian tradition of prophecy and the Arabian Monotheist "Rahmanist" tradition which produced "the Arabian prophetic movement". The Monotheist "Rahmanist" prophets appear to have represented a supratribal authority just of the type many Arab tribes were looking for at this very time, which seems to explain to a certain extent those prophets' political success (including the extreme political success of Muhammad) (Andrey Korotayev, Vladimir Klimenko, and Dmitry Proussakov. Origins of Islam: Political-Anthropological and Environmental Context. Acta Orientalia Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae. 53/3–4 (1999): 243–276). v
According to the traditionalist view, the Qur'an began with revelations on Muhammad's divine revelations in AD 610. The verses of the Qur'an were written down and memorized during his life. Mecca was conquered by the Muslims in the year AD 630. In 628 the Meccan tribe of Quraish and the Muslim community in Medina had signed a truce called the Treaty of Hudaybiyya beginning a ten-year period of peace, which was broken when the Quraish and their allies, the tribe of Bakr, attacked the tribe of Khuza'ah, who were allies of the Muslims. Muhammad died in June 632. The Battle of Yamama was fought in December of the same year, between the forces of Rashidun Caliph Abu Bakr and Musailima.
Andrey Korotayev and his colleagues suggest to view the origins of Islam against the background of the 6th century AD Arabian socioecological crisis whose model is specified by Korotayev and his colleagues through the study of climatological, seismological, volcanological and epidemiological history of the period. They find that most sociopolitical systems of the Arabs reacted to the socioecological crisis by getting rid of the rigid supratribal political structures (kingdoms and chiefdoms) which started posing a real threat to their very survival. The decades of fighting which led to the destruction of the most of the Arabian kingdoms and chiefdoms (reflected in Ayyam al-`Arab tradition) led to the elaboration of some definite "antiroyal" freedom-loving tribal ethos. At the beginning of the 7th century a tribe which would recognize themselves as subjects of some terrestrial supratribal political authority, a "king", risked to lose its honour. However, this seems not to be applicable to the authority of another type, the "celestial" one. At the meantime the early 7th century evidences the merging of the Arabian tradition of prophecy and the Arabian Monotheist "Rahmanist" tradition which produced "the Arabian prophetic movement". The Monotheist "Rahmanist" prophets appear to have represented a supratribal authority just of the type many Arab tribes were looking for at this very time, which seems to explain to a certain extent those prophets' political success (including the extreme political success of Muhammad) (Andrey Korotayev, Vladimir Klimenko, and Dmitry Proussakov. Origins of Islam: Political-Anthropological and Environmental Context. Acta Orientalia Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae. 53/3–4 (1999): 243–276). v
Muslim history
Muslim history involves the history of the Islamic faith as a religion and as a social institution. The history of Islam began in Arabia with Muslim Prophet Muhammad's first recitations of the Qur'an in the 7th century.
Like most world religions, the historical evolution of Islam had a significant impact on the political, economic, and military and beyond its primary geographic areas. Islam's historical development has affected both inside and outside the Islamic world. The concept of the Islamic world is useful in observing the different periods of Islamic history; similarly useful is an understanding of the identification with a quasi-political community of believers, or ummah, on the part of Islam's practitioners down the centuries. Islamic culture encourages identification with a quasi-political community of believers or the ummah, and this principle has influenced the behavior of a number of players in history. The history of Islam is closely tied to the political, economic, and military.
A century after the death of Muhammad, an Islamic empire extended from the Atlantic Ocean in the west to Central Asia in the east. The subsequent empires of the Umayyads, Abbasids, the Fatimids, the Mughals, the Safavids, and Ottomans were among the largest and most powerful in the world. The Islamic civilization gave rise to many centers of culture and science and produced notable scientists, astronomers, mathematicians, doctors, nurses and philosophers during the Golden Age of Islam. Technology flourished; there was much investment in economic infrastructure, such as irrigation systems and canals; and especially, the importance of reading the Qur'an produced a comparatively high level of literacy in the general populace.
Later, in the eighteenth century and nineteenth century, many Islamic regions fell under the tutelage of European imperial powers. After the First World War, the remnants of the Ottoman empire were parcelled out as European protectorates. Since 1924, there has been no major widely-accepted claim to the caliphate (which had been last claimed by the Ottomans).
Although affected by various ideologies such as communism, during much of the twentieth century, the Islamic identity and the dominance of Islam on political issues have arguably increased during the early twenty-first century. The fast-growing Western interests in Islamic regions, international conflicts and globalization have changed the influence of Islam on the world of the twenty-first century.
Like most world religions, the historical evolution of Islam had a significant impact on the political, economic, and military and beyond its primary geographic areas. Islam's historical development has affected both inside and outside the Islamic world. The concept of the Islamic world is useful in observing the different periods of Islamic history; similarly useful is an understanding of the identification with a quasi-political community of believers, or ummah, on the part of Islam's practitioners down the centuries. Islamic culture encourages identification with a quasi-political community of believers or the ummah, and this principle has influenced the behavior of a number of players in history. The history of Islam is closely tied to the political, economic, and military.
A century after the death of Muhammad, an Islamic empire extended from the Atlantic Ocean in the west to Central Asia in the east. The subsequent empires of the Umayyads, Abbasids, the Fatimids, the Mughals, the Safavids, and Ottomans were among the largest and most powerful in the world. The Islamic civilization gave rise to many centers of culture and science and produced notable scientists, astronomers, mathematicians, doctors, nurses and philosophers during the Golden Age of Islam. Technology flourished; there was much investment in economic infrastructure, such as irrigation systems and canals; and especially, the importance of reading the Qur'an produced a comparatively high level of literacy in the general populace.
Later, in the eighteenth century and nineteenth century, many Islamic regions fell under the tutelage of European imperial powers. After the First World War, the remnants of the Ottoman empire were parcelled out as European protectorates. Since 1924, there has been no major widely-accepted claim to the caliphate (which had been last claimed by the Ottomans).
Although affected by various ideologies such as communism, during much of the twentieth century, the Islamic identity and the dominance of Islam on political issues have arguably increased during the early twenty-first century. The fast-growing Western interests in Islamic regions, international conflicts and globalization have changed the influence of Islam on the world of the twenty-first century.
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