A History of the Muslim World to 1750 : The Making of a Civilization

A History of the Muslim World to 1750 traces the development of Islamic civilization from the career of the Prophet Muhammad to the mid-eighteenth century. Encompassing a wide range of significant events within the period, its coverage includes the creation of the Dar al-Islam (the territory ruled by Muslims), the fragmentation of society into various religious and political groups including the Shi'ites and Sunnis, the series of catastrophes in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries that threatened to destroy the civilization, and the rise of the Ottoman, Safavid, and Mughal empires. Including the latest research from the last ten years, this second edition has been updated and expanded to cover the fifteenth to eighteenth centuries. Fully refreshed and containing over sixty images to highlight the key visual aspects, this book offers students a balanced coverage of the Muslim world from the Iberian Peninsula to South Asia, and detailed accounts of all cultures. The use of maps, primary sources, timelines, and a glossary further illuminates the fascinating yet complex world of the pre-modern Middle East. Covering art, architecture, religious institutions, theological beliefs, popular religious practice, political institutions, cuisine, and much more, A History of the Muslim World to 1750 is the perfect introduction for all students of the history of Islamic civilization and the Middle East. Cover 1 Title 4 Copyright 5 Contents 6 List of Figures 14 List of Maps 16 List of Tables 18 Preface to the Second Edition 20 Preface to the First Edition 22 Acknowledgements 26 Note on Transliteration and Dating 28 PART ONE THE FORMATIVE PERIOD, 610–950 30 CHAPTER 1 ORIGINS 33 Southwest Asia in the Seventh Century 33 The Byzantine Empire 34 The Sasanian Empire 40 The Arabian Peninsula 45 The Rise of Islam 50 The Meccan Environment 50 Muhammad 52 A Framework for a New Community 58 Conclusion 61 Notes 62 Further Reading 62 CHAPTER 2 ARAB IMPERIALISM 64 Arab Conquests 64 Arabia and the Fertile Crescent 65 Iran 70 North Africa and the Iberian Peninsula 72 Transoxiana and the Indus River Valley 74 Umayyad Administration 75 The Caliphate 76 The Administration of Non-Muslims 77 The Administration of Muslims 80 The Rationalization of Society 84 Dissolution of the Arab Empire 86 Conclusion 91 Notes 92 Further Reading 92 CHAPTER 3 THE DEVELOPMENT OF SECTARIANISM 94 ‘Ali and the Politics of Division 94 Political Dissension 95 ‘Ali’s Caliphate: Shi‘ites and Kharijites 97 Karbala 100 The Abbasid Revolution 102 Shi‘ite Identities 105 The Ghulat and the Zaydis 107 The Husayni Alids 107 The Shi‘ite Movement 113 The Sunni Consensus 114 Conclusion 118 Further Reading 119 CHAPTER 4 THE CENTER CANNOT HOLD: THREE CALIPHATES 120 The Abbasid Caliphate 121 The Early Period 121 Military and Economic Problems 124 The Assertion of Regional Autonomy 126 The Fatimid Caliphate 129 Isma‘ili Activism 129 A Second Caliphate 131 The Umayyad Caliphate of Cordoba 135 The Consolidation of Umayyad Power 135 A Third Caliphate 138 Economic Networks 140 A Single Economy 140 Overland Trade 143 Maritime Commerce 146 Conclusion 148 Notes 149 Further Reading 149 CHAPTER 5 SYNTHESIS AND CREATIVITY 151 The Origins of Islamic Law 152 Assimilation and Adaptation 152 Groping Toward an Islamic Jurisprudence 154 The Development of the Shari‘a 155 Early Sufism 161 The Contemplative Life 162 Testing the Limits of Transcendence 165 The Accommodation of Sufism 166 The Reception of Science and Philosophy 168 Science and Mathematics 168 Philosophy 169 The Development of an Islamic Theology 174 The Reception of Rationalism 174 The Critique of Rationalism 176 Conclusion 178 Notes 179 Further Reading 179 PART TWO CIVILIZATION VS. CHAOS, 950–1260 182 CHAPTER 6 FILLING THE VACUUM OF POWER, 950–1100 186 The Buyid Sultanate 186 The Advent of the Turks 189 Origins 190 The Saljuq Invasion 193 The Great Saljuqs and the Saljuqs of Rum 196 The Fatimid Empire 199 The Conquest of Egypt and Palestine 200 Religious Policies 201 The New Egyptian Economy 203 Ominous Developments 204 The Nizaris (“Assassins”) 205 The Muslim West 207 Norman Invasions of Muslim Territory 208 The “Hilali Invasion” of Ifriqiya 209 A Berber Empire 210 The Collapse of the Umayyad Caliphate of Andalus 212 The Incorporation of Andalus into the Maghrib 214 Conclusion 215 Further Reading 216 CHAPTER 7 BARBARIANS AT THE GATES, 1100–1260 218 The Loss of Andalus 220 Provisional Solutions: The Great Berber Empires 220 The Disintegration of the Almohads and of Andalus 224 The Period of the Crusades 228 The First Crusade 228 The Franks on the Defensive 235 Realignment in the East 239 The Collapse of the Great Saljuqs 239 Sunni–Nizari Rapprochement 241 The Mongol Campaigns 243 Conclusion 246 Further Reading 247 CHAPTER 8 THE CONSOLIDATION OF TRADITIONS 249 Science and Philosophy 249 Mathematics and the Natural Sciences 250 Philosophy 251 The Sunni Resolution to the Tension between Reason and Revelation 255 Consolidating Institutions: Sufism 256 The Emergence of Lodges and Tariqas 257 Speculative Mysticism 261 Consolidating Institutions: Shi‘ism 266 Twelver Shi‘ites 266 The Isma‘ilis 268 The Impact of “the Foreign Sciences” and Jurisprudence 269 The Transmission of Knowledge 271 Schools 271 The Legacy to Europe 274 Conclusion 277 Notes 278 Further Reading 278 CHAPTER 9 THE MUSLIM COMMONWEALTH 280 Frontiers and Identities 281 Frontiers Defining the Dar al-Islam 281 Frontiers within the Dar al-Islam 287 Identities 288 The City and the Countryside 291 The City 292 The Countryside 296 Conversion to Islam 297 A Muslim Minority 298 The Pace of Conversion Quickens 299 The Issue of Authority in the Muslim World 302 Conclusion 305 Notes 305 Further Reading 306 PART THREE MONGOL HEGEMONY, 1260–1405 308 CHAPTER 10 THE GREAT TRANSFORMATION 311 The Mongol Khanates 312 The Golden Horde 312 The Il-khanate 316 The Chaghatay Khanate 318 New Centers of Islamic Culture 321 The Mamluk Empire 321 The Delhi Sultanate 325 The Ottoman Sultanate 329 Scourges 334 Plague 334 The Conquests of Timur Lang 336 Conclusion 340 Further Reading 341 CHAPTER 11 UNITY AND DIVERSITY IN ISLAMIC TRADITIONS 342 Intellectual Life in the Fourteenth Century 343 The End of the “Golden Age”? 343 Against All Odds 345 Law 354 The Queen of the Sciences 354 The “Closing of the Gate of Ijtihad”? 355 The Varieties of Religious Expression 358 “Orthodoxy” and “Heterodoxy” 359 The Proliferation of Sufi Groups 361 Conclusion 369 Further Reading 369 PART FOUR MUSLIM ASCENDANCY, 1405–1750 372 CHAPTER 12 THE CENTRAL MUSLIM LANDS 376 The Ottoman Empire 377 The Creation of an Empire 377 Society 381 The State 384 The Economy 392 Culture 393 From Dominance to Parity 396 The Arabian Peninsula 404 The Holy Cities 404 Yemen and Oman 406 The Eurasian Steppes 412 Conclusion 416 Notes 416 Further Reading 417 CHAPTER 13 THE UMMA IN THE WEST 419 The Iberian Peninsula 419 Mudejars 421 Granada 423 Moriscos 424 The Maghrib 429 The Land 429 The Berber States 431 Crusaders, Corsairs, and Janissaries 434 The Regencies 438 Alawite Morocco 440 The Sudan 441 Trans-Saharan Trade 443 The Islamization of the Western and Central Sudan 444 The Islamization of the Eastern Sudan 449 The Intensification of the Slave Trade 450 Islam in the Sudan 452 Conclusion 454 Notes 455 Further Reading 455 CHAPTER 14 CENTRAL ASIA AND IRAN 457 Central Asia 457 The Timurids 459 The Uzbek Khanate 462 The Islamization of Central Asia 465 Iran 470 The Nizaris Regroup 471 The Safavids: A Militant Sufi Order 471 The First Twelver Shi‘ite Empire 473 The Apocalypse Postponed 477 Society 479 The State 485 The Decline of Tariqa Sufism in Iran 487 The Economy 489 Culture 491 The End of an Empire 492 Conclusion 495 Notes 496 Further Reading 496 CHAPTER 15 SOUTH ASIA 498 South Asia after the Delhi Sultanate 498 Southern and Central South Asia 499 The Indo-Gangetic Plain 502 Islam in South Asia 503 Patterns of Muslim Influence 503 South Asian Sufism 506 An Isma‘ili Revival 508 The Timurids in South Asia: The Mughals 510 The Formation of the Mughal Empire 511 Society 516 The State 519 The Economy 523 Culture 526 The End of Imperial Rule 530 Conclusion 535 Notes 536 Further Reading 537 CHAPTER 16 THE INDIAN OCEAN BASIN 539 A Muslim Lake 540 The East Coast of Africa 541 Berbera and the Land of the Zanj 542 The Impact of Imperialism 544 Kerala 547 The Land of Pepper 547 The Impact of Imperialism 548 Southeast Asia 551 The Malayo–Polynesian Lands 552 Muslims Establish a Presence in Southeast Asia 555 The Impact of Imperialism 558 The Appeal of a Universal Faith 565 A Loss of Dynamism 571 Conclusion 574 Further Reading 575 Glossary 577 Index 586 A History Of The Muslim World To 1750 Traces The Development Of Islamic Civilization From The Career Of The Prophet Muhammad To The Mid-eighteenth Century. Encompassing A Wide Range Of Significant Events Within The Period, Its Coverage Includes The Creation Of The Dar Al-islam (the Territory Ruled By Muslims), The Fragmentation Of Society Into Various Religious And Political Groups Including The Shi'ites And Sunnis, The Series Of Catastrophes In The Twelfth And Thirteenth Centuries That Threatened To Destroy The Civilization, And The Rise Of The Ottoman, Safavid, And Mughal Empires. Covering Art, Architecture, Religious Institutions, Theological Beliefs, Popular Religious Practice, Political Institutions, Cuisine, And Much More, A History Of The Muslim World To 1750 Is The Perfect Introduction For All Students Of The History Of Islamic Civilizations And The Middle East. Pt. 1. The Formative Period, 610-950 -- Origins -- Arab Imperialism -- The Development Of Sectarianism -- The Center Cannot Hold : Three Caliphates -- Synthesis And Creativity -- Pt. 2. Civilization Vs. Chaos, 950-1260 -- Filling The Vacuum Of Power, 950-1100 -- Barbarians At The Gates, 1100-1260 -- The Consolidation Of Traditions -- The Muslim Commonwealth -- Pt. 3. Mongol Hegemony, 1260-1405 -- The Great Transformation -- Unity And Diversity In Islamic Traditions -- Pt. 4. Muslim Ascendancy, 1405-1750. -- The Central Muslim Lands -- The Umma In The West -- Central Asia And Iran -- South Asia -- The Indian Ocean Basin. Vernon O. Egger. Includes Bibliographical References. A History of the Muslim World to 1750 traces the development of Muslim civilizations from Prophet Muhammad to the Ottoman conquest of the Middle East. It offers students a balanced view of the Muslim world from the Iberian Peninsula to South Asia, as well as accounts of all cultures including Shi'ite groups and the Sunni community.