ISLAMIC CIVILIZATION

ISLAMIC CIVILIZATION
The diverse, but identifiable civilization that is called “Islamic” is
the last great civilization to appear to date.
Appeared in the late antiquity.
The Formative Phase of Islamic Civilization refers to the initial
period of development and establishment of Islamic society,
culture, and institutions, which spans roughly from the early 7th
century to the mid-8th century CE
Classical Age of Islamic Civilization: 750 AD-1258 AD
ISLAMICATE WORLD

Islamicate: historian Marshall Hodgson in his work The Venture of Islam

(published in three volumes between 1958 and 1961), popularized the idea
“Islamicate”.
It refers to cultural practices, institutions, and aspects of life that are
historically associated with or influenced by Islamic culture, even if they are
not directly related to the religion of Islam itself.
This concept encompasses a wide range of elements - art, architecture,
literature, science, philosophy, and social customs that emerged in societies
where Islam was a dominant cultural force. "Islamicate" encompasses a
broad cultural legacy linked to Islamic civilization, providing a framework to
study the influences and interactions of Islamic culture with other traditions.
MIDDLE EAST AND THE MEDITERRANEAN
DURING THE RISE OF ISLAM
CENTRAL ISLAMIC LANDS, CIRCA 750 AD
CHRONOLOGY
Prophet Muhammad and the Early Islamic State: 570–632 CE.
The Islamic state controls much of the Arabian Peninsula.

Rashidun Caliphate: from 632 to 661 CE.

Consolidation of Islamic power in the Arabian Peninsula
Rapid expansion; conquests of Syria, Egypt, Iraq, and Persia.
Compilation of the Quran; expansion into North Africa.
Internal conflict; First Fitna (Islamic civil war)
Umayyad Caliphate: 661–750 CE.
Capital was shifted to Damascus
Islamic conquest of the Iberian Peninsula, between 711 and 718
CE.
732 CE: Battle of Tours; Islamic forces halt at the borders of
France.
750 CE: Umayyads overthrown by the Abbasids; remnants of the
Umayyads establish a dynasty in Al-Andalus.
ABBASID CALIPHATE (750–1258 CE)
750 CE: Abbasids establish the new caliphate, moving the capital to
Baghdad.
8th–9th centuries: The Golden Age of Islam; advancements in science,
mathematics, medicine, and philosophy.
9th century: Fragmentation begins, with independent dynasties like the
Fatimids in Egypt and the Umayyads in Spain.
1258 CE: Mongols sack Baghdad, ending the Abbasid Caliphate’s
dominance in the Middle East.
The Abbasids traced their lineage to Prophet’s uncle Abbas ibn Abd
al-Muttalib.
Initially, the Abbasids garnered support from various groups
dissatisfied with Umayyad rule, including non-Arab Muslims
(mawali), Shiites, and other marginalized communities within the
Umayyad Empire.
Abbasid revolution against the Umayyad is known as Third Fitna.
AL-MANSUR FOUNDED THE ‘ROUND CITY’ IN 762 IN
BAGDAD. IT WAS A GLORIOUS MILESTONE IN THE
HISTORY OF URBAN DESIGN. IT DEVELOPED INTO
THE CULTURAL CENTER OF THE WORLD.
POST-ABBASID ISLAMIC DYSATIC EMPIRES

Fatimid Caliphate (909–1171 CE): Shia dynasty controlling North Africa,

Egypt, and parts of the Levant.
Seljuk Empire (1037–1194 CE): Turkish empire that played a key role in
defending the Islamic world from Crusader invasions.
Almohad Caliphate (1121–1269 CE): North African empire that ruled the
Maghreb and Al-Andalus.
Mamluk Sultanate (1250–1517 CE): A dynasty of former slaves ruling
Egypt and Syria, fending off Mongols and Crusaders.
THE SETTING: PRE ISLAMIC ARABIA AND MECCA
By 600 C.E., the main political powers in Eurasia, Christian Byzantium
and Zoroastrian Sassanid Persia, had been fighting for control of West
Asia for more than four centuries. After one last exhausting war (608–
627), a new Arab power emerged from the south, weakening Byzantium
and defeating Persia.
Pre-Islamic Arabia was more than just deserts, camels, and nomads. Both
Byzantium and Persia managed to keep the nomadic tribes of the Syrian
and northern Arabian deserts under control by using small Arab
kingdoms on the desert’s edge as buffer zones.
Arab kingdoms had thrived for a long time in the agriculturally rich
highlands of southern Arabia, which had direct access to international
ocean trade along its coasts.
MECCA
The centre of Caravan trade
Pilgrimage Centre because of the presence of Kaaba
A merchant republic

In the western Arabian highlands of the Hijaz, along a major trade

route, the town of Mecca served as a hub for caravan trade and a
pilgrimage site due to its famous sanctuary, the Kaaba, where pagan
Arab tribes worshipped their gods.
The settled Meccan Arabs operated a merchant republic, where
traditional tribal values were starting to weaken under the pressures
of urban commercial life. However, these settled Arabs still
maintained connections with their nomadic relatives, who survived by
herding and raiding settlements and caravans.
Early Muslim leaders used Arab tribes as warriors and looked to
Arab culture for their traditional roots long after the locus of Islamic
power had left Arabia.

But later on the Islamic empire and civilization that came into being
were centered in the heartlands of Mediterranean and West Asian
urban and rural cultures and based more on settled communal
existence than on rural or desert tribal societies and economies.
A NEW WORLD ORDER.

After conquering new areas the Muslims quickly adopted and adapted
existing traditions in the lands they conquered, but they introduced a
new worldview.

This new worldview called for a fundamental transformation of the

political, social, and cultural order, even if it took time to implement.
Beyond the immediate challenges of military conquest and
administration, a more profound question emerged: the nature of Islamic
society itself.
UMMAH, OR THE ISLAMIC COMMUNITY

The ummah is a central concern in Islam.

Early converts were Meccan townsfolks and date farmers in Yathrib
(later came to be know as Medina).
Under the Prophet Muhammad, the concept of the ummah (the new
Islamic community) replaced, at least in theory, the tribal, kinship-
based structure that had dominated Arabian society.
FAMILY

The family is the core of the umma. Consequently, family law played a
central role in the development of Islamic law. It is Islamic family law that
stipulates the rights of women and men
The Qur’an introduced into Arabian society radical new ideas that
dramatically improved the status of women. For example, it prohibited the
common practice of female infanticide, stating that all children should
have the opportunity to live.
The Qur’an recognizes a woman’s right to contract her own marriage and
stipulates that she, and not her male relatives, receives the dowry from
her husband. Legally, a woman entering marriage was not an object to be
bought and sold but rather a party to a negotiated contract. A woman was
also guaranteed the right to inherit, own, and manage property.
CAUSES OF SUCCESS IN RAPID EXPANSION OF
ISLAM
This rapid expansion was possible because of the weakened military
and economic condition of the Byzantines and Sassanids, the result
of their chronic warfare with one another. The new Islamic vision of
society and life also united the Arabs and attracted others. Its
corollary was the commitment among the Islamic leadership to
extend “the abode of submission” (Dar al Islam) abroad.
Another factor was the leadership of the first caliphs and field
generals, which, combined with Byzantine and Iranian weakness,
gave Arab armies a distinct advantage.
The astute policies of the early leaders helped give the conquests
overall permanence.
Some populations even welcomed Islamic rule as a relief from
Byzantine or Persian oppression.
GROWING SCHISM
After the death of Prophet Muhammad in 632 CE, a deep divide
emerged in the Muslim community regarding leadership and
religious authority. This schism led to the formation of the Sunni
and Shia sects, shaping the course of Islamic history.
This early divide in Islam continues to influence sectarian identities
and geopolitics in the modern Muslim world.
Political vs. Religious Authority -- Sunnis emphasized a caliphate
based on political leadership, whereas Shias viewed their Imams as
divinely appointed religious leaders with spiritual authority.
Legal and Theological Differences -- Over time, the schism extended
beyond politics to theology, law, and rituals, with distinct schools of
thought emerging in both Sunni and Shia traditions.
ISLAM AS AN URBAN AND
INTERMEDIARY CIVILIZATION
Islamic Civilization worked as an intermediary between different
civilizations. Islamic societies through their towns and trade routes
were connected with other civilizations.
Lacking abundant natural resources, Islam might have remained
insignificant without the desert roads that connected and sustained
it. These trade routes were its lifeblood, its source of wealth, and
the foundation of its civilization. For centuries, they ensured Islam's
dominant position in the region.
Until the discovery of America, Islam held a dominant position in
the Old World, shaping its global trajectory. As the sole force
connecting the three major cultural regions— the Far East, Europe,
and Black Africa— nothing moved between them without its
permission or implicit approval. Islam served as the essential
intermediary between these vast cultural zones.
ISLAMIC TRADE ROUTES
The Islamic trade routes were extensive networks that connected regions
across Asia, Africa, and Europe during the medieval period. These routes
facilitated the exchange of goods, ideas, and culture. Key routes
included:
a. The Silk Road (linking China to the Middle East),
b. The trans-Saharan routes (connecting West Africa to North Africa),
c. Maritime routes in the Indian Ocean.
Muslim merchants were influential in these trade networks, and they
traded a variety of goods like spices, silk, gold, and textiles. Islam spread
along these routes, influencing local cultures and economies.
SHIPS, CARAVANS AND MERCHANTS

A caravan moved like an army, with a leader, strict rules, and planned
stops. There were staging-posts where everyone rested, and they
took precautions against nomads, who often had to be negotiated
with for safe passage. Along the route, usually a day’s journey apart,
there were large buildings called caravanserais or khans. These were
places where both people and animals could rest. European travelers
often wrote about these buildings, mentioning their huge halls and
decent comfort. Some, like the khans of Aleppo, still exist today.

This caravan system could only connect with sea trade through a
large, semi-capitalist organization. Many merchants, both Muslim and
non-Muslim, were involved in this.
SILK ROUTE
“Ibn Batuta, a Moroccan born in Tangier in 1304, travelled
'round the world' between 1325 and 1349, going to Egypt, Arabia,
the Lower Volga, Afghanistan, India and China. In 1352, he went
to Black Africa and the banks of the Niger, where he complained
that the Sudanese, although Muslim, showed too little respect for
'the Whites'. In the gold town of Sijilmassa, he was surprised to meet a compatriot
from Ceuta, the brother of a certain Al-Buchri,
whom he had known in China. Islam at that time abounded in
wanderers of this kind, who were unfailingly welcomed, from the
Atlantic to the Pacific, by Muslim hospitality, comparable to that
of the Russians.” Fernand Braudel
In the 14th century, the
Moroccan wanderer Ibn Battuta
spent nearly 30 years traveling
some 75,000 miles across
Africa, the Middle East, India
and Southeast Asia.
ISLAM AS URBAN
CIVILIZATION
Such travels would have been unthinkable without powerful towns.
These naturally flourished in Islam, and were the motors which
made possible the circulation of people, money and goods.
Everything passed through them: merchandise, pack-animals,
people and rare acquisitions.
Towns held significant importance in Islam. The Prophet Muhammad
lived and carried out his mission in the urban environment of Mecca,
which stood apart from the largely undeveloped Arabian interior.
During this period, Mecca was a prosperous center of trade and
culture.
Islamic garrison town: these were settlement established by Muslim
armies during their military conquests, serving as both a military base
and a center for Islamic administration and culture. These towns
played a crucial role in the spread of Islam, particularly during the
early Islamic conquests of the 7th and 8th centuries.
“At all events, his commandments presuppose an urban background:
the call of the muezzin, collective prayers on Fridays, the veil for
women, the dignity required of the faithful and their imams or prayer
leaders - all these imply witnesses, crowds and the press of an urban
throng.” -- Fernand Braudel
Cities served as cultural melting pots, where diverse groups of
people coexisted and exchanged ideas.
Urban areas were the centers of Islamic law and administration,
with officials governing both local and regional matters.
The blend of commerce, governance, and culture made Islam
strongly urban-focused.
THE SEASONAL MONSOON WINDS
ALLOWED TRADE TO SPREAD TO EAST
AFRICA, INDIA AND SOUTH EAST ASIA