Part Nine IX › Division II II › Section 922 922

The Formative Period in Islamic History, from ad 622 to c. 1055

Subject Outline

AThe study of Islamic history: the historical sources, historiographic problems
BThe rise and spread of Islam and the Arab Empire to the end of the Umayyad dynasty (ad 622- 750)
- 1Islam and Arab expansion in the 7th century
  - aArabia before Muhammad
  - bThe life and career of Muhammad and the rise of Islam, the doctrine of the jihad (holy war)
  - cMuslim expansion outside Arabia under the four Patriarchal Caliphs (632-661)
    - iAbu Bakr (632-634) and 'Umar I (634-644): the tribe of Quraysh; divisions among the followers of Muhammad; the conquest of Iraq and the Sasanid (Persian) Empire and the Byzantine territories of Jordan, Palestine, Syria, and Egypt
    - ii'Uthman (644-656) and 'Ali (656-661); expeditions into North Africa, Armenia, and Persia; social and religious grievances; civil unrest; the origins of Shl'ism
- 2The Umayyad caliphate (661-750)
  - aThe consolidation of the caliphate (661-684) under Mu'awiyah I and his successors: westward orientation of the caliphate and its capital at Damascus, growing opposition to the Umayyads
  - bThe zenith of Umayyad power with the advent of the' Marwanids: 'Abd al-Malik (685-705) and al-Walid (705-715), suppression of revolts, new conquests
  - cThe later Umayyads (715-750): conciliation of state policies with religion, peace and prosperity under Hisham (724-743), disintegration of the empire under his successors and the 'Abbasid revolt
  - dUmayyad government and society
    - iAdministration of the Arab lands: utilization of local officials, the position and functions of the caliph, Islamization and Arabization, social classes
    - iiCultural life under the Umayyads: spread of the Arabic language, literary revival, fragmentation into religious sects, accomplishment in the arts
CThe 'Abbasid Empire and its successor states (750-c. 1055)
- 1The 'Abbasid caliphate from 750 to 945
  - aEstablishment of the new dynasty and its advance under Abu al-'Abbas as-Saffah (749-754), al-Mansur (754-775), and al-Mahdl (775-785); the 'Abbasids at their zenith (786-861)
  - bDecline of the caliphate after the death of al-Mutawakkil (861): growth of provincial autonomy
  - cEconomic and social life under the 'Abbasids: manufactures and trade
  - dCultural life under the 'Abbasid caliphate
    - iReligion: theology and philosophy, Islamic mysticism
    - iiThe arts and sciences: Greek and Persian influences, the aniconic principle in the arts
- 2Eclipse of the 'Abbasids and the growth of provincial dynasties from c. 755 to 1055
  - aThe Umayyad emirate and caliphate in Spain (756-1031) and its capital at Cordoba
    - iConquest of southern and central Spain by Tariq ibn Ziyad (711); defeat of the Muslims near Poitiers by the Frank Charles Martel (732); foundation of the independent emirate by 'Abd ar-Rahman I (756-788); political and cultural splendour in the reign of 'Abd ar-Rahman II, defeat of the muwallads
    - iiThe Umayyad caliphate under 'Abd ar-Rahman an-Nasir III: relations with Arabs, Berbers, and the Christian states in Spain; conquest of Morocco by his successors; the to'if as and internal disorders
    - iiiSocial and economic life in Muslim Spain: the culture of Muslim Spain, developments in literature and the sciences
  - bThe Fatimid state of North Africa and Syria from 909 to c. 1055: the foundation of the Fatimid caliphate in Tunisia and Algeria, its conquest of Morocco (926) and Egypt (969), and expansion into Syria
  - cOther dynasties in North Africa and Syria: the Shfite Idrisids of Morocco (789-926); the Rustamid kingdom in the central Maghrib (787-91 1); the Aghlabid state in Tunisia, Algeria, and Sicily (800-909); minor dynasties
  - dThe Samanid dynasty of Khorasan (875-999) and its role in the Islamization of the Turkic peoples: patronage of art and learning
  - eThe Buyid dynasty in Iran and Iraq (932-1055): Shl'ism and the Iranian revival, Isfahan
  - fOther eastern states: the Qarmatians in eastern Arabia (c. 900-1078), the Turkish Qarakhanid dynasty of Ma Wara'an-Nahr (Transoxania) and eastern Turkistan (922-1050), the Turkish Ghaznavids of Afghanistan and northwestern India (998-1050), minor states and dynasties