THE ARAB WORLD Structure 18.1 Introduction I 18.2 The Arab World and its ~nvironsBefore the Advent of Islam 18.2.1 The Great Empires 18.2.2 The Arabian Peninsular - .. 18.3 The Rise of Islam 18.3.1 The Prophet and His Message t 18.3.2 The Foundation of the Islamic State I 18.3.3 Changes in Society 18.4 The Rule of the First Four Caliphs 18.4.1 Abu Bakr 632 - 634 A.D. 18.4.2 Umar 634 - 644 A.D. 18.4.3 'usman 644 - 656 A.D. 18.4.4 Ali 656 - 661 A.D. 18.5 The Umayyad Caliphate 18.5.1 Muawiyyah and Dynastic Rule 18.5.2 The End of the Umayyads 18.6 The Abbasid Caliphate 18.7 Summary 18.8 Exercises 18.1 INTRODUCTION. In Unit 17 we discussed the late Roman World and how by the 5' Century A.D. the eastern Romh empire came to be known as Byzantine. Byzantine empire under the rule of Emperor Justinian (who ruled from 527 to 565) reached its height and included Greece, Syria, Egypt, Palestine, Italy, Southern Spain and parts of near East, North Africa and Balkans. During the hey days of the Byzantine empire' in the early 7' Century another major force was emerging in the neighbouring Arab World. This new force had its origin in the Saudi Arabia and drew inspiration from a new religion the Islam. During the whole of the 7' century large scale territorial expansion of Islamic state took place in and outside Arabia. They conquered Iraq, Syria, Palestine, Egypt, Iran (including Khurasan), and stretched from Spain to China. The Byzantine empire lost Syria, Palestine and Egypt while the Sassanid empire was completely overrun. In this Unit we will first familiarise you with the society, state and religion in Arabia and the region around it before the rise and spread of Islam. This will be followed by an account of the rise of Islam and foundation of the Islamic State. We will discuss how the advent of Islam contributed in transforming a tribal society and polity. After the death of Prophet Muhammad the institution of Caliph comes into existence. The Caliph was the head of Islamic State and was also vested with religious authority in the absence of a separate priesthood in Islam. Religion, State end Society Besides the period of first four caliphs we will also discuss two major dynasties, following their rule, the Umayads and the Abbasid. instead of a separate discussion on society, religion and state we propose to discuss it interwoven with the history of caliphates up to the Abbasids. 18.2 THE ARAB WORLD AND ITS ENVIRONS BEFORE THE ADVENT OF ISLAM - As already referred the Islam was born in the region of Saudi Arabia. Before we move on to analyse the rise of Islam and emergence of Islamic state and society let us briefly examine the prevailing conditions in the region around Arab and Arabian peninsular. Islam was born in a tribal and desert environment but it soon found ready acceptance in regions, which had been the cradle of civilizations for centuries (Egypt, the Fertile Crescent and Iran). We therefore have to study not only the conditions of the Arabian peninsular but also the areas where Islamic culture and institutions reached their fruitation. Islamic society not only inherited but also continued the traditions of the earlier societies, particularly in the area ' between the Nile and the Oxus. It was the inheritor of the traditions of the ancient Babylonians, Egyptians, Hebrews and Persians. Islam has to be studied in the context of earlier religious traditions. Islamic civilizations while incorporating many new elements also included newer developments within the old traditions. 18.2.1 The Great Empires In the sixth century, the area in which Islam was to spread was largely divided between two cultural and political powers: the Eastern Roman empire or the Byzantine Empire with its capital at Constantinople and the Sassanian Empire with its capital at Ctesiphon on the river Tigris. Ctesiphon was about forty miles from the ancient site of Babylon, very near to the modern city of Baghdad. In the other major cultural zones of the world, the Chinese empire was reunited in the end of the sixth century and there was a political and economic resurgence in the seventh century. In north India in the first half of the seventh century a major empire was formed under Harsha. The old Roman Empire had been reorganised under a centralised political structure towards the end of the third century. The center of the empire had shifted to the Mediterranean basin. The Byzantine Empire included the Balkan and Anatolian peninsulars as well as Egypt and Syria. The emperor Constantine made Christianity, which itself had originated in the Fertile Crescent, the state religion. He shifted the capital from Rome to Constantinople (now called Istanbul). Constantine took an active interest in the religious affairs of his empire because various regional interpretations of Christianity challenged the imperial version. A close understanding between the Church and the State was worked out by Constantine and by the middle of the sixth century Caesaro- popism i.e., the emperor combining political and religious power became the foundation of the state. This led to social stability as it did religious schisms, which acquired political overtones. Many of these movements of religious dissent accelerated the disruption of the state. Christians in Egypt, Syria and Iraq believed in different interpretations of Christianity than the one promulgated by the Byzantine emperor. Constantine's shifting of his capital was a sign of the Roman Empire easternising itself. From Constantinople, the The Arab World Egyptian and Syrian provinces were easier to control. The semi-divine Roman emperor was supported by a vast bureaucracy organised in a pyramidical structure. By the end of the sixth century the Egyptians and Syrians had began resenting being ruled by Constantinople. The Jewish minority in these areas, which was mostly involved in more mercantile activities, also faced severe religious persecution. These dissident political movements were supported by the Sassanian rulers who were the r main rivals of the Byzantines. The Sassanian Empire was spread over Iraq, Iran and over territories as far as the Indus. It was established in the first half of the third century and was more centralised than its predecessor, the Parthian empire. In the Sassanian Empire too, there was a close alliance between the state and religion. The Sassanians were Zoroastrians and their religion became the official dogma of the state. The holy text Avesta was also compiled during this time. Tine priestly class was co-opted into the state through employment. The religious schisms in the , Sassanian Empire also had clear political dimensions but the rulers and the priests were able to suppress any dissent that disturbed social stability. The t Sassanian administration was probably more organised than that of the Byzantines. Powerful but shorter-lived Kingdoms had also risen in the Yemen in the southern part of the Arabian peninsular from as early as a thousand years before Christ. Blessed with a fertile soil and favorable climate, luxuriant vegetation abounded here in contrast to the rest of the peninsular. Frankincense, an expensive commodity in great demand in the Byzantine Empire because it was used in church ceremonies, was produced here. Its cultivation required specialized cultivation and harvesting. Rulers of these kingdoms, often priest- kings, had organised an elaborate system of terracing and irrigation. Its I geographical position between the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean also favored trade. Luxuries from India and the east reached the Mediterranean world and Europe from Yemen The prosperity orthe Yemeni kingdoms did not last long for they fell victim to t the struggle between the two great powers. The Byzantines, through their allies the Ethiopians, constantly pressurized Yemen and tried to disseminate Christianity here but many Yemenis chose Judaism as an act of defiance. In the middle of the sixth century the Ethiopians conquered South Arabia. In 597 A.D. the Persians retaliated by invading it. The breaking of the famous dam at Ma'rib in 570 was the real reason for the co!lapse of the kingdom and it indicated that the state was not in a position to maintain the crucial irrigation structure any longer. The dam had broken on two earlier occasions, in 450 and 542 A.D. but on each occasion the rulers had been in a position to manage the breach. In 570 A.D. the state was helpless in the face of this catastrophe. The contribution of the south Arabians to future developments was in the patterns of trade they had developed through the desert to their north. They had involved the Bedouin of the deserts in their trade-network and given them an important economic activity, which supplemented their hazardous means of existence. The south Arabian trade had also led to the growth of trading centers like Mecca in Western Arabia. Religion, State and Society 18.2.2 The Arabian Peninsular The Arabian peninsular was in close proximity to both the empires and was influenced by their fortunes. It was also a part of the cultural zone where monotheism had been established as the popular religious belief system through Judaism and Christianity, both religions of the Abrahamic tradition. Both these religions had a prophetic tradition and both believed in life after death and that every individual's life had to be one of moral responsibility. These beliefs were embodied in one scripture for each of these religions. Monotheism also led to the idea of one righteous community and this made for easy alliance between religion and political power The conditions in the rest of the Arabian peninsular were different.