CCSS2 Unit 5

UNIT 5: Islam and Al-Andalus p.81

Part 1: The Origin and Expansion of Islam p.82

Arabian Penninsula =

-big desert w/ tribes of polytheistic Arab nomads

-Mecca + Medina (Yathrib) = big merchant cities

Muhammad

            -Prophet of Islam

            -born 570

            -archangel Gabriel appeared to him

            -told him to preach Islam (“God’s –Allah’s—religion”)

            -his teachings = Koran = 114 suras (chapters)

Muslim obligations

Five Pillars =

            1. Profess the faith

            2. Pray 5X/day toward Mecca

            3. Fast at Ramadan

            4. Give alms

            5. Pilgrimage to Kaaba in Mecca

also:

-no gambling, drinking alcohol, eating pork;

-must accept polygamy

-Islamic law (Sharia) = justice, tolerance, unity

Expansion

            -spread doctrine, got followers in Mecca

            -authorities thought him a threat (esp. rich merchants) b/c he denied polytheism + said all muslims were equal à numerous attacks

            -In 622 he fled to Medina = Hijra/Hegira = beginning of Muslim calendar

            - organized army à conquered Mecca 630

            -unified Arabian Peninsula, Muhammad = religious/political leader

Part 2: Islamic Politica, Economy + Society p.84

2.1 Political Organization

A. Caliphs = Muhammad’s successors, highest religious/political leaders:  

1. 632-661- Orthodox Caliphate (a.k.a “Rashidun) – 4 caliphs close to Muhammad

2. 661-750 – Umayyad Caliphate – est. cap. In Damascus, Syria

3. 750-1258 –Abbasid Caliphate – moved cap. to Baghdad – 1258 conquered by Mongols

B. Vizier =hayid– prime minister, chief of civil servants

C. Royal treasurers =diwans– collected taxes

D. Emirs = walis = governors of the provinces (koras)

E. Judges = qadis – applied laws (Sharia)

2.2 Economy p.85

Agriculture – important outside of Arabia, water-wheels + irrigation channels

Craftwork – important in cities: hide tanning, making tapestries, carpet, silk, jewelry, ivory, perfumes, weapons

Trade – main source of wealth, city markets (souks), used coins, overseas trading + silk road (silk, precious stones + spices from east, gold + ivory from Africa)

2.3 Society

Groups:

1. Aristocracy – ppl. Linked to caliphs/emirs, powerful, Arab

2. Free ppl – Muslims/Christians/Jews (could keep their religion for paying a tax), civil servants, traders, small landowners, artisans etc.

3. Slaves – prisoners of war or ppl. bought elsewhere; worked on farms, in mines, in homes

Society – Urban, parts of cities:

1. Alcazaba (citadel) – easily defendable walled area on high ground. Had the alcazar (wali’s palace), official buildings, + garrison’s quarters.

2. Medina – main city (inside walls) w/:

            -Main mosque

            -madrasa (school)

            -souk (market)

            -workshops/shops/storehouses

            -public baths

            -hospitals (4 kinds based on illness)

            -houses

-built around courtyards (center of family life)

-w/few windows + latticework = privacy

3. Arrabales – poor areas outside of cities. If it grew a lot they built a wall around it too. Had their own mosque, souk + baths

Part 3: Islamic Culture, Architecture + Art p.88

Muslims:

            -Absorbed cultures of ppl. they conquere

            -Spread Arabic language + Islam

3.1 Culture

-Muslims preserved scientific knowledge of ancient Greeks à translated to Arabic à brought it back to Medieval Christian world.

-big advances in geography, philosophy, astronomy, optics, botany, literature…

-math – adopted Hindu numbers + introduced zero

-medicine – world famous doctors, wrote illness/anatomical treatise, ex: Philosopher-medic Avicenna.

-literature – A Thousand and One Arabian Nights 9^th century

-technology-  astrolab, compass, brought gunpowder + paper to Europe from China

3.2 Architecture + Art p. 89

Architecture

–     most important art (Islam prohibits human/animal representations)

–     Basic materials covered w/other = looked richer

–     Skinny columns

–     Garbled roofs

–     Roofs – vaults + domes inside

o   muqarna vault = stalactites

o   caliphal ribbed vault – intersecting ribs don’t touch center

o   segmented dome – like orange

-       Arches

o    semicircular

o   polylobed – made of small semicircles

o   horseshoe

-Decoration

o   calligraphic motifs – koranic script or poetry in Arabic

o   arabesque – stylized floral/plant designs

o   interlacing – geometrical patterns

-Main buildings

            -Palaces – public/private areas, gardens, waterways, pools (albercas)

            -Mosques – to pray toward Mecca, had:

                        -minaret – tower where muezzin calls ppl. to prayer

                        -courtyard w/fountain to wash bf prayer

                        -qibla – wall facing Mecca

                        -mihrab – small room in qibla where Koran is kept

Part 4: Al-Andalus: Politics, Economy + Society p.92

4.1 Political Development

 Outline of Events

1. The Conquest

A.    In 711 Tarik (lieutenantof Musa, governor of North Africa) crossed the strait of Gibraltar with Arab and Berber troops to plunder.

B. They easily defeated King Roderick (Visigoth), so they decided to continue conquering, defeating most of the peninsula in 4 years.

C. The battle of Covadonga (722) left only a few small territories in the North Christian. They kept going past the Pyrenees until they were defeated by Franks at the Battle of Poitiers (732)

2. The Independent Emirate (756-929)

           

A. In 756, Abderrman I (Abd-al-Rahman) came to the Peninsula.

1.- an Umayyad prince escaping the Abbasids.

2.He declared himself an independent emir, and Al-Andalus became an emirate: a province that depended on the Umayyad caliphate of Damascus. The capital of the emirate was Cordoba.

3. Although the emirate was independent, it recognized the religious authority of the Abbasid caliphs in Baghdad.

           

B. The Emirate had to defend itself against:

            1. the Christians, who conquered Zamora

            2. the Franks

            3. the Muladi rebellion, Iberian Muslims who felt discriminated against.

3 The Caliphate of Córdoba (929-1031)

           

A.    In 929 Abderram III declared himself caliph, making al-Andalus independent from Baghdad.

1.He squashed internal rebellions.

2. He fought the Christians in the North and got them to pay tributes to the Muslims.

3. Al-Andalus flourished and Cordoba became the most prosperous capital in the west.

                        4. The Caliphate went into crisis after Almanzor´s death.

                        5. in 1031 the governors of the provinces declared their independence and the caliphate disintegrated into 28 kingdoms or taifas.

4.  The Taifas (1031-1085) and North African Dynasties (1085-1212)

            A. Taifas = small Muslim kingdoms or emirates.

                        1.They competed with each other for territory and cultural prestige.

                        2. Christians exploited their lack of unity.

           

B.   Help from the Muslims of North Africa (after the Christian conquest of Toledo)

                        1. The Almoravids (1085-1144) were nomadic Berbers who had established a large empire with Marrakech as its capital.                        

                                    a. In 1086 they came to the Peninsula to help the taifa kings.

                                    b. They defeated the Christians at the battle of Sagrajas, controlling al-Andalus again.

                                    c. In 1145 the territory broke up into taifas again.

                        2. The Almohads  (1172-1212) replaced the Almoravids as the controlling power of North Africa.

                                    a. In 1171 they annexed al-Andalus into their empire.

                                    b. In 1195 they defeated Alphonse VIII of Castilla, imposing a strict religious code.

                                    c. They were defeated at the battle of Las Navas de Tolosa (1212), allowing the Christians to penetrate the Guadalquivir river valley.

                                    d. The Almohad’s territory distintigrated into taifas again in 1224.

                                    e. The Christians kept conquering the taifas until al-Andalus was reduced to the Nasrid kingdom of Granada.

5.  The Nasrid Kingdom of Granada

            A. The Muslim Kingdom of Granada was governed by the Nasrid dynasty.

1.They survived in the Peninsula for more than 2 centuries due to:

                                    a. The support of Muslims from the North of Africa.

                                    b. Paying tributes to the kings of Castilla.

4.2 Economy p. 93

-Agriculture – rain fed and irrigation

-Livestock farming – sheep breeding

-Craftwork – textiles, gold/silversmithing, glasswork, pottery, paper, weapons, leatherwork + inlay

-Trade – almotacén controlled souks, al-Andalus exploited location to import slaves + luxury goods

4.3 Society

Muslims:

1. Arabs – minority, most rich, important, landowners

2. Berbers – Muslims of different ethnic group, livestock farmers

3. Muladíes – Muslim converts, mostly peasants

Non-Muslims: (all paid extra tax)

1. Christians – non-converts = mozarabs, urban group w/many trades

2. Jews – trade, craftwork, finance; couldn’t hold office or practice Judaism in public

Part 5: Daily Life in the Cities of al-Andalus p.94

Urban society:

-some visigothic cities (Toledo)

-some est. during Muslim era (Murcia + Badajoz)

Neighborhoods = groups of ppl. w/same religion/profession

-walls closed at sunset

-had a drainage system to get rid of waste, public baths, fountains (Christian areas in Europe didn’t)

Part 6: Al-Andalus: Culture + Architecture p.98

6.1 Culture

-Great cultural center of medieval world

-philosohpers: Maimonides (Jewish) + Averroes (Muslim)

-writers: Ibn Hazm

6.2 Architecture

-Periods of Moorish Architecture

1.Caliphal

            -Arches: semicircular, horseshoe, polylobed; w/alfiz

            -Caliphal ribbed vault

            -Great Mosque of Cordoba

2. Taifa

            -covered w/ornate decoration (arabesque)

            -polylobed + mixtilinear arches

            -Aljafería Palace in Zaragoza

3. Almohad

            -more austere

            -La Giralda + Torre del Oro of Sevilla

4. Nasrid

            -covered w/ornate decoration (arabesque)

            -pointed horseshoe + stilted semicircular arches

            -narrow columns

            -muqarna vaults

            -The Alhambra in Granada