ec soe PARTIT ARAB MUSLIM SOCIETIES (Bleenth-Fifeenh Century) “The ioe centuries which form the subject of this par wor a period ding tebic the world of el soa deided in some respects but preserved its toy others The frontiers of he Muslin world changed: expanded ‘Anatolia and Indi, belo: Spain to Christan kingdoms, Within these Frontiers, duision appeared beeen tose areas whore Arabic was the main longuage of ifeand culture, and toe where it continued to be the ‘rica language of religions and Teal iting but te revved Person language became the main medion of secular cate. A third etic and lingutc group becare important, the Turk, who formed the raling dite in nach of the casters part of the Muslim world. Wiahin the Arabic. speaking region, the “Abbasid caliphate contd to exist i Baghdad tinal the hited contay, but «baad politica division emerged beeen tree areas: rag, which oa sual Inked with Iran Egy, which weal ‘led Spi and ester Arabs; and the Maghrib ith ts varios pa inspite of politica divisions and changes, however, the Arabic-speaking ‘pores of tbe Muslin scold bad soil and cultural forms which were ‘elavly table dri ths period, and showed snares from one region fo another. This part explores the words of townspeople, peasants and toma pastoral and the links beneeen thee, and shows bow thee [row xp om allance of interest benocen the dominant elements ofthe trban population and the alr, whose power wus jsfied by & umber of dass ofenthority. At the heort ofthe high cule ofthe cis ley the Irodition of religious and eal earning, rate spec instinions, the madras, Linked with it wore otber traditions of secular literaoee, Philosophical and sent shought, ad mystic speculation transited by Suh brotherhoods, which played am portant role in integrating the hiferot ender of Muli society. Joes and Christin, although din.lehed im mumbsr,preseroed their oom raligions traditions, But Jews ‘araicalr took prt in the flowering of thought and Ineratre, and were ‘ports the made of the ce conarren 5 The Arab Muslim World By she end ofthe tenth centry there had come imo exstence an Ilamic ‘worl, united by a common religious cure expresed in the Arabic [Engusge and by human links which rade migration and pleimage had forged: This world was no longer embodied i sng polical une, however Tete were three roles csiming the tle of caliph, in Baghdad, Cairo and Cordoba, and others who were in fac urs of independent states. This isnot surprising To have kop many counts, wih ifering ‘radon and neers, in singe epi for so lnghad been aemarkable {shievement. I conldscareiyhave been done without the force of lions ‘onvicton, whic had formed an eecve ruling eoup in westem Abia, {and had then crested an albance of ncerssbetveen that group and an ‘expanding section ofthe societies over which culed. Neither the tary forthe administrative reourers ofthe Abbasi caliphate were such that they could enable to mainesin he famework of pla wy for ever, in an empitesrerching from eaneal Asia tothe Adami coast, and from the tenth century onwards the poliscal history of counties where the ‘ules, and an increasing part of the population, were Muslim was tobe 3 feces of gona histories, ofthese and fal of dynasties whose power ‘diated from thet capital ies roners which onthe whole were not leary defied. "No arempe il be made ere ro give in decal he history ofall hese dynasties, but che general pattern of evens should atleast be made ese. Fortis parpoe, he slam world canbe dvd imo tree broad areas, ‘each with sown centres of power. The fst of them inched Tan he Tand beyond the Oxy and southern Iraq for sometime afer che eth ‘enary ite main cente of power continued to be Baghdad, standing asi {id arth are ofa rch aicalcural dirt and = widespread nerock of %‘sade and wit he inuence and he prestige accomulated during ‘fra by the ‘Abbasi caliphs. The second area included Eayps, Si western Arabi; is cere of power ly in Cairo, the cy bit By Futinids, in the midst ofan extensive and productive countryside and the hear ofa system of ade which linked the wodd ofthe India with that ofthe Mediterranean Se. The tid iluded the Mag ‘he Msi pars of Spin known as Andalu; inthis area there wat fone predominant cere of power bu eral ing in regions of exten tnltiation and at points fom which trade between Aca and di pats ofthe Mediterranean world could be concolld Ina rather implied way, the poisal history of ll hee regions canbe Yemen inthe south-west. From the cosstal plain there ries mountain range reaching a height of mote than 3.0co mee; here springs and streams give water which, dseibured by an ancien system of iigaton, ‘made seed eiculture posible. On the cone lie chain of harbours fom which fsbng in the waters ofthe Galf and diving for peal have been carried on since ancien ine, In the western par ofthe peninsula, routes running rom south o north linked the laa ying aroun the lian Ocean with the counties ofthe “Mediterranean basin athe eastern pat the main oes were those which ran along chain of oases io Syria and Ing. The harbours on the goat ‘ofthe Gull and Oman were inked by se-rotes with the coasts of India fad east Ais, The prodaction of food and raw materiale was too small hhoweves, for ports and matkettowas to grow into large cites, centres of manufacture and power. Mecca and Madina the holy cies, wer rin ‘tained by the largess of neighbouring countries "To the north, the Arabian peninsula joins a second area the Fertile Crescent the ctesent-shaped land runing around therm of che Hamad % ‘or Syrian deser, which a northern exteason ofthe seppe and deser of [aid This land of ancient and disineive ciation, ove in the sweser half by thot of Gresce and Rome, and isthe esten by that of Tren ita here, rather than in the peninsls, hat ee specif sociry and culture of lam had develope. “The western half ofthe Fertile Crescent forms an area known ®0 cle generation of scholars and savelle a yea. Here atin western “Arabia, the main geographic divisions run From wae to eat. Behind 3 ‘coastal rp of plan there is. ange of highland csing in the enter ‘the mountains of Lebanon and sinking inthe south the ill of Palestine. ‘Beyond them, to the eases «hollow, pare ofthe Great Rit which uns ‘through the Dea Sea andthe Red Se int eset Acs, Beyond this gaia is another region of highlands, the great plain or plateau ofthe iteior ‘whic changes gradually ino the steppe and desert ofthe Hamad. tn some places, ancient systems of gation used the waters ofthe Orontes and Saal ier to tintin eile oases parce tha lying ern the cen cy of Damascus; forthe most part, Homers, te pouty of ‘utiraton depended on rif. On the eastward slopes ofthe coastal il land mountain rainfall is adequate to make posible repsareativation, ‘provided the oii xed bythe terracing ofthe hileides ewhere i ‘more precarious, vering gest from year to year, and extremes of het fad cold alo are greater. In the ianer plans therfore, she relative ‘advantages culvating grain and pesturingcamelsor sheep vared greatly From sme sme ‘Syria was inked closely with the est ofthe case Mediverrancan basin, by se-routes from its ports and by he land-route running along the oast 10 Egypt inland ic wa inked lao with western Arabia, and, by owes ‘running across the Hamad or round its aorher im, with lands Ing 2 the east The combination of longdistance wade withthe producson of suplusoffoadnuf and raw materiale had made possible the growth of large ies, ing in the inne plains but Linked wits the coast~ Aleppo ia the arth and Daroacus inthe centre, “The routes which an arom or around the Hamad led tothe ales of ‘he inves, Euphrates and Tigi Rising a Anatol, they How eoughly ‘ina south-eserly direction, deaw near eachother, chen separate, and Sally come peer How into the northern end of the Gale The land Iying berween and around dem i divided int wo areas. In he north he Je nowt ere eayelles and scholars ae upper Mexoporasa, the ‘ature ofthe elevation made diel ous he river water fo eignandthe cutvation of gain except inthe immediate neighbourhood of fer oc thei ributares; ray from the vers aif is uncertain and ‘i thin and the Balance lay for the most pac in favour ofthe rearing sheep, etl and camel To the nortess of the rivers, howe thet land of nother kind, part of he mountain anges of Anatoli: ote -Kardstan afer the Kurds who inhabit it Here, asin the mountain ofthe Syrian coat land and eater could be wed forthe cutvtion ‘mes in the highlands and gran lower dow, bu lo for asing seep oat by regular ranshumance fom winter pastre inthe ve valleys ‘Summer patures inthe high monnesine. Further south, in Iraq, the nature of the land is diferent. The snows the Anatolian mountains mee in spring anda great volume of water co down the rivers and overflows into the sucounding plain. The deposi sie by the foods over the millennia has ereatda at alll plain the Sawad, whete grain and datepalnw were caltvated on «large scale Inigaton was easier here than ache north, Beaute the plain was almost ‘without relief, and from the tines of ancent Babylon great eytem of ‘anas carried the water over the Sawad. The flamess ofthe pin and violence ofthe loods made it necessary to keep the canals oder. they ‘were not cleaned and repaired, the lood-waters coal overow the ive ‘banks, inundate the surrounding county, and form areae of peemanent marsh The absence of rei slzo made i cary for nomadic pastoralists {rom Najd to move into the river valleys and ase the land for pasture instead of agiclar. The security and prospeiy ofthe Saad depended fon the strength of goreraments, bac they in thir run dee the food, raterials, and wealth rom the countryside they protected, A succession of teat cies had rte inthe hear ofthe Sawa, where Euphrates and Tis ome close opethe; Babylon, Csiohon ofthe Sasnids, andthe AbbatA ‘api Baghdad. Apa Gora the Links with Syria and Najd outs ran from Iraq ino the lranian highlands to the east, but more easy nthe soueh hen the noth “The sivrs wre not easily navigable for most of thei length, but from te point where hey joined and owed together no the Gal sexroues went to the ports ofthe Gulf and Indian Ocean. The main terminal of thee routes, Basta, was fora tne the foremost port ofthe ‘Abbasid Empire “To the west of ce Arabian peninsula ying across the Red Sea and a narrows lnd- bridge tothe north of hee is sandy eset and beyond ita third ares, the valley of the river Nile. Rising inthe Rghlande of eas ‘Acca, the river gathers force at moves northwards and is joined by. » coming down rom testi of shin ams hough lvl basin teed by he i apoio he ce in oad pana inher row ep, and in tel age it ls into aches and rene trogh + ee del nt the Mei Sen, ln he rammey ae the sows el othe ea Aan any rel ofthe wer esa hese comes dwn in od tar tines, a amber of dence =the sre, the water he Ikon the cod of pie ~ mae pore wo sue ater on a al Hal rm the tie ta esprit the ny there was an cnt sytem of yen, which rere water when the Nil Sood Tiny of land sunouned by bn, whe ood fora tine sod wa en nnd bc i he re od ling ado esi Os nd sipedin in way pins cer pn wee Beda echo which ie alone he were oe ihe rea, he were aio ome ones of ered elation “he northern art of he Mle ay forms the and of Erp county whi of high siraston snd socal wriny ented or made Persnes by slong oy of poll onl exec by les roms Shy ining «the oie where he ver vides io Braces and owe thagh he dt Caro was he tn sceion of essing fk so Memoh nthe milena ne. stood the cen of two of ots ming northwards he ors on he dere, Io hy eo Sri, An, she Mag nd ey estar Io Sym byt cose fond, etait the Red Stand om thre the Idan Ose, ed southwards to he pper vale of he Nie indie tasten! wwe Abe Inthe upee prof the le valley he oil domination ofthe dat the opal ys wena The Nelo toh repo rial Wihon afl Ooi bn, th cate ares omelet ip br one a tn seca made penile ede {cial sip by gation, Sou of thre ares oe fey Ise cadre May nein: Ho psi) veh ceed wears tye Iroa ares of perennial vegezation. This was the Sadan, a land of agricul ‘ureand pastoral, of villages, nomadic encampments and market towss, bur ne of agp ces. I was Linked by the Nile yh Exype, and by land routes with Ethiopia and the Sah, she epon lying around the southern Fimof the Shara desert.From the westen deste of Egypt tothe Adan coast here fourth region, known in Arabic 35 the Maghrib, the land ofthe west oF the setting sn; this includes the countries noe Laowa a Libya or T lor Algeria and Moroco, Within this area the most obvi natura divi ns rom north to south Stetchng along the Mediterranean and Ada ‘cours is erp of ow land which broadens in place into pais: he ‘of Tunisia andthe plein onthe Adatic cout of Morocco. nla rom: strip ise anges of mountains: he Jabal Akhda in Libya, the mountain rocthern Tunisia the Tellan Ada, andthe Rifin Morocco Inland there are high pains or steppes, and beyond them oer ranges of mi tain the Aus in Algeria che Mile Aas and High Alas further we ‘othe south ies steppe changing gradually ino deser the Sakae, in sony and in oshers sd, with oases of palm tees. To the south of Sahara isan area of grassland watered by rfl and the ever Niger the Sah of western Sodan, “The Maghel has few rivers which could be used fo icgation, and st ‘wasthe volume and ime of anfall wich detrmized the nature and extent ‘of human setiement. nthe costal plains and on the seaward slopes of ‘mouneains, which precipitate the rinclouds coming fom the Mediets mean or Adanic,« permanent cultivation of gran, olives, fui and ‘regtables was posible, and the upper oes ofthe mountains were ell forested, Beyond the mounting nthe hgh plan, however, rainfall ates from year year and even wth the eat 2nd the and coal be wedi a ‘mixed way: the culation of grain, and the pasturgeof sheep and goats by seasonal migration, Further south inthe seppe and desert the lid was mote suited eo pastrage; bceders af sheep mised wih he breeders of Camels, movieg northwards in the summer fom che deer. The Sahara inded was the only part ofthe Maghrib where camels were raised the ‘ame had come into the ara inthe cote before the rie of ela Ie ‘andy repjons were ile inhabited, but in the other pat of i breeders of livestock mingled with celtvator of datepals and other tees i the “The main rotes which joined the Maghib wth the surrounding world lso ran from north o south. The pots ofthe Mediterancsn and Adanie linked the region with the Iberian eninsol, Italy and Egypt outs am south fom them, through the sered country anda cain of oats inthe Sahar, fo the Sabi and beyond In certain places, the costes came ro the sea through wie areas of culated land, and here are cities could row ‘pand maintain themselves. Two och ateas were of particular importance, ” Jay on the Asantic cous of Morocco; here here had grown up in| lami simes the city of Fe, while further south and rather later, jew also that of Marakish. The oer was the coastal plain of ih here dhe main cin eaely Islamic mes wat Qayrawan, but eter place was take by Tunis, ling oa the coast near the site ofthe ancient ‘Carthage. These two area, with their large ces, radiated cheit 5c politcal and cultural power over she lands around and beeween Alera, ying berseen the two, did nor have a Inge and sabe tea of Seed life give ss ro a simlar centre of power and 0 fal ino the sphere of influence ofits ewo neighbours. Sina, power of Tunis extended over were Libya (Tripoli), while lca inthe east, separated om the rest ofthe Maghrib by she Libyan hich hee came tothe edge ofthe se, ly more within the sphere filvence of Eaype. “The fh areas he Iberian peninsula of Andalus, that par oft which ules and argeyiabited by Muslims the eater partin the eleventh but gradually shrinking nel appeared by the end of he _‘Wgen) tn some ways siilac to Syria, it conse of smal regions more ‘linc of fom exch other. The centre of he peninsula as platens Surounded and cut across by mountain ranges. From here 4 number Uf Fivers flow through lowlads to the coast: the Ebro rans into che ‘Miteranean inthe nore, the Tags into the Atlantic by way of che Portugueselowlands, andthe Guadalguvirint the Adantic further south, Hetwcen the mountsine which sucround the cental platen and the Med ‘weranea Sali the moansinous aes of Catalonia nthe north and laine fther south. Variations in late and rainfall ceate diferenes inthe Fate of she land and the ways in which t could be used. Inthe cold mace ofthe high mounais there were forest of cork, oak and pine, fand among thes ay pastes whece gain was grown and livestock raved ‘he central platen, with climate of extremes, was autable fora raced tine, the clvation of gain and olives andthe pasruage of seep and {Ht ln the warn climate ofthe river valleys and coal plans, cus find oter tris were grown. I was here, in areas of rich calvation and With acess co ver eranaport, tht the large cts lay ~ Cordoba anc Sevile ‘Spin was pare ofthe Mediterranean word, andthe ports on it eset oat liked it with the other counties ofthe basin: Ral, the Magi, Typ and Syria s mos sigificene connections were with Moroso, sothem neighbour the nstrowe rat which separated the tro land 9s‘masses were no barserto wade, migration, or the movement of conquering ‘deat aries By the eleventh century Islam wat the lin of he rales, the dominant ‘groups, and = growing proporsoa of the popalation, bt ie not certain thar it was the veigion of a majority anywhere outside che Arabian peninsula. n he sameway, while Arabi was the language of high clare {nd much ofthe arban population, otber language stil vied from the pevod belore the coming of the Muslim conquerors. BY the Steeath ‘centcy the dood of Arabi Islam had covered the whole ceion and for the most pret was lariat Sui formalehough adherents of doctrines cyelved inthe early centuries sll existed. In south-eastern Arabia and on the fringes of the Sthara there were commusiies of Ibadis claiming Spica dscene fom the Khas who had rejected the leadership of Ak ater the battle of Sf, and had revolted aginst the euleof the clips in rag and the Maghrib, fa Yemea, much ofthe population adhered 0 ‘hitem in ie Zayd for, Shim in ts"Twelver and Isa‘ frm, which hha dominated mach of he easter Ara word inthe ent cenry, had seceded the ‘Twelve’ were till aunerous in pas of Lebanon, southern kag where hey had thee main shines, and the west coastof the Gulf and [amis stil clung co hee futh in parts of Yemen, Iran and Syria, where they had beenableto purup local ressance to Sun rues, the Ayyubids in Syia and the Saljugs father east (News oftheir activities, brought back eo Europe during the de ofthe Crustdes, gave ise to the name of “Assasins and the try, nt found inthe Arabic sources, that he ved under the abolue reo the ‘OLd Man of the Mounaine) Adherent of ‘other offshoot of Shem, the Druze and Nosayr, were also tobe found ‘in Syria In northern rag here were Yazids, flowers ofa iion which had elements derived fom both Christianity and Islam, and inthe south ‘he Mandaesos ad uth dawn from older eigius bei and practices, By the ewelh century the Chrstian Churches of the Maghrib hed ically disappeared, but large pac of the population ofthe Muslim Kingdoms of Andalus were Chisias of the Roman Catholic Church. (Cope Chisians wece sil an inportant element of the Egyptian popu lavon bythe Aceh ceniry, hough ther numbers were sinking by conversion. Further south, in the northem Sadan, Chretinicy had dsappeated by the fiftenth ce sxteenth cer, a8 Islam spread cross 96 Red Sea and down the Nile valley. All over Syria and in northern Tag (Chistian communities remained, although in a diminished form. Some, ‘manly inthe ites, belonged othe Eastern Orthodox Church, but others ‘were members of those ther Chorches which had this origins in the Controversies aboot the naar of Christ the Syrian Orthodox o Monophy ties andthe Nestorian In Lebanon and her parts of Syria there was fourth Church, that of the Maronite; they had held che Mopotheet ocr, butin the welt ensry, when the Cessders led the coas of Syria they had aceped Roman Catholic doce and the supremacy of the Pope. "ers were spread more widely throughout the world of Arabic slam. In the Maghnib a considerable part ofthe peasantry ad been converted 10 Jidaiom before the coming of Islam, and there wexe sill Jewish real ‘ommanite, there were in Yemen and pars ofthe Fete Crescent Jews ‘were found sso in oat ofthe cies of the region, foe they played an Important par in trade, manufac, Gnance and medicine. The greater ‘number of them belonged the main body of Jens who accepted the oral law andthe interpretation ofiteontined inthe Talmud and mnnained by ‘hove tained in Talmudic scholarship. In Egy, Palestine and elsewhere, however, there were aio Kars, who didnot azpr the Talmud and had their own awe derived by their teacher fom the Spurs. ' lange pact ofthe Jewish communities were Arabic-speaking by this time, although hey used frm of Arabic which were special to them and ssillused Hebrew for ieungcal purposes. Among che Christians, 00 Arabic ‘na spread inthe Feil Crescent, Egypt and Spain Aramaic and Syriac ‘were shrinking spoken and veritenianguages, although used in uti, 2d the Coptic language of Egypt had virally ceased 1 be used for any ‘excep cligious purposes by ce tenth cenury; many of the Christians ‘of Andalus hac adopeed Arabica thie langage, although the Romance Tanguage hey had inerted survived and wee bepaning to tevive,Atthe smargis ofthe Arabic flood, in mountain and desert dsc other lan- ‘uages were spoken Kurish nthe mountains of orth Iaq, Nubian in {the northern Sudan and various languages in the south, Berber dialects in the mountains ofthe Maghib and the Sahar. Kurds and Berbers were ‘Masins, however, and co the extent which hey were ecard they ‘ame within the sphere ofthe Arabic language. ”