Pre-Islamic Arabic Prose Literature & Its Growth

PG PROGRAMME
ISLAMIC STUDIES
Semester—II
IS18201CR
(ISLAMIC CIVILIZATION: 8th-14th Centuries)
DIRECTORATE OF DISTANCE EDUCATION
UNIVERSITY OF KASHMIR
Course Prepared by:
Unit I & II
Ms. Zaira Ashraf
Head, Department of Islamic Studies
Govt. College for Women, M. A. Road, Srinagar
Unit III
Dr. Zubair Hamid
Department of Islamic Studies
Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh
Unit IV
Dr. Tauseef Ahmed Parray
Head, Department of Islamic Studies
Govt. Degree College, Damhal, Kulgam
Content Editing by:

Prof. Naseem Ahmad Shah
Department of Islamic Studies, University of Kashmir
Coordinated by:
1. Dr. Mohammad Altaf Ahanger
Sr. Assistant Professor (Urdu)
Directorate of Distance Education, University of Kashmir
2. Dr. Mohammad Dawood Sofi
Assistant Professor Islamic Studies (Contractual)
Format Editing by:

Dr. Mohammad Dawood Sofi
Assistant Professor Islamic Studies (Contractual)
Published by:
Prof. (Dr.) Mahmood Ahmed Khan
Director
Directorate of Distance Education
University of Kashmir
Srinagar
2
Table of Contents Page No
Unit I Abbasi Khilafah

i) The Abbasid Revolution: Causes and Impact 6-14
ii) Prominent Abbasi Khulafa: Mansur, Mamun and 15-22

Harun al-Rashid
iii) Translation Movement and Civilizational Interaction 23-30

iv) Society, Administration, Non-Arab Influences 31-36
Unit II Civilizational Contribution

i) Development of Science and Technology 38-46
ii) Education and Literature 47-62
iii) Industry, Fine Arts, Trade and Commerce 63-72
Unit III Islamic Civilization: Regional Development

i) Society, Administration and Culture under Ghaznavids 74-85
ii) Polity, Administration, Religion and Culture under 86-97

Saljuqs
iii) Society and Culture under Fatimids 98-108
Unit IV Islamic Civilization in Spain (Rise and Decline)

i) Emergence of Islam in Spain 110-131
ii) Contribution to Learning: Natural and Social Sciences 132-147
iii) The Crusades and Islamic Response 148-177
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4
Unit I
Abbasi Khilafah
i) The Abbasid Revolution: Causes and Impact
ii) Prominent Abbasi Khulafa: Mansur, Mamun and Harun al-Rashid
iii) Translation Movement and Civilizational Interaction
iv) Society, Administration, Non-Arab Influences
5
Unit 1: Abbasi Khilafah
Lesson 01: The Abbasid Revolution: Causes and Impact

Structure
1.1.1 Introduction
1.1.2 Objectives
1.1.3 Disparity between the Ummayad Rulers
1.1.4 Inter Tribal Fights
1.1.5 The Problem of Succession among Ummayads
1.1.6 Influence of Shi ‘ites
1.1.7 Ir-religiosity
1.1.8 Monopolization of Power under Umayyads
1.1.9 Taxes
1.1.10 Discrimination
1.1.11 Political Instability
1.1.12 Abbasid Claimants
1.1.13 Final Blow
1.1.14 Let Us Sum Up
1.1.15 Check Your Progress
1.1.16 Suggested Readings
1.1.1 Introduction
In spite of their greatness, the Umayyad Caliphate ended in 750 C.E after a rule of ninety
years. During this period, the dynasty produced 14 rulers. Out of these Muawiyah-I, Abdul
Malik and Hisham were great rulers. Each of them ruled for twenty years. The rule of Walid-I
that lasted for ten years was prominent for its historic conquests.
After taking over as the first Caliph of the Umayyad dynasty, Muawiyah expanded the
military and administrative powers of the state. He adopted long-term measures to
consolidate the empire. The regime patronized Arabic poetry, genealogy, and historiography.
Arabic poetry was adopted as sponsored court poetry. Caliph Abdul Malik (685-705 C.E),
backed by Syrian Yemeni armies, crushed his numerous opponents. The new caliphate was
built on the further centralization of state power. In domestic policy, Abdul Malik
demilitarized the Arabs in the garrison cities of Iraq. In administration, Abdul Malik and Al-
Walid rebuilt roads, put in milestones, and reorganized the postal service.
6
Umar bin Abdul Aziz who ruled for only three years enjoys applauds for his puritanical
outlook. In the history of Umayyads year 744 is a fateful year when as many as four princes
sat on the throne. Walid-II was deposed during this year and was succeeded by Yazid-III. He
died within a few months and was succeeded by his brother Ibrahim. He soon was
overthrown by Marwan-II who ruled for six years from 744 to 750. Despite all his attempts,
he could not save the Umayyad dynasty from its final fall.
1.1.2 Objectives
The lesson will help the students to understand the following things:
1) To evaluate the factors responsible for the downfall of Umayyad dynasty

2) To reflect on how Abbasids took advantage of the situation and turned the wave into
their favor
Reasons for the Downfall of the Umayyad Dynasty and the Abbasid Revolution
1.1.3 Disparity between the Ummayad Rulers
In the early years, the Umayyads were firmly united, which contributed to their strength.
After the death of Hisham in 125 H/743 C.E, the internal strife among the Umayyads led to
their weakness. Thus, the last phase of Umayyad rule was little more than a series of
rebellions due to the general discontent. The Kharijites revolted against the Empire at
Mosuland in the surrounding districts. They arose en masse and succeeded in occupying
Kufa, while other parties also entered the struggle.
Hisham was succeeded by Walid-II but he was overthrown within a year of his accession. He
was succeeded by Yazid-III who died after six months, followed by Ibrahim, who was
overthrown by Marwan-II. Marwan-II had to wage war with Sulaiman bin Hisham. In this
civil war, Sulaiman invoked the aid of the Kharijites and the resources at the disposal of
Marwan-II had to be strained to the utmost to establish his authority.
The Umayyads, especially the last caliphs in the line, certainly committed many mistakes.
They had destroyed each other in their individual lust for power, instead of embarking on a
sustained policy of consolidation.
1.1.4 Inter Tribal fights
The Umayyads, especially the last caliphs in the line made many mistakes. The mutual fights
between the two Arab tribes, the Qaysites and the Yemenites, were largely responsible for
7
weakening the Umayyad rule. Umayyads had stirred up tribal antagonisms among the Arab
elements, alternately seeking the support of the Qaysite and Kalbite factions.
In the Sufyanid period, the Arab-Muslim forces were still identified along tribal lines (Qays
or Yemen) but by the Marwanid period, they had become military factions. As generals took
over governorships and appointed their kin and clients to office, the factionalism intensified.
The caliph’s kin had previously governed Syria. It was largely in the control of the Yemeni
faction and the Jazeera was largely controlled by the Qays.
They had persisted in the ill-omened policy of granting privileges to the Arabs. Personal
rivalries among the Umayyad princes also contributed to the process of disintegration. When
Sulaiman succeeded Al-Walid, he reversed the policies of the previous regime and
discredited the generals who were responsible for unprecedented conquests in east and west.
1.1.5 The Problem of Succession among Ummayads
The lack of any definite and fixed principle of succession to the Caliphate caused no small
measure of national disturbance. Muawiyyah initiated the policy of nominating his son as his
successor, but the antiquated Arabian tribal principle of seniority in succession stood in
constant conflict with the natural ambition of the ruling father to pass the sovereignty on to
his son. The already complicated problem was rendered more complicated by the precedent
established when Marwan designated his son Abdul Malik as his successor, to be followed by
his other son Abdul Aziz. Abdul Malik tried to divert the succession from his brother Abdul
Aziz to his son Al-Walid, in the meantime designating his second son Sulaiman as the second
nominee. Al-Walid in his turn made an unsuccessful effort to deprive his brother Sulaiman of
his right in favor of his own son. All these maneuvers were, of course, far from being
conducive to the stability and continuity of the regime.
1.1.6 Shi ‘ites
The differences and animosities between the Shi‘ites and the Umayyads began when
Muawiyah took over the seat of Caliphate that Shi‘ites presumed to be belonging to the
family of Ali (R.A), the fourth Rightly Guided Caliph. Secondly, the animosity between the
Hashimites and the Umayyads dated from the pre-Islamic period. It was suppressed on the
conversion of Umayyads to Islam. However, with the passage of time, the tribal attitudes re-
emerged among the Arabs. Thus, it created groups supporting the Umayyads and the
Hashimites respectively.
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The wholehearted devotion of the Shi‘ites to the descendants of Prophet (peace be upon him)
made them the focus of popular sympathy. This was further elevated by the tragedy of
Karbala where Husain, the grandson of Prophet (peace be upon him) was martyred at the
hands of Umayyads that is by Yazid bin Muawiyah. Subjected to such circumstances many of
those who were politically, economically or socially dissatisfied with the Umayyad rule used
to rally round the Shi‘ite camps. Iraq, the hub of Shi‘ite faction, was full of the population
harboring hatred for the Syrian regime for depriving their country of its national
independence.
1.1.7 Irreligiosity
The Umayyad apathy and indifference towards the true spirit of Islam is evident from their
repeated attempts to muzzle the voices of truth and justice. This was demonstrated in the
Battle of Karbala and afterwards during the period of Abdul Malik when Umayyads stood
against Abdullah bin Zubair who had been upholding the seat of caliphate in Makkah for ten
years (682-692) was finally defeated due to lack of a strong force to defend himself.
1.1.8 Monopolization of Power under Umayyads
Under the Umayyads, Arabs monopolized power, which later on became a matter of
grievance with the non-Arabs. Non-Arabian Muslims in general and Persian Muslims in
particular had good reason for dissatisfaction. The clients (Mawali) who served as soldiers in
the armies and as administrators in the government bureaucracy demanded equality of status
and privilege with the Arabs.
Far from being granted the expected economic and social equality with Arabian Muslims,
they were instead generally reduced to the position of clients and were not always exempted
from the capitation tax paid by non-Muslims. Peasant converts claimed the right to exemption
from the taxes levied on non-Muslims. In the face of these demands, caliphs did not
implement a consistent policy. Abdul Malik did not discriminate against clients, but he was
opposed to the conversion of peasants. Umar-II reversed this policy, accepted converts, and
enrolled them in the army.
The struggle among these competing interests came to a head in the reign of Umar-II (717-
20). He believed that the domination of one ethnic caste over other peoples was un-Islamic.
The peoples who filled the armies and staffed the administration, the merchants and artisans
who took a leading part in the propagation of Islam, would all have to be accepted as
participants in the empire. The antagonisms between Arabs and non-Arabs would have to be
9
dissolved into a universal Muslim unity. He felt that the empire could no longer be an Arab
empire but had to be the imperium of all Muslims. His ideal Islamic policies thus won
increasing number of conversions to Islam and non-Arabs were fully accepted into the
mainstream cultural profile of Islam.
The policies of Umar-II in essence demonstrated a pragmatic approach. He accepted the
claim of the clients that all active Muslim soldiers (Arabs or non-Arabs) were entitled to
equal pay, and he also accepted the tax equality of all Muslims, but he implemented his
decisions in ways that protected the interests of the state.
What discontented them the most was that they were the upholders of legacy of an advanced
ancient culture even acknowledged by the Arabians themselves. It was among such
discontented neophytes that the Shi‘ite –Abbasid seed found fertile ground.
Under the new regime, formation of a just society based on the principles of Quran and
Sunnah was promoted. From this principle, many opponents of the regime drew the
consequence that all Muslims ought to enjoy the same rights, without any discrimination
based on their origin, or the date of conversion. As for non-Muslims, they ought to be treated
justly. Under such system, justice was expected at all fronts.
1.1.9 Taxes
Some extra taxes continued to be levied on neo-Muslims even after their conversion to Islam,
and this became cause of great discontentment among the neo-Muslims. In conquered lands,
all land property that had no owner became the State property. Umayyad princes acquired
such State property on easy terms. This led to a great economic disparity. Although converts
claimed exemption from land and poll taxes as a form of equality with Arabs, Umar-II ruled
that land taxes applied to all landowners regardless of the social status and that both Arab-
Muslim landlords and converts would have to pay them. The poll tax was to be paid only by
non-Muslims, but Arab-Muslim settlers and coverts were expected to pay the alms tax, which
partially compensated the state for the loss of poll tax revenues.
When Umar bin Abdul Aziz became the Caliph, he surrendered all such property held by
him. He also wanted the other Umayyad princes to surrender such properties to the state. That
made Umar bin Abdul Aziz unpopular with vested interests and he was poisoned to death.
Umar bin Abdul Aziz decreed that poll tax should not be levied on new converts. After his
death, the reforms introduced by him were repudiated, which intensified discontentment
against the regime. The later caliphs attempted to implement this but with very limited
success. Throughout the late Umayyad period, the interest in reconciliation and justice
10
conflicted with maintenance of the status quo and the Caliphal policy oscillated between tax
concessions and cancellation of concessions.
1.1.10 Discrimination
Under Umayyads, Syria enjoyed favored treatment and that was resented by Iraq and Persia.
The Abbasids exploited this position and carried subtle propaganda against the Umayyads.
The movement which succeeded in undermining the authority of the dynasty was that of
Alids and Abbasids, the latter being descendants of Al-Abbas, the Prophet’s paternal uncle. It
had a religious tinge, and accused the Umayyads of betraying the real Islam; at the same time
it pressed for reforms, whereby privileges would be abolished, and the oppressed given
satisfaction. It maintained, however, that only if power were entrusted to a relative of the
Prophet (peace be upon him), order and justice could be restored. When the Abbasids raised
the standard of revolt, the people flocked to their standard as they were given to believe that
under the new regime the Mahdi belonging to the house of the Holy Prophet would appear
who would usher in a new era of peace, prosperity and justice.
1.1.11 Political Instability
With the death of the Caliph Hisham in 743, the Umayyad regime collapsed. The later
Umayyad caliphs had increasingly used the military power of Syria to control other Arab-
Muslims and to stiffen the armies fighting on the frontiers of the empire with professional,
battle-hardened troops. The Turks had driven the Muslim army from Transoxiana. The
Khazars (nomadic people living beyond the Caucasus) penetrated through Muslim defenses;
defeated them at Ardabil, invaded Armenia, and penetrated as far as Mosul in 730. In 740, the
Byzantines won a decisive victory over Umayyad invaders in Anatolia and destroyed a major
Syrian army. Arab and Berber invaders were defeated in central France in 732. The Berber
rebellions under the banner of ‘Kharijites’ broke out in North Africa and destroyed Syrian
army of 27000 men. What remained of this army made its way to Spain, where parts of it
helped establish the Spanish Umayyad dynasty. It took yet another Syrian army to quell these
rebellions in 742 .These defeats ended the imperial phase of Arab-Muslim empire and left
Syria military depleted. Having based a century of rule on the ever-increasing power of the
state, the Umayyad dynasty now found itself without the military basis for effective central
government. From 744 to 750, not only the Abbasids but Shi‘ites, Kharijites, tribal factions
and ambitious provincial governors struggled to seize the throne.
11
1.1.12 Abbasid Claimants
The Abbasids, descendants of an uncle of the Prophet, Al-Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttallib ibn
Hashim, began to press their claim to the throne. They made a common cause with the Alids
by emphasizing the rights of the house of Hashim. While the Alid branch of the family
concentrated on Kufa with no success, the Abbasid branch focused in Khurasan. The Shi‘a
regarded this family as consisting primarily of the descendants of Ali, but the Abbasids
included themselves as members of the Hashimite branch of the Quraish and therefore closer
to Prophet (peace be upon him) than the Umayyads. Taking the advantage of the discord and
discontent and posing as the defenders of the true faith, the descendants of Al-Abbas soon
became the champions and leaders of the anti-Umayyad movement.
1.1.13 Final Blow
Taking advantage of the widespread discontent and posing as defenders of the true faith, the
descendants of Al-Abbas soon became the champions and leaders of the anti-Umayyad
movement. For their headquarters and seat of propaganda, they chose a little village, Al-
Humaymah, to the south of the Dead Sea. In the meanwhile, Khurasan was a in a fever of
political agitation and eschatological expectation. Popular apocryphal (fictitious) writings
called Jafr and al-Malahim foretold fateful battles, the imminent end of the world, the coming
of the messiah (Mahdi), and the beginning of new era of universal justice. In these conditions
on June 9, 747, the long-meditated revolt broke out when the Abbasid agent in Khurasan,
Abu Muslim, a Persian freed-man, rallied the people aggrieved by loss of status and by unjust
taxes and only about 3000 fighting men, defeated rival factions. He entered the capital Merw,
while majority of his adherents were the Iranian peasants and clients rather than Arabs.
Besides the Syrians, the Kharijites of Iraq were now in open rebellion.
The fall of the capital of Khurasan, Merw, was followed in 749 by the fall of Kufah, the
leading city of Iraq. Here on October 30, 749, public homage was paid in the chief mosque to
Abu al-Abbas as caliph. The first Abbasid Caliph was thus enthroned.
Based on support in Khurasan, the Abbasids prevailed. Yet after centuries of scholarly
research, it is still not entirely clear who these supporters were. There are two principal
theories. One is that Yemeni Arabs founded the Abbasid organization and their clients in
Kufa, whose agents in Khurasan mobilized the support of disaffected Persians. These
Persians were Umayyad clients angry with the Umayyads because of the failure to reward
12
them with a place on the military payrolls, and Persian converts to Islam who had been
subjected to unjust taxation. Arabs were generally, but not exclusively, on the Umayyad side.
The alternative theory is that the Abbasids were supported primarily by Arabs from the
villages around Merw, belonging to the Yemeni faction. They had been part of the armies
sent to conquer the eastern region but had in the intervening years settled in villages, become
peasants, acculturated to Iran, and were the subject to taxation by the ‘Dihqans’.
A hybrid theory is the most persuasive. The Abbasid revolution was a revolt against the
dominant alliance of the Arab military chieftains, mainly of the Qays faction, and high-
ranking Iranian nobles. The Abbasids were supported by a coalition of middling landowners
(both Arab and Persian). The Persian landowners and tax collectors were alienated by
Umayyad policies excusing converts from the poll taxes. The Arab settlers and their clients
were opposed to the Umayyads because they were subject to the tax-raising authority of the
Persian ‘Dihqans’. They were backed by masses of oppressed Arab and Iranian peasants. The
Abbasid movement included Arabized Persians and Persianized Arabs who were
ideologically united by their commitment to the family of the Prophet (peace be upon him) as
the only legitimate caliphs and to the idea that Islamic identity should replace ethnicity and
nobility as the basic principle of society.
With the fall of the Umayyads, the glory of Syria passed away and its hegemony ended. The
Syrians awoke too late to the realization that the Caliphate had shifted eastward, and though
they made several armed attempts to regain their former importance all proved futile.
 Umayyads lost the Caliphate in 750 C.E after a rule of ninety years. During this
period, the dynasty produced 14 rulers. Out of these Muawiyah-I, Abdul Malik and
Hisham were great rulers. Each of them ruled for twenty years. The rule of Walid-I
that lasted for ten years was prominent for its historic conquests.
 Taking over as the first Caliph of the Umayyad dynasty, Muawiyah expanded the
military and administrative powers of the state. He consolidated the empire and
devised new moral and political grounds for loyalty to the Caliphate.
 In administration, Abdul Malik and Al-Walid rebuilt roads, put in milestones, and
reorganized the postal service.
 Umar bin Abdul Aziz who ruled for only three years enjoys applauds for his
puritanical outlook.
 Factors responsible for downfall of Umayyads include:
13
 Mutual fights among the rulers after the death of Hisham in 125 H/743 C.E, led to
their weakness.
 The mutual fights between the two Arab tribes, the Qaysites and the Yemenites, were
mostly responsible for the weakening of the Umayyad rule.
 Under the Umayyads, the Arabs monopolized power, and later on, it became a matter
of grievance with the non-Arabs. Non-Arabian Muslims in general and Persian
Muslims in particular had good reason for dissatisfaction.
 Some exorbitant taxes continued to be levied on neo-Muslims even after their
conversion to Islam, and this became cause of great discontentment among the neo-
Muslims.
 Under Umayyads, Syria enjoyed favored treatment and that was resented by Iraq and
Persia. The Abbasids exploited this position and carried subtle propaganda against the
Umayyads.
 With the death of the Caliph Hisham in 743, the Umayyad regime finally collapsed.
A) Answer the following questions in about 250 words

1. Reasons for the downfall of the Umayyads include political instability. Clarify briefly.
2. Why Umayyads failed to fix the problem of succession?
B) Provide a detailed answer to the following questions in about 1000 words
1. Enlist the reasons for the downfall of the Umayyad dynasty.
2. Explain the political emergence of the Abbasids.
1. Akbar Shah Najeeb Abadi, Tarikh Islam

2. Sarwat Sawlat, Millat-i- Islamia ki Mukhtasar Tarikh
3. P.M. Holt, et al., Cambridge History of Islam
4. Marshall G.S. Hodgson, Venture of Islam
5. Masud-ul Hasan, History of Islam
6. Ira M. Lapidus, A History of Islamic Societies
7. P.K. Hitti, History of the Arabs
14
Lesson 1.2: Prominent Abbasi Khulafa: Mansur, Mamun and Harun al-
Rashid
Structure
1.2.1 Introduction
1.2.2 Objectives
1.2.3 Abul Abbas
1.2.4 Abu Jafar Abdullah bin Muhammad
1.2.5 Mahdi (775-785)
1.2.6 Harun al-Rashid (786-809 C.E)
1.2.7 Mamun al-Rashid
1.2.8 Let Us Sum Up
1.2.1 Introduction
The downfall of the Umayyads was definite turning point in the history of Islam. The
Abbasid Caliphs were no less Arab than the Umayyads were, but they had gained their throne
largely by Persian help. Their governors (Amils) were Persians more often than the Arabs.
The heirs of several of the earlier Abbasid Caliphs were educated in Persian surroundings and
had Persian blood as the result of inter marriages. Persian ideas and Persian interest rivaled,
in many cases displaced, Arab ideas and interests, and so to a certain extent Islam became
Persianized.
At first the Abbasid Caliphs, lived at Al-Anbar on the Euphrates. They had no desire to go to
Syria where the dominant feeling was strongly pro-Umayyad.
1.2.2 Objectives
In this lesson, the students will be able to understand:
1) An idea about the stalwarts of Abbasid Dynasty

2) A detailed account about the contributions of some very prominent Caliphs of Abbasid
dynasty
1.2.3 Abul Abbas
Abul Abbas al-Saffah became the founder of the most celebrated and longest-lived Arab
dynasty in Islam. From 750 to 1258 C.E. the successors of Abul Abbas reigned, though they
15
did not always rule. Referred himself “Al-Saffah” (The Blood Shedder) to make it sure that
Abbasids would rule through force and not tolerate opposition. Thousands were imprisoned
and people were terrorized. He began his rule at Kufa and then proceeded to Anbar. The
partisans of Umayyads rose against the Abbasids in Damascus, Hams, Qinissirin, and
Palestine but revolts were put down with a stern hand.
1.2.4 Mansur
Next in line was Abu Jafar Abdullah bin Muhammad, brother of Abul Abbas and assumed
the title of Al-Mansur (The supported one). The first two reigns of Abul Abbas, surnamed al-
Saffah and of his brother Abu Jafar al-Mansur, served to consolidate the regime and to
determine its orientation. Al-Saffah governed with the support of his brother, upon whom
was the delicate responsibility of extracting the oath of allegiance from the powerful Abu
Muslim; who had remained at Merw and acted as governor of Khurasan, and Abu Jafar had
to make a special visit to him for ensuring his obedience.
He took two important steps in establishing Abbasid Rule, Firstly doing away with the
growing influence of Abu Muslim by assassinating him. However, his assassination led to
serious insurrection in Khurasan in 755 C.E. Finally, the protests were curbed and
Khurasanians were defeated.
Another challenge that Mansur faced was from the Shi‘ites. Muhammad (also known as Al
Nafs al-Zakiyyah, the pure soul), the great grandson of Hasan bin ‘Ali, had not given his oath
to Al-Saffah. Rather he had remained in hiding since the accession of the Abbasids. Failing to
discover his hiding place and that of his brother Ibrahim, Al-Mansur imprisoned their father,
Abdullah, followed by all the descendants of Hasan living in Medina. Muhammad was thus
forced to come out in open rebellion at Medina and to denounce Al-Mansur as a tyrant who
did not respect Islamic law. Notwithstanding the support he received from certain religious
scholars, he was unable to rally a sufficiently large number of adherents and was quickly
crushed by the Caliph’s troops in Ramadan 145 H/December 762, when his brother Ibrahim
had also just revolted in the region of Basra. For a time Ibrahim constituted a serious threat to
the towns of Iraq, but he too was soon defeated by Al-Mansur’s general Isa bin Musa.
Once he was done with all his opponents, Mansur’s attention was drawn to the site of
Baghdad. He accordingly founded a royal citadel there which bore the name of the City of
Peace (Madinat al-Salam), and remained famous above all for its circular shape. It was
situated at the point where the Tigris and the Euphrates are closest to each other, and are
linked by a series of canals, which can serve as a natural defense against potential aggressors.
16
The work of building, which was decided upon in August 758, was halted for a time during
the twofold Alid revolt, but was resumed afterwards with increased vigour, and in 762 he
shifted his capital there. The city was circular in shape and was surrounded by double walls.
In the center of the city was the main mosque and adjoining the Masjid was the palace of the
Caliph. Around it rose the houses of his dignitaries, the guard’s barracks and essential shops,
while a double enclosure wall pierced by four monumental gates surrounded the entire
compound. Baghdad soon rose to importance and in the medieval period, all roads led to
Baghdad that became a big trade emporium.
In one respect, the fundamental difference between the two empires was that the Umayyad
Empire was Arab centric, while, as the Abbasid was more international. The Abbasid was an
empire of Neo-Muslims in which Arabs formed only one of the many component races.
Spain and North Africa, Oman, Sind and even Khurasan did not fully acknowledge the new
Caliph. Egypt’s acknowledgement was more nominal than real. Syria was in constant
turmoil, chiefly because of the outrages perpetrated against its royal house.
Abu Jafar established the new dynasty. All the thirty-five Caliphs who succeeded were his
lineal descendants. In 762, Al-Mansur, who had his residence at Al-Hashmiyah between Kufa
and Hirah, laid the foundation of his new Capital, Baghdad. In the Construction of his city,
Al-Mansur spent some 48, 83,000 dirham and employed about a 100000 architects, craftsmen
and laborers drawn from Syria, Mesopotamia and other parts of the empire. There were
markets to provision the workers and their families and workshops to produce their clothes,
as well as utensils, tools and factories to supply the building materials for the construction
project.
Madinat al-Salam (City of Peace), which was the official name given by Al-Mansur to his
city lay on the west bank of the Tigris. In few years, the town grew into an emporium of trade
and commerce and a political center of the greatest international importance. No sooner was
the city of peace completed; the decision of the Caliphs to build additional palaces and
administrative complexes in the immediate vicinity stimulated the growth of additional
quarters. Baghdad was the largest city in the history of the region; it was not a single city but
a metropolitan center, made up of a-conglomeration of districts on both sides of the Tigris
River.
In 9th Century, it measured about 25 square miles and had a population of between 3 to 5 lac.
It was largest than Constantinople or any other Middle Eastern City until Istanbul in 16 th
Century. In its time, Baghdad was the largest city in the world outside China. Al-Mansur
desired to make his capital a city whose fame would radiate throughout the Muslim world
17
and for this purpose, he invited to it a number of distinguished scholars, Quran readers and
preachers, grammarians and traditionalists from the two neighboring camp cities which had
already become recognized centers of Muslim scholarship. Such men of learning began to
form a respectable middleclass that later rose by court favor to high offices in the State, but
was entirely different from the preceding dynasty.
Commercial City
The vast size of the Abbasid Empire is an index of its importance in the formation of its
Society and Culture. It became a commercial City for international trade and textile, leather,
paper and other commodities. Its cosmopolitan population included people of different
religions (Muslims, Jews, Christians, and Pagans) and Ethnicities (Persians, Iraqis, Arabians,
Syrians, and Central Asians). Soldiers and official workers who built the city, the people who
lived in the surrounding villages and merchants from Khurasan and East also settled in
Baghdad. Various notables, merchants, cloth workers from Khuzistan, scholars from
Alexandria, and Christians from Iraq-all made Baghdad as their home.
It was a home of a new Middle Eastern society; heterogeneous and cosmopolitan, embracing
numerous Arab and non-Arab elements integrated into a single society under the auspices of
an Arab-Islamic empire and religion. It provided the wealth and man-power to govern a vast
empire; it crystallized the culture that came to be identified as Islamic Civilization.
The Abbasid dynasty, like others in Muslim History, attained its most brilliant period of
political and intellectual life soon after its establishment. The Baghdad Caliphate founded by
Al-Saffah and Al-Mansur reached its prime in the period between the reigns of the third
caliph Al-Mahdi and the ninth Al-Wathiq, more particularly in the days of Harun and Mamun
Rashid. Therefore, Arab Culture succumbed to Persian influence and ultimately Persian titles,
wives, ideas, and thoughts won the day. Under Al-Mansur, the vizierate, a Persian office,
appears for the first time in Islamic government. Khalid bin Barmak was the first person
designated for to hold the high office.
On Oct 7 in 775, Al-Mansur died near Makkah while on pilgrimage. He was a wise, strong
man, with knowledge of religious sciences. Austere in nature and stern in manner, he stands
in marked contrast to the type represented by his successors. However, his policies continued
for many generations to guide those who came after him just as those of Muawiyah had
guided the Umayyads.
18
1.2.5 Mahdi (775-785)
His son Muhammad who assumed the title Al-Mahdi on accession succeeded Al-Mansur. He
was mild and generous. In contrast to harsh policies of his father (Mansur) he followed mild
and generous policies and tried to win over the people. He constructed numerous works of
public importance. He constructed a road from Baghdad to Makkah and constructed inns for
the convenience of travellers. He died on 4 August 785 C.E and ruled for 10 years .During his
time the country prospered, agriculture, trade and commerce flourished a good deal. Arts and
learning was promoted. Society acquired a cosmopolitan character. Arabs lost their social
prominence and people of other parts came to hold key posts in the government. Persian
costume became the fashion of the court.
1.2.6 Harun al-Rashid (786-809 C.E)
After Al-Hadi (son of Mahdi), his brother Harun al-Rashid took charge on 15 September 785
C.E. He took charge at the age of 22.He had been educated in Persia and under Persian
influence at the hands of Yahya, the Barmakid and throughout his reign showed strongly pro-
Persian sympathies. He took great interest in science and literature, far beyond any of his
predecessors, and the Hellenistic movement in Islam matured under his auspices. Under him,
the Abbasid state reached the pinnacle of glory. The country became prosperous and the court
came to be marked by a lavish style of living where everything was plastered with gold.
Baghdad at the time of Harun was the greatest commercial center, the greatest seat of
learning and culture in the world. He lived in history as a brilliant and enlightened ruler.
History and legend unite in placing the most brilliant period of Baghdad during his caliphate.
Though less than half a century old, Baghdad had, by that time, grown from nothingness to a
world center of prodigious wealth and international significance. Baghdad became a city with
no peer throughout the world.
Achievements of Harun al-Rashid
Annexation of Kabul
In the early years of the rule of Harun, Kabul as annexed and the frontiers of the Muslim
empire were extended up to Hindu Kush.
Campaign against the Khazars
In 779 C.E., the Khazars from across the Caucasus overran Azerbaijan and Armenia. They
ravaged the country and enslaved many Muslims. Harun sent an army against the Khazars
and they were successfully dealt with.
19
North Africa
When Harun came to power, the situation in North Africa was very tense. It had a low and
deficit budget. He appointed Ibrahim bin Aghlab in North Africa to restore law and order and
to pay a fixed amount to the imperial treasury every year.
Naval expeditions
Harun al-Rashid also recaptured the islands of Cyprus and Rhodes.
Peace and Prosperity
Much of the empire was peaceful. This led to a great development of industry (textiles, metal
goods, paper etc.) and to an expansion of trade, which led to accumulation of wealth in the
hands of the caliphs. He died in 809 CE.
1.2.7 Mamun al-Rashid
Al-Mamun is rated as one of the greatest rulers among the Abbasids. His reign is generally
called the Augustan age of Islam. He promoted the study of various arts, philosophy and
sciences. He encouraged discussions and favored rationalism. For promotion of knowledge,
he established libraries, observatories and other institutions. Many scholars of repute
flourished at his courts and were patronized by him. Professional men, physicians, lawyers,
teachers, writers and the like began to occupy a conspicuous place under his patronage.
Abundant manuscripts dealing with the subjects as hypnotism, jugglery etc, were promoted.
Society under Mamun al-Rashid
Trade and commerce flourished by huge import and export of goods from East and West. Into
the bazaars of the city came porcelain, silk and musk from China; spices, minerals and dyes
from India, Malay and Archipelago; rubies, fabrics and slaves from the lands of Turks in
Central Asia. Similarly, honey, Wax, and furs from Scandinavia and Russia; ivory and gold
dusk from eastern Africa; rice, grain, and Lenin from Egypt. Furthermore, glass, metal ware
and fruits from Syria; Brocade, pearls and weapons from Arabia; and Silk, perfumes and
vegetables from Persia.
Exports
From Baghdad and other export centers, Arab merchants shipped to the Far East, Europe and
Africa fabrics, jewellery, metal mirrors, glass beads, spices etc. The hoards of Arab coins
recently found in places as far north as Russia, Finland, Sweden and German testify also the
world-wide commercial activity of the Muslims of this and later period. Merchants played a
20
leading part in the Baghdad community .Members of each craft and trade had their shops in
the same market (Suq) as in the present day.
Professionals like physicians, lawyers, teachers, writers and the like began to occupy a
prominent place under the patronage of Al-Mamun. Abundant manuscripts dealing even with
such subjects as hypnotism, jugglery, sword swallowing and glass chewing existed during
this period.
1.2.8 Let Us Sum Up
 Abul Abbas became the founder of the most celebrated and longest-lived Arab
dynasty in Islam. From 750 to 1258 C.E. the successors of Abul Abbas reigned,
though they did not always rule.
 Next in line was Abu Jafar Abdullah bin Muhammad, Abul Abbas’s brother who
assumed the title ‘Al-Mansur’ (The supported one).He founded a royal citadel there,
which bore the name of the City of Peace (Madinat al-Salam). In few years, the town
grew into an emporium of trade and commerce and a political center of the greatest
international importance.
 In 762, Al-Mansur, who had his residence at Al-Hashmiyah between Kufa and Hirah
laid the foundation of his new Capital, Baghdad. It became a commercial City for
international trade and textile, leather, paper and other industries. Its cosmopolitan
population included people of different religions (Muslims, Jews, Christians and
Pagans) and Ethnicities (Persians, Iraqis, Arabians, Syrians and Central Asians).
 His son Muhammad who assumed the title Al-Mahdi on accession succeeded Al-
Mansur. He constructed numerous works of public importance. He constructed a road
from Baghdad to Makkah and constructed inns for the convenience of travelers.
 After Al-Hadi (son of Mahdi), his brother Harun al-Rashid took charge on 15
September 785 C.E. Under him, the Abbasid State reached the pinnacle of glory.
 Baghdad at the time of Harun was the greatest commercial center, the greatest seat of
learning and culture in the world. He lived in history as a brilliant and enlightened
ruler.
 Al-Mamun is rated as one of the greatest rulers among the Abbasids. His reign is
generally called the Augustan age of Islam. He promoted the study of various arts,
philosophy and sciences. Professional men, physicians, lawyers, teachers, writers and
the like began to occupy a conspicuous place under his patronage. Trade and
commerce flourished by huge import and export of goods from East and West.
21
Short Answer Questions
1. Comment on Abul Abbas’s role in establishment of Abbasid Empire.
2. Discuss briefly the challenges faced by Al-Mansur in consolidation of Abbasid Empire.
Long Answer Questions
1. Elaborate on the establishment of Baghdad as a cosmopolitan city.
2. Discuss in detail the achievements of Harun and Mamun.

1. Akbar Najeeb Abadi, Tarikh Islam
6. P.K Hitti, History of Arabs
22
Lesson 1.3: Translation Movement and Civilizational Interaction
Structure
1.3.1 Introduction
1.3.2 Objectives
1.3.3 Beginning of Translation Movement
1.3.4 Translators
1.3.5 Hunayn bin Ishaq
1.3.6 Thabit bin Qura
1.3.7 Banu Musa
1.3.8 Conclusion
1.3.9 Let Us Sum Up
1.3.1 Introduction
The victory of Muslim arms under Al-Mahdi and Al-Rashid over the Byzantine enemy
undoubtedly shed its luster on this period. The luxurious scale of living made this period
popular in history and in fiction but what has rendered this age especially illustrious in world
annals is the fact that it witnessed the most momentous intellectual awakening in the history
of Islam and one of the most significant in the whole history of thought and culture.
1.4.2 Objectives
After going through this lesson, you will be able to gain the idea about the translation
movement and its role in introducing Muslims to the plethora of knowledge available during
that period and the contribution of some prominent Translators and their works.
1.4.3 Beginning of Translation Movement
The awakening was due in a large measure to foreign influences partly Indo-Persian and
Syrian but mainly Hellenic and was marked by translations into Arabic from Persian,
Sanskrit, Syriac and Greek.
India acted as an early source of inspiration, especially in wisdom literature and mathematics.
In 771 C.E, an Indian traveller introduced in Baghdad a treatise on astronomy Sidhanta (Ar.
Sind-Hind), which by order of Al-Mansur was translated by Muhammad bin Ibrahim al-
Fazari who subsequently became the first astronomer in Islam. It is an Indian treatise on
23
astronomy and connected mathematics, based on Alexandrian teaching, which was translated
into Arabic. In order to understand the importance of Sind-Hind it was found necessary to
make translations of the Almajest of Ptolemy and Euclid’s Elements and these seem to have
been translated directly from the Greek and to have been the earliest translation thus made. It
is stated that it was made from a Syriac version.
It seems certain that a medical material came through a Syriac medium, direct translation
from the Greek coming later. This may have been the case also with astronomical and
mathematical material, but extant Syriac translations seem to be contemporaneous with the
Arabic versions, not earlier, most indeed the work of Hunayn bin Ishaq or his school. It may
be that mathematics and astronomy came through Indian authorities, not translations from the
Greek into Syriac. There are gaps in the chain of transmission that are not easy to be filled up.
Baghdad was found in 762. Harun al-Rashid became Caliph in 786 and in his reign Baghdad
became the center of a movement, which aimed at translating Greek scientific material into
Arabic. A typical figure of the times was Abu Muhammad bin al-Muqaffa, a Persian who
entered the service of Isa bin Ali, uncle of the first two Abbasid Caliphs, and became a
convert to Islam. He translated from Pahlavi or Old Persian, the book known as Kalilah wa
Dimnah, itself a translation of a Buddhist work brought from India. Ibn al-Muqaffa produced
translation, which is regarded as a model of classical Arabic. He also made a translation of
the Persian Khuda-i- Nama, a biographical history of the Persian kings, calling his Arabic
version Siyar al-Muluk al-Ajam.
The astronomical records kept under the Sassanid kings of Persia were continued under the
Arabs and were continued in Persian, not in Arabic until much later. From Merw came some
of the earliest translators of astronomical works ,and it would seem that Khurasan was the
channel through which astronomical and mathematical material came to Baghdad, for which
very probably the Barmakid ministers, natives of Merw, were the agents. It was during the
reign of Harun al-Rashid that the translation of Euclid’s Elements was done into Arabic.
Arabs changed this to Al-Majisti or Al-Magisti (the Greatest Book). The translator of the Al-
Majisti is said to have been Hajjaj bin Yusuf bin Mattar al-Hasib, who finished it in about
827, which was well after the death of Harun al-Rashid. Another tradition represents the
translation of the Al-Majisti was made by Saki bin Rabban al-Tabari, a native of Merw and a
Jew.
The earliest information, which the Arabs obtained, about Aristotle from Syriac sources was
confined to his logical works which had been translated and retranslated into Syriac, and on
which several commentaries were accessible. The corpus of Aristotelian logic included the
24
Categories, the Hermeneutics, The Prior Analytics, the Posterior Analytics, The Topics, The
Sophistica, the Rhetoric, and the Politics, these last two works classed with the logical
treatises by the Arabs. Not long afterwards, about 835, a Christian of Emessa named Abd al-
Masih translated another apocryphal work, Theology of Aristotle, an abridged paraphrase of
Plotinus.
About the same time lived Abu Yahya al-Batriq (798-806), who made an Arabic translation
of an astrological work, the Tetra-Biblos of Ptolemy. The general conclusion is that the work
of translation of scientific material began under Harun al-Rashid with the encouragement of
the Vizir, Jafr bin Barmak, and that this at first was concerned with mathematical and
astronomical works. The translation of the medical works perhaps began a little later, and was
associated with Jibra’il-II.
Islam added its impetus to the study of astronomy as a means for fixing the direction in which
prayer should be conducted towards Kabah. The famous Al-Khawarizmi (850) based his
widely known astronomical tables on Al-Fazari’s work and syncretized the Indian and Greek
systems of astronomy, at the same time adding his own contribution.
Among other translations of astronomical works at this period were those from Persian into
Arabic by al-Fadl bin Nawbakht, the chief librarian of Rashid.
Literary Works
The earliest literary work in Arabic that has come down to us is Kalilah wa Dimnah, a
translation from Pahlavi which was itself a rendition from Sanskrit.
1.4.4 Books on Wisdom, Polity and History
Arabic literary works as Kitab al-Aghani, Al-Iqd al-Farid and Al-Turtini’s Siraj al-Muluk are
full with references to earlier Indo-Persian sources especially when dealing with etiquette,
wisdom, polity and history.
The apogee of Greek influence was reached under Al-Mamun. He in 830 established in
Baghdad his famous Bayt al-Hikmah (House of Wisdom) a combination of library, academy
and translation bureau, which in many respects proved the most important educational
institution. Down to this time, Christians, Jews and neo-converts to Islam, had done sporadic
translation work independently.
The Abbasid era of translation lasted about a century after 750.Since most of the translators
were Aramaic-speaking, many of the Greek works were first done into Aramaic (Syriac)
before their rendition into Arabic.
25
1.4.5 Translators
One of the pioneer translators from Greek was Abu-Yahya bin al-Batriq (796-806), who is
credited with having translated for al-Mansur the major works of Galen and Hippocrates.
“Elements” of Euclid and Almagest (Ar. Al-Majisti), the great astronomical work of Ptolemy
were translated during this period.
1.4.6 Hunain bin Ishaq (809-873)
The Sheikh (Chief) of the translators as the Arabs express it, was Hunayn bin Ishaq (809-873)
one of the greatest scholars and noblest characters of the age. He was a Christian from Hirah
and had charge of all the scientific translation work, in which he enjoyed the collaboration of
his son Ishaq and his nephew Hubaysh bin al-Hasan whom he trained. He was a famous and
influential Assyrian Nestorian scholar, physician and scientist, known for his work in
translating scientific and medical works of Greek into Arabic and Syriac during the Abbasid
Caliphate. He was the most productive translator of Greek medical and scientific treatises.
Originally hailing from Iran, he spent his life in Baghdad, the center of the great 9th century
Greek into-Arabic/Syriac translation movement. Impressively Hunayn’s translations did not
require corrections. He had mastered four languages: Arabic, Syriac, Greek and Persian.
He did the initial translation from Greek into Syriac and his colleagues took the second step
and translated from Syriac into Arabic. He wrote on a variety of subjects that included
philosophy: he translated some of Plato’s and Aristotle’s works and the commentaries of
ancient Greeks. He also translated writings on agriculture, stones, religion and worked on
Arabic grammar and lexicography. Additionally, he translated many medicinal texts and
summaries, mainly those of Galen’s.
Some of the works of Hunayn include:
1) Hermeneutica of Aristotle.
2) Plato’s Republic (Siyasah)
3) Aristotle’s Categories (Maqulat)
4) Aristotle’s Physics (Tabi’yyat)
5) Magna Moralia (Khuluqiyat)
6) Seven books of Galen’s anatomy
He translated 116 writings, a few of which were Plato’s Timaeus, Aristotle’s Metaphysics,
and the Old Testament, into Syriac and Arabic. Additionally, Ishaq produced 36 of his own
books, in which 21 covered the fields of medicine. Mostly known for his translation and his
26
method, he earned his name in the field of medicine as well. In his struggle for translating as
many Greek materials as possible; he was accompanied by his son Ishaq bin Hunayn and his
nephew Hubaysh. Another noteworthy pupil was ‘Isa bin Yahya bin Ibrahim who was a
translator of Greek medical works into Arabic. Almost all the leading scientists of the
succeeding generations were pupils of Hunayn.
Another crucial component in Hunayn’s endeavor was his procedure. Unlike other translators
of the past and in the Abbasid period, Hunayn greatly opposed translating texts word for
word. He also corrected texts by collecting different set of books revolving around a subject
and by finalizing the meaning of the subject.
1.4.7 Thabit bin Qurrah (836-901 C.E)
Stood at the head of the Nestorian group of translators, were those interested in astronomy
and mathematics. Thabit bin Qurrah was a leading figure among them. They are credited with
having translated the bulk of the Greek mathematical and astronomical works. They also
improved on earlier translations. About 908, the Christian priest Yusuf al-Kuri al-Qass
translated Archimedes’s (lost) work on triangles from a Syriac version, and this was
afterwards revised by Thabit bin Qurrah. He also made an Arabic translation of Galen’s De
simplicibus temperamentis et facultatibus which was afterwards revised by Hunayn bin Ishaq.
About the same time lived Qusta bin Luqa al-Balbakki (912-13), a Syrian Christian who
translated Hypsicles, afterwards revised by Al-Kindi, Theodosius Sphaerica afterwards
translated by Thabit bin Qurrah, who also revisited Heron’s Mechanics, Autolycus,
Theophrastus’ Meteora, Galen’s catalogue of his books, John Philoponus on the Physics of
Aristotle and several other works, and also revised the existing translation of Euclid.
1.4.8 Banu Musa
Banu Musa (Sons of Musa) were three 9th century Persian scholars, of Baghdad, active in
Bayt al-Hikmah. They were the sons of Musa ibn Shakir, who had been an astrologer to the
Caliph al-Mamun. He left his sons in the custody of the caliph. The education of these three
brothers was carried out by Yahya bin Abu Mansur who worked at the famous Bayt al-
Hikmah (House of Wisdom) library and translation center in Baghdad. They built a number
of automatic machines and mechanical devices and described a hundred such devices in their
Book of Ingenious Devices.
Musa bin Shakir entrusted his sons to Caliph al-Mamun who appointed Ishaq bin Ibrahim,
and later Yahya bin Abu Mansur to be their teachers, and from them they received training in
27
Mathematics. They were not so much interested in medicine, but patronized Hunayn chiefly
because of being prolific translator. He translated fourteen treatises into Arabic, three for
Muhammad, one for Ahmad, sons of Musa. He and his assistants produced versions both in
Syriac and Arabic, though no doubt some of his staff excelled in one language rather than the
other. Most of the translators of the next generation received their training from Hunayn or
his pupils, so that he stands out as the leading translator.
Translation of Medical Works
During the eighth and ninth centuries, important medical works from Greece, Persia and
India were translated into Arabic. The translators included:
1) Hunayn bin Ishaq 2) Isa bin Yahya 3) Ishaq bin Hunayn 4) Thabit bin Qurrah 5)
Qusta bin Luqa 6) Yuhana bin Masawaih. Ibn Muqaffa translated medical texts from
Pahlavi into Arabic.
1.4.9 Conclusion
Before the age of translation was brought to an end practically all the extant works of
Aristotle, many of which were of course spurious had become accessible to the Arabic reader.
No less than a hundred works attributed to the “Philosopher of Greeks” were translated into
Arabic. All this took place while Europe was almost ignorant of Greek thought and science.
The ninth century was the period of greatest activity in the work of translation. The
translators, mostly Nestorian Christians, had a command of the Greek, Syriac and Arabic
languages and often in Persian.
Yuhana bin Masawaih (857 CE), who was for half a century physician to Harun al-Rashid’s
successors, produced a number of medical works in Arabic.
Hunayn bin Ishaq (809-877 CE), a gifted philosopher and physician of wide erudition was the
dominating figure of this century of translators.
The translated works included 100 Syriac and 39 Arabic versions of Galen’s medical and
philosophical books. Thus was transmitted to the Islamic world the whole legacy of the most
voluminous works of the scientific writers. Many of Hunayn’s translations are still extant in
manuscript particularly in the libraries of Constantinople.
 Translations were mainly into Arabic from Persian, Sanskrit, Syriac and Greek.
28
 India acted as an early source of inspiration, especially in wisdom literature and
mathematics.
 Harun al-Rashid became Caliph in 786 and in his reign Baghdad became the center of
a movement that aimed at translating Greek scientific material into Arabic.
 It was during the reign of Harunal-Rashid that the translation of Euclid’s Elements
and Claudius Ptolemy’s Megale was done into Arabic.
 The earliest literary work in Arabic that has come down to us is Kalilah wa Dimnah, a
translation from Pahlavi (Old Persian) which was itself a rendition from Sanskrit.
 Mamun in 830 established in Baghdad his famous Bayt al-Hikmah (House of
Wisdom) a combination library, academy and translation bureau that in many respects
proved the most important educational institution. Down to this time sporadic
translation Christians, Jews and recent converts to Islam, had done works
independently.
 The Abbasid era of translation lasted about a century after 750. Many of the Greek
works were first done into Aramaic (Syriac) before their rendition into Arabic.
 The Sheikh of the translators as the Arabs express it, was Hunayn bin Ishaq (809-873)
one of the greatest scholars and noblest characters of the age. He was the most
productive translator of Greek medical and scientific treatise.
 Thabit bin Qurrah (836-901 C.E) stood at the head of the Nestorian group of
translators and was interested in astronomy and mathematics. He credited with having
translated the bulk of the Greek mathematical and astronomical works.
 Banu Musa (Sons of Musa) were three 9th century Persian scholars, of Baghdad,
active in Bayt al-Hikmah. They built a number of automatic machines and mechanical
devices, and they described a hundred such devices in their Book of Ingenious
Devices.
Answer the following questions in 250 words

1. How Translation Movement started.
2. List the names of some famous translators during Abbasid Era.
Answer the following question in 1000 words
1. Explain Translation Movement and role of Bayt al-Hikmah.
2. Write a detailed note on the works of Hunayn bin Ishaq, Thabit bin Qurrah and Banu
Musa.
29
1. A.Y. al Hassan, The Different Aspects of Islamic Culture (Science and Technology in
Islam)
2. M.J.L.Young, et al., (eds). Cambridge History of Arabic Literature (Religion,
Learning and Science in the Abbasid Period)
3. Muzaffar Hussain, Islam’s Contribution to Science
4. Ibrahim Emadi and Qamrul Huda, Muslim Contribution to Science
5. P.K. Hitti, History of Arabs
6. T.W. Arnold, Legacy of Islam
30
Lesson 1.4: Society, Administration, Non-Arab Influences
Structure
1.4.1 Introduction
1.4.2 Objectives
1.4.1 Central Administration under Abbasids
1.4.2 Judicial Administration under Abbasids
1.4.3 Provincial Administration under Abbasids
1.4.4 Let Us Sum Up
1.4.1 Introduction
The creation of Baghdad was a part of the Abbasid strategy to cope with the problems that
had destroyed the Umayyad dynasty. They had to build effective governing institutions and
mobilize political support from Arab-Muslims, converts and the non-Muslim communities
that paid the empire’s taxes. The new dynasty had to secure the loyalty and obedience of its
subjects and to justify itself in imperial and Islamic terms.
To deal with these problems, Abbasids returned to the principles of Umar-II. The Abbasids
swept away Arab caste supremacy and accepted the universal equality of Muslims. Arab
caste supremacy had lost its political meaning and only a coalition regime uniting Arab and
non-Arab elements-could govern a Middle Eastern Empire.
The propagation of Arabic as a lingua franca, the spread of Islam, the conversion of at least
some proportion of the population, the tremendous expansion of commercial activities, and
the economic and demographic upheavals set people free from the then old lives and
launched them on new careers in new cities such as Baghdad. It also made possible an
empire-wide recruitment of personnel and of political support for the new regime.
1.4.2 Objectives
After going through this lesson you will be able to understand the nature of the Central
Administration and judicial system under Abbasids and how they formed various taxation
policies. In addition to this, you will be able to know the some important features of the
provincial administration under Abbasids.
31
1.4.3 Central Administration under Abbasids
Under the Abbasids, the empire no longer belonged entirely to the Arabs but belonged to all
those peoples who would share in Islam and in the emerging networks of political and
cultural loyalties that defined a new cosmopolitan Middle Eastern society. The Abbasids
continued to use Arab troops as the central army (known as Ahl-Khurasan units) and
employed Arab forces in Syria, Mesopotamia, Yemen, India, Armenia, and the Byzantine
frontiers. Apart from that, many of the scribes in the expanding Abbasid bureaucracy were
former Umayyad administrative personnel. Persians from Khurasan and Nestorian Christians
(who made up a large proportion of the population of Iraq) were heavily recruited. Jews were
active in administrative and commercial activities. Shi’i families were also prominent. Arab
theologians, jurists and literati were patronized and welcomed at the Court.
At the same time, the Abbasids perpetuated Umayyad administrative and governmental
precedents. Just as the Umayyads had inherited Roman and Sassanian bureaucratic practices
and remnants of their old organizations, the Abbasids inherited the traditions and the
personnel of Umayyad administration. At first, the ministers were just the clerical staffs of
the leading officials, and the caliphs were consulted about everything. In time, however, the
ad hoc household character of the Caliphate was substantially superseded by a more
rationalized form of administration. The business of the government became more routinized,
and three types of services or offices/bureaus (Diwans) developed. The first was the chancery
(Diwan al-Rasail), the records and correspondence office. The second was the bureau for tax
collection (Diwan al-Kharaj). There were bureaus to pay the expenses of the caliph’s armies,
court and pensioners; the army bureau (Diwan al-Jaysh) was the most important of these.
Gradually, the conduct of government grew more elaborate and more specialized. Each
function- revenue, chancery, and disbursement- was subdivided into a host of offices, and
each office was subdivided to carry on auxiliary activities.
To keep the organization responsive to the will of the ruler, they instituted internal
bureaucratic checks. Financial affairs were supervised by the Controller’s Office (Diwan al-
Azimma). Correspondence went through the drafting agency (Diwan al-Tawqi) for counter
signature and then to the keeper of the official seals (Khatam).
1.4.4 Judicial Administration under Abbasids
Alongside the bureaucratic staffs, the caliphs also appointed judges (Qazis). They were at
first multi-competent state officials dealing with justice, police, tax and financial issues.
32
During Harun al-Rashid’s period, judges were usually selected from among the community
leaders and scholars of Islamic-law, and their duty was to apply this law to the civil affairs of
Muslim population, administer charitable endowments. Harun was the first caliph to appoint
a chief judge and adopt the Sassanian/Persian model of hierarchical judicial administration- a
chief judge to oversee provincial judges, who in turn appointed delegates.
Vizir
Next to the Caliph stood the Vizir, whose office was influenced by the Persian tradition. The
Vizir acted as the caliph’s alter ego and grew in power as his chief. The Vizir was often all-
powerful, appointing and deposing governors and judges, theoretically, of course, with the
consent of the caliph and even transmitting his own office according to the hereditary
principle.
It was customary for Vizir to confiscate the property of the governor who fell from grace. He
could and did delegate the exercise of his civil authority to the Vizir of his judicial power to a
judge (Qazi) of his military function to a general (Amir), but the caliph himself ever remained
the final arbiter of all governmental affairs. In their imperial conduct and function, the early
caliphs of Baghdad followed the older Persian pattern.
With the 8th Caliph, Al-Mu‘tasim bi Allah (833-42) and continuing till the end of the
dynasty, then began to assume honorific titles compounded with Allah. In the period of
decline, their subjects started to shower on them such extravagant titles as Khalifatullah and
later Zilullahala al-Ard. These were evidently first bestowed on al-Mutawakkil (847-61) and
then continued until the end of the Ottoman Caliphate.
The ill-defined hereditary principle of succession instituted by the Umayyad Caliphs was
followed throughout the Abbasid regime with the same evil results. Al-Saffah nominated his
brother Al-Mansur who was succeeded by his son Al-Mahdi, who was succeeded by his son
Al-Hadi, then Harun al-Rashid. He further elected Al-Amin, Mamun, Mutawakkil.
In the days of Caliph Al-Mu’tadid, the Vizir received a monthly salary of a thousand dinars.
Finally, the office of the chief minister (Vizir) was developed to coordinate, supervise and
check on the operations of the bureaucracy. Vizir was the title originally applied to the
secretaries or administrators who were close assistants of the Caliphs and whose powers
varied according to the wishes of their patrons.
Under the Caliphs, Al-Mahdi (775-85) and Harun al-Rashid (786-809), the Barmakid family
rose to a particular prominence. Not until the middle of the ninth century did the Vizir
33
became the chief of administration, with the combined duties of controlling the bureaucracy,
nominating provincial officials and sitting on the (Mazalim) or administrative court.
Bureau of Taxes
Vizir’s membership included the various heads of the departments of state. Sometimes those
heads were also designated Vizirs, but their rank was always subordinate to that of the real or
chief Vizir.
Since finances constituted the main concern of the government, the bureau of taxes (Diwan
al-Kharaj) or department of finance (Bayt al-Mal), remained as under the Umayyads the most
important unit; its chief , often referred to as “master of taxes”, continued to be an
outstanding figure in the government of the Caliph.
The sources of revenue of the state included Zakah, the only legal tax obligatory on every
Muslim. The other main source of public income were tribute from foreign enemies, truce
money, capitation tax from non-Muslim subjects (Jizyah), land tax (Kharaj) and tithes levied
on the merchandise owned by non-Muslims and imported into Muslim territory. Of these
items, the land tax was always the largest and constituted the main source of income from
unbelievers. All this revenue was applied for the maintenance of mosques, roads and bridges
and for general good of the Muslim community.
The varying reports of the state revenue that have come down to us from the Abbasid period
testify to great prosperity during the first century of the regime, which made it possible for
the caliphs to live on the grand scale described above and to a steady decline in revenue
during each succeeding century. So much so that when Al-Mansur died the central treasury
contained 60,00,00,000 dirhams and 1,40,00,000 dinars, Al-Rashid had over 90,00,00,000 in
treasury.
Other Government Bureaus
Besides the bureau of taxes the Abbasid government had, audit or accounts office (Diwan al-
Zimam) introduced by Al-Mahdi: a board of correspondence or chancery office (Diwan al-
Tawqi) which handled all official letters; political documents and imperial mandates and
diplomas; a board for the inspection of grievances; a police department and a postal
department. The board for the inspection of grievances (Diwan al-Nazar fi al-Mazalim) was a
kind of court of appeal or Supreme Court intended to set aright cases injustice in the
administrative and political departments. Its origin goes back to the Umayyad days.
34
1.4.5 Provincial Administration under Abbasids
The centrally governed provinces were Iraq, Mesopotamia, Egypt, Syria, western Iran, and
Khuzistan—the provinces physically closest to the capital. These provinces were organized to
maximize the obedience of officials to the will of the central government and to assure the
remittance of tax revenues from the provinces to the center. Governors were rotated to
prevent them from developing local support. The governor was usually the military
commander, and a different man was appointed by the central treasury to be in charge of
taxation and financial affairs; yet another official headed the judiciary. These officers
checked one another’s powers, and all officials were subject to the supervision of the
information service (Barid).
Iraq remained the crucial agricultural, commercial, and financial base of the empire; the land
and tax policies begun by the Umayyads were perpetuated. However, over the course of the
first hundred years of Abbasid rule, high-ranking military officers, local notable families and
tribal elites by underinvestment in irrigation and usurpation of tax revenues progressively
undermined the agricultural economy of Iraq.
The Abbasids retained Umayyad military and administrative personnel. Umayyad notables
were welcomed in the Abbasid court and Umayyad clerks and some judges were employed.
They appointed Persian administrators and assigned assessment and collection of taxes at the
local level to government officials. Although this arrangement had advantages in terms of
central control, it also allowed local officials to embezzle revenues by falsely reporting that
tax payments were in arrears or that there had been crop failures.
Under the Abbasids, Khurasan also became a centrally administered province. Local
government similarly varied. It was organized for taxation. Surveys were taken in the villages
to determine the amount of land under cultivation, the crops grown, and their expected yield.
1.3.6 Let Us Sum Up
 Under the Abbasids, the empire no longer belonged entirely to the Arabs but belonged
to all those peoples who were in the fold of Islam and in the emerging networks of
political and cultural profile that defined a new cosmopolitan Middle Eastern society.
 Abbasids perpetuated Umayyad administrative and governmental precedents. Just as
the Umayyads had inherited Roman and Sassanian/Persian bureaucratic practices and
remnants of their old organizations, the Abbasids inherited the traditions and the
personnel of Umayyad administration.
35
 Various types of services or bureaus (Diwans) developed. The first was the chancery
(Diwan al-Rasail), the records and correspondence office. The second was the bureau
for tax collection (such as Diwan al-Kharaj). The army bureau (Diwan al-Jaysh) was
the most important of these. Financial affairs were supervised by the controller’s
office (Diwan al-Azimma). Correspondence went through the drafting agency (Diwan
al-Tawqi) for countersignature.
 Alongside the bureaucratic staffs, the caliphs also appointed judges (Qazis). Harun
was the first caliph to appoint a chief judge and adopt the Sassanian/Persian model of
hierarchical judicial administration.
 Next to the Caliph stood the Vizir, whose office was influenced by the Persian
tradition. The Vizir was often all-powerful, appointing and deposing governors and
judges, with the consent of the caliph.
 The centrally governed provinces were Iraq, Mesopotamia, Egypt, Syria, western
Iran, and Khuzistan—the provinces physically closest to the capital.
Short Answer Exercise

1. Write a short note on the Provincial Administration under Abbasids.
2. What were the chief functions of Vizir under Abbasid regime.
Long Answer Exercise
1. Provide a detailed description on the Central Administration under Abbasids.
2. Describe how the Judicial Administration functioned under Abbasids.
1. Akbar Najeeb Abadi, Tarikh Islam
3. P.M. Holt, et al., Cambridge History of Islam
36
Unit II
Civilizational Contribution
i) Development of Science and Technology
ii) Education and Literature
iii) Industry, Fine Arts, Trade and Commerce
37
UNIT II: Civilizational Contribution
Lesson 2.1: Science and Technology
Structure
2.1.1 Introduction
2.1.2 Objectives
2.1.3 Chemistry
2.1.4 Astronomy
2.1.5 Medicine
2.1.6 Geography
2.1.7 Aviation
2.1.8 Let Us Summarize
2.1.1 Introduction
During Umayyad rule, many Muslims showed their expertise in the fields of science and
research. Motivated by the Quranic injunction of “Iqra” (read) and imperativeness of the
Prophetic teachings about gaining knowledge and pondering over the creation; Muslims
traversed the path of scientific inventions and discoveries. Moreover, the Translation
movement added to the advancement of Muslims in various disciplines.
2.1.2 Objectives
The present lesson will make a close reading of Muslims scientists of 7-8th Century and
highlight their contribution in various fields and disciplines.
2.1.3 Chemistry
Abu Musa Jabir bin Hayyan (815) was a prominent polymath; a chemist, astronomer and
astrologer, engineer, geologist, philosopher, physicist, pharmacist and a physician. He is
considered by many to be the “father of chemistry”. His name was Latinized as “Geber” in
the Christian West. Jabir is mostly renowned for his contribution to chemistry. He
emphasized systematic experimentation, and did much to free alchemy from superstition and
turn it into a science. He is credited with an invention of over twenty types of now-basic
chemical laboratory equipment, such as the alembic and retort, and with the description of
many now-commonplace chemical substances and processes-such as the hydrochloric and
38
nitric acids, distillation, and crystallization that have become the foundation of today’s
chemistry and chemical engineering.
He also paved way for most of the later Muslim al-chemists, including Al-Kindi, Al-Razi and
Al-Iraqi, who lived between the 9th to 13th centuries.
He discovered sulphuric acid and by distilling it together with various salts, Jabir discovered
hydrochloric acid and nitric acid. Jabir applied his chemical knowledge to the improvement
of many manufacturing processes, such as making steel and other metals, preventing rust,
engraving gold, dyeing and waterproofing cloth, tanning leather and the chemical analysis of
pigments and other substances.
2.1.4 Astronomy
Muhammad al-Fazari
The study of astronomy in a scientific way began among the Muslims under the Abbasids.
The first official astronomer under the Abbasids was Muhammad al-Fazari (d. 777 C.E.). He
wrote a treatise on astronomy based on the Sanskrit work Siddhanta. He was the first to make
an astrolabe.
Mashallah
Mashallah, an early Arab astronomer, flourished during the reign of the Abbasid Caliph
Mansur. He wrote a treatise on the astrolabe, the ancillary sphere, and the movement of the
heavenly bodies. He came to be known as “The Phoenix of the Arabs”.
Ahmad ibn Abdullah Habash al-Marwazi was a 9th century Persian astronomer, geographer
and mathematician from Merw in Khurasan. He made observations from 825 to 835, and
compiled three astronomical tables. In 830, he seems to have introduced the notion of
“shadow”, umbra (versa), equivalent to our tangent in trigonometry, and he compiled a table
of such shadows that seems to be the earliest of its kind.
Abu Abdullah Muhammad ibn Musa al-Khwarizmi was a Persian mathematician, astronomer
and geographer, a scholar in the Bayt al-Hikmah in Baghdad. His Kitab-al-Jabr wal
Muqabala presented the first systematic solution of linear and quadratic equations. He is
considered as the founder of algebra. “Algebra” is derived from Al-Jabr. And Algorism and
algorithm stem from Algoritmi, the Latin form of his name. He worked in Baghdad as a
scholar at the Bayt al-Hikmah, where he studied the sciences and mathematics, which
included the translation of Greek and Sanskrit scientific manuscripts. Al-Khwarizmi’s
contributions to mathematics, geography, astronomy, and cartography established the basis
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for innovation in algebra and trigonometry. He composed a book on the subject “The
Compendious Book on Calculation by Completion and Balancing” (Al-Kitab al-Mukhtasar fi
al-Hisab al-Jabr wal Muqabala).
He also wrote on mechanical devices the circumference of the Earth and in making a world
map for Al-Mamun overseeing 70 geographers. By 12thcentury, his works spread to Europe
through Latin translations, it had a profound impact on the advancement of mathematics in
Europe. He introduced Arabic numerals into the Latin West, based on a place-value decimal
system developed from Indian sources.
His Zij al-Sind-Hind (astronomical tables of Sind-Hind) is a work consisting of
approximately 37 chapters on calendric and astronomical calculations and 116 tables
calendric, astronomical and astrological data, as well as a table of sine values.
Abul Hassan
Abul Hassan an eminent astronomer of the ninth century invented the telescope. It proved to
be an important landmark in the development of astronomy.
Isa al-Asturlabi
He wrote a treatise on Astrolabe.
Abu Abbas al-Farghani
Abul Abbas al-Farghani wrote a treatise entitled Elements of Astronomy. The introduction of
Astronomy to Europe is attributed to the translation works of Al-Farghani. He supervised the
erection of a mileometer at Fustat during the reign of Al-Mutawakkil.
Thabit bin Qurrah
He was an eminent astronomer of the ninth century. He propounded the theory of the
oscillatory motion on the equinoxes. He added the ninth sphere to the eighth sphere of
Ptolemaic astronomy.
2.1.5 Medicine
Jurjis bin Jibra’il
He was an eminent physician of the Abbasid Caliph, Mansur. He was in charge of the
medical Centre at Jundishapur in Iran: Jibra’il bin Bukhtishu was a prominent physician of
the time of Al-Mamun. During this period, there were as many as 860 registered physicians
in Baghdad alone.
40
Al-Jurjani: Ziauddin Ismail bin Masawaih al-Jurjani was the first writer to produce an
original work on medicine. He wrote in 850 C.E. his classical work Firdous al-Hikmat, in
which he dealt with the various branches of medicine.
Hunayn bin Ishaq (809-873)
He was a great physician. He had translated many Galen’s works including “On sects” and
“On Anatomy of the Veins and Arteries”. Some of his notable works were his “Ten Treatise
on Ophthalmology”, his translation of “De Materia Medica”, which was technically a
pharmaceutical handbook, and his most popular selection, “Questions on Medicine” which
was a good compilation on the fundamental aspects of medicine . In the field of medicine
Hunayn bin Ishaq enriched and contributed to Ophthalmology. His monumental
developments on the eye can be traced back to his innovative book, “Ten Treatises on
Ophthalmology”. In this book, Hunayn explained in minute details about the eye, its diseases
and their symptoms and treatments, and its anatomy—all possible by his extensive research
and observations.
Al-Kindi
Abu Yusuf Yaqub ibn Ishaq al-Kindi (801-873 C.E), also known to the West by the Latinized
version of his name Alkindus, was an Arab Iraqi polymath: an Islamic philosopher, scientist,
astrologer, astronomer, cosmologist, chemist, logician, mathematician, musician, physician,
physicist, psychologist and meteorologist. He is known for his efforts to introduce Geek and
Hellenistic philosophy to the Arab world, and as a pioneer in chemistry, cryptography,
medicine, music theory, physics, psychology and the philosophy of science. In mathematics,
Al-Kindi played an important role in introducing Indian numerals to the Islamic and Christian
world. He also experimented with music therapy. He wrote at-least 260 books, contributing
heavily to geometry, medicine and philosophy, logic and physics. His influence in the fields
of physics, mathematics, medicine, philosophy and music were far reaching and lasted for
several centuries. His book Kitab al-Kimiya al-Itr (Book of the Chemistry of Perfume)
contains recipes for fragrant oils, salves, aromatic waters, and substitutes or imitations of
costly drugs.
The earliest known work concerned with environment and pollution was an Arabic medical
treatise written by Al-Kindi. His writings, along with the works of his successors covered a
number of subjects related to pollution such as air, water and soil contamination, solid waste
mishandling, and environmental assessments of certain localities.
41
Al-Razi
Abu Bakr Muhammad bin Zakariya al-Razi (d. 925 C.E.) is rated as the greatest physician of
the Islamic World and one of the greatest physicians of all times. He was the greatest clinical
and observational physician of the medieval times. He wrote Kitab al-Mansuri a ten-volume
treatise dealing with Greek medicine. His book Al-Judari wal Hasbah was a standard work
on small-pox and measles. He discovered the cause of small pox in blood ferment, and
suspected the germ origin of several diseases. His celebrated work Al-Hawi is a
comprehensive encyclopedia of medicine spread over ten volumes. He was the first physician
to write a book on pediatrics, the special ailments of children. He was an eminent surgeon.
Ishaq bin Sulaiman
Ishaq bin Sulaiman was a contemporary of Al-Razi. He practiced medicine at Qairowan in
Tunisia. He wrote a book on fever. He wrote another book titled Physician’s Guide. His book
Peculiarities of Diet was the first printed treatise on dietetics.
Ali bin Al-Abbas
The West knows Ali bin Abbas al-Majusi (d.994 C.E.) as Haly. Abbas was the physician to
Adud Daula in Shiraz. He wrote the celebrated work Kitab al-Maliki, an encyclopedia
dealing with the theory and practice of medicine. He was the first physician to write about the
capillary system, and the way in which a child is born. He also wrote Kamil al-Sina’ah. He
was an eminent surgeon and was known for his acumen in treating various diseases.
Abu Mansur Muwaffaq
Abu Mansur Muwaffaq wrote the first treatise on medicine in Persian entitled The
Fundamentals of the True Properties of Remedies, wherein he described the curative
properties of 565 drugs.
Abu Qasim Al-Mausili
Abu Qasim al-Mausili belonged to Mosul but he settled in Cairo. He specialized in eye
diseases. He invented an instrument for the extraction of soft cataract by suction. He wrote a
treatise on eye diseases entitled Kitab al-Muntakhab fi Ilaj al-Ain.
Ibn al-Jazzar
Ibn al-Jazzar (d.1009 C.E.) flourished in Tunisia. He wrote treatise on medicine titled Zad al-
Musafir which was translated into Greek and Latin.
Ibn al-Haytham
Abu Ali bin al-Hasan al-Haytham, Latinized Alhacen contributed in a variety of fields,
including the nature of light and the laws of geometric optics, image formation and visual
perception, as well as to physics, mathematics, anatomy, astronomy, engineering, medicine,
42
ophthalmology, philosophy, psychology, and to science in general. Ibn al-Haytham is
regarded as the “father of modern optics” for his influential Book of Optics that proved the
intromission theory of vision and refined it into essentially its modern form. He is also
recognized so for his experiments on optics, including experiments on lenses, mirrors,
refraction, reflection, and the dispersion of light into its constituent colors. His famous work
is his seven volume Arabic treatise on Optics, Kitab al-Manazir (Book of Optics). Besides
the Book of Optics, Ibn Haytham wrote several other treatises on optics. His Risala fil-Ḍaw
(Treatise on Light) is a supplement to his Kitab al-Manazir. Another treatise, Maqala fi Ḍaw
al-Qamar, was his successful attempt at combining mathematical astronomy with physics and
the earliest attempt at applying the experimental method to astronomy and astrophysics.
Abu al-Jarrah
Abu al Jarrah al-Zohrawi (d. 1031 C.E.) known to the West as Abul Qasis wrote the work Al-
Taif in thirty volumes that dealt with all medical subjects including surgery. This book was
illustrated with sketches of surgical instruments. He was Court Physician at Cordova.
Ali bin Esa (d. 1050 C.E.)
Ali bin Esa wrote a treatise on Ophthalmology in which he discussed various eye diseases.
During the medieval period, it was a standard work of reference.
Abu Ali al-Husain bin al-Sina (d. 1037 C.E.)
Known to the West as Avicenna, he was the most distinguished Muslim physicians of the
medieval times and was known as “The Prince of Physicians”. His great work on medicine
entitled Canon of Medicine dealt with general medicine, drugs, pathology and pharmacopeia.
He possessed much clinical insight and is given credit for the first description of several
drugs and diseases. He propounded the theory of the “humors” of the body. It was he who
first discovered the contagious nature of tuberculosis. He believed in the value of fresh air,
and in the curative nature of sun light. He warned against the danger of drinking water from
polluted sources. With Ibn Sina, development of Muslim medical science reached its peak.
He systematized and rationalized the heritage of medicine. His masterpiece The Canon of
Medicine is regarded as the Arab replica of the great works of Hippocrates and Galen.
Ibn Bultan (d. 1063 C.E)
He belonged to Baghdad, but settled in Cairo. He was the author of Synoptic Tables of
Medicine regarded as a scholarly masterpiece.
Ibn Abi Sadiq (d. 1077 C.E.)
He was a pupil of Ibn Sina and attained fame as an anatomist. He wrote Manafe al-A’aza
which was used as a test-book on Anatomy during the medieval period.
43
Abul Hasan Ibn Jazia (d. 1099 C.E.)
He wrote Mihai al-Bayanfi Mayast which formed the basis of pharmacopeia. He also wrote
Taqweem al-Abdan dealing with skin diseases and fevers.
Abu Rayhan Muhammad bin Ahmad Al-Biruni
Besides being famous Historian, traveller and physician, he was an eminent druggist and
medical practitioner. He wrote Kitab al-Saydala fi al-Tib (The Science of Drugs).
Ibn Rushd
Ibn Rushd (d. 1162 C.E.) the eminent philosopher of Spain was a physician as well. He
compiled a medical encyclopedia entitled The Book of Generalities on Medicine. He wrote
commentaries on the Greek medical authorities and earned the title “Commentator”.
Ibn al-Baitar
Ibn al-Baitar (d.1248 C.E.) was the Court physician of 13th Century. He travelled extensively
with a view to ascertaining the origin of various drugs. He wrote two monumental works on
drugs, namely: Kitab al-Jami fil Adwiya al-Mufrada and Kitab al-Mughani fil Adwiya al-
Mufrada.
The Muslims had put in huge efforts in excelling the field of medicine. They endowed
hospitals as a matter of religious obligation. Under the caliph Al-Mamun, there were sixty
hospitals in Baghdad. There were hospitals in all-important cities of the empire. According to
Syed Ameer Ali (The Spirit of Islam), the Arabs developed the science of medicine and the
art of surgery, the best index of a people’s genius to a high degree. He observes that Medicine
had undoubtedly attained a high degree of excellence among the Greeks, but the Arabs
perfected it, and brought it close to the modern standard.
2.1.6 Geography
Al-Khwarizmi’s third major work is his Kitab Surat al-Ard “Book on the appearance of the
Earth” or “The image of the Earth” translated as Geography), which was finished in 833. It is
a revised and completed version of Ptolemy’s Geography, consisting of a list of 2402
coordinates of cities and other geographical features.
2.1.7 Aviation
Abbas bin Farnas (81-887 C.E), also known as Abbas Qasim Ibn Farnas, was Berber
polymath; an inventor, engineer, aviator, physician, Arabic poet, and Andalusian musician.
He is known for an early unsuccessful attempt at aviation. Apart from that he designed a
water clock called Al-Maqata, devised a means of manufacturing colorless glass, and made
corrective lenses.
44
 In Chemistry Abu Musa Jabir bin Hayyan, Al-Kindi, Al-Razi and Al-Iraqi of 9th -13th
centuries were known for their works.
 The study of astronomy in a scientific way began among the Muslims under the
Abbasids. The first official astronomer under the Abbasids was Muhammad al-Fazari
(d. 777 C.E.). He wrote a treatise on astronomy based on the Sanskrit work Siddhanta.
He was the first to make an astrolabe.
 Mashallah, an early Arab astronomer, flourished during the reign of the Abbasid
Caliph Mansur.
 Ahmad ibn Abdullah Habash al-Marwazi was a 9th century Persian astronomer,
geographer and mathematician from Merw in Khurasan.
 Abu Abdullah Muhammad ibn Musa al-Khwarizmi was a Persian mathematician,
astronomer and geographer, a scholar in the Bayt al-Hikmah in Baghdad.
 Abul Hassan an eminent astronomer of the ninth century invented the telescope. It
proved to be an important landmark in the development of astronomy.
 Isa al-Asturlabi wrote a treatise on Astrolabe.
 Abul Abbas al Farghani wrote a treatise entitled Elements of Astronomy.
 Thabit bin Qurrah was an eminent astronomer of the ninth century.
 Jurjis bin Jibra’il was an eminent physician of the Abbasid Caliph, Mansur.
 Ziauddin Ismail bin Masawaih al-Jurjani was the first writer to produce an original
work on medicine.
 Hunayn bin Ishaq was a terrific physician. He had translated many Galen’s works
including “On sects” and “On Anatomy of the Veins and Arteries”.
 Abu Yusuf Yaqub ibn Ishaq al-Kindi also known to the West by the Latinized version
of his name Alkindus, was an Arab Iraqi polymath: an Islamic philosopher, scientist,
astrologer, astronomer, cosmologist, chemist, logician, mathematician, musician,
physician, physicist, psychologist and meteorologist.
 Abu Bakr Muhammad bin Zakariya al-Razi (d. 925 C.E.) wrote Kitab al-Mansuri a
ten-volume treatise dealing with Greek medicine. His book Al-Judari wal Hasbah was
a standard work on small-pox and measles. His celebrated work Al-Hawi is a
comprehensive encyclopedia of medicine spread over ten volumes.
 Al-Khwarizmi’s third major work is his Kitab Surat al-Ard “Book on the Shape of the
Earth” or “The image of the Earth” translated as Geography), which was finished in
833.
45
1. Write a brief note on Ibn Hayyan's contribution to chemistry.
2. In what sense Muslims contributed to the field of astronomy.
Long answer questions
1. Elaborate the contributions in the field of Chemistry during Abbasids.
2. Elaborate the contributions in the field of Medicine during Abbasids.
3. Elaborate the contributions in the field of Astronomy during Abbasids.
4. Comment on the contributions in the geography during Abbasids.
1. A.Y. al Hassan, , The Different Aspects of Islamic Culture (Science and Technology in
Islam)
2. M.J.L Young, et al., (eds). Cambridge History of Arabic Literature (Religion,
Learning and Science in the Abbasid Period)
46
Lesson 2.2: Education and Literature
Structure
2.2.1 Introduction
2.2.2 Objectives
2.2.3 Development of Islamic Learning
2.2.4 Arabic Literature
2.2.5 Persian Literature
2.2.6 Literature on Medicine
2.2.7 Introduction to Social Science
2.2.8 How Muslims Influenced Science
2.2.9 Let Us Sum Up
2.2.1 Introduction
Arabic literature developed and dominated the Islamic cultural scene during the 8th to 13th
century and beyond, from Baghdad to Cordova in the Andalusia. Arabic language, the
youngest and the most widely spoken of the ancient Semitic languages, is the language of the
Qur’an—the sacred book of Islam—that culturally unified not only the Arab people, but also
non-Arab Muslims. Islamic teaching presented in the text of the Qur’an and Hadith (the
sayings of the prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), encouraged learning and praised
learned people and the quest for knowledge. The Arabic language has a peculiar regularity
and coherent grammatical and structural system that lend to it the ability to express in
creative and diverse literary forms such as Shir (poetry), Nathr (prose), Adab (a genre of
socio-ethical literature), Balaghah (eloquence) and Maqamah (assembly). In pre-Islamic
times, the Arabic language was the medium of communication especially in the transmission
of oral tradition, poetry, and stories. As early as the fifth century, odes or Qasidah (plural
Qasaid) were composed and the most celebrated were called Al-Muallaqat (the suspended),
for they were honoured and recognized by being displayed on the walls of the Ka‘ba in
Makkah. Famous among the pre-Islamic poets are Imru al-Qays, Tarafa ibn al-Abd, Zuhayr
ibn abi Salma, Labid, Amr ibn Kulthum, Antara, and Al-Harithah ibn Hillizah. During the
early Umayyad dynasty celebrated poets emerged with diverse ethnic and religious
47
backgrounds who composed masterpieces of Arabic poetry such as Al-Akhtal, Jarir and Al-
Farazdaq.
With the expansion of the Islamic empire during the Umayyad and throughout the Abbasid
dynasty, Arabic became the literary language of the era, the liturgy language of Islam, and a
powerful literary vehicle to disseminate Arabic culture. Many talents contributed to the
legacy of Arabic literature; scholars, linguists, writers, and poets of Arab and non-Arab
descent wrote in the Arabic language. During the Umayyad and Abbasid periods, scholars
gathered and collected the sources for Quranic studies and the collections of the Hadith. Ibn
Ishaq (d. 767) wrote Sirat Rasul Allah (Life of the Messenger of God), which was later
revised by Ibn Hisham (d. 834). Several well-documented artistic and scientific
accomplishments were either discovered or perfected during the Golden Age of Islam (800–
1,000). During this time, Islamic scholars translated Greek, Indian and Persian texts, studied
them and helped to further investigations in the areas of Math, Science and Medicine. The
Renaissance and the Scientific Revolution in Europe drew upon the discoveries and
contributions made by the Muslims to the fields of Mathematics and Science. Yet these
accomplishments remain unappreciated.
2.2.2 Objectives
Following are some of the main objectives of this lesson:
1) To know the Golden Age of Muslims

2) To explore the contribution of Muslims in the field of Literature
3) To know what was the influence of Muslims in social sciences
4) To analyse the overall contribution of Muslims in developing different sciences.
2.2.3 Development of Islamic Learning
As the Muslim community grew, so did its acquisition of knowledge, and its efforts gained
momentum during the finest century of the Abbasid Caliphate. During this time, Muslims
began writing books, primarily on the Qur’an and other religious subjects including
biography of the Prophet (Sirat al-Rasul). This period saw the greatest number of translations
into Arabic of works from various nations, and from languages such as Greek and Persian.
Arabic later became a language of instruction in Western universities, and Iranian Persian
included numerous Arabic words. Institutions of learning and libraries such as those at
Jundishapur in Iran furthered scholarship during the Muslim era, as did vast individual
collections in homes. Caliph Hakam-II of Spain had 400,000 books in his library. Institutions
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of higher learning such as Al-Azhar University in Cairo had established academic traditions
still in practice today, especially in the West. Caliph Harun al-Rashid was the first caliph to
become a world statesman. During his reign, Baghdad earned the distinction of being the
heart of the Golden Age of Islam. Al-Rashid’s popularity around the world led to his casting
as the legendary figure in ‘The Arabian Nights’. After studying under eminent teachers, Al-
Rashid’s son and successor Al-Mamun excelled in law, literature, philosophy, rhetoric, and
the sciences. When Al-Mamun became Caliph he founded the Bayt al-Hikmah/House of
Wisdom in Baghdad, which attracted scholars from around the world and became the centre
of research, astronomy, and more translations from Greek, Syrian, Persian, and Sanskrit
works. Greek works in their Arabized versions eventually reached Latin Europe, reawakening
interest in Aristotle and Greek texts. At the time of translation, there was no West to speak of,
nor the idea of a “classical Greece.” Women excelled in acquiring knowledge in Quranic
studies, law, theology, the arts, and medicine. Midwives were in demand although women
studied other branches of medicine and became surgeons and physicians. Many women
achieved prestige in learning and other fields. Their positions included 17 rulers and
administrators, 9 orators, 4 who built Masajid and other public institutions, 42 theologians,
23 musicians, and 76 poets. The wives of the Caliphs competed with one another in poetry
writing.
Imam al-Ghazali was a legend of learning and experience at this time and the greatest scholar
of Islamic theology. Ibn Khaldun, the founder of sociology and a pioneer in the social
sciences, was another major intellectual with distinguished status in history. Arnold Toynbee
describes his Muqaddimah (Prologue, a monumental work on universal history) as a
philosophy of history that is the greatest work of its kind. Ibn Khaldun’s perspective is vast,
from the Creation to the events of the ensuing years, including events from Biblical, Persian,
Greek, and Roman times, as well as the history of the Arabs. The use of Arabic in instruction
at Western universities continued what had already been available to scholars from the West,
particularly in the Muslim learning centre of Cordova. Western scholars were by then
emerging on their own, moving away from Church-controlled learning institutions. The
genius of Islamic civilization is demonstrated in how it utilized the learning it acquired from
other cultures, created its own intellectual milieu, and made its own contributions to world
knowledge. Intellectual activity was one constant throughout Islamic civilization.
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2.2.4 Literature on Medicine
During the formative period of Islam, China, India, Greece, and Persia excelled in medicine.
Greek scholars settled at Jundishapur, Persia’s advanced learning centre, which contributed
physicians to the Arab and Persian worlds. Some of these physicians were contemporaries of
the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), who also gave common sense advice regarding
illnesses, healthy eating habits, and hygiene. As the study of medicine developed in the
Muslim world, subsequent caliphates relied on physicians from Jundishapur for medical
advice, such as court doctor Hunayn ibn-Ishaq from the 9th century CE. Hunayn translated
Greek works into Arabic, wrote a hundred or so medical works that were influential in the
Muslim world, and taught future influential physicians. In the Abbasid era, all scholars
gained some medical knowledge and many became polymaths. The atmosphere was
conducive to learning and the scholars were highly esteemed. In the early 9th century,
Baghdad had 860 licensed physicians and many hospitals and schools. An important period in
the history of Islamic medicine covered three great physicians, writers of major texts, and
philosophers: Al-Razi, Al-Majusi, and Ibn Sina. Al-Razi’s work signalled the maturity of
Arabian medicine, and his most significant contribution was to distinguish smallpox from
measles. He produced over 200 books, half of them on medicine, including a 10-volume
treatise on Greek medicine. Abu Ali al-Husayn ibn Sina (Avicenna) was the most highly
recognized of Muslim scholars and a prominent medieval philosopher. Muslim medicine
reached its pinnacle of achievement with his works and medical talents. Ibn Sina’s eminence
in medical history rests on his masterpiece, Al-Qanun fi al-Tibb (The Canon of Medicine),
and known in the West as The Canon, in five volumes.
2.2.5 Arabic Literature
Literature and art have been two significant constants throughout Islamic civilization. Muslim
creativity elevated them as human achievements, and included creations from Muslims in
non-Muslim countries. The basis of Muslim literature was its language and the way it was
used. Each culture has distinctive forms, metaphors, symbols, and motifs, and this is
especially true of Islamic culture. Muslim literature reflects a Muslim ethos and has
distinctive features: knowledge of Qur’an and Islam, and pre-Islamic literary traditions such
as poetry, oratory, tales, and tribal themes that often combined historical facts with legends
and lives of prominent historical figures. With the expansion of Islam the Arabic language
was refined, first during the Umayyad era with Abu al-Aswad al-Duali (d. 688), who found
the Arabic grammar and diacritical color-coded points Tashkeel. The dotting system and
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vowels signs developed by Al-Khalil ibn Ahmad al-Farahidi (d.786) soon replaced that
system. Al-Farahidi was the first Arab philologist who compiled the first Arabic dictionary;
he was credited with the formulation of the rules of Arabic prosody. His major work was
Kitab al-Arud (Book of Prosody). His student Sibawaih (d. 793) codified grammatical rules.
Later Al-Mubarrad (d. 898) wrote Al-Kamil fi al-Lughahwa al-Adab, which was an
invaluable collection of references to Arabic philology through poetic quotations. His rival
Al-Tha‘libi also contributed to this field with his major work Yeteemat al-Dahr, a
bibliography of poets and writers of Arabic. Another outstanding scholar in this field was the
Andalusian linguist Ibn Malik (d. 1274), who composed the famous Alfiyah in which he
compiled and analyzed all Arabic grammatical rules in 1,000 versus of poetry composed in a
single poetical masterpiece.
Other scholars worked on the subjects of jurisprudence, theological discourse, and
fundamentals of Arabic grammar, lingual terminology, rhetoric, and Adab. Bayt al-
Hikmah/House of Wisdom in Baghdad was the departing centre for the quest of Hellenistic
and Eastern knowledge in science, mathematics, philosophy, geography, astronomy, and
literature. Historians and biographers worked diligently on documenting the history of the
Islamic state, pre-Islamic period, and ancient civilizations. Early transmitters of accounts are
Kab al-Ahbar, Hammad al-Rawiyah, and Wahb ibn Munabbih from the eighth century. The
list of important early historians includes Ibn al-Kalbi (d. 820) and his major work Kitab al-
Asnam (Book of Idols); Al-Waqidi (d. 823), who was affiliated with the Abbasid court in
Baghdad and wrote Kitab al-Maghazi (Book of the Conquests of the Prophet); Ibn Sad (d.
845) was Al-Waqidi’s secretary and wrote a major biographical dictionary called Kitab al-
Tabaqat (The Book of Classes [of persons]); Al-Azraqi (d. 865), a native and historian of
Makkah, wrote an extensive history of Makkah, Akhbar al-Makkah. Al-Bukhari (d. 870) was
a historian and the famous Hadith compiler and interpreter. His major work was the
collection of the sayings of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) known as Al-Jami
al-Sahih. Al-Baladhuri (d. 892) was a great historian and companion of the Abbasid caliph
Al-Mutawakkil and wrote many treaties; the most famous was Futuh al-Buldan (History of
the Conquests).
Al-Yaqubi (d. 897), a historian and geographer, wrote a history of the world known as Tarikh
al-Yaqubi, and Kitab al-Buldan (Book of Countries). Al-Tabari (d. 923) was another noted
historian, lexicographer, and scientist. His major work is Tarikh al-Rusul wa al-Muluk
(History of the Prophets and Kings). Al-Masudi (d. 956) was born and lived in Baghdad and
travelled widely; most of his works were lost and only one survived: Muruj al-Dhahab wa
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Ma‘adin al-Jawhar (Meadows of Gold and Mines of Jewels), which was a short history of the
world down to the end of the Umayyad period. Ibn al-Nadim (d. 990) was the son of a book
dealer born in Baghdad. His massive work Al-Fihrist was intended to be an index of all books
written in Arabic from early Islam up to Ibn al-Nadim’s time. The vast majority of the books
mentioned in his Fihrist are given with information on the authors and subjects.
Ibn Khaldun was perhaps the most famous Arab historian and sociologist, who changed the
course of interpreting historical events and set the mode for modern methodology in
historiography with his influential book Al-Muqaddimah (Introduction). Arabic prose
flourished in Baghdad with Ibn al-Muqaffa (d. 757), who translated many Pahlavi works and
was famous for his Kalilah wa Dimnah, a collection of didactic fables in which two jackals
offered moral and practical advice. Originally derived from the Sanskrit Fables of Bidpai,
Kalilah wa Dimnah was the inspirational source for La Fontaine’s Fables.
From Basra came Al-Jahiz (d. 869), who developed Arabic prose into a literary vehicle of
precision and elegance and was one of Baghdad’s leading intellectuals. He wrote over 200
works; the most famous of them were Kitab al-Hayawan (Book of Animals), al-Bayan wa al-
Tabyeen, and al-Bukhala.
Equally important was Abu al-Faraj al-Isfahani (d. 967), also called Al-Isfahani, who was an
Arab historian, intellectual, and poet. His monumental book Kitab al-Aghani (Book of Songs)
is an anthology of songs and poems from the earliest epoch to the author’s own time. These
were especially those popular in Baghdad during Harun al-Rashid’s reign. The great historian
Ibn Khaldun noted that Abu Al-Faraj’s Book of Songs “comprises all that [Arabs] had
achieved in the past of excellence in every kind of poetry, history, music, etc.” The
protagonists in pre-Islamic stories and legends were kings as well as tribal heroes. Bedouin
stories were told in verse, so singing poetry in praise of desert heroes became a tradition.
Arabs highly regarded poetry and the most famous was the Sab‘a Mu‘allaqat (The Seven
Odes). Many Arabs still memorize and recite the entire volume today.
Later, as Islam influenced literature, the Qur’an did not prevent poets from pursuing their
skills, even during the life of the Prophet (peace be upon him). However, the first four
Caliphs showed greater interest than the Prophet (peace be upon him) in poetry, preferring
works rooted in “noble values” and Islamic morality. The Umayyad era led to greater
creativity among poets and fluid language, including the Ghazal, a new form of love poem.
Love poetry of pre-Islamic times was written again after the coming of Islam and became
part of music and song under the Umayyads in Makkah and Madinah. Love poetry tended to
be ambiguous rather than direct in theme. There was development in the writing of prose
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although oratory was still the primary means of expression in regions where literacy was just
starting to spread. Old legends were written down although most early recorded works were
historical. The most popular narratives were stories of the early wars of Islam, and were often
embellished. The outstanding prose work of the time was a biography-history of the Prophet
Muhammad (peace be upon him) written by Ibn Ishaq and based on interviews with people
who knew of the Prophet (peace be upon him) through information handed down from his
relatives or Companions. His method of a chain of authorities leading back to the time of the
Prophet (peace be upon him) was also used for the compilation of Hadith, also known as the
Sunnah, “the way of the Prophet,” which is, after the Qur’an, the most important source of
religious guidance for Muslims. Most prose, such as hero epics, was written during the 500
years-long Abbasid era and developed under a more sophisticated and cosmopolitan culture
engendered by the Caliphate. This prose challenged poetry’s dominant status.
A distinction should be made between the Arabic-Islamic literature of the Umayyad era and
that of the Abbasid era. Abbasid rule, especially the first half, made a large difference to
literature, philosophy, the sciences, and arts. Literary prose dominated, though poetry was
still held in greater esteem, and was enhanced by more learning and wider contact with other
cultures, especially that of Persia. Of all works from this early literary period, the story
collection A Thousand and One Nights was (Alf Laylah wa Laylah) the most popular and
famous. Many of the stories translated from Persian and combined with bedouin stories and
Arab folk songs, often became teaching stories for Muslims. This process affected the
organization of the tales and their deeper meanings. Increasing interest in prose style led to a
new form of composition called the Maqamat, a dramatic genre with innuendos and double
entendres. Ahmad al-Hamadani’s Maqamat has been considered, since its inception, to be
next to the Qur’an as a treasure of the Arabic language. During the Abbasid era, poetry was
abundant, with broader content, techniques, and style than before.
The early Abbasid period witnessed the birth of new genres in poetry where politics,
eroticism, and blasphemy mingled. The emergence of a political trend geared toward
undermining the dominant Arab culture in what came to be called Shu‘ubism, or anti-
Arabism led to a new genre of literature.
An adamant leader in this trend was the renowned blind poet Bashshar ibn Burd (d. 783).
Other poets also excelled in various genres such as Muti ibn Ilyas (d. 787), Abbas ibn al-
Ahnaf (d. 808), Muslim ibn Walid (d. 823), Abu Nuwas (d. 813), and Ibn al-Rumi (d.896).
Many poets revived classical Arabic poetry such as Abu Tammam (d. 843), Al-Buhtari (d.
897), Al-Mutanabbi (d. 956), and Al-Ma‘arri (d. 1057). The art of the genre Maqamat, an
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assembly of rhymed prose of amusing anecdotes narrated by a vagabond who made his living
by his wit, was associated with two famous names, Al-Hamadani (d. 1008), and Al-Hariri (d.
1122). The former invented the genre and the later elaborated on the style and excelled in
composing linguistic virtuosity where the literary form was more important than the content.
The talented visual artist Mahmud bin Yahya al-Wasiti, who established a distinct and
influential artistic style in 13th century Baghdad illustrated Al-Hariri’s Maqamat.
Storytelling literature had flourished since the early period of Islam. Storytellers were street
preachers who used old Arab folk tales mixed with religious flavour; they spoke to
enthusiastic and attentive audiences in Masajid and other public places. Remains of this folk
art are found in the form of Al-Hakawati in present-day Cairo, Damascus, and Marrakesh. A
favourite literary subject of these storytellers was the epic tale of Arab bravery presented in
such work as Sirat-Antara.
Out of this type of oral tradition and sometime around the 15th century evolved the most
famous Arabic literary work in the West: Alf Laylah wa Laylah (Thousand and One Nights,
or Arabian Nights). It revealed a blend of legends, fables, and fairy tales derived from many
cultures such as the Mesopotamian, Persian, Greek, Indian, Chinese, Turkish, and Arabic,
traditions integrated and reintroduced through tales and legacies correlated with Abbasid
times.
In the western part of the Islamic state Al-Andalusia, a similar cultural revolution took place
and built widely on the eastern Islamic prototype. One particular form of literature was
distinctly Andalusian, Al-Muwashshahat, which was a love poem performed with singing and
music.
Among the brilliant names associated with this art are Ibn Sahl, Ibn al-Khatib, and Ibn Hazm.
As early as the 12th century Muslim Spanish academies, similar to Bayt al-Hikmah in
Baghdad, were opened for translating Arabic into Latin. Scholars from France, England,
Germany, and northern Europe converged in the Andalus to study Arabic literature and other
subjects.
As early as the second half of the ninth century, a new type of literary work emerged
throughout the Abbasid Empire, that is, geo-historical writing accentuated with traveller
observations and accounts. Major examples of this type were Ibn Fadhlan, Abbasid
ambassador to the Viking kingdom, and his account Rihlat Ibn Fadhlan (Travels of Ibn
Fadhlan) in 922; in Baghdad, Ibn Hawqal (d. 969) wrote Surat al-Ardh (Description of the
Earth), where he described Spain, Italy, and the Byzantine territories. In 1154, Al-Idrisi was
commissioned by the Norman king Roger-II in Palermo and composed a geographical
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account of the world called Nuzhat al-Mushtaq fi-Ikhtiraq al-Afaq also known as Kitab-
Rodjar.
Yaqut al-Hamawi (d. 1229) wrote a major geographical dictionary, Mujam al-Buldan, which
contained significant biographical, cultural, and historical data on the known world. Al-
Qazwini (d. 1383) wrote in Baghdad his cosmographic work Ajaib al-Makhluqat wa Gharaib
al-Mawjudat (Marvels of Things Created and Miraculous Aspects of Things Existing).
Translated into Farsi/Persian and Turkish, the book was very popular and was often
illustrated lavishly. Al-Qazwini also wrote an important geographical account. Ibn Batuta
travelled extensively through Africa, Europe, and Asia and recorded his accounts in his
Rihlat Ibn Batuta (Travels of Ibn Batuta), a classic in Arabic literature.
The Arabs learned papermaking technology from the Chinese in the eighth century,
substituted mulberry bark, and other organic matter with linen as raw materials, and the first
papermaking factory was established in Baghdad in 793 CE. This was a turning point in the
spread of education and the development of Arabic literature throughout the Islamic world.
Expensive parchment and fragile papyrus were replaced by paper that was affordable,
practical, and durable. Libraries were common and were open to the public.
Booksellers gathered around major mosques and markets with their shops stocked with
volumes of desirable works; shops became popular gathering places for scholars and writers.
Specialized workshops of manuscript copying were manned with professional and efficient
copyists, calligraphers, illustrators, and linguists.
The fall of Baghdad to the Mongols in 1258 marked the beginning of the decline of the
golden age of Arabic literature as well as other scientific activities. However the massive
destruction of books by the invading armies of Genghis Khan, Halagu Khan, and
later Timurlane (Tamerlane) prompted Arab scholars to compile, digest, codify, and abridge
major encyclopaedic and collection works, hence preserving Arabic literary heritage with
such authors as Al-Qazwini, Yaqut, Ibn Malik, Ibn Khaldun, Ibn Batuta, Abu al-Fida, and Al-
Zabidi.
2.2.6 Persian Literature
Iran is the greatest contributor to the civilization and culture of Islam outside the Arab world.
Numerous scholars of Iranian origin are included in the histories of Arab civilization because
they wrote in Arabic. After the revival of the Persian language, Persian literature emerged
and soon achieved its own dignity and eminence. The golden Stage of Persian literature is
one of the most remarkable periods in the history of Iranian and Islamic culture. The works of
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illustrious poets such as Rumi, Sa‘di, and Hafiz have been translated into numerous
languages and were appreciated by prominent Western authors. Although both Arabic and
Farsi are rich languages, Arabic was largely oral at the beginning of Islam, whereas Farsi
already had an extensive recorded literature, including the epic, a genre that became part of
Islamic literature. The coming of Islam changed the Persian language, replacing the Pahlavi
alphabet with Arabic script and additional consonant sounds. Arabic especially through the
Qur’an further enriched existing Persian vocabulary. Muslims, specifically the Abbasids,
borrowed from and contributed to the culture of Iran. While Iranians translated into Arabic
works from other languages, the Arabs gave Iranians part of their vocabulary, the religion of
Islam, and their forms of poetry. The Arab Qasidah was a dominant early form among the
Iranians in its use as a panegyric, and Iranians fashioned a separate lyric format of Ghazal. A
third poetic form created by the Iranians was the Ruba‘iyyat or a quatrain, made famous by
English translations of works by Umar al-Khayyam. Despite the limitation to four lines, it
was a vehicle for much Persian poetry. The Iranian Mathnawi was a series of two lines
connected by a rhyme, and some works in this form extend into thousands of lines, like
Rumi’s Mathnawi. The Persian literary prose style developed early during the translations
from Arabic. Farsi (Persian) did prove to be of greater value as the language of poetry and
therefore dominated the golden age of Persian literature, with one poet succeeding another
during 500 years. Their high esteem continues today in Iran. World-renowned Iranian poets
include Firdausi, whose Shahnama totals around 60,000 couplets and is considered the most
outstanding of Persian epics. Since he avoided Arabic words, his work is among the first
Persian writings consisting almost entirely of Farsi vocabulary.
Sufi poetry also ascended and reached its pinnacle during this time. Rumi was considered
Islam’s greatest Sufi-poet. He is also known as a “Supreme Mystic” and great example of
Persian mysticism. He was the Sufi of Celebration who celebrated love and the wonders of
life. He was known most widely as Mawlana, or Our Master. Although he lived during the
time of Mongol invasion and destruction, yet he emerged as an extraordinary mystic, poet
and philosopher. Sa‘di, also highly acclaimed, is considered the best Persian poet. His
narrations had moral and ethical implications and were told in prose as well as verse. Hafiz
another great master wrote in the 14th century CE and was known as the greatest Ghazal
writer of all times. Among all the poets of Iran, his poetry made the most skilful use of the
widest varieties of poetic techniques. By the end of the 15th century CE, the Persian language
and literature had spread to India and influenced the language and literature of Muslims
living there. This led to the creation of a new Indian language called Urdu, which descended
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from Indo-Aryan (Sanskrit). With these two languages, the Mughals created their own
civilization and rich culture that in turn influenced Persian literature. The Persian language
and its literature contributed unprecedented treasures to the Islamic tradition of literary arts.
2.2.7 How Islam and Muslims Influenced Science
During the Middle Ages, the Islamic World had a very significant impact upon Europe,
which in turn cleared the way for the Renaissance and the Scientific Revolution. In the
Medieval age, Islam and Muslims influenced Europe in a number of different ways. One of
the most important of these (subjects was) being through Science. Ever since the advent of
Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), Muslims had made immense leaps forward in the
area of Science. Cities like Baghdad, Damascus, Cairo and Cordova were the centers of
civilization. These cities were flourishing and Muslim Scientists made tremendous progress
in applied as well as theoretical science and technology. In Europe, however, the situation
was much different. Europe was in the Dark Ages. It had no infrastructure or central
government. Nevertheless, the Catholic Church (which at the time was the strongest
institution in Europe) successfully convinced Europe that Muslims were infidels. This caused
Europeans to think that Muslims were culturally inferior to Europeans and thus, they were
unable to benefit from new scientific discoveries made by Muslims before the 11thcentury.
However, Islamic Civilization continued to prosper from China to Spain. During the
Crusades, there was limited contact between Muslims and Christians and not much was
transferred. A. Lewis explains: “The Crusaders were men of action, not men of learning.”
The real exchange of ideas (between the Muslim East and Christian West) which led to
the Scientific Revolution and to the renaissance in Europe occurred in Muslim Spain.
Cordova was the capital of Muslim Spain. It soon became the center for all light and
learning (for the entire) in the whole of Europe. Scholars and students from various parts of
the world and Europe came to Cordova to study. The contrast in intellectual activity is best
demonstrated by one example: in the 9th century, the library of the monastery of St. Gall was
the largest in Europe—it boasted 36 volumes whereas that of Cordova contained over
500,000 volumes.
The idea of the college was a concept that was borrowed from Muslims. The first colleges
appeared in the Muslim world in the late 600’s and early 700’s. In Europe, some of the
earliest colleges are those affiliated to the universities of Paris and Oxford, which were
founded in the 13th century. These early European colleges were also funded by trusts similar
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to the Islamic ones and legal Historians have traced them back to the Islamic system. The
internal organization of those European colleges was strikingly similar to the Islamic ones.
For example, the idea of graduate and undergraduate is derived directly from Islamic terms.
1. Arabic Algebra
In the 7th and 8th centuries, the Muslims united by the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon
him), liberated the land from India, across northern Africa to Spain from the shackles of
tyranny and despotism. In the following centuries through the 14th, they pursued Arts and
Sciences and were responsible for most of the scientific advances made in the West.
Although the language was Arabic, many of the scholars were Greeks, Christians, Persians
and Jews. Their most valuable contribution was the preservation of Greek learning through
the middle ages, and it is through their translations that much of what we know today about
the Greeks became available. In addition, they made original contributions of their own. In
Algebra, (Muslims contributed, the name, first of all) the contribution was especially in the
name. The word, “Algebra,” came from a title of a textbook about the subject, “Hisab al-Jabr
wal-Muqabala,” written about 830 CE by a famous astronomer/mathematician Muhammad
bin Musa Al-Khawarizmi. This title is sometimes translated as, “Restoration and
Simplification,” or “Transposition and Cancellation.” The word, “Algorithm,” is
(an) the Anglicized name of Al-Khawarizmi. The Arab’s Algebra was entirely rhetorical;
they could solve quadratic equations, recognizing two solutions, possibly irrational, but
usually rejected negative solutions.
2. Mathematics
In the field of Mathematics, the number ‘0’ (zero) and the decimal system was introduced in
Europe by Muslims, which in turn, became the basis for the Scientific Revolution. The
Arabic numerals were also transferred to Europe. This made mathematical tasks much easier;
problems that took days to solve would now be solved with the twinkling of an eye. The
works of (Algorismus) were translated into Latin. Al-Khawarizmi, from whom
the mathematical term, “Algorism,” was derived, wrote “Sind-Hind,” a compilation of
astronomical tables. He, more importantly, laid the groundwork for Algebra and found
methods do deal with complex mathematical problems, such as square roots and complex
fractions. He conducted numerous experiments, measured the height of the earth’s
atmosphere and discovered the principal of magnifying lens. Euclid translated many of his
books into Latin (from which we get the sine and cosine functions) along with the Greek
knowledge of Geometry. Along with Mathematics, masses of other knowledge in the field of
physical science were transferred. Islamic contributions to Science were now rapidly being
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translated and transferred from Spain to the rest of Europe. Ibn al-Haytham’s work on Optics
(in which he deals with 50 Optical questions put to Muslim scholars by the Franks), were
translated widely. Muslims discovered the Principle of Pendulum, which was used to measure
time. Many of the principles of Isaac Newton were derived from former Muslim Scientific
contributions.
3. Chemistry
In the field of chemistry, numerous Islamic works were translated into Latin. One of the
fields of study in this area was Alchemy. By exploring various elements, Muslims developed
a good understanding of the constitution of matter. Jabir Ibn Hayyan (Geber) was the leading
chemist in the Muslim world and some scholars link the introduction of the “Scientific
Method” back to him. A great number of terms used in Chemistry such as alcohol, alembic,
alkali and elixir are of Arabic origin.
4. Medicine
It was a key science explored by Muslims. Al-Razi or Rhazes is one of the most famous
doctors and medicinal writers of Islamic History. Every major city in medieval Muslim world
had a hospital. The hospital in Cairo had over 8000 beds, with (separated) separate wards for
fevers, ophthalmic, dysentery and surgical cases. He discovered the origin of smallpox and
showed that one could only acquire it once in one’s life—thus, proving the existence of the
immune system and its functioning. Muslim doctors were also aware of the contagious
qualities of diseases. Hundreds of their medical works were translated into Latin. All of this
knowledge transferred from Muslims to Europeans was the vital raw material for the
Scientific Revolution. Muslims not only passed on Greek classical works but also introduced
new scientific theories, without which the European Renaissance could not have occurred.
Thus, even though many of the Islamic contributions go unacknowledged, they played an
integral role in the European scientific revolution.
During a trip to Byzantium in search of manuscripts, Al-Khawarizmi happened to meet
Thabit bin Qurrah, then a moneychanger but also a scholar in Syriac, Greek, and Arabic.
Impressed by Thabit’s learning, Al-Khawarizmi personally presented him to the Caliph, who
was in turn so impressed that he appointed Thabit as a court astrologer. As Thabit’s
knowledge of Greek and Syriac was unrivaled, he contributed enormously to the translation
of Greek scientific writings and produced some seventy original works in Mathematics,
Astronomy, Astrology, Ethics, Mechanics, Music, Medicine, Physics, Philosophy, and the
(construction) design of scientific instruments.
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Although the House of Wisdom (Bayt al-Hikmah) originally concentrated on Mathematics, it
did not exclude other subjects. One of its most famous scholars was Hunayn bin Ishaq.
Ishaq’s father, known to the West as Joanitius, eventually translated the Canon of Greek
medical works into Arabic, including the Hippocratic Oath. Later, as the director of the
House of Wisdom, Hunayn also wrote at least twenty-nine original treatises of his own on
medical issues/themes.
Scholars at the House of Wisdom, unlike their modern counterparts, did not specialize. Al-
Razi for example, was a philosopher and a mathematician as well as a physician. Al-Kindi,
the first Muslim philosopher to use Aristotelian logic to support Islamic dogma, also wrote on
logic, philosophy, geometry, calculation, arithmetic, music and astronomy. Among his works
were such titles as an Introduction to the Art of Music, the Reason Why Rain Rarely Falls in
Certain Places, the Cause of Vertigo, and Crossbreeding the Dove.
Other major figure in the Islamic Golden Age was Al-Farabi, who wrestled with many of the
same philosophical problems as Al-Kindi and wrote the Perfect City, which illustrates the
level to which Islam had assimilated Greek ideas and then impressed them with its own
indelible stamp. This work proposed that the ideal city be founded on moral and religious
principles from which would flow the physical infrastructure. The Muslim legacy also
included advances in technology. Ibn Al-Haytham, for example, wrote the Book of Optics, in
which he gave a detailed treatment of the anatomy of the eye, correctly deducing that the eye
receives light from the object perceived and laying the foundation for modern photography.
In the tenth century, he proposed a plan to dam the Nile River. It was by no means theoretical
speculation; many of the dams, reservoirs, and aqueducts constructed at this time throughout
the Islamic world still survive today.
5. Muslim engineers also perfected the waterwheel and constructed elaborate underground
water channels called “Qanawaat.” Requiring a high degree of engineering skills, Qanawaat
were built some fifty feet underground with a very slight inclination over long distances to
tap underground water and were provided with manholes so that they could be cleaned and
repaired.
6. Agricultural advances are also part of the Muslim legacy. Important books were written
on soil analysis, water, and the kinds of crops suited to a certain type of soil. Because there
was considerable interest in new varieties—for nutritive and medicinal purposes—many new
plants were introduced such as Sorghum, which had recently been discovered in Africa. The
introduction of numerous varieties of fruits and vegetables and other plants to the West via
the Islamic empire was, however, largely the result of the vast expansion of trade during the
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Golden Age. This trade was vital in the central land of the Abbasid Empire’s natural
resources such as metals and wood, which were scarce. Increases in urban population had
outstripped the capacity of the agricultural system to support them. The Abbasids, therefore,
were forced to develop extensive and complicated patterns of trade. To obtain food, for
example, Baghdad had to import wheat from Syria and Egypt, rice from the Fayyum area in
Egypt, southern Morocco and Spain, and olive oil from Tunisia. Tunisia exported olive oil so
much so that its port of Sas was called, “the Port of Oil”.
7. Medical Sciences
Prophet Muhammad’s (peace be upon him) Traditions contain many instructions concerning
health and hygiene including dietary habits; those sayings became the foundation of what
came to be known later as, “Prophet Medicine,” (Al-Tibb Al-Nabawi). Because of the great
attention paid in Islam to the need to take care of the body and to hygiene, early in Islamic
History, Muslims began to cultivate the field of Medicine turning once again to all the
knowledge that was available to them from Greek, Persian and Indian sources. At first, the
great physicians among (Muslims) the Muslim community were mostly Christian but by
the 9th Century, Islamic Medicine was born with the appearance of the major compendium.
Mohammed bin Zakariyya Al-Razi (the Latin Rhazes), was one of the greatest of physicians
who emphasized clinical medicine and observation. He was a master of prognosis and
psychosomatic medicine and of anatomy as well. He was the first to identify and treat small
pox, to use alcohol as an antiseptic and made medical use of mercury as a purgative. His,
“Kitab Al-Hawi,” is the longest work ever written in Islamic Medicine and he was recognized
as a medical authority in the West up to a Century.
 Islamic civilization produced great achievements and the intellectual legacy of a faith
that transformed the world. Spanning a greater geographic area than any other, across
the eastern hemisphere from Spain and North Africa to the Middle East and Asia, it
formed a continuum between the Classical world and the European Renaissance.
Muslims today are in a strange position of being viewed through a lens that mostly
depicts Muslim society as a backward culture. The popular historical account is
estranged from documented reality that demonstrates that Islamic civilization at its
height was the model of human progress and development.
 There are several well documented artistic and scientific accomplishments that were
either discovered or perfected during the Golden Age of Islam (800– 1,000). During
this time, Islamic scholars translated Greek, Indian and Persian texts, studied them
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and helped to further investigations in the areas of Math, Science and Medicine. The
Renaissance and the Scientific Revolution in Europe drew upon the discoveries and
contributions made by the Muslims to the fields of Mathematics and Science. Yet
these accomplishments remain unappreciated.
 With the expansion of the Islamic empire during the Umayyad and throughout the
Abbasid dynasty, Arabic became the literary language of the era, the liturgy language
of Islam, and a powerful literary vehicle to disseminate Arabic culture. Many talents
contributed to the legacy of Arabic literature; scholars, linguists, writers, and poets of
Arab and non-Arab descent wrote in the Arabic language. During the Umayyad and
Abbasid periods, scholars gathered and collected the sources for Quranic studies and
the collections of the Hadith.
1. Briefly explore the contribution of Muslims in Social Sciences.
2. Name some of the books in Arabic language written by Muslims.
1. Is there any contribution of Muslims in the field of literature? Provide some examples
to support your answer.
2. Explain in detail the contribution of Muslims in the field of Medicine.
1. Arnold Toynbee, A Study of History, vol.10
2. Cyril Glasse, New Encyclopedia of Islam
3. Manoochehr Aryanpur, A History of Persian Literature
4. Muhsin Mahdi, ‘Islamic Philosophy’, in The New Encyclopaedia Britannica
5. Reynold A Nicholson, A Literary History of the Arabs
6. Salma Khadra Jayyusi, (ed.), The Legacy of Muslim Spain
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Lesson 2.3: Industry, Fine Arts, Trade and Commerce
Structure
2.3.1 Introduction
2.3.2 Objectives
2.3.3 Industry
2.3.4 Fine Arts
2.3.5 Architecture
2.3.6 Trade and Commerce
2.3.1 Introduction
This topic shall deal with the various Industries, Fine Arts, Architecture and Trade and
Commerce during the Abbasids. Many Industries flourished in various parts of the empire.
Muslim art and craft was the direct heir to many ancient craft traditions unknown in the West.
Jewelry, Metallic works, Pottery, carving, Carpet weaving etc flourished greatly during
Abbasids. Moreover, the relations of Muslim dominion with its neighbors flourished during
this period and high influx of Import and Export was seen.
2.3.2 Objectives
The objective of this lesson is to provide you detailed information about the contribution of
Muslims in the field of Fine Arts and Industries. In addition to this, the lesson will also
address the issue of how Muslims carried out various activities related to trade and commerce
2.3.3 Industry
Hand Industry
Hand Industry flourished in various parts of the empire. In Western Asia it centered chiefly in
the manufacture of rugs, tapestry, silk, cotton and woolen fabrics, satin, brocade (Dibaj), sofa
(from. Ar. Suffah) and cushion covers, as well as other articles of furniture and kitchen
utensils. The looms of Persia and Iraq turned out carpets and textiles maintained at a high
standard by distinctive marks. A stripped fabric by the name Attabi was first manufactured in
12th century. The Arabs in Spain imitated the fabric and under the trade name Tabi became
popular in France, Italy and other lands of Europe.
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Kufa produced the silk and partly silk kerchiefs for the head that are still worn under the
name Kufiyah. Tawwaj, Fasa and other towns of Persia boasted a number of high-class
factories where carpets, embroideries, brocades and robes of honour—a mark of distinction in
the East—were manufactured first for the use of the royalty.
In Tustar and Sus in Khuzistan (ancient Susiana) were a number of factories famous for the
embroidery of damask figured with gold and for curtains made of spun silk (Khazz). The
camel and goat-hair fabrics as well as their spun-silk cloaks, gauzes and brocades were of
great demand.
Khurasan and Armenia were famous for their spreads, hangings, sofa and cushion covers. In
Central Asia, that great emporium of the early Middle Ages, Bukhara was especially noted
for its prayer-rugs. A complete conception of the development of industry and trade in
Transoxiana may be gained from the list of exports from the various towns as that of soap,
carpets, copper lamps, pewter ware, felt cloaks, furs, amber, honey, falcons, scissors, needles,
knives, swords, bows, meats, Slavonic and Turkish slaves, etc.
Tables, sofas, lamps, chandeliers, vases, earthenware and kitchen utensils were also made in
Syria and Egypt. Glass and metal vases of Syrian workmanship were in great demand as
articles of utility and luxury.
Damascus was the center of an extensive mosaic and Qashani industry. Manufacture of
writing paper was introduced in the middle of the 8th century into Samarqand from China.
Before the close of that century Baghdad saw its first paper-mill. Egypt, Morocco and Spain
were all famous for producing various kinds of paper, both white and colored. Caliph, Al-
Mu‘tasim, credited with opening new soap and glass factories in Baghdad, Samarra and other
towns, is said to have encouraged the paper industry. From Muslim Spain and from Italy , in
the 12thand 13th centuries , the manufacture of paper finally worked its way into Christian
Europe, where with the later discovery of printing from movable type (1450-55) it made
possible the measure of popular education which Europe and America enjoy now.
The jeweler’s art also had its day. Pearls, sapphires, rubies, emeralds and diamonds were
favorites with the royalty; turquoise, carnelian and onyx with the lower classes. The leading
mineral resources of the empire which made the jeweler’s industry possible included gold
and silver from Khurasan, which also yielded marble and mercury; rubies from Transoxiana;
lead and silver from Karman; pearls from Bahrain; turquoise from Nishapur and Iron from
Lebanon. Other mineral resources included kaolin and marble from Tabriz, antimony from
the vicinity of Isfahan, marble and sulphur from Syria-Palestine, asbestos from Transoxiana
and mercury, pitch and Tar from Farghana.
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2.3.4 Fine Arts
Islamic art had its beginnings in the Masjid. Here it was born in the full light of day, and bare
openly under public tutelage. The first Masajid were bare structures without any architectural
pretentions, planned solely for prayer and exhortation. Their furniture, when it appeared was
as simple as it could be.
Muslims soon became the great builders. Their genius realized definite architectural ideas
with acute technical insight. Religious obligation to representation of the human form
prevented any development of statuary, but as carves in stone, wood and other materials they
were extremely skillful. Although mural paintings seem to have existed from early times, the
painting now known is restricted to so-called “miniature work”, small pictures, illustrations in
manuscripts and the like, which whilst display masterly technical ability and keen sense of
colour, lack certain qualities conspicuous in the best work done under similar conditions in
medieval Europe.
Muslim art and craft was the direct heir to many ancient craft traditions unknown in the West.
The Muslim scholars transmitted to posterity a large fund of ancient learning, Muslim
artisans preserved, developed, and spread abroad the traditional ‘workshop practice’ of arts
current in the Orient.
Jewelry
A notable feature in Islamic ornament is the use of Arabic inscriptions. A passage from the
Qur’an, an apt verse from a poet, or a phrase of greeting or blessing often runs round a border
or frieze, or fills a shaped cartouche. Now and again the name and grandiose titles of a noble
owner enrich some valued possession, giving a welcome clue to its date and provenance;
facts which are sometimes exactly started when the master craftsman had added to his work
his signature, the name of the city where it was made, and the year of its completion.
Metallic Works
Early Islamic gold and silver work has practically disappeared. It is mainly in what survives
of the bronze, brass and copper furniture and utensils used by wealthy Muslims that Islamic
metal-work can now be studied. Ewers and Basins, and other sharply vessels with names and
titles incorporated in their ornament, once grated the banquets of Sultans and great nobles.
Things such as jewel-cases, writing-boxes, candle sticks, perfume-burners, flower vases and
other similar objects of sumptuous domestic use abound in variety and quantity too numerous
to specify. During 13th and 14th centuries, this beautiful inlaid work was much favoured and
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wealthy nobles, who frequently had pieces specially made for them, eagerly sought fine
examples by famous masters.
In enameling of another kind, the application of coloured glazes to earthenware, the Muslims
were from an early period the experts. Under Islamic rule, native potters in Egypt and the
Near East revived and developed technical processes and decorative devices which had
survived from ancient times in more or less decadent forms. Wall-tiles with beautiful
greenish-blue glazed surfaces go back to a very early period in Egypt.
Ceramics
The early history of Islamic ceramics is yet unwritten, and although many interesting
specimens have been unearthed in recent years, their provenance and chronology are largely
matters of conjecture. It is clear that various types spread rapidly throughout the Islamic
world from centres situated in Persia, Mesopotamia, Syria, and Egypt, but it is impossible to
determine exactly where specific wares originated. So widely were popular kinds scattered
that pieces similar in make and design are found on several ancient sites, in places far
separate from one another.
A glazed earthenware dish found at Susa, painted with a poppy-head in bright cobalt blue
upon a whit ground, is assigned to ninth-century date, as similar pieces have been excavated
on the site of a palace at Samara built by Harun al-Rashid’s son in 836.
Pottery
In what is termed ‘lustred pottery’, the Muslims achieved great triumph. In this the design is
painted in a metallic salt on a glazed surface and fixed by firing in smoke in a way that gives
it a metallic gleam, which varies in different specimens from a bright copper-red to a
greenish-yellow tint, and in some cases throws off brilliant iridescent reflections. Pieces
dating from the 10th century have been discovered in the Near East, North Africa, and Spain.
Ray (an ancient Persian city) was a great center of ceramic industry, where several
characteristic types originated. Associated with this city are certain vases and dishes painted
in opaque colures-blue, green, brown, and purple, touched here and there with gold-leaf upon
white or tinted grounds with figure subjects and formal decoration remarkable for their
delicate workmanship.
The most striking decorative elements used in this kind of pottery are undoubtedly the floral
forms where tulips, roses, hyacinths, irises, and almond-blossom issue from two elegant vases
in a splendid riot of vigorous growth. The flowers are always drawn with consummate skill
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and with such just decorative sense that their naturalism never sinks into mere pictorial
representation. It was from Persia that the designers gathered their floral elements and learned
how to draw them with such exquisite grace. A fine piece of Damascus work influenced by
Persian models, a jug, decorated with tulips and roses on a blue scale-patterned ground,
which for delicate drawing and brilliant color is a masterpiece of its kind.
The most splendid achievements of the Syrian glassworks were the lamps or rather lamp-
shades, fitted internally with small oil-vessels hooked by wires to the rim- which, suspended
by three or more silver or brass chains attached to loops contrived on the body of the lamp,
illuminated the gloom of many great mosques with jewel-like radiance. They are generally
ornamented with band-work filled with medallions and inscriptions, enlivened with
conventional foliage; but in some the whole surface is covered with floral patterning.
In Persia, Syria and Egypt the sumptuous textile arts were already highly developed when the
Arabs conquered those countries. In the adjoining provinces of the Byzantine Empire
important weaving centers were manufacturing silk fabrics of wonderful richness, and
incorporating in their patterns may Sassanian elements taken over when Christian workers
began to emulate their neighbour’s skill. They gained a dominating position as leading silk-
mercers in the medieval world. The cloth known in Chaucer’s time as ‘Fustian’ came from
Fustat, the first Muslim capital of Egypt. The stuff we still call ‘damasks’ took their name
from Damascus. ‘Muslin’ is the Mussolina imported by Italian merchants from Mosul.
Baghdad gave its name to the rich silk fabrics brought thence and to the silken canopy
suspended over the altar in many churches, the ‘baldachhino’. In late times, dress fabrics
from Granada were known as ‘grenadines’ in European shops, where ladies also bought
Persian Taftah under the name of ‘Taffeta’.
The ‘Attabiyah quarter of Baghdad, where dwelt the descendants of ‘Attab, was in the 12th
century renowned for a special fabric Attabi silk. In Europe, the demand for rich silk textiles
increased rapidly as the Oriental trade developed. Finely wrought stuffs came from Muslim
countries in such quantity that Western enterprise saw in this lucrative industry a potential
source of wealth, and setting up looms in various centres, began seriously to compete with
the Eastern and Spanish factories.
Carpet Weaving
European artisans learned how to weave pile-carpets from the Muslims, using at first the
traditional Oriental sleight-of-hand, but in later times purely mechanical means. Upon the
machine-made carpets and rugs now almost universally in use, designs borrowed from
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Islamic originals are common, but they are freaks of fashion rather than traditional survivals.
It is in their velvet-like texture rather than in their designs that the ancient ancestry of modern
carpets is most worthily perpetuated.
Carving
In the 10th century, a school of ivory-carvers centered at Cordova was working in a style that
already proclaims mature experience. Ivory caskets, painted, carved, or pierced, were used as
jewel-cases, perfume or sweetmeat boxes, and for other similar purposes. The earliest are
amongst the most valuable records of Islamic art in its beginnings. Many have come down to
us in wonderful completeness, but judging from the traces of color still visible on some
specimens, it is probable that the carved caskets in their original state were resplendent with
color and gold. Some retain their metal hinges and clasps, fittings which are interesting
examples of a minor branch of the metalworker’s art.
Paper
The Muslims knew paper, an ancient Chinese invention, when they captured Samarqand in
704, and learned how to make it from Chinese workers. Its use spread westwards throughout
Islam. A considerable number of Arabic manuscripts written on paper date from the 9th
century, but it was not imported into Christian Europe until the 12th, and was still uncommon
there in the 13th. The first European paper factories were established by the Muslims in Spain
and Sicily and later on the art of manufacturing the paper reached Italy.
Calligraphy
The art of calligraphy was patronized in the Abbasid era. The calligrapher held a position of
dignity and honour far above the painter. Among the founders of Arabic calligraphy were Al-
Rayhani (834), who flourished under Al-Mamun and perfected the style named after him; Ibn
Muqlah (886-940 C.E.). The last penman of the Abbasid period to achieve distinction was
Yaqut al-Musta‘simi, the court calligraphist of the last Abbasid caliph, from whose name the
Yaquti style derives its designation. Arabic script, the sole Arab contribution to Islamic art, is
a universal mark of Muslim dominance or influence whenever it spread. The script in which
the Qur’an was written, it was held sacred throughout the history of Islam, whose scribes vied
with one another in perfecting its beautiful characters. Generations of expert Muslim
calligraphers worked with such success and approval that not only was a fine book a priceless
treasure, but the merest scrap of a great master’s writing a collector’s prize.
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Not only calligraphy but its associate arts, color decoration, illumination, and the whole craft
of book binding, owed their genesis and bloom to their relation to the sacred book. Under the
late Abbasids began the art of book-decoration and Qur’an illumination that reached its
highest development in the Saljuq and Mamluk periods.
2.3.5 Architecture
Of the architectural monuments that once adorned the city of Al-Mansur and Harun al-Rashid
survives the Umayyad Masjid at Damascus and the Dome of Rock at Jerusalem. The earliest
surviving minaret is that of the Great Masjid at Qayrawan near Tunis, and is recorded to have
been built during the caliphate of Hisham (724-43). It is a huge and massive square tower,
tapering slightly upwards, crowned with battlements, and surmounted by two stages, one
built later. The Masjid in Qayrawan is of the congregational type, frequently altered, but
retaining in the main the form in which it was rebuilt at the end of the 9th century. The Masjid
of Zaytunah at Tunis, founded in 732 is another early and interesting example of the
congregational type, with arcades formed of unpleasantly stilted arches supported on antique
columns. Over the capitals of the arches are wooden blocks or abaci, connected by wooden
tie beams.
The Great Masjid at Cordova in Spain began in 786, continues the succession. Its area was
more than double in the 10th century. It was a congregational mosque with a very deep
sanctuary, containing eleven aisles separated by arcades; each with twenty columns. The
enormous size of the sanctuary made it desirable to have a proportionately lofty ceiling, much
loftier in fact than the height of the available columns with ordinary horseshoe arches above
them.
The Great Masjid at Samara is of enormous size and of considerable historical interest. It
consists of a Sahn with a deep sanctuary pointing towards Makkah and deep porticoes round
the remaining sides of the Sahn. The great brick enclosing-wall has circular towers at each
angle and semicircular towers intermediately.
The Masjid of Ibn Tulun at Cairo commenced in 876. It is a large congregational Masjid,
nearly square in plan, with a Sahn surrounded on all sides by arcaded porticoes. The external
walls are very massive and are crowned with ornamental battlements. Below the battlements
is a row of pointed window opening filled with pierced plaster screens, alternating with
pointed niches with multi-foil or cusped heads.
In Spain and North Africa the chief remains, apart from military architecture , are the later
work in the Great Masjid at Cordova, where considerable extensions took place in the second
69
half of the 10th century, and the fine minarets at Seville (1175-95) and at Rabat (1178-84),
both of which are decorated with cusped arcading.
In Persia the chief buildings of this period are the ‘Friday Masjid’ at Isfahan and the Great
Mosque (1145-91 C.E.) at Mosul both large congregational Masajid. The evolution of the
Dome is of the highest importance in the history of Muslim architecture.
2.3.6 Trade and Commerce
Sables, miniver (fur), ermines, the fur of foxes, beavers, spotted hares, and goats; also wax,
arrows , birch bark , high fur caps, fish glue, fish teeth, castoreum, amber, maple wood,
slaves, small and big cattle’ were the commonly used commodities in trade and commerce.
The African overland trade was divided into an eastern and a western area; on both sides, the
chief import was gold. In western Africa, an active trade went on with the gold country of
Ghana, the capital of which must have been on the Niger. Muslim merchants from Morocco,
Algeria, and Tunisia travelled several months’ journey to the south and passed generally
through Awdaghosht, an oasis situated fourteen days journey to the north of Ghana.
In this way, the Islamic countries received silks from the Byzantine Empire, furs, and arms,
all of which came also by way of Russia. The same traders brought to Europe musk, aloes,
camphor, cinnamon, and similar products. Other routes by which oriental products could
enter Europe were the Empire of the Khazars, between the Caspian region and Byzantium,
and the half-barbaric peoples of Russia that kept up a lively trade with central Europe. On the
Byzantine frontier the town of Trebizond was in the tenth century an important emporium for
the Islamic Greek trade.
Industrial production in Islamic countries had developed in a particular way and it made
possible a development of industrial skill which brought the artistic value of the products to
an unequalled height. Textiles were originally imported from Islamic countries; muslin
(from Mosul), damask (from Damascus), baldachin (originally a stuff made in Baghdad), and
other woven stuffs, which bear Arabic or Persian names, like gauze, cotton, satin, etc. Fruits
like orange, lemon, and apricot, vegetables such as spinach and artichokes, further saffron,
and aniline. Likewise names of precious stones (lapis lazuli) and of musical instruments (lute,
guitar) though it cannot be proved that the borrowing of these terms goes back directly to
commercial intercourse.
70
 Hand Industry flourished in various parts of the Muslim empire. In Western Asia it
centered chiefly in the manufacture of rugs, tapestry, silk, cotton and woolen fabrics,
satin, brocade (Dibaj), sofa (from. Ar. Suffah) and cushion covers, as well as other
articles of furniture and kitchen utensils.
 Damascus was the center of an extensive mosaic and Qashani industry. Manufacture
of writing paper was introduced in the middle of the 8th century into Samarqand from
China.
 The jeweler’s art also had its day. Pearls, sapphires, rubies, emeralds and diamonds
were favourites with the royalty; turquoise, carnelian and onyx with the lower classes.
 During 13th and 14th centuries, beautiful inlaid metallic work was much favoured, and
wealthy nobles, who frequently had pieces specially made for them, eagerly sought
fine examples by famous masters.
 In what is termed ‘lustred pottery’ the Muslims achieved great triumph. Pieces dating
from the 10th century have been discovered in the Near East, North Africa, and Spain.
Ray (an ancient Persian city) was a great center of ceramic industry, where several
characteristic types originated.
 In the 10th century, a school of ivory-carvers centered at Cordova was working in a
style that already proclaims mature experience. Ivory caskets, painted, carved, or
pierced, were used as jewel-cases, perfume or sweetmeat boxes, and for other similar
purposes.
 The Muslims knew paper, an ancient Chinese invention, when they captured
Samarqand in 704, and learned how to make it from Chinese workmen. The first
European paper factories were established by the Muslims in Spain and Sicily, from
where the manufacture passed into Italy.
 The art of calligraphy was patronized in the Abbasid era. Among the founders of
Arabic calligraphy were Al-Rayhani (834), who flourished under al-Mamun and
perfected the style named after him; Ibn Muqlah (886-940 C.E.). Under the late
Abbasid began the art of book-decoration and Qur’an illumination which reached its
highest development in the Saljuq and Mamluk periods.
 Of the architectural monuments that once adorned the city of al-Mansur and al-Rashid
survives the Umayyad Masjid at Damascus and the Dome of Rock at Jerusalem. The
Great Masjid at Cordova in Spain, The Great Masjid at Samara, The Masjid of Ibn
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Tulun at Cairo, ‘Friday Masjid’ at Isfahan and the Great Masjid at Mosul are the
architectural monuments that reflect the grandeur of Abbasid civilization.

1. Enlist the Architectural monuments during Abbasids.
2. Comment on the various industries present during Abbasids.
1. Enumerate various Fine Arts promoted during Abbasids.
2. Explain in detail Trade and Commerce during the Abbasids.
1. A.Y. al Hassan, The Different Aspects of Islamic Culture (Science and Technology in
Islam)
2. M.J.L Young, et al., Cambridge History of Arabic Literature (Religion, Learning and
Science in the Abbasid Period)
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Unit III
Islamic Civilization: Regional Development
i) Society, Administration and Culture under Ghaznavids
ii) Polity, Administration, Religion and Culture under Saljuqs
iii) Society and Culture under Fatimids
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UNIT III: Islamic Civilization: Regional Development
Lesson 01: Society, Administration and Culture under Ghaznavids
Structure
3.1.1 List of Rulers
3.1.2 Introduction
3.1.3 Objectives
3.1.4 Consolidation
3.1.5 Establishment and Mahmud Ghaznavi
3.1.6 Battle of Dandakan
3.1.7 Successors and End
3.1.8 Administration
3.1.9 Society and Culture

Subutktigin (977-997)—Isma‘il (997-98)—Mahmud (999-1030)—Muhammad (1030) First
Reign—Mas‘ud-I (1030-1041)—Muhammad (1041) Second Reign—Mawdud (1041-
1048)—Mas‘ud-II (1048)—Ali (1048-49)—Abd al-Rashid (1049-52)—Tughril (1052-53)—
Farrukhzad (1053-59)—Ibrahim (1059-1099)—Mas‘ud-III (1099-1115)—Shirzad (1115-
16)—Arsalan Shah (1116-17)—Bahram Shah (1117-57)—Khusrao Shah (1157-60)—
Khusrao Malik (1160-1186)
3.1.2 Introduction
The contacts between Islam and South Asia developed initially through sea-routes, but later
the contacts prolonged through land routes. The Ghaznavid sultanate represents the
culmination of a process that had begun in the period of Samanid dynasty as a result the
military bases of the state was transformed from a reliance on the indigenous Iranians to
Turkish slave troops. The decline of the Amirs’ authority and the growth of centrifugal forces
in the state, provoked by the personal ambitions of the great military commanders, had
thrusted the Samanid dynasty into increasing crisis and chaos. These difficulties and mutual
rivalries among the Samanids allowed the formation of the Ghaznavid Empire which was
74
seen as to be the most-powerful state in the eastern Islamic lands since the weakening of the
Abbasids for half a century. Central Asia, Khurasan and Afghanistan enjoyed commendable
importance in the Islamic empire during the Abbasid period (750-1258). During the
downward course of the Abbasids, Mamluks voiced independence as Sultans from the
outlying territories beginning with the Sultanate of Ghaznah in 962. This sultanate acted as a
bridge between the Iran plateau and South Asia and established a largest empire since the
Abbasids. At the outset, they began to rule on behalf of the disintegrating Samanid Empire of
Transoxiana and Khurasan, later as independent sovereigns.
3.1.3 Objectives
The main objectives of this lesson are:

1. To study the consolidation, establishment and decline of the dynasty
2. To learn about the great rulers of the dynasty and their contribution particularly
Mahmud Ghaznavi
3. To highlight the Society, Administration and Culture of the dynasty
4. To learn about the later rulers and the end.
3.1.4 Consolidation
The prominent among the Turkish generals at the Samanid court in the middle of the 10th
century was the commander-in-chief of the Samanid army, Alaptigin, who worked for his
ascendency in the state. He failed and withdrew to the eastern fringes of the Samanid Empire
sensibly with his personal force of Turkish professionals. Alaptigin, who was honored with a
government post by the Samanids, initially started his career as a bodyguard and later he was
promoted as the governor of Khurasan. In 962, he succeeded in establishing an independent
kingdom in Afghanistan after capturing Ghaznah from its native rulers that later developed
into an empire stretching from Afghanistan to Punjab. His predecessor Karategin, who had
built a principality of his own during the Samanids which after his death continued to be
succeeded by the Turkish generals, influenced Alaptigin. Subuktigin, who had been one of
the trusted personal slaves of Alaptigin, rose to fame because of his outstanding personal
qualities. Subuktigin while acknowledging the Samanids as the nominal overlords began his
uninterrupted period of power (977-997) in Ghaznah, as he placed their names before his own
on the coinage system. It was due to the favors he did to the Samanid state, he was given the
title of Al-Naṣir al-Din wa al-Dawlah (Supporter of the religion and the State). Practically he
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securely laid the foundation of an independent Ghaznavid state, with Ghaznah as its capital,
which was erected by his son Mahmud into a mighty empire. The firmness of Subuktigin’s
power in Ghaznah and his policies enabled him later to intervene in the politics of the
Samanid state. A Turkish slave-soldier dynasty (Mamluk or Ghulam) that carried a sultanate
and rose to power in eastern Iran, central Afghanistan, and modern-day Pakistan during the
11th and 12th centuries C.E., Ghaznah (under Ghaznavids), though being a part of the Samanid
state was governed by army generals who had claimed independence. Subuktigin managed to
consolidate his rule in Afghanistan and was able to defeat the Hindushahi princes, seizing the
Kabul river basin and the Punjab plains from them.
Meanwhile, the Samanid Amirs, under severe pressure from Turkish invaders from the inner
Asian Steppes, had to turn to Subuktigin and his son Mahmud, who was already the
commander of the Samanid army. Having saved the Samanids (874-999), Mahmud came to
inherit most of their domains, ending their rule. Maḥmud emerged as the outstanding ruler of
the dynasty, the location of his capital gave him an easy access to the valley of Kabul form
where he conducted a series of campaigns eastwards. After the death of Subuktigin in 997,
Mahmud became the master of Ghaznah in 998, in 999 Maḥmud completely controlled the
whole of Afghanistan and the former Samanid territories south of the Oxus, and claimed
himself as an independent sovereign. Wali-i Amir al-Muminin—Friend of the Commander of
the Faithful—(Mahmud) legitimized his rule from Abbasid Caliph Al-Qadir (991-1031),
which inaugurated the tradition for the Ghaznavid Sultans in getting their power approved by
the Caliph and used to send gifts to Baghdad.
Mahmud is said to have conducted about seventeen campaigns to India between 1001 and
1024. The religious momentum of Mahmud's Indian campaigns was negligible as he fought
equally persistently against rival Muslim rulers and established permanent dominion in India.
Mahmud felt that the Hindushahi rulers were a hindrance to the expansion into northern
India, thus defeated Jaipal in 1001 and his son Anandapal in 1009 and then a coalition of the
princes and other regions of the northern India under the leadership of Anandapal’s son
Trilochanpal in 1004. The Rajas of Kalijar and Kannauj failed to curtail the onslaught of
Ghaznavids. Bhimpal’s (son of Trilochanpal) death marked the end of the Hindushahis and
surviving members are said to have fled to Kashmir. Mahmud also made expeditions into
eastern Punjab, the Ganges plains (now Uttar Pradesh) and central India (now Madhya
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Pradesh). In 1004 the Raja of Bhatinda, to the south of Lahore was defeated, in 1009 the ruler
of Narayanpur in north-eastern Rajasthan agreed in his peace treaty to supply a contingent of
2,000 Indian soldiers for the Ghaznavid army. From Thaneswar and Mathura, Mahmud
confronted with the Raja of Kannauj-Pratihara and gained a sum of 3 million Dirhams,
55,000 slaves and 350 elephants as maintained by Al-‘Utbi. In the following years,
expeditions were sent against a coalition of princes under Ganda of Kalinjar (1019-20, 1022-
23) setting foot into central India. The culmination of Mahmud's Indian campaigns was his
attack on Somnath temple. In India, Hindu chiefs often acted as channels in a system of
indirect rule, it is said that there was no major loss of population through conquest and
negligible conversions to Islam. The large transfer of wealth under the Ghaznavids eased
trade between India and the Muslim world. The wealth later passed into the hands of Saljuqs
as tribute payments, expanding circulation of precious metals to Asia Minor and eastern
Mediterranean.
Mahmud was bestowed with the title of Al-Ghazi (the conqueror) and Amin al-Millat
(Custodian of the Faith). He owed his allegiance to the Abbasid caliph Al-Qadir who granted
him the title of Yamin al-Dawlah (right hand of the state).Like most other rulers of the day,
Mahmud styled himself as an Amir and he and later Ghaznavid rulers also called
themselves by the Arabic word ‘Sulṭan’. Mahmud is said to be the first in Islam to be
designated as ‘Sultan’, however there is a disagreement among the historians. Mahmud (999-
1030) lived a life of continuous military campaigning hence built a vast empire and by the
time of his death, he had united eastern Iran and the southern parts of the Oxus River,
Khwarizmi, northern Iran, Afghanistan, and northern India.
Ghaznavids like Ottomans were at the periphery of the Muslim world each made up of a
Turkish core and staunch in their ideology. The Ghaznavid army constituted of professional
Turkish slave-soldiers, with its core Ghulam-e-saray an elite palace guard, who were bought
and specifically trained for fighting. The army consisted of small forces, mounted archers,
and lightning raids. Apart from this force there was wider military made up of these slave-
soldiers, Iranians, Arabs and Hindus. During its campaigns to India, Ghazis, or volunteer
Muslim paramilitary groups enlarged the Ghaznavid army.
Despite entering India several times, Mahmud did not make any permanent conquest beyond
the confines of the Punjab. While he was employed in East, a large body of Turkomans from
the Kirghiz steppes passed the Jaxarates and settled in Transoxiana. The Ghaznavid sultan
made grave mistake of leaving them in possession of this province, contenting himself with a
nominal tribute and acknowledgement of allegiance. With the objective of weakening them
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as he thought, he deported into Khurasan one of the tribes, under their leader Saljuq. Here the
Saljuqs waxed strength and number, until they were able to measure swords with the
Ghaznavids.
3.1.6 Battle of Dandaqan
At the long run, this expanding military sultanate was impossible to be administered as it was
crushed soon after reaching its meridian. Mahmud while busy in India failed to recognize the
danger posed by the Saljuq Turkish tribes. His son Mas‘ud (r. 1031-1041) was not competent
enough to face the challenge when the moment arrived. The decisive battle of Dandaqan
(1040) in Khurasan forced Ghaznavid sultan to handover all the parts of his empire even
Ghaznah. Being a typical military empire the soldiers killed their sultan. This battle was the
turning point in the history of Ghaznavids. Mas‘ud was succeeded by the new sultan Mawdud
(r.1041-48) who worked on the consolidation of the rest of the empire which meant
expansion towards the Indian subcontinent with Lahore as its capital, which marked the first
important Indian Muslim sultanate. The remaining one hundred and fifty years of the dynasty
are not clearly known, for, only few sources are preserved about the later part of this dynasty
in the history. It was their role in northern India which made possible the conquest of the
major parts of India by later Muslim rulers.
His younger son Muhammad who was soon overthrown by his elder brother, Mas‘ud,
succeeded Mahmud. However, Mas‘ud lacked the qualities of his father that failed him to
maintain the greatness of the empire. After the battle of Dandaqan, which proved to be a
turning point in the history of the Saljuqs and the Ghaznavids, the Saljuqs hereafter
dominated the scene in Iran and Khurasan and the Ghaznavids were confined to India and
Afghanistan. Mas‘ud was disappointed and he decided to shift his capital to Punjab. On the
way to Punjab, his army revolted against him which resulted in his deposition, as a result his
younger brother Muhammad became the Amir second time. In a reaction to this, Mawdud
made a counter revolt against his brother Muhammad. Muhammad was defeated and
Mawdud became the Amir and ruled for five years. Mawdud was succeeded by his four-year
young son Mas‘ud-II who was deposed only after five days. Mas‘ud-II was succeeded by
Abul Ḥasan Ali (a son of Mas‘ud-I) who ruled till 1051. Ali was succeeded by his brother
Abd al-Rashid who was overthrown by a Turkish General Tughril in 1053. However, Tughril
could not hold power for a long time as he was defeated and killed to give way to Farrukhzad
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who was placed on the throne. He made friendly relations with the Saljuqs and was
succeeded by his brother Ibrahim, who ruled for a period of forty years, the longest rule by
any of the Ghaznavids. He proved to be great ruler and his rule marked the golden age of the
Ghaznavids as it witnessed treaties and cultural interactions with the Saljuqs and his army
tracked the southern border of Punjab. During his reign the prominent Sufi of Indo-Pakistan
sub-continent Shaykh Ali bin Uthman al-Hujwiri (popularly known as Data Ganj Bhaksh)
flourished. During this period, Lahore developed as a second capital and a great center of
cultural exchange and the country witnessed a long spell of peace and prosperity.
On the death of Ibrahim, his son Mas‘ud-III ascended the throne, died in 1114 and was
succeeded by his son, Shirzad, who was assassinated within a year. Shirzad was succeeded by
his brother Arsalan who arrested all his brothers and confined them to prison but Bahram, one
of his step-brothers managed to escape and took shelter with the Saljuq Sultan (Sanjar).
Sanjar invaded Ghaznah and defeated Arsalan paving the way for Bahram. Bahram’s grip on
the throne was unstable as he was driven away from the Ghaznah by the Malik of Ghur—
Sayf al-Din. Bahram fled to Punjab, gained momentum there, recaptured Ghaznah after a
year. It is said that Bahram beheaded Sayf al-Din and hanged his body on the bridge of the
Ghaznah River. Ala‘ al-din, the brother of Sayf al-din, after some years led his forces to
Ghaznah, defeated Bahram and sacked the city in revenge of his brother. According to the
chronicles, the fire in Ghaznah raged for a week and seventy thousand people are said to have
been perished by the sword and fire. Ala al-Din also known in the history as Jahan Soz
(world burner) could not enjoy his victory for long. Sultan Sanjar sent a force to Ghaznah in
aid of Bahram where Ala al-Din was defeated. His son Khusrao Shah who was forced to
escape to Lahore due to the attacks of Turks on Ghaznah succeeded Bahram. Khusro Malik
succeeded his father and became the last ruler of the lineas he was overthrown by Shahab al-
Din of Ghur and this marked the end of the Ghaznavid rule and initiation of Ghurid dynasty.
By Bahram’s tenure, the Ghaznavids were a little more than feudatories of Saljuqs. The long-
standing trouble with Ghur came to fore, it is said that Bahram poisoned the Ghurid chief
which led to the destruction of the Ghaznah in 1150 and which was later occupied by the
Oghuz in early 1160s. Khusrao Shah is said to have fled to Punjab, the only remaining
Ghaznavid possession, whereas Khusrao Malik ruled Lahore, after him the city was annexed
and Khusrao was captured by Shahab al-Din Muhammad Ghuri which marked the end of the
Ghaznavid dynasty in 1186.
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The office of the Sultan acted as an alternative to the Caliph of the time. The Ghaznavid state
predicted other changes as well, particularly by pressing the grudge between the ruler and the
ruled. The ruling class not only consisted of the military but the bureaucrats and learned men.
The ruling establishment was so tied to the ruler that it would move with the ruler even if he
was on a campaign. Ghaznavid “political theory” dealt with the other states the concept of the
circle of justice or circle of power i.e. that justice is best preserved by an absolute monarch
completed outside the society; a monarch needs absolutely a loyal army; maintaining which
requires prosperity, which in turn rests on the good management of an absolute ruler.
The Ghaznavids displayed the phenomenon of the rapid transformation of the Turkish slaves
into rulers with the Irano-Islamic tradition over a multi-ethnic realm comprising Iranians or
Tajiks, Turks, Afghans, Indians and others. In this age the diversity of subjects, belonging to
various ethnic backgrounds and contributing with their expertise and skills to the functioning
of the state, was recognized as the source of strength. For the administration and financing of
the empire, the Ghaznavids felt the need of the services of their Iranian subjects and for the
secretarial class whose secular traditions and practices went beyond the Islamic Caliphate to
the Sassanids. There was nothing like national or patriotic feeling which could have acted as
a binding force for the society. The social classes like peasants, traders or artisans were
confined to their own locality and to the protection of their own interests. The subjects were
subjected to pay taxes to the state and it was incumbent on them to be in complete fear of the
king and the army and give them complete obedience, as Bayhaqi remarks. The central as
well as the provincial administration was run by Tajiks, with the Wazir at the head of the
hierarchy. There used to be a five-fold division in the central bureaucracy, with separate
Diwans for the Wazir (chief advisor/minister), the chief secretary, the secretary for the army,
the head of intelligence and the postal service and the chief steward of the household. The
Wazir was to look after the flow of revenue and to find new sources of income. The Wazir
was also to keep control over the provincial governors and officials with regard to taxation
and rebellion, which was exercised by a network of spies. Provincial tax-collectors were
sometimes turned to be harsh, but when the soldiers of the army were assigned with the duty
to collect the taxes personally the subjects suffered worst. The Diwan of the chief secretary
dealt with correspondence with provincial officials and with the external rulers. The secretary
for the army was of special importance who organized rallies, the supply of foods and the
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pay. Regular parades on special ceremonies and Islamic festivals were organized often on a
plain outside the capital. The elephants were deployed as beasts of war in the Ghaznavid
army that were taken as a tribute from Indian princes. Other nationalities within the
Ghaznavid military included free troops from the local Arabs and Kurds, valued as dashing
cavalrymen and skirmishers; infantrymen who fought with their charismatic weapons of the
spear and javelin. The Indian slaves valued for the loyalty and at times used as a counter
balance to the Turks.
Abu al-Faḍl Bayhaqi (995–1077) who worked in the Ghaznavid court and wrote an
outstanding history of the Ghaznavids, the first major prose work in new Persian. He
demonstrated the broad learning of even a relatively minor figure at court; in his history
he combined the effective writing skills of the court employee, the special knowledge of
Qur’an and Hadith, and the stylish and entertaining literature—history, poetry, and
folklore—that characterized the Adib. He provided a vibrant picture of life at court,
graphically portraying the flaws of military absolutism—the dependence of the monarch
on a refractory military and a large circle of assistants and advisors, who could mislead
him and affect his decision making through internal conflicts and competition.
Their courts worked as the hub of literary and cultural activities which produced the great
works such as the Persian translation of the classic in statesmanship—Kalilah wa Dimnah
and the poetry of Mas‘ud Sad Salman. The Ghaznavids were fortunate to be commemorated
by the respect and regard showered on Maḥmud and his successors by poets, Ulama/religious
scholars and ideologues. Their rise to power became exemplary in the ‘mirror-of-princes’
literature. Maḥmud and his pageboy became the ideal lovers for the Sufi saints, who sang of
their love and immortalized them in their poetry.
The Ghaznavids inherited the cultural, political and administrative traditions from the
Samanids and laid the foundations for a Persian state in northern India. Ghaznah, exclusively
under Mahmud, approached Baghdad in importance, seeing champions like Arab historian
Al-Utbi and Abu Rayḥan al-Biruni—author of Kitab al-Hind. Al-Biruni had served the
Samanids and the Khwarizm-Shahs, a local dynasty situated just west of the Oxus River. His
works include studies of astronomy, gems, drugs, mathematics, and physics, but his
most famous book, inspired by accompanying Maḥmud on his Indian campaigns, was a
survey of Indian life, language, religion, and culture) and Abul Qasim Firdausi
(Shahnamah—History of the Kings). Despite Ghaznavids initially spoke Turkish yet they
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promoted Persian literature at Ghaznah and Lahore, patronizing poets such as Unsuri,
Farrukhi, Manuchihri, Thana’i, Mas‘ud Sad Salman and above all the marvelous Sufi expert,
Ali bin Uthman al-Hujwiri. Apart from the production of some Turkish literature, the dynasty
contributed commendably to the Persian literature particularly in lyrical romances and
romantic epics. They brought a huge domain under their control, which made Persian the
primary language of medium, both officially, as the language of the courts, and artistically
the favored language addressed to the sultans. Iranians also started writing their histories in
Persian that was a move of great cultural importance. Arabic primarily continued to enjoy the
position as the language of science and religion but later Persian stood as a parallel to it and
replaced it in many respects. The Ghaznavids were great patrons of arts and literature, and
their courts were magnets for a large number of poets, artists, and scholars. Mahmud seems to
have chosen the model of the Samanid court, which produced the luminaries such as Rudki
and Daqiqi. Dawlat Shah claims that there were 400 poets in Mahmud's court led by the
laureate Unsuri.
The Ghaznavids took the service of the Ḥanafi family of scholars and lawyers, the Tabanis of
Nishapur. In 995, Mahmud is said to have invited Abu Ṣaliḥ Tabani to become head of the
Ḥanafi lawyers there and to teach in a Madrasah. Mahmud later appointed Abu Ṣaliḥ’s
nephew Abu Ṣadiq as the chief judge of Khuttal. Another prominent Ḥanafi family in
Khurasan was that of the Sa‘idis; Mahmud appointed the judge Abul Ala Sa‘id as a teacher to
his sons Muhammad and Mas‘ud.
The early Ghaznavids used to follow Shaf‘i school of jurisprudence (Fiqh) but later during
Mas‘ud’s time, Ḥanafi School of Fiqh gained ascendency. The early rulers often titled
themselves as Sunni champions of faith and campaigned against the Isma‘ilis and Shi‘I
Buwayhids. Sufis of the Suhrawardi Order, such as Baha al-Din Zakariyya (who created a
devotional center/Khanqah in Multan) and Sayyid Jalal Bukhari in Uchh; and Shaykh Ali
Hujwiri in Lahore played a prolific role in opposing the presence of Isma‘ilis. They continued
their efforts to convert South Asians to Islam by the method of teaching and preaching. Sufi
organizations began to move into Ghaznavid controlled territories and acted as missionaries
for Sunni allegiance. Mahmud himself participated in larger political and religious rivalries,
invaded Sindh and opposed the Isma‘ili Fatimid presence there. He also relegated the
Mutazilites of Ray and burnt their works together with the philosophical and astronomical
works; but at the same time, he is said to have carried off a hundred camel-loads of their
literature to his capital.
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Agriculture was limited to the oases, was essentially small scale, and designed for survival
within the rural area concerned or for supplying towns like Hirat, Merw and Nishapur that
also were not self-sufficient. The highly specialized foodstuffs like truffles and the edible
earth of Khurasan are mentioned as being exported to Egypt and the Turkish lands. The
permanent sources of the irrigation were rivers like the Oxus, Murghab and Hemland, where
geographers mention the existence of water mills. The Sultans are recorded to have built
hydraulic constructions and maintenances in the region of Ghaznah. Few upland areas were
suitable for dry farming; the lush pastures of the upper Oxus valley and its tributaries were
famous for horse breeding.
The small-scale production by the artisans and craftsmen was locally consumed. In Khurasan
all the towns produced textiles or carpets and the certain celebrated local fabrics such as
Attabi and Saqlatuni silk brocades of Nishapur, the white cottons of Hirat and the gold
threaded Mulham cloth of Merw was exported outside the province. The municipal
organization of such towns is known only which involved the presence of a class of notables
and leading families, they were involved in the caravan trade, which linked Khurasan and
Afghanistan with Transoxiana on the one hand, and with Baghdad and Iraq on the other.
Despite their founder’s Turkish origin, their language and culture were largely Persian. They
were devoted patrons of the arts and sciences, especially Persian poetry, which bloomed at
their courts. Their chief capital Ghaznah became one of the most prominent cities of the
Muslim world, growing through extensive construction that included palaces, mosques and
infrastructure including a dam, bridges, and roads. Other centers that saw increasing
development were Lashkari Bazar, Balkh, Hirat and Lahore. The large mosque associated
with Mahmud's palace at Lashkari Bazar is one of the oldest known mosques in Afghanistan.
Its dome, in front of the Miḥrab in a Masjid with a broad hall, is an innovation in the Iranian
context. The burnt-brick dome over the throne room in the palace of Mas‘ud-III appears to
have been the first example within the Iranian-Islamic framework of the use of this device of
the ceremonial Sassanian architecture in a royal palace. A Kufic inscription in marble at the
same place at Ghaznah is one of the oldest examples, and one of the most revealing, of the
epigraphic use of Persian and is a document of great cultural value. The hunting scenes of the
Sassanian type, animals, dancing girls, and bodyguards in Central Asian costumes,
contributed a completely new chapter to the history of Muslim art. Another contribution to
Islamic architecture made by Ghaznavids appears to have been a new type of minaret: tall
and slender, with its cylindrical shaft on a usually polygon base, which appears to have been
emerged in northwest Iran at the close of the 10th and the beginning of the 11th century. The
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tomb of Khalid Walid (or Khaliq) in Kabirwala Tehsil near Multan is the earliest known
Muslim funerary memorial in the sub-continent. It consists of a rectangular fortified brick
structure with inward-slopping buttresses at each corner and similar buttresses in the middle
of three outer walls. On the fourth, the west wall, the round buttress is replaced by a
rectangular projection marking the Miḥrab within. The south and east walls are punctuated by
three generous windows with pointed arches; the west wall is windowless, while the north
wall contains the entrance, placed off-centre between two buttresses.
Al-Utbi (in his Kitab al-Yamini) gives an account of the Arusal-Falak (Bride of the Heaven)
a congregational mosque built by the order of Mahmud. The Masjid was covered with marble
carried from every deep cavity and long way, squared, more polished than the palm of the
hand of a maiden and the face of a mirror. The sultan reserved for his court a raised room in
the mosque, cubic, wide, proportioned in the corners and in the sides. A reddish-gold Miḥrab
has been traced on each square marble slab decorated with arabesque with the colors of violet
and rose.
3.1.10 Lets Sum Up
In this lesson, we have learnt how Ghaznavids emerged, established and consolidated their
rule across diverse areas. We observed that the dynasty represents the major breakthrough of
Turkish power in Islam against the Iranians and others. The prime time of the dynasty was
also discussed particularly the period of Mahmud and his expeditions to the neighboring
principalities. The major incidents happened during the dynasty and their importance in the
Muslim history was explored. Most importantly, their society, culture and administration
were brought to the limelight. Although the former rulers impressively built up the empire
but it did not sustained. The pattern of the power displayed by the Ghaznavid state became a
norm for many of the subsequent dynasties.

1. Provide a brief assessment of Mahmud Ghaznahvi’s rule.
2. Examine the role of Subuktig in the foundation of the dynasty.
1. Discuss the establishment and consolidation of the Ghaznavid dynasty.
2. Describe the significance of the Battle of Dandaqan.
3. Discuss the administration, society and culture under the Ghaznavids.
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1. Masudul Hassan, History of Islam
2. Josef W Meri, Medieval Islamic Civilization
3. Richard C Martin, Encyclopedia of Islam and the Modern World
4. Juan E Campo, Encyclopedia of Islam
5. Laura Etheredge, The Islamic World: Islamic History
7. R.A. Nicholson, A Literary History of the Arabs
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Lesson 02: Polity, Administration, Religion and Culture under Saljuqs
Structure
3.2.2 Introduction
3.2.3 Objectives
3.2.4 Consolidation
3.2.6 Battle of Dandakan
3.2.8 Polity and Administration
3.2.9 Religion and Culture
3.2.10 Lets Sum Up
3.2.1 List of Rulers (Sultanate Period)
Tughril (1016-1063)—Alp Arsalan (1063-72)—Malik Shah-I (1072-1092)—Mahmud Bin

Malik Shah (1092-1094)—Barkiyaruq Bin Malik Shah (1094-1105)—Malik Shah-II
(1105)—Muhammad Tapar (1105-1118)—Sanjar (1118-1130)—Dāwūd and Tughril-II
(1130-1134)—Mas‘ud (1134-1152)
3.2.2 Introduction
The origins of the Saljuq or Seljuk dynasty are very ambiguous. The only detailed source
dealing with their origins is a Persian text, Maliknama, (15th century work) indebted to the
materials which circulated at the Saljuq court in the11th century. These tell us that the Saljuqs
believed their ancestor was an aristocratic nomad who had migrated with a handful of
followers from the Khazar Empire—the Turkish state that dominated the plains between the
north Black Sea and the Aral Sea—in the late 10th century after a dispute with the Khazar
ruler. The migration brought Saljuq and his men to ‘Jand’ (a town in modern western
Kazakhstan), where they embraced Islam, which was beginning to spread among the Turkish
nomads of the plains in this period. According to the 13th-century Arab chronicler, the
Ghaznavids into Khurasan allowed Ibn al-Athir, in 1025 a group of nomads associated with
the Saljuqs. The Saljuqs for the first time emerge more clearly into the light of history, as the
bureaucrat and historian Bayhaqi who was in the service of the Ghaznavid state relate their
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activities in detail. Bayhaqi records the whole process of the arrival of the Saljuqs and their
taking of the Ghaznavid government completely by surprise. Initially nomads, the Saljuqs
later settled and acquired strength and political power. After the death of their ancestor Saljuq
(probably the first of this group to embrace Islam), one of his grandsons Tughril Beg laid the
foundation of the dynasty and under him the Saljuqs became a political power. In 1055,
Tughril (d. 1063) entered Baghdad, overthrew the Buwayhid prince and was consequently
proclaimed ‘Sultan’ by the Abbasid Caliph.
3.2.3 Objectives
In this lesson you will be able to gain a comprehensive understanding of the consolidation
and establishment of the Saljuq rule; their polity and administration; culture and religion; the
meridian of the Saljuq dynasty with Malik Shah and the decline of the dynasty.
3.2.4 Polity and Administration
Over the 1040s, a rudimentary Saljuq administration developed, with coinage, tax collectors,
and viziers. The Saljuqs adhered to Sunni Islam, meaning they owed a theoretical loyalty to
the caliph, in reality they showed little loyalty to the Abbasids. They maintained the caliph in
office to legitimize them as Muslim rulers, but relations between the two sides were fraught
throughout most of the Saljuq period as the Abbasids struggled to assert their own authority,
first in Baghdad, then more broadly in Iraq. Despite the tensions, there was regular
intermarriage between the Saljuq and Abbasid families.
The Saljuq Sultanate was the first empire built by a Turkish nomadic tribe from Central Asia.
In 1040, the Saljuqs, who belonged to the Oghuz Turks, decisively defeated the Ghaznavid
Sultan Mas‘ud under the leadership of two brothers, Tughril Beg and Chagri Beg. They went
on to establish an empire in Iran that soon extended to Mesopotamia, where Tughril captured
Baghdad in 1055 and assumed the titles of Sultan and Shahanshah. Tughril’s nephew and
successor, Alp Arslan (1063–1072), defeated and captured the Byzantine emperor in the
battle of Manzikert (Malazgird) and opened Anatolia to Turkish migration. His son, Malik
Shah (1072–1092), completed the conquest of Syria in 1084. The empire thus extended from
the Oxus to the Mediterranean. It is known as the empire of the Great Saljuqs which
remained unified for some half a century. The architect of this unity was Nizam al-Mulk (d.
1092), the great wazir of Alp Arslan and Malik Shah. Nizam al-Mulk unified the centralized
administrative systems of the Ghaznavids in eastern Iran and the Buwayhids in western Iran
and Iraq. In the western regions, he took over the system of land assignments in exchange for
military and administrative service known as Iqta. In the east, where the conquering armies
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had been recruited among the Turks, large land grants were made to the members of the
Saljuq family, which, before long, were also referred to as Iqta. Nizam al-Mulk also built an
extensive network of colleges (Madaris) throughout the empire. These became known as the
Nizamiyyahs after him, and were devoted to the teaching of orthodox traditions, law, and
theology. He appointed many of the professors himself, including the great Muslim thinker,
Abu Ḥamid Muhammad al-Ghazali (d. 1111), who taught at the Nizamiyyah college of
Baghdad for a number of years. The Saljuq Sultans and the women of the ruling household
endowed the empire with similar colleges throughout. The aim of Nizam al-Mulk’s
educational reform, which was somewhat controversially referred to as “the Sunni
restoration,” was to curb the influence of revolutionary Isma‘ili Shi‘ism, which emanated
from the Fatimid Empire in Egypt, the fortresses in northern Iranian mountains and the
Isma‘ili clandestine cells in the cities.
There can, however, be no doubt about the long-term impact of the colleges on the pattern of
learning and subsequent development of Sunni Islam. Isma‘ili extremists assassinated both
Nizam al-Mulk and Malik Shah in the same year, 1092, which marked the end the unified
empire. The Saljuqs remained in power, and the sons and grandsons of Nizam al-Mulk
remained prominent as wazirs. The disintegration of the Saljuq Empire did not result from
revolutionary Isma‘ili Shi‘ism, but rather from the Turkish tribal practice of dividing the
kingdom as the patrimony of the ruler among his male heirs. In other words, the Saljuqs, like
the Timurids and a number of other Turko-Mongolian dynasties, failed to solve the problem
of succession without the division of the empire, and in the 12th century the territory had
become fragmented into a large number of principalities. Malik Shah’s sons fought among
themselves. One of them, Sultan Sanjar (1097–1157), became a powerful ruler in the East,
but the disintegration of the empire elsewhere set in irreversibly. This fragmentation was
facilitated by the practice of granting large Iqtas, which alienated provinces from central
control, and even more by another Turkish institution: rule by the ‘Atabegs’ (guardians of the
Maliks [young Saljuq Sultans]), who were usually drawn from the ranks of senior amirs.
Each Malik would be granted a given territory (known as an Iqta) where he would be sent
with his Atabeg as governor. Theoretically, he would learn the arts of ruler ship and
swordsmanship while being educated by the Atabeg; but in practice the Atabeg would
become effective ruler of the region. Moreover, control over the Malik gave the Atabeg
immense power. The Saljuq succession system did not recognize primogeniture (in common
with most medieval Islamic empires), thus any male son of a sultan was entitled to succeed.
By putting his Malik on the throne, the Atabeg could potentially make himself the effective
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ruler. Moreover, possession of a Malik meant it was difficult for an Atabeg to be disciplined
by the sultan, as he might always respond by proclaiming his Malik to be Sultan.
Important Atabeg dynasties came into being in Azerbaijan, Syria, northern Mesopotamia, and
Fars, while different branches of the Saljuqs ruled in Kerman and in Anatolia. Many of the
Atabeg dynasties survived the death of the last main line Saljuq Sultan, Tughril-III, in 1194.
The courts of these local dynasties became centers of culture, and continued to support new
institutions of Islamic learning, the Madaris (Islamic religious seminaries), through
endowments. The kingdom of the Saljuq of Rum (Anatolia) flourished in the 13thcentury,
after the Mongol invasion, when their court received a large number of learned refugees, such
as the great poet and mystic, Jalal al-Din Rumi (d. 1273), and his father, who fled from Iran
to escape the advance of the Mongols. The women of the Saljuq ruling house were very
powerful, owing to the continuation of the Turkish nomadic custom. They were active in
courtly politics and acted as patrons of religion and learning. Many of them had their own
wazirs even under the Great Saljuq sultans. Their power increased further as queen mothers
under the Atabeg system after the fragmentation of the Saljuq territories and a few of them
ruled in their own right after the death of their husbands, as did Zahida Khatun, who ruled
Fars in southern Iran for over twenty years in the mid-12th century.
The most wonderful example of Saljuq military architecture is the Kizil Kule (Red Tower)
castle on the hill above Alanya, built in 1226 by Alauddin Qaikubad-I. It stretches down to
the sea and encloses a naval dockyard and arsenal guarded by a 33-meter high octagonal
tower of red stone and brick. Other military constructions include the city walls and
fortifications of Alanya, Konya, and Sivas, as well as the sea walls at Sinop. The urban plan
of the Saljuq city consisted of an administrative sector, which included an inner castle or
palace, a commercial district that included bazaars, markets, and squares, as well as
residential neighborhoods. The city was dotted with one large Masjid and numerous
neighborhood Masajid. Urban constructions comprised of open markets, houses, gardens,
streets with conduits for water and sewage, public water fountains, pools, and public baths.
The more important cites walls with entry gates surrounded (Konya, Kayseri and Sivas). The
Saljuqs developed their foreign relations with the Kingdom of France, Roman Empire,
Byzantine Empire, Ghaznavids, Abbasids and Fatimids.
3.2.5 Jalal al-Din Malik Shah
Malik Shah’s reign is conventionally seen as the apogee of the Saljuq state, not least owing to
the dominance of Nizam al-Mulk. The empire did reach its extreme extent in this period,
annexing the Karakhanid territories (roughly modern Uzbekistan) and expanding east as far
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as Kashghar (now in China), while in the opposite direction campaigns reached as far into
Arabia as Adenon the Indian Ocean and Cairo in Egypt. Makah too briefly witnessed Saljuq
suzerainty. But Malik Shah was more than a ruler of an extensive empire. He built roads and
Masajid, repaired walls, dug canals and spent large sums on the caravanserais dotting the
pilgrimage route to Makkah. According to his biographer, all the roads of the great empire
were safe enough for caravans, even for one or two men, to travel peacefully and without
special protection, from Transoxiana to Syria. The Saljuq sultans more likely initiated the
sanitary measures introduced into Baghdad at this time and credited by Ibn al-Athir to the
Caliph Al-Muqtadi. These measures included the diversion of the dirty water of the public
baths from the Tigris into special cesspools and the allotment of special places for cleaning
and curing fish. An anecdote preserved in Ibn Khallikan throws light on Malik Shah’s
character. On visiting a Masjid in Tus the sultan asked his wazir, Nizam-al-Mulk, who was in
his company, what it was that he had prayed for, while in the Masjid? The latter replied that
he had prayed God to grant the sultan victory over his brother, with whom he was then at
war. “As for me”, remarked Malik Shah, which was not what I prayed for. I only asked God
to give victory to him of the two better fitted to rule the Muslims and more beneficial to his
subjects.”
Malik Shah at the suggestion of Nizam-al-Mulk called in 1074-5 a conference of astronomers
at his newly erected observatory and commissioned them to reform the Persian calendar. The
result was the remarkable Jalali calendar (Tarikh-i Jalali or Taqwim al-Jalali) which in the
judgment of a modern scholar is “somewhat more accurate than ours.” Nizam-al-Mulk was
himself a cultured and learned man. From his pen, we have one of the most remarkable
Muslim treatises on the art of government, the Siyasat Namah, which he composed as a result
of a competition suggested by Malik Shah, who had asked his statesmen to give him in
written form the benefit of their opinions as to the nature of good government. Among other
notable works in Persian produced during this period were those of Nasir Khusraw (I074), the
celebrated traveler and Isma‘ili propagandist, and of Umar al-Khayyam (1123-4), the great
astronomer-poet who enjoyed the patronage of Nizam and collaborated in the revision of the
calendar. But the basis of this Persian wizir’s glory is his establishment of the first well-
organized academies for higher learning in Islam. Particularly renowned was his Nizamiyyah
Madrasah, founded in 1065-7 at Baghdad. One of its chairs was once adorned by Al-Ghazali.
Distinguished Nizam, as we learned before, was one of the earliest and the prominent victims
of an Isma‘ili Assassin. With Malik Shah's death in Saljuq realm in 1092, the period of glory
that covered the reigns of the first three Saljuqs ended. For a brief but brilliant span, these
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three sultans had brought together most of the far-flung lands that had once formed the
Islamic state. But the season of glory that Baghdad and Islam enjoyed under them was only
an Indian summer.
3.2.6 Religion and Culture
The Saljuq dynasty acquired a posthumous aura of piety and prestige and was held up by later
historians as a model for its putative defense of Sunni thought. Saljuq period did witness the
revival of Sunni thought after the preceding century of Shi‘ite domination, as well as
sweeping social and religious changes and more non-Muslims converted to Islam, and
Sufism, the mystical form of Islam, became ever more widespread. During I and II Crusades,
the Saljuqs played a central role and contributed to the spread of Islam in the greater parts of
the Middle East and parts of Europe, Zoroastrians and other forms of Paganism also are said
to have been practiced in the empire.
As a new race from Central Asia was now pouring its blood into the struggle of Muslims for
world supremacy. The military power of the Sunni Saljuqs halted the spread of Shi‘ite
thought in the region, ensured the dominance of Sunni thought in the central Islamic lands.
Tughril around this point adopted the title of ‘Sultan’, previously used informally by the
Ghaznavids, to represent his aspirations and to be known as an Islamic ruler more than a
Turkmen chief. While the Saljuq dynasty held authority due to military might, it was also a
great supporter of the arts, especially architecture. Many Masajid and Madaris were built
during their reign, which was also marked by a distinctive style of tomb architecture with
cylindrical bases and conical roofs that resemble a certain type of tent in Central Asia. The
prominent scholars like Al-Ghazali (d. 1111) and Umar al-Khayyam (d. 1123) flourished
during the Great Saljuq Empire, and the renowned mystic poet Jalal al-Din Rumi (d. 1273)
composed his exquisite poetical volumes in the Anatolian Saljuq capital of Konya. The
period of Saljuq rule also saw the formation of the first major Dervish orders. In 1071, Alp
Arsalan (hero-lion) won the decisive battle of Manzikart (Malazkird, or Malasjird), north of
Lake Van in Armenia and took the Emperor Romanus Diogenes prisoner. Saljuq nomadic
tribes were the first Muslims to gain a permanent footing in “the land of the Romans”, which
became a part of Dar al-Islam (abode of Islam). Alp Arsalan held Aleppo since 1070 where
he checked the advance of the Fatimid power from which he recovered Makah and Madinah.
These Saljuq nomads laid the foundation of the Turkification of Asia Minor. Saljuqs adopted
the emblem (double-headed eagle) which is supposed to be the style of Babylonians and
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Hittites about three thousand years before. It was later adopted by Byzantium after reaching
Austria, Prussia and Russia.
Transportation played an important role in Saljuq’s economics. In domestic context,
transportation was a source of connection between different parts of the empire, which not
only ensured economic connection, but also rewarded the political connection through which
the ruler ruled the empire. The expansion of over-land transportation, made by the
construction of new roads and better wheels, extremely benefited the diversity of goods on
market, providing much more choices and therefore making the Saljuq market as a whole
exciting and diverse. Transportation overseas does have an importance in domestic economy;
but instead of speeding up the rate of exchange and making diversity as overland
transportation did, it introduced more economic needs to the economy. The development of
overseas transportation ships provided another way for immigrants to the empire, thus
increasing the need for every part of domestic production from cloth making to food and
from tax collecting to soap production. Along with their entries to the empire, the trade out of
the country became stronger and stronger. The order for ships increased the requirement for
labor to build ships, the resources to build decks, and the management of trade, which all
resulted in increasing the production of the empire. International imports and exports
increased considerably during the previous five decades, raising the importance of Saljuq as
an international transportation center. More immigrants brought new and different culture and
techniques with themselves to the Saljuq, which made it different in not only market
products, but also technology and culture. New agricultural techniques were started and
different ways of entertainment were introduced to the common lives of Saljuq peasants,
making the society culturally diverse. Mail and documents of official and governmental
nature were also transported along these routes, which was made possible by enhancement in
transportation. The military growth and movements also had a great influence in Saljuq’s
economy. From 1071 onwards, the Saljuqs benefitted from several factors to aid the
development in Anatolia’s commerce and trade. The Saljuqs intensely developed their
potential in agricultural development, which supported its shift from a nomadic to a more
sedentary culture, by taking over the fertile sector in Anatolia and applying new agricultural
techniques found in Anatolia. Moreover, the Saljuqs managed to control a passage of
centuries-old trade routes that was already in full operation and needed further development.
Controlling, safeguarding and encouraging this trade potential was of highest significance for
the emerging Saljuq state. Trade routes crossed Anatolia in all directions, from south to north,
east to west, and in a broad diagonal running from southwest to northeast. These routes
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linked cities in Saljuq state among themselves and with the other major centers of trade in the
Middle East at that time, which included Tabriz in Iran, Baghdad in Iraq and Aleppo in Syria.
The trade currency was the Dirham, generally struck with the reigning Sultan’s name and
sometimes with different symbols, such as a horseman, star, sun, lion, or crescent. Most of
the coinage was minted in Konya, in copper, silver and gold. Some of the royal claimants to
the throne contrived to mint coins bearing their own names. At the time of Alauddin
Qaikubad, the currency issued by the Caliph of Baghdad, the Fatimids, the Beys of Aleppo
and the Italian florin were all accepted as legal tender throughout the sultanate. Also
employed as a banking exchange was the informal transfer system known as the Ḥawala, the
Arabic word for trust.
Money was deposited in one place, its sum and availability communicated to the desired
party, who then picked it up at a more convenient place or at the end of his journey. Large
sums of money were transferred by trust, a handshake and a code word. The Chinese, who
called it Feiqian, or “flying money”, used this system. Islamic traders extensively used it as a
means to avoid robbery along the deserted and isolated trade routes. Patterns of trade varied.
Merchants bought and sold along the way, bumble-bee style, or drove specific convoys of
goods to a specific client, urban market or port of call. Trade was carried out inside Hans as
well, where merchants could meet with local clients and negotiate prices and orders. The
animals used for trade were camels, as they were perfectly adapted to local geographic
conditions, and were the most efficient of all animals for speed, endurance and load capacity.
Those used were a breed combining the dromedary (one hump) camel with the sturdier
eastern Bactrian race (two-humps) who could carry some 250 pounds on their backs and
could cover some 20 miles a day. A camel train (called a ‘Qatar’) was comprised of little
groups of seven camels led by a donkey and could transport a ton of goods between Konya
and Kayseri in approximately 10 days. The more a camel could carry, the more money the
merchant could make. If extraneous baggage was eliminated, such as tents, gear and food, the
load capacity could have been further increased. The Saljuq sultanate made great progress in
the domestication and breeding of such animals.
While abundant mineral springs existed in Turkey, the Saljuqs took advantage of them by
encouraging a building program for baths, spas and fountains (Havza, Kirşehir, Ilgin). Some
of these mineral spas were reserved for horses and valuable animals. The plan appeared to be
centered on an octagon with four Aywans, and there was no central bathing pool as in the
Roman-style baths. There were separate sections for men and women, with a disrobing room.
An impressive number of Saljuq bridges exist to this day. They were built to accompany the
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building program of the Hans and comprise spans of pointed arches. They were built over
both the major rivers of Turkey and smaller rivers.
Under the Saljuq Sultanate, Iran also witnessed a period of material and cultural prosperity.
Architecture and the arts flourished and set the stage for future artistic developments. Even
when the Saljuq Sultanate was divided due to internal conflicts, the impact of cultural and
artistic development extended well beyond the sultanate’s political influence. In fact, many
art pieces are labeled as part of the “Saljuq” empire even though they were created much
afterwards and are only attributed to the time because they were created in the name of the
Saljuqs of Iran. Art of the Saljuq Empire is a combination of the universal decorative lexicon
of the Middle Ages in the Islamic world. Small objects, created by many different empires of
the time, were often traded and carried over to great distances. This trade not only helped the
Saljuq’s develop their own distinctive style, but it also contributed to the flowering of their
style and notoriety. Saljuq art is praised for weaving together Persian, Islamic, and central
Asian-Turkic elements. Eventually, the Saljuq’s began to use their art as tribute gifts to
Sultans, wazirs to the courts of adversaries, in particular, the Mongols. In fact, one of the
greatest artistic parallels of the Saljuqs was the Mongols, and the two were known to work to
outshine each other in artistic feats. Both empires worked to design larger and greater
mausoleums to late leaders to signify each other's power and authority. The Sultanate was
known for its metal work in the beginning. They used copper, silver, and gold and decorated
their pieces with Arabic inscriptions that developed into what came to be known as
“animated” script, eventually transferred to contemporary pottery. Although there are little
remaining examples of this, the Saljuqs were praised for the arts of book writing and
decorating. They were also great patrons of architecture, building structures throughout their
realm. Saljuq wazir Nizam al-Mulk commissioned one of the most impressive architectural
feats, a building called the Madrasah Nizamiyyah. During Saljuq rule, an incredible number
of Masajid, theological seminaries, hospitals, and caravanserais were built. One of the most
famous books of the period comes from the writings of Ibn al-Jazari, a famous Muslim
creative genius who has been accredited with such inventions as water wheels and automata,
which later came to be known as robots. This illustrated manuscript, The Book of Knowledge
of Ingenious Mechanical Devices, is one of the few remaining books that demonstrate the
many advances in medicine, technology, and science under the influence of the Saljuq
Sultanate. Artists such as; Abdullah Ibn al-Faḍl and Yaḥya al-Wasiti, defined the time period
with their paintings. Both, especially Yaḥya ibn Mahmud al-Wasiti, were known for their
illustrations seen in books. Saljuq art can be characterized by its inspiration. It was stimulated
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by Sufism, which regarded appearance as a reflection of the Divine will. This can be seen
reflected in architectural stone decorations, which worked to change the conception of
universal order with a trend in thought and spirituality of Sufism. Most Saljuq art contains
depictions of animals, both real and mythological. Harpies (body of birds and face of women)
as well as sphinxes and two-headed eagles, were shown frequently and seen as symbols of the
Saljuq Sultanate and later their successor states. The most enduring legacy of the Saljuq
Empire, the architecture, is a reflection of not only daily lives of citizens of that period, but
also the technology and thriving culture. Of remarkably high order and quality, this is a
powerful and direct architecture: rectilinear, dignified, imposing and imperious. It projects an
image of noble determination at the same time as one of subtle majestic beauty. The
sculptural carved stone decoration, an integral part of the building scheme, provides a
balanced complement to the forceful strength of the architecture. The fact that such a
sophisticated building program was achieved in such a short period makes the
accomplishment all the more impressive. The Saljuqs built Masajid, the educational and
charitable institutions known as Madrasah, Hans, mausoleums, bridges, palaces, public
baths, and fortifications. Art historians have defined a broad chronology of Saljuq
architecture based on an analysis of the carved decoration of the monuments. According to
them, a short beginning period up to 1215 is characterized by a limited, sober and restrained
use of decoration (Alauddin Masjid, Onu and Altinapahans). The design repertory consisted
of triangles, zigzags, and the Greek key, arabesque and dogtooth motifs. The architecture of
the Saljuqs inherited many aspects from the numerous empires that preceded it or with which
it came in contact: Persians, Assyrians, Sassanids, the Greek and Roman sphere, Armenians
and Byzantines. Although inspired by many design and construction elements, Saljuq
architecture developed its own distinct identity. The distinguishing characteristic of Saljuq
architecture is the “monumental portal”, built of stone, ornamentally decorated in a wide
variety of techniques. These portals extend outward from the facade. A triangular arch filled
with elaborate stalactite carving (known as Muquarnas) surmounts the entrance gate. Another
feature is the decoration in stone and faience. The Saljuq design program combines intricate
stone carving and colorful glazed ceramic decoration in a palette of turquoise blue, cobalt
blue, black and white. Design elements include calligraphy, polychrome bands of stone,
vegetal and geometric patterns, and human and animal figures. Decoration on Saljuq
monuments was used in moderation and was concentrated around the main door or the sides
of the entrance, or, in the case of Masajid, on the minarets or domes. The exuberance and
color of the stone sculpture and tile work lightened the severe appearance of the plain stone
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walls. An important element used in Saljuq building construction is the Aywan, a large
vaulted chamber left open at one end. The Aywan provided shelter and allowed contact with
the outdoors. Buildings could have one to four Aywans around a central courtyard. The dome,
employed in Middle Eastern cultures since Assyrian times, is another distinctive feature of
Saljuq architecture. The dome was supported by squinches or pendentives in a peculiar
triangular shape, known as “Turkish triangles.” The interior face of the dome was decorated
with tiles or glazed bricks. As opposed to the brick architecture of the Iranians and
Byzantines, the walls of Saljuq buildings are made of rubble or rough stone which was then
faced with large blocks of beautifully dressed stone, laid with great accuracy. Building
materials were readily available from the rich stone quarries in western Anatolia and the
extensive limestone quarries in the central plateau region. There were numerous clay deposits
for the making tiles as well.
3.2.7 Decline
The mid-12th century marks the collapse of the Saljuq Empire in both east and west.
Following the death of Malik Shah in 1092, the meridian of the dynasty was over, followed
by succession disputes, internecine warfare and civil wars among the Saljuq Sultans for the
throne. The reign of Barkiyaruk marked the troubles for the empire. The beginning of the
Crusades, loosing Palestine to the Fatimids and the Assassins of Hasan Sabah who sabotaged
many of the dynasty’s rulers also contributed to the downfall. After the death of Mas‘ud in
1152, the Abbasid Caliph negated to acknowledge Saljuqs as the Sultans. Disintegration
accelerated and the Saljuq princes continued civil wars, which gave birth to independent
principalities. The Battle of Ray in 1194 marked the end of the Saljuq Empire after
Khwarizm Shah captured the Saljuq dominion.
3.2.8 Let Us Sum Up
In this lesson we learnt about the consolidation and establishment of the Saljuq rule. How
initially they started as mere governors but later got recognition from the Abbasid Caliph as
‘Sultans’. We also studied the contribution of the Saljuqs to the Muslim society as it
patronized the personalities like Al-Ghazali, Nizam al-Mulk, Umar Khayyam etc. Their
contribution to culture, society, administration and polity were also discussed apart from their
peak and downfall.
1. Discuss briefly the emergence of the Saljuqs.
2. The contribution of Nizam al-Mulk was very significant. Explain concisely?
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1. Give a detailed outline of the rule of Malik Shah.
2. Discuss the polity and administration of the Saljuqs.
3. Describe the society and religion of the Saljuqs.

3. Richard C Martin, Encyclopedia of Islam and the Modern World
4. Juan E Campo, Encyclopedia of Islam
7. V. M. Zaporozhets, The Saljuqs
8. A. C. S. Peacock, Saljuq Empire, Great
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Lesson 03: Fatimid Dynasty (909–1171 C.E.): Society and Culture
Structure

3.3.2 Introduction
3.3.3 Objectives
3.3.4 Fatimids
3.3.5 Egyptian Phase
3.3.6 North African Phase
3.3.7 Da‘wah System of Fatimids
3.3.8 Decline
3.3.11 Lets Sum Up

Al-Mahdi (297–322/909–934)—Al-Qa’im (322–334/934–946)—Al-Mansur (334–341/946–
953)—Al-Muizz (341–365/953–975)—Al-Aziz (365–386/975–996)—Al-Hakim (386–
411/996–1021)—Al-Zahir (411–427/1021–1036)—Al-Mustansir (427–487/1036–1094)—
Al-Musta‘li (487–495/1094–1101)—Al-Amir (495–524/1101–1130)—Al-Hafiz (as regent)
(524–526/1130–1132) as caliph (526–544/1132–1149)—Al-Zafir (544–549/1149–1154)—
Al-Fa’iz (549–555/1154–1160)—Al-Adid (555–567/1160–1171)
3.3.2 Introduction
The Shi‘ites—Samanids and Buwayhids—paid the same homage to the Abbasid Caliph as
did the Sunnis. It was only in the beginning of the 10th century that in North Africa there
arose a Shi‘ite power of Fatimids who took for themselves the title and the prerogatives of the
Caliphate. This event was an outcome of the organized, dynamic and revolutionary
movement (Asal-Da‘wah—aimed to install the Isma‘ili Imam to a new Caliphate) which was
put in train half a century earlier. The old voice, “A deliverer of the Prophet’s (peace be upon
him) House” that served the Abbasids against the Umayyads, was raised with no less effect
against the Abbasids themselves. It was started by Abdullah bin Maymun—a Persian oculist
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of Ahwaz—who died in 875, but the agitation went on and gathered momentum. As the time
became favorable Sa‘id bin Husayn, the grandson of Abdullah bin Maymun, left Salamya in
Syria from where the plot was monitored and crossed over to Africa as the awaited Mahdi
under the name of Ubaydullah. He styled himself to be a great grandson of the Imam
Muhammad bin Isma‘il tracing his genealogy directly to Ḥaḍrat Ali ibn Abi Ṭalib and Ḥaḍrat
Fatimah (A.S.). In 910, Ubaydullah entered Raqqada and assumed the title of Commander of
the Faithful.
3.3.3 Objectives
This lesson aims to make you familiar with

1. the origin of Fatimids and how they achieved the power
2. The phases of Fatimid rule
3. The administration, art, society and culture under Fatimids
4. The Da’wah system under Fatimids
5. The causes of their decline
3.3.4 Fatimids
The Fatimids were a major medieval Isma‘ili Shi‘i dynasty that ruled over a band of
territories stretching from Tunisian North Africa to Egypt, the Red Sea region (including
Makah and Madinah), Palestine, and Syria. It comprised of the fourteen caliphs who are also
acknowledged as Isma‘ili Imams. They posed a challenge to the Sunni dynasties of the
Abbasids in Iraq (750–1258) and the Umayyads of Andalusia (756–1009), both of which they
unsuccessfully attempted to overthrow. Their first capital was Mahdiyya, on the Tunisian
coast, but in 969, they moved eastward and founded a new capital in Egypt, adjacent to the
flourishing commercial city of Fustat, and this new royal city was Cairo (Qahira). The name
of the dynasty itself was derived from that of Muhammad’s (peace be upon him) daughter
Fatimah (d. 633), and they traced their lineage to the Prophet’s household through the seventh
Imam Isma‘il (d. 762), the son of Jafar al-Sadiq, the sixth Shi‘i Imam. The first Fatimid Imam
or caliph was Ubaydullah (r. 909–934), who was considered to be the Mahdi, the promised
deliverer sent by God. The Isma‘ili Imams claimed to possess absolute religious authority,
the divinely appointed and infallible spiritual guides of Muslims; hence they regarded the
Abbasids, like the Umayyads before them, as usurpers who had deprived the rightful Alid
(descendants of Caliph Ali) Imams of their claims to leadership. Apart from the true Imams
who claimed their descent from Haḍrat Ali and Fatima (A.S.) called Mustaqarr (permanent),
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there were some Imams who were the trustees or guardians of the Imamate called Mustawda
whose function was to veil the true Imam in order to protect him and who acted by right of an
assignment (Tafwiḍ) which allowed him to enter the family of true Imams. Unlike other
historians of the Sunni school, Ibn Khaldun and Al-Maqrizi pronounce their descent
authentic. These two historians argue that the Abbasids would not have persecuted
Ubaydullah if they had not been convinced of his Alid descent.
3.3.5 North African Phase
The first four Fatimid Caliph–Imams, ruling from Ifriqiyya, encountered numerous
difficulties while consolidating their power. In addition to the continued hostility of the
Abbasids and the Umayyads of Spain, who as rival claimants to the Caliphate had their own
designs for North Africa, the early Fatimids had numerous military encounters with the
Byzantines in Sicily and elsewhere. The Fatimids were also obliged to devote much of their
energy during their North African period to subduing the rebellions of the Khariji Berbers,
especially those belonging to the Zanata confederation, and the hostilities of the Sunni
inhabitants of Qayrawan and other cities of Ifriqiyya led by their Maliki jurists. As a result,
the Fatimids could not control any region of the Maghrib, beyond Ifriqiyya, for any extended
period. The Fatimids were city builders and founded Mahdiyya and Mansuriyya, which
served as their new capitals in Ifriqiya. As successors to the Aghlabids, the Fatimids inherited
their fleet and the island of Sicily (Siqilliyya). Thus, from early on, the Fatimid state was also
a sea power with Mahdiyya serving as a naval base. Fatimid rule was firmly established in
North Africa only during the reign of Al-Muizz, who was able to pursue successful policies
of war and diplomacy, resulting in territorial expansion. He contributed significantly to the
development of the state’s political, administrative, and financial institutions, in addition to
concerning himself with the Da‘wah activities. Indeed, al-Muizz succeeded in transforming
the Fatimid caliphate from a regional power into a great empire. He made detailed plans for
the conquest of Egypt then ruled by the Ikhshidids on behalf of the Abbasids, a hitherto
perennial objective of the Fatimids as the first phase in their eastern strategy of conquest.
Jawhar, a commander of long services to the dynasty, led the Fatimid expedition to Egypt in
358/969. Jawhar’s campsite outside of Fustat rapidly developed into a city, Cairo (Qahira).
Al-Muizz had supervised the plan of the new royal city, with its palaces, gates, and the
mosque of Al-Azhar and special buildings for government departments and the Fatimid
armies. Al-Muizz arrived in his new capital in 362/973, marking the end of the North African
phase of the Fatimid caliphate (292–362/909–973).
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3.3.6 Egyptian Phase
The rule of Al-Muizz in Egypt lasted just more than two years, during which he entrusted Ibn
Killis with the task of reorganizing the state’s finances. The consolidation and extension of
Fatimid power in Syria, at the expense of the Abbasids and the Byzantines, was the primary
foreign policy objective of Al-Muizz’s son and successor, Al-Aziz, the first Fatimid caliph—
Imam to begin his rule in Egypt in 365/975. In spite of Al-Aziz’s hard-won victory in Syria,
however, Damascus remained only nominally in Fatimid hands for some time and the
Fatimids failed to seize Aleppo in northern Syria. In North Africa, the Zirids who ruled on
behalf of the Fatimids had already begun to detach themselves from the Fatimid state.
Despite these setbacks, by the end of Al-Aziz’s reign in 386/996 the Fatimid empire attained
its greatest extent, at least nominally, with the Fatimid sovereignty recognized from the
Atlantic and the western Mediterranean to the Red Sea, the Hijaz, Syria, and Palestine. At the
same time, Da‘is (preachers) acting as secret agents of the Fatimid state had continued to
preach the Isma‘ili Da‘wah in many eastern regions, notably Persia and Iraq. Al-Aziz was the
first member of his dynasty to use the Turks in the Fatimid armies, to the strong
dissatisfaction of the Berber officers, and with catastrophic consequences.
3.3.7 Da‘wah System of Fatimids
The message of the Isma‘ili Da‘wah was spread in different parts of the Muslim world, from
Transoxiana and Sind to North Africa, by a network of Da‘is (religio-political propagandists).
The early Isma‘ili Da‘wah achieved particular success in North Africa due to the efforts of
Abu Abdullah al-Shi‘i, who was active as a Da‘i among the Kutama Berbers of the Lesser
Kabylia, in present-day eastern Algeria, since 280/893. He converted the bulk of the Kutama
Berbers and transformed them into a disciplined army, which later served as the backbone of
the Fatimid forces. By 290/903, Ubaydullah had commenced his conquest of Ifriqiyya,
covering today’s Tunisia and eastern Algeria. The Sunni Aghlabids had ruled over this part of
the Maghrib, and Sicily, since 184/800 as vassals of the Abbasids. By Rajab 296/March 909,
when Ubaydullah entered Qayrawan, the Aghlabid capital, Aghlabid rule was ended.
Meanwhile, the Isma‘ili Imam, Abdullah al-Mahdi, had embarked on a long and historic
journey. He left Salamiyya in 289/902, avoiding capture by the Abbasids, and after brief
stays in Palestine and Egypt, he had been living in Sijilmasa, today’s Rissani in southeastern
Morocco, since 292/905. Abdullah continued to hide his identity while maintaining contact
with the Da‘i Abu Abdullah. In Ramadan 296/ June 909, Abu ‘Abdullah set off at the head of
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his army to Sijilmasa, to hand over the reins of power to Ubaydullah al-Mahdi. Abdullah al-
Mahdi entered Qayrawan on 20 Rabi‘ al-Thani, 297 (04 January 910), and was immediately
acclaimed as caliph. This represented a great achievement for the Isma‘ilis whose Da‘wah
had finally led to the establishment of a Dawlah or state, headed by the Isma‘ili Imam. In line
with their universal claims, the Fatimid Caliph–Imams did not abandon their Da‘wah
activities on assuming power. Aiming to extend their authority and rule over the entire
Muslim community (Ummah) and others, they retained their network of Da‘is/propagandists,
operating both within and outside Fatimid dominions. However, the Da‘wah was
reinvigorated only after the Fatimids transferred the seat of their state to Egypt.
On the other hand, the Isma‘ili Da‘wah activities outside the Fatimid dominions reached their
peak in Al-Mustansir’s time, with much success in Yemen, Persia, and Transoxiana. The
Da‘wah was organized hierarchically, with the Fatimid caliph–imam as its supreme leader. A
chief Da‘i acted as the executive head of the Da‘wah organization centered in Cairo.
3.3.8 Decline
Fueled by factional fighting within the Fatimid armies, the Fatimid caliphate witnessed its
decline during the long reign of Al-Mustansir, who was eventually obliged to call on Badr al-
Jamali for help due to internal strife. In 466/1074, Badr arrived in Cairo with his Armenian
troops and quickly succeeded in subduing the unruly Turkish troops and restoring relative
peace and stability to the Fatimid state. Badr became the commander of the armies (Amir al-
Juyush), also acquiring all the highest positions of the Fatimid state. Badr (d. 487/1094)
ensured that his son, Al-Afḍal (d. 515/1121), would succeed him in due course as the real
master of the Fatimid state. The Fatimid dynasty suffered from a number of damaging
internal and external crises, including natural catastrophes, dynastic disputes, ethnic and
religious factionalism, opposition from powerful Sunni rulers in Syria and Iraq, and the
invasion of the first crusaders from Europe in 1096. In 1171, the last Fatimid Caliph, Al-Adid
(who was only nine year boy at the time of his succession), was overthrown by a Kurdish
commander, Ṣalaḥ al-Din (1174–93), who became the Sultan of Egypt and the founder of the
Ayyubid dynasty (1174– 1250). This Sunni dynasty effectively put an end to Isma‘ili
influence in Egypt. Power remained in the hands of several short-lived wazirs, who
continuously intrigued against one another. The crusading Franks also had almost succeeded
in establishing a virtual protectorate over Fatimid Egypt, while the Zangids of Syria had
resumed their own invasions. Ironically, it was left to the last Fatimid wazir, Salah al-Din
(Saladin) to terminate Fatimid rule on 7 Muharram 567/10 September 1171, when he had the
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Khutba read in Cairo in the name of the reigning Abbasid caliph, symbolizing the return of
Egypt to the fold of Sunni Islam. A few days later, Al-Adid, the 14th and final Fatimid
Caliph–Imam, died after a brief illness while the Fatimid state thus terminated after 262
years.
The regions outside the Fatimid state were divided into twelve islands (Jaziras) for Da‘wah
purposes, each one placed under the charge of a high-ranking officer, called Ḥujjah (proof,
guarantor). The organization of the Fatimid state remained rather simple during its North
African phase, when the Caliph–Imams acted as the supreme heads of the government
administration and commanders of the armies, and the highly centralized administration was
normally situated at the Fatimid palace. From the early years in Egypt, the organizational
structure of administration and finance introduced by Jawhar and Ibn Killis provided the
basis of a complex system of institutions. The Fatimid system of administration in Egypt
remained centralized, with the caliph and his wazir at its head, while the provincial organs of
government were under the strict control of central authorities in Cairo. The central
administration of the Fatimids was carried on through various ministries and departments,
known as Diwans. Foremost among these units were the Diwan al-Insha, or chancery of
state, responsible for issuing and handling various types of official documents; the Diwan al-
Jaysh, the department of the army; and the Diwan al-Amwal, the ministry of finance. The
officials of the Fatimid state, both civil and military, were organized in terms of strict
hierarchies. The Fatimids also developed an elaborate system of rituals and ceremonials.
They established a vast network of trade and commerce after settling down in Egypt,
providing the state with a significant economic base. In Egypt, the Fatimids patronized
intellectual activities, transforming Cairo into a flourishing center of Islamic scholarship,
sciences, art, and culture.
Al-Aziz followed a policy of toleration towards non-Muslims as he allowed them to built
churches and synagogues. He had a Christian wife and patronized the Christians. He utilized
the services of capable men irrespective of their ethnicities or religious persuasions. The
numerous posts of high administrative and juridical positions to Sunni Muslims as well as
Christians and Jews, in a Shi‘ite state, in fact are seen as a distinctive practice of the Fatimids.
Ibn Killis (d. 380/991), a convert from Judaism, became the first Fatimid wazir under al-Aziz
in 367/977. The credit for utilizing Al-Azhar as a university also belongs to Ibn Killis. The
last of Al-Aziz’s wazirs, was a Coptic Christian, Isa Ibn Nasturus (385–386/ 995–996).
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The Fatimids established a new and glorious city, Qahirah (The Victorious; Cairo), to
rival Abbasid Baghdad. They then adopted the title of Caliph, laying claim to be the
legitimate rulers of all Muslims as well as head of all Isma‘ilis. Now three caliphs led the
Muslim world at the same time. In Cairo, the Fatimids founded a great mosque-school
complex, Al-Azhar. They fostered local handicraft production and revitalized the Red Sea
route from India to the Mediterranean. They built up a navy to trade as well as to
challenge the Byzantines and underscore the Abbasid Caliph’s failure to defend and extend
the frontiers. Fatimid occupation of the cities of Makkah and Madinah, completed by the end
of the 10th century, had economic as well as spiritual significance. It reinforced the caliph’s
claim to leadership of all Muslims, provided wealth, and helped him keep watch on the
west Arabian coast, from the Hijaz to the Yemen, where a sympathetic Zaydi Shi‘ite dynasty
had ruled since 897. The Fatimid presence in the Indian Ocean was even strong enough to
establish an Isma‘ili missionary in Sind.
The Fatimids patronized the arts; Fatimid glass and ceramics were regarded some of Muslim
world’s most brilliant. As in other regions, imported styles and tastes were changed by
or supplemented with local artistic impulses, especially in architecture, the most
characteristic form of Islamic art. The monuments of Cairo that date to the second half of the
10th, 11th and 12th centuries show a rich stucco and stone decoration with many features
peculiar to the Fatimid period. The early Fatimid stucco ornament appears in Al-Azhar
Masjid. The decoration of Al-Azhar is derived from 9th century Abbasid and Tulunid
ornament but shows a considerable change in style. The most important innovation is that of
the connecting scrolls, which frequently has two stripes. The development of new decorative
forms particularly the arabesque is evident in the stucco and stone decoration of the Masjid of
Al-Hakim in Cairo. The traditional patterns have been replaced by a graceful and rhythmic
play of scrolls, which run in various directions and often intersect each other. Most probably
as it is said that both the arabesque and the foliated Kufic are of Iranian origin. The Saljuq
style was also popular in Egypt in the 12th century as seen in the stucco decoration of the
entrance cupola in the mosque of Al-Azhar and the triple Miḥrab (niche in Masjid pointing
towards Ka‘bah) of the mausoleum of the brothers of Yusuf (1100). The two stucco Mihrabs
of the mausoleum of Sayyida Ruqayya (1133) show a new decorative feature, two or three
rows of the shallow stalactites, which were so popular in Egypt. The windows of the Masjid
of as Ṣaliḥ Talayi, a monument of the end of the Fatimid period shows beautiful examples of
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openwork in stucco. In all these monuments, the stucco decoration was depicted in flat relief.
The Fatimids did not use the high relief characteristic of many Saljuq monuments in Iran.
However, the Fatimids developed a new style of wood carving in Al-Hakim’s time, in
replacement of the Tulunid style, which is best illustrated in the Metropolitan Museum’s
collection by a splendid rectangular door panel. The deeply undercut ornament shows a
highly decorative combination of horses’ heads and arabesque scrolls bearing half and full
palmettes. Another feature of this panel and of the related ones in the Arab Museum is fine
depicting of details in the palmettes, the beaded bands, and the horses’ bridles. One of the
best examples of early Fatimid woodcarving in survival is the wooden iconostasis, or
partition, from the church of Barbara in Old Cairo, exhibited in the Coptic Museum. The
rectangular panels with which it is adorned show all the richness and variety of ornament
characteristic of Fatimid art. Hunting scenes, court scenes and symmetrical compositions of
single birds and animals, the figures and scrolls form a complete attractive unit. The
popularity of animal ornamentation and figure subjects in the Fatimid woodcarving continued
throughout the 11th century, the notable examples of which are the carved boards and doors
discovered in the hospital and tomb mosque of Qalawun.
The metalwork during the Fatimids consists of jewelry and a small group of bronze. Three
fine pieces, a pair of earrings and a pendant (crescent shaped) are found in the Metropolitan
Museum which are ornamented in a filigree technique in which gold wires, straight and
braided from a geometrical design in openwork. The finest of the Fatimid bronze is a large
griffin at Pisa has an elaborated engraved design. A bronze ornament representing an eagle
attacking a deer has been found in the Metropolitan Museum. The ceramic art of Egypt
reached a new status under the Fatimids. It may be categorized into two categories; one with
engraved ornamentation under monochrome glazer, the other with lustered embellishment.
The former pieces are covered with various colored glazes such as green, blue, red-brown and
purple. This is a replication of the Chinese ware while the engraved decoration is
characteristic of the Fatimid era and similar to that of luster ware. The Fatimid luster ware
shows a body of varying fitness, covered with a white glaze upon which the decoration is
painted in gold or brown luster of great brilliancy. The rich embellishment of this ware
consists of figure subjects, animals and birds on a background of arabesque and sometimes
the decoration is a purely ornamental. The Cairo Museum in rich in such examples, a number
of them complete of Fatimid luster ware were found in Fustat. The style is characterized by a
great certainty of brush and a superior decorative quality in the rendering of human figures
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and animals, which are placed against a background of elaborate arabesques representing the
height of the Fatimid style of the 11th century.
The glass industry also flourished under the Fatimids in Egypt with main centers; Fustat,
Madinah al-Fayum and Alexandria, same as that of the Romans. Fustat seems to have been
the chief center under the Fatimids and the techniques used by Tulunids were perfected there.
The glass known for its grandeur was the luxurious glass made for the use of Fatimid court.
The adornment for the Fatimid glass is either based on earlier designs or the new style
features developed by contemporary Egyptian artists. Two graceful bottles are assigned to
this period with molded decoration; one has a lozenge diaper in relief while the other has a
globular body and straight long neck and shows many interesting technical features. This
piece belongs to a small group of early Islamic glass bottles made of two parts, mold-blown
separately, the lower one colorless, the upper one blue, including the neck. The main part of
the bottle is decorated with medallions containing running animals, rendered schematically in
relief.
Textiles were also magnificently produced during the period even surpassing those of the
Abbasid period. The cloth made of linen and silk became extremely fine and was admired by
the travelers. The texture of fabrics was so fine that a whole robe could pass through a finger
ring. In the arrangement of the inscriptions and ornaments the Fatimid weavers followed the
scheme developed under Abbasids. Inscriptions flank a broad band with geometrical or
animal decoration. The Kufic writing at first followed the Abbasid prototype, as may be seen
on the linen in the museum inscribed with the name of the Fatimid Caliph Al-Aziz. The tall
elegant letters of this inscription are in yellow silk outlined in blue. In another piece of the
same period, the inscription is in yellow silk on a blue ground. The ripe Fatimid period
developed new types of Kufic letters, so called Kufic fleuret, in which some of the letters and
palmette scrolls. The Fatimid style of decoration is exemplified in the Museum’s collection
by a number of fine pieces. Among the early dated textiles is a portion of linen cloth
inscribed with the name of the Fatimid ruler Al-Zahir. Each of the two bands of decoration
shows a row of medallions alternately red and dark blue containing birds and griffins. Two
inscriptions in red with blue scrolls encircle one of the bands. Here five broad bands in
golden yellow, light and dark blue and red are decorated with hares in small compartments
formed by interlaced bands and with birds in circles. An example of Fatimid luxurious weave
is a portion of linen cloth; it is adorned with horizontal bands, the central one with pairs of
falcons with palmettes from an intermittent scroll on a green ground the pattern is tapestry-
woven in still and gold threads of gilded gold beater’s skin. The style of the pattern is
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characteristic of the period of the Caliph Al-Mustansir. Such fine fabrics decorated all over
with gold tapestry may be identified with garments called Badana made at Tunis for the
exclusive use of the Caliph. The 12th century Fatimid textiles followed the Naskhi style or
round characters replacing the Kufic. The quality of the decoration of many of these textiles
was as good as that of the eleventh century pieces. An example of it is a portion of a blue
linen cloth a polychrome silk decoration showing several ornamental bands and a large
yellow medallion with a pair of gazelles separated by a tree.
Egypt prospered for nearly a century under Fatimid rule. Isma‘ilis were able to practice their
tradition of Islam in public, while other Muslims and non-Muslims enjoyed relative tolerance.
Jews and Christians as well as Sunni Muslims held high positions in government. The famed
Geniza documents, a collection of medieval writings recovered from Cairo’s Ben Ezra
synagogue, have yielded valuable details about the daily life of Jews and their social and
economic relations with non-Jews at this time. Intellectual life also thrived, in part a result of
Isma‘ili efforts to articulate their messianic doctrines and refute Sunni attacks. Important
works on philosophy, religion, history, biography, and the sciences were composed and
collected in private libraries.
The Fatimid dynasty’s most memorable ruler was the caliph Al-Hakim bi-Amrillah (r. 996–
1021), who built a monumental Masjid and gateways in Cairo and founded the House of
Knowledge (Dar al-‘Ilm). The House of Knowledge (Dar al-‘Ilm) contained a reading room,
a meeting place for scholars, and a library containing several hundred thousand scholarly
books. Rulers also supported the formation of a distinct tradition of Isma‘ili religious law,
which was explained in public sessions after Friday prayer at Al-Azhar and other major
Masajid in the capital. In 1009, however, he destroyed the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, the
burial place of Jesus, which contributed to the launching of the First crusade at the end of the
century.
Al-Hakim has also been charged with abusing his power by arbitrarily ordering the
execution of members of his court, confining women to their homes, persecuting Christians,
Jews, and Sunni Muslims, banning popular recreational activities, having Cairo’s dogs killed
because their barking annoyed him, and outlawing the game of chess. Al-Hakim died under
mysterious circumstances in 1021, but Isma‘ili claims about his divinity gave rise to the
Druze religion in Syria. His reign portrayed the interregional character of the Isma‘ili
movement as he employed an accommodative approach towards Sunni majority. Historians
describe Al-Hakim’s personal habits as strange and unpredictable to the point of cruelty
and his religious values as inconsistent with official Isma‘ili teachings. He faced
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numerous difficulties during his long and controversial reign, including factional conflicts
within the Fatimid armies and confrontations with different religious groups. One of his most
important acts was, however, the foundation of the Dar al-‘Ilm (the House of Knowledge) in
395/1005. This became an institution of learning with a fine library, where Shi‘ites and
Sunnis studied a variety of sciences. The Isma‘ili Da‘is also received part of their training
there.
In this lesson, we explored the genealogy of the Fatimids and how they secretly gained
momentum and succeeded in assuming the power independently unlike the Samanids and
Buwayhids who paid allegiance to the Abbasid Caliph. We also discussed their Da‘wah
system and how they maintained their rule in Egypt and North Africa. The Fatimid society
was generally discussed and their culture, art and administration exclusively. We also
highlighted the pinnacle of the dynasty as well as their end.
Short Questions
1. Give a brief account of the origin of the Fatimids.
2. Give a brief outline of the Fatimid administration.
Long Questions
1. Discuss various phases of the Fatimid dynasty.
2. Fatimids made a great contribution to the society and art, Discuss..
3. Discuss in detail the Da‘wah system of Fatimids.

3. Richard C. Martin, Encyclopedia of Islam and the Modern World
4. Juan E. Campo, Encyclopedia of Islam
5. Laura Etheredge, The Islamic World: Islamic History
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Unit IV
Islamic Civilization in Spain (Rise and Decline)
i) Emergence of Islam in Spain
ii) Contribution to Learning: Natural and Social Sciences
iii) The Crusades and Islamic Response
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Unit IV: Islamic Civilization in Spain
Lesson 01: Emergence of Islam in Spain
Lesson Structure
4.1.1 Introduction
4.1.2 Objectives
4.1.3 Socio-Political Conditions of Spain on the eve of Muslim Rule (711-12CE)
4.1.4 Establishment of Muslim Rule in Spain (711-756 CE)
4.1.5 Establishment of Umayyad Rule in Spain (756-1031 CE)
4.1.6 Contribution of Some Prominent Umayyad Amirs/Rulers (756-1031 CE)
4.1.6 (A) Abd al-Rahman-I (r. 756-788 CE)
4.1.6 (B) Al-Hakam-I (r. 796-822 CE)
4.1.6 (C) Abd al-Rahman-II (r. 822-852 CE)
4.1.6 (D) Abd al-Rahman-III (r. 912-961 CE)
4.1.6 (E) Al-Hakam-II (r. 961–976 CE)
4.1.6 (F) Post al-Hakam-II Era (976-1031)
4.1.7 Muluk al-Tawaif/Party Kings or Petty States (1031-1492 CE)
4.1.8 Let Us Sum Up
4.1.1 Introduction
In this lesson, titled Emergence of Islam in Spain, the students will be able to know how
Islam emerged and spread in Spain; what were the social and political conditions of Spain on
the eve of Muslim rule; and the contribution of Muslims (as rulers and as inhabitants of
Spain) to the social, political, economic, cultural, administrative, and intellectual aspects of
Spanish society. In this lesson, the topics (areas and aspects) that will be covered include:
Socio-Political Conditions of Spain on the eve of Muslim Rule; Establishment of Muslim
Rule in Spain (which includes the period from 711 to 756 CE: during this period Spain was a
province of Muslim kingdom ruled by the mighty Umayyads, with their capital at Damascus);
Main Contribution of Umayyad Amirs’, like Abd al-Rahman-I, II, and III and Al-Hakam-I
and II—including the political, administrative, cultural, and intellectual developments taking
place during the respective reigns of these rulers/Amirs of Spain. After this, another section
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deals with the Muluk al-Tawaif (‘Party Kings’/ Petty States), the small independent kingdoms
that emerged after the fall of Umayads in Spain in 1031CE.
During the reign of the Umayyad Caliph Al-Walid (r. 705-715), campaigns were carried out
in far-flung areas like India, Central Asia, and North Africa and Spain. It was during 711-12
CE that Tariq bin Ziyad, a lieutenant of Musa bin Nusayr (Governor of North Africa), landed
in Spain. Spain, at that time, was ruled by the Gothic king Roderick, who was defeated by
Tariq. It was thus under the collective military leadership of Tariq and Musa that the Muslims
established their rule in Spain, during the caliphate of Walid. Many cities of Spain, like
Toledo, Barcelona, Saragossa, Taragonna, Sidonia, Granada, Cordova, etc. came under the
control of Muslims, and they divided Spain into four large Provinces: Andalusia, Central
Spain, Galicia and Lusitania, and fourth extended from Douro to Pyreenes (sea). Spain
remained under the control of Umayyad governors until their fall in 750 CE, and later it came
under the control of Umayyad Amir Abd al-Rahman-I in 756, as an independent kingdom,
running parallel to the Abbasids (r. 750-1258) who succeeded Umayyads and shifted their
capital from Damascus to Baghdad.
The history of Muslim rule in Spain begins from 711-12 CE. From 711-12 to 750 CE, Spain
(known as Andalusia) was a part of Umayyad rule, who had their capital at Damascus. After
the decline/downfall of Umayyads in 749-50, Abbasids came to power in 750, with Abu al-
Abbas al-Saffah as the first caliph and Al-Mansur as the ‘real founder’ of Abbasid dynasty.
They shifted their capital to a new city known as Baghdad. Their rule lasted from 750 until
‘fall of Baghdad’ in 1258 CE. Spain was a part of their caliphate up to 756, when Abd al-
Rahman, a grandson of Hisham, of Umayyad dynasty, took control of Spain, and established
his rule there, which is known as the ‘Spanish Umayyad Dynasty’ (or Umayyad rule in
Spain). Abd al-Rahman (surnamed as Al-Dakhil: the Enterer) and his successors ruled Spain
up to 1031 CE, and was followed by a period of disintegration and fragmentation, known in
the history as Muluk al-Tawaif (party kings/petty states): the period of numerous
principalities, ruling small parts of Spain, like Almoravids (Al-Murabitun) and Almohads (Al-
Muwahidun). It was this period of fragmentation, which later paved the way for the
disintegration and downfall of the Muslim rule in Spain. Formal Muslim rule over the Iberian
Peninsula ended in 1492 with the conquest of Granada by the Christian rulers, Isabelle and
Ferdinand. Some of the prominent Umayyad Rulers/Amirs, who have made great contribution
in politics, administration, construction, literature, and in arts and architecture are Abd al-
Rahman-I, II, and III, and al-Hakam-I and II.
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In this context, studying ‘Emergence of Islam in Spain’ covers the period from 711 to 1492
CE under these headings: Spain as a province under Umayyads and Abbasids, from 711-756
CE; Spain as the kingdom under Umayyad rulers of Spain, from 756-1031; and Spain under
the rule of petty states (Muluk al-Tawaif), which began in 1031 CE, and ended with the fall of
Muslim Rule in Spain in 1492 CE.
4.1.2 Objectives
The main objectives of this lesson are:

 To know the socio-political conditions of Spain on the eve of Muslim rule, and how
Islam reached and spread in Spain;
 To know the contribution of major ruling dynasties and their main rulers, especially
the Umayyad dynasty of Spain; and
 To know the contribution of Muslims (as rulers and as inhabitants of Spain) to the
social, political, economic, cultural, administrative, and intellectual aspects of Spanish
society.
4.1.3 Socio-Political Conditions of Spain on the eve of Muslim Rule (711-12 CE)
Spain or Iberian Peninsula (which presently includes Spain and Portugal) has a very old
history. The people who first settled in Spain were Iberians, who had come from North
Africa. In the beginning of the fifth century era, three German tribes—Suevi, Alans, and
Vandals—attacked Spain and captured many areas. The tribe Vandals settled on the fertile
valley of the river Bacticer, which later came to be known as Vandalusia, the land of
Vandals. When Muslims conquered Spain, it was named as Al-Andalus.
The Visigothic state was divided on race and ethnicity basis; was politically disordered and
disorganized, and was economically unbalanced and unstable. These Goths (literally People
of the Woods) entered into the Peninsula in the early sixth century. About 200, 000 Goths
ruled a population of about eight million Hispano—Romans. The ethnicity between German
speaking rulers and the Latin-speaking subjects increased due to religious differences as well.
The Goths were Arian Christians, who rejected the divinity of the Christ; while the majority
of Hispano—Romans were Catholic. The institution further separated these two groups by
means of dual administrative and legal system. Intermarriage between Goths and Romans
was prohibited until when Recceswinth reformed the kingdom’s administrative and legal
system by abolishing Roman law. However, this move also favoured ethnicity.
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The Hispano—Romans followed general pattern of agriculture; cereal grains, grapes and
vegetables were grown in irrigated fields. The entire economy of Spain was in a state of
profound disarray and the agrarian economy was ruined due to natural disasters like dry and
hot weather, famine etc. When the Muslim rule was established in Spain, similar environment
existed, but the Muslims were very much capable of adjusting themselves by directing the
flow of economic resources into the technological adjustments required for irrigating the
land. The agrarian and the urban economy were in decay.
The whole population was divided into various social groups. The Crown, the Church, the
Princes and the lords formed the one group (known as Clergy and Nobility, or the Ruling
class). The burghers, serfs and slaves formed the other (Middle and Lower Class, the ruled
class/or the subjects). The Goths ruled for about two hundred years and never endeavoured to
eradicate and wipe out these social evils. About the cruel rule of Goths, Syed Ameer Ali
(2011: 106) mentions that the peninsula of Spain groaned under the iron heel of the Goth.
Never was the condition of the country and of the people as bad and miserable as under the
grinding yoke of the Gothic kings.
The condition in Spain further worsened, when the last Visigothic king, Roderick was its
ruler, who had occupied the throne by murdering the former king, Witiza. Ceuta on the
African side was part of Count Julian (the Byzantine governor of Ceuta)’s domain but was
captured by Roderick. Roderick, a man of bad temperament, not only captured Julian’s
domain but also molested Julian’s daughter, Florinda. Thus, Julian, in order to drive the
invader (Roderick) out of his kingdom, invited Musa b. Nusayr (who was then the governor
of North Africa/Mediterranean Coast) to invade Spain and to avenge the insult.
4.1.4 Establishment of Muslim Rule in Spain (711-756 CE)
Responding to call of Julian, Musa b. Nusayr, with the approval of caliph al-Walid (r. 705-
715), despatched a young and enterprising officer named Tarif, “to make a reconnaissance
[investigation] on the southern coast” in July 710, and to get detailed information for making
the conquest, and he came back with a ‘favourable’ report. After this Musa deputed Tariq bin
Ziyad, one of his ablest lieutenants, on 30th April 711 CE (corresponding to 8th Rajab 92 AH)
to Spain with a force of 7000, mostly Berbers. “Tariq landed near the mighty rock which has
ever since immortalized his name, Jabal al-Tariq (mount of Tariq or Gibraltar)”, (Ameer Ali,
2011: 108; Hitti, 1970: 493-94; Hasan, 2015: 540).
Tariq was supplied with more forces and their number reached to 12,000. On 19 July 711 CE,
the army of Tariq met the army of King Roderick at the mouth of the Barbate River. This
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Visigothic army numbering 25,000 was utterly rooted and defeated and what happened to
Roderick is somewhat unknown. In his History of the Arabs, P. K. Hitti (1970: 494) writes:
“What became of Roderick himself remains a mystery. The usual version in both Spanish and
Arabic chronicles is that he simply disappeared.”
After this decisive victory, the march of the Muslims through Spain was very easy. Only few
towns dominated by Visigothic knighthood offered effective resistance. Tariq, with the major
portion of his army, moved through Ecija towards Toledo (which was then the capital of
Spain) and he avoided Seville as it was strongly fortified. A portion of army seized
Archidona without any resistance. Another captured Elvire that was close to the spot where
Granada stands. A third portion, consisting of cavalry, under the leadership of Mughith al-
Rumi attacked and captured Cordova—that later became capital of Muslim Spain. After the
seize of two months this future capital of Muslims at last came into their hands. Tariq
advanced a step further and cities after cities fell before the Muslims. Thus, the expedition
started by Tariq bin Ziyad in the spring of 711 CE, resulted in conquering and liberating half
of Spain by the end of the summer.
In June 712 CE, Musa Ibn Nusayr landed on the soil of Spain with his army. Musa proceeded
through north-western coastal way, conquered cities after cities, and then marched towards
Toledo. It was in or near Toledo, that Musa Ibn Nusayr met Tariq bin Ziyad. The combined
forces thereafter moved forward and Muslims reached Saragossa in the north where they
made further advancements into the lands of Aragon, Leon, the Austrias and Galicia. Within
a span of two years, the Muslims liberated almost whole of the Spain. Musa and Tariq
through Pyrenees carried further campaigns in South France with a plan in mind to annex
whole of the southern Europe. Caliph al-Walid rejected the approval and recalled Musa back
to Damascus—the capital of Umayyads.
Before leaving Spain, Musa made all necessary arrangements for the government of the
country. He appointed his second son, Abd al-Aziz, the viceroy of the new province, with
Seville (Ishbiliyah) as the seat of the government. Abdullah, another son and a great warrior,
was left in charge of Africa (Ifrikia); whilst Abdul Malik, the youngest, ruled over Morocco
(Maghrib al-Aks), and Abd al-Saleh held the command of the coast and of the fleet, with
Tangiers for his headquarters (Ameer ‘Ali, 2011: 112). After completing his arrangements for
the proper government of his viceroyalty, Musa commenced his journey towards Damascus,
with massive followers.
Caliph Walid died (d. 715) while Musa was on his way to Syria and was succeeded by his
brother Sulayman (r. 715-17). Sulayman “reversed the policies” of Walid, writes Masudul
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Hasan in his History of Islam (2015: 171), on his accession. “Those who had found favour
with Al-Walid came under cloud, while those who were out of favour with Al-Walid came
into power”. It was in these circumstances that Sulayman did not receive Musa and Tariq
with dignity and honour, but rather he treated them unkindly and subjected them to severe
humiliation and dishonour.
Spain was now the territory of the Umayyad Caliphate and it remained under them until their
fall in 749-50 CE. The Arabic name that it assumed was Al-Andalus. The successors of Musa
had only few territories in the north and east of the peninsula to conquer. At last, it can be
rightly put that the conquerors were there to stay for centuries together.
“The conquest of Spain” by the Muslims, writes Syed Ameer Ali in A Short History of
Saracens (2011: 112-13), “opened a new era for the Peninsula: it produced an important
social revolution… . It swept away the cruel rights and powers of the privileged classes,
among whom the clergy and nobility occupied the most prominent position. It removed the
heavy burdens that had crushed industry and ruined the middle strata of the population. …
[The Muslim rule] introduced a just, equable, and balanced system of taxation”.
For the convenience of administration, Spain was divided into four (4) major parts
(provinces), each under a governor directly responsible to the Viceroy: (i) the first Province
comprised Andalusia—the country situated between the sea and the Guadalquivir—and
included the cities of Cordova, Seville, Malaga, Ecija, Jaen, and Wosuna; (ii) the second
province comprised of the whole of Central Spain, with the Mediterranean to the east and the
frontiers of Lusitania (modern Portugal) to the west, and included the cities of Toledo,
Cuenca, Segovia, Valencia, Dania, Alicante, etc.; (iii) the third Province comprised Galicia
and Lusitania, with the cities of Merida, Evora, Beja, Lisbon, Coimbra, Lugo, Astorga,
Zamora, Salamanca, etc.; and (iv) the fourth Province extended from the borders of the
Douro to the Pyrenees on both sides of the Ebro, with Galicia towards the west, and
comprised of the cities like Saragossa, Tortosa, Tarragona, Barcelona, Girona, Urgel, Tuleda,
etc. (Ameer ‘Ali, 2011: 115-16).
Abd al-Aziz, the Viceroy, appointed a Diwan (or Council) for adapting the Islamic laws and
institutions to the requirements of the country and for promoting the fusion of the two people
(Arab Muslims and Berbers). He proved to be a good diplomat, statesman, and administrator.
He also encouraged intermarriages between the conquered and the conquerors and himself set
the example by marrying the widow of king Roderick, Egilona (called by the Arabs Umm
Aasim).
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After Abd al-Aziz, came a dozen of governors/viceroys; they were as follows: Ayub bin
Habib al-Lakhmi—a nephew of Musa, and a seasoned General, who was soon deposed by
Caliph Sulayman; Hur bin Abd al-Rahman Thaqafi—an inefficient administrator; Sama bin
Malik al-Khulani—a good administrator, statesmen, and a veteran General, who is credited
for having restored law and order and earned confidence of the people. He also transferred
the capital from Seville to Cordova (Qurtuba); rebuilt the bridge in Cordova over the
Guadalquivir; and made further expeditions into France; Anbasa b Sahim Kalbi—made
further advances in France and the city of Atun was captured in 725CE; Abd al-Rahman bin
Abdullah Ghafaqi—an experienced administrator, who introduced fiscal reforms and
promoted beneficent activities, and was last Arab Governor of Spain to carry campaigns in
France (he died in 732 CE in the battle of Tours). Ghafaqi was succeeded by Abdul Malik b
Qatn Fahri, Aqba bin Hajjaj Salooli, Balj bin Bashar Qusairi, Salaba bin Salama Alameli,
Abul Khattar Husam b Zarar Kalbi, and Yusuf bin Abdur Rahman al-Fihri (Hasan, 2015:
543-44). It was after the death of governor Salaba that “the governorship became a bone of
bloody contention between Mudarites and Yamanites”, the two Arab tribes who had Sunni
and Shi’i inclination and thus were in strong opposition. However, the two parties reached an
agreement through a brilliant idea: “choosing alternately one of their members each year to
rule the land” (Hitti, 1970: 503-4). Following this rule, Yusuf al-Fihri (of Mudarites) was
appointed as governor for a period of one year in 747 CE. But after one year, he refused to
step down and continued to hold power till 756 CE.
4.1.5 Establishment of Umayyad Rule in Spain (756-1031 CE)
In 750 CE, the Abbasids overthrew the Umayyads, after a rule of about 90 years (661-750
CE). Abu al-Abbas al-Saffah (r. 750-54), the first ruler of Abbasid dynasty—who was very
cruel towards the Umayyads—massacred all the family members of Umayyad dynasty, and
Abd al-Rahman ibn Muawiyah, a grandson of Caliph Hisham, was the only Umayyad prince
to escape the massacre.
The story of narrow escape of Abd al-Rahman and next five years in wandering through
Palestine, North Africa and Egypt forms one of the romantic and striking episodes. After
having escaped from the vengeance of Abbasids, Abd al-Rahman was wandering and moving
from one place to another for seeking shelter. At the end, the fugitive Abd al-Rahman was
provided the shelter by the Berbers of Morocco—who were his maternal uncles. Syed Ameer
Ali in his A Short History of Saracens (2011: 475) puts this wandering of Abd al-Rahman
concisely as: “His flights from Syria to Mauritania, his hairbreadth escapes, his sojourn
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among the hospitable Berbers, make a romantic story full at times of a thrilling pathos”. It
was very much difficult for him to resist his eyes on the beautiful country that once belonged
to his ancestors. He was very much determined to establish himself in Spain. In order to fulfil
his dream, he sent an emissary to his clansmen to gain their support in his struggle for power.
His message was received with much zeal and enthusiasm, many of the leaders, who were
former patrons of the Umayyad house, welcomed the opportunity.
The Muslim Arabs in Spain—who had settled there from 711-12 CE—were divided into two
warring camps: the Mudarites and Yaminites (followers of the Sunni orthodoxy and Shi‘ite
ideas respectively). When the Abbasid dynasty was established, Yamanites naturally
supported the new empire and the Mudarites remained loyal and faithful to the fallen house
of the Umayyads. A bloody contention could be observed between these two factions over
the governorship of Spain. The two factions finally agreed upon what they regarded as the
best idea: appointing governor from each group in turn for a period of one year.
The first choice was of the Mudarites and they selected Yusuf Ibn Abd al-Rahman al-Fihri as
the governor of the land for one year, in the year 747 CE. At the expiry of the year, Yusuf
discarded to step down, refused to give turn to the Yamanite candidate, and continued to rule
for about ten years. In 750 CE, when Umayyad rule came to an end and Abbasids became the
new rulers of the Muslim world, Yusuf—“who had hitherto ruled the Peninsula virtually as
an independent sovereign, although owning a nominal allegiance to the Abbasid Caliph”
(Ameer ‘Ali, 2011: 475)— remained still in power. At the end of 755 CE, Abd al-Rahman
landed on the shore of Spain and was on his way to set up once again the Umayyad rule.
Abd al-Rahman got the support of Yamanites mainly due to the wrongs inflicted on them by
Mudarites in general and the governor Yusuf al-Fihri in particular. All the formalities, which
were imperative, were completed and a ship was arranged to transport the new leader. Yusuf
tried his level best to please Abd al-Rahman with beautiful gifts and promises (including the
hand of his daughter), but all in vain. One southern city after another fell into the hands of
Abd al-Rahman without any confrontation. Archidona, Seville, and Sidona greeted the new
leader warmly. Abd al-Rahman pushed on towards Cordova and Yusuf moved forward in the
direction of Seville.
In May 756, the two contrasting armies engaged in a battle at Masara. After a bloody battle,
Yusuf was defeated and sought shelter in flight (at Toledo). Cordova was captured and
general amnesty was declared even to the harem of the defeated governor. The fugitive
governor persistently gave trouble until he was killed near Toledo. Thus, again the authority
of the Umayyads was established, but this time at a different place that is in the West (Spain).
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Therefore, if Umayyads lost power in the East (i.e. in Arab world), but they recovered it,
though in the West.
4.1.6 Contribution of Some Prominent Umayyad Amirs/Rulers (756-1031 CE)
In this section, the contribution—political and administrative as well as cultural and

intellectual—of some prominent Umayyad Amirs (rulers) of Spain is highlighted.
4.1.6 (A) Abd al-Rahman al-Dakhil/Abd al-Rahman-I (r. 756-788)
In 756 CE, Abd al-Rahman became the new sovereign of a kingdom in Spain—which was
running parallel to the caliphate of the Abbasids, with their capital in the city of Baghdad.
The Arab nobles who were already present there could not tolerate the authority of one man
and the Berbers who were once the staunch supporters of Abd al-Rahman further
strengthened their power. These rebels and uprisings were also aided and encouraged by the
Frankish king Pepin and, after him, his son Charlemagne and they received the support of
Abbasids. The overall scenario presents that they tried to vanquish Abd al-Rahman, but the
important skill that how to act together was missing in them.
Enemies were present inside the land and their confederates and supporters outside. Very far
in Baghdad, Caliph al-Mansur (r. 754-775)—who is known as the real founder of the
Abbasids—had been planning to remove Abd al- Rahman. In 761, the governor of Toledo
revolted against the authority of Abd al-Rahman, but he was suppressed. Again, in 763, Ibn-
Mughith (the Abbasid governor over Spain) was sent by Caliph al-Mansur against Abd al-
Rahman. The Abbasid forces were defeated and Mughith was beheaded. The head of
Mughith was wrapped in a black Abbasid flag and was forwarded to Al-Mansur, who was at
that time in Makkah for performing Hajj. Thereafter, the Abbasids choose to leave Abd al
Rahman alone and he came to be known as “Falcon of Spain”.
Abd al-Rahman adopted a policy, though not humane, best suited to the state of affairs under
which he was placed. Within few years, Abd al-Rahman cleared his path of all enemies;
insurgences and upheavals were totally crushed. As Abd al-Rahman was busy in crushing
these rebels, repeatedly Christians in the north harassed the Muslims. Christians burnt their
cities, devastated their fields and the Muslims were either killed or captured. During this
period of lawlessness, Muslims of Spain lost a large portion of their area.
In the year 777 CE, one of the rebels rose against Abd al-Rahman and fled across the
Pyrenees to Charlemagne, to get his aid. It was a favourable occurrence for Charlemagne to
render himself as the master of Spain and to extend his ascendancy. Charlemagne responded
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to his call and collected a massive army; he crossed the mountains, eradicating everything
what came in his way until he reached the walls of Saragossa. This place was safeguarded by
Husayn bin Yahya al-Ansari. Here Charlemagne sustained a disastrous repulse at the hands of
Husayn al-Ansari and it hastened his retreat to his country. While crossing the Pyrenees, he
was attacked by the sons of Sulayman—Matrum and Aishum, his rearguard was cut to pieces,
and many others were killed. Finally, a treaty was concluded between Abd al-Rahman and
Charlemagne.
In the process of curbing different revolts, Abd al-Rahman developed a well-organized and
highly trained army. Abd al-Rahman strongly established the authority of the Umayyads in
Spain and now the influence of homeless and wanderer began to rise in Spain.
Although in resisting the happenings against his ascendancy, he often adopted unkind and
inconsiderate steps, but in the field of arts and letters of peace, he proved himself as great as
in the art of battle. In developing industrial sector and in running the affairs of the state, he
was compared to Caliph al-Mansur. He beautified the cities and mainly Cordova with
buildings and parks and constructed a channel for the supply of pure water to the capital, and
introduced exotic plants such as peaches and pomegranates.
In 757 CE, Abd al-Rahman discontinued the Khutbah in the name of Abbasid Caliph, but
never assumed the title of Commander of the Faithful (Amir al-Muminin). He and his
successors up to Abd al-Rahman-III contended themselves with the title of Amir (ruler or
sovereign). In the year 786, Abd al-Rahman constructed the great Masjid of Cordova (Masjid
al-Qurtuba), which was later on completed and enlarged by his successors. Abd al-Rahman
died in 788 CE, after an eventful reign of 33 years. He was a wise and enlightened ruler; a
man of great determination and strong will; possessed an impressive personality; and was
skill general, a just ruler, and a wise political leader. In industry and administrative abilities,
he was compared to Abbasid Caliph, al-Mansur. He embellished Cordova with magnificent
buildings and parks, and established educational institutions throughout the country. His son
Hisham (r. 788-796) succeeded him, who died at the age of 40 in 796 after a rule of 8 years.
He was known for his impartial approach, justice and sound administration. Ameer Ali
(2011: 479) describes him as “a just, mild, and generous ruler, ‘truly religious, and a model of
virtue.” His son Al-Hakam in 796 CE succeeded him.
4.1.6 (B) Al-Hakam-I (r. 796-822 CE)
After the death of Hisham in 796 CE, his son Al-Hakam succeeded him, whose surname was
Al-Muntasir (the Conqueror). He was only 22 at the time of accession. Hakam was very
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“wise, courageous, and accomplished, and the first among Andalusian sovereigns who
surrounded himself with pomp and pageantry” (Ameer Ali, 2011: 483), but his accession was
followed by revolts in various parts of the country, including the revolts by his uncles
Sulayman and Abd-Allah (who sought the help of Charlemagne). With the support of Franks,
Abd-Allah captured Toledo and his brother Sulayman captured Valencia. In the meantime,
Louis and Charles, sons of Charlemagne invaded northern regions of the Spain; and Galician
chief, Alfanso bursted into Aragon.
In the midst of these gloomy circumstances Hakam-I never bowed his head, but faced the
situation with dedication, determination and courage. Left a small army to have an eye on
Toledo, he himself proceeded towards the Galicians, defeated them in a battle, then turned his
attention towards Franks, and drove them out of his country beyond the Pyrenees. After these
victories, Hakam turned his attention towards Toledo. Sulayman was defeated in a battle and
at last killed. The revolt of Abd-Allah was totally suppressed and after his request for
amnesty he was pardoned.
While Hakam-I was very much busy and engaged in crushing the revolts, it provided Franks
an opportunity to seize Barcelona. The capture of this important town was a great loss to the
Muslims. Therefore, in a way, some parts of the Spain came into the hands of Charlemagne
and he divided them into two Marches—the March of Septimania and the March of Gascony.
In 809 CE, March of Gascony came again into the hands of Hakam-I.
Toledo was politically the most important town and once the capital of Spain. Under the rule
of the Muslims, Toledo had been restless and its inhabitants were always in a state of
rebellion. The memory of their past always rankled in their minds and hearts which increased
their resentment against the Saracens. Arrogant about their wealth, numbers, and riches, they
discarded to obey the orders of the ruler or to receive governor who was not acceptable to
them. First few revolts were easily suppressed. Amrus bin Yusuf deputed in order to restore
peace in the region exercised some sort of influence on the people and made them to accept
the authority of the ruler. After a gap of ten years, they again revolted and this time Amrus
was ordered by al-Hakam-I to bring them to book, accordingly Amrus arranged a banquet, in
which hundreds of principal and distinguished Toledans were invited and later on killed and
their bodies were thrown in a ditch. Deprived of their principal notables, the turbulent Toledo
adopted obedient approach and remained tranquil for several years.
At times al-Hakam–I got involved in conflicts with the Faqihs, which made him unpopular
among them, and was titled by them Abul Aasi (the father of the wicked). There were strong
reasons for their discontent, as they had become a power in the land, thanks to the policy
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adopted by the Hisham. Hakam on the other hand never legalized them to interfere in the
state affairs, rather left them out from all the interference. With the result, they endeavoured
to depose him. They used to call him from the pulpits as impious and irreligious and it was
the chain of the same policy mentioned above. However, Hakam never allowed them to
create any disturbance or disorder in the state. Hakam died in 822 CE, after a reign of twenty-
six (26) years. He was sensible, audacious, and accomplished ruler. He was fond of hunting
and a patron of poets, musicians and scholars and at the same time not having good relations
with lawyers and theologians. He never accepted their power, rather made attempts to keep
their power in check. His endeavours not only resulted in the consolidation of the Spain but
extended its dominions further as well. Hakam was succeeded by his son Abd al-Rahman-II,
who ruled for 30 years.
4.1.6 (C) Abd al-Rahman-II (r. 822-852 CE)
Son of Hakam, he ruled for 30 years. He is rated as one of the great rulers of Spain. His
father had consolidated the Umayyad rule, and Abd al-Rahman was fortunate to inherit an
established kingdom. His reign has been described as “one of the peace and splendour; the
people were prosperous and the revenues ample”. He was devoted to arts and letters, and
loved the society of men of talent and learning (Ameer ‘Ali, 2011: 485).
During his reign, the fame of the Muslim arts and sciences and of Spanish Muslim
Universities spread far and wide. He constructed many fine and beautiful buildings and
gardens. He also constructed various Masajid and educational buildings in various cities of
Spain. He died in 852 CE, after a prosperous reign of 30 years, and was succeeded by his
elder son Muhammad-I, who ruled for 34 years, from 852-886 CE. He was “just, brave,
religious and munificent… and the country enjoyed a spell of economic prosperity” (Hasan,
2015: 559). His son Munzir succeeded Muhammad, at the age of 44, ruled only for two years,
886-88 CE. In 888 CE, his brother Abdullah, who ruled for 24 years, succeeded him. This
whole period was marked by riots, disturbances, and revolts. Abdullah died in 912 CE, and
was succeeded by his grandson Abd al-Rahman-III.
4.1.6 (D) Abd al-Rahman-III (r. 912-961 CE)
Abd al-Rahman succeeded his grandfather, Abd Allah in 912 and was barely twenty-two
(22) years of age at the time of accession. It was the time when there were disturbances
everywhere and the Muslim state had reduced in size to Cordova and its environs. In this
state of affairs, hailing his accession, all the people considered him as the saviour of the
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empire. Abd al-Rahman-III proved himself the man of competence and aptitude. Within a
very short span, his esteem increased. Abandoning the cruel policy adopted by his
grandfather, Abd al-Rahman-III developed the policy of ‘reconciliation’. At the very
commencement of his rule, his policy was to consolidate the state. For consolidation, he
announced to all insurgents Spanish, Berber or Arab that no disobedience or disloyalty would
be permitted in the empire. He summoned all the leaders and nobles of the independent
principalities to submit and surrender to his authority, and those who will repudiate and
discard would be brought to order. Most nobles of the independent principalities submitted
voluntarily to the central rule.
Slowly but surely, Abd al-Rahman-III recaptured the lost provinces, one after the other. In
one of the incidents in 913 CE, he appeared before the army, with an aspiration to share with
them their glossy and victory and at the same time their miseries and fatigues; this gave them
an extraordinary inspiration and enthusiasm. Within a short campaign of less than three
months, different provinces were subjected like Elvira and Jaen. One city after another
submitted before his authority. Seville was reinterpreted in the dominions of the empire.
Muhammad, son of Ibrahim Ibn Hajjaj ruling the principality of Seville, came to Abd al-
Rahman-III and offered his services. Berbers were reduced and at the same time, Christians
submitted to him as well. Abd al-Rahman-III marched against the insurgents of the Serrania
of Regio and reduced it gradually and one after the other, their leaders submitted.
When there is a mention of Toledo, what come in the mind are the revolts and rebellions.
Whole of the Spain accepted the supremacy of Abd al-Rahman-III, with the exception of
Toledo. People of Toledo at the instigation of the Christian chief of Leon again revolted. Abd
al-Rahman-III accordingly sent a deputation of learned men to tell them to abandon the ways
of discord. However, being supported and helped by the Leonese, they gave an arrogant
reply. No other option was left with Abd al-Rahman-III but of force only. A siege was laid
around the Toledo, that lasted for two years and ultimately the people of Toledo submitted
unconditionally. Thus, whole empire was consolidated while putting an end to all types of
discords.
Within the empire, all dangers faded away, but the presence of external enemies still posed a
threat to the already consolidated authority. Among them, the most dangerous were the
Fatimids of Africa whose influence as time elapsed increased and Christian kings of Leon in
the northern region of Spain. After subduing internal revolts, Abd al-Rahman-III turned his
attention towards the Christians of the north who menaced the empire. King of Leon,
Ordono-II in early 914 CE invaded the Muslim territory, committed atrocities by devastating
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the land. It was the time when Abd al-Rahman-III was engaged with the Fatimid’s. He sent
an expedition under his Wazir, Ahmad Ibn Abu Abda. Ahmad inflicted severe blows on the
enemy. At San Esteban, the Arabs repulsed with heavy loss, Ordono and his ally Sancho,
chief of Navarre ravaged the Muslim environs. Compelled by the actions of the Christians,
Abd al- Rahman-III took all the measures to teach them a lesson that they would never forget.
Under Hajib Badr in 918 CE an army was deputed against the invaders entrenched in their
mountains; they were attacked by the army and defeated. Considering that Leonese was not
completely humiliated Abd al-Rahman-III in 920 CE took the field in person. San Esteban
and several other strong holds of Christians were demolished and captured. Sancho with the
assistance of chief of Leon again attacked the Muslim territory. The combined forces reached
a place called Janqueras, where Abd al- Rahman-III inflicted on them a severe defeat. In 921
CE Ordono and Sancho again raised their head by invading Najera and Viguera, killing the
Muslims living there. It was not that type of occasion where Abd al-Rahman-III could have
exonerated them, rather he was very much provoked by the unending massacre of the
Muslims through the hands of the Christians. Without wasting a single moment, Abd al-
Rahman-III took to the field, entered Navarre and also penetrated Pampeluna; Sancho’s
capital. The palace of Sancho and other buildings were demolished. In the mean time king of
Leon, Ordono–II died and civil war broke out between his sons. The Leonese were left to cut
each other’s throats. The civil war that broke out after the death of Ordono in Leon had given
place to Ramire–II as the ruler. After becoming ruler, he invaded Muslim territory and
devastated it with the aid and support of the governor of Saragossa. In reply, Muslims laid a
siege around Saragossa, compelling the rebel governor to submit. Afterwards attention was
shifted towards Ramire. Ramire was defeated in several battles. This way Abd al-Rahman-III
succeeded in bringing the whole kingdom into order.
Abd al-Rahman-III was also fully aware of the fact that his position in Spain remained
unstable, as long as Fatimids flourished in Africa. For guarding himself from the menace of
Fatimids, he very often helped the minor principalities of Western Africa, with a dream in
mind to capture the region. To make this dream a reality, he in 931CE got hold of Ceuta and
then Tangier. With these two regions as the base, he extended his influence to other areas of
the Western Africa. While al-Muizz became the ruler of the Fatimids, Abd al-Rahman-III
was busy in subduing Christians of the north, which granted an opportunity to Al-Muizz to
consolidate his state. The outcome was that Abd al-Rahman’s authority already established in
some parts of Africa almost ended with the exception of Ceuta and the Fatimids recaptured
rest of the territories ruled by him.
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Remaining years of Abd al-Rahman’s reign were filled with examples of wise administration.
Up to Abd al-Rahman-III, the rulers of Spain contended themselves with the title of Amir.
They recognised the title of Amir al-Muminin, the exclusive right of Abbasids who were the
custodians of Holy Cities. In the 10th century CE, things changed considerably. It was the
period when the Abbasid Empire had reached its lowest ebb and were quickly losing their
hold on the power. In 909 Fatmids claimed for caliphate, and in the context of this situation,
Abd al-Rahman-III in 929 CE proclaimed that he should be designated in all prayers and
official documents as Amir al-Muminin; accordingly, he was given the title of Al-Khalifah al-
Nasir li-Din-Allah, the Caliph, Helper of the Religion of Allah. Thus, in the 10th century,
three dynasties claimed for the caliphate: Abbasids at the Baghdad; Fatimids in the North
Africa; and Umayyads in the Spain.
Abd al-Rahman-III died in 961 CE, after having ruled for half a century; his period is called
as the golden period of Umayyads in the history of Spain. He succeeded Abd Allah at a time
when there was outcry, chaos and confusion, disturbance and disorder throughout the whole
Spain. In spite of these conditions, he managed himself properly, restored peace and harmony
in the whole Spain, and made it more powerful and stronger than it was ever before. He was
champion in bringing order, peace, serenity and prosperity in the whole empire. He saved
Andalusia from within and without. He was the ablest, and the most gifted among the
Umayyad rulers of the Spain.
Besides consolidating the empire, due attention was paid towards other activities and works.
The impetus and attention given to agriculture can be observed from the smiling fields, well-
stocked gardens and the enormous wealth of fruit. Consequently, it helped in multiplying the
sources of state income. Some portion of this income was spent on the army and public works
and the remaining was reserved. Not only agriculture flourished; commerce and industry, arts
and literary activities were encouraged and developed. The seat of Spain, Cordova had half a
million population, seven hundred Masajid and three hundred public baths. Abd al-Rahman-
III founded a new town namely Madinat Al-Zahra and a palace, Al-Zahra Palace. This royal
palace had 400 rooms and apartments housing thousands of slaves and guards. Cordova, the
capital of Muslim Spain, came to be known as the Jewel of the World. His reputation, name
and fame reached so far that the kings of Germany, France and Italy sent embassies to his
court. The military resources were developed and perfected largely. A well-built and well-
organised navy legalized Abd al-Rahman-III to proceed towards North Africa and check the
power of Fatimids. He proved to be the man with qualities of resoluteness, and daring,
characterizing leaders of men in all ages. Prof. Masudul Hasan, in his History of Islam (2015:
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568) writes: “It is a matter of coincidence that all the Umayyad rulers bearing the name of
Abdul Rahman proved to be the greatest rulers”. Abd al-Rahman-III died at the age of 73, in
961 CE. He was succeded by his son Al-Hakam-II.
4.1.6 (E) Al-Hakam–II (r. 961–976 CE)

Hakam ascended the throne after the death of his father Abd al-Rahman-III in 961 CE. He
had taken active part in the administration of the state and his fame had already spread into
distant lands during the lifetime of his father. When Hakam became the ruler, the chiefs of
Navarre and Leon raised their head again, though they had accepted the supremacy of Abd al-
Rahman-III. They had the notion that the new ruler lacked military skill and it would be a
good chance to get rid of the Muslims. Therefore, both Sancho and Galicia adopted an
elusive attitude, full of deceit. Hakam, showing that he is as good in military skills as
elsewhere, soon dealt the perfidious with the stick. Ordono–IV visited Hakam and sought his
help and support. To him due honour was given and at the same time promise to support him
as well. It was ordered to drive Sancho out of Leon and Galicia and install Ordono as the
ruler. Sancho very much anxious at the preparations, hastened to Cordova to seek the pardon
of Caliph and to honour the terms of the treaty. This event came as a shock to Ordono and he
died. After his death, Sancho again repudiated the terms of the treaty. Thus, it forced Hakam
to announce war against the Christians. The Navarrese chief was beaten and Kalharra was
captured and garrisoned. Other places like Galicia, Alava, Castile and Navarre were similarly
garrisoned. Hakam never cherished war, but was compelled to be engaged in war against his
own desires. Peace and tranquillity spread throughout the whole Andalusia after defeating
Christians.
In 972 CE, Hakam under the leadership of Ghalib sent an expedition to control the Fatimid
conquest, meaning that the danger of the Fatimids was not fully averted. The general Ghalib
was somewhat successful in restoring the authority of the Umayyads in Western Africa.
Berbers of Zenata, Maghrahwa, and Miknasa stopped their support and allegiance to the
Caliph of Cairo by supporting and recognizing the authority and supremacy of Hakam.
All rulers of Spain were great patrons of literature, poetry and other sciences, but Hakam
excelled them all in his love for literature and other literary activities. Ibn Khaldun says:
“Hakam loved literature and the sciences, and showered his munificence on men of learning”.
Hakam was basically a scholar and a man of peace. Stanley Lane Poole says about Hakam
that he was a bookworm, and although bookworms are very useful in their proper place, they
seldom make great rulers. Hakam was a great collector of books, his predecessors were also
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very much active in the activity of enriching their libraries with rare books, but the zeal and
enthusiasm of Hakam for this work is quite extraordinary. For collecting books, Hakam used
to send agents to different regions to buy rare and precious manuscripts. If any rare book
could not be bought, he would have copied it. Library established at Cordova is said to have
accumulated 400,000 volumes and the catalogue of it alone consisted of forty-four volumes.
Several departments were set for the work of copying, binding and illuminating the books, for
these tasks most skilful men were employed. All the branches of learning prospered under
Hakam. The schools established by his predecessors were extended and endowed; with the
result, everyone in Spain possessed the skill of reading and writing. Due attention was given
towards the education of the poor, for this purpose Hakam established in Cordova about
twenty-seven schools, where the children from the poor received education. The university in
Cordova was one of the famous and most renowned in the world. The grandeur of Umayyads
in Spain ended with the death of this virtuous ruler and scholar in 976 CE, as his successors
were unable and weak and later Spain became divided into various fractions or principalities.
4.1.6 (F) Post al-Hakam-II Era (976-1031 CE)
After the death of Hakam-II in 976 CE, his son Hisham–II had to become the ruler of the
Spain. However, he was a minor and a boy of only eleven years old. Hakam had held
convocation few months before his death in which a document was subscribed devising the
Caliphate to his son Hisham-II. Hakam entrusted the charge of upbringing his son to three
persons, his queen Subh, Hajib Mashafi and to the secretary Muhammad bin Abi Amir.
Accordingly, Hisham-II was proclaimed as the Caliph. Muhammad bin Abi Amir was an
ambitious man. He overthrew Hajib Mashafi and other chiefs who opposed him. He killed
many famous personalities of wreath magnates; in this way cleared the whole empire from its
leading men. Abi Amir then seized all the power and authority, confining and limiting the
young Caliph in his palace. After capture of the power, Ibn Amir assumed the title of Hajib
al-Mansur and constructed a beautiful palace for himself named Zahra. He became so
powerful that he was overall in the whole empire and Hisham-II, the Caliph was merely a
puppet in the hands of Hajib al-Mansur. All orders were issued under his seal, prayers were
offered for him along with the Caliph from the pulpits and his name was borne on the coins.
“The reigns of Abd al-Rahman-III and his successor Al-Hakam-II (961-76 CE)”, for P. K.
Hitti (1970: 526), “together with the dictatorship of al-Hajib al-Mansur (977-1002 CE), mark
the apogee of Moslem rule in the West. Neither before nor after this was Moslem Spain able
to exercise the same political influence in European and African affairs”.
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After the death of Hajib al-Mansur in 1002 CE, within no time political scenario of Spain
changed completely. His son Abd al-Malik under the title of Al-Muzaffar succeeded him. Al-
Muzaffar ruled for about six years (r. 1002-1008CE) and remained very much successful in
maintaining unity in the whole empire. His death brought disorder, disturbance and violence
in the whole Spain. In these years, the change that had taken place in the Spain favoured a
revolution and the unification in Spain was disappearing very quickly.
Hisham-II, who was the Caliph renounced formally in favour of the Muhammad in 1010 CE.
Muhammad, on accession took the title Al-Mahdi, was not able to rule for a considerable
period. He was soon replaced by another Umayyad named Sulayman. Very short period had
elapsed that Hisham–II was again declared as the Caliph. One sovereign replaced the other
within no time; thus, rise and fall of the Caliphs went on simultaneously: Sulayman was
replaced by the governor of Ceuta, Ali bin Hamud in 1012 CE for a period of five years up to
1017 CE. Hamud was succeeded by his brother Qasim, and in 1018, Qasim was replaced by
the Umayyad prince Abd al-Rahman-IV (and thus Umayyads came back to power for a
period of six years, from 1012-1018 CE. A notorious ruler, he was replaced by Muhammad (a
great grandson of Abd al-Rahman-III) in 1024 CE. Muhamad took the surname of Al-
Mustafi, but failed to have a grip on power and was assassinated in 1029 CE. Muhammad
was succeeded by Hisham-III—an elder brother of Abd al-Rahman-IV—but faced financial
difficulties and was finally deposed in 1031 CE. Hisham-III was the last ruler of Umayyad
dynasty and with him a powerful empire of the Umayyads that was established in 756 CE
came to an end.
4.1.7 Muluk al-Tawaif, or ‘Party Kings’/Petty States (1031-1086 CE)
Umayyad rule started in Spain in 756 CE; they became rulers of Spain and built an empire
that had no other example. They consolidated their power, contributed to various aspects of
Spanish society, and reached the zenith of their glory. But after Hakam-II—regarded as the
last great Umayyad ruler of Spain—all the Umayyad caliphs proved to be inefficient and thus
paving the way for the disintegration and downfall. Thus, at the end, we find that with these
unfortunate sovereigns, Umayyad rule ended in Spain, which had to be an internal reason for
the decline of Umayyads in Spain. External causes were the Christians of the North, who
were always in search of an opportunity, one of the greatest opportunities was provided to
them, and this time they made it count. It was the period when Alfanso–VI was ruling Castile
and was successful in uniting three kingdoms Leon, Castile and Navarree. With the support
of these areas, he was able to capture Toledo.
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The political changes that took place in the capital provided an opportunity to the governors
and magnates to declare their independence. When the Umayyad rule in Spain disappeared,
independent principalities or petty states, like Almoravids (Al-Murabitun) and Almohads (Al-
Muwahidun), and Nasirids emerged. These petty states got involved in fratricidal quarrels,
falling prey to the Berbers of North-Africa first and then succumbed one after the other to the
Christian power of the north. In the first half of the 11th Century, about twenty such states
emerged in many towns and provinces under chieftains. This period came to be known in the
history as Muluk al-Tawaif (petty states/party kings): the period of numerous principalities,
ruling small parts of Spain, like Al-Murabitun/Al-Moravides (1056-1147) and Al-
Muwahidun/Almohads (1130-1269). Yusuf bin Tashfin and Abi bin Yusuf were famous
rulers of Almoravids; while Abdul Mumin, Abu Yaqub Yusuf, Abu Yusuf Yaqub, and
Muhammad al-Nasir are important names among the Almohads. In addition, it saw the
emergence and establishment of Nasrid kingdom (1232-1492) in southern Spain, with their
centre at Granada, and ended in 1492 CE. It was a period of fragmentation, which later paved
the way for the disintegration of the Muslim rule in Spain. Banu Hamid captured Malaga,
Algeciras and other neighbouring regions. Granada came into the hands of Zawi, a Berber
chief. Banu Abbad ruled Seville and other areas. Valencia, Murcia, and Almeria were in the
same way ruled by independent chiefs. Such division, fragmentation, and disintegration of
the Muslims resulted in ending their rule in Spain. The whole scenario of this period is
captured by P. K. Hitti (1970: 537) in these words: “From the ruins of the Umayyad caliphate
there emerged an apparently fortuitous conglomeration of petty states which spent themselves
in fratricidal quarrels and, after falling in part a prey to two Moroccan Berber dynasties,
succumbed one after the other to the rising Christian power to the north. In the first half of
the eleventh century no less than twenty such short-lived states arose in as many towns or
provinces under chieftains and kinglets called by the Arabs muluk al-tawa’if (Sp. reyes de
taifas, Party Kings’/Petty States)”.
With the passage of time, one finds that Christians of the north took into their possession
different areas like Valencia, Cordova, and Seville, Murcia etc. Limiting and confining the
Muslim rule to the province of Granada only, and these Christians were ready to place their
swords at the disposal of the only remaining Muslim region. When these two small
independent kingdoms came to an end, they were succeeded by many Spanish Arab chiefs;
and one of them was Muhammad bin Nasr, who took the title of Al-Ghalib (the overcomer),
and was surnamed as Ibn al-Ahmar (r. 1232-72/73 CE). He proved to be the most successful,
and founded the kingdom of Granada in 1238, and thus laid the foundation of the Nasrid
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kingdom. He built the famous Alhambra palace and castle (Al-Hamra: the Red Palace)—one
of the architectural monuments of Spain. He was not in a position to with stand the growing
power of the Christians who now were ruling whole of the Spain. From time to time
Christians attacked Granada. His son Abu Abdullah Muhammad succeeded him. A great
scholar and jurist, he was a great patron of learning. In 1274 CE, Granada was again invaded
by the Castilians but were unsuccessful. Muhammad died in 1302 CE after a “prosperous
reign of thirty years” (Ameer ‘Ali, 2011: 543).
The Muslim rule had now limited to Granada only; and by the middle of the 13th century, the
Reconquista (the period of Christian re-conquest of Spain), with the exception of Granada,
was practically completed; Toledo fell in 1085; Cordova in 1236, and Seville in 1248 CE.
After the middle of 13th century, two major progresses were in operation: “the Christianizing
of Spain and its unification”. Progress towards the final unification of Spain was slow but
sure; and at that time, the two major Christian kingdoms were Castile and Aragon. “The
marriage in 1469 of Ferdinand of Aragon to Isabella of Castile” says Hitti (1970: 551),
“united permanently the crowns of these two kingdoms. This union struck the note of doom
for Moslem power in Spain”.
It was finally on January 3, 1492 CE that the Castilians took possession of Granada, and in
this way the glory and grandeur of the Muslims in Spain ended. It was under the leadership of
King Ferdinand of Aragon and Queen Isabella of Castile that the Reconquista was completed.
All those who were not Christian (i.e., Muslims and Jews) were expelled from Spain. The
Cross supplanted the Crescent on the towers of Granada; and thus “disappeared from the soil
of Spain”, writes Syed Ameer Ali in his A Short History of Saracens (2011: 563), “a brave,
indigenous, and enlightened nation, whose active industry had brought back to life the
Peninsula that had lain dead and barren under the indolent pride of the Goths; who had turned
Andalusia into a garden, and had held aloft the torch of knowledge when all around lay in
darkness; who had spread culture, given impetus to civilization”. Everything might have
changed in Spain—people, and their religion—but the nature has not changed; she is as
smiling as ever.
4.1.8 Let Us Sum Up
In this lesson, the students have come to know about the establishment (and later
developments) of Muslim rule in Spain; the socio-political conditions of Spain on the eve of
Muslim rule; and the contribution of Muslim rulers (of various dynasties) in the various
aspects of socio-political and intellectual developments: from socio-political, economic,
administrative, to cultural architectural, and intellectual. By studying this, the students have
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been now able to understand clearly: the contribution of Muslims in this European part of the
world; the different phases of Muslims rule in Spain, which began in 711 and ended in 1492
CE—a period of about 800 years; and the different phases of rule that Spain saw under the
Muslims: Spain as a province under Umayyads and Abbasids, from 711-756 CE; Spain as the
kingdom under Umayyad rulers of Spain, from 756-1031; and the period of petty states
(Muluk al-Tawaif), which began in 1031 CE, and ended with the fall of Muslim Rule in Spain
in 1492 CE.
1. Write a short note on the Socio-Political conditions of Spain on the eve of Muslim
rule?
2. Discuss briefly the role of Abd al-Rahman-I in establishing Umayyad rule in
Spain?
1. Muslim rule in Spain reached its zenith during the rule of Abd al-Rahman-III.
Explain?
2. Write a detailed note on the major reasons that led to the downfall of Umayyads in
Spain?
3. What were the major causes that led to the fall of Muslim rule in Spain?

1. K. Ali, A Short Study of Islamic History (New Delhi: Adam Publishers and
Distributors, 2013)
2. Syed Ameer Ali, A Short History of Saracens, New Ed. (New Delhi: Adam
Publishers and Distributors, 2011)
3. Prof. Masudul Hasan, History of Islam, 2 vol.s (New Delhi: Adam Publishers and
Distributors, 2015)
4. Philip K Hitti, History of the Arabs, 10th Ed. (London: Macmillan Education Ltd.,
1970)
5. Sayyed Hossein Nasr, Islam: Religion, History, and Civilization (London: & New
York: HarperCollins Publishers Inc., 2003)
6. Tauseef Ahmad Parray, “Harmonious and Mutual Relation between Muslims and
Europeans Civilizations: An Introduction of the Intellectual Sharing During the
Middle Ages”, Insight Islamicus: An Annual Journal of Studies and Research in
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Islam (Shah-i-Hamdan Institute of Islamic Studies, University of Kashmir), Vol.
12, 2012, pp. 129-147
7. Mohammad Dawood Sofi, History of Islamic Civilization (New Delhi: Adam
Publishers and Distributors, 2013
131
Lesson No. 2: Contribution to Learning, Art and Architecture
Lesson Structure
4.2.1 Introduction
4.2.2 Objectives
4.2.3 Muslim Contribution in various Sciences in Spain
4.2.3 (A) Astronomy & Mathematics
4.2.3 (B) Botany & Medicine
4.2.3 (C) History
4.2.3 (D) Geography
4.2.3 (E) Philosophy
4.2.4 Arts and Architecture
4.2.4 (A) Architecture
4.2.4 (B) Minor Arts
4.2.5 Let Us Sum Up
4.2.1. Introduction
In this lesson, titled as “Contribution to Learning, Art and Architecture”, the students will
come to know about the contribution of Muslims (as rulers and as inhabitants of Spain: 711—
1492 CE) in various physical/medical sciences like Astronomy, Mathematics, Botany, and
Medicine; social sciences like History, Geography, and Philosophy; and in various minor/
fine Arts (like metal work, textiles, music, calligraphy, handicrafts, etc.), and in the
Architecture (like building of Palaces, Castles, Masajid, etc). They will understand in detailed
manner that Spain during Muslim rule—i.e., the period of about 800 years, from 711 to 1492
CE—was the most favoured and beautiful place of learning, culture and art. In Spain,
Muslims wrote one of the splendid and wonderful chapters in the intellectual history of
medieval Europe. Between 750-1200, Muslims were the main carriers of torch of culture and
civilization and it is correct that they played the role of an agency by which ancient science
and philosophy were regained. Muslims in Spain represented the premier culture and
civilization. Within a very short span, it became a learning centre and the people from
different parts of the world flocked to Spain. Cordova, Seville, Toledo and Granada were the
main centres of learning and birthplace of reputed scholars, eminent poets, and distinguished
philosophers.
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Syed Ameer Ali, in his A Short History of Saracens (2011: 112), is of the opinion that “The
conquest of Spain by the Saracens [Muslims] opened a new era for the Peninsula”. P. K.
Hitti, in his History of the Arabs (1970: 557), states: “Moslem [Muslim] Spain wrote one of
the brightest chapters in the intellectual history of medieval Europe. Between the middle of
eighth and beginning of thirteenth centuries [750-1200s] … the Arabic-speaking peoples
were the main bearers of the torch of culture and civilization throughout the world”.
Seyyed Hossein Nasr, in his, Islam: Religion, History, and Civilization (2003: 126), provides
the description of the accomplishments of Muslim rule in Spain in these lines: During the
Muslim rule, “Spain witnessed incredible cultural achievements in nearly every field and the
creation of a social climate in which Muslims, Jews, and Christians lived in peace and
harmony to a degree rarely seen in human history. Muslim Spain was the locus of not only a
flowering of Islamic culture, but also of one of the major flowerings of Jewish culture; the
close relationship between the two cultures at the time can be seen in the number of works
written by Jewish thinkers, one of the most famous of whom was Maimonides, in Arabic.
Spain also became the most important center from which Islamic learning in the sciences,
philosophy, and the arts were transmitted to the Christian West and had such a profound
effect on later European history. The city of Toledo played a particularly prominent role in
this transmission”.
Education and learning was greatly developed and refined in Spain. Most of the places and
principal towns possessed universities and important among them were those of Cordova,
Seville, Malaga, and Granada. These universities had different departments like the
department of Astronomy, Mathematics, Medicine, Theology etc. Libraries also flourished
side by side with these universities. In art, whether minor or practical, and architecture,
Muslims in Spain were masters as is evident from the different monuments constructed by the
Muslims like the Mosque of Cordova, al-Zahra Palace, the Alcazar of Seville, Al-Hamra, etc.
Every college had the following lines inscribed over its gates: “The world is supported by
four things only: the learning of the wise, the justice of the great, the prayers of the good
[pious and righteous], and the valour of the brave”. And it is a fact that Muslim Spain
possessed and developed all the four things.
The Muslim world during the Middle Ages (from 750s onwards) opened a new era in the
domain of science and literature. It is a fact, which no one can deny, that by the beginning of
this period, the many sided cultural influence produced the early phase of the real scientific
age of Islamic culture. During this period, the contribution to various fields/ branches of
knowledge—Medicine, Philosophy, Chemistry, Astronomy, Mathematics, History,
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Geography, Law, Theology, philology, etc.—by the Muslim scholars were great and
impressive. A galaxy of brilliant scientists, philosophers and scholars emerged during this
age, making valuable contribution to the culture not only of Islam, but also of the whole
world. They directed their minds to every branch of human study and revolutionized
thinking, feeling and action of man by the might of their pen. The Arab kings of Spain not
only encouraged history, geography, philosophy, astronomy, the natural and exact sciences,
but also medicine and music were cultivated with equal earnestness (Ameer Ali, 2011: 569-
70).
4.2.2 Objectives
In this lesson the students will be able to know

 The contribution of Muslims in Spain (Muslims as rulers and of various scholars)
in various physical/medical sciences (like Astronomy, Mathematics, Botany, and
Medicine) and social sciences (like History, Geography, and Philosophy); and
 The contribution of Spanish Muslims in various Arts (like calligraphy, handicrafts,
metal-work, textiles, music, etc.), and in the Architecture (Palaces, Castles,
Masajid, etc).
4.2.3 Muslim Contribution in various Sciences in Spain
In this part, the contribution of Muslims in Spain (Muslims as rulers of Spain, and of the
scholars who flourshied in Spain) in various physical/ medical sciences (like Astronomy,
Mathematics, Botany, Geography and Medicine) and social sciences (like History,
Philosophy, sociology etc) is highlighted.
4.2.3 (A) Astronomy & Mathematics
A cultural contact was established with Greeks and others, with the start of the mission of
spreading Islam to other regions. After the cultural establishment, Muslims took keen interest
in developing science and that too with fervour at different centres like Baghdad in the East
and the Cordova in the West. While developing astronomy, Muslims claim this branch of
science to be their own special field. Even at the emergence of Islam, they possessed enough
astronomical knowledge, by which they were able to use the position of the stars in their
wanderings. Astronomy and Mathematics went hand in hand.
In Spain, great curiosity was showed towards astronomical studies in the tenth century. The
rulers of Spain gave great support to the astronomy, mathematics, and other subjects. Astral
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influence, i.e., astrology played an important part in determining the location of places
throughout the world along with their latitudes and longitudes. In the field of astronomy,
Spain produced many outstanding astronomers; among them Abul Qasim al-Majriti of
Cordova, Al-Zarqali of Toledo, and Jabir b. Aflah of Seville are worth mentioning.
Al-Majiriti’s chief fame rests on his hermitical and occult writings. He made great
contribution in astronomy and mathematics, and was one who edited and corrected the
planetary tables (Zij) of Al-Khwarizmi; the first Muslim who composed the tables. Al-Zarqali
(Arzachel) is famous for his calculation of the length of Mediterrarean Sea, which was an
improvement on the calculations of Ptolemy and Al-Khawarizmi. He also constructed
Zarqalah, generally known as Al- Naqqash al- Andalusi. This instrument was very useful in
observing the movement of heavenly bodies. He was regarded as the best observer of his
time. He invented an improved type of astrolabe, which is known as Safihah. Moreover, he
was the first astronomer to prove the motion of the solar apogee with reference to the stars.
Jabir Ibn Aflah (Geber filius Afflae) proved to be another outstanding astronomer of Spain.
He has produced an important work in this field namely Kitab al-Hay’ah (Book of
Astronomy), in which he has strongly criticized Ptolemy and rightly stated that the lower
planets, Mercury and Venus, had no visible parallaxes. His book Kitab al- Hay’ah (Book of
Astronomy) is famous for a chapter on spherical and plane trigonometry. Ibn Aflah is famous
for his criticism on Ptolemy’s planetary system. He is also credited to have authored Islah al
Majisti. He was first to design a portable celestial sphere and to explain and measure the
movements of the celestial objects.
The last noted Spanish astronomer was Nur al-Din Abu Ishaq al-Bitruji (Alpetragius), a
student of Ibn Tufayl. He also wrote a book on astronomy under the title of Kitab al- Hay’ah.
The book deals with the configuration of the heavenly bodies, and is a remarkable for its
attempt to revive in a modified form the false theory of homocentric spheres. In real sense,
Al-Bitruji followed Aristotelian system and at the same sharply opposed the Ptolemic
movement. He is considered the exponent of new astronomy, and his book marked the
culmination of the anti-Plotemic movement. Al-Karnani, who flourished in 11th century, was
the author of the books on Arithmetic, Geometry, and Calculus; while as Abu al-Hakam al-
Kirmani was a 112th century Andalusian scholar of logic and geometry.
Regarding the Muslim contribution to astronomy, Hitti (1970: 573) writes: “Arab
astronomers have left on the sky immortal traces of their industry which everyone who reads
the names of the stars on an ordinary celestial sphere can readily discern. Not only are most
of the star-names in European languages of Arabic origin, such as Acrab (‘Aqrab, scorpion),
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Algedi (Al-Jadi, the kid), Altair (Al-Ta’ir, the flyer), Deneb (Dhanab, tail), Pherkad (Farqad,
calf), but a number of technical terms, including ‘Azimuth’ (Al-Sumut), ‘Nadir’ (Nazir),
‘Zenith’ (Al-Samt), are likewise of Arabic etymology and testify the rich legacy of Islam to
Christain Europe”.
4.2.3 (B) Botany and Medicine
A remarkable contribution of Spainish Muslims was made in the field of medicine. That is,
the contribution of Muslims in the field of medicine was tremendous during the Middle Ages;
and the nature of the contributions was indeed remarkable. Even to this day, their works are
still present in different libraries of Western universities. Muslims fertilized the whole world
by their researches. In Botany, by observations, Muslims divided plants into different groups
like the plants that grow from the cuttings, those that grow from seeds, and those that grow
spontaneously. Abu- Ja’far Ahmad Ibn Muhammad al-Ghafiqi, one of the important
physicians of Cordova, collected different plants from Spain and other regions. After
collection, he gave each plant a particular name in Arabic, Latin and Berber. His principal
work is Al-Adwiyah al-Mufradah.
Another name worth to be mentioned while talking about the development of Botany and
Medicine in the Muslim West was Abd Allah Ibn Ahmad Ibn al-Baytar. He was born in
Malaga and travelled throughout the whole Spain, North Africa, Egypt, Syria and Asia Minor
as herbalist. He performed the most of his work in Egypt, where he held the position of the
chief inspector of pharmacies. His two famous works are Al-Mughni fi al-Adwiyah al-
Mufradah (on material madica) and Al-Jami‘ fi al-Adwiyah al-Mufradah (a collection of
‘simple remedies’ from the animal, vegetable and mineral worlds; Latin name, Simplicia). In
these works, Greek and Arabic literature were embodied as well as supplemented by the
experiments, observations and researches of the author. It stands out as the foremost medieval
treatise of its kind. Ibn al-Baytar has given description of more than fourteen hundred (1400)
drugs from the animals, vegetables and the mineral worlds.
One more notable person who made a valuable contribution in the field of medicine was Abu
Marwan Abd al-Malik ibn Abi al-Alam surnamed as Ibn Zuhr (Avenzoar). He was born in
Seville in between 1091 and 94, and died in 1162 CE. Muslims as well as Christians
recognized his authority as a physician. He was a court physician to Abd al-Mumin; founder
of the Muwahhid dynasty. He has written six medical works, out of which only three are
extant; most important being Al-Taysir fi al-Mudawah wal-Tadbir (the Facilitation of
Therapeutics and Diet). Ibn Zuhr wrote the book at the request of his friend and admirer, Ibn
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Rushd, as a counterpart to latter’s Al-Kulliyat. Taysir deals with pathology and therapeutics
and at the end provides comprehensive information about different recipes and diets. In this
book, Ibn Zuhr has also made observations about mediastinal tumours, scabies, pharyngeal
paralysis and inflammation of the middle ear. His other two books are Kitab al-Aghziyah
(Book on Eatables) and Kitab al-Iqtisad. This book deals with therapeutics, psychotherapy
and hygiene. Ibn Zuhr is regarded as the first physician to have discussed the feeling in bones
and to describe the itch mite (Su’abat al-Jarab). His family produced about six generation of
physicians.
The greatest surgeon of the Arabs was Abu al-Qasim Khalaf ibn Abbas al-Zahrawi
(Abulcasis), the court physician of Al-Hakam-II. His fame and distinction rests on Al-Tasrif
li-Man Ajaz an al-Ta’lif (an aid to him who is not equal to the large treatises), which in its
last section sums up the surgical knowledge of his time. “This work”, as Hitti (1970: 577)
puts it, “introduces or emphasizes such new ideas as cauterization of wounds, crushing a
stone inside the bladder and the necessity of vivisection and dissection”. Al-Zahrawi’s rank in
the art of surgery was paralleled by that of Ibn Zuhr in the science of medicine.
Abu al-Walid Muhamad ibn Ahmad Ibn Rushd (Averroes) was another famous physician and
the contemporary of Ibn Zuhr. His greatness as physician was somewhat overshadowed by
his greatness as philosopher. His original and chief contribution to the medicine was his
encyclopaedic work, entitled Al-Kulliyat fi al-Tibb (Generalities on Medicine). It is an
encyclopaedic work on medicine and deals with anatomy, physiology, hygiene, pathology
and therapeutics. He was the first who discovered that no one can get smallpox twice. He is
also the one who was able to understand the function and working of the retina.
4.2.3 (C) History
The Muslim period produced historians who gave new orientation to historical thinking and
writing. The histories produced by Muslim writers were of greater depth and dimensions than
the previous histories. The histories written by Muslim authors were characterised by
accuracy, scientific assembling of facts, and their objective approach.
Every famous and known collection of Islamic manuscripts contains a good proportion of
historical works, which itself indicates that the Muslim scholarship gave much importance to
history. Orientalists also recognize the fact that historiography was mainly developed because
of the accomplishments of the Muslims. Perhaps there will no exaggeration at all, if we say
that in the middle age, history was purely a Muslim science. The Muslims developed it
because of the mission of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). There was one more
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aspect of Islam that led to the development and cultivation of history. The Prophet
Muhammad (peace be upon him) is a historical figure, and his biography has been always
considered to be the cornerstone of Muslim theology, so with much enthusiasm and zeal the
events of his life were sought and collected. So it can be said that historiography in the
Muslim world had religious beginnings. It proved to be Islam that gave the Muslims the
historical sense and further in developing science of theology, it was obligatory on part of the
Muslim theologians to undertake historical research.
In Spain, a steady development took place in the field of history. During the Muslim rule,
Spain produced a number of famous historians like Ibn al-Khatib, Al-Bakri, Ibn Khaldun, Ibn
Hayyan, Ibn al-Faradi and others. The famous and the earliest historian of the Spain was Abu
Bakr Ibn Umar (aka Ibn al-Qutiyah, who was born and flourished at Cordova (d. 977). He
wrote Tarikh Iftitah al-Andalus, which extends from the Muslim conquest to the early part of
Abd al-Rahman-III’s reign. Ibn Umar was not only a historian but also a grammarian and the
first to compose a treatise on the conjugation of verbs (Kitab al-Af‘al). Another famous
historian and biographer of the Spain was Abu al-Walid Abd Allah Ibn- Muhammad Ibn al-
Faradi (962-1013). Born in, and having studied at Cordova, one of his works still extant is
Tarikh al-Ulama al-Andalus—a collection of biographies of the Arab scholars of Spain.
Another prolific historian of Spain was Abu Marwan Hayyan Ibn Khalaf of Cordova,
surnamed as Ibn Hayyan (987/88-1076 CE). He composed no less than 50 books, one of
which, al-Matin, comprised of sixty (60) volumes. Unfortunately, only one work has survived
under the title of Al-Muqtabis fi Tarikh al-Rijal al-Andalus. Abu al-Qasim Sa’id Ibn Ahmad
al-Andalusi was another important personality who distinguished himself as historian,
mathematician and astronomer. He is famous for his Tabaqat al-Umam (Classification of
Nations), which is an important source for the later historians.
The two persons whose names stand for the highest historical comprehension are Ibn al-
Khatib (1313-74) and Abd al-Rahman Ibn Khaldun (1332-1406). Lisan al-Din Ibn al-
Khatib’s ancestors were Arabs and had migrated to Spain from Syria. Under Yusuf Abu’l-
Hajjaj, seventh Nasrid Sultan, Ibn al-Khatib held the title of Dhu al-Wizaratayn. “Of the sixty
odd works penned by Ibn al-Khatib, which are chiefly poetical, belletristic, historical,
geographical, medicinal, and philosophic, about a third have survived”; including the most
important one “on the extensive history of Granada”, titled as Al-Ihatah fi Akhbar Gharnatah
(Hitti, 1970: 567).
Ibn Khaldun (1332-1404 CE) was born in Tunis and flourished in Sevilee; his ancestors had
migrated in the eighth century with Yamanites to Spain. Ibn Khaldun was historian,
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politician, economist, and sociologist and was inquisitive to analyze the past of human beings
in order to understand its present and future. As a theorist on history, Ibn Khaldun had no
equal in any age. He has written a comprehensive history, in 7 volumes, under the title of
Kitab al-‘Ibar wa-Diwan al-Mubtada’ wa al-Khabar fi Ayyam al-‘Arab w-al-‘Ajam wa al-
Barbar (Book of Instructive Examples and Register of Subject and Predicate Dealing with
the History of the Arabs, Persians and Berbers). The work comprises of three parts: a
Muqaddimah (Prolegomena), forming volume one. In this part, Ibn Khaldun has formulated a
philosophy of history that is, without any doubt, the greatest work of its kind ever been
produced. The main body deals with the treating of the Arabs and the neighbouring peoples;
and the last part traces the history of the Berbers and the Muslim dynasties of North Africa.
The name and fame of Ibn Khaldun rests on his Muqaddimah, wherein he “presented for the
first time a theory of historical development which takes due cognizance of the physical facts
of climate and geography as well as of the moral and spiritual forces at work”. “No Arab
writer, indeed no European, had ever taken a view of history at once so comprehensive and
philosophic. By the consensus of critical opinion Ibn Khaldun was the greatest historical
philosopher Islam produced and one of the greatest of all times” (Hitti, 1970: 568).
Muqaddimah was translated by Franz Rosenthal, from New York in 1958, in three volumes.
Acknowledging Ibn Khaldun’s greatness as reflected in his masterpiece Muqaddimah, Arnold
Toynbee (a famous 20th century English historian) has rightly described that Muqaddimah is
undoubtedly ‘the greatest work of its kind that has ever yet been created by any mind in any
time or place’.
4.2.3 (D) Geography
The Arabs had a traditional interest in matters concerning geographical knowledge. The
Arabic language of that very period abounds in words for ships, boats, storms, heavenly
bodies, etc. These activities were greatly influenced by the geography of the Arabian
Peninsula. Geography appealed to the Muslims because of its importance to serve the needs
of trade and commerce, knowledge of plants and animals, to find position of Makkah, and the
phases of the moon, etc.
Muslims in Spain produced many famous geographers. Among them one of the best-known
and celebrated geographer was Abd Allah Ibn Abd al-Aziz al-Bakri (d. 1094), who flourished
in Cordova. He had compiled a geographical dictionary entitled Mu‘jama‘ Ista‘jam. His
eminence rests on his voluminous geographical work Al-Masalik wa al-Mamalik (the Book of
Roads and Kingdoms). This book, written in form of an itinerary, has survived only in part.
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Al-Bakri was also belletrist, poet and philologist. Another most important and most brilliant
geographical author and cartographer of the twelfth century was Al-Idrisi, who was born at
Ceuta in 1100 CE. Al-Idrisi worked at the court of Roger-II, Norman king of Sicily. The
charge of entrusting the composition of a description of the known world by Roger-II to a
Muslim proves that how far the superiority of learning was acknowledged at that time. Al-
Idrisi wrote a treatise known as Kitab al-Rujari (the Book of Roger)—a book, which
contained the most elaborated description of the world during the medieval times. He also
made a celestial sphere and a representation of the known world in the form of a disc, which
places him among the outstanding Muslim cartographers. Al- Idrisi was the author of another
geographical work known as Raud al-Uns wa Nuzhat al-Nafs (Pleasures of Men and Delights
of Souls). It is a kind of route book which the author had compiled for William-I, king of
Sicily. It is said that this geographical work was larger than Kitab al-Rujari, but lost
completely.
The geography and geographical literature cannot claim any great originality after Al-Idrisi
and was represented simply by the travellers’ narratives. Among them, the best known was
Ibn Jubayr of Valencia, who wrote a valuable account of his journey to the east. His Rihlah
(Travel Account) is one of the best and popular work and acted as a source book for many
later geographers. Another famous traveller was Ibn Sa‘id al-Maghribi. His work under the
title of Kitab al-Jaghrafiya (Book of Geography) includes the experience of his extensive
travels in the Muslim World.
Another famous and excellent traveller of all times was Ibn-Battutah (1303-77 CE). A
Muslim “globe-trotter”, he travelled in Africa, Asia and Europe for almost thirty years. His
journeys include four pilgrimages to Makah and visit to Middle East, Bengal (India), Ceylon,
China, North Africa, and Maldives. Ibn-Battutah provides fine description of every place he
visited. One more celebrated geographer was Muhammad al-Mazini of Granada. He visited
North Africa, Egypt, Iraq, Khurasan and Russia. He was the writer of at least four important
geographical works.
4.2.3 (E) Philosophy
The brilliant achievement of the intellectual class of Muslims in Spain was in the field of
philosophy and philosophical thought. In Spain, the Muslims formed the last and the
strongest link in the chain that carried Greek philosophy to the west after adding their own
contribution to it. The whole credit of harmonizing the two currents of thought goes to the
medieval Muslim thinkers of Baghdad and Spain.
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The 12th century was the greatest century in the history of philosophic thought in Spain. The
12th century opens with one of the eminent physician, mathematician, astronomer and
philosopher, namely Abu Bakr Muhammad Ibn Yayha Ibn Bajjah (d. 1131), known in the
West as Avenpace or Aven-Pace. He flourished in Saragossa and Granada. His most
important work is a philosophical treatise named Tadbir al-Mutawahhid (Regime of the
Solitary). He propounded the theory of separate substance, which postulates that the human
being can attain the knowledge of abstract substance deduced from concrete bodies.
Another noteworthy philosopher of the Muslims in Spain was Abu Bakr Muhammad Ibn Abd
al-Malik Ibn Tufayl (d. 1185) who carried a step further the philosophic ideas of Ibn Bajjah.
Ibn Tufayl was a famous physician, philosopher, mathematician and a poet. He practised
medicine at Granada and became chief royal physician to Abu Ya‘qub Yusuf of Al-
Muwahhid dynasty. Ibn Tufayl’s recognition rests on his masterpiece entitled Hayy Ibn-
Yaqzan (the Living One, Son of the Vigilant). In this masterpiece, he put forward the idea
that human beings have the capacity to attain and gain the knowledge of the higher world and
Supreme Being without the support or the assistance of the external agency. Ibn Tufayl
borrowed the names of the characters from Ibn Sina’s tale of the same title, but at the same
time got inspiration from Al-Farabi and others. Probably, Hayy Ibn Yaqzan is regarded as one
of the first works on natural religion.
Abu al-Walid Muhammad Ibn Rushd or Averroes (d. 1198) was the greatest, famous and the
most eminent philosopher who made a deep impact on the west. He was also a physician,
astronomer and commentator of Aristotle. He replaced Ibn Tufayl as the court physician and
made a great contribution to medicine by writing an encyclopaedic work named Al-Kulliyat fi
al-Tibb (Generalities on Medicine). But the activities of Ibn Rushd as physician were totally
and completely eclipsed by his activities as philosopher and commentator. His important and
chief philosophical work in addition to his commentaries is Tahafut al-Tahafut (The
Incoherence of the Incoherence). It was a response and refutation to Imam Ghazzali’s work
Tahafut al-Falasifah (The Incoherence of the Philosophers). He was a commentator on
Aristotle, and his chief commentaries on Aristotle were a short Jami‘ (summary), an
intermediate Talkhis (resume), and a long Tafsir or Sharh (commentary). His philosophical
opinions are found in these important books, the Fasl, the Kashf and the Tahafut and in Al-
Ittisal. To the West, Ibn Rushd became the ‘commentator’ as Aristotle was ‘the teacher’.
From 12th to 16th century, Averoism remained “the dominant school of thought” (Hitti, 1970:
583).
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Besides these, many scholars and savants flourished in Spain. Even there were many women
scholars and literary figures. Spanish women contributed much to the intellectual greatness of
the Arabs in Spain. Under the patronage of Muslim rulers, Spain reached the ‘summit of her
glory in the intellectual horizon of medieval Europe’.
4.2.4 Arts and Architecture
‘The Arabs in Spain carried on almost all the minor and practical arts developed by Muslims
in other lands’. The architecture developed by the Muslims in Spain is considered a great
marvel of aesthetic skill. The beautiful mosques and palaces, fountains and aqueducts,
gardens and citadels, public baths and private homes constructed at Cordova, Granada,
Seville and other cities are unparalleled in the entire cultured world. This process was
actually started with the coming of Abd al-Rahman-I and continued up to Ibn Ahmar (1272
CE), the builder of famous palace of Al-Hamra. In the following section, an assessment of
some important architectural monuments will be made, and a brief overview of some fine arts
will be provided as well—thus making it clear that neither architecture nor fine arts were
neglected, but were given due patronage during Muslim rule in Spain.
4.2.4 (A) Architecture
During the period of the Umayyads, Cordova (the capital of the Empire) became the most
splendid city. It was given the title of “The Jewel of the World”, and it contained seven
hundred mosques, three hundred public baths, hundred splendid palaces and thirteen
thousand houses. Abd al-Rahman-I erected a wall round the city and also constructed a
palace named Munyat al-Rusafah. It was reproduction of the very same palace built by his
grandfather Hisham in Syria.
One of the impressive, earliest and grandest monuments of religious art in Spain is the Great
Masajid of Cordova (Masjid-I Qurtuba); Abd al-Rahman-I in 786 CE laid the foundation of
which. Later on, it was enlarged and completed by his successors. Hisham-I completed the
main portion of the Masjid in 793 CE and added the square minaret to it. Abd al-Rahman-III
built a minaret of 73 cubits high. In a similar fashion, Al-Hakam built a dome in front of the
Mihrab and was decorated in golden mosaic. Twelve hundred and ninety three columns of
various types supported the roof of the Masjid; some smooth, others fluted. For illumination,
brass lanterns were used. It is the third largest Masjid with an area of 26, 500 sq. Yards.
Today it is a cathedral.
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Abd al-Rahman-III got constructed a beautiful and splendid palace called Al-Zahra, after the
name of his wife. This palace was completed in twenty years. There were about four hundred
rooms and apartments in the palace. Its eastern hall wall beautified with fountains, in which
were placed golden statues of animals. Water flowed through the mouth of each picture.
One more monumental legacy of the Muslims in Spain was the 13th century citadel castle of
Alhambra (Al-Hamra: The Red Palace) built by Ibn al-Ahmar. It was extended and adorned
by his three successors. Another great architectural legacy of the Muslims is the Alcazar
(palace) of Seville. Among many Alcazars like in Cordova, and Toledo, the Alcazar of
Seville is the most renowned. It was first built by Toledan architect for the Muwahhid
Governor in 1199-1200C.E. “Of the secular monuments of Alcazar of Seville and the
Alhmabra of Granda, with their profuse but graceful decorations, are the most superb
remains” (Hitti, 1970: 595).
The Hispano–Muslim system of decoration reached its zenith in the palace of Alhambra.
“This acropolis of Granada, with its excessive decoration in mosaics, stalactites and
inscriptions, was conceived and constructed on so extensive and magnificent a scale that it
has been accepted as the last word in such workmanship” (Hitti, 1970: 595-96). Begun by
Muhammad/Al-Ghalib in 1248, its construction was completed by Abu al-Hajjaj Yusuf (r.
1333-54) and by his successor Muhammad-V al-Ghani (r. 1354-59). The most celebrated
portion is the Court of Lions: in the centre of this court twelve marble lions stand in a circle,
each sprouting a jet of water from its mouth.
Syed Ameer Ali provides a detailed description of its characteristics in his A Short History of
Saracens (2011: 567-68) in these lines: “The towers, citadels, and palaces, with their light
and elegant architecture, the graceful porticos and colonnades, the domes and ceilings still
glowing with tints which have lost none of their original brilliancy; the airy halls, constructed
to admit the perfume of the surrounding gardens; the numberless fountains over which the
owners had such perfect control, that the water could be made high or low, visible or invisible
at pleasure, sometimes allowed to spout in the air, at other times to spread out in large,
oblong sheets, in which were reflected buildings, fountains and serene azure sky the lovely
arabesques, paintings and mosaics finished with such care and accuracy as to make even the
smallest apartment fascinating, and illuminated in various shades of gold, pink, light blue,
and dusky purple; the lovely dados of porcelain mosaic of various figures and colours; the
beautiful Hall of Lions with its cloister of a hundred and twenty eight slender and graceful
columns, its blue and white pavement, its harmony of scarlet, azure and gold; the arabesques
glowing with colour like the pattern on a cashmere shawl; its lovely marble filagree filling in
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the arches, its beautiful cupolas, its famous alabaster cup in the centre; the enchanting Hall of
Music, where the Court sat and listened to the music of the performers in the tribunes above,
the beautiful seraglio with its delicate and brass lattice work and exquisite ceilings; the lovely
colouring of the stalactites in the larger halls and of the conical linings in the smaller
chambers”—made this monument one of the wonders of the world. Even Ameer Ali—who is
otherwise known for his brilliancy and expertise over English language—has admitted that it
is “impossible” for him to give full description of this palace, and by that way of the
monuments of Muslim Spain, for all these “require a master’s pen to describe”.
4.2.4 (B) Minor Arts
Muslims in Spain developed all the arts—minor or practical. They made a close observation
of all the arts introduced or developed in other lands and after that added them their own
features.
In metal works, Hispano-Moorish school flourished/excelled and it involved decoration,
raising patterns in relief or engraving and inlaid with gold and silver. One of the specimens is
the relic of Hisham-II (r. 976-1009), preserved in Cathedral of Gerona in the form of a
wooden casket. This specimen has Arabic inscription which states that it is the work of two
artisans/craftsmen, Badr and Tarif, and was made for a courtier of al-Hakam-II (r. 961-76) as
a gift for his successor, Hisham. The most famous centres of metal works were Toledo and
Seville. These centres were especially famous in the metal works such as knives, sword
blades and astrolabes. The astronomical invention of ancient Greek i.e. astrolabe was
perfected by the Muslims. It was used to know the hour of the prayer and the geographical
position of the Makkah.
Muslims of Spain had also a share in the development of textile arts. The centre of the
weaving industry was Cordova. Silk weaving was the most enchanting art of Spain. There
were about thirty thousand weavers in Cordova alone. Almeria is said to have had four
thousand eight hundred weaving machines or looms. Western enterprise imitated Muslims
and began to set up looms in various centres of France and Italy.
Talking about the art of applying coloured glazes to the earthenware, Muslims were
considered masters and Valencia represented the centre of this very industry. During the
fifteenth century, this industry was introduced into Italy from Spain which points out that
many regions started emulating the very art of the Muslims. In Toledo and Cordova, pottery
was manufactured. But, Spain somehow was not able to compete with Syria in manufacturing
and colouring of glass.
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We also find that Mudejar art flourished and excelled in Spain. It was the combination of
Christian and Islamic elements in the form of art and architecture. These workers excelled in
pottery, textiles and woodwork. We have numerous examples to illustrate that the Europeans
imitated the Muslims in metal, glasswork, pottery, textiles and other forms of decorative art.
Like the case of textiles, the different works produced in Europe are bearing the stamp of the
Islamic style.
In the tenth century, one more industry flourished in Cordova, which is the industry of ivory
carvers. The industry manufactured fine caskets and boxes which were made wholly or partly
of ivory. These boxes and caskets were decorated by means of inlaid or painted ornaments
and some of these painted ornaments presented musical performances and hunting scenes as
well. These boxes were very often used as jewel cases. The beautiful example of this art is a
cylindrical casket made in 964 CE the inscription, which it had round the lid states that it is
for the Caliph al- Hakam-II as a present or gift to his wife.
Besides these, Music also developed and was highly patronised. The corner-stone of Spanish
musical art was laid by Ziryab, a disciple of the Mawsi school of Baghdad. He came to
Cordova in 822, was patronised by Abd al-Rahman-II, and became the master singer of
Spain, and opened a school which became the conservatory of Andalusian music. Other
schools followed in Seville, Toledo, Valencia, and Granada. After Ziryab, it was Abu-al-
Qasim Abbas ibn Firnas, who is credited for having popularised music in Spain.
Calligraphy was also given due patronage by the Spanish Muslims, as was done earlier
during the reigns of Umayyads and Abbasids. Spain developed its own type of script
conspicuous for the roundness of letters; which came to be known as “Andalusi”. Similarly, a
new style was developed in epigraphy as well, which was known as “Maghribi”. These are
only some important aspects of a long legacy, and only a few examples of a great
contribution.
William Montgomery Watt, in his, Influence of Islam on Medieval Europe (1972: 43), writes
about the impact of Muslim Spain’s contribution to various sciences and arts in these words:
“When one becomes aware of the full extent of Arab experimenting, Arab thinking and Arab
writing, one sees that without the Arabs European science and philosophy would not have
developed when they did. The Arabs were… genuine bearers, who both kept alive the
disciplines they had been taught and extended their range. When about 1100 Europeans
became seriously interested in the science and philosophy of their Saracen enemies, these
disciplines were at their zenith; and the Europeans had to learn all they could from the Arabs
before they themselves could further advance”.
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P. K. Hitti in his History of the Arabs (1970: 557) has presented the contribution of Muslim
Spain to various fields of knowledge and learning in these words: “Muslim Spain wrote one
of the brightest chapters in the intellectual history of medieval Europe. Between the middle of
eighth and beginning of thirteenth centuries [750-1200s]… the Arabic-speaking peoples were
the main bearers of the torch of culture and civilization throughout the world. Moreover, they
were the medium through which ancient science and philosophy were recovered,
supplemented and transmitted in such a way as to make possible the renaissance of Western
Europe. In all this, Arabic Spain had a large share”. Thus, during the Middle Ages, the
Islamic world, from Spain to India, produced an unprecedented cultural efflorescence.
4.2.5 Let Us Sum Up
In this lesson, the students have come to know about (a) the vast and great contribution,
which the Muslims in Spain made in various fields of knowledge; be it physical/ medical
sciences like Astronomy, Mathematics, Botany, and Medicine, or social sciences like History,
Geography, and Philosophy; and (b) in various Arts (minor/fine arts like: metal work,
textiles, music, calligraphy, etc.), and in the Architecture (Palaces, Castles, Masajid, etc)—
thus making it clear that neither architecture nor fine arts were neglected, but were given due
patronage, as was given to the physical and social sciences. By studying this, the students will
get a clear image that during their long period of rule of about 800 years (from 711 to 149CE)
Spain was developed into a country of most favoured and beautiful place of learning, art,
culture and civilization. The Arab kings of Spain not only encouraged history, geography,
philosophy, astronomy, the natural and exact sciences, but also medicine and music were
cultivated with equal earnestness. Indeed, in Medieval Spain, Muslims wrote one of the
splendid chapters in the intellectual history of medieval Europe and during this period
Muslims were the main bearers of the torch of culture and civilization throughout the world.
1. Give a brief account of the intellectual activities under Muslims of Spain?

2. Write some of the important architectural features of Masjid-i-Qurtaba?
1. Discuss the role of Umayyad rulers of Spain in the development of various
physical/medical sciences (Astronomy, Botany, and Medicine)?
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2. ‘Muslims in Spain wrote one of the splendid chapters in the intellectual history of
medieval Europe’. Evaluate/Comment?
3. Discuss in detail the contribution of Muslims of Spain in the field of History and
Geography?
1. K. Ali, A Short Study of Islamic History (New Delhi: Adam Publishers and
Distributors, 2013)
2. Syed Ameer Ali, A Short History of Saracens, New Ed. (New Delhi: Adam
3. Sir Thomas W. Arnold & Guillaume Alfred (Eds.). The Legacy of Islam (New
Delhi: Kitab Bhavan, 1997)
4. John L. Esposito, (Ed.). The Oxford History of Islam (New York: Oxford
University Press, 1999)
5. Prof. Masudul Hasan, History of Islam, 2 vols (New Delhi: Adam Publishers and
Distributors, 2015)
6. Philip K. Hitti, History of the Arabs, 10th Ed. (London: Macmillan Education Ltd.,
1970)
7. Seyyed Hossein Nasr, Islam: Religion, History, and Civilization (London & New
York: Harper Collins Publishers Inc., 2003)
8. Mohammad Dawood Sofi, History of Islamic Civilization (New Delhi: Adam
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Lesson No. 3: The Crusades and Islamic Response
Structure
4.3.1 Introduction
4.3.2 Objectives
4.3.3 Meaning and Origin of the word “Crusade”
4.3.4 Ideology and Motivations for the Crusade wars
4.3.5 The Crusading Movement (1095-1291)—the Nine Crusades
4.3.6 Islamic Responses to the Crusades
4.3.7 Impact of Crusades on the Christian and Muslim Worlds
4.3.8 Let Us Sum Up
4.2.1 Introduction
The Crusades were one of the most fascinating events of Muslim-Christian encounters.
Spread over three continents (Europe, Asia, and Africa), the Crusades were a series of
encounters in an almost two-centuries-long military campaign (1095–1291 CE) conducted by
the Christians of Western Europe against the Muslims in the land of Palestine and the eastern
Mediterranean coastal strip. Although, there were many factors—social, political and
economic environment of the 11th century Western Europe—responsible that led to the
Crusade, however, the religious factor: the symbolic representation of Jerusalem received
much attention in both the papacy as well as the masses. The Christian aim was to wrest the
Holy Land, Jerusalem, from the Muslims. Annoyed, angered, frightened, and disgusted by the
presence of uninvited forces (Crusaders or Franks) in their territories, the Muslim response to
the Crusades, thus, was primarily intermittent, unorganized, and disrupted by a preoccupation
with internal problems vis-à-vis disunity and dynastic conflicts. Later Muslims fully
employed the doctrine of Jihad, alongside the production of a genre of literature to combat
the invaders. The impact of the Crusades was phenomenal particularly on the Western
Europe. The Crusades had both positive and negative impacts.The story of the medieval
Crusades sounds quite simple to the ears but the topic of the Crusades, owing to its deep
impact on the mutual understanding between the East and the West, is still a subject of public
and intellectual discourse in both the Muslim and the Christian worlds. Muslims and others in
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the Middle East regard European colonialism and the modern “war on terror” as extensions of
the original Crusader impulse.
4.3.2 Objectives
Among many other issues, this lesson will help the students to
 Understand the origin and meaning of the word Crusade;

 Know the social, cultural, political, and religious conditions of Europe at the time of
the Crusades;
 Know about the Crusading movement: the nine Crusades;
 Understand the Islamic social, cultural, political, and religious responses to the
Crusades; and
 Know the impact of the Crusades on the Christian and the Muslim worlds.
4.3.3 Meaning and Origin of the word “Crusade”
The Catholic Encyclopaedia traces the origin of the Crusades: “The origin of the word
[Crusade] may be traced to the cross made of cloth and worn as a badge on the outer garment
of those who took part in these enterprises”. Medieval writers use the terms crux, croisement,
croiserie etc.
According to the Encyclopaedia of Religion, Crusade is defined as “military expeditions
against various enemies of the church; the term refers particularly to the medieval campaigns
aimed at liberating the Holy Land from the Muslims”. Similarly, the Oxford English
Dictionary defines a Crusade as “Any of the military expedition undertaken by the Christians
of Europe in the 11th, 12th, and 13th centuries to recover the Holy Land from the Muslims”,
and, by extension: “any war instigated and blessed by the Church for alleged religious ends”.
In addition, etymologically the term “Crusade” (from the Latin Crux [cross]), stresses the
centrality of the symbolism of the Cross underlying the Christian military campaigns because
they believed, a Crusade was Christ’s own enterprise, legitimized by his own personal
mandate. Interestingly, the word “Crusade” first coined in Spain in the thirteenth century as
cruzada is a non-medieval Franco-Spanish hybrid and did not appear as such but only
popularized in English since 1577. However, its French equivalent word croisade had
appeared in France more than a hundred years earlier. Other similar terms—crozeia, crozea,
or even crozada—were later used by writers in Western European vernaculars to describe the
wars.
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At the Council of the Clermont in France, November 1095, Pope Urban-II, organised the
ceremonial granting of crosses to those who had sworn to undertake the Jerusalem journey.
But before we discuss the Crusading movement, it is significant to understand the conditions
of the eleventh century Western Europe: the background of the preaching of the Crusade by
the Pope Urban-II.
4.3.4 Ideology and Motivations for the Crusade Wars
Here in this section, we shall try to know why the Crusades had happened, who participated
and why. Indeed, from its beginning, the history of the Crusades was obscured by distortion.
The image of Muslims portrayed as brutal oppressors fabricated by Pope Urban-I was pure
propaganda, Islam was more tolerant religion than others; while subject Christians kept
themselves duly humble and paid their taxes. Though, some of the least concerning
factors/events of the East like the burning of the Holy Sepulcher in 1009 by the Caliph Hakim
which later on he himself renovated it; the threat of the Saljuq Turks when they routed the
Byzantines at the battle of Manzikert in 1071, had receded by 1092, with the death of the last
great Sultan Malik Shah and other propaganda like harassment of the Christian pilgrimages
on their way to the Holy Land, by the ruling class were among the few issues Popes
appropriately highlighted in order to motivate the people.
The church has justified these Crusade wars as being solely sacred in their objectives and
commanded by God, but there were other secular objectives behind the preaching of the
Crusade. There were many important secular factors at foot which entailed the Crusades,
though the immediate cause, as is generally believed, was the Muslim expansion. Here we
shall deal with the motivations behind the Crusades.
The motivations of the Papacy and the Crusade—religious, political, and socio-economic
motivations
The 11th century Europe witnessed a vibrant internal struggles and shifts within its social,
political, and religious spheres. The ideology of the Crusades would not have developed all of
a sudden with the pope Urban’s preaching at the Council of the Clermont in France in
November 1095; the papacy was impelled to go by constrains with the internal struggle in the
Western society, therefore the socio-religious and political environment could have led to
motivate the Pope to preach the sermon of the holy war for numerous secular reasons. The
religious context could have influenced the pope Urban to desire great legacy for himself in
the midst of rivalry between the Roman Catholic Church and the Greek Orthodox Church.
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The political context could also have influenced him to exert more papal authority against his
rivals in the Roman Empire. Similarly, pope’s social context could have motivated and
impelled him to divert the increasing population, knights toward the east making Muslim
threat as a pretext for his secular goals.
Religious Motivations
The second half of the 11th Century Western Europe was witness to many schisms. The
relationship between the Byzantine Greek Orthodox Church and the Roman Catholic Church
was sour and they severed from each other altogether in 1054, over various theological
disagreements which became known as The Great Schism. Therefore, since the beginning of
his pontificate, Pope Urban-II had sought to re-establish friendly relationship and to unify the
two severed branches of the church, believing that the crusading enterprise would bring the
two churches together, ushering a new age of unity in Christendom. However, for him, first
and foremost, it would provide an opportunity to expand papal power once again, thus create
his own legacy for times to come and his name associated with grandness, as Thomas
Asbridge, in his The First Crusade: A New History (2010) writes, “Orchestrating a positive
response to the Byzantine appeal for military aid promised to cement a new period of détente
with Constantinople. At the same time, it offered the prospect of expanding Latin influence
over the Levantine Church in Asia Minor, Syria and Palestine, a significant step along the
road toward papal pre-eminence in all Christendom”. Thus, preaching the ‘holy war’ in the
First Crusade was the ideal way to achieve both secular motives.
Moreover, popes of the 11th century sought to reform both papacy and the wider secular
church from the corruption and superstitions in order to regain their supremacy. The Cluny
reform movement thus sought to reassert their control over all of the clergy by re-
emphasizing separation and dominance of the spiritual over the secular in church
appointments, management, finance and behaviour. The idea eventually led to the papacy’s
claim to the right to overthrow monarchs and to release subjects from their control. The First
Crusade was a direct result of this. Consequently, preaching the ‘holy war’ became a
particular and intimate concern of the reformed papacy.
Political Motivations
The Crusade launched at Clermont by the Pope Urban-II also used political “symbolism” in
his sermon to motivate the audience. Pope was able to orchestrate a much larger gathering
which he would not have imagined. At this stage, Urban very well knew how to provoke a
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more vigorous response; he resorted to political symbolism in order to meet various papal
ambitions envisaged. He shrewdly extended and applied the idea of “the Truce and the Peace
of God”—the Peace of God threatened divine sanctions against those who assaulted clerics,
monks, monasteries, women and other innocents, including their provisions; and the Truce of
God sought to suspended any fighting from Wednesday evening to Monday morning, and
above all any violence banned on holy days. That Said, Urban twisted, distorted and extended
the idea of “Truce of God” to the Crusades by declaring these wars as God’s wars, Holy
wars, or wars fought for the safeguard of Christendom, and persecuted under controlled set of
conditions and furthermore under the papal authority. However, Urban’s proclamation of the
“Truce and Peace of God” was in fact the outcome of his ideological and motivational
synthesis along the encounter with his aristocratic warfare society. The popes had been
attempting to achieve a “Truce of God” among the feudal nobility; for many of whom
‘fighting was a pastime as well as a necessity’, what they had trained to do every day since
early childhood. Urban’s innovative ‘fusion of violence with faith’ packed the concept of
sanctified violence in the devotional format (of Holy war or God’s war) that was more
comprehensible and palatable to lay society. Thus for them, the Crusade offered an ideal
opportunity to engage in violence without earning the condemnation of the church. Moreover,
the pope offered plenary indulgences, the transformation of a person’s normal penance for his
sins, into another form: in this case into an act of war, a pilgrim journey to liberate Jerusalem
from the “infidel”. This offer had a profound impact that certainly resolved a major problem
of the Pope. For the criminals, and those preoccupied with the sin and its consequences,
Urban’s grant was a powerful incentive.
Socio-economic Motivations
Eleventh-century Europe was full of poverty, epidemic, warfare and violence. As Fulkcher of
Chartres illustrates the dismal picture of society on the eve of the Crusades, he writes “evils
of all kinds multiplied throughout Europe because of vacillating faith”. He went even one
step farther specifying the evils: “in all parts of Europe peace, virtue, and faith were brutally
trampled upon by stronger men and lesser, inside the church and out”. The great social
metamorphosis taking place in Europe also added to the eruption of these violent Crusades.
Primarily, there was a steep rise in the population of Western Europe in the eleventh century,
coupled with high standards of law and order. Consequently, the aristocracy tended to seek
new external outlets for its military ardor and its desire for land as much of the land had gone
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out of cultivation during the barbarian invasions. Moreover, to have land was at the same
time to have more power and freedom. The serfs (who were bound to land and owned by the
feudal lord) carried the obligation to perform very heavily services for the master, the
landlord.
Thus, condensing with other factors, the pope reminded the people of their present “domestic
sufferings”, in his sermon, and the people responded as the Pope had hoped. It was necessary
for the Pope to put an end to all the evils prevalent in the society; and to seek new outlets for
the increasing population and more than that channelizing the inter-Christian violence, the
energies of feuding warlords to the world outside beyond the borders of the Latin West.
Hence, socio-economic constrains and shifts also became motivating factors behind the
pope‘s call for the Crusades. The First Crusade was launched in these circumstances in 1095.
4.3.5 The Crusading Movement (1095-1291)—the Nine Crusades
Here we shall attempt to discuss the nine Crusades. Generally, the Crusades are classified or
divided into nine Crusades. The first four being sometimes called the Principal Crusades and
the remaining five the Minor Crusades. There were several other expeditions which were
insignificant in numbers or results.
First Crusade—1096-1099
On November 27, 1095, Pope Urban-II mounted on a podium set up in an open field outside
the French city of Clermont, surrounded in all directions by an immense crowd—princes,
bishops, abbots, priests, knights, poor peasants, Urban rose to his feet and delivered an
electrifying sermon—crying and shouting “It is the will of God”, which moved everyone
present there as he touched the very emotions of the audience. He had orchestrated the
gathering in response to an appeal made by the Emperor of Greek Byzantine, Alexius
Comnenus-I, requesting Urban to send an army to assist him to repel the Saljuq Turks, who
had taken nearly all of Asia Minor (present day Turkey) from him.
The Pope’s sermon received an outstanding response: people from all walks of life—
peasants, women, children, nobles—answered his call and eagerly took a vow to join the
expedition to Jerusalem. Urban himself journeyed throughout Western France in
spring 1096, repeating his call, and sending written letters/appeals to areas that he could not
personally visit. Popular preachers everywhere took up the cry “God wills it!” and urged their
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hearers to start for Jerusalem. Pope Urban had set August 15, 1096, as the official departure
date for the Crusade armies.
Essentially, two groups set out for the First Crusade to capture the Holy land. Men and
women of all social classes and occupation represented this Crusade. However, one of the
notable features of this expedition was the absence of all kings.
This first group was led by one of the most popular Crusade preachers, a monk named Peter
the Hermit aroused large parts of France with his passionate eloquence, and fiery and
emotional sermons, as he rode from town to town, carrying a huge cross before him and
preaching to vast crowds. Without waiting for the main body of nobles, which was to
assemble at Constantinople in the summer of 1096, a crowd of poor men, women, and
children set out, unorganized and almost unarmed, on the road to the Holy Land. Another
band of large and ill-equipped troops under the leadership of the poor French knight Walter
Sansavoir, and followed by a throng of about 80,000 persons, among whom were many
women and children, also set out for Jerusalem. Together the groups consisting of a few
knights and large unruly group of ragged pilgrims, poorly equipped, an undisciplined army
often known as the Peasants’ or ‘People’s Crusade, led by Peter the Hermit and Walter
Sansavoir. Peter the Hermit set out for Constantinople leading the Peoples Crusade via an
overland route (see Map 1) through Germany and Hungary. They plundered and massacred
the Jewish natives—the first victims of the Crusaders—of the countries through which they
marched. However, thousands of the Peoples Crusade fell in battle with the natives, and
thousands more perished miserably of hunger and exposure.
The unexpected Crusaders’ arrival before the official date at Constantinople worried the
Byzantium emperor Alexius-I. Following foraging, theft, riots, and violence; Alexius-I sent
his ragged allies as quickly as possible across to the Turks side (Asia Minor) of the Bosporus,
where almost all of the People’s Crusader were slaughtered by the Turks at Nicaea. Peter the
Hermit was apparently the only survivor who returned to Constantinople to discuss the
matters with the Emperor. The people’s or Peasants’ Crusade was over.
The second group often known as the Knight’s Crusade was the main body of the First
Crusade. This group was led by a number of independent representatives of European
knighthood and composed mostly of five contingents; each set out for Constantinople by its
own route (Map 1), mostly took a traditional pilgrim route to Italy, and at its own time. The
leaders of the First Crusade included Raymond, count of Toulouse headed a largest band of
volunteers from Provence in southern France; Godfrey of Bouillon, Duke of Lower Lorrain,
and his brother, Baldwin of Boulogne led a force of French and Germans from the
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Rhinelands; Bohemond of Taranto, and his nephew Tancred commanded Normans from Italy
and Sicily; Robert, Duke of Normandy, his cousin Robert-II, Count of Flanders, and his
brother-in-law Stephen, Count of Blois and Chartres; and Hugh, count of Vermandois, the
brother of King Philip-I of France.
The actual number in the first Crusading armies is not known; however, from all these bands
60,000-100,000 persons must have entered the Byzantine Empire between 1096 and 1097.
The Crusaders passed through Europe by different routes and reassembled at Constantinople.
In 1097, the Crusaders crossed the Bosphorus, first captured the city of Nicaea, the capital of
the Turkish sultanate, and the gateway to Turkish territory. The Crusaders then set out across
Asia Minor for Antioch, the chief city of Syria. They laid the siege around the city,
blockading supplies and despoiling the region. Hunger and disease befell the Crusaders; some
even turned cannibalism, eating Turkish corpses. The survivors captured that city, and then,
after some delays, pushed on towards Jerusalem. The Siege of Antioch had lasted from
October 1097 to June 1098. In November 1098, after a long stay in Antioch, Crusaders
continued their journey Southward to Jerusalem; en route they laid the siege of Maarat an-
Nu‘man which lasted from 27 November to December 11, 1098. In Maarat an-Nu‘man,
Franks mercilessly massacred everyone and even, due to the shortage of the foodstuffs, they
turned into cannibals. Fulcher of Chartres recounts the incident: “I shudder to tell that many
of our people, harassed by the madness of excessive hunger, cut pieces from the buttocks of
the Saracens already dead there, which they cooked, but when it was not yet roasted enough
by the fire, they devoured it with savage mouth”. Another Frankish chronicler Radulph of
Caen also confesses: “In Ma‘arra our troops boiled pagan adults in cooking-pots; they
impaled children on spits and devoured them grilled”.
On 13 January 1099, Crusaders under the command of Raymond, barefoot and in the
attire of a pilgrim, marched out of Maarat an-Nu‘man, and took the coast route to Jerusalem.
Finally, by the evening of Tuesday, 7 June 1099 the Crusaders found themselves before the
walls of the Holy City, Jerusalem, without any major fight.
Since the previous August, after the fall of Antioch, the city had been under the control of
Fatimid Shiite caliphate of Egypt which was established in opposition to the Sunni caliphate
in Baghdad. In the second half of the eleventh century, Fatimids had been waging a war
against the Saljuq and other Turkish stakeholders for the control of Syria. Therefore, when
the Fatimid caliph heard of Franks defeating the Turks, he extending his helping hand to the
Crusaders and started negotiations for future plans. Even an Egyptian delegation bearing
gifts, upon the fall of Nicaea, visited the camp of the Franks to wish them a speedy victory
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and to propose an alliance with them. Therefore, a firm friendship had developed between
Cairo and Constantinople, between Fatimid caliph, Al-Fadl, and emperor Alexius. Al-Fadl
was skeptical, however, after negotiations had failed over the division and control of Syria
proposed by him. Crusaders were now hysterical to capture the city for they had taken the
vow. The commander of the Fatimid garrison sent to Egypt for reinforcements to help defend
Jerusalem from the large Frankish army who had already camped before the great walls of
the Holy City.
The Crusaders laid siege but as in the case of Antioch, they had to face difficult problems for
the walls were too long. Lack of food and water were a perpetual problem for they had to go
miles for water as all of the water bodies around the city were poisoned by the defenders of
the Holy City. Moreover, ominous reports began to circulate in the Christian camp which
became demoralised that a large relieving force from Egypt was marching towards Jerusalem.
But what had proved so effective at Antioch, Crusade leaders sought to provoke that religious
enthusiasm again through false visions and dreams, and certainly had done the job.
After one week, on the night of July 13-14, the assault on Jerusalem began. The defending
army offered a vigorous defence but, in the attack that followed on 15 July 1099, the Franks
succeeded in breaching the defence line and in no time they poured the city. Finally the
Crusaders recovered the Holy Sepulcher on July 15, 1099 (the twenty-second day of the
month of Sha‘ban, in the year of the Hijra 492), after a forty-day long siege. The Crusaders
massacred everyone “that they met” in houses and Masajid, “men, women and children
alike”. For seven days the carnage went on, the massacre is recorded by three Christians who
were with the Crusade army. On the massacre, Fulcher of Chartres writes, “almost ten
thousand were killed. Indeed, if you had been there you would have seen our feet colored to
our ankles with the blood of the slain. But what more shall I relate? None of them were left
alive; neither women nor children were spared”. Similarly, the extent of the carnage can be
judged from the expression of Raymond of Aguilers when he narrates, “If I tell the truth
[about the massacre], it will exceed your powers of belief. So let it suffice to say this much, at
least, that in the Temple and porch of Solomon, men rode in blood up to their knees and
bridle reins”. The massacre at Jerusalem profoundly frightened the entire world.
The capture of the Jerusalem, the Holy City, was a remarkable achievement for the
Crusaders. Jerusalem was given under the control of Godfrey, and rest of the leaders either
retained other conquered cities or returned home. The First Crusade resulted into the
establishment of four Crusade principal Latin States in the Near East: the county of Antioch
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(in 1098), the county of Edessa (in 1097), the county of Tripoli (in 1109) and the Kingdom of
Jerusalem (in 1099) (Map 2).
Map 1 Map 2
Second Crusade (1147-49)
Unlike the First Crusade, the Second Crusade received the whole impetus from the East in the
form of the fall of Edessa. The first organized Muslim response to the Crusades after the fall
of Jerusalem, came from the Saljuq Turks under the Atebeg of Mosul, Imad al-Din Zangi,
who had begun taking control of the Syria: systematically challenging the Frankish states. He
captured Edessa in 1144, the jewel of their possessions, then under Joscelin’s lordship. The
fall of Edessa into Turkish hands had a devastating impact on the Franks’ power in Syria. The
disunity among the Franks was quietly debilitating their power ensued their internal disunity.
On the other hand, Muslim capture of Edessa boasted their morale primarily roused by the
spirit of Jihad; began reverse wave of unabated conquests into the lands previously taken by
the Crusaders till the last Crusader was thrown out of the land. Interestingly, Edessa was the
first of the four principal Christian states born out of the First Crusade now fallen first to the
Muslims.
The news of the fall of Edessa, nevertheless, spread through and horrified the West. Pope
Eugenius immediately decided to preach the Crusade; on December 1, 1145, Pope issued a
papal bull Quantum praedecessores to King Louis, all the princes and the faithful of the
kingdom of France. As the title suggests, the bull looked back to the glorious victories of the
First Crusade and insisting them to go to the rescue of eastern Christendom and promising
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them security for their worldly possessions and remission for their sins. Eugenies’ papal
legate St. Bernard of Clairvaux preached the Second Crusade to French and Germans.
The Second Crusade, unlike the First Crusade, was led by two chief potentates of Western
Europe; King Louis-VII (1137-80) of France and King Conard-III (1138-52) of Germany,
both of them had amiable papal relations with Pope Eugenius. Thus, the Second Crusade
would be a well-organized and disciplined expedition than the First Crusade and went in
three directions: in the north-eastern Germany frontier against the Wends; in south against the
Muslims of Spain; and in the east against the Saljuq Turks.
The Second Crusade, though begun under the most favorable auspices, had an unhappy
ending. Of the great host that set out from Europe, only a few thousands escaped annihilation
in Asia Minor at the hands of the Turks. Louis and Conrad, with the remnants of their armies,
made a joint attack on Damascus, but had to raise the siege after a few days. The Frankish
army, fleeing annihilation by the Turks, at dawn on 28 July 1148, the fifth day after their
arrival in Damascus, began to retreat; was a bitter blow to Christian prestige.
King Conrad left Palestine in disgust, after returning from Damascus, on 8 September and
returned to Constantinople. King Louis remained in Palestine until Easter of 1149. With this,
the Second Crusade was over. The Second Crusade was an unmitigated fiasco, not only did it
failed to capture the Edessa, but it also resulted into the dissention and disagreement between
the Greeks and the Latins, The East and the West Christians, the French and the Germans. On
the other hand, it revived the spirits of the Muslim world; united them against their foe.
Third Crusade (1187-92)
The Third Crusade was caused by the capture of Jerusalem in 1187 by Ṣalaḥ al-Din Ayyubi
(Saladin), the sultan of Egypt. Among all the Crusades, the Third Crusade stands as the most
crucial and decisive as it, for the first time, invoked and garnered the support of the elites and
kings of Europe. While Europe mourned their defeat in the Second Crusade, the Crusader
states were left with its bitter legacy. The people of Damascus now deeply distrusted the
Christians. Momentum had shifted from the Crusaders to the Muslims. From his rise to power
in 1146 until his death in 1174, Nur al-Din Zangi, worked hard to found a Muslim state
extending from Mosul to encompass all of Syria, Egypt, and Yemen. Calling for Jihad, he
challenged the power of the Franks and is rightly considered the precursor of Ṣalaḥ al-Din
Ayyubi, who defeated the Franks. The great Crusader cities capitulated one by one to the
Muslims: Acre on July 10, 1187, Ascalon on September 4, and finally, the Muslim army
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besieged Jerusalem and on Friday, 2nd October 1187, Ṣalaḥ al-Din captured Jerusalem, thus
ending almost one-century of Frankish rule over Jerusalem.
The news of the taking of Jerusalem spread consternation throughout western Christendom.
The cry for another Crusade arose on all sides. Pope Gregory-VII initiated a new Crusade in
1187, imposing a seven-year truce throughout Europe so that rulers could concentrate on the
Crusades. The Third Crusade marked the height of the crusading movement—led by kings
and the highest elites of the West: Emperor Frederick Barbarossa of Germany, King Richard-
I of England and King Philip-II Augustus of France. The ultimate goal of the Third Crusade
was plainly the recapture of Jerusalem. In England, a general tax called “Saladin (Ṣalaḥ al-
Din) Tithe” was imposed to raise funds for the Crusade. Once more thousands of men sewed
the cross in gold, or silk, or cloth upon their garments and set out for the Holy Land. It
seemed that nothing could prevent the restoration of Christian supremacy in Syria. These
great rulers set out, each at the head of a large army, for the recovery of the Holy City of
Jerusalem.
The Germans of the Third Crusade
Frederic Barbarossa, the Emperor of Germany, was the first to mobilise his army from
Germany on May 11, 1189. His son, Duke Frederick of Swabia, and the massive crusading
army, undoubtedly one of the largest yet to leave Europe, accompanied him. He attempted
the overland route. But, the Crusaders were consumed in Asia Minor by the hardships of the
march and the swords of the Turks. Frederick Barbarossa drowned in the River Salef near
Antioch while taking a bath, and the most of the survivors of his army, disheartened by the
loss of their leader, returned to Germany.
The French and English of the Third Crusade
The English and French kings finally mustered their forces beneath the walls of Acre, which
city the Christians were then besieging. It is estimated that 600,000 men were engaged in the
investment of the place. After one of the longest and most costly sieges they ever carried on
in Asia, the Crusaders at last forced the place to capitulate, in spite of all the efforts of
Saladin to render the garrison relief. The expedition of the French and English achieved
little, other than the capture of Acre. Philip and Richard, who came by sea, captured Acre in
1191 after a hard siege, but their quarrels prevented them from following up this initial
success. King Philip soon went home; Richard took command of the entire Crusade and
decided to march south to Jaffa along the sea coast as Ṣalaḥ al-Din controlled the whole
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countryside. For two years did Richard the vainly contend in almost daily combat with his
generous antagonist for the possession of the Holy land. Ṣalaḥ al-Din was in no way lacking
in any of those knightly virtues with which the writers of the time invested the character of
the English hero. At one time, when Richard was sick with a fever, Ṣalaḥ al-Din, knowing
that he was poorly supplied with delicacies, sent him a gift of the choicest fruits of the land.
The English king remained in the Holy Land. His campaigns during this time gained for him
the title of “Lion-hearted” by which he is always known. He had many adventures and
performed knightly exploits without number, but could not capture Jerusalem despite many
attempts. Sensing no success, Richard thus resumed negotiations with Ṣalaḥ al-Din following
his bitter conclusion that while Ṣalaḥ al-Din remained Sultan of Egypt, the Christians could
never take and hold Jerusalem.
Finally, on 2 September 1192, a formal three-year peace agreement was agreed between King
Richard and Saladin by the terms of which Christians were permitted to visit Jerusalem
without paying tribute, that they should have free access to the holy places, and remain in
undisturbed possession of the coast from Jaffa to Tyre. On October 9, 1192, King Richard
then set sail for England, and with his departure from the Holy Land the Third Crusade came
to an end.
Fourth Crusade (1202-04)
When news of Ṣalaḥ al-Din’s death and the division of the empire among his three sons
reached Europe, the then Pope Innocent-III (1198-1216) began preparations for a new
Crusade. On 15 August 1198, he issued a crusading bull, no emperor or king answered his
call, but a number of knights (chiefly French) took the Crusader’s vow. None of the
Crusades, after the Third, effected much in the Holy Land; either their force was spent before
reaching it, or they were diverted from their purpose by different objects and ambitions. The
Crusaders of the Fourth expedition captured Constantinople instead of Jerusalem.
The call was finally answered by three French lords: Count Thibaut of Champagne, his
cousin, Count Louis of Blois, and Count Baldwin of Flanders. The leaders of the Crusade
decided to make Egypt their objective point, since this country was then the center of the
Muslim power. Accordingly, the Crusaders proceeded to Venice, for the purpose of securing
transportation across the Mediterranean. The Venetians agreed to furnish the necessary ships
only on condition that the Crusaders first seized Zara on the eastern coast of the Adriatic.
Zara was a Christian city, but it was also a naval and commercial rival of Venice. In spite of
the pope’s protests the Crusaders besieged and captured the city. Even then they did not
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proceed against the Muslims. The Venetians persuaded them to turn their arms against
Constantinople. On 13 April 1204, they launched a full-assault and captured the city. The
sack on Constantinople was more than just a mere plunder. Crusaders ruthlessly violated
Byzantium’s holy sanctuaries, destroying, defiling, or stealing all that they could lay hands
on. The leaders of the Crusade grabbed spoils to the value of 400,000 silver marks. They
slaughtered many of the inhabitants and raped women of all ages. The possession of that
great capital would greatly increase Venetian trade and influence in the East; for the
crusading nobles it held out endless opportunities of acquiring wealth and power. Thus it
happened that these soldiers of the Cross, pledged to war with the Muslims, attacked a
Christian city, which for centuries had formed the chief bulwark of Europe against the Arab
and the Turk.
Baldwin of Flanders was elected as the first Latin Emperor of Constantinople. Thereafter,
Byzantine was divided between the Latin Emperor, the Venetians and other leaders. What led
to the defeat of Constantinople was the outcome of political disarray, the bad image of
Byzantium in the Latin-west due to its ideology and foreign policy, and its wealth.
Constantinople, after the Fourth Crusade, declined in strength and could no longer cope with
the enemy menacing it. The Venetians’ and the French nobles’ greed and lust for power
turned the Fourth Crusade into a political adventure.
The last five expeditions, the Fifth, Sixth, Seventh, Eighth and Ninth Crusades were
undertaken by the Christians of Europe against the infidels of the East, are grouped as the
Minor Crusades because they were marked by a less enthusiasm than that which
characterized the first movements, and were characterized by the greatest variety of objects
and ambitions.
Fifth Crusade (1217-21)
Disappointed by the Fourth Crusade’s failure, Pope Innocent-III preached for a new Crusade.
Innocent-III, though, died before the muster-date of 1 June 1217 set for the launch of the
Fifth Crusade. Nevertheless, Andrew-II of Hungary and Leopold-VI of Austria were the first
to lead the Crusade and arrived at Acre. They stayed without any outcome. With the arrival of
a large force of Crusaders from Germany in April 1218, a decision was taken to attack
Damietta in the Nile delta as a preliminary to a full-scale assault on Egypt. Al-Kamil, the
Sultan and ruler of Egypt, laid a blockade of the Nile and in this way arrested the Crusaders’
further advance. Al-Kamil took control of Damietta triumphantly. The Fifth Crusade was a
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disastrous defeat. This Crusade killed more Crusaders than did all the previous Crusades
combined.
Sixth Crusade (1227-1229)
The Sixth Crusade headed by Frederick-II of Germany, succeeded in securing from the
Muslims the restoration of Jerusalem, together with several other cities of Palestine.
Frederick-II committed to diplomatic rather than military actions in his relations with al-
Kamil. Fearing the consequences of Frederick’s expedition and politically weakened within
the Ayyubid confederacy, al-Kamil conducted negotiations with Frederick and finally on
February 18, 1229, a ten-year truce was concluded under which Jerusalem was restored to the
Franks. The Muslims held on to the al-Aqṣa compound and did not permit the city to be
fortified. After the expiry of the truce in 1239, the Crusaders were completely wiped out all
vestiges of Frederick-II’s power with the Muslim recapture of Jerusalem by a united Ayyubid
Empire in 1244.
Seventh Crusade (1249-1254)
The Seventh Crusade was under the lead of Louis-IX of France, surnamed the Saint.
Although the fall of Jerusalem made no significant impression in Europe, it did provoke the
preaching of a new Crusade. Louis-IX of France had taken the cross in December 1244
intending to recapture Jerusalem. Louis prepared one of the most organised and well-funded
Crusades Christian Europe had ever launched. He set sail for Egypt in August 1248;
calamities exacerbated as Louis and his army were severely struck by disease on the one
hand, while Muslim attacks gathered pace as they used their ships to cut the river link with
Damietta where the Crusaders were waiting for reinforcement. On 5 April 1250, Louis
ordered a retreat; by then his helpless outnumbered army was forced to surrender. Louis
himself was taken prisoner. Louis who returned to the West was later ransomed for a huge
sum and the freedom of Damietta.
After departure of Louis from the East, the Christian holding fell into a state of anarchy. In
the West, monarchical states were on the rise. In France and England, monarchs could
command loyalty of their barons. Between 1192 and 1254 saw significant changes in the
crusading movement. On the Muslim side, Mamluks (Turks slave men) were replacing the
Ayyubids from Syria to Egypt; Jaffa, Caesarea and Antioch fell to the Muslims one by one.
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Eight Crusade (1270)
Following his return to France, Louis-IX felt himself responsible for the failure of the
Seventh Crusade and longed to redeem himself by another successful expedition. In March
1267, Louis prepared for a new Crusade, but this time people in Europe showed little
enthusiasm. On July 2, 1270, Louis embarked for Tunis where, he had been told, the Amir
was ready to convert to Christianity and join the expedition to help win back the Holy Places.
However, as for the previous Crusades this was also a dismal failure. On landing in Tunis,
Louis learned that the information about the Amir was false. In Tunis, the Crusaders’
conditions deteriorated: disease and unhealthy sanitation cost the lives of many Crusaders.
Louis also died on 25 August 1270 while still encamped in Tunis. With his death the
Crusader army abandoned the cause and returned to Europe. Nothing was achieved through
this Crusade.
Ninth Crusade (1271-2)
The betrayal and failure of the Crusades were reflected by the events on the Franks’ return to
the West. The Crusader spirit was waning and no significant response was expected for
further expeditions. The final Crusade was Prince Edward’s march with his English
Crusaders to the Holy Land. On May 9, 1271, he landed at Acre where he found the
Crusaders’ Kingdom was breathing its last breath. He conducted small raids but
accomplished nothing more than a ten-year truce in 1272 between the Crusaders at Acre and
the Mamluk Baybars. Edward then returned to England.
Meanwhile, severe divisions developed among the Crusaders at Tyre and Acre. Death of the
Baybar sultan in 1277 gave them little relief. In 1280, Qawalun, the Amir of Syria took over
the control of Egypt. Tripoli fell to Qawalun in 1289, and after his death, his son al-Ashraf
Khalil marched against Acre—the last city held by the Crusaders. Finally, in May 1291, Acre
fell to the Muslims.
In this way, the Crusader states founded by the First Crusade almost two centuries earlier
were completely wiped away. The papacy tried hard to galvanise further efforts to march
again to restore the lost Lands, but the papal authority over people had dropped to its lowest
ebb. Monarchy was replacing papal authority; kings and lords were more interested in
expanding their commercial enterprises; for them the Crusades were now irrelevant.
Nevertheless in fits and starts small Crusade expeditions were launched to the East. However,
on the rise of the Ottoman Turks, who replaced the Mamluks, their successful campaigns to
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the West drastically changed the notion of the crusading movement. The Crusaders were on
the defensive by the time Constantinople was conquered by the Ottomans in 1453. Thus,
crusading had become a matter of simple survival.
4.3.6 Islamic Response to the Crusades
What happened when an external enemy, the Latins (Crusaders), near the end of the eleventh
century, was invading the Islamic world? Primarily, Muslim religious and intellectual elites
and those who had a direct confrontation with the Franks, as in the case of Anatolia, resisted
to the best of their ability. The Muslim calls to military Jihad even predate the
fall of Jerusalem. Islamic response to the Crusades was multifaceted. Here in this section, we
shall discuss the Islamic/Muslim response to the Crusades into three broad categories: the
ideological/intellectual/religious, the military, and the diplomatic.
The Ideological/Intellectual/Religious Response
The fall of Jerusalem was a disastrous event recorded with great sadness and pain. Al-Masjid
al-Aqṣa and the Dome of the Rock have always been a glorious sight and potent symbol of
the Islamic faith. The Frankish occupation of Jerusalem, which housed both of those
buildings, was an act of grave desecration in Muslim eyes. Moreover, symbols of pollution
and purity abound in the Muslim portrayal of the Franks. The Muslim problem, however, was
that of the internal discord, especially strife among the rulers. In such a milieu, the first focus
for any call to Jihad or resistance against the enemy rested with the Sunni caliph in Baghdad,
al-Mustaẓhir (d. 512/1118). It was certainly he who was expected to take responsibility for
the promotion of a Jihad in the defense of Islam, the Muslim heartlands and the people.
Thus, the chief qaḍi (or Muslim religious leader), Abu Ṣaʿdal Harawi (d. ca. 500/1106), of
Damascus in Syria led a delegation to the Caliph in Baghdad, and on a Friday in August 1099
CE he preached a sermon that brought tears to every eye present in the Great Masjid of
Baghdad. He wanted help in encouraging the fight against the “Frankish” armies of the First
Crusade.
Muslim preachers travelled throughout the Abbasid caliphate proclaiming the tragedy and
rousing men to recover al-Masjid al-Aqṣa, which Muslims believed to be the place of the
Prophet Muhammad's heavenly ascension, from infidel hands. However, the Caliph, al-
Mustaẓhir, could not provide enough help to be of use, and thus al-Harawi returned in failure.
Only a handful of Muslim scholars and intellectuals, including some prominent poets, could
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stir passions in the manner that Sir Muḥammad Iqbal was able to do in the twentieth century,
another time of despair for the Muslim community. Famous poets often raised their voices,
fiercely reminding Muslim rulers, preoccupied with internal discord and negligence, of their
duty. Abu Muẓaffar al-Abiwardi was living in Baghdad when al-Qaḍi al-Harawi sought the
Caliph’s help.
Thus, even after the capture of and massacre in Jerusalem by the Franks, Muslim intellectuals
continued to arouse the spirit of Jihad among the people. The production of a number of
genres, particularly Jihad (including poetry) and faḍaʾil (merits) literature, which attained
special attention and attraction in the Muslim scholarship at that time.
Al-Sulami’s Response to Crusade (Muslim Reformation and Jihad Literature)
Abu al-Ḥasan Ali ibn Ṭahir al-Sulami (1039/1040-1106) was probably the first Muslim
intellectual and jurist who had a broader understanding and was aware of the goals of the
Frankish incursion into Muslim lands. He was the first who rose to call Muslims to action,
much as the Caliph did, to fight the enemy and to defend the Muslims and their territories
against the foreign onslaught of the Franks. Al-Sulami, just a few years after the fall of
Jerusalem to the Franks, took to the pulpit in the Masjid of Bayt Lihya in the Ghuṭa area on
the outskirts of Damascus to preach Jihad. In this way, over the course of the year 1105, he
publicly dictated a treatise entitled Kitab al-Jihad (Book of Jihad), which continued to be
read in Damascus after his death in 1106. He was preaching and reviving the spirit of Jihad in
a myriad of new contexts among the followers of Islam as they were experiencing, for the
first time, a new situation in which an external, non-Muslim enemy was attacking their lands.
It was quite a different context from that of earlier Muslims who used to fight in the territory
of non-Muslim enemies. Al-Sulami in particular preached during a period of extreme urgency
and deep crisis: The Crusades.
Al-Sulami believed that once the Muslims were ready to abide by God’s commands, He
would help them against the enemy. As such, the attack of Franks into Islamic territory was
but a punishment of God for not executing and upholding the Jihad. How should the Muslims
now confront the ruthless Crusaders (Franks) who had already taken Jerusalem and other
major portions of the Levant? According to al-Sulami, writing in such a distinct situation
would affect how Muslims would construe the obligation to struggle for justice. Al-Sulami,
citing the famous legalist al-Shafiʿi (d. 206/820), notes that the imam (the leader of the
Muslim community, or the Caliph) was responsible for raising an army to undertake
expeditions into enemy territory at least once a year. The minimum responsibility placed on
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an imam was to lead the army either personally or through a deputy. If he did not send
enough troops to fight, then it became the duty of those “in the rear” to go out and fulfill
God’s command; in the case of urgency or necessity, the obligation of fighting (ghazwa) was
incumbent (farḍ ʿayn) upon all the members of the community. The current situation, al-
Sulami believed, was one such instance because enemy armies were making inroads into
Muslim territory.
It is important to remember that al-Sulami was preaching at the time of an almost complete
power vacuum in the Muslim world. Therefore, al-Sulami tried to remedy this vacuum
through two important developments: first, the mobilization of fighting scholars and
intellectuals; and second, the rise to power of ghazi-caliphs, or rather, in these circumstances,
ghazi-sultans who would be stirred by the pain of the Muslim community. His treatise on
Jihad, surprisingly, traced the broad outline of what actually happened subsequently. This
helped to develop the long process of what later came to be known as the Counter-Crusade (a
misnomer).
As for the first remedy, al-Sulami did help to mobilize religious scholars and he himself
emerged from the political chaos just after the First Crusade actually taking up arms against
the Crusaders. During the second mobilization, ghazi-sultans took longer to come forward
and to reconstitute their own forces, but as we know, this issue eventually dominated the
Muslim political scene. Primarily three charismatic leaders of Jihad later filled the leadership
vacuum that had been created: Imad al-Din Zangi (d. 541/1146), his son Nur al-Din Maḥmud
Zangi (d. 570/1174) and Ṣalaḥ al-Din (d. 589/1193). They each contributed to the task (the
military response, as will be explained shortly) that ultimately liberated the whole Levant
from the Crusaders. They revived the spirit of Jihad and unity among the Muslims.
In defense of the Islamic heartlands and to continue to inspire among Muslims the spirit of
fulfillment of God’s duty, new works on the Jihad, such as al-Sulami’s, were recited on
public occasions, together with older ones, such as the Book of Jihad (a work of Hadith) by
the Iranian Abd Allah ibn al-Mubarak (d. 181/797). However, this was only one aspect of the
works of Jihad—those devoted to the theoretical aspects of its doctrine.
Equally important was the emergence of a particular genre of literature–faḍaʾil (merits or
eulogies or in-praise) literature; new books on particular cities, including Mecca, Medina,
Damascus, and Jerusalem, were passionately written by Muslim scholars and preachers
symbolizing the importance and status of these cities in Islam. Above all, Jerusalem received
particular attention with a large number of books and treatises flourishing during the Crusade
period. Jerusalem is the third holiest site in Islam, after Mecca and Medina in Saudi Arabia,
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and though it enjoyed an important place in Islam through its history, it attained symbolic
importance for the Muslim campaign partly in response to the Crusaders’ searing passion for
that city, which they invaded and captured during the first Crusades in 1099. The Faḍaʾil al-
Quds (Eulogies of Jerusalem) literature also characterizes the intellectual response to the
Crusades and needs to be explained.
Faḍaʾil al-Quds Literature
The centrality of Jerusalem (in Arabic “al-Quds,” or “Bayt al-Muqaddas,” or “Bayt al-
Maqdis” [House of Holiness]) in Islam played an influential role in the Muslim response to
Crusades because the various elements involved in the process of Jerusalem’s elevation in
sanctity during the Crusades were not new. These traditions (of Jerusalem’s holiness)
developed during the early Middle Ages and appeared in the extant sacred and primary
Islamic sources—the Qurʾān and the Prophetic traditions; an analysis of the rich Arabic and
Islamic literature on Jerusalem reveals an increasing general Islamic awareness of al-Aqṣa’s
and al-Quds’ sacred status.
According to the Qurʾānic reference, the Prophet Muḥammad (peace be upon him) was taken
on a miraculous Night Journey from Mecca to the place (in Jerusalem) called al-Masjid al-
Aqṣa. The Qurʾān says: “Glory be to him Who carried His Servant (Muḥammad by night,
from the sacred place of prayer (al-Masjid al-Haram) to the farthest place of prayer (al-
Masjid al-Aqṣa), The precincts of which We have blessed, that We might show him some of
Our signs. He is the All-Hearing, the All-Seeing” (Quran 17:1). The Prophetic tradition
further explains and continues al-isra “the Night Journey” verse by reporting that it is from
this Masjid that the Prophet Muḥammad (peace be upon him), who was riding on a heavenly
creature (a white animal) called al-Buraq to the Farthest Masjid, ascended to heaven (al-
miʿraj) (al-Bukhari, vol. 4, Hadith 3207). Since then, Muslims have called the city “the gate
to the heavens”.
Given that, there was an extensive effort to explain and exalt Jerusalem’s status through a
genre of literature termed Faḍaʾil al-Quds or Faḍaʾil Bayt al-Maqdis, an effort that would be
revived after the Frankish Christians had taken the Jerusalem.
One of the most influential texts of this type was the Faḍaʾil al-Bayt al-Muqaddas (Merits of
Jerusalem) of al-Wasiṭi (fl. ca. 410/1019), the preacher (al-khaṭib). It is a compilation of over
500 prophetic Hadith illustrating the merits of Jerusalem (al-Quds). His work was copied,
quoted from, and summarized throughout the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. Another
important work of this type is the Faḍaʾil Bayt al-Maqdis wa-l-Shamwa-l-Khalil of Ibn al-
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Murajja al-Maqdisi (fl. ca. 430/1130), which is the largest and most important of the “In-
Praise-of-Jerusalem” literature. It is a collection of 594 traditions which, among other things,
praises Jerusalem, Syria, and Hebron. The faḍaʾil books by Abu Bakr al-Waṣiṭi and Ibn al-
Maqdisi pre-dated the First Crusade, but this type of literature, engendered principally in
response to the Crusades, drew the attention of Muslims to Jerusalem and to engage in Jihad
(holy war) to free it and other lands from the Crusaders. The faḍaʾil literature is important to
understand the Islamic meaning of Jerusalem and al-Masjid al-Aqṣa. Abd al-Salam al-
Rumayli (d. 492/1099) was a pupil of al-Maqdisi and was also reported to have written a
treatise on Jerusalem in which he collected faḍaʾil traditions. Al-Rumayli was killed by the
Crusaders at the time of the invasion in the First Crusade. We are told that he was stoned
while in captivity near Beirut on 12 Shawwal 492 AH or 1 December 1099 CE.
In the 1160s CE, this genre of literature reappeared after a short period of silence. Ibn Asakir
al-Dimashqi al-Shafiʿi al-Ashʿari (499- 571/1106-1176)—an imam (authority) of Hadith, a
great historian, and a prolific writer who authored over a hundred books and epistles in his
time in Damascus and was the friend of Nur al-Din—also produced a treatise on the merits of
Mecca, Medina, and Jerusalem (Faḍaʾil Makka, Faḍaʾil al-Madina, Faḍaʾil al-Bayt al-
Muqaddas). His Tarikh Madinat Dimashq (History of Damascus City), published in eighty
volumes, extensively addressed the history, geography, and society of Damascus. He was
also said to have written a treatise on Jihad. We also have another work, Faḍaʾil al-Quds al-
Sharif by Ibn al-Jawzi (d. 597/1201); and it also contains traditions about Jerusalem and the
“holy land” (al-arḍ al-muqaddas), its foundational ṣakhra (“rock”) and, among other things,
its association with the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) during his miʿraj.
The production of faḍaʾil literature obviously could have enhanced the desire on the part of
Muslims to re-conquer Jerusalem. Equally important is that Ibn Asakir’s work glorifying
Jerusalem was read publicly to large audiences in Damascus from the CE 1160s, onwards.
Consequently, such mass gatherings and preaching could have reawakened and strengthened
the sanctity of Jerusalem in the popular consciousness and built up the expectation that the
Holy city would be recaptured. Although the Crusades added a new dimension to the
significance of Jerusalem, it was the great sanctity and status that the city enjoyed long before
the Crusades, as we mentioned, that made it the symbol of the Jihad against the Franks. One
should, however, note that all of the Jerusalem “Praise-in-Literature” did not aspire to make it
a pilgrimage destination in rivalry with Mecca. Rather all the particular genres–Jihad,
including Jihad poetry, Faḍaʾil al-Quds—intended to revive the spirit of Jihad among the
Muslims who were confounded by internal discord. Indeed, it helped to foster Muslim unity,
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a prerequisite to fight their common enemy; however, it took a long time to organize a strong
unified resistance until Nur al-Din came to the scene. In fact, his father Imad al-Din took the
initiative in the truest sense, which later his son astutely imitated, followed by the great Ṣalaḥ
al-Din of Ayyubid dynasty who actually did help Muslim to realize the success.
Military Response to the Crusade
The Muslim military response to the Crusades was not unified or organized at first. It took
time for Muslim intellectuals and rulers to convert the theory of Jihad into practice following
the continuous calls for Jihad against the Franks, which reverberated everywhere. The first
physical encounter that took place between the Saljuq sultan of Rum, Qilij Arslan-I (r. 1092-
1107) and the Crusaders occurred when the first wave of the First Crusade (the People’s or
peasants’ Crusade) tried to intrude into the Saljuq territory in the autumn of 1096. However,
the people’s Crusade totally failed to advance and a majority of them were killed. However,
after this initial Muslim success, Crusaders managed to sweep across Asia Minor until they
succeeded in establishing the four major Crusader States in the Levant, including Jerusalem.
Muslims were struck with shock and outrage, and poets and preachers reiterated calls to both
the local rulers in the Levant and the Great Saljuq sultan in the east for Jihad and aid in
defending the Muslim lands against the Frankish invasion. Thus, after the fall of Tripoli in
1109 to the Franks, the Great Saljuq sultan Muhammad (r. 1105-18) moved to act and
launched a number of expeditions against the Franks, but again internal discord became a
hurdle. Like the Fatimids of Egypt, the local rulers of the Levant had made alliances with the
Franks, and thus the sultan had to abandon the expedition without any major success.
Despite the failures, the spirit of Jihad remained alive; there was a strong local reaction
amongst religious scholars, but it had yet to be harnessed into a full-scale military campaign
because the rulers or political authorities in a concerted fashion did not back it up. It is
believed that the first major turning point in Muslim success and the subsequent reawakening
of an organized Jihad came with the fall of Edessa in 539/1144. However, the wave was
already beginning to turn in the preceding decades; slowly and gradually; the isolated Jihad
campaigns had already begun. The political vacuum created was immediately filled by the
Zangī dynasty. It was under the leadership of Imad al-Din Zangi, who became the governor
(atabeg) of Mosul in 1127 and Aleppo in 1128, that the first organized Islamic military
response began to emerge, comprising both religious and political figures in their first key
victory against the Franks with the fall of Edessa (al-Ruha) in 1144. With this victory, the
good fortune of the Muslim world in its Jihad campaign against the Franks boosted the spirit
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of Jihad and raised their morale; they now began to look toward the conquest of Jerusalem,
but it was never accomplished in his lifetime.
It was in this atmosphere of turmoil, intimidation, and extreme humiliation of the Muslims
that fortune favored the community of monotheists (al-ḥanifiyya) and helped them out of
their precarious condition by supporting the believers in their struggle and bringing forth
Imad al-Din Zangi as their leader.
Imad al-Din Zangi (1085-1146)
Imad al-Din Zangi became famous in the Muslim world for his brilliant leadership qualities
and his military and political skills. He was even more remembered as a true mujahid (the
one who carries out Jihad). In fact, it was only after the recapture of Edessa that Muslims’
call for Jihad began to receive momentum and that he reunited the Northern Syria. Two of
the famous poets of the time, Ibn al-Qaysarani and Ibn Munir, as Carole Hillenbrand, in her
The Crusade: Islamic Perspective (1999), wrote, “eloquently urged Zangi ... to make the
reconquest of the entire Syrian coastline (the saḥil) the principal aim of Jihad”. Zangi also
patronized and sponsored the foundation of many religious seminaries—madrasas and
khanqahs—as part of a broader movement of moral rearmament. However, before he could
move to gain more territories, particularly Damascus, from Frankish possession, Imad al-Din
Zangi died in 1146, just two years after his victory over Edessa.
Nur al-Din Zangi (1118-1174)
In 1147, Nur al-Din helped to relieve the siege of Damascus by the Second Crusade, which
was launched in response to the fall of Edessa. Realizing his father’s dream in 1154, Nur al-
Din made a successful entry into Damascus with the help of an eager pro-Jihad faction within
the walls of Damascus; thus, by that year, he had almost united Syria. In the middle of the
twelfth century, Muslim sentiments toward Jerusalem and the importance of the Jihad were
increasingly intense, and this popular force had helped surrender Damascus to Nur al-Din
because many held him in high esteem and considered him to be the real leader who would
reclaim Jerusalem for Muslims. His perseverance in fighting for the recovery of Jerusalem
was perhaps best demonstrated when Nur al-Din, while at Aleppo, commissioned a special
minbar, or pulpit, intended to be placed in the Aqṣa Masjid in Jerusalem in the expectation of
that city’s imminent re-conquest by his armies. The pulpit was eventually installed by Nur al-
Din’s successor, Ṣalaḥ al-Din, in the Aqṣa Masjid in 583/1187, where it remained until 1969
when it was destroyed by Christian fanatics. Hence, it was during Nur al-Din’s time that
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Jerusalem became the focus of the ideological campaign of the Counter-Crusade, and it was
from Damascus that this ideological campaign originated.
However, before Nur al-Din could embark on his biggest mission – the liberation of
Jerusalem from the Crusaders – the political upheavals in the Egypt, which was ruled by the
Fatimids—the rivals of Zangid dynasty changed the whole situation. This eventually
prompted Nur al-Din, who was fulfilling his family and religious ambition of the
reunification of the Islamic territories and the mobilization of the Islamic forces, to send an
army under the Kurdish commander Asad al-Din Shirkuh and Shirkuh’s nephew, Ṣalaḥ al-
Din Ayyubi, in 1169 to help the weakening Fatimid empire against the Franks and their
Muslim allies. This war among the three contenders, Franks, Muslims and Fatimids, resulted
in the rise of Ṣalaḥ al-Din’s prominence—this battle proved Ṣalaḥ al-Din’s bravery and
strength.
Nur al-Din Maḥmud ibn Zangi ibn Aqsunqur, ruler of Syria, Mesopotamia, and Egypt, died
of a heart attack on Wednesday 11 shawwal 569/15 May 1174 and was buried in the citadel
at Damascus but was later transferred to the madrasa that he had founded near the Osier-
workers’ market (suq al-khawasin) in Damascus. Nur al-Din, as a mujahid, earned his
reputation as the liberator of Muslim territories, especially Syria, from the Franks, which also
led toward the reunification of Syria and Egypt. His admirers often speak of his high morals,
piousness, stature as a true Sunni Muslim and theologian, and rather zealous embrace of
Jihad against the Franks. One of the remarkable political achievements of Nur al-Din, was
the overthrow of the Fatimid Caliphate in Egypt, and the restoration of Sunnism there which
was successfully accomplished under Ṣalaḥ al-Din after the death of the Fatimid Caliph, Abu
Muhammad Abd Allah al-Aḍid li-din Allah, the last of the Egyptian Caliphs, in
565/1171,thus ending more than 200 years of Fatimid rule in Egypt.
Ṣalaḥ al-Din Ayyubi (1137-1193)
Ṣalaḥ al-DinYusuf ibn Ayyubi, a Tikrit-born Kurd admired in the West as Saladin, was
undoubtedly one of the best Muslim warriors and the first non-Fatimid independent ruler in
Egypt in almost two centuries. He is known in the annals of the History as the first Sultan of
the vast Islamic lands—Egypt and Greater Syria (what is now Syria, Lebanon, and Palestine).
He continued the policy of his master, Nur al-Din, of reuniting and consolidating the Muslim
territories, developing an Islamic front in preparation for Jihad. Like his master, Ṣalaḥ al-Din
Ayyubi and his family enthusiastically participated in the Sunni Revival across Syria and
Egypt. It is often asked why Nur al-Din and Ṣalaḥ al-Din attacked and abolished the Fatimid
171
Empire. The reasons were probably evident in the fact that the Fatimids often made alliances
with the Franks against the Sunni Muslims whom they viewed as the supplanters of the
legitimate authority since the early Islamic century. Ṣalaḥ al-Din thought it necessary to take
hold of the Egypt and build a massive disciplined and skilled army with unwavering devotion
to the idea of Jihad to retake all the lands occupied by the Crusaders, especially Jerusalem.
Following Ṣalaḥ al-Din’s death, Syria fell into a state of disarray; Franks, steeped in the
politics of Syria, immediately captured some territories. Hence, for Ṣalaḥ al-Din to launch a
massive campaign on both fronts—Syria and Egypt—against the Franks, it was necessary to
put down the weak Muslim rulers who had surfaced to try to take power in Syria. It was also
necessary to stop the Franks to protect Syria from falling into the hands of the Crusaders.
Hence, he remained busy fighting fellow Muslims, though incessant wars against the Franks
had to continue in order to keep them from taking further Muslim territories in Syria and
Egypt. From 1171-1186, Ṣalaḥ al-Din employed a number of military and political measures
to achieve his goal. As stated earlier, he restored the Abbasid Caliph’s authority, re-
established Sunni prayers in Cairo, fortified the Egyptian frontier with the Franks, and
connected Syria with Egypt thereby making the route safe for Muslim trade and the
pilgrimage to Mecca that Franks often attempted to disrupt.
Ṣalaḥ al-Din remained continuously committed to his Jihad passion and harassed the
Crusader enemies all along. Although it appears that Ṣalaḥ al-Din’s course of actions were
incoherent and lacked a specific goal. One can easily detect that Ṣalaḥ al-Din envisioned a
unified front comprising Egypt, Syria, Yemen, the Jazira (Mesopotamia), and North Africa
under his leadership to increase his manpower and, moved by Jihad enthusiasm, to prepare
for the recovery of Jerusalem.
He pursued a two-pronged policy of seeking to subvert Nur al-Din’s dominions to subdue
them after his death and of prosecuting the holy war against the Franks. He, like other rulers,
also made alliances with the Franks to help accomplish his long-term policies. Eventually, in
1174, he took Damascus; in 1183, Aleppo; and in 1186, Mosul. In the following year, he
launched a decisive attack and defeated the Franks at the Battle of Ḥaṭṭin in July 1187, which
paved the way for the easy conquest of Jerusalem and thus ended the Latin Kingdom of
Jerusalem in October 1187, after ninety years of Christian occupation. From then on,
Jerusalem remained under Muslim rule until 1917, except for a relatively short period from
CE 1229 to 1238 (39). Ṣalaḥ al-Din earned the honorific title as the second liberator of
Jerusalem after the Second Caliph of Islam, Umar ibn al-Khaṭṭab. Imad al-Din al-Iṣfahani (d.
1201) termed the victory in Jerusalem as the second hijra (immigration) of Islam to the “Holy
172
House”, accomplished through Ṣalaḥ al-Din. This implied the revival of Islam in Jerusalem.
Similarly, Baha al-Din ibn Shaddad (d. 632/1234) defined the recovery as the “greatest
victory”. In the West, Ṣalaḥ al-Din is revered for his friendly treatment of Crusader prisoners
of war, especially in contrast to what the Franks did to the Muslims during their savage
conquest in 1099. Ṣalaḥ al-Din, being a genuine religious leader, showered gifts and money
on the Franks, especially the poor Christian families, for which he is greatly revered as “the
flower of chivalry”. Such was the charity that Ṣalaḥ al-Din bestowed on the poor that Lane-
Poole, in his Saladin and the Fall of the Kingdom of Jerusalem, has recorded the long
passage of the Christian chronicler Ernoul:
Then I shall tell you ... of the great courtesy which Saladin showed to
the wives and daughters of knights, who had fled to Jerusalem when
their lords were killed or made prisoners in battle ... they assembled
and went before Saladin crying mercy ... When Saladin saw them
weeping, he had great compassion for them, and wept himself for pity
... And he gave them so much that they gave praise to God and publish
abroad the kindness and honour which Saladin had done to them.
Diplomatic Relations
The wave of conquests had thus reversed its course of action. The Muslim religious and
ruling classes were now mobilized and unified with great religious zeal to thwart any
onslaught from the Franks. The Muslim response to the Third Crusade was also characterized
by diplomacy, negotiations, and flexibility.
A year before his death in1193, Ṣalaḥ al-Din made a truce with Richard that allowed the
Crusaders to retain the coastal line along the Mediterranean, and thus, finally, the Crusaders
abandoned their quest for Jerusalem. Enacting truces and entering into alliances with the
Franks were indispensable and a common feature of most of Muslim rulers, including Ṣalaḥ
al-Din.
The politics of alliances and truces had a conspicuous impact on the social and economic
lives of the Muslims and Western Christians; intercultural exchanges and social relations
developed that remained a somewhat ignored subject of the Crusades and should be
highlighted and appreciated: Muslims and Franks engaged in cultural, economic and
information exchanges. The Franks were one of the main actors in the Levant with whom the
Muslims had trade and commercial links despite the ‘official’ state of war. This trade would
173
increase whenever peace treaties were enacted, particularly after the famous truce agreement
between Richard-I and Ṣalaḥ al-Din. Diplomatic relations would often foster civilian
contacts. Commercial interaction implies cultural interaction, visible in the form of language.
Many commercial terms of Arabic origin entered into various Romance languages: words for
“custom,” such as douane and aduana, all trace their roots to the Arabic diwan; other
examples include the words cheque from sakk (a letter of credit) and tariff from taʿrif (a
notification).
Similarly, there was considerable transmission of learning from the Muslims to the Franks.
Scientific and religious books were translated from Arabic into Latin, mostly from Spain and
Sicily, and these formed the base for later significant developments in European intellectual
culture. Muslims in turn also learned some tactics in war technology from the Franks. Social
interactions between the opposing communities were at the highest level, resulting in the
exchange of physicians, food, gifts and services, as well as the exchange of visits among the
commanders.
This relationship continued to flourish alongside the ‘state of war’ under the Ṣalaḥ al-Din’s
family, the Ayyubids (who ruled Egypt to 1250 and Syria to 1260). However, the Mamluks
(slave regiments), who overthrew the Ayyubids, ultimately destroyed the last Crusader state,
Acre, in 1291 and ended Crusader Christian presence in the Levant. Mamluks, such as Ṣalaḥ
al-Din, regarded the struggle against the invaders as the most pressing form of Jihad.
Thereby, the Muslim sultans made tangible the dreams of al-Sulami (who first attempted to
mobilize the Muslim rulers with his intellectual capability a century earlier). In this way, al-
Sulami’s message of political unity and spiritual purity was translated into a pragmatic reality
by practicing the ideal of Jihad—a touchstone by which Muslim rulers were judged.
Jerusalem, in its way, played an important role in this renewal of Jihad thought.
4.3.7 Impact of Crusades on the Christian and Muslim Worlds
The Crusades are considered one of the most liaison points where influence or copying took
place between east and west. As we know, Europe was passing through its darkest periods of
its history and on the other hand, Muslim were enjoying a commonwealth and cosmopolitan
civilization flourishing far and wide when the West began to look into the eyes of the Islamic
civilization by launching war—Crusade.
The tangible impact of the Crusades on the Muslims is unnoticed and one can hardly find any
lasting transformations to the local population of the region. However, on the other side, the
174
impact of Crusades on Europe is, undoubtedly, of tremendous mark and profound influence
on every level of Western European civilization.
Trade and commerce; art and architecture; knowledge and cultural exchange immensely
flourished in the Europe mainly because of two inter-related events: the sudden broadening of
cultural horizons because of the mass flow of people from the Western Europe to the Holy
land, and the Crusaders’ acquaintance with and adoption of the intellectual legacy of the
Muslims and the Greeks of the East resulted in the broadening of human and knowledge
horizons. During and after the Crusades, Europe continued to take benefits from the east that
ultimately paved Europe to development and prosperity. Similarly, the East-West close
proximity brought about by the Crusades, let the Europeans to learn and gain knowledge of
science, philosophy and literature of the Muslim East.
Therefore, it is beyond any doubt that the Crusades brought a considerable change in social,
political, economic, and religious elements of the medieval Western Europe. However, there
were yet certain things which negatively impacted and continue to do so, on their thought,
attitude and imagination about Muslims. The image of a Muslim that had been implanted
right from the inception of the Crusades when Pope Urban-II gave an emotional sermon
before a large gathering, termed Muslims as an alien and evil race. The same perception
continued to howl and hank on the ears and minds of Europeans as the Crusades went on.
Furthermore, the perpetual and repeated defeat and loss in the crusading movement
inevitability contributed to the development of hatred and hostility toward the Muslim
community. The Crusades, thus, contributed to the widening gap between Christians and
Muslims that still echoes down through the modern times.
4.3.8 Let Us Sum Up
The crusading movement involved most of Europe, encompassing every sphere of life—the
ecclesiastical and religious, politics, the economy, and society. The Crusades were not just
religious wars, they were, at the same time, largely shaped and coloured by various
undercurrents in eleventh century Western Europe, which received very timely impetuous
from the threat of Saljuq expansion into the lands of the Byzantine Empire. The First Crusade
resulted in the capture of Jerusalem. The subsequent (eight) Crusades resulted all in failure.
The emotional and physical force of the defeat at the battle of Hittin (1187) served as a real
impetus for the swelling of Crusades which followed: the Third Crusade, 1187–92, the Fourth
Crusade in 1202–04, which resulted in the sack of Constantinople, the Fifth Crusade 1217–
21, the Crusade of Frederick-II, 1127-29, the Crusades of St Louis, 1249–50 and 1270, and
175
the Crusade of Edward I of England. There were also minor expeditions and popular
manifestations of the desire to liberate Jerusalem such as the 1212 ‘Children’s Crusade’.
There were far more Crusades in the thirteenth century and these were sent to various places
such as the 1204 Albigensian Crusade. Nevertheless, the special regard of Christians for
Jerusalem continued as the Crusades were embarked upon repeatedly despite the failures. The
last stronghold of the Crusaders, Acre fell in 1291, bringing the movement that had enthralled
Europe to an end. The Muslim response to the Crusades was initially fragmented and
disorganized. Muslim intellectuals and religious figures played an important role in expelling
the Franks from the Levant. During the course of action, the Jihad ideal was aptly exploited
to build strong opposition to the enemy. Equally important is the place and role of Jerusalem,
which remained a touchstone for any ruler in his Jihad campaign against the Crusaders. The
Crusades tremendously contributed to the development of the modern European civilization.
The Crusades also had negative impact on the Christian thought, attitude, and imagination of
Islam and the Muslims.

1. Write a short essay on the Third Crusade?
2. Discuss briefly the impact of the Crusades on Christian Europe?
1. The Crusades were inspired by religious passion but they were also deeply political and
economic. Elaborate?
2. Islamic response to the Crusades is multifaceted. Evaluate?
3. Describe the Muslim intellectual response to the Crusades?
1. Thomas Asbridge, The First Crusade: A New History (New York: Oxford University
Press, 2004)
2. Aziz. S. Atiya, Crusade, Commerce and Culture (Bloomington: Indiana University
Press, 1962)
3. Paul M. Cobb, The Race for Paradise: An Islamic History of the Crusade (UK:
Oxford University Press, 2014)
4. Niall Christie, Muslims and Crusaders: Christianity’s Wars in the Middle East, 1095-
1382, From the Islamic Sources (London and New York: Routledge, 2014)
176
5. Muhammad Yaseen Gada, “Why the Crusades Failed? Narrating the episode after the
Fall of Jerusalem”, Islam and Civilizational Renewal, 6(4): 533-550, 2015
6. Mohd Yaseen Gada, “The Betrayal of the First Crusade”, International Journal of
History, 7(3): 81-98, 2015
7. Mohammad Yaseen Gada, “Motivations for the Crusades: A Fresh Analysis”,
Hamdard Islamicus, 39(1): 7-34, 2016
8. Mohd Yaseen Gada, “Muslim Response to the Crusades: An Analysis of the Muslim
Ideological, Military and Diplomatic Response to the Medieval Christian Crusades”,
Ilahiyat Studies, 6(2): 219-252, 2015
9. Carole Hillenbrand, The Crusade: Islamic Perspective (Edinburg: Edinburg
University Press, 1999)
10. Amin Maalouf, The Crusade Through Arab Eyes, Translated, John Rothschild (New
York: Schocken Books, 1984)
11. Thomas F. Madden, The Concise History of the Crusade, 3rd edited (UK: Rowman
and Littlefield, 2014)
177

Pre-Islamic Arabic Prose Literature & Its Growth

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PG PROGRAMME

(ISLAMIC CIVILIZATION: 8th-14th Centuries)

DIRECTORATE OF DISTANCE EDUCATION

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Unit I Abbasi Khilafah

ii) Prominent Abbasi Khulafa: Mansur, Mamun and 15-22

iii) Translation Movement and Civilizational Interaction 23-30

Unit II Civilizational Contribution

ii) Education and Literature 47-62

iii) Industry, Fine Arts, Trade and Commerce 63-72

Unit III Islamic Civilization: Regional Development

ii) Polity, Administration, Religion and Culture under 86-97

iii) Society and Culture under Fatimids 98-108

Unit IV Islamic Civilization in Spain (Rise and Decline)

ii) Contribution to Learning: Natural and Social Sciences 132-147

iii) The Crusades and Islamic Response 148-177

i) The Abbasid Revolution: Causes and Impact

ii) Prominent Abbasi Khulafa: Mansur, Mamun and Harun al-Rashid

iii) Translation Movement and Civilizational Interaction

iv) Society, Administration, Non-Arab Influences

Lesson 01: The Abbasid Revolution: Causes and Impact

1) To evaluate the factors responsible for the downfall of Umayyad dynasty

1.1.3 Disparity between the Ummayad Rulers

1.1.4 Inter Tribal fights

1.1.5 The Problem of Succession among Ummayads

1.1.6 Shi ‘ites

1.1.8 Monopolization of Power under Umayyads

1.1.11 Political Instability

1.1.13 Final Blow

1.1.14 Let Us Sum Up

1.1.15 Check Your Progress

A) Answer the following questions in about 250 words

1.1.16 Suggested Readings

1. Akbar Shah Najeeb Abadi, Tarikh Islam

In this lesson, the students will be able to understand:

1) An idea about the stalwarts of Abbasid Dynasty

1.2.3 Abul Abbas

1.2.7 Mamun al-Rashid

Society under Mamun al-Rashid

1.2.8 Let Us Sum Up

1.2.10 Suggested Readings

1.4.3 Beginning of Translation Movement

1.4.4 Books on Wisdom, Polity and History

1.4.6 Hunain bin Ishaq (809-873)

1.4.7 Thabit bin Qurrah (836-901 C.E)

1.4.8 Banu Musa

Translation of Medical Works

1.4.10 Let Us Sum Up

1.4.11 Check Your Progress

Answer the following questions in 250 words

1.4.4 Judicial Administration under Abbasids

Other Government Bureaus

1.3.6 Let Us Sum Up

1.4.7 Check Your Progress

Short Answer Exercise

i) Development of Science and Technology

ii) Education and Literature

iii) Industry, Fine Arts, Trade and Commerce

He wrote a treatise on Astrolabe.

Abu Abbas al-Farghani

Thabit bin Qurrah