After the death of the Prophet Muhammad in 632, the Righteous Caliphate was created. It was led by four Righteous Caliphs: Abu Bakr al-Siddiq, Umar ibn al-Khattab, Uthman ibn Affan and Ali ibn Abu Talib. During their reign, the Caliphate included the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant (Sham), the Caucasus, part of North Africa from Egypt to Tunisia and the Iranian Plateau.
Umayyad Caliphate (661-750)
The situation of the non-Arab peoples of the Caliphate
By paying a land tax (kharaj) in exchange for providing them with protection and immunity from the Muslim state, as well as a head tax (jizya), non-believers had the right to practice their religion. Even the above-mentioned decrees of Umar recognized in principle that the law of Muhammad is armed only against pagan polytheists; “people of the Book” - Christians, Jews - can, by paying a fee, remain in their religion; in comparison with neighboring Byzantium, where all Christian heresy was persecuted, Islamic law, even under Umar, was relatively liberal.
Since the conquerors were not at all prepared for complex forms of state administration, even “Umar was forced to preserve for the newly formed huge state the old, well-established Byzantine and Iranian state mechanism (before Abdul-Malik, even the office was not conducted in Arabic) - and therefore non-Muslims were not cut off from access to many positions of government. For political reasons, Abd al-Malik considered it necessary to remove non-Muslims from government service, but this order could not be carried out with full consistency either under him or after him; and even Abd al himself -Malik’s close courtiers were Christians ( famous example- Father John of Damascus). Nevertheless, among the conquered peoples there was a great tendency to renounce their former faith - Christian and Parsi - and voluntarily accept Islam. The convert, until the Umayyads came to their senses and issued the law of 700, did not pay taxes; on the contrary, according to the law of Omar, he received an annual salary from the government and was completely equal to the winners; Higher government positions were made available to him.
On the other hand, the conquered had to convert to Islam out of inner conviction; - How else can we explain the mass adoption of Islam, for example, by those heretical Christians who, before in the kingdom of Khosrow and in the Byzantine Empire, could not be deviated from the faith of their fathers by any persecution? Obviously, Islam with its simple tenets spoke well to their hearts. Moreover, Islam did not seem to be any dramatic innovation either for Christians or even for Parsis: in many points it was close to both religions. It is known that Europe for a long time saw in Islam, which highly reveres Jesus Christ and the Blessed Virgin, nothing more than one of the Christian heresies (for example, the Orthodox Arab archimandrite Christopher Zhara argued that the religion of Muhammad is the same Arianism)
The adoption of Islam by Christians and then by Iranians had extremely important consequences, both religious and state. Islam, instead of indifferent Arabs, acquired in its new followers such an element for which believing was an essential need of the soul, and since these were educated people, they (the Persians much more than the Christians) began towards the end of this period the scientific treatment of Muslim theology and combined with him of jurisprudence - subjects that had been modestly developed until then only by a small circle of those Muslim Arabs who, without any sympathy from the Umayyad government, remained faithful to the teachings of the prophet.
It was said above that the general spirit that permeated the Caliphate in the first century of its existence was Old Arab (this fact, much more clearly even than in the government Umayyad reaction against Islam, was expressed in the poetry of that time, which continued to brilliantly develop the same pagan-tribal, cheerful themes that were also outlined in Old Arabic poems). As a protest against the return to pre-Islamic traditions, a small group of companions (“sahaba”) of the prophet and their heirs (“tabiin”) was formed, which continued to observe the covenants of Muhammad, led in the quiet of the capital it had abandoned - Medina and in some places in other places of the Caliphate theoretical work on the orthodox interpretation of the Koran and on the creation of the orthodox Sunnah, that is, on the definition of truly Muslim traditions, according to which the wicked life of the contemporary Umayyad X should have been restructured. These traditions, which, among other things, preached the destruction of the tribal principle and the equalizing unification of all Muslims in the bosom of the Muhammadan religion, the newly converted foreigners obviously liked the heart more than the arrogant non-Islamic attitude of the ruling Arab spheres, and therefore the Medina theological school, downtrodden, ignored by pure Arabs and the government, found active support among the new non-Arab Muslims.
There were, perhaps, certain disadvantages for the purity of Islam from these new, believing followers: partly unconsciously, partly even consciously, ideas or tendencies that were alien or unknown to Muhammad began to creep into it. Probably, the influence of Christians (A. Müller, “Ist. Isl.”, II, 81) explains the appearance (at the end of the 7th century) of the Murjiit sect, with its teaching about the immeasurable merciful patience of the Lord, and the Qadarite sect, which taught about free will man was prepared by the triumph of the Mu'tazilites; Probably, mystical monasticism (under the name of Sufism) was borrowed by Muslims at first from Syrian Christians (A. F. Kremer “Gesch. d. herrsch. Ideen”, 57); in the lower In Mesopotamia, Muslim converts from Christians joined the ranks of the republican-democratic sect of the Kharijites, equally opposed to both the unbelieving Umayyad government and the Medinan believers.
The participation of the Persians, which came later but was more active, turned out to be an even more double-edged benefit in the development of Islam. A significant part of them, not being able to get rid of the age-old ancient Persian view that “royal grace” (farrahi kayanik) is transmitted only through heredity, joined the Shia sect (see), which stood behind the dynasty of Ali (husband of Fatima, the daughter of the prophet) ; Moreover, to stand for the direct heirs of the prophet meant for foreigners to constitute a purely legal opposition against the Umayyad government, with its unpleasant Arab nationalism. This theoretical opposition acquired a very real meaning when Umar II (717-720), the only Umayyad devoted to Islam, decided to implement the principles of the Koran favorable to non-Arab Muslims and, thus, brought disorganization into the Umayyad system of government.
30 years after him, the Khorasan Shiite Persians overthrew the Umayyad dynasty (the remnants of which fled to Spain; see related article). True, as a result of the cunning of the Abbasids, the throne of X. went (750) not to the Alids, but to the Abbasids, also relatives of the prophet (Abbas is his uncle; see the corresponding article), but, in any case, the expectations of the Persians were justified: under the Abbasids they gained an advantage in state and breathed into it new life. Even the capital of X. was moved to the borders of Iran: first - to Anbar, and from the time of Al-Mansur - even closer, to Baghdad, almost to the same places where the capital of the Sassanids was; and members of the vizier family of the Barmakids, descended from Persian priests, became hereditary advisers to the caliphs for half a century.
Abbasid Caliphate (750-1258)
First Abbasids
In terms of its political, although no longer aggressive, greatness and cultural flourishing, the century of the first Abbasids is the brightest time in the history of the caliphate, which brought it worldwide fame. Until now, there are proverbs all over the world: “the times of Harun ar-Rashid”, “the luxury of the caliphs”, etc.; Many Muslims, even today, strengthen their spirit and body with memories of this time.
The boundaries of the caliphate narrowed somewhat: the escaped Umayyad Abd-ar-Rahman I laid the first foundation in Spain () for the independent Emirate of Cordoba, which since 929 has been officially titled “caliphate” (929-). 30 years later, Idris, the great-grandson of Caliph Ali and therefore equally hostile to both the Abbasids and the Umayyads, founded the Alid Idrisid dynasty (-) in Morocco, whose capital was the city of Toudgah; the rest of the northern coast of Africa (Tunisia, etc.) was actually lost to the Abbasid caliphate when the governor of Aghlab, appointed by Harun al-Rashid, became the founder of the Aghlabid dynasty in Kairouan (-). The Abbasids did not consider it necessary to resume their foreign policy of conquest against Christian or other countries, and although from time to time military clashes arose both on the eastern and northern borders (like Mamun’s two unsuccessful campaigns against Constantinople), however, in general, the caliphate lived peacefully.
Such a feature of the first Abbasids is noted as their despotic, heartless and, moreover, often insidious cruelty. Sometimes, as the founder of the dynasty, it was an open source of caliphic pride (the nickname “Bloodbringer” was chosen by Abul Abbas himself). Some of the caliphs, at least the cunning al-Mansur, who loved to dress up before the people in the hypocritical clothes of piety and justice, preferred to act with treachery where possible and executed dangerous people on the sly, first lulling their caution with oaths of promises and favors. Among al-Mahdi and Harun ar-Rashid, cruelty was obscured by their generosity, however, the treacherous and ferocious overthrow of the vizier family of the Barmakids, which was extremely useful for the state, but imposed a certain bridle on the ruler, constitutes for Harun one of the most disgusting acts of eastern despotism. It should be added that under the Abbasids, a system of torture was introduced into legal proceedings. Even the tolerant philosopher Mamun and his two successors are not free from the reproach of tyranny and cruelty towards people unpleasant to them. Kremer finds (“Culturgesch. d. Or.”, II, 61; cf. Müller: “Ist. Isl.”, II, 170) that the very first Abbasids showed signs of hereditary Caesarian madness, which became even more intensified in their descendants.
In justification, one could only say that in order to suppress the chaotic anarchy in which the countries of Islam found themselves during the establishment of the Abbasid dynasty, agitated by the adherents of the overthrown Umayyads, bypassed Alids, predatory Kharijites and various Persian sectarians of radical persuasions who never ceased to rebel on the northern outskirts of the state, the , terrorist measures were perhaps a simple necessity. Apparently, Abul Abbas understood the meaning of his nickname “Bloodbringer.” Thanks to the formidable centralization that the heartless man, but the brilliant politician al-Mansur, managed to introduce, his subjects were able to enjoy inner peace, and public finances were managed brilliantly.
Even the scientific and philosophical movement in the caliphate dates back to the same cruel and treacherous Mansur (Masudi: “Golden Meadows”), who, despite his notorious stinginess, treated science with encouragement (meaning, first of all, practical, medical goals) . But, on the other hand, it remains undeniable that the flourishing of the caliphate would hardly have been possible if Saffah, Mansur and their successors had ruled the state directly, and not through the talented vizier family of the Persian Barmakids. Until this family was overthrown by () the unreasonable Harun al-Rashid, burdened by its tutelage, some of its members were first ministers or close advisers to the caliph in Baghdad (Khalid, Yahya, Jafar), others were in important government positions in the provinces (like Fadl ), and all together managed, on the one hand, to maintain for 50 years the necessary balance between the Persians and Arabs, which gave the caliphate its political fortress, and on the other hand, to restore the ancient Sasanian life, with its social structure, with its culture, with its mental movement.
"Golden Age" of Arab culture
This culture is usually called Arabic, because the Arabic language became the organ of mental life for all the peoples of the caliphate, and therefore they say: "Arabic art", "Arab science”, etc.; but in essence these were most of all the remnants of the Sasanian and generally Old Persian culture (which, as is known, also absorbed much from India, Assyria, Babylon and, indirectly, from Greece). In the Western Asian and Egyptian parts of the caliphate, we observe the development of the remnants of Byzantine culture, just as in North Africa, Sicily and Spain - Roman and Roman-Spanish culture - and the homogeneity in them is imperceptible, if we exclude the link that connects them - the Arabic language. It cannot be said that the foreign culture inherited by the caliphate rose qualitatively under the Arabs: Iranian-Muslim architectural buildings are inferior to the old Parsi ones, and similarly, Muslim products made of silk and wool, household utensils and jewelry, despite their charm, are inferior to ancient products. [ ]
But during the Muslim, Abbasid period, in a vast united and ordered state with carefully arranged communication routes, the demand for Iranian-made items increased, and the number of consumers increased. Peaceful relations with neighbors made it possible to develop remarkable foreign barter trade: with China through Turkestan and - by sea - through the Indian archipelago, with the Volga Bulgars and Russia through the Khazar kingdom, with the Spanish emirate, with all of Southern Europe (with the possible exception of Byzantium), with the eastern shores of Africa (from where, in turn, ivory and slaves were exported), etc. The main port of the caliphate was Basra.
The merchant and the industrialist are the main characters of Arabian tales; various high-ranking officials, military leaders, scientists, etc. were not ashamed to add to their titles the nickname Attar (“mosque maker”), Heyyat (“tailor”), Jawhariy (“jeweler”), etc. However, the nature of Muslim-Iranian industry is not so much the satisfaction of practical needs as of luxury. The main items of production are silk fabrics (muslin-muslin, satin, moire, brocade), weapons (sabers, daggers, chain mail), embroidery on canvas and leather, embroidered works, carpets, shawls, embossed, engraved, carved Ivory and metals, mosaic works, earthenware and glass products; less often, purely practical products - materials made of paper, cloth and camel hair.
The well-being of the agricultural class (for reasons, however, of taxation, and not of democracy) was increased by the restoration of irrigation canals and dams, which were neglected under the last Sassanids. But even according to the consciousness of the Arab writers themselves, the caliphs failed to bring the people's ability to pay to such a height as was achieved by the tax system of Khosrow I Anushirvan, although the caliphs ordered the translation of the Sasanian cadastral books into Arabic specifically for this purpose.
The Persian spirit also takes over Arabic poetry, which now, instead of Bedouin songs, produces the refined works of the Basri Abu Nuwas (“Arab Heine”) and other court poets Harun al-Rashid. Apparently, not without Persian influence (Brockelmann: “Gesch. d. arab. Litt.”, I, 134) correct historiography emerges, and after the “Life of the Apostle”, compiled by Ibn Ishak for Mansur, a number of secular historians also appear. From Persian, Ibn al-Muqaffa (about 750) translated the Sasanian “Book of Kings”, the Pahlavi treatment of Indian parables about “Kalila and Dimna” and various Greek-Syro-Persian philosophical works, with which Basra, Kufa, and then and Baghdad. The same task is performed by people of a language closer to the Arabs, former Persian subjects, Aramaic Christians of Jondishapur, Harran, and others.
Moreover, Mansur (Masudi: “Golden Meadows”) takes care of translating Greek medical works into Arabic, as well as mathematical and philosophical works. Harun gives the manuscripts brought from the Asia Minor campaigns for translation to the Jondishapur doctor John ibn Masaveyh (who even practiced vivisection and was then the life physician of Mamun and his two successors), and Mamun established, especially for abstract philosophical purposes, a special translation board in Baghdad and attracted philosophers (Kindi). Under the influence of Greco-Syro-Persian philosophy, commentary work on the interpretation of the Koran turns into scientific Arabic philology (Basrian Khalil, Basrian Persian Sibawayhi; Mamun’s teacher, Kufi Kisaiy) and the creation of Arabic grammar, philological collection of works of pre-Islamic and Umayyad folk literature (Muallaqi, Hamasa, Khozailite poems, etc.).
The century of the first Abbasids is also known as a period of highest tension in the religious thought of Islam, as a period of strong sectarian movement: the Persians, who were now converting to Islam en masse, took Muslim theology almost completely into their own hands and aroused a lively dogmatic struggle, among which were heretical sects that had emerged even during The Umayyads received their development, and orthodox theology and jurisprudence was defined in the form of 4 schools, or interpretations: under Mansur - the more progressive Abu Hanifa in Baghdad and the conservative Malik in Medina, under Harun - the relatively progressive al-Shafi'i, under Mamun - ibn Hanbal. The government's attitude towards these orthodoxies was not always the same. Under Mansur, a supporter of the Mu'tazilites, Malik was flogged to the point of mutilation.
Then, during the next 4 reigns, orthodoxy prevailed, but when Mamun and his two successors elevated (from 827) Mu'tazilism to the level of state religion, followers of orthodox beliefs were subjected to official persecution for “anthropomorphism”, “polytheism”, etc., and under al-Mu'tasim was flogged and tortured by the holy Imam ibn-Hanbal (). Of course, the caliphs could patronize the Mu'tazilite sect without fear, because its rationalistic teaching about the free will of man and the creation of the Koran and its inclination towards philosophy could not seem politically dangerous. To sects of a political nature, such as the Kharijites, Mazdakites, extreme Shiites, who sometimes raised very dangerous uprisings (the false prophet of the Persian Mokanna in Khorasan under al-Mahdi, 779, the brave Babek in Azerbaijan under Mamun and al-Mutasim, etc. ), the attitude of the caliphs was repressive and merciless even during the times of the highest power of the caliphate.
Loss of political power of the caliphs
Witnesses to the gradual collapse of X. were the caliphs: the already mentioned Mutawakkil (847-861), the Arab Nero, much praised by the faithful; his son Muntasir (861-862), who ascended the throne, killing his father with the help of the Turkic guard, Mustain (862-866), Al-Mutazz (866-869), Muhtadi I (869-870), Mutamid (870-892 ), Mutadid (892-902), Muqtafi I (902-908), Muqtadir (908-932), Al-Qahir (932-934), Al-Radi (934-940), Muttaqi (940-944), Mustakfi (944-946). In their person, the caliph from the ruler of a vast empire turned into the prince of a small Baghdad region, warring and making peace with his sometimes stronger, sometimes weaker neighbors. Within the state, in their capital Baghdad, the caliphs became dependent on the willful Praetorian Turkic Guard, which Mutasim considered it necessary to form (833). Under the Abbasids, the national consciousness of the Persians came to life (Goldzier: “Muh. Stud.”, I, 101-208). Harun's reckless extermination of the Barmakids, who knew how to unite the Persian element with the Arab, led to discord between the two nationalities.
Persecution of free thought
Feeling their weakening, the caliphs (the first - Al-Mutawakkil, 847) decided that they should gain new support for themselves - in the orthodox clergy, and for this - to renounce Mu'tazili freethinking. Thus, since the time of Mutawakkil, along with the progressive weakening of the power of the caliphs, there has been a strengthening of orthodoxy, the persecution of heresies, free-thinking and heterodoxies (Christians, Jews, etc.), religious persecution of philosophy, natural and even exact sciences. A new powerful school of theologians, founded by Abul-Hasan al-Ash'ari (874-936), who left Mu'tazilism, conducts scientific polemics with philosophy and secular science and wins victory in public opinion.
However, the caliphs, with their increasingly declining political power, were not able to actually kill the mental movement, and the most famous Arab philosophers (Basri encyclopedists, Farabi, Ibn Sina) and other scientists lived under the patronage of vassal sovereigns precisely at that time. the era (-c.) when officially in Baghdad, in Islamic dogmatics and in the opinion of the masses, philosophy and non-scholastic sciences were recognized as impiety; and literature, towards the end of the said era, produced the greatest free-thinking Arab poet, Maarri (973-1057); at the same time, Sufism, which was very well grafted onto Islam, turned into complete freethinking among many of its Persian representatives.
Cairo Caliphate
The Shiites (c. 864) also became a powerful political force, especially their branch of the Karmatians (q.v.); when in 890 the Qarmatians built a strong fortress of Dar al-Hijra in Iraq, which became a stronghold for the newly formed predatory state, since then “everyone was afraid of the Ismailis, but they were nobody,” in the words of the Arab historian Noveyriy, and the Qarmatians disposed as they wanted, in Iraq, Arabia and border Syria. In 909, the Qarmatians managed to found the Fatimid dynasty (909-1169) in northern Africa, which in 969 took Egypt and southern Syria from the Ikhshids and proclaimed the Fatimid Caliphate; The power of the Fatimid X. was also recognized by northern Syria with its talented Hamdanid dynasty (929-1003), which patronized free-thinking Arab philosophy, science and poetry. Since in Spain Umayyad Abd ar-Rahman III also managed to take the title of caliph (929), now there were immediately three X..
He became the founder of a new state, known in history as the Arab Caliphate. This state was absolutely theocratic.
Muhammad and the caliphs who succeeded him came from the Meccan Quraish tribe.
Muhammad (prophet) d. 632
After the death of the Prophet Muhammad, the Muslim community was successively led by elected rulers - caliphs (“successors”). All of them were old companions of Muhammad.
Elected (Righteous) Caliphs, 632-661.
Hasan ibn Ali 661
It is believed that there were four elected caliphs, but in fact there was a fifth - in Kufa, after the murder of Ali, his son Hassan was proclaimed caliph. But the Syrian governor Muawiya opposed him. Realizing that he did not have enough strength to resist, Hassan renounced his rights by concluding an agreement with Muawiya.
Umayyad Dynasty, 661-750.
Muawiyah was the son of Abu Sufiyan, the leader of the Meccan Quraish community, a contemporary of the Prophet Muhammad. Abu Sufiyan's eldest son Yazid commanded the Arab forces in Syria. After his death from plague in 639, his brother Muawiyah became Syrian governor.
Muawiyah did not recognize the fourth elected caliph Ali and fought with him. At this time, a conspiracy matured in the caliphate, the participants of which decided to physically eliminate the perpetrators of the split in the Muslim community. The conspirators killed Ali, but only managed to wound Muawiya. Having a battle-hardened army at his disposal, Muawiya quickly seized power, dealing with all opponents.
The dynasty of caliphs founded by him was divided into two branches: Suffianids(the first three caliphs) and Marwanids(other).
Yazid I 680-683
Muawiyah II 683-684
Marwan I 684-685
Abdullah ibn az-Zubayr (anti-caliph, in Mecca) 684-692
al-Walid I 705-715
Yazid II 720-724
Hisham 724-743
al-Walid II 743-744
Yazid III 744
Ibrahim 744
Marwan II 744-750
In the eastern provinces of the caliphate, a powerful movement arose against the Umayyads, in which a variety of forces united for a time. It was headed by Abu Muslim, a skilled organizer and an excellent speaker. The Umayyad troops were defeated, the dynasty was overthrown and almost completely exterminated. Marwan II fled to Egypt but was killed in Gaza. Only one Umayyad prince, Abd ar-Rahman, the grandson of Caliph Hisham, managed to escape. He fled to the Iberian Peninsula, where he founded a state independent of the caliph.
Abbasid Dynasty, 750-1258
The Abbasids traced their origins to the uncle of the prophet al-Abbas (d. 653). Unlike the Alids, they did not have any special rights to supremacy in the Muslim community. Therefore, not very shy about the means in the fight against the Umayyads, the Abbasids tried to attract a variety of forces to their side - the Kharijites, new Muslims, especially in Iran and other eastern provinces of the caliphate. But after coming to power, they quickly tried to get rid of their former allies. By order of the second caliph al-Mansur, Abu Muslim, who ensured their victory, was killed, many other prominent Shiites were executed or expelled, and Alid speeches were mercilessly suppressed.
al-Mahdi 775-785
al-Hadi 785-786
Harun 786-809
al-Amin 809-813
al-Mamun 813-833
Ibrahim ibn al-Mahdi (in Baghdad) 817-819
al-Mustasim 833-842
al-Wasiq 842-847
al-Mutawakkil 1 847-861
al-Mustansir 861-862
al-Musta'in 862-866
al-Mutazz 866-869
al-Muhtadi 869-870
al-Mutamid 870-892
al-Mu'tadid 892-902
al-Muqtafi 902-908
al-Muqtadir 908-932
al-Qahir 932-934
al-Radi 934-940
al-Muttaqi 940-944
al-Mustaqfi 944-946
al-Muti 946-976
at-Tai 976-991
al-Qadir 991-1031
al-Qaim 1031-1075
al-Muqtadi 1075-1094
al-Mustazhir 1094-1118
al-Mustarshid 1118-1135
ar-Rashid 1135-1136
al-Muqtafi 1136-1160
al-Mustanjid 1160-1170
al-Mustadi 1170-1180
an-Nasir 1180-1225
Az-Zahir 1225-1226
al-Mustansir 1226-1242
al-Mustasim 1242-1258
The power of the caliphs gradually weakened, and the outskirts were separated from the state. In 945, the Daylemite Buyids captured the capital of the caliphate, Baghdad, and turned the caliphs into their puppets, leaving them only with spiritual leadership.
In 1055, Baghdad was conquered by the Seljuk Turks. Political power passed to their sultans. At the end of the 12th century, the Seljuk state collapsed, and the caliphs gradually regained their power. But in 1258, the caliphate was destroyed by the Mongol Khan Hulagu, who ordered the execution of Caliph al-Mustasim. As a result, the devout Sunnis lost their spiritual leader. At the same time, among the fugitives from Baghdad, one appeared in Cairo who called himself the uncle of the last caliph. Although his origins were in doubt, the Mamluks who ruled Egypt found it advantageous to believe him. He was proclaimed caliph, and after his early death his brother became caliph. Neither they nor their descendants had any real power. The Mamluk sultans kept caliphs at their court as the main clerics. The caliphs strengthened the power of the sultans with their authority.
Abbasid caliphs in Cairo, 1261-1517.
al-Mustansir 1261
al-Hakim I 1261-1302
al-Mustaqfi I 1302-1340
al-Wasiq I 1340-1341
al-Hakim II 1341-1352
al-Mu'tadid I 1352-1362
al-Mutawakkil I 1362-1377
al-Mutasim 1377
al-Mutawakkil I (secondary) 1377-1383
al-Wasiq II 1383-1386
al-Mu'tasim (secondary) 1386-1389
al-Mutawakkil I (for the third time) 1389-1406
al-Musta'in 1406-1414
al-Mu'tadid II 1414-1441
al-Mustaqfi II 1441-1451
al-Qaim 1451-1455
al-Mustanjid 1455-1479
al-Mutawakkil II 1479-1497
al-Mustamsiq 1497-1508
al-Mutawakkil III 1508-1516
al-Mustamsiq (secondary) 1516-1517
al-Mutawakkil III (secondary) 1517
In 1517, Ottoman Sultan Selim I conquered Egypt. The last Mamluk sultan was executed on his orders. The Abbasid caliph Mutawakkil III lived further at the court of Selim I, who assumed the title of Caliph of the Faithful.
On the territory of the Arabian Peninsula already in the 2nd millennium BC. lived Arab tribes that were part of the Semitic group of peoples. In the V-VI centuries. AD Arab tribes dominated the Arabian Peninsula. Part of the population of this peninsula lived in cities, oases, and was engaged in crafts and trade.
The other part roamed the deserts and steppes and was engaged in cattle breeding. Trade caravan routes between Mesopotamia, Syria, Egypt, Ethiopia, and Judea passed through the Arabian Peninsula. The intersection of these paths was the Meccan oasis near the Red Sea. In this oasis lived the Arab tribe Quraysh, whose tribal nobility, using the geographical location of Mecca, received income from the transit of goods through their territory.
In addition, Mecca became the religious center of Western Arabia. The ancient pre-Islamic temple of the Kaaba was located here. According to legend, this temple was erected by the biblical patriarch Abraham (Ibrahim) with his son Ismail. This temple is associated with a sacred stone that fell to the ground, which has been worshiped since ancient times, and with the cult of the god of the Quraysh tribe, Allah (from Arabic: ilah - master).
In the VI century. n, e. in Arabia, due to the movement of trade routes to Iran, the importance of trade decreases. The population, having lost income from the caravan trade, was forced to seek sources of livelihood in agriculture. But there was little land suitable for agriculture. They had to be conquered.
This required strength and, therefore, the unification of fragmented tribes, who also worshiped different gods. The need to introduce monotheism and unite the Arab tribes on this basis became increasingly clear.
This idea was preached by adherents of the Hanif sect, one of whom was Muhammad (c. 570-632 or 633), who became the founder of a new religion for the Arabs - Islam. This religion is based on the tenets of Judaism and Christianity: belief in one God and his prophet, the Last Judgment, reward after death, unconditional submission to the will of God (Arabic: Islam-submission).
The Jewish and Christian roots of Islam are evidenced by the names of prophets and other biblical characters common to these religions: biblical Abraham (Islamic Ibrahim), Aaron (Harun), David (Daud), Isaac (Ishak), Solomon (Suleiman), Ilya (Ilyas), Jacob (Yakub), Christian Jesus (Isa), Mary (Maryam), etc. Islam shares common customs and prohibitions with Judaism. Both religions prescribe the circumcision of boys, prohibit depicting God and living beings, eating pork, drinking wine, etc.
At the first stage of development, the new religious worldview of Islam was not supported by the majority of Muhammad's fellow tribesmen, and primarily by the nobility, as they feared that the new religion would lead to the cessation of the cult of the Kaaba as a religious center, and thereby deprive them of income. In 622, Muhammad and his followers had to flee persecution from Mecca to the city of Yathrib (Medina).
This year is considered the beginning of the Muslim calendar. The agricultural population of Yathrib (Medina), competing with the merchants from Mecca, supported Muhammad. However, only in 630, having dialed required number supporters, he got the opportunity to form military forces and capture Mecca, the local nobility of which was forced to submit to the new religion, especially since they were satisfied that Muhammad proclaimed the Kaaba the shrine of all Muslims.
Much later (c. 650) after the death of Muhammad, his sermons and sayings were collected into a single book, the Koran (translated from Arabic as reading), which became sacred to Muslims. The book includes 114 suras (chapters), which set out the main tenets of Islam, prescriptions and prohibitions.
Later Islamic religious literature is called Sunnah. It contains legends about Muhammad. Muslims who recognized the Koran and the Sunnah began to be called Sunnis, and those who recognized only one Koran - Shiites. Shiites recognize only his relatives as the legitimate caliphs (viceroys, deputies) of Muhammad, the spiritual and secular heads of Muslims.
The economic crisis of Western Arabia in the 7th century, caused by the movement of trade routes, the lack of land suitable for agriculture, and high population growth, pushed the leaders of the Arab tribes to seek a way out of the crisis by seizing foreign lands. This is reflected in the Koran, which says that Islam should be the religion of all peoples, but for this it is necessary to fight the infidels, exterminate them and take their property (Koran, 2: 186-189; 4: 76-78, 86).
Guided by this specific task and the ideology of Islam, Muhammad's successors, the caliphs, began a series of conquests. They conquered Palestine, Syria, Mesopotamia, and Persia. Already in 638 they captured Jerusalem. Until the end of the 7th century. The countries of the Middle East, Persia, the Caucasus, Egypt and Tunisia came under Arab rule. In the 8th century Central Asia, Afghanistan, Western India, and North-West Africa were captured.
In 711, Arab troops under the leadership of Tariq sailed from Africa to the Iberian Peninsula (from Tariq’s name came the name Gibraltar - Mount Tariq). Having quickly conquered the Pyrenees, they rushed to Gaul. However, in 732, at the Battle of Poitiers, they were defeated by the Frankish king Charles Martel.
By the middle of the 9th century. The Arabs captured Sicily, Sardinia, the southern regions of Italy, and the island of Crete. At this point the Arab conquests stopped, but a long-term war was waged with Byzantine Empire. The Arabs besieged Constantinople twice.
The main Arab conquests were carried out under the caliphs Abu Bekr (632-634), Omar (634-644), Osman (644-656) and the Umayyad caliphs (661-750). Under the Umayyads, the capital of the caliphate was moved to Syria to the city of Damascus.
The victories of the Arabs and their seizure of vast areas were facilitated by many years of mutually exhausting war between Byzantium and Persia, disunity and constant hostility between other states that were attacked by the Arabs. It should also be noted that the population of the countries captured by the Arabs, suffering from the oppression of Byzantium and Persia, saw the Arabs as liberators who reduced the tax burden primarily for those who converted to Islam.
The unification of many formerly separate and warring states into single state contributed to the development of economic and cultural communication between the peoples of Asia, Africa and Europe. Crafts and trade developed, cities grew. Within the Arab Caliphate, a culture quickly developed, incorporating Greco-Roman, Iranian and Indian heritage.
Through the Arabs, Europe became acquainted with the cultural achievements of the eastern peoples, primarily with achievements in the field of exact sciences - mathematics, astronomy, geography, etc.
In 750, the Umayyad dynasty in the eastern part of the caliphate was overthrown. The Abbasids, descendants of the Prophet Muhammad's uncle, Abbas, became caliphs. They moved the capital of the state to Baghdad.
In the western part of the caliphate, Spain continued to be ruled by the Umayyads, who did not recognize the Abbasids and founded the Cordoba Caliphate with its capital in the city of Cordoba.
The division of the Arab Caliphate into two parts was the beginning of the creation of smaller Arab states, the heads of which were provincial rulers - emirs.
The Abbasid Caliphate waged constant wars with Byzantium. In 1258, after the Mongols defeated the Arab army and captured Baghdad, the Abbasid state ceased to exist.
The Spanish Umayyad Caliphate also gradually shrank. In the 11th century As a result of internecine struggle, the Cordoba Caliphate broke up into a number of states. The Christian states that arose in the northern part of Spain took advantage of this: the Leono-Castilian, Aragonese, and Portuguese kingdoms, which began to fight the Arabs for the liberation of the peninsula - the reconquista.
In 1085 they recaptured the city of Toledo, in 1147 Lisbon, and in 1236 Cordoba fell. Last thing Arab state on the Iberian Peninsula - the Emirate of Granada - existed until 1492. With its fall, the history of the Arab Caliphate as a state ended.
The caliphate as an institution for the spiritual leadership of the Arabs and all Muslims continued to exist until 1517, when this function passed to the Turkish Sultan, who captured Egypt, where the last caliphate, the spiritual head of all Muslims, lived.
The history of the Arab Caliphate, dating back only six centuries, was complex, controversial and at the same time left a significant mark on the evolution of human society on the planet.
The difficult economic situation of the population of the Arabian Peninsula in the VI-VII centuries. in connection with the movement of trade routes to another zone, it became necessary to search for sources of livelihood. To solve this problem, the tribes living here took the path of establishing a new religion - Islam, which was supposed to become not only the religion of all peoples, but also called for the fight against infidels (non-believers).
Guided by the ideology of Islam, the caliphs carried out a broad policy of conquest, turning the Arab Caliphate into an empire. The unification of formerly scattered tribes into a single state gave impetus to economic and cultural communication between the peoples of Asia, Africa and Europe.
Being one of the youngest in the east, occupying the most offensive position among them, having absorbed the Greco-Roman, Iranian and Indian cultural heritage, the Arab (Islamic) civilization had a huge influence on the spiritual life of Western Europe, posing a significant military threat throughout the Middle Ages .
State of the Arab Caliphate
Ancient Arabia did not have favorable conditions for economic development. The main part of the Arabian Peninsula is occupied by the Najd plateau, whose land is little suitable for cultivation. In ancient times, the population here was mainly engaged in raising livestock (camels, sheep, goats). Only in the west of the peninsula, along the shores of the Red Sea, in the so-called Hijaz(Arabic “barrier”), and in the southwest, in Yemen, there were oases suitable for agriculture. Caravan routes ran through the Hejaz, which contributed to the creation of large shopping centers. One of them was Mecca.
In pre-Islamic Arabia, nomadic Arabs (Bedouins) and sedentary Arabs (farmers) lived in a tribal system. This system carried strong remnants of matriarchy. Thus, kinship was counted on the maternal side, cases of polyandry (polyandry) were known, although polygamy was also practiced at the same time. Arab marriages were dissolved quite freely, including on the initiative of the wife. The tribes existed autonomously from each other. From time to time they could enter into alliances with each other, but stable political formations did not arise for a long time. The tribe was led by Sayyid(lit. “speaker”), later the Sayyids began to be called sheikhs. The power of the sayyid was of a potestar nature and was not inherited, but the sayyids usually came from the same family. Such a leader supervised the economic work of the tribe, and he also headed the militia in case of hostilities. During the campaign, the seyid could count on receiving a fourth of the military booty. As for the activities of popular assemblies among the Arabs, science has no information about this.
At the turn of the VI–VII centuries. Arabia was going through a serious crisis. The country was devastated as a result of the wars waged in this region by the Persians and Ethiopians. The Persians moved transport routes to the east, to the Persian Gulf region, between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. This led to the decline of the Hejaz's role as a transport and trade hub. In addition, population growth caused land hunger: there was not enough land suitable for farming. As a result, social tension increased among the Arab population. In the wake of this crisis, a new religion arose, designed to restore harmony and unite all Arabs. She got the name Islam(“submission”) Its creation is associated with the name of the prophet Muhammad(570–632 ). He came from the Quraysh tribe, which dominated Mecca. Until he was forty years old, he remained an ordinary person; his transformation took place in 610 miraculously (through the appearance of the Archangel Jebrail). From that time on, Muhammad began to transmit heavenly messages to the world in the form of suras (chapters) of the Koran (al-Qur'an means “reading”, since the prophet had to read the heavenly scroll on the orders of the archangel). Muhammad preached a new creed in Mecca. It was based on the idea of one God – Allah. This was the name of the tribal deity of the Quraish, but Muhammad gave it the meaning of the universal God, the Creator of all things. The new religion absorbed a lot from other monotheistic cults - Christianity and Judaism. The prophets of the Old Testament and Jesus Christ were declared prophets of Islam. Initially, the preaching of monotheism met with fierce resistance from the Quraish nobility, who did not want to part with pagan beliefs. Clashes began in Mecca, which led to the relocation of Muhammad and his supporters to the neighboring city of Yathrib (later called Medina an-nabi - “city of the prophet”). The migration (hijra) took place in 622, this date was then recognized as the beginning of the Muslim chronology. This significance of the hijra is due to the fact that it was in Medina that the prophet managed to create ummu- a Muslim community that became the embryo of the first Islamic state. Relying on the forces of the Medinians, the prophet was able to conquer Mecca by military means. In 630, Muhammad entered his hometown as a victor: Mecca recognized Islam.
After the death of Muhammad in 632, the Muslim community began to elect his deputies - caliphs(“the one who comes after, the successor”). The name of the Muslim state, the Caliphate, is connected with this. The first four caliphs were called “righteous” (in contrast to the subsequent “godless” Umayyad caliphs). Rightly Guided Caliphs: Abu Bakr (632–634); Omar (634–644); Osman (644–656); Ali (656–661). The name Ali is associated with a split in Islam and the emergence of two main movements: Sunnis and Shiites. The Shiites were adherents and followers of Ali (“Ali’s party”). Already under the first caliphs, the conquest of the Arabs began, and the territory of the Muslim state expanded significantly. The Arabs conquer Iran, Syria, Palestine, Egypt, North Africa, they penetrate into Transcaucasia and Central Asia, subjugate Afghanistan and northwestern India to the river. Ind. In 711, the Arabs crossed to Spain and in a short time captured the entire Iberian Peninsula. They advanced further into Gaul, but were stopped by Frankish troops under the leadership of the majordomo Charles Martel. The Arabs also invaded Italy. As a result, a huge empire was created, surpassing in scale both the empire of Alexander the Great and the Roman Empire. Important role Religious doctrines played a role in Arab victories. Faith in one God united the Arabs: Islam preached equality between all adherents of the new religion. For a while, this smoothed out social contradictions. The doctrine of religious tolerance also played a role. During jihad(holy “war in the path of Allah”), the warriors of Islam were supposed to show tolerance towards the “People of the Book” - Christians and Jews, but only if they accepted the status Zimmiev. Dhimmiyas are those non-Muslims (Christians and Jews, in the 9th century Zoroastrians were also counted among them) who recognize Muslim authority over themselves and pay a special poll tax - jizya. If they resist with arms in their hands or refuse to pay the tax, they should be fought as with other “infidels.” (Muslims were also not supposed to show tolerance towards pagans and apostates.) The doctrine of toleration turned out to be quite attractive to many Christians and Jews in countries conquered by the Arabs. It is known that in Spain and in the south of Gaul the local population preferred the softer Muslim power to the harsh rule of the Germans - the Visigoths and Franks.
Political system. According to the form of government, the Caliphate was theocratic monarchy. The head of state, the caliph, was both a spiritual leader and a secular ruler. Spiritual power was denoted by the word imamat, secular – emirate. Thus, the caliph was both the supreme imam and the main emir of the country. In the Sunni and Shiite traditions there was a different understanding of the role of the ruler in the state. For Sunnis, the caliph was the successor of the prophet, and through the prophet, the executor of the will of Allah himself. In this capacity, the caliph had absolute power, but in the legislative sphere his powers were limited. The Caliph did not have the right to interpret the supreme law contained in the main sources of Islamic law. The right of interpretation belonged to Muslim theologians, who had high authority in the community - mujtahids. Moreover, the decision had to be made by them in an agreed form, and not individually. The Caliph cannot create new legislation, he only ensures the implementation of an existing law. The Shiites defined the powers of the imam-caliph more broadly. The imam, like a prophet, receives revelation from Allah himself, therefore he is endowed with the right to interpret sacred texts. The Shiites recognized the right of the ruler to make laws.
The idea of the succession of power of the caliph was also different. The Shiites recognized the right to supreme power only for the descendants of Caliph Ali and his wife Fatima, the daughter of the prophet (i.e., the Alids). Sunnis adhered to the principle of election. At the same time, two methods were recognized as legal: 1) election of the caliph by the Muslim community - in fact, only by the mujtahids; 2) the appointment as caliph of his successor during his lifetime, but with his obligatory approval in the ummah - by the mujtahids, their concurring opinion. The first caliphs were usually elected by the community. But the second method was also used: the first precedent was given by Caliph Abu Bakr, who appointed Omar as his successor.
After the death of Caliph Ali in 661, power was seized by a relative of the third Caliph Osman and Ali's enemy, Muawiyah. Mu'awiyah was a governor in Syria, he moved the capital of the Caliphate to Damascus and founded the first dynasty of caliphs - the dynasty Umayyads
(661–750
). Under the Umayyads, the power of the caliph began to acquire a more secular character. Unlike the first caliphs, who led a simple lifestyle, the Umayyads started their own court and lived in luxury. The creation of a huge power required the introduction of a large bureaucracy and increased taxation. Taxes were imposed not only on dhimmiyyas, but also on Muslims, who were previously exempt from paying taxes to the treasury.
In a multinational empire, the Umayyads tried to pursue a pro-Arab policy, which caused discontent among non-Arab Muslims. A widespread movement to restore equality in the Muslim community led to the fall of the dynasty. Power in the Caliphate was seized by the descendant of the uncle of the prophet (al-Abbas) Abul-Abbas the Bloody. He ordered the destruction of all the Umayyad princes. (One of them escaped death and founded an independent state in Spain.)
Abul Abbas laid the foundation for a new dynasty of caliphs - Abbasid (750–1258 ). Under the next caliph Mansur, a new capital, Baghdad, was built on the river. Tiger (in 762). Since the Abbasids came to power, relying on the support of the population of the eastern regions of the Caliphate, primarily the Iranians, a strong Iranian influence began to be felt during their reign. Much was borrowed from the Sassanid dynasty of Persian kings (III–VII centuries).
Central authorities and management. Initially, the caliph himself directed and coordinated the activities of various departments and services. Over time, he began to share these functions with his assistant - wazir. At first, the wazir was only the personal secretary of the caliph, who conducted his correspondence, looked after his property, and also trained the heir to the throne. Then the wazir turned into the caliph's chief adviser, guardian state seal and the head of the entire bureaucracy of the Caliphate. All the central institutions of the empire were under his control. It should be borne in mind that the wazir had only the power that the caliph delegated to him. So the caliph had the right to limit his powers. In addition, the wazir did not have actual power over the army: the emir-military leader was at the head of the army. This undermined the influence of the wazir in the state. Usually, the Abbasids appointed educated Persians to the position of wazir; the position could be inherited. The central departments were called sofas. At first, this was the designation for registers of persons receiving salaries and pensions from the treasury, then for the departments where these registers were kept. The main departments were: the office, the treasury and the administration of the army. The main postal department (Diwan al-barid) was also allocated. It was in charge of managing roads and post offices and creating means of communication. Diwan officials, among other things, were engaged in illustrating letters and performed the functions of the secret police in the state.
At the head of each sofa was sahib- chief, he had subordinates katiby- scribes. They received special training and formed a special group in society. social group with its own hierarchy. This hierarchy was headed by a wazir.
Local government. The Umayyad Caliphate was characterized by strong decentralization of power. When new regions were conquered, a governor was sent there, who was supposed to keep the local population in obedience and send part of the military booty to the center. At the same time, the governor could act practically uncontrollably. The Abbasids borrowed the experience of organizing the Sassanid Persian state. The entire territory of the Arab Empire was divided into large districts modeled on the Persian satrapies. In each such province, the caliph appointed his own official - emir, which was carried in front of him full responsibility for your actions. His important difference from the governor of the Umayyad era was that he performed not only military and police functions, but also carried out civil administration in the province. The emirs created specialized departments similar to the capital's divans and exercised control over their work. The emirs' assistants were naibs.
Judicial system. Initially, the court was not separated from the administration. The highest judges were the caliphs; from the caliphs, judicial power was delegated to the governors of the regions. From the end of the 7th century. there is a separation of the court from the administration. The Caliph and his governors began to appoint special judges called cadi(“the one who decides”) A qadi is a professional judge, an expert in Islamic law (Sharia). At first, the qadi was not independent in his actions and depended on the caliph and his governor. The qadi could appoint a deputy subordinate to him, and the deputy had assistants in the districts. This extensive system was headed by qadi al-kudat(“judge of judges”), appointed by the caliph. Under the Abbasids, the qadi became independent from local authorities, but his subordination to the center remained. The appointment of new qadis began to be carried out by a special divan, similar to the Ministry of Justice.
The qadi could conduct both criminal and civil cases (there were no differences in the judicial process in the Arab Caliphate yet). He also monitored the condition of public buildings, prisons, roads, monitored the execution of wills, was in charge of the division of property, established guardianship and even married single women deprived of a guardian.
Some criminal cases were removed from the jurisdiction of the qadi. Security cases and murder cases were handled by the police - shurta. Shurta made the final decision on them. It was also a preliminary investigation body and a court execution body. Headed the police - sahib-ash-shurta. Cases of adultery and alcohol consumption were also removed from the jurisdiction of the qadi and were considered by the mayor, Sahib al-Madina.
The highest court of appeal was the caliph. The Wazir was also endowed with judicial powers: he could consider cases of “civil offenses.” The wazir's court complemented the sharia court of the qadi and often acted more effectively.
The further fate of the Caliphate. Already in the 8th century. The Arab Empire begins to disintegrate. Provincial emirs, relying on their troops, achieve independence. By the middle of the 10th century. Only Arabia and part of Mesopotamia adjacent to Baghdad remain under the control of the caliph.
In 1055, Baghdad was captured by the Seljuk Turks. Only religious power remained in the hands of the caliph; secular power passed to to the Sultan(literally "lord") of the Seljuks. As spiritual leaders of Sunni Muslims, the Baghdad caliphs retained their importance until 1258, when Baghdad was captured by the Mongols and the last Baghdad caliph was killed on the orders of Hulagu Khan. The Caliphate was soon restored in Cairo (Egypt), where it existed until 1517. Then the last Cairo caliph was taken to Istanbul and was forced to renounce his powers in favor of the Ottoman Sultan. Secular and spiritual power were again united in the hands of one person.
In 1922 the last Turkish Sultan Mehmed VI was deposed, and the duties of caliph were entrusted to Abdulmecid II. He became the last caliph in history. In 1924, the Grand National Assembly of Turkey passed a law to eliminate the Caliphate. Its more than thousand-year history has ended.
The Arab Caliphate was a militarized theocratic state that existed in the 7th-9th centuries in the lands of Asia, Africa and Europe. It was formed in 630 during the life of the Prophet Muhammad (571-632). It is to him that humanity owes the emergence of Islam. He preached his teachings from 610. Within 20 years, all of Western Arabia and Oman recognized the new faith and began to revere Allah.
Muhammad had an amazing gift of persuasion. But the abilities themselves would not be worth anything if the prophet himself did not sincerely believe in what he preached. A group of the same people, fanatically devoted to the new faith, formed around him. They did not seek any benefits or benefits for themselves. They were driven only by the idea and faith in Allah.
Prophet Muhammad (Ancient miniature from an Arabic manuscript)
That is why Islam spread so quickly in the lands of Arabia. But it should be noted that Muslims (followers of Islam) were not at all tolerant of representatives of other religions. They propagated their faith by force. Those who refused to recognize Allah as their god were killed. The alternative was to flee to other lands, the only way to preserve life and one’s religious beliefs.
Shortly before his death, Muhammad sent letters to the Byzantine emperor and the Shah of Persia. He demanded that the peoples under his control accept Islam. But, naturally, he was refused. The rulers of powerful powers did not take seriously the new state, united by one religious idea.
The first caliphs
In 632 the prophet died. From this time on, caliphs appeared. Caliph is the prophet's deputy on earth. His power was based on Sharia- a set of legal, moral, ethical and religious norms of Islam. Muhammad's loyal follower Abu Bakr became the first caliph.(572-634). He served as governor from 632 to 634.
This was a very difficult period for Muslims, since after the death of the prophet many tribes refused to recognize the new religion. I had to with an iron hand put things in order. All opponents were mercilessly destroyed. As a result of this activity, almost all of Arabia recognized Islam.
In 634, Abu Bakr fell ill and died. Umar ibn al-Khattab became the second caliph(581-644). He performed the duties of the prophet's deputy from 634 to 644. It was Umar who organized military campaigns against Byzantium and Persia. These were the largest powers of the time.
The population of Byzantium at that time numbered about 20 million people. The population of Persia was slightly smaller. These largest countries At first they didn’t pay any attention to some Arabs who didn’t even have horses. They made their marches on donkeys and camels. Before the battle they dismounted and fought like that.
But you should never underestimate your enemy. In 636, two battles took place: at Yarmouk in Syria, and then at Qadisiya in Mesopotamia. In the first battle, the Byzantine army suffered a crushing defeat, and in the second battle the Persian army was defeated. In 639, the Arab army crossed the Egyptian border. Egypt was under Byzantine rule. The country was torn apart by religious and political contradictions. Therefore, there was practically no resistance.
In 642, Alexandria with its famous Library of Alexandria fell into Muslim hands. It was the most important military and political center of the country. In the same year 642, Persian troops were defeated at the Battle of Nehavend. Thus, a crushing blow was dealt to the Sassanid dynasty. Its last representative, the Persian Shah Yazdegerd III, was killed in 651.
Under Umar, after the Battle of Yarmouk, the Byzantines ceded the city of Jerusalem to the victors. The caliph first entered the city gates alone. He was wearing a poor man's simple cloak. The inhabitants of the city, seeing the conqueror in this form, were shocked. They were accustomed to the arrogant and luxuriously dressed Byzantines and Persians. Here it was the complete opposite.
Orthodox Patriarch Sophrony handed over the keys to the city to the caliph. He assured that he would keep everything orthodox churches intact. They will not be destroyed. Thus, Umar immediately established himself as a wise and far-sighted politician. He prayed to Allah in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, and ordered a mosque to be built in the place where the Jerusalem Temple had previously stood.
In 644, an assassination attempt was made on the caliph. The Persian slave Firuz committed this act. He complained to Umar about his master, but he considered the complaint unfounded. In retaliation for this, the Persian stabbed the prophet's deputy in the stomach. After 3 days, Umar ibn al-Khattab died. The 10th anniversary of the victorious march of Islam across the Persian and Byzantine lands has ended. The Caliph was a wise man. He preserved the unity of the Muslim community and significantly strengthened it.
Uthman ibn Affan became the third caliph.(574-656). He performed the duties of the prophet's deputy from 644 to 656. It must be said that in terms of his moral and volitional qualities he was inferior to his predecessor. Uthman surrounded himself with relatives, which caused discontent among other Muslims. At the same time, Persia was completely captured under him. The local population was forbidden to worship fire. Fire worshipers fled to India and live there to this day. The rest of the Persians converted to Islam.
Arab Caliphate on the map
But the Arab Caliphate was not limited to these conquests. He continued to expand his boundaries further. Next in line was the richest country, Sogdiana, located in Central Asia. It included such major cities as Bukhara, Tashkent, Samarkand, Kokand, Gurganj. All of them were surrounded by strong walls and had strong military detachments.
The Arabs began to appear in these lands in small groups and began to capture one city after another. In some places they tricked their way into the city walls, but mostly they took them by storm. At first glance, it seems surprising how poorly armed Muslims could defeat such a strong and wealthy power as Sogdiana. The fortitude of the conquerors was evident here. They turned out to be more resilient, and well-fed residents of rich cities showed weakness of spirit and outright cowardice.
But further progress to the east stopped. The Arabs entered the steppes and encountered nomadic tribes of the Turks and Turgush. The nomads were offered to convert to Islam, but they refused. But it must be said that the entire nomadic population of Southern Kazakhstan was extremely small. In the foothills of the Tien Shan lived the Turgesh, Yagma and Chigil. The steppes were inhabited by the ancestors of the Pechenegs, who were called Kangars, and these lands themselves were called Kangyui. The ancestors of the Turkmen and the descendants of the Parthians lived all the way to the Syr Darya on a vast territory. And this rare population was quite enough to stop the Arab expansion.
In the west, under Uthman, the Arabs reached Carthage and occupied it. But further military actions ceased, as serious political disagreements began within the Arab Caliphate itself. Some provinces rebelled against the caliph. In 655, the rebels entered Medina, where Uthman's residence was located. But all the rebels’ claims were resolved peacefully. But in next year Muslims dissatisfied with the power of the caliph broke into his chambers, and the deputy of the prophet was killed. From this moment it began fitna. This is the name of the Civil War in the Muslim world. It continued until 661.
After the death of Uthman, Ali ibn Abu Talib became the new caliph.(600-661). He had to cousin Prophet Muhammad. But not all Muslims recognized the power of the new ruler. There were people who accused him of protecting the murderers of Uthman. The governor in Syria, Muawiyah (603-680), was one of these. One of the former thirteen wives of the prophet Aisha and her like-minded people also spoke out against the new caliph.
The latter settled in Basra. In December 656, the so-called Battle of the Camel took place. On the one hand, Ali's troops took part in it, and on the other hand, rebel troops led by the prophet's brother-in-law Talha ibn Ubaydullah, the prophet's cousin Az-Zubair ibn al-Awwam and the prophet's ex-wife Aisha.
In this battle the rebels were defeated. The center of the battle was near Aisha, who was sitting on a camel. This is where the battle got its name. The leaders of the uprising were killed. Only Aisha survived. She was captured but then released.
In 657 the Battle of Siffin took place. The troops of Ali and the rebellious Syrian governor Muawiya met there. This battle ended in nothing. The caliph showed indecisiveness, and the rebel troops of Muawiya were not defeated. In January 661, the fourth righteous caliph was killed with a poisoned dagger right in the mosque.
Umayyad Dynasty
With the death of Ali, the Arab Caliphate entered a new era. Muawiya founded the Umayyad dynasty, which ruled the state for 90 years. During this dynasty, the Arabs traveled along the entire African coast of the Mediterranean Sea. They reached the Strait of Gibraltar, crossed it in 711 and ended up in Spain. They captured this state, crossed the Pyrenees and were stopped only at Rouen and the Rhone.
By 750, the followers of the Prophet Muhammad had conquered a vast territory from India to the Atlantic Ocean. Islam was established in all these lands. I must say that the Arabs were real gentlemen. When conquering another country, they killed only men if they refused to convert to Islam. As for women, they were sold for harems. Moreover, the prices at the bazaars were ridiculous, since there were a lot of captives.
But captured aristocrats enjoyed special privileges. So the daughter of the Persian Shah Yazdegerd was sold at her request. Buyers passed in front of her, and she herself chose which of them she should go into slavery. Some men were too fat, others too thin. Some had voluptuous lips, while others had too small eyes. Finally the woman saw the right man and said: “Sell me to him. I agree.” The deal was made right away. Among the Arabs, slavery at that time took such exotic forms.
In general, it should be noted that in the Arab Caliphate a slave could be purchased only with his consent. Sometimes conflict arose between slave and slave owner. In this case, the slave had the right to demand that he be resold to another owner. Such relationships were more like a hiring transaction, but were formalized as a purchase and sale.
Under the Umayyads, the capital of Islam was in the city of Damascus, so sometimes they say not the Arab, but the Damascus caliphate. But it's the same thing. What was noteworthy was that during this dynasty the unity of the Muslim community disappeared. Under the faithful caliphs, people were united by faith. Starting from the time of Muawiya, the faithful began to divide themselves along sub-ethnic lines. There were Medina Arabs, Meccan Arabs, Kelbit Arabs, and Qaysite Arabs. And disagreements began to arise between these groups, which very often resulted in brutal massacres.
If you count external and internal wars, it turns out that their number is the same. Moreover, internal conflicts were much more fierce than external ones. It got to the point that the troops of the Umayyad caliph stormed Mecca. In this case, flamethrowers were used and the Kaaba temple was burned. However, all these outrages could not continue indefinitely.
The finale came under the 14th caliph from the Umayyad dynasty. This man's name was Marwan II ibn Muhammad. He was in power from 744 to 750. At this time, Abu Muslim (700-755) entered the political arena. He acquired his influence as a result of the conspiracy of the Persians with the Kelbit Arabs against the Qaysite Arabs. It was thanks to this conspiracy that the Umayyad dynasty was overthrown.
In July 747, Abu Muslim openly opposed Caliph Marwan II. After a series of brilliant military operations, the troops of the prophet's governor were defeated. Marwan II fled to Egypt, but was caught and executed in August 750. Almost all other members of the royal family were killed. Only one representative of the dynasty, Abdu ar-Rahman, managed to save. He fled to Spain and in 756 founded the Emirate of Cordoba on these lands.
Abbasid Dynasty
After the overthrow of the Umayyad dynasty, the Arab Caliphate received new rulers. They became the Abbasids. These were distant relatives of the prophet who had no rights to the throne. However, they suited both the Persians and Arabs. Abul Abbas is considered the founder of the dynasty. Under him, a brilliant victory was won over the Chinese, who invaded Central Asia. In 751 the famous Battle of Talas took place. In it, Arab troops met with regular Chinese troops.
The Chinese were commanded by the Korean Gao Xiang Zhi. And the Arab army was led by Ziyad ibn Salih. The battle lasted three days and no one could win. The Altai tribe of Karluks turned the situation around. They supported the Arabs and attacked the Chinese. The defeat of the aggressors was complete. After this, the Chinese Empire vowed to expand its borders to the west.
Ziyad ibn Salih was executed for participation in the conspiracy about six months after the brilliant victory at Talas. In 755, Abu Muslim was executed. The authority of this man was enormous, and the Abbasids feared for their power, although they received it precisely thanks to Muslim.
In the 8th century, the new dynasty retained the former power of the lands entrusted to it. But the matter was complicated by the fact that the caliphs and members of their families were people with different mentalities. Some rulers had Persian mothers, others Berbers, and still others Georgians. There was a terrible mess there. The unity of the state was maintained only due to the weakness of its opponents. But gradually the united Islamic state began to fall apart from within.
First, as already mentioned, Spain separated, then Morocco, where the Kabyle Moors lived. After this it was the turn of Algeria, Tunisia, Egypt, Central Asia, Khorasan, and the eastern regions of Persia. The Arab Caliphate gradually disintegrated into independent states and ceased to exist in the 9th century. The Abbasid dynasty itself lasted much longer. It no longer had its former power, but attracted the eastern rulers because its representatives were the viceroys of the prophet. That is, the interest in them was purely religious.
It was only in the second decade of the 16th century that the Ottoman Sultan Selim I forced the last Abbasid caliph to renounce his title in favor of the Ottoman sultans. Thus, the Ottomans acquired not only administrative and secular, but also spiritual supremacy over the entire Islamic world.
Thus ended the history of the theocratic state. It was created by the faith and will of Muhammad and his companions. It has achieved unprecedented power and prosperity. But then, thanks to internal strife, a decline began. And although the caliphate itself collapsed, this did not affect Islam in any way. It’s just that Muslims were divided into ethnic groups, because in addition to religion, people are also connected by culture, ancient customs and traditions. They turned out to be fundamental. This is not surprising, since all the peoples and states of our multinational world have gone through similar historical vicissitudes..
The article was written by Mikhail Starikov