A history of the Muslim world to 1750: the making of a civilization

596 Pages·2018·48.366 MB·English

by  Egger, Vernon O

A History of the
Muslim World to 1750
A History of the Muslim World to 1750 traces the development of Islamic civilization from
the career of the Prophet Muhammad to the mid-eighteenth century. Encompassing
a wide range of significant events within the period, its coverage includes the creation
of the Dar al-Islam (the territory ruled by Muslims), the fragmentation of society into
various religious and political groups including the Shi‘ites and Sunnis, the series
of catastrophes in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries that threatened to destroy the
civilization, and the rise of the Ottoman, Safavid, and Mughal empires.
Including the latest research from the last ten years, this second edition has
been updated and expanded to cover the fifteenth to eighteenth centuries. Fully
refreshed and containing over sixty images to highlight the key visual aspects, this
book offers students a balanced coverage of the Muslim world from the Iberian
Peninsula to South Asia and detailed accounts of all cultures. The use of maps,
primary sources, timelines, and a glossary further illuminates the fascinating yet
complex world of the pre-modern Middle East.
Covering art, architecture, religious institutions, theological beliefs, popular
religious practice, political institutions, cuisine, and much more, A History of the
Muslim World to 1750 is the perfect introduction for all students of the history of
Islamic civilization and the Middle East.
Vernon O. Egger is Professor Emeritus of Middle Eastern and Islamic History
at Georgia Southern University. His other books include The Muslim World Since 1260
and A Fabian in Egypt: Salamah Musa and the Rise of the Professional Classes in Egypt,
1909–1939.

A History
of the Muslim World
to 1750
The Making
of a Civilization
Second Edition
Vernon O. Egger
Second edition published 2018
by Routledge
711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017
and by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon, OX14 4RN
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2018 Vernon O. Egger
The right of Vernon O. Egger to be identified as author of this work
has been asserted by him in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of
the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or
reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical,
or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including
photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or
retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or
registered trademarks and are used only for identification and
explanation without intent to infringe.
First edition published by Pearson Prentice Hall 2004
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Egger, Vernon, 1948- author.
Title: A history of the Muslim world to 1750 : the making of a
civilization / Vernon O. Egger.
Description: Second edition. | Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon :
Routledge, 2017. | Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2017023445 | ISBN 9781138215924
(hardback : alk. paper) | ISBN 9781138215931 (pbk. : alk. paper) |
ISBN 9781315143309 (ebook)
Subjects: LCSH: Islamic civilization. | Islamic countries--History. |
Islam–History.
Classification: LCC DS36.85. E34 2017 | DDC 909/.09767—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017023445
ISBN: 978-1-138-21592-4 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-1-138-21593-1 (pbk)
ISBN: 978-1-315-14330-9 (ebk)
Typeset in New Baskerville
by Keystroke, Neville Lodge, Tettenhall, Wolverhampton
Contents
List of Figures xiii
List of Maps xv
List of Tables xvii
Preface to the Second Edition xix
Preface to the First Edition xxi
Acknowledgements xxv
Note on Transliteration and Dating xxvii
PART ONE THE FORMATIVE PERIOD, 610–950 1
CHAPTER 1 ORIGINS 4
Southwest Asia in the Seventh Century 4
The Byzantine Empire 5
The Sasanian Empire 11
The Arabian Peninsula 16
The Rise of Islam 21
The Meccan Environment 21
Muhammad 23
A Framework for a New Community 29
Conclusion 32
Notes 33
Further Reading 33
CHAPTER 2 ARAB IMPERIALISM 35
Arab Conquests 35
Arabia and the Fertile Crescent 36
Iran 41
North Africa and the Iberian Peninsula 43
Transoxiana and the Indus River Valley 45
Umayyad Administration 46
The Caliphate 47
v
vi Contents
The Administration of Non-Muslims 48
The Administration of Muslims 51
The Rationalization of Society 55
Dissolution of the Arab Empire 57
Conclusion 62
Notes 63
Further Reading 63
CHAPTER 3 THE DEVELOPMENT OF SECTARIANISM 65
‘Ali and the Politics of Division 65
Political Dissension 66
‘Ali’s Caliphate: Shi‘ites and Kharijites 68
Karbala 71
The Abbasid Revolution 73
Shi‘ite Identities 76
The Ghulat and the Zaydis 78
The Husayni Alids 78
The Shi‘ite Movement 84
The Sunni Consensus 85
Conclusion 89
Further Reading 90
CHAPTER 4 THE CENTER CANNOT HOLD: THREE CALIPHATES 91
The Abbasid Caliphate 92
The Early Period 92
Military and Economic Problems 95
The Assertion of Regional Autonomy 97
The Fatimid Caliphate 100
Isma‘ili Activism 100
A Second Caliphate 102
The Umayyad Caliphate of Cordoba 106
The Consolidation of Umayyad Power 106
A Third Caliphate 109
Economic Networks 111
A Single Economy 111
Overland Trade 114
Maritime Commerce 117
Conclusion 119
Notes 120
Further Reading 120
CHAPTER 5 SYNTHESIS AND CREATIVITY 122
The Origins of Islamic Law 123
Assimilation and Adaptation 123
Groping Toward an Islamic Jurisprudence 125
The Development of the Shari‘a 126
Contents vii
Early Sufism 132
The Contemplative Life 133
Testing the Limits of Transcendence 136
The Accommodation of Sufism 137
The Reception of Science and Philosophy 139
Science and Mathematics 139
Philosophy 140
The Development of an Islamic Theology 145
The Reception of Rationalism 145
The Critique of Rationalism 147
Conclusion 149
Notes 150
Further Reading 150
PART TWO CIVILIZATION VS. CHAOS, 950–1260 153
CHAPTER 6 FILLING THE VACUUM OF POWER, 950–1100 157
The Buyid Sultanate 157
The Advent of the Turks 160
Origins 161
The Saljuq Invasion 164
The Great Saljuqs and the Saljuqs of Rum 167
The Fatimid Empire 170
The Conquest of Egypt and Palestine 171
Religious Policies 172
The New Egyptian Economy 174
Ominous Developments 175
The Nizaris (“Assassins”) 176
The Muslim West 178
Norman Invasions of Muslim Territory 179
The “Hilali Invasion” of Ifriqiya 180
A Berber Empire 181
The Collapse of the Umayyad Caliphate of Andalus 183
The Incorporation of Andalus into the Maghrib 185
Conclusion 186
Further Reading 187
CHAPTER 7 BARBARIANS AT THE GATES, 1100–1260 189
The Loss of Andalus 191
Provisional Solutions: The Great Berber Empires 191
The Disintegration of the Almohads and of Andalus 195
The Period of the Crusades 199
The First Crusade 199
The Franks on the Defensive 206
Realignment in the East 210
The Collapse of the Great Saljuqs 210
viii Contents
Sunni–Nizari Rapprochement 212
The Mongol Campaigns 214
Conclusion 217
Further Reading 218
CHAPTER 8 THE CONSOLIDATION OF TRADITIONS 220
Science and Philosophy 220
Mathematics and the Natural Sciences 221
Philosophy 222
The Sunni Resolution to the Tension between Reason and Revelation 226
Consolidating Institutions: Sufism 227
The Emergence of Lodges and Tariqas 228
Speculative Mysticism 232
Consolidating Institutions: Shi‘ism 237
Twelver Shi‘ites 237
The Isma‘ilis 239
The Impact of “the Foreign Sciences” and Jurisprudence 240
The Transmission of Knowledge 242
Schools 242
The Legacy to Europe 245
Conclusion 248
Notes 249
Further Reading 249
CHAPTER 9 THE MUSLIM COMMONWEALTH 251
Frontiers and Identities 252
Frontiers Defining the Dar al-Islam 252
Frontiers within the Dar al-Islam 258
Identities 259
The City and the Countryside 262
The City 263
The Countryside 267
Conversion to Islam 268
A Muslim Minority 269
The Pace of Conversion Quickens 270
The Issue of Authority in the Muslim World 273
Conclusion 276
Notes 276
Further Reading 277
PART THREE MONGOL HEGEMONY, 1260–1405 279
CHAPTER 10 THE GREAT TRANSFORMATION 282
The Mongol Khanates 283
The Golden Horde 283
Contents ix
The Il-khanate 287
The Chaghatay Khanate 289
New Centers of Islamic Culture 292
The Mamluk Empire 292
The Delhi Sultanate 296
The Ottoman Sultanate 300
Scourges 305
Plague 305
The Conquests of Timur Lang 307
Conclusion 311
Further Reading 312
CHAPTER 11 UNITY AND DIVERSITY IN ISLAMIC TRADITIONS 313
Intellectual Life in the Fourteenth Century 314
The End of the “Golden Age”? 314
Against All Odds 316
Law 325
The Queen of the Sciences 325
The “Closing of the Gate of Ijtihad”? 326
The Varieties of Religious Expression 329
“Orthodoxy” and “Heterodoxy” 330
The Proliferation of Sufi Groups 332
Conclusion 340
Further Reading 340
PART FOUR MUSLIM ASCENDANCY, 1405–1750 343
CHAPTER 12 THE CENTRAL MUSLIM LANDS 347
The Ottoman Empire 348
The Creation of an Empire 348
Society 352
The State 355
The Economy 363
Culture 364
From Dominance to Parity 367
The Arabian Peninsula 375
The Holy Cities 375
Yemen and Oman 377
The Eurasian Steppes 383
Conclusion 387
Notes 387
Further Reading 388
CHAPTER 13 THE UMMA IN THE WEST 390
The Iberian Peninsula 390
Mudejars 392