Page 231 - Western Civilization A Brief History, Volume I To 1715 9th - Jackson J. Spielvogel

caravan route from the Mediterranean to Central Asia. The move eastward allowed Persian influence to come to the fore, encouraging a new cultural orientation. Under the Abbasids, judges, merchants, and govern- ment officials, rather than warriors, were regarded as the ideal citizens.
Atlantic Ocean
SPAIN
ALGERIA
al-rah-SHEED) (786–809), whose reign is often described as the golden age of the Abbasid caliphate. His son al- Ma’mun (al-muh-MOON) (813–833), a great patron of learning, founded an astronomical observatory and cre- ated a foundation for translating classical Greek works.
Constantinople
Tiflis ANATOLIA
Antioch SYRIA
Beirut Tripoli PALESTINE Acre
This was
Bukhara
Baku
Baghdad
IRAQ PERSIA
also a period of growing economic prosperity. The Arabs had conquered many of the richest provinces of the old Roman Empire, and they now controlled the trade routes to the East. Baghdad became the center of an enormous trade empire that extended into Europe, Asia, and Africa, greatly add- ing to the wealth of the Is-
TUNISIA LIBYA
Isfahan
Samarkand
Kabul
INDIA
Arabian Sea
Cairo Jerusalem Basra
Shiraz
Lahore TRANSOXIANA AFGHANISTAN
Sahara FATIMID EGYPT
Medina
0 0
750 Kilometers 500 Miles
Abbasid Caliphate at greatest extent
Mecca
ARABIA
lamic world.
Despite the prosperity, all
was not quite well in the empire of the Abbasids. There was much fighting over the succession to the caliphate. When Harun al-
Aden
The Abbasid Caliphate at the Height of Its Power
The new Abbasid Dynasty experienced a period of splendid rule well into the ninth century. Best known of the caliphs of the time was Harun al-Rashid (huh-ROON
Rashid died, his two sons fought to succeed him in a struggle that almost destroyed the city of Baghdad. As the tenth-century Muslim historian al-Mas’udi wrote, “Mansions were destroyed, most remarkable monu- ments obliterated; prices soared. . . . Brother turned his sword against brother, son against father, as some fought for Amin, others for Ma’mun. Houses and pal- aces fueled the flames; property was put to the sack.”9
Vast wealth also gave rise to financial corruption. By awarding important positions to court favorites, the Abbasid caliphs began to undermine the foundations of their own power and become figureheads. Rulers of the provinces of the empire broke away from the control of the caliphs and established their own independent dynasties. In the eighth century, Spain had already established its own caliphate when Abd al-Rahman (ub- duh-rahkh-MAHN) of the Umayyad Dynasty had fled there. In 756, he seized control of southern Spain and then expanded his power into the center of the penin- sula. He took the title of emir, or commander, and set up the emirate of al-Andalus (the Arabic name for Spain), with its center at C􏰀ordoba (KOR-duh-buh). Under Abd al-Rahman’s successors, a unique society developed in which all religions were tolerated. The court also supported writers and artists, creating a bril- liant and flourishing culture.
The fragmentation of the Islamic empire accelerated in the tenth century. The Fatimid (FAT-i-mid) family
The World of Islam 193
CHRONOLOGY Byzantium, the Slavs, and the Islamic World
The Byzantine Empire
Michael III Macedonian dynasty
Basil II
842–867 867–1081 976–1025
The Slavs
Cyril and Methodius begin conversion of Moravian Slavs
Founding of principality of Kiev
Reign of Prince Mieszko; conversion of Slavs in Poland to Christianity
Vladimir’s conversion to Christianity Saint Stephen, king of Hungary
863
ca. 873–913 ca. 960–992
987 997–1038
Islam
Overthrow of Umayyad Dynasty by 750 Abbasids
Harun al-Rashid 786–809 Establishment of Fatimid caliphate in Egypt 973
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