7.5. Arab Caliphate (V - XI centuries AD.)

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 V-VI centuries. AD Arab tribes prevailed on the Arabian Peninsula. Part of the population of this peninsula lived in cities, oases, engaged in craft and trade. The other part roamed in deserts and steppes, engaged in cattle breeding. Caravan routes between Mesopotamia, Syria, Egypt, Ethiopia, Judea passed through the Arabian Peninsula. The intersection of these paths was the Meccan oasis near the Red Sea. In this oasis, the Arab tribe Kureish lived, whose tribal nobility, using the geographical position of Mecca, received income from the transit of goods through their territory.

In addition, Mecca became the religious center of Western Arabia. Here was located the ancient pre-Islamic Kaaba temple . According to legend, this temple was erected by the biblical patriarch Abraham (Ibrahim) with his son Ismail. This temple is associated with the sacred stone, which fell to the ground, which was worshiped from ancient times, and with the cult of the god of the tribe of Quraysh, Allah (from Arabic, ilah is the master).

In the VI. n, e. in Arabia, the importance of trade falls due to the movement of trade routes to Iran. The population who lost the 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 conquer. This required the strength and, therefore, the union of fragmented tribes, besides worshiping different gods. The necessity of introducing monotheism and rallying the Arab tribes on this basis was more and more clearly defined.

This idea was advocated by the adherents of the Hanif sect, one of which was Muhammad (c. 570-632 or 633), who became the founder of a new religion for Arabs - Islam. At the heart of this religion are the dogmas of Judaism and Christianity: belief in the one god and his prophet, doomsday, afterlife retribution, unconditional obedience to the will of God (Arab. Islam - obedience). Common to these religions are the names of the prophets and other biblical characters: the biblical Abraham (Islamic Ibrahim), Aaron (Harun), David (Daoud), Isaac (Iskhak), Solomon (Suleiman), Ilya (Iljas), Jacob (Yakub), Christian Jesus (Isa), Mary (Maryam) and others. Islam has common customs and prohibitions with Judaism. Both religions prescribe the circumcision of boys, prohibit portraying God and living beings, eating pork, drinking wine, etc.

At the first stage of development, a new religious worldview, Islam was not supported by the majority of the tribesmen of Mohammed, and first of all by the nobility, as they feared that the new religion would lead to the cessation of the Kaaba cult as a religious center, and thereby deprive them of their income. In 622, Muhammad and his followers had to flee from 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 merchants from Mecca, supported Mohammed. However, only in 630, gaining the necessary number of supporters, he was able to form military forces and seize Mecca, the local nobility of which was forced to obey the new religion, the more they were satisfied that Muhammad proclaimed the Kaaba the shrine of all Muslims.

Much later (c. 650) after the death of Mohammed, his sermons and sayings were collected into a single book, the Koran (translated from Arabic means reading), which became sacred for Muslims. The book includes 114 suras (chapters), which set forth the basic tenets of Islam, prescriptions and prohibitions. Later Islamic religious literature is called the Sunnah. It contains the legends of Mohammed. Muslims who recognized the Koran and the Sunnah, became known as the Sunnis, and those who recognized only one Koran, the Shiites. The Shiites recognize Mohammed as legitimate caliphs (governors, deputies), spiritual and secular heads of Muslims only of his relatives.

The economic crisis of Western Arabia in the 7th century, caused by the movement of trade routes, the lack of agricultural land, high population growth, pushed Arab leaders to search for a way out of the crisis by seizing foreign lands. This is also reflected in the Quran, which says that Islam must be the religion of all nations, but for this it is necessary to fight the infidels, destroy them and take their property (Quran, 2: 186-189; 4: 76-78, 86).

Guided by this particular task and the ideology of Islam, the successors of Muhammad, the caliphs, began a series of conquests. They conquered Palestine, Syria, Mesopotamia, Persia. Already in 638 they captured Jerusalem. Until the end of VII. under the rule of the Arabs were the countries of the Middle East, Persia, the Caucasus, Egypt and Tunisia. In the VIII century. Central Asia, Afghanistan, West India, North-West Africa were captured. In 711, Arab troops under the leadership of Tariq swam from Africa to the Iberian Peninsula (the name of Gibraltar was the name of Mount Tariq on the name of Tariq). Having quickly conquered the Iberian lands, they rushed to Gaul. However, in 732, the battle of Poitiers was defeated by the King of the Franks, Karl Martel. By the middle of the IX. Arabs seized Sicily, Sardinia, southern Italy, Crete. At this, the Arab conquests ceased, but the war of many years with the Byzantine Empire was waged. Arabs twice besieged Constantinople.

The main Arab conquests were made under the caliphs of Abu Bekr (632-634), Omar (634-644), Osman (644-656) and caliphs from the Umayyad dynasty (661-750). Under the Umayyads, the capital of the caliphate was transferred to Syria in the city of Damascus.

The victories of the Arabs, the seizure of vast spaces by them, was facilitated by a long-standing mutually depleting war between Byzantium and Persia, disunity and constant hostility between other states attacked by the Arabs. It should also be noted that the population of the countries captured by the Arabs, suffering from the yoke of Byzantium and Persia, saw in the Arabs liberators, who reduced the tax burden primarily to those who converted to Islam.

The unification of many former scattered and hostile states into a single state contributed to the development of economic and cultural communication between the peoples of Asia, Africa and Europe. Handicrafts, trade developed, cities grew. Within the Arab Caliphate, culture quickly developed, incorporating the Greco-Roman, Iranian and Indian heritage. Through the Arabs, Europe became acquainted with the cultural achievements of Eastern peoples, primarily with achievements in the area of ​​exact sciences — mathematics, astronomy, geography, and others.

In 750, the Umayyad dynasty in the eastern part of the caliphate was overthrown. Abbassids became the caliphs, descendants of the uncle of the Prophet Mohammed - Abbas. They moved the state capital to Baghdad.

In the western part of the caliphate, Spain continued to rule 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, headed by the governors of the provinces - the emirs.

The Abbassid Caliphate led constant wars with Byzantium. In 1258, after the defeat of the Arab armies by the Mongols and the capture of Baghdad by them, the Abbassid state ceased to exist.

The Spanish Umayyad Caliphate also gradually narrowed. In the XI century. Cordoba caliphate as a result of internecine struggle disintegrated into a number of states. This was used by the Christian states that emerged in the northern part of Spain: Leono-Castile, Aragonese, and Portuguese kingdoms, which began the struggle with the Arabs for the liberation of the peninsula — the reconquest. In 1085 they conquered the city of Toledo, in 1147 - Lisbon, in 1236 Cordova fell. The last Arab state in the Iberian Peninsula - the Granada Emirate - existed until 1492. With its fall, the history of the Arab Caliphate as a state ended.

The Caliphate as an institution of the spiritual leadership of the Arabs by all Muslims continued to exist until 1517, when this function passed to the Turkish sultan who seized Egypt, where the last caliphate was the spiritual head of all Muslims.

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The history of the Arab Caliphate, dating back only six centuries, was complex, ambiguous 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, necessitated the search for sources of livelihood. To solve this problem, the tribes living here embarked on the path of establishing a new religion - Islam, which was to become not only the religion of all nations, but also called for the fight against the infidels (gentiles). Guided by the ideology of Islam, the Caliphs carried out a broad aggressive policy, turning the Arab Caliphate into an empire. The unification of the former scattered tribes into a single state gave impetus to the economic and cultural communication of 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 great influence on the spiritual life of Western Europe, representing a significant military threat during the Middle Ages .

Questions for self-test

1. 1. Give the periodization of the history of the Medieval East, based on the criterion of the degree of maturity of feudal relations.

2. 2. How did land relations in India, China, and Japan develop at different stages of feudalism?

3. 3. What changes has the system of economic, political and social relations in these countries undergone from stage to stage of feudalism?

4. 4. Describe the state system of India, China, and Japan. What is common and special about each of them?

5. 5. When did urbanization begin in these states and what processes did it follow?

6. 6. What are the economic and social prerequisites for the unification of Arab tribes and the rise of Islam?

7. 7. List the countries captured by the Arabs in the VII-IX centuries.

8. 8. Identify the main causes of the collapse of the Arab Caliphate.