The Emergence of the Caliphate

Islam is a monotheistic Abrahamic religion originating with the teachings

of Muhammad, a 7th century Arab religious and political figure. Muhd. Is
considered to be the last in the series of prophets that included Harem,
Noah, Jesus and others. The word Islam means "submission", or the total
surrender of oneself to God or Allah and an adherent of Islam is known as
a Muslim- "one who submits (to God)".Finally there came to exist the
Umma or the community of those who have surrendered to God.
The best way of understanding Allah is to try and find within him the
traits of creator, sustainer, destroyer and restorer all together. The will of
Allah is revealed through sacred scriptures, known as Quran which
emphasises on uncompromising and undiluted monotheism and strict
adherence to a few religious practices like Namaz.

Islam has the second-largest following in the world, after Christianity.

Africa, Europe, Indian subcontinent, Malay peninsula and China saw the
spread of Islam. In course of time it saw several sectarian movements but
the common theme- faith and a sense of belonging to the community
remained.

THE BIRTH AND RISE OF ISLAM

Geographical Context
The birth of Islam must be understood in a proper geographical context of
the movement. Arabia, or the place of origin, is a peninsula surrounded
by the Red Sea in the west, the Arabian sea in the south and the Persian
Gulf in the east. Very little rainfall takes place in this area and there are
no permanent rivers. At the heart of the peninsula lies a vast and
unbroken zone called Najd. The central part of West Asia is called Hijaz or
a barrier. Mecca and Madina lie in Hijaz.
The southernmost part of Arabia is very fertile, what is now known as
Yemen. The extreme end of this is Oman which kisses the persian gulf
beyond which lay the Persian Empire.

Native Population and their Lifestyle

For centuries the inhabitants of central, northern & western Arabia
had led a nomadic existence.
The camel pastoralists, known as Beduin, were constantly on the
move. Their social organization was based on the independent tribe-
qabila- further divided in to quams and headed by a sheikh.
Conflicts between various tribes and raids known as Ghazwas were
common. A form of tribute, called the khuwwa, was takes by the
beduin from the few agriculturalists, in return for protection.
On the other hand, there were some communities which subsisted
on cultivation of dates, fruit and grain.

The Beduin tribes and the people of the peninsula, generally

referred to themselves as arab, and the language spoken by them
was a variation of Aramaic. A distinct linguistic identity had been
formed by end of 5 century, which was manifested in the flourishing
th

tradition of oral poetry, known as rajaz. Imrul Qays, the foremost

pre-Islamic poet of Arabia is well known for his odes called
muallaqat.

By the beginning of the 5 century, a few urban centres had come

th

up in Yemen. This area was inhabited by people who practiced

Judaism, and whose language was distinct from Arabic.

Power Politics in the Middle-East

3 C AD is the dividing line in the history of Pre Islamic Arabia. It was a
rd

period of greatness of nomadic settlements when trade links were

beginning to be established with the mediterranean routes,the most
talked about of which was PALMYRA which traded with Turkey.

In the 3 C AD, the entire history of Arabia changed because of the

rd

emergence of 3 great foreign powers:

Byzantine Empire (Successor to the Roman empire in the east): Syria,
Egypt and Palestine were all under it in the North West
Persian/ Sassanid Empire: Iraq and Iran among other parts in the East.
Himyar Empire : Primarily Yemen.

In the latter half of the of the 6 century, the Byzantine and Sassanid
th

empires were engaged in a bitter conflict for the control of Syria &
Palestine.
One Beduin clan, Banu Lakhm, had established the Lakhmid state on the
borders of the Sassanid Empire, with whom it was allied. On the other
hand, an arab tribe-Ghassanids- had created a state on the outskirts of
Syria, which owed it’s allegiance to the Byzantine empire. The Sassanids
and the Byzantines used the Lakhmids and the Ghassanids, respectively,
as a buffer against Beduin incursions and for recruiting Arab troops.
Moving towards Africa, the Ethiopian kings had converted to Coptic
Christianity. When a Jewish leader, Dhu Nuwas,(c. 510 A.D.) came to
power in south Arabia and began persecuting the Christians, the
Ethiopians used this as a pretext to invade Yemen; the Jewish supporters
in turn sought the support of the Persians, but were eventually defeated.
Subsequently, the arabs became inextricably embroiled in the power
politics of the region.

Role of Mecca in the Rise of Islam

During the 6 century, a gradual socio-economic change was taking place
th

within Arabia. Some of the tribes, especially in Hijaz, gave up nomadic

pastoralism and took to mercantile activity and trade. The impetus to
Arabian trade was the dislocation of the international trade route passing
through the Persian Gulf and Iraq, caused by the Sassanid-Byzantine
conflict, thus some of the trade was now went overland from Yemen to
Syria.
It was during this period that Mecca, a settlement of traders in Hijaz,
gained prominence.
In religious terms too, Mecca was very strategically located. The center of
Judaism, located at Yathrib was located near Mecca and Najran, the
center of Christianity was in close proximity as well. Mecca was also the
center for paganistic religion.
The religious significance of Mecca was a feature which the trading
community might have tried to promote.The main shrine at Mecca was a
rectangular structure called kaba (cube) and it was located at an oasis
which had a well, zamzam, the water of which came to be regarded as
holy by the Muslims.
The 3 natural deities were already in worship in Mecca

al Uzzal
al – lat
manat
These 3 were regarded as the daughters of al-lah. So trade and religion
operated together as the people visited the sanctuary at Mecca.

Every year there was a sacred period, in the form of a fair, during which
no violence was permitted and hostilities among conflicting tribes were
suspended. Most importantly, business transactions could take place
peacefully at this time.

The strategic importance of Mecca as a trade route, and thus the role it
played in the rise of Islam, has recently come into debate.

The classical thesis

the materialistic explanation for rise of Islam has been put forward by
W.M. Watt. He sees the rise of this new faith as response to the
transition from a nomadic to a settled mercantile economy. For him the
Central location of Mecca and the growing trade in luxury goods, incence
and silver goods from China etc were important factors.
He argues that the expansion of Meccan commerce eroded traditional
ties, created new ideas of individualism, thus introducing social
differentiation. The poor, who had been protected by virtue of strong clan
bondage, now began to suffer. The profits from trade and earnings from
pilgrimage did not benefit everyone uniformly, creating dissention and
conflict. The relatively simple tribal organization of Quraysh did not have
any mechanism to cope with the new situation.

The Alternate View

This ‘Meccan trade hypothesis’ has been regarded as unsatisfactory by
Patricia Crone, who puts forward an alternate view in her ‘Meccan Trade
& the Rise of Islam’.
She argues that Meccan trade was not on a scale large enough to
undermine traditional society, which was still intact.
Mecca had a disadvantageous strategic position and a small harbor that
was rarely used for trade, which itself was essentially in commodities of
small value (animals, cheap clothing, food items) with the only luxury
good being incense, and was incapable of generating much wealth.
The new faith appealed to the people as it helped to ‘legitimize conquest’.
She characterizes early Islam as a ‘nativist movement’, i.e. a movement
borne out of a deep attachment to the Arabian way of life, in opposition to
the penetration of foreign influences associated with the Sassanid and
Byzantine empires.
Nevertheless, Crone does agree with Watt’s view that sedentism
necessitated the growth of state structures at the expense of tribal ties.

Rise of Islam and the Axial Age Faiths

Karen Armstrong argues that social justice was a crucial virtue of Islam,
and was far more important than any doctrinal teaching on God. Muslims
commanded as their first duty, to build a community or Ummah,
characterized by practical compassion and a fair distribution of wealth.
Due to the gradual inequity created by the growing mercantile economy,
the old paganism was no longer adequate and the Arabs now drifted
towards, what historians have called an Axial Age Faith.
The arabs were confronted with spiritual malaise, chronic warfare and an
injustice that had violated the best arab tradition and tribal codes. The
way forward lay in a Monotheism and a unified Ummah governed by
justice and equity.
It was in this context that Muhammad’s message of unity became a
solution to the prevailing social ferment, and Islam provided the tribes
with a scheme of state formation.

Prophet Muhammad (c. 570-632 A.D.)

570 A.D. is the generally agreed date for the birth of Muhammad. He
belonged to the Hashim clan of the quraysh tribe. Muhd’s father, Abdullah
was a person of ltd. means.He was brought up under the care of his
paternal uncle, Abu Talib who was a fairly well to do merchant. When he
grew up he found employment with a rich widow Khadija whom he later
married.

In 610 : Muhd. had an intense spiritual experience which is supposed to

mark the beginning of his prophet. A series of revelations, believed to be
divinely inspired, were made to him. He said that he was the messenger,
or prophet, of the supreme being- Allah. These revelations form the
Quran, the religious books of the Muslims. Within a few years, he had a
small group of Meccan followers who came to be known as Muslim i.e.
those who submitted to Allah. The overriding principle was
uncompromising monotheism; it sought to replace the diverse religious
practices of Arab tribes by a single belief based on unity & equality.
Like any new belief system that challenges the ways of the old, Islam too
met with stiff opposition.While he got protection from his influential uncle
Abu Talib, he was able to preach his ideas but his death led to the
deterioration of Muhds position.
622 : He eventually migrated to Medina along with his followers and this
emigration is
known as hijrat. Subsequently, the beginning of Islamic era was
reckoned from this
year

Medina was a cluster of small villages inhabited by small tribes. Unlike

mecca, where quraysh was the dominant tribe, various tribes were
contending for power, including jewish tribes. Muhd. Soon acquired some
authority over Medina when he emerged as an arbitrator in tribal
disputes. He now had a number of Medinese followerswho were known as
muhajirun (‘emigrants’), while the medinese supporters were called
ansars (‘helpers’). Apart from being a religious leader, he soon became
the head of a nascent state centered on Madina, with 1/5 of the booty
th

going directly to him. He was now looked upon as the law giver and he
began to lay down the rules for governance. Several tribes began
embracing the new religion, thereby become a part of the Muslim
religious community (umma) as well as Muhds unified polity.
Once the framework of an administrative system and an army had been
created, and ties had been forged with the beduin tribes, Muhd was in a
position to carry out an armed struggle against the Quraysh of Mecca.

625 : The muslims suffered a severe defeat as the hands of the Meccan
army in the battle
of Uhud but in 627 the muslims inflicted a more profound defeat on
the meccan army at the battle of trench. This was followed by a mass
execution of the jewish tribe which supported the Meccan army.

628 : The successful raids agaisnt the Quraysh caravans eventually

disrupted Mccan trade. The Quraysh has to sue for peace and a teraty of
Muhd is signed between Mecca and Medina.

630 : The meccans violated the treaty Muhd marched onto Mecca with a
huge army of
muslims and their tribal allies. Mecca accepted defeat and opened
the gates to
Muhd who didn’t allow bloodshed and didn’t force Islam. The
meccans accepted Islam en masse.
632 : Muhd passed away in creating a political vacuum amongst his
followers.. He managed to replace tribal organization with a state
which encompassed a large number of Arab tribes. Medina, and to a
lesser extent
Mecca, were the focal points of the government.

2100

Rashidun- Pious Caliphs

Marshall Hodgson labels this period from 632-684 as the
Primitive Caliphate.
Abu bakr, father-in-law as well as close aid of the prophet,
succeeded as the first Caliph (632-634). The tribal alliances
were still quite tenuous, giving an opportunity to the tribal
leaders to assert their independence. Abu Bakr waged ‘wars
of riddah’(defection from one’s religious allegiance) with
these tribes.
He was succeeded by Umar(634-644), a muhajirun, who was
the real builder of the empire; he undertook large- scale
unification if Arabia and conquered Iraq, Syria, Palestine and
Egypt. The fierce combat between the Byzantine & the
Sassanid empires had exhausted both militarily, thus they
were not able to put up much resistance when attached by
the arabs. Umar had appointed a board of 6 selectors to
nominate a successor after him.
Usman, a muhajirun of the Umayyad clan, succeeded Umar.
He further conquered areas of northern Africa, Iran,
Afghanistan and Sindh. The assassination of Usman in 656
marks the end of one phase of the formation of the Arab
empire.

The first fitnah or virtual civil war broke out over the question
of succession after Usman. Some of the differences that arose
in that period have persisted down to the present day in the
shape of numerous religious sects within Islam.
At Madina, the supporters of Ali joined hands with the rebels
from Egypt and proclaimed Ali as the Caliph. This was not
acceptable to the other groups; the biggest challenge came
from Muawiya, governor of Syria, who was a descendent of
Umayya. An armed encounter took place between the armies
of Ali and of Muawiya at Siffin, which proved to be
inconclusive.
Ali was murdered by a khariji assassin in 661. His son Hassan
was acclaimed as the new caliph, but after entering into an
agreement with Muawiya, he retired to Medina.

Sectarian divisions in Islam

Hargibb says that the fitnah was the result of the conflict
between old ideas of tribal democracy and the emerging
centralized state.
The events leading to Ali’s withdrawal from Siffin provoked
the first major sectarian division in Islam.
Shiahs (‘party’ of Ali) held that Ali was divinely endowed wit
special qualities of leadership by virtue of his relation to the
Prophet’s family. They fully endorsed his actions at Siffin.
Kharijis or secessionists were a breakaway groups which was
opposed to the arbitration between Muawiya and Ali, as this
amounted to a compromise in their eyes.
Arab history in the post Siffin period was marked by an
unequal contest between the Shiites, Kharijis and Umayyads
for the seat of the Caliphate.

Polity & Society

Till the time of Abu Bakr, the Islamic state had been confined
to Arabia. But when Umar and Usman began to build a vast
empire extending from the Nile to the margins of central Asia,
the need to evolve a suitable infrastructure for such a large
political entity arose.
Umar took on the title of amir al muminin (commander of the
faithful). This reinforced the military, political and religious
power that was combined in 1 person- the caliph.

According to the principles laid down by the prophet, one-fifth

of the booty of military conquest went to the state and the
rest was distributed amongst the Ummah. The amount that a
person received was determined by nature of his service and
stage at which his family had accepted Islam. Thus, the
muhajirun and their descendants would be ranked first, and
so on.
Due the vast military conquests, for the first time the arabs
gained access to an enormous agrarian surplus derived from
land. Due to unequal distribution, deiparities were reinforced
and a privileged Muslim elite emerged. To counter this, umar
and usman put severe restrictions on private purchase of land
in southern iraq by wealthy Meccans.
Umar was responsible for systemization of Islamic ritual. The
mosque became a holy place of worship where the muslims
prayed collectively. He initisted the writing down of the entire
quranic text, along with instituting a new Islamic era starting
from the year of the hijrat (622).

The Umayyad Caliphate

Sufiyanid Umayyads
The Umayyads were descended from Umayya, and were a
clan separate from Muhammad's in the Quraish tribe.
Caliphate of Muawiya the first comes into existence, and he
founds the Umayyad Dynasty (661-750) with his capital
shifted to Damascus.
He begins the process of transforming the caliphate into a
hereditary monarchy. The Umayyad caliphs projected
themselves as religious leaders, but ultimately their power
rested on brute force.
Yazid becomes the next caliph(680-83) after his father’s
death.
The Shiites put forward the claim of Ali’s younger son husayn,
who leads a small band of followers to fight the Umayyad
army at Karbala. This is the Second Fitnah. Husayn is killed
and his force massacred. Husayn’s martyrdom became a
powerful religious symbol for the Shiites and the event is
commemorated every year as a period of mourning during the
Islamic month of Muharram.
Yazid was succeeded by Muawiya II who dies shortly
afterwards.

Marwanid Umayyads
Marshall Hodgson labels this period from 684-c.900 as the
High Caliphate.
The leadership of the Umayyads was assumed by another
branch of the clan- the family of Marwan, who became the
caliph in 684.
He was followed by Abd al-Malik (685-705) who rebuilt the
Umayyad state, strengthened the caliphate the extended the
borders of the empire.

Territorial expansion
All of Iraq submitted to him, Mecca & Medina were occupied.
He and his successor- al Walid I (705-15), embarked upon a
new phase of territorial conquest.
The most significant conquests took place in northern Africa
and western Mediterranean. By 711, the Umayyad armies had
invaded western Europe. The Visigoths were dislodged from
Spain, but further arab expansion was checked by the franks.
Evolution of state apparatus
He vigorously pursued a policy of arabization, replacing Greek
and pahlavi with Arabic as the language of administration.
A distinctive and innovative coinage was also introduced. His
reign saw hectic building activity, with the construction of
public buildings, palaces and mosques, the most famous of
which is the al asqa mosque (Dome of Rock) in Jerusalem.

Under Abd al- Malik, the caliphate became an absolute

monarchy. He developed a bureaucratic apparatus, and
reorganized the army into a professional standing unit. Tribal
units were reconstituted into regeiments called junds,
commanded by qaids, who were military commanders. This
was an attempt to dissolve tribal loyalties.

The systematic extraction of surplus by arab ruling class

demanded collaboration of the local elites. In case of Iran and
Iraq, there was a class of well entrenched landowners called
diqans, who retained their position under the arabs, and over
a period of time, embraced Islam.

Since Muslims were identified as belonging to specific arab

tribes, a way had to be found for accomodating non-arab
Muslims. This was done by giving them an inferior status, and
classifying the non-arab convert as a maula.

Fall of the Umayyad Caliphate

The Umayyad state had become authoritarian, corrupt and
militarily weak. Their policy of taxation was also a huge cause
of resentment. Since tax was levied on only the non-muslims,
the Umayyads prevented them form converting to Islam. Thus
they were portrayed non Islamic. A new class of arab traders,
government officials and absentee landlords had arisen within
former Sassanid territories.
Thus the resentment of the mawalis and the diverse
opposition of the diverse Arab groups, especially the
Hashimites and the Alids, led to a strong anti-establishment
sentiment by the mid 8th century.
In the 740s, an organized movement shrouded in secrecy and
aimed at the overthrow of the Umayyads, came into
existence. Though its origins are obscure, there is no doubt
that its real leaders were the Abbasids, a branch of the
Hahimites related to Muhammad’s paternal uncle. Abu
Muslim, an outstanding military leader, enlisted the assistance
of the local mawali, and ousted the Umayyads from power.
The last Umayyad caliph, Marwan II, fled to Egypt and was
killed there.

The Abbasid Caliphate

The Abbasid caliphs officially based their claim to the
caliphate on their descent from one of the youngest uncles of
Muhammad, by virtue of which descent they regarded
themselves as the rightful heirs of Muhammad as opposed to
the Umayyads.
The Abbasid leader Abul Abbas ‘al-Saffah’ (the avenger) was
declared the new caliph in 750. This inaugurated the 500 year
long reign of the Abbasids. (750-1258)
This transition is not only confined to the change in the
system of government, from the Caliphate to the Sultanate,
but also marks a breaking of arab hegemony over Islam.
With the rise of the Abassids, centre of political power shifted
from Syria to southern Iraq, and the Iranian component of the
Muslim population of west asia outnumbered the Arabs. The
distinction between arab and non-arab no longer held much
meaning, with the mawali rising to high positions in the
political sphere.

The Abbasids also found themselves at odds with the Shias,

many of whom had supported their war against the
Umayyads, since the Abbasids claimed legitimacy by their
familial connection to Muhammed. Once in power, the
Abbasids embraced Sunni Islam and disavowed any support
for Shi'a beliefs. That led to numerous conflicts, culminating in
an uprising in Mecca in 786, followed by widespread
bloodshed and the flight of many Shi'a to the Maghreb

Conception of Kingship
al-Saffah was succeeded by al- Mansur(754-75)
The sassanid conception of kingship, combining religious and
political power was adopted to uphold caliph’s supreme
authority. Whereas the power actually rested on force, they
legitimized it in religious terms.
An elaborate court ceremonial, splendor of the court,
inapproachability of the person of the caliph and the practice
of prostration were introduced to inspire fear and awe towards
the caliph.

al-Mansur decided to build an imposing capital for himself and

in 762 founded the city of Baghdad on the banks of the Tigris.
This was a symbolic act which denoted imperial power, and
was a concept previously alien to Arabia.
Thus kingship began to involve diverse rituals and ceremonies
which were aimed to influence the psyche of the people,
leading to a process of legitimization of the new dynasty.

The first caliphs constantly referred back to the sunna or the

sayings & habitual behaviour of the prophet. The record of his
sunna was called hadis. All those who confirmed to the sunna
acceptable to the majority were referred to as the Sunnis.
The abassids projected themselves as the upholders of the
tenets of the sunna. They were eager to demonstrate that
their state was based on islamic ideals and quranic teachings.
The Shiities did not accept the authority if the Abassids, they
were outside the fold of the Sunnis.

State & Economy

The 8th and 9th centuries were a period of urban expansion.
Basra became the main port for Baghdad and an important
transit point in the Indian Ocean trade route.
Jerusalem(Palestine), Tunisia(north africa), Cordoba (spain)
became important centres of urbanism.

This urban expansion was also a refection of the expanding

Trade. The jews in Egypt occupied a key position in the world
of Mediterranean trade. Sicily, Venice and Tunis were also
part of this network. Spices, silk, cotton textiles, precious
stones and other luxury goods were imported from south east
Asia and India, while weapons paper, ivory, sugar, slaves,
horses etc. were exported by west asia.
Land was the principal source of wealth, more so than trade.
The collection of land revenue was made uniform under the
Abbasids. There were 2 types of land-tax : ushr (1/10th of
produce) paid bu Muslim landholders, and kharaj (1/3rd od
produce) paid by non muslim counterparts. The state also
dereived its income from kakat and jizya levied on muslims &
non-muslims respectively.
The Abbasid centralized state was managed by a huge
bureaucracy, which was said to be the legacy of the
Sassanids. From the time of al-Mansur, administration was
placed under a powerful official who assumed the title of
‘vazir’. The Vizarat developed as one of the most
characteristic institutions of the Islamic state.

Separate schools of jurisprudence which interpreted Islamic

laws (shariat), were coming into existence. Four schools,
representing the 4 major Sunni shariat traditions developed-
Hanafis, Malikis, Shafiis and Hanbalis.

Arab expansion into the Iranian world, which included the

territories of Afghanistan extending beyond the Oxus River,
was a turning point in the development of Islam, producing a
rich fusion of Arab & Iranian traditions. This period was known
as the Islamic Golden Age
The Abbassids were influenced by the Qur'anic injunctions
and hadith such as "the ink of scientists is more holy then
the blood of martyrs" stressing the value of knowledge.[4]
During this period the Muslim world became the unrivaled
intellectual center for science, philosophy, medicine and
education as the Abbasids championed the cause of
knowledge and established a "House of Wisdom" in
Baghdad; where both Muslim and non-Muslim scholars
sought to translate and gather all the world's knowledge
into Arabic

Decline of the Abbasid Caliphate

The empire had become so large that it became difficult to
directly rule over territories which were located at large
distance from iraq/iran. With the establishment of the Fatimid
empire in North Africa, and the Umayyads over Spain; the
western Mediterranean gradually slipped out of control.In the
east, provincial governors were becoming semi-independent
and setting up their own dynasties.
from the middle of the10th century onwards, the Buyids (who
were Shiites) became de-facto and the Abbasids were made
virtual prisoners. By the 11th century, it was taken over bya
nomadic people from central asia- the turks. The Abassid
dynasty formally came to an end with the capture of Baghdad
by the Mongols in 1258.

Conclusion
The Islamic state is characterized by the nature of conquest.
- this is seen in the cultural intermingling of Arab & Persian
traditions and the political mosaic created in the evolution of
the Caliphate and the Sultanate. The inextricable thread
joining Islam, politics and violence is strikingly visible in the
dynastic greed for legitimization of power.