The Tigris river ran black with the ink of books
James raven, lost libraries
Introduction
One man started a series of events that would transform the world’s food system in the seventh century CE. Through the establishment of Islam, the Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) brought the people of the Arabian Peninsula together. These people include nomadic Bedouin tribes as well as residents of oasis towns like as Mecca and Madina.
Until the time of Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him), the area was not thought to be a significant challenge for the mighty neighboring Persian and Byzantine empires. However, the union established by Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) was both political and religious: an empire with Madina as its political center and a power to be reckoned with.
First caliph hazarat Abu Bakr (R.A)
Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) was a wonderful and compassionate leader. He had been a member of the Quraysh tribe, which ruled over Mecca. Following the death of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), individuals close to him debated who should follow him, a difficult issue. The Prophet Muhammad’s (peace be upon him) father-in-law and friend, Hazarat Abu Bakr (R.A.), emerged victorious and became the next caliph and successor.
Umayyad tribe
Over the following 30 years, four caliphs from the Prophet Muhammad’s (peace be upon him) tribe conquered vast areas of land beyond Arabia, including its powerful neighbors, the Persians and the Byzantines. However, as the empire developed, discontent inside it rose, and a civil war broke out. Hazrat Ali (R.A.), the fourth caliph, was murdered. Following then, the Umayyad dynasty came to dominance. The Umayyads were come from the same tribe as Muhammad (peace be upon him), but from a rival tribe.
They enlarged the empire’s reach from modern-day Spain to India and established Damascus as its capital. But a huge empire with so many distinct peoples was ripe for war and fragmentation. The Umayyads stabilized it by replacing captured lands’ governing class with Muslim authorities but mainly allowing local customs, including religious preferences, to endure.
Abbasid tribe
Although Arabic was employed as the official language, uniting governmental matters throughout the empire, individuals continued to talk and write in their own languages. However, many people in the empire were unhappy with Umayyad rule and questioned the dynasty’s legitimacy. The Abbasid line capitalized on these feelings by marketing themselves as more direct ancestors of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), despite the fact that their real relationship to Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) was more weak.
In 750 CE, they deposed the Umayyad caliphate, becoming the Islamic empire’s second major dynasty. They shifted the capital once more, this time establishing a new city: Baghdad, to establish themselves as the new rulers. The aristocracy enjoyed a luxurious existence during Abbasid rule, due to strong trade networks that brought items and people from all over the known world to Baghdad.
Wealthy rulers
Cultures and knowledge from Byzantium, Persia, India, and the Arab world merged, resulting in aesthetic and scientific progress. The caliph was impossibly wealthy and powerful. However, there was no clear line of succession determining who would become the next caliph. Because any male family of the last caliph was eligible, siblings, nephews, and uncles vied for power. Army commanders, wives, concubines, and government officials all claimed their portion of the wealth within the court.
Because the caliph’s power was dependent on his retinue, each change of ruler created the chance to corruption via favoritism. Many questioned the caliph’s legitimacy outside the court, but nothing showed that the caliph’s religious responsibility to moral excellence was in conflict with the court’s decadent displays of luxury.
Mongol attack
The Mongols approached Baghdad in 1258 CE. They met no opposition as they completely demolished the city. According to legend, the caliph was wrapped in a blanket and tramped to death by horses. The ink from the manuscripts thrown into the Tigris River turned it black.
The siege of Baghdad exposed a long-standing reality: the caliphs had ruled primarily symbolically for generations. Local leaders had gained increasingly influential throughout the empire, and they refused to pay taxes, instead spending the money on their own courts. The era of an united Islamic empire was past, but its effect on the world through written and spoken Arabic, Islam, and the ideas of its best scholars remained.
conclusion
The Islamic Empire began in the seventh century, during the reign of the prophet Muhammad. The Islamic texts provide a great deal of information regarding Muhammad’s life. Military victories by individuals who followed Muhammad’s teachings resulted in the development of Islam as a universal religion. Many individuals joined to Islam in the years that followed, inspired by Islam’s ability to unite Arabia and create order over much of the Iberian peninsula.
References
[1]Petra Sijpesteijn & Birte Kristiansen. (n.d.). Www.youtube.com. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rQ0EKiCt6H8&ab_channel=TED-Ed