2nd Edition

A History of the Muslim World to 1750 The Making of a Civilization

By Vernon O. Egger Copyright 2018
    596 Pages
    by Routledge

    596 Pages
    by Routledge

    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.

    Part One The Formative Period, 610–950


    1. Origins

    Southwestern Asia in the Seventh Century

    The Byzantine Empire

    The Sasanian Empire

    The Arabian Peninsula


    The Rise of Islam

    The Meccan Environment

    Muhammad

    A Framework for a New Community


    Conclusion

    notes

    further reading


     

    2. Arab Imperialism

    Arab Conquests

    Arabia and the Fertile Crescent

    Iran

    North Africa and the Iberian Peninsula

    Transoxiana and the Indus River Valley


    Umayyad Administration

    The Caliphate

    The Administration of Non-Muslims

    The Administration of Muslims

    The Rationalization of Society


    Dissolution of the Arab Empire


    Conclusion

    notes

    further reading


     

    3. The Development of Sectarianism

    ‘Ali and the Politics of Division

    Political Dissension

    ‘Ali’s Caliphate: Shi‘ites and Kharijites

    Karbala


    The Abbasid Revolution


    Shi‘ite Identities

    The Ghulat and the Zaydis

    The Husayni Alids

    The Shi‘ite Movement


    The Sunni Consensus


    Conclusion

    further reading


     

    4. The Center Cannot Hold: Three Caliphates

    The Abbasid Caliphate

    The Early Period

    Military and Economic Problems

    The Assertion of Regional Autonomy


    The Fatimid Caliphate

    Isma‘ili Activism

    A Second Caliphate in the Umma


    The Umayyad Caliphate of Cordoba

    The Consolidation of Umayyad Power

    A Third Caliphate in the Umma


    Economic Networks

    A Single Economy

    Overland Trade

    Maritime Commerce


    Conclusion

    notes

    further reading


     

    5. Synthesis and Creativity

    The Origins of Islamic Law

    Assimilation and Adaptation

    Groping Toward an Islamic Jurisprudence

    The Development of the Shari‘a


    Early Sufism

    The Contemplative Life

    Testing the Limits of Transcendence

    The Accommodation of Sufism


    The Reception of Science and Philosophy

    Science and Mathematics

    Philosophy


    The Development of an Islamic Theology

    The Reception of Rationalism

    The Critique of Rationalism


    Conclusion

    notes

    further reading

     

     

     

     

    PART TWO Civilization vs. Chaos, 950–1260


    6. Filling the Vacuum of Power, 950–1100

    The Buyid Sultanate


    The Advent of the Turks

    Origins

    The Saljuq Invasion

    The Great Saljuqs and the Saljuqs of Rum


    The Fatimid Empire

    The Conquest of Egypt and Palestine

    Religious Policies

    The New Egyptian Economy

    Ominous Developments


    The Nizaris ("Assassins")


    The Muslim West

    Norman Invasions of Muslim Territory

    The "Hilali Invasion" of Ifriqiya

    A Berber Empire

    The Collapse of the Umayyad Caliphate of Andalus

    The Incorporation of Andalus into the Maghrib


    Conclusion

    further reading

     

    7. Barbarians at the Gates, 1100–1260


    The Loss of Andalus

    Provisional Solutions: The Great Berber Empires

    The Disintegration of the Almohads and of Andalus


    The Period of the Crusades

    The First Crusade

    The Franks on the Defensive


    Realignment in the East

    The Collapse of the Great Saljuqs

    Sunni–Nizari Rapprochement

    The Mongol Campaigns


    Conclusion

    further reading

     

    8. The Consolidation of Traditions

    Science and Philosophy

    Mathematics and the Natural Sciences

    Philosophy

    The Sunni Resolution to the Tension between Reason and Revelation


    Consolidating Institutions: Sufism

    The Emergence of Lodges and Tariqas

    Speculative Mysticism


    Consolidating Institutions: Shi‘ism

    Twelver Shi‘ites

    The Isma‘ilis

    The Impact of "the Foreign Sciences" and Jurisprudence


    The Transmission of Knowledge

    Schools

    The Legacy to Europe


    english words derived from arabic


    Conclusion

    notes

    further reading

     

    9. The Muslim Commonwealth


    Frontiers and Identities

    Frontiers Defining the Dar al-Islam

    Frontiers within the Dar al-Islam

    Identities


    The City and the Countryside

    The City

    The Countryside


    Conversion to Islam

    A Muslim Minority

    The Pace of Conversion Quickens


    The Issue of Authority in the Muslim World


    Conclusion

    notes

    further reading


     


    Part Three Mongol Hegemony, 1260–1405


    10. The Great Transformation

    The Mongol Khanates

    The Qipchaq Khanate

    The Il-khanate

    The Chaghatay Khanate


    New Centers of Islamic Culture

    The Mamluke Empire

    The Delhi Sultanate

    The Ottoman Sultanate

    Scourges

    Plague

    Timur Lang


    Conclusion

    further reading

     

    11. Unity and Diversity in Islamic Traditions

    Intellectual Life in the Fourteenth Century

    The End of the "Golden Age"?

    Against All Odds


    Law

    The Queen of the Sciences

    The "Closing of the Gate of Ijtihad"?


    The Varieties of Religious Expression

    "Orthodoxy" and "Heterodoxy"

    The Proliferation of Sufi Groups


    Conclusion

    further reading

     


    PART FOUR MUSLIM ASCENDANCY, 1405–1750


    12. THE CENTRAL MUSLIM LANDS

    The Ottoman Empire

    The Creation of an Empire

    Society

    The State

    The Economy

    Culture

    From Dominance to Parity

    The Arabian Peninsula

    The Holy Cities

    Yemen and Oman

    The Eurasian Steppes

    Conclusion

    further reading

     

    13. THE UMMA IN THE WEST

    The Iberian Peninsula

    Mudejars

    Granada

    Moriscos

    The Maghrib

    The Land

    The Berber States

    Crusaders, Corsairs, and Janissaries

    The Regencies

    Alawite Morocco

    The Sudan

    Trans-Saharan Trade

    The Islamization of the Western and Central Sudan

    The Islamization of the Eastern Sudan

    The Intensification of the Slave Trade

    Islam in the Sudan

    Conclusion

    further reading

     

    14. CENTRAL ASIA AND IRAN

    Central Asia

    The Timurids

    The Uzbek Khanate

    The Islamization of Central Asia

    Iran

    The Nizaris Regroup

    The Safavids: A Militant Sufi Order

    The First Twelver Shi‘ite Empire

    The Apocalypse Postponed

    Society

    The State

    The Decline of Tariqa Sufism in Iran

    The Economy

    Culture

    The End of an Empire

    Conclusion

    further reading

     

    15. SOUTH ASIA

    South Asia after the Delhi Sultanate

    Southern and Central South Asia

    The Indo–Gangetic Plain

    Islam in South Asia

    Patterns of Muslim Influence

    South Asian Sufism

    An Isma‘ili Revival

    The Timurids in South Asia: The Mughals

    The Formation of the Mughal Empire

    Society

    The State

    The Economy

    Culture

    The End of Imperial Rule

    Conclusion

    further reading

     

    16. THE INDIAN OCEAN BASIN

    A Muslim Lake

    The East Coast of Africa

    Berbera and the Land of the Zanj

    The Impact of Imperialism

    Kerala

    The Land of Pepper

    The Impact of Imperialism

    Southeast Asia

    The Malayo–Polynesian Lands

    Muslims Establish a Presence in Southeast Asia

    The Impact of Imperialism

    The Appeal of a Universal Faith

    A Loss of Dynamism

    Conclusion

    further reading


    Glossary


    Index


     

    Biography

    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.

    "Egger's history of the Islamic world from its civilizational foundation in the 7th century to the gradual ending of its political predominence in the mid-18th century provides an excellent overview for students embarking on the study of world history, the Middle East, or Islamic history. Resisting a still common Arabocentric and early Islamic bias in the field, Egger provides a balanced account of the civilization's development through a series of tightly constructed historical and thematic chapters."

    Nabil Al-Tikriti, University of Mary Washington, USA