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6th to 15th Centuries:
Making Way for Islam
Time Line of Art History: The Metropolitan Museum of Art
In his famous book, "Organism," Abraham Maslow originated the idea of self-actualization within a hierarchial structure of physilogical and psychological needs. Within this structure are what Maslow calls "esteem needs." From the very beginning of time historians have made manifest evidence of man's expression of "esteem needs." Over 30,000 years ago in Chauvet France the discovery of dynamic, vibrant paintings of animals drawn on limestone cave walls stand as a testament to man's need to express his world through art.
Beauty is truth, truth beauty,
That is all ye know on earth and
All ye need to know.
-------- John Keats (1819) "Ode on a Grecian Urn"
Take the time to see the truth, to see the beauty that man has created across time and space. "Click away!"
Balkan Peninsula, 500–1000 C.E. - 1400 - 1600 C.E.
Arabian Peninsula, 500–1000 C.E. - 1400 - 1600 C.E.
Time Line Index:
The Timeline Index : People, Periods, Places and Events in a chronological context.
Readings: Washington State University-World Cultures to 1500
Islam stands as one of the major religions of the world and may possibly be the major religion of the world. Like Christianity and Buddhism, it is an international cultural form that is integrally rooted in the culture of a single people, the Arabs. Unlike Christianity and Buddhism, however, Islam has maintained strong cultural roots in its Arabic origins even down to the language of its foundation. While no Christian alive knows a single word of Christ's teachings in the Aramaic or Hebrew that Christ spoke, and only a few Buddhists can move easily within the Pali that Siddhartha spoke, nearly every Muslim from Muhammad to the present day begins and ends each day with the magisterial cadences of the Arabic words spoken by Muhammad as revelation.
In the history of the world, no cultural or linguistic group looms larger than Semitic peoples. Originating from the Arabian peninsula, the Semitic people are responsible for teh first civilizations, three major world relgions, and a set of cultural practices that have been more globalized or universalized than any other peoples, including the Chinese and Europeans.
It was in Mecca that a relatively obscure, forty-year old citizen named Muhammad from a lower clan began to preach a new religion. In 610 AD, Muhammad revealed to his closest relatives that he had been asked by the voice of God to recite a new message to the world. He initially kept this message private among his closest relatives; three years later, however, they would persuade him to carry his recitation to a wider audience. These recitations, which Muhammad would later come to consider to be the voice of an intermediary of God, would form the heart and soul of Islam: the Qur'an, or "Recitation."
The Qur'an (in Anglicized form: Koran ) is certainly the greatest literary work in classical Arabic and for all Muslims stands as the definitive word of God (in Arabic: Allah ) spoken to the prophet Muhammad by the angel Gabriel. When reading the Qur'an , you should realize that, for all Muslims, the text you are reading is quite literally the voice of God; because the Qur'an is the direct speech of God in Arabic, translation of the work is seen as blasphemy, as an unforgivable tampering with God's own speech. Nevertheless, the Qur'an has been translated into Turkish and Farsi (the language of Iran) in this century and is recited in these languages in religious services in Turkey and Iran. The Muslim community tolerates this but just barely. For all practical purposes, to be Muslim, then, means almost universally to be able to read and understand classical Arabic, despite what one's native language is.
When Muhammad died in 632, he left a political organization that was entirely centered around him. He was a political and military leader and he was the source of revelation. When political or social difficulties came up, not only would they center on Muhammad, but sometimes through revelation be mediated by Allah himself.
Civil War and the Umayyad Dynasty
Upon Muhammed's death, a hastily collected group of prominent Muslim leaders elected Muhammed's father in law, Abu Bakr, to be the secular head of Islam. However, 'Ali, Muhammed's son-in-law and cousin, was not part of this committee nor were other members of Muhammed's immediate family, and many believed that Muhammed had designated 'Ali as a successor, for the Traditions had Muhammed naming him as both his brother and his successor. 'Ali had been raised with Muhammed and was the second person (after Muhammed's wife Khadija) to recognize Muhammed's role as a prophet; he was the first of Muhammed's tribe to declare himself an apostle (rasul ).
Shi'a Islam is the only major schism in Islam. It is not a recent schism, however, for it dates back right to the foundations of Islam. Shi'ite historians believe that Shi'ism began shortly after the death of Muhammad, when the Caliphate, or secular leadership of Islam, was handed to Muhammad's father-in-law, Abu Bakr, rather than 'Ali, Muhammad's chosen successor. The Muslims who supported 'Ali called themselves the "Partisans of 'Ali" (Shi'a 'Ali ); these supporters, who were only four in number, are the root of Shi'a Islam. Western and Sunni historians date Shi'ism as a religion to the death of Husayn, the grandson of Muhammad, in the battle of Karbala. The celebration of this martyrdom by the Shi'a 'Ali represents for these historians the first clear instance of separate religious practice.
The 'Abassid caliphate (758-1258) was founded on two disaffected Islamic populations: non-Arabic Muslims and Shi'ites. For the most part, the Islamic impetus to the Abassid revolution lay in the secularism of the Umayyad caliphs. The Umayyads had always been outsiders—as a wealthy
clan in Mecca, they had opposed Muhammad—and the secularism and sometime degeneracy that accompanied their caliphate delegitimized their rule for many devout Muslims.
Video Presentations and Links: Rise of Islam
PBS has produced a 3-part series narrated by Ben Kingsley. This excellent documentary explores the history of Islam. We hope that this video promotes an Inter-Faith dialog between Christians, Muslims and Jews. We all share the same basic Judeo-Christian-Islamic moral code and therefore we need to unite behind our common values, respect our differences, for the purpose of improving the Human Condition.
What is Islam? Who is Muhammad? This documentary is the 2nd in a 3-part series narrated by Ben Kingsley. This part relates the golden age of Islam. A time of great learning when Europe was steeped in the Dark Ages. The building of great works of architecture, reading, writing, mathematics, medicine, and astronomy. Even before the printing press Muslims would have hundreds of scribes writing all at once so they would learn and reproduce the writings. Note: At 22 Minutes presenation moves into Crusades and Mongol invasion.
It is not possible to effectually distinguish between the later empire in Rome and the Byzantine empire centered around Constantinople. For the Byzantines were the Roman Empire, not simply a continuation of it in the East. The capital city, Constantinople, had been founded as the capital of Rome by the Emperor Constantine, but a uniquely Greek or Byzantine character to the Roman Empire can be distinguished as early as Diocletian. When Rome was seized by Goths, this was a great blow to the Roman Empire, but it didn't effectively end it. Although Rome was under the control of foreigners who themselves claimed to be continuing the empire, the Byzantine empire continued as before, believing themselves to be the Roman Empire.
Nearly a thousand years after Rome's fall, Constantinople was conquered by
the forces of Islam.
Istanbul and the Hagia (Aya) Sophia
Hagia Sophia was not only the world's biggest church but the tallest, largest man-made enclosed space when it was constructed in 532-537AD for the Emperor Justinian. There was no other building in the ancient world that could compare to this -- nothing came close to this absolute masterpiece of Byzantine architecture. Words and photographs can never truly capture the feeling of standing inside this awesome building
Islamic Architecture : Extra from the documentary "Islam Empire of Faith"
Islam: PBS.Org
Faith Culture Innovation Profiles
Bridging World History: The Spread of Religions
How do religions interact, adopt new ideas, and adapt to diverse cultures? As the missionaries, pilgrims, and converts of Buddhism, Christianity, and Islam moved around the world, the religions created change and were themselves changed.
Bridging World History: Transmission of Traditions
What are traditions and how are they transmitted? Islamic Spain, Korea, and West Africa provide examples of many different modes of transmission, including oral, written, artistic, and architectural.
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