Caliphates

The Umayyad caliphate lasted almost a century. It oversaw the expansion of Islam, but tensions within the Muslim community brought about its downfall. It was overthrown by the Abbasids, who remained in power until the thirteenth century.

As the leadership of the Muslim community passed to Mu'awiyah, what became known as the Umayyad Dynasty began. The center of Umayyad rule was in Damascus, Syria, ancestral home of the Umayyad clan. By this time, the Muslim state had become a rather large empire, with governors and armies spread over much of the Middle East, western Asia, eastern Europe, and North Africa. Administration of such a large and diverse region took up much of the energy and attention of the leadership. As with any large empire, secular and practical concerns began to take precedence over more spiritual matters, although faith continued to be an important foundation.

During Mu'awiyah's rule, the division between the Sunni and Shi'a Muslims continued to grow. Ali's second son, Hussein, tried to win the caliphate from the Umayyads, but he was killed in a battle at Karbala, Iraq. He is still mourned by Shi'a Muslims in observances that mark the anniversary of his death. The Umayyad leaders that followed Mu'awiyah introduced a number of reforms and projects, including irrigation canals, improved agriculture, and a new minted currency. As the Muslim territory continued to expand, the population became more diverse, forever coloring the mosaic that is the Muslim world. Islam continued to spread — from China and Russia to North Africa and Spain — crossing cultural and linguistic boundaries to unite people into a common faith community.

In the middle of the eighth century, a rebellion that would bring down the Umayyad dynasty unfolded. Control of the Muslim empire fell to descendants of the Prophet's uncle, Abbas.

When the Abbasids took over, they moved the capital of the Muslim empire from Damascus to Baghdad. Here they began structuring and streamlining the administration of the vast Muslim state. The Abbasids emphasized adherence to the Islamic way of life. They created written manuals that codified government procedures, a postal service, and a banking system. They also helped established trade routes and commercial ventures that connected the far corners of the vast Muslim state.

This streamlining of government and expansion of commerce brought great economic gain and prosperity to the land. Thus, more leisure time was available for scholarly and religious pursuits. Islamic civilization reached its peak during the reign of the Abbasid caliph Harun al-Rashid (“Aaron the Upright”) in Baghdad, from 786–809C.E.

The massive intellectual achievements that developed during the Abbasid period became the hallmark of what came to be called the Golden Age of Islamic civilization. Baghdad became a center for knowledge and research, literature and science. Intellectuals, writers, and students gathered in centers of learning, the world's first universities, where they made significant contributions to the studies of astronomy, medicine, mathematics, and alchemy. Muslims, Christians, and Jews from all over the world came together to share knowledge, collaborate on research, discuss, and debate. They translated scientific works from Greek and introduced many original ideas and innovations.

The scholarly work that was done during this period helped propel Europe out of the Dark Ages and preserved ancient knowledge for later generations. At this time, the Islamic world was the cradle of civilization, collecting the best minds from all corners of the earth, preserving the world's wisdom, and exploring new theories and discoveries. Chapter 21 takes a closer look at the significant achievements of this period, and the legacy that was left behind.

Answer 1

There may be many reason of the decline of islamic Empires, but if we sum up the main reason is forgetting the message of Qur'an.

Answer 2

It entirely depends on the Islamic Empire in question (there are over 30 such empires in different places and at different times). The two most famous Islamic Empires were the Umayyad Caliphates and the Abbassid Caliphate. While these two may be indicative of general issues in Islamic Empires, they are not the only issues that other empires faced nor were they all faced by all Islamic Empires. It is also worth noting that "forgetting the message of the Qur'an" is ambiguous since the Qur'an has numerous passages that have vastly different meanings and interpretations, making a "perfectly clear" reading of the Qur'an virtually impossible (just as a perfectly clear reading of the Bible or the Bhagavad Gita is impossible).

There are two distinct Umayyad Caliphates based on the same dynasty. The Umayyad Caliphate in Damascus from 660 C.E. to 750 C.E. was overthrown by a coup d'état led by the Abbassid Family an the Umayyad Caliphate in Cordoba from 711 C.E. to 1038 C.E. ended when the final Caliph, Hisham III, died without any successors.

Additionally, the Abbassid Caliphate contracted in two general phases. The first phase was from 750 CE to 850 CE which led to the loss of the distant provinces in Spain, Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia. The second phase occurred from 1100-1258 CE which resulted in the capitulation of the entire state.

Umayyad Caliphate in Damascus

In the Umayyad Caliphate in Damascus case, there were a few major issues.

1) Mawali: Mawali (or non-Arab Muslims) were traditionally excluded from political and social affairs. The Umayyad in particular treated them as second-class Muslims. The evidence of this treatment was that Mawali were not allowed to have many government positions and that they were taxed whereas Arab Muslims were not taxed at all. Mawali made up an important component of the Umayyad Caliphate, especially Persians. Persia was always a high seat of culture in the Islamic Empire. As a result, ideas moved quite freely throughout Persia and Persians considered themselves to be of equal worth to Arabs.

2) Shiites: Under the Sunni Umayyads, Shiites were also discriminated against. After Yazid I martyred Hussein, the Shiites made it their mission in life to oppose every action of the Umayyad dynasty. It did not help matters that the Umayyads tortured and murdered Shiite Imams and Infallibles, leading to irreconcilability between the Shiites and the Umayyads.

3) Distance: There were no effective routes of communication between the Western Edges of the Caliphate and Damascus. This made local administrators more powerful as they would have to make their own decisions anyway (it would take too long for a messenger to go to Damascus and return). Many figured that they might as well make the change more permanent.

4) Political Issues: Not all Arabs of high political standing supported the Umayyads. There were several other families that were just as power-hungary and the Umayyads spent much of their time thwarting coups d'état. Abu Al-Abbas As-Saffah of the Abbassids rose against the Umayyads and murdered the reigning Umayyad Caliph. He ordered the rest of his family to murder every single other Umayyad. As a result of the uprising, only one Umayyad, Amir Abd El-Rahman, survived. He would later flee to Spain and set it up as a Caliphate in opposition to the Abbassids.

Umayyad Caliphate in Spain

There were really only two issues here.

1) Christian Victories: In the mid-800s, the Umayyads in Spain arrived at a turning point. A massive number of Christians were beginning to immigrate to the weak Christian Kingdoms of Leon, Castille, the Basque Provinces, Aragon, Navarre, and Catalonia. Many of the Christians came from France and Germany and brought more recent European technologies with them. This led to the successes of the Reconquista in the late 800s and early 900s. By 1038, King Alfonso VI was ruling the Kingdom of Castille-Leon from Burgos and had El Cid (a famous Spanish general) conquer the Umayyad bastion of Toledo. These Christian victories strongly weakened faith in the longevity of the Umayyad project.

2) No Heirs: The Umayyad Caliph Hisham III had no heirs. When he died in 1038, there were no longer any Umayyads left to succeed him and continue the line. He did not style a soldier or bureaucrat to be his successor and regional governors claimed regional authority, resulting in the first Taifa Period of Andalucía.

Abbassid Caliphate Contraction in the First Phase

The reasons that Abbassid territory diminished between 750 to 850 CE, fracturing into the Umayyads (Spain), Idrissids (Morocco), Aghlabids (Algeria, Tunisia, Sicily), and other smaller states.

1) Religious Issues: The Abbassids came to power with the help of the Shiites and Mawali (Non-Arab Moslems like Persians and Amazigh). Even though the Abbassids did increase the rights and station of Mawali, it was never practical nor desirable for the Abbassids to become Shiite. As a result, he alienated much of North Africa, which at this time had a large Shiite and Kharijite population. (The Kharijites would have been alienated anyway as they were a very religious minority.)

2) Distance: There were no effective routes of communication between the Western Edges of the Caliphate and Baghdad. This made local administrators more powerful as they would have to make their own decisions anyway (it would take too long for a messenger to go to Baghdad and return). Many figured that they might as well make the change more permanent.

3) Political Issues: This refers specifically to Umayyad Spain which was the only part of the Umayyad Caliphate that never became Abbassid when Abu Al-Abbas As-Saffah rose against the Umayyads. As a result of the uprising, Amir Abd El-Rahman fled to Spain and set it up as a Caliphate in opposition to the Abbassids.

The Fall of the Abbassid Caliphate

The reasons for the eventual fall of the Abbassid Caliphate which occurred in 1100-1258 CE are the following.

1) Corruption: The Abbassid Caliphate had become one of the richest and most prosperous states in the world at that time, changing its leadership from honest brokers of power (Amir al-Mu'aminin - Prince of the Believers used to actually mean something) to individuals more concerned with money. This created strong resentment from those who were outside of the Abbassid purview.

2) Mawali Inclusion: The Abbassids were an Arab Caliphate (as opposed to the Samanids who were a Persian Caliphate) and were expected by many Arabs to treat other Arabs better than the Mawali. However, the Abbassids consistently treated Persians equal to or better than their Arab brethren which created animosity and a sense of betrayal. Many Arabs saw the Persians as the major backers of the Caliphate and that they were a tool for Persian interests. It was also perceived that the Persians were first servants to the caliphs but climbed way up the social ladder to a place they did not belong.

3) Turkish Armies: Armies like the Mamluk (who were retained by the Abbassids for the defense of the Caliphate) were Turks who defended an Arab State. Beginning in this period, they began to realize that they had the capacity to create their own states considering how vast their powers were as a military. This idea also came to the fore for Turks outside of the Caliphate. As a result, there were Mamluk uprisings, Seljuq attacks, and other Turkish Armies turning against Baghdad.

4) Rise of the Mongols: Hülegü Khan put the final nail in the coffin by massacring Baghdad and a number of Persian cities when he conquered the territory for the Great Khanate.

John Shelby Spong (A Bishop Rethinks the Birth of Jesus) says that among people he knows in New Testament circles, the universal assumption is that the magi, or wise men, were not actual people. They therefore did not really follow any star. Other scholars point out that a star or comet, considered throughout the Roman Empire to be a portent of things to come, really did appear in 66 CE. Since Matthew's Gospel is considered to have been written only about twenty years after the star of 66 CE, they say that Matthew's story was probably inspired by that star.

A Caliphate is the area ruled by a Caliph, the spiritual successor to Prophet Mohammed. Most Caliphs, historically, ruled like Kings or as Attachés to ruling kings at the time in question.