Abbasids Attitudes To Religion

The Islamic people had a very powerful culture. Muslims mastered many crafts and trade which helped them grow and prosper. Modern cultures have used and built onto many ideas that the Islamic people had implemented into their own lives. The Islamic people strived in science, philosophy, astronomy, geography, mathematics, and medicine. This DBQ will talk about his topic.

Mid seventh century Islam, also know as the golden age was a time of innovation, trade, and success. Why was this the Golden age above all other times? Well that’s easy. The golden age was the time when Islam established one of its biggest empires in History, which would later go on to succeed in all fields from math, to law, to industry etc (Doc 1, pg. 11). The biggest components of this great success, though would probably be the advancements in Math, Science and Trade. The new things that people were able to discover using simple math and science not only benefited peoples simple knowledge, but it benefitted the country as a whole. Math and Science were something that not everyone had access to, but since Islam did it benefited trade as well, which would later become what connected all of humanity.

There were changes to the Mediterranean World, but also continuities from the Roman Empire in 100 CE, to the Abbasid Empire in 800 Ce, to Feudal Europe in 1000 CE. Christianity and Islam, architecture, and the status of women all changed, even though some parts of them remained the same. Christianity and Islam developed and spread. New architectural advancements were added to the already existing Roman innovations, and the status of women improved overall.

Born in about 742, Charlemagne was the son of King Pepin III (known as Pepin the Short). Pepin and his brother together ruled the Franks, whose kingdom included parts of present-day France, Belgium, Germany, and the Netherlands. Upon Pepin 's death in 768, Charlemagne and his brother Carloman inherited the kingdom. When Carloman died three years later, Charlemagne became the sole ruler.

Charlemagne, also known as Charles the Great, was born around the 2nd of April 747 and died on the 28th of January 814. He was noted down in history as King of the Franks, a Germanic-speaking people who invaded western Rome residing in current day Germany, the King of the Lombards, Germanic people who resided in parts of the Italian peninsula, and finally was the first Holy Roman Emperor. Another name that has been bestowed upon Charlemagne was the title “Father of Europe”. Due to the Carolingian empire 's rule, Charlemagne was able to unite nearly all of western Europe. The last empire to do so was the Roman Empire and no other country would unite Europe until the eighteen hundred under Napoleon. Charlemagne’s father was named Pepin the Short, a name that deceives most on the battlefield due to his incredible and unmatched strength. Pepin the Short was the predecessor to Charlemagne as the king of the Franks. Pepin also helped set up the Carolingian dynasty but did not peak its power until the crowning of Charlemagne. Charlemagne’s successor was his son, Louis the Pious, who would be dissimilar from Charlemagne. In fact, for most of his reign, Louis the Pious would have to deal with many civil wars which foreshadowed the diminishing strength of the Carolingian empire. Charlemagne would serve as the prototype for most of the medieval western Europe for the next millennium until the founding of the new world.

As a result they were involved with many conflicts with other Empires. Many of these conflict were with the Persian and Muslim nations. There are similarities between the conflict for the Middle East in the 780-1180 and the conflict that we have today in the Middle East. Heraclian Dynasty was beginning of this conflict for the East Mediterranean with Persia. At the time, Persia and Byzantine Empires were the superpowers of the Old World. After years of war, the Byzantine Empire finally defeated Persia. However after this conflict the Arabs arose and began taking over crucial lands that the Byzantine tried to maintain. Then during the 7th Century, the Byzantine Empire and the Abbasid and Fatimid caliphates were in conflict to gain power over the East Mediterranean. This conflict would eventually start the decline of the Byzantine Empire.

Beginning with Muhammad’s age from the start of 7th century Islam, Islamic culture and politics have gone a great many events and occurrences. Throughout all of its years, it has boasted both a rich culture and technological/intellectual advancements. The preservation of the Quran, developments in mathematics, and the continued emphasis on respect and charitable nature are just some examples of Islamic achievement. However, as with any growing civilization, Islam has evolved beyond what it originated as. The cultural and political life of Islamic civilization beginning in the 7th century to the end of the Abbasids of the 13th century underwent many changes such as the deteriorating view of women in society and the shift from elected caliphates to dynastical caliphate. But, one aspect that persisted were the religious beliefs and traditions followed by the Islamic people.

Charlemagne’s father, King Pepin (the short), officially put an end to the Merovingian line of kings to become King of the Franks, and willed that Francia be divided between both Charlemagne and his brother Carloman upon his death in 768. The divided rule was short lived, ○“Carloman had succumbed to disease after ruling two years in common with his brother, at his death Charles was unanimously elected King of the

Over the centuries two Islamic Empires have been fighting for decades. “”The Ottoman ruler, Selim I sent a letter to the Persian rival, Isma’il I, leader of the Shi’ite Safavid state.””(Sunni versus Shi’ite) “” Isma’il had entered Ottoman territory and had demanded that Ottoman subjects accept Shi’ism.””(Sunni versus Shi’ite) In response to this Selim I threatens him with this letter. One thing lead to the other and eventually Isma’il I and Selim I had a war. “”Selim I won the battle of Chaldiran in 1514 and protected his territory from Shi’ite encroachment. “” (Sunni versus Shi’ite) Selim I quoted from the Quran saying that the land shouldn’t be played with it was given to them to their god the lord, by the same god that rules over Isma’il and his people the Shi’ites of the Safavid Empire. During this time the Ottoman Empire was pretty strong military and financially wise. The Ottoman Empire was better equipped for war, since out of the two groups they lasted the longest, since “”the Safavids were replaced by a regional dynasty, the Qajar’s and disintegrated due to pressure of tribal invasions.”” (Pamuk, 2004)

Martel started the Carolingian dynasty which ruled Europe for over a 100 years. The dynasty at its zenith was around 1.1km. This covered most of France all the way into Eastern Europe. The size of this dynasty must have gotten the eye the pope who crowned one of Martel's successors emperor of the Holy Roman Empire. And the dynasty made an attempt at fulfilling the idea of Christendom. However they didn't succeed before Charlemagne, the Holy Roman Emperor, died. After his death we saw

Charles Martel, or Charles the Hammer, considered one of the greatest to hold the title “Mayor of the Palace”, succeeded the position in 732 (Abrams 186). He gained high admiration and respect from the Frankish people for his feats against the Muslims trying to gain passage into Europe (Abrams 186), and imparted much wisdom to an equally respected ruler, his grandson, Charlemagne. By this time, the Franks thought of the mayors more as kings instead of stewards considering that they had complete control over the empire and its people. Charlemagne’s Father, Pepin III, more commonly known as Pepin the Short, assumed the position of Mayor in 751 (Davis 54). During his reign, Pepin defended Rome against a barbarian tribe called the Lombards, which strengthened the relationship between the church and the state that later would contribute to Charlemagne’s sovereignty as Holy Roman Emperor (Davis 54). Pepin died in 768, dividing the now much larger Frankish empire between his two sons Charlemagne and Carolmen (Davis 54). Carolmen died in 771 and left Charlemagne as the sole ruler of the Frankish empire (Davis 54). The era when the mayors ruled the Franks up until Charlemagne’s death acquired the title “The Carolingian Dynasty” in Western Europe (Jenkins 123). From the passing of both his Father and brother, Charlemagne continued into his kingship over the Frankish Empire.

Disagreement between Shias and Sunni have been the most important splits in Islamic religion, which are ongoing problems since the 7th century to present-day, conflict in Islamic history has initiated blood spills from generations to generations and is still taking life’s while differences in social and equal opportunities that have taken deep roots in the minds of future leaders.

The Safavids were the first the first to declare Shia Islam the official religion of Iran, and their interest in Iraq lay in the Shia holy places in central Iraq, and also the fact that Baghdad held significant symbolic value as the seat of the ancient Abbasid Empire. The Ottoman Empire on the other hand was afraid that Shia Islam would spread to Asia Minor, and thus looked to control Iraq as a Sunni-dominated buffer state. During the Ottoman period, the Sunnis were placed in political positions, while the Shias were then shut out of the political process. This divide between the Sunnis and the Shias continued to be more and more of an important element in the Iraqi social structure, and remains an issue even today. It was also during this time period that the Kurdish Baban Dynasty emerged and began to organize resistance to the Ottoman rule in Northern Iraq.

replaced by one after another. It started during the period of the prophet Muhammad and the four

Starting their empire in 750 C.E., the Abbasids were certain to leave a major impact on the Arab world. The Abbasids had moved the empire’s capital to Baghdad, from Damascus, after gaining control. The empire had spanned across three continents and was drenched with many open ideas, as the empire had been widely involved in trade. Being spanned over such a vast array of land, the Abbasids had many ideas in front of them, and they were capable of drawing out the best of those from the areas in which they had conquered. These ideas were not even from extensive trade routes that they had carved out themselves, but they had just used the ones that were established by the Persians, before the Umayyad Dynasty had taken them over. Through somewhat minimal work, this empire was capable