Welcome - Arab Caliphs, Turkish Commanders, and Persian Viziers: Islamic History, 750-1200 HIST 3509   Arab Caliphs, Turkish Commanders, and Persian Viziers: Islamic History, 750-1200
CREDIT HOURS: 3
The focus of this course will be the different manifestations of Islamic civilization as it reached its zenith under a series of caliphates and sultanates across Spain, North Africa, the Levant, Iran, Central Asia, and South Asia between 750 and 1400. Emphasis will be placed on the role of heterodoxy and the emergence of numerous Islamic communities and movements (shi`ites, Sufis) as the `Abbasid empire (750-1258) struggled to maintain political and doctrinal unity. There will also be a discussion of the Turkic migrations and the corresponding rise in Turkic Islamic sultanates such as the Saljuqs and the Ghaznavids in the East, and how such developments were mirrored by the establishment of a number of Crusader states in the Holy Land. Lastly, we will examine the invasions by the Mongol khans and their devastating effect on the central Islamic world. This course will also discuss the incorporation of Hellenistic culture during the Abbasid period and the rise of Mutazilite (‘rationalist’) thought, notably in physical sciences, political studies, and philosophy, and how such syncretism was also reflected in terms of mysticism, art, architecture, and literature in the East as Islamic culture interacted with Zoroastrian, Buddhist and Hindu culture in Iran, Central Asia, and India.
FORMAT:

• Lecture
• Discussion

CROSS-LISTING: CLAS 3601.03