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Invasions and Shifts in Trade Routes:
Egyptian Mamluks: Originally enslaved people, mostly ethnic Turks from Central Asia, who became soldiers and bureaucrats. They established the Mamluk Sultanate in Egypt (1250–1517) and facilitated trade in cotton and sugar. They declined when Europeans found new sea routes for trade.
Seljuk Turks: Muslims from Central Asia who conquered parts of the Middle East in the 11th century. They called their leader "sultan," reducing the Abbasid caliph to a religious role.
Crusaders: European Christians who fought to reopen access to holy sites in and around Jerusalem restricted by the Seljuk Turks.
Mongols: Central Asian conquerors who ended the Abbasid Empire in 1258 but were stopped in Egypt by the Mamluks.
Economic Changes: The Abbasids were key in connecting Asia, Europe, and North Africa. However, as trade routes shifted north, Baghdad lost its central role in trade, leading to its decline.
Cultural and Social Life:
The Islamic world fragmented politically but remained culturally united.
Islamic Scholars and Learning:
Translated Greek classics into Arabic.
Studied Indian mathematics and passed this knowledge to Europe.
Learned paper-making from China and taught it to Europeans.
Cultural Innovations:
Nasir al-Din al-Tusi (1201–1274): Made significant contributions to astronomy, mathematics (especially trigonometry), and medicine.
Ibn Khaldun (1332–1406): Known for his historical works and contributions to historiography and sociology.
A’ishah al-Ba’uniyyah (1460–1507): A prolific female Muslim writer known for her poetry and mysticism. Sufi poets like her focused on introspection and played a key role in spreading Islam.
Commerce, Class, and Diversity:
Islamic society valued merchants highly.
Non-Arab Muslims faced discrimination initially, which faded over time.
Slavery: Muslims could not enslave other Muslims or monotheists but did enslave others, primarily from Africa, Central Asia, and Eastern Europe. Enslaved people could convert to Islam and be freed. Enslaved women had some independence and could earn their freedom.
Free Women in Islam:
Women had various rights, such as owning property, remarrying, initiating divorce, and practicing birth control.
Muhammad’s Policies: Improved the status of women by treating them with respect, ensuring dowries were paid to brides, and forbidding female infanticide.
Cultural Practices: Women covered their heads and faces, and men also wore head coverings.
Islamic Rule in Spain:
Umayyads in Spain: Ruled from Cordoba after invading Spain in 711.
Battle of Tours (732): Islamic expansion into Western Europe was halted by Frankish forces.
Prosperity Under Islam: Cordoba was a center of learning and trade, promoting a climate of tolerance among Muslims, Christians, and Jews.
Cultural and Scholarly Transfers: Islamic scholarship influenced Jewish and Christian thinkers, contributing to the Renaissance and Scientific Revolution in Europe.
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