Arab empire/invasion Flashcards

Question

monetary rewards- sophistication

Answer 1

 Monetary rewards for victory on battlefield * Battle of al-qadissiyya 634 turning point nin the war against the Sasanians soldiers sho took part in the campaign received 2k dirhams, perhaps motivating them to victory

Answer 2

 Jews 637- when arab armies arrived at hebron jewish peple allowed them to conquer asking muslims ‘rgant us security so htat we would have a similar status among you  Feared wrath of christian- roman persecution  Shushtar conspiring w arabs to help them capture the city in return for a ‘third of the spoils’ arabs built up aliances collaborating atcially sophisticated way of thinking

Answer 3

control empire /internal politics weaken courtly cohesively Econ corruption antagonising population

Answer 4

o Abbasids were ‘islams greatest dynasty’  Not flexible, not adapt to changing political miltary and eocn landscape, hence power dwindled and dissipated  More gradual colalspe, power conceded and lost non arab groups- turks and ultimately mongols  Consequence of inability maintain central control over empire and military  Weaknening courtly cohesivity  Econ corruption antagonising population o Could argue that collapse dynasty was in 946 with buyids, as caliphs were merely pupets, equally 1056 seljuk truks take over, abbasid claiphs remain fiureheads, real power lies with Seljuk sultans

Answer 5

o Ruling from 750-1258  Golden era 749-847 – grand architectural achievements, urbanisation in Baghdad and samara  Translation of knowledge and sicen form other civlisations into arabic and amassibg of huge financial wealth o came to power after aggressively seizing control from the ummayads  Harness anger of mawali non arab muslims to revolt against Umayyad

Answer 6

o Abbasids had built their dynaty on sand there were no foundations to stand on  Their authority and legit disintegrated and crumbled ats the tides of political ambition washed in - assanition political rivals civil wars - dismantle ing of empire

Answer 7

 Ali al-rids (hier to caliphate) mysteriously dying when visiting her fathers tomb after eating some grapes * Blame on ma’mun likely concerned of ali al rida growing popularity esp amongst shias * Exposing deepening sectarian tensions and conflicts ithin the regime what  Eroded dynasty legit

Answer 8

 Musta’in 865 ‘entirely beholden’ to the turks ‘fro his elevation to the threone’ and urle * Controversially appointed a Turkish vizier utamish * only example of a Turkish vizier in history of caliphate- * Relied upon trukish generals- o 865 Turkish general e led a military revolt against mustain o Actions culminated in musta’in forced abbdictaion and imprisonment, subsequent rise of al-mu’tazz

Answer 9

 Spain and most north Africa pull out of their ‘orbit’  Tunisia effectively independent during durng war of the brother s811-13 suggest lack of abbasid autrhoity disenchantment regime buyid Egypt fatimids mongols

Answer 10

* Qarmitian revolt 10thc o , demonstrate collapse of bbasid uathroity in Iraqi region of the emprie o Radical shia group- revolt against sunni governance o Kill thousands innocent pilgrims, nurn copies of qauran o Sieze hold hosatg ka’ba several years o Limited fight abck form abbasids  Apart from publicise anti-q prop claied sexually salacious heretics

Answer 11

– bolder o Baghdad control 946  Symbolically showed authority over the dynasty, effectively reducing caliph mere figurehead  Building boom in Baghdad restoring baduirya dam on rufaul river- pseudo-caliphs wiling to make improvements on land conwuered- maybe win support  Invasion humiliating- undernine sunni superiority and right to rule

Answer 12

o Rise in 10thc – took adv abbasid weaning central control and established own caliphate o Direct tyhreat. To authority of abbasi clearly challenged legit, contribute colaspe as alternative sources of leadership and power contestingthem

Answer 13

1258 o After devasting western Persia, marched into Baghdad under leadership of hulagu allied by the shias who sought to ‘prove their abhorrence of the suni camp’ o On reaching Baghdad mongols sacked the city for 40 days ‘butchering’ a large proportion of the inhabitatnts =’in cold blood o Destroy toms of caliphas at rusafah and shrine of musa al-kazim o During raid, mongols also murdered caliph mutasim and his osns- end of abbasid and elimination any potential sucessors

Answer 14

gender norms subvert yet respected

Answer 15

o Across western eupre and middle east, masculine triats dominance assertiveness and courage expected of rulers o Women- political pawns through tactical marriages or objects of pleasure within harem  No influence in politics  Caliph al-mansur advice to son al-mahdi ‘never involve your owmen in polutcal affairs

Answer 16

 Khayzuran- concubine of prince al-mahdi * Ambitious * Endeavoured to weave a power base for herfel at court- sister al-mahdi borther concubine * After al-madhi became caliph, k emancipated and married him, making two sons hiers to the throne * Social mobility gave her power

Answer 17

riot o Rashid entered Baghdad with troops dmeandin higher pay, priosners set free and the cictywas sabotaged o K called for political consultation, summoning al-rabi’b and yahya the baramkid to decde how to resolve the criss o Ifrts time abbasif women directly intervened ‘in state affairs on that level ‘

Answer 18

o Own paace o 260k dianars annually o Received requests and petitions as she met w state officials and comadners o Undermined caliphate, as presents actual caliph son unableto do job o Abbasid dynasty collase orcess fo lt decline of misplaced trust and undermined image

Answer 19

external- ecological internal choices- mu'tadid, al-mahdi, al-rashid, courtiers

Answer 20

* Flooding following harsh winters 9thc onwars, making agri stability in tigris-euphrates region more challenging * Civil wars an conlicts only limited agir otput further a sland damaged and destoreyd

Answer 21

* Priorisitese himself and ocurt over people * Reduced ratonns of bread to civilians by one ounce- to distibuet to members of his household * Requested that his treasurer set aside all the best cloth made so he could have for personal usee

Answer 22

* Comimsoned a palce for his leasire hours oustdie naghdad cost 10 millian dinnars o A lot0 a family of four live on 4 dinars per month o For a building not even aid ability to govern

Answer 23

* Financially irresponsible, spent lavishly on personal indulgences * Acquire hundreds of concubines, one costing as much as 100k dinars

Answer 24

* Al-mustai’in – utamish vizier, o Giving him and shahak al-khadim contrl over treasury with licen to do as pleased o Extract money for themslevss, deverease stat espenidng o Sodliers salaries fell into arrears due to lack of military funding o Ultimately led to civil war inc turks-  Low or unpaid wages indicates lack of respect for soldiers no longer wish serve for caliph * Harun al-rashid caliphate- barmakid vizier o Poor decision, vizier seized caliph revenue, making it challenging to rule s al-rashid ‘could not extract fron tehm gthe sums..which he needed

Answer 25

* Founded by Muʿāwiyah I after the First Fitna (661 CE), the Umayyad Caliphate established the first hereditary dynasty in Islam. * Governed from Damascus, they expanded across North Africa, Spain, and into Central Asia. * Fell to the Abbasid revolution in 750 CE, culminating in the Battle of the Zab. * This essay will explore the political, religious, ethnic, and military causes of their fall, arguing that the dynasty lost legitimacy in the eyes of key constituencies.

Answer 26

political and admin weakness religion ethnic social tensions military defeats abbasid rev

Answer 27

external overreach- * Failed siege of Constantinople (717–718) by Sulaymān’s forces sapped resources. * Defeats in France (Tours, 732) and India marked the limits of expansion. abbasid uprising

Answer 28

* Abbasids built a coalition of mawālī, Shi’a, anti-Umayyad Arab tribes, and Persian Muslims. * Abu Muslim al-Khurasani led the uprising in Khurasan, gaining mass support. * Decisive victory at Battle of the Zab (750). Last caliph Marwan II killed.

Answer 29

crone and hinds Kennedy sunni shia

Answer 30

religious discontent and filler elf islamic legitimacy

Answer 31

focuses on Arab chauvinism and administrative inflexibility.

Answer 32

* Traditional Sunni sources frame fall as divine punishment for moral corruption.

Answer 33

historiography presents Abbasids as just revenge for Karbala.

Answer 34

hereditary rule centralisation and autocracy nepotism and corruption

Answer 35

* Transition from elective to hereditary monarchy under Muʿāwiyah alienated traditionalists. * Succession crises (e.g., Yazid I’s rule and Husayn’s martyrdom at Karbala in 680) undermined moral legitimacy.

Answer 36

* Governors often ruled harshly and autonomously (e.g. al-Ḥajjāj ibn Yūsuf in Iraq). * Peripheral resentment grew—especially in Khurasan and Iraq, where centralised control was both weak and oppressive.

Answer 37

* Power and wealth concentrated in the Syrian Arab elite, particularly the Quraysh and Umayyad clans. * Perceived mismanagement and elite excess (e.g., Walid II’s extravagance) fueled public discontent.

Answer 38

shia hostility kharijite perceived moral delicnes

Answer 39

* The Umayyads were deeply unpopular among Shi’a, who viewed them as usurpers. * Legacy of Karbala (680) and persecution of the family of ʿAli created enduring bitterness. * Revolts: Zayd ibn ʿAli’s uprising (740), and later alid support for Abbasids.

Answer 40

* Opposed both Umayyads and Shiʿa; saw all rulers who sinned as illegitimate. * Frequent insurrections in Iraq, Arabia, and Iran (e.g. Najd revolt, 8th century).

Answer 41

* Some caliphs seen as impious or worldly (e.g., Yazid II, Walid II). * Abbasid propaganda portrayed Umayyads as un-Islamic monarchs and oppressors of the Prophet’s family.

Answer 42

Arab supremacism regional power imablance Berber revolts

Answer 43

* Umayyads privileged Arab Muslims; non-Arab converts (mawālī) faced discrimination in taxation and status. * Mawālī resentment was especially strong in Khurasan, which became a hotbed of Abbasid support.

Answer 44

* Dominance of Syrian Arab army bred resentment in Iraq, Khurasan, and North Africa. * Failure to integrate conquered peoples as full citizens weakened unity of the empire.

Answer 45

(740s) * In North Africa, harsh Umayyad taxation and racial bias led to Berber rebellion. * Undermined western control, reducing tax revenues and military resources.

Answer 46

Umayyads collapsed because they failed to adapt their imperial model to the plural, multi-ethnic, and religiously diverse reality of their empire. * The Abbasids succeeded not just militarily, but ideologically—offering an image of a more inclusive, morally upright Islamic caliphate. * Their fall highlights how legitimacy, not just power, is the foundation of Islamic rule.

Answer 47

* Term "Arabs" used in early Islamic sources, Greek and Persian accounts, and modern historiography. * Often assumed to refer to the people who emerged from the Arabian Peninsula to conquer the Sasanian and Byzantine empires. * This essay will argue that "Arabs" is a useful but imprecise term for this period—better understood as a constructed identity shaped by tribalism, religion, empire, and language

Answer 48

pre islami Arab identity fluid and tribal early islamic period religion as identity catalyst empire and construction of drabness internal diversity among the Arabs

Answer 49

no unified political entity * Arabian Peninsula in 6th century CE = fragmented tribal society. * Major tribal confederacies: Ghassanids (Byzantine clients) and Lakhmids (Sasanian clients). * Frequent intertribal warfare; identity based on tribe (qabīla), not "Arabness". greek and roman perceptions

Answer 50

* Romans/Byzantines referred to the region as Arabia, and its inhabitants as “Saracens” or “Arabs” but with vague geographic connotations. * Used "Arab" as a catch-all for desert peoples—more ethnographic than political.

Answer 51

m and quarantine tribal continuity in islamic armies Arab v mawali

Answer 52

* Qur’an uses the term ‘al-‘Arab’ and ‘aʿrāb’ (often pejoratively: desert dwellers resistant to Islam). * Islam initially superseded tribal identity, focusing on umma (community), but did not erase tribalism

Answer 53

* Conquest armies were often tribally organised (e.g. in Kufa, Basra, and Fustat). * Tensions between tribes (e.g., Qays vs Kalb) shaped politics and revolts (e.g., Battle of Marj Rahit, 684).

Answer 54

* "Arab" began to mean Arabophone Muslim conquerors, often ethnically Arab. * Mawālī (non-Arab Muslim converts) were second-class citizens under Umayyad rule. * Shows Arabness increasingly tied to ethnicity and privilege, not religion alone

Answer 55

Umayyad period Arab imperial identity exclusionary politics

Answer 56

* Umayyads built an empire on Arab-Muslim military aristocracy. * Arabic made official language of administration under ʿAbd al-Malik (r. 685–705). * Coinage, architecture (e.g. Dome of the Rock), and statecraft used Arabic symbolism and identity. * Emergence of proto-Arab nationalism? Historians debate this (Kennedy vs Crone).

Answer 57

* Arabness became an elite status marker, distinguishing rulers from ruled. * Resentment among mawālī, Persians, Berbers, etc., laid foundation for Abbasid revolution. * Arab identity = imperial elite, not ethnically or geographically inclusive.

Answer 58

tribal divsiions regional variation integration non Arabs

Answer 59

* Persistent and violent conflicts between tribal factions: Qays vs Yamani, North vs South Arabs. * Played out in Umayyad succession and provincial revolts (e.g., Ibn al-Ashʿath’s rebellion).

Answer 60

* Syrian Arabs (Umayyad heartland) differed from Hijazi Arabs, Iraqi garrisons, and North African settlers. * Urban vs Bedouin lifestyles; varying cultural influences (e.g., Greco-Roman in Syria, Persian in Iraq).

Answer 61

* Intermarriage, acculturation, and religious solidarity blurred lines between “Arab” and “non-Arab”. * Over time, Arabic language and Islam, not ethnicity, became primary markers of identity.

Answer 62

hagarism thesis hugh kennedy modern implictaions

Answer 63

. Patricia Crone & Michael Cook: “Hagarism” thesis * Early Muslims were not self-identified Arabs, but a confessional movement that constructed Arabness later. * Controversial, but shows artificiality of identity categories.

Answer 64

Emphasises early Arab military aristocracy but cautions against ethnic essentialism.

Answer 65

* Arab identity became more fixed and cultural-linguistic later under Abbasids and beyond. * Historians increasingly cautious about anachronistic ethnic labels.

Answer 66

- nitial conversions were tied to personal charisma, tribal loyalty, and religious conviction, while later waves were shaped by integration into the expanding Islamic empire, avoidance of discriminatory taxes, opportunities for bureaucratic service, and the growth of Arabic-Islamic culture. - * Within three centuries, it became dominant across the Middle East, North Africa, and parts of Central and South Asia. - * Conversion was neither uniform nor coerced, but varied by region, period, and social class.

Answer 67

during m lifetime 632-700 conquest admin and selective conversion 700-900- religious universalism regional patterns and exceptions

Answer 68

religious conviction and charisma tribal solidarity and political calculation

Answer 69

* Early converts drawn to Muhammad’s message of monotheism, justice, and community. o Example: Abu Bakr, Umar, and ʿAli were among the earliest male converts. * Marginalised Meccans—slaves, women, and the poor—saw Islam as spiritually empowering. o Example: Bilāl ibn Rabāḥ, a former slave.

Answer 70

* After 622 Hijrah, conversions in Medina were often collective. o Tribes converted for peace, unity, and alignment with Muhammad’s growing power. o Battle of Hunayn (630) followed by mass conversion of Arab tribes. * ʿAmmār ibn Yāsir, Khazraj and Aws tribes in Medina as examples of early group conversion.

Answer 71

Arab muslim conquests Arab supremacy and slow integration urbanisation and trade

Answer 72

* Conquest of Syria (636), Egypt (640–642), Persia (651) created a vast, multi-ethnic Islamic empire. * Non-Muslims allowed to keep their faith (dhimmī status). o Jizya (poll tax) applied to non-Muslims → economic incentive to convert.

Answer 73

* Conversion not always encouraged under the Umayyads—state relied on jizya revenue. * Mawālī (non-Arab converts) faced discrimination: unequal legal status, limited access to power. o Example: Persian converts in Khurasan often resented exclusion.

Answer 74

* In cities like Kufa, Basra, Fustat, Islam spread via commercial networks and urban elites. * Converts joined garrison towns, intermarried, and participated in state bureaucracy.

Answer 75

abbasid rev and inclusivity islamisation of social and institutions Econ and social integraion

Answer 76

* Abbasid rise (750) capitalised on discontent among mawālī, Shiʿa, and others. * Abbasids portrayed Islam as universal, not ethnically Arab. o Example: Abu Muslim al-Khurasani (leader of Khurasani Persians) helped launch revolution. * Non-Arabs entered elite service: Persian administrators, Turkish generals, and scholars.

Answer 77

* Arabic became the language of administration, religion, and culture. o Example: Translation Movement in Baghdad (late 8th–9th c). * Conversion often occurred through: o Education in madrasas o Legal integration (sharīʿa courts) o Sufi networks and local preaching (esp. in Central Asia)

Answer 78

* Muslims exempt from jizya → economic incentive remained. * Converts could advance in state bureaucracy, military, or scholarly life. o Example: Barmakid family (originally Buddhist caretakers of a monastery in Balkh) became leading Abbasid viziers.

Answer 79

* Iran: * Egypt and Syria: * North Africa: * Al-Andalus:

Answer 80

Gradual Islamisation; Zoroastrians remained into 9th century. Major shift under Abbasids.

Answer 81

Urban elite converted earlier; Coptic Christians remained significant minority.

Answer 82

Berbers initially resisted, later converted en masse—some revolted (e.g., Kharijite Berber Revolt, 740s).

Answer 83

Slow conversion of Visigothic Christians; by 900, large muwallad population.

Answer 84

- Nothing like barbarian invasions 300y before - Origins, expansion and post expansion amdin, vasly diff in structure principle and process - Arabs were unified roup unlike egrmanic barbarians - Admin- barbarians established warlord cliques and then kingdoms within romes emprie o Caliphate empire in own right - Conquered 632-750 iberian peninsula to indus valley - Roman byxantine osurces often portrayed as savage and destructive - Etomology

Answer 85

non Greek/latin speaking outsider e within the empire o Assc- destruction of centrliaed ruel, weaktribal political structures cuturl infeiroirty o Could be considerd- rapid military extension, disruption of roman and Sasanian territories o Viewed as desert nomads by Greco-roman writers

Answer 86

origins of islamicae conquerers expansionism/invasions- similarities, diff contemporary perceptions and the roman view

Answer 87

o Identity  Defined region – arab peninsula  Defined lang- araic  Common ethnicity arab  630s shared religion islam  Not completely monocultural- tribal ealleiagnces dialect, islam new * But 730- unified single state, if only unified in name not survived first fitna  Invaders never established common idenity noneed to * Thus imvasios met needs of smaller groups

Answer 88

o Both lived beyond the border regions known to roman empire, o history limited conact largely through trade

Answer 89

military shock and speed relocation of peoples

Answer 90

 battle of Yarmouk 636 collapse byzantine control Syria  qadissiyyah and. Nahavand – Sasanian empire broken 636 and 642  comparable to Adrianople 378 sack of rome 410

Answer 91

 tribal to new regions- garrison cities kufa, rasra, fustat  visigothic stetlemnt in quitaine, vandals n Africa  steppe fleeing huns

Answer 92

centralised ideology and authority religious motivation and integration institutions maintained longevity

Answer 93

 arab conquests led by caliphate not fragmented tribal leaders * abu bakr, umar, utham n direted cmapiagns medinah

Answer 94

 isalm provided ideological unity and justicication  jihad divinely sanctioned expansion  integration of conquered peoples as dhimmi protected non muslism  barbarisn often convert after conquest frnaks and visigoths, mulims spread a dohesive religious poliicalsyet immediately

Answer 95

 arabs b, Egypt Coptic adminitsrators retained  iran sassanian tax system adoptd uner aliphal governance

Answer 96

 ummayads 661-750 ruled from Damascus  infrastrucuure projects, coiage reform arabic b dome of the rock 691  gothsc and vandal states often short lied or unstabe eg vandals conquered by justiain 534

Answer 97

- Writers like Theophanes or Sophronius saw Arabs as divine punishment for Christian sin—thus depicted them as savage, Godless. - Framed as a new 'barbarian' threat akin to earlier invasions.

Answer 98

- Early Islamic sources stress: - Divine mission, order, and justice. - Caliphs as heirs of universal imperial governance (Abd al-Malik's inscriptions). - Arabs saw themselves not as destroyers, but successors to empire.

Answer 99

- Hugh Kennedy stresses state-building and ideological cohesion in contrast to fragmented Germanic conquests. - Patricia Crone noted the fiscal and military discipline of early Islam as remarkably sophisticated.

Arab empire/invasion Flashcards

(124 cards)