Re: THE CARE AND FEEDING OF EMPIRES. (so-ryits-long) -- Early World History, Level I

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Date Posted: 19:49:09 05/07/02 Tue
Author: Tim Carson
Subject: Re: THE CARE AND FEEDING OF EMPIRES. (so-ryits-long)
In reply to: J CURBOY 's message, "THE CARE AND FEEDING OF EMPIRES." on 11:52:20 04/24/02 Wed

Tim Carson 5/7/02

The Muslim Empire: An Enlightened Theocracy

Throughout the history of mankind powerful empires have been formed, have grown in political, religious, economic, and cultural power and influence, and then decline until finally ceasing to exist as an empire. There are many common components necessary to form, build, and sustain any successful empire. These include: strong leadership, overpowering military might and incentive, unifying economic advantage, positive cultural enticement. Yet, there can be found unique qualities to these components in each historical example of an empire and certainly the lasting influences of some empires far outshine others. Many of the underlying components which combined to spawn and shape the Muslim Empire from its birth in the sixth century AD until its decline in the late fourteenth century AD, continue to exert profound influences upon our world today. Although the Muslim Empire itself has long been gone, its historical and cultural legacy lives on in the lives of over three billion people in the world today. It is necessary to study the geography, economy, religion and history of the Middle East and Mediterranean in order to understand the Muslim Empire�s rise to grandeur and disintegration.
Life on the Arabian peninsula in the middle of the sixth century AD had become very stratified with an affluent merchant class living in thriving cities of trade, such as Mecca and also a large and growing class of poor. Society and wealth was determined by tribal affiliation, age and birth order. There was little opportunity for vertical social mobility. The religion of the area was paganism, with each local center worshiping its own local gods.
In 570 AD, a boy named Muhammad was born into a high class , but poor clan in the great city of Mecca. At six years old, he was orphaned, and was raised by his father�s brother. As a child, Muhammad was sent to live in the desert with the Bedouins and he learned their beautiful language and how to survive in the harshest Arabian conditions. At twenty -five he married a widow for whom he had been working as a trader and they had four daughters. His work required that he travel extensively.
During one of his journeys, he claims to have received a message delivered by the Angel Gabriel. He was ordered to carry the word that there is only one God, Allah, and no other to the people. Only after repeated entreaties, he reluctantly became a messenger of God, or a prophet. At first he shared the message only with his family and friends. The message was powerful, because it promised that after a good life, a life of worshiping only Allah, following his five principles for a righteous life and doing good deeds, that all people, poor, and rich alike would be welcomed into heaven after death, This religious message offers hope and salvation to even the most destitute and hopeless. Muhammad's reputation grew and he attracted the poor, the powerless, the younger sons of wealthy merchants who had no claim to their father�s wealth. He gathered small crowds of followers at first, until after ten years of public preaching he was revered as a religious leader, and the religion of Islam was born.
Muhammad�s quickly rising popularity soon got him in trouble with the powerful leaders of Mecca. Muhammad fled to Medina where a new Muslim society based not on tribal allegiance, but on conversion to the new religious life of Islam. Muhammad and his followers began a war against the powerful government and army of Mecca. Muhammad was determined to return to bring his message to the people of Mecca. After five years of fighting against a much stronger enemy army, the city of Mecca finally welcomed Muhammad back and the leadership of Mecca converted to Islam.
There is a legend that as Muhammad was hiding from the pursuing Meccan army, he hid in a cave and a spider spun its web across the mouth of that cave. When the army passed by the cave, they saw the intact web and concluded no one was in the cave and they passed it by without searching.
For three years, Muhammad built a new society centered in Mecca, based not on blood lines, but on religious belief. The new Muslim state was a true theocracy with Muhammad wielding both political and religious power. His followers obeyed the rules of the new religion, paid taxes and tribute, and the faith of Islam continued to attract new converts. The establishment of the new religion of Islam and the emerging young Muslim Empire was possible because the people were ready to accept the simple and beneficial dogma which promised paradise to rich and poor alike. The
rituals of Islam, the Five Pillars, were clearly described by Muhammad and a pious life was possible for all worshipers. Equality before Allah was a powerful motivation to accept this new society. Even the rich eventually embraced Islam as an inspiration which added meaning and direction to their lives. Islam does not require the rich to abandon their comfortable lives, but only requires they share some of their wealth with their community.
One of the common characteristics of all empires is a powerful leader, in whom the people of the empire can believe and support . Muhammad was the epitome of this ideal leader. His power as the political and religious leader in the new Muslim state was unquestioned. His personal charisma and message of redemption was potent and he was a shrewd judge of human character. Muhammad's mission to spread the new religion of Islam was also conducive to the desire of the merchants of Medina and Mecca to expand their trade routes and increase their wealth. The standing armies of Medina and Mecca, now that peace was made, were directed by Muhammad to expand the territory and political power of the Muslim state to its neighbors.
The existing empires at this time were the Byzantine Empire, based in Constantinople and the Sassanian Empire of Persia Muhammad began making conquests into western Asia and Eastern Europe. His armies began raiding villages for the supplies that his people lacked. Just as the expansion of the Muslim Empire began in 632 AD, Muhammad died leaving no clear plan for his successor.
The Empire was not lacking leadership however. There were four religious leaders who had worked alongside Muhammad for years. Muhammad's closest friend, Abu Bakr (632-634), was named the first Caliph, which means successor. Abu Bakr immediately reconsolidated the loyalty of the many tribes which threatened to break away from the Muslim state after Muhammad's death. He continued the military campaigns against the Byzantine and Sassanian territories which finally established the true strength and foundation of The Muslim Empire. The empire would survive with its growing wealth, expanding territory, and a dominant culture for almost another eight hundred years.
Although Abu Bakr�s reign was not long, he established with his pious and honest leadership the role of the �Righteous Caliph� and was followed in that role by: Umar (634-644), Uthman (644-656), and Ali (656-661). These men were equals among the people and were conscious of setting a pious example of how to lead a good life to be rewarded by Allah after death.
During the reigns of these four men, when the Muslim Empire conquered a foreign people, they were not forced to convert to Islam, but the Muslims allowed the people to keep their own religion as long as they paid tribute and recognized the sovereignty of the empire. The sanctity of their churches was guaranteed. Local administrative governments were left intact to rule the new territories and local languages were allowed to continue to be used. This tolerance built loyalty and often local populations would betray the Byzantine or Sassanian Empires which were not tolerant of different races and religions, Often, pagans, Christians, and Jews living in the new Muslim society embraced Islam. During Umar�s caliphate, the legal system, social and administrative systems, and rules of foreign affairs for the Empire were founded.
The Muslim Empire had been founded in 632 by Muhammad on the Arabian peninsula, and by 661 the Empire extended throughout the Middle East, including the capture of Jerusalem and parts of present day Turkey, into northern Africa, and as far east as parts of India. The land of the Muslim Empire was very mountainous and had few forests. Much of the land was desert or had only seasonal rainfall. It encompassed four major biomes: mountain, forest, desert, and coastal plane. With much of the land receiving only forty inches of rainfall a year or less, the area was very dry and hot. This gave an important advantage to the Arab armies in warfare, because they were experts in fighting in their unique desert arena, and could often defeat much larger armies sent from the Byzantine or Sassanian Empires.
In 656 AD, the third caliph, Uthman was assassinated because of his showing favoritism in the government to his own family. The fourth caliph, Ali was named, but his caliphate was contested by Uthman�s clan. A major split of Islam resulted and two factions: the Sunnis and the Shi�ites were formed. The two factions disagreed not about the religious aspects of Islam, but about how the caliphs should be selected. This was a political division which continues to the present in modern Muslim countries.
The Shi�ites , the original supporters of Ali, believe that the leader must have a family tie to the Prophet, Muhammad, and that the spiritual power of Islam is inherited, The Sunnis believe that the leader is elected by the community and is a guardian of the law of Islam. The majority of Muslims are Sunnis, and when Ali was assassinated in 661, his son, Hasan, gave up his claim to the caliphate to Muiawiyah, who was supported by the Sunnis and was already the caliph in Jerusalem. This was the beginning of the Umayyad Dynasty of the Muslim Empire.
During the beginning of the Umayyad Dynasty, the capitol of the Muslim Empire was moved to Damascus and the concerns of the caliphs became more political than religious. The empire was large and wealthy and running the Empire required most of the caliph�s energies which left less attention to religious affairs. The split with the Shi�ites was not resolved.
However, this was a stable period for the Empire and Muslim culture thrived with advances in agricultural reforms, establishing a mint to make Muslim Empire coins, continuing to protect trade routes and replacing Greek and Phalavi (Persian) with Arabic as the language of the government. Territorial expansion continued into today�s Russia , to the borders of China, to the Atlantic Ocean in North Africa and into Spain. The Umayyads armies even tried to conquer the Byzantine capitol, Constantinople, and France in the Battle of Poiters, but failed, The Empire was united with a common religion, language and centralized power.
As the Muslim armies advanced, Islam was adopted by more and more people. The religion was not complicated and offered hope to all. As subsequent caliphs of the Umayyad Dynasty took power, they tried to move closer to the mission of Muhammad and religion was given nominally more attention. The tax laws were changed to give relief to people who converted to Islam, Beautiful mosques were built throughout the Muslim Empire and literature flourished. However, the caliphs were administrators and more concerned with the everyday affairs of running the Empire rather than preparing for the next life.
After ninety years of ruling, the Umayyad Dynasty was overthrown by hostile political rivals who had formed secret alliances to challenge the legitimacy of the Umayyad Dynasty. Although the Umayyad caliphs were good bureaucrats, they were not savvy enough politicians and could not foresee the hostile forces working against their rule, and only Abd al-Rahman ibn Mu�awiyah al Dakhil escaped from Damascus to Spain, where he set up a new Umayyad Dynasty in 756 AD. The political victors established a new dynasty, the Abbasids, and moved their capitol to a new city which they built called Baghdad in the heart of the old Persian Empire�s territory, now called Iraq.
The Abbasids continued the Umayyad�s technique of allowing the already established local government bureaucracy to continue to administer the day to day affairs. Under Al-Mansur (754-775), the mail service which served the far reaches of the empire, was used as listening spies for any news of rebellion. Education in Arabic flourished to teach new clerks to serve in the growing government bureaucracy. The Abbasids also removed their political rivals and trained a professional army.
Literature and learning of all kinds grew and trade flourished bringing more money to the treasury and sophisticated systems of banking, weights and measures. New products were developed to add metal work, jewelry, leather work, paper making, medicines to the cloth and livestock (camels) which were already being traded.
The Abbasid caliphs, in the late eighth century, were intelligent and supported the growth of Muslim culture in science, inventions, poetry, prose, writings of history, the study of language and religious studies. The famous story of The Thousand and One Nights was written at this time. Inventions and discoveries in mathematics, chemistry and astronomy were made. The government sponsored translations of the Greek works that had been found in old libraries, including writings of Plato, Aristotle, Greek mathematics, alchemy and medicine. Technical improvements were made to the water system of wells, underground canals, waterwheels, agricultural products such as new kinds ot cotton. Many of these advances were carried to Europe as well as foods, like apricots, cauliflower, squash, eggplant.
However, while culture flourished in the capitol, under Harun al-Rashid and al-Mamun, control at the fringes of the Empire was declining and the army was deserting. The generals were setting themselves up as caliphs of their own states. Al-Mamun died in 833 and his brother, al-Mu�tasim could not trust his army at all and he had to hire an army of Turks. Many small independent Muslim states at the outer borders asserted themselves although they still looked to Baghdad as the religious center. The political strength of the centralized government of the Muslim Empire was declining.
During the tenth century, the Umayyads of Spain became more independent and the Fatmid Dynasty, a branch of Shi�ites, grew strong in North Africa. They established rival caliphates to the Abbasids in Baghdad. The Fatimids conquered territory in Cairo, Yemen and into Syria, and established the first university in the world, al-Azhar University in Cairo. However, other Islamic states would not accept their sovereignty and their growth did not continue.
The Turkish generals continued to gain power in Baghdad and eventually be came the rulers although they did not force the Abbisid Dynasty to relinquish their title as caliph. The Abbissids just had no real political or military power and the army officers would murder any caliph that went against their desires. Sultan Malihshah did establish free religious schools, madrasahs, and philosophy and science continued to grow.
During the period of 1095 AD to 1291 AD, the Muslim world was split up into more independent states, and the fighting within the army weakened itself. From the middle of the tenth century to the middle of the eleventh century, much of the empire had non religious rulers. European Christian armies invaded the Muslim Empire, in a command from the Latin Pope to reclaim the Holy Land from the Muslim infidels,. The Crusades united the European states, which had been fighting among themselves, together against a common enemy thousands of miles away.
The early successes of the First Crusade in the Middle East were met with counter-attacks by the Muslim armies which recaptures Aleppo and Edessa. The Muslim Empire united in its fight against the Europeans. The crusaders even ventured to Egypt where they fought a new dynasty, the Ayyubids, lead by Salah al-Din (Saladin), who stopped them and retook Jerusalem. The Crusaders were able to hold only a small territory along the Mediterranean coast until the thirteenth century. The Europeans did successfully open the eastern Mediterranean Sea to shipping for traders from Venice and Genoa.
Fighting the Crusaders significantly weakened the army of the Abassid caliphate which had reestablished itself as religious rulers, but they finally fell in 1258 when the Mongols invaded Baghdad. The Mongol armies destroyed the agricultural system, the libraries, killed scholars and teachers and devastated the entire Muslim society and culture bringing the Muslim Empire to a disastrous and brutal end .
However, the legacy of the Muslim Empire could not be destroyed. The influence of the accomplishments from the Golden Age of the Muslim Empire had already spread throughout the civilized world, along trade routes and accompanying returning Crusaders. The Golden Age, from 750 to 950 AD, during the rule of the Abassid Dynasty was the period when the language of Arabic was promoted in politics, literature, religion and business. Arabic became a language of philosophy and great learning, With the invention of the paper mill, books spread the learning of the Muslim Empire. Greek mathematics, philosophy, astronomy, medicine, chemistry were learned and advanced by Muslim scholars who shared their knowledge with the world. Important intellectual leaders such as: Abd al-Rahman III brought many books to Baghdad and started a school, which became famous for training great thinkers. Al- Bitruji developed new theory of stellar movement, which is very similar to the one we are familiar with today. Umar Khayyam created a reliable lunar calendar. �Abbas ibn Firnas, a musician, investigated the possibility of flight for man, and constructed wings six hundred years before Leonardo Da Vinci. Advances in agriculture introduced new crops to mankind�s diet. All of Muslim learning did not die with the Muslim Empire, but much lived on in other cultures and contributed to the Renaissance in Europe.
Fabulous examples of the architecture of the Muslim Empire survive to the present day. Mosques with stunning geometric mosaics still stand throughout the Middle East, Africa and Spain. Muslim poetry, literature and tales, such as the Tales of Scheherazade, Aladdin, and the Arabian Nights, continue to intrigue and inspire modern audiences in plays and musicals and movies.
The Muslim world today, in its many different countries, continues to show influences from the caliphate theocracy of the Muslim Empire. With the exception of Egypt, there are very few examples of democratic Muslim states in the Middle East. Pakistan is attempting to implement democracy, but the military keeps intervening when the democratically elected officials are corrupt.
The book, The Quran, (or Koran) as God�s word revealed to Muhammad, his prophet, continues to be the literary source of the faith Islam, which is practiced by over one billion people in the world today. Allah, is accepted by Muslims as the creator of all life, and the only God, who must be worshipped. The word, Islam, means : �peace�, and �submission�, to God, or the will of God. The principles of Islam continue to guide many peaceful and rewarding lives. However, religious fanatics quote parts of the Quran as justification for jihad, holy war, against all non-Muslims. The Quran�s text on slavery, although humane for the time it was written, is now used again to justify modern day actions.
The Muslim Empire was an amazing and powerful political achievement, and it encompassed so many of the ideals needed for an empire to prosper and endure. Its founding leader, Muhammad, is one of history�s strongest and most revered inspirational figures. Its political structure of an efficient bureaucracy and legal system based upon Islam was advanced and enlightened for its time. Although the Muslim Empire ceased to exist seven hundred years ago, there are cultural and political elements that will continue to influence present and future societies. It is important that mankind attempt to understand the Muslim Empire�s rise to splendor, its atrophy, and its legacy.

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[> Re: THE CARE AND FEEDING OF EMPIRES. (knot kneerlie as lung as Tym's) -- Chris Zegel, 14:33:38 05/08/02 Wed

Chris Zegel 05/08/02

The Zulu Empire: An Enlightened Theocracy

The rise and fall of the Zulu people occurred in the blink of an eye as far as the scales of time are concerned, yet their existence leaves a lasting impression upon today�s world. In turn, such happenings can be seen as the story of a great, although short-lived empire. Strong leadership of the Zulus under Shaka brought them immense power, but as easily as it came it was taken away by both his own personal character flaws and the inevitable outside force of the whites as a people.
The Nguni people had migrated southwards across the continent of Africa with their cattle for over 1000 years. One small clan of these peoples, led by a chief by the name of Malandela, settled in the area of the Umfolozi River. Malandela and his wife, Nozinja, had two sons, Quabe and Zulu. After Malanedla died, Quabe claimed the small herd that the clan possessed for his own and so Nozinja, Zulu and a servant moved a small distance away to make a new home.
Eventually Zulu married and his lineage, all bearing the name Zulu, was Punga, Mageba, Ndaba, Jama, and Senzangakhona. The Zulu clan was quite small, and occupied only a few square kilometers of land. Senzangakhona had a brief affair with Nandi, the daughter of a neighboring chief, and she gave birth to a son, Shaka, in 1787. His name comes from uShaka, a beetle said to live in the intestines and create a bloated abdomen, such like Nandi�s pregnancy.
As a child Shaka was taunted because of his illegitimacy, but this turned him into a hardened and fearless man. When his father died, Shaka took over the role of the Zulu chief, now controlling the Zulu clan�s 1,500 people and 150 square kilometers of territory. Shaka was unwavering in his plan to take over each neighboring clan, and the ritual skirmishing that was traditionally used to settle disputes would quickly change. Shaka developed the short, large bladed stabbing spear called the asagi, and a means of employing it. He developed the battle tactic of �Chest and Horns�, where a force surrounded the enemy and eradicated them. Within eleven years Shaka had created a force of over 50,000 warriors. However, Shaka did not colonize conquered territories, but annihilated them, destroying crops, burning buildings, driving off cattle, killing or capturing the men for military service, and carrying off the women and children. As a result of this, many surrounding clans fled at the news of Shaka�s approaching army, rather than stay and be destroyed.
Shaka was a tyrannical ruler, putting both commoners and high-ranking officials to death for little or no reason. Gradually, Shaka�s people, while at first extremely fearful or their leader, became intolerant of his unjust ways and slaughter of innocents. This was known to Shaka, which only made things worse. In October of 1827 Nandi died. Shaka ordered that some people be put to death to pay respects to his mother, but as people were summarily rounded up for killing, the fear of Shaka was so great that people set upon one another in an attempt to show devotion to Nandi, and by the time it was over 7000 citizens lay dead. A year later, Shaka was killed by his half brothers Dingane and Mhlangana.
Dingane was named successor to Shaka, and ruled for a period of years. He attempted to make treaties with the English colonizers coming to the area, although did so quite tentatively. Mpande followed him, and allowed the British to have excessive power over his people. By the time he died in 1872, the Zulu people were tired of dealing with British rule. When Cetshwayo ascended to the throne, he tried in vain for six years to avoid confrontation with the British. Due to border conflicts with the Boers in the west and the English in the south, conflict seemed inevitable.
Everything erupted at once when in 1878 diamonds were discovered elsewhere in South Africa, forcing the English to take a new look at the independent African nations. They handed an ultimatum to the Zulus, and one that both parties knew could never be fulfilled. A month later, three columns of British soldiers invaded the Zulu land. Within the fist month of fighting, the British were defeated in their initial invasion. However, reinforcements and superior weaponry devastated the Zulus outright. Cetshwayo was captured and exiled to Britain, where he met with Queen Victoria. He was restored to the throne that was established as one of the thirteen chiefdoms created by the British. The Zulus were also involved with the Boer Wars of 1899-1902. Although not officially employing blacks, both sides used the men to ride transports and dig trenches. Eventually, the British incorporated them into their official army. Cetshwayo eventually died in 1882, and was succeeded by Dinizulu. He in turn ruled until 1913 when he was replaced by Soloman and then by Cyprian in 1948. The current King of the Zulus is King Goodwill Zwelethini.
After the second Boer War, the Zulus were the first people to be the subject of the white man�s rule. They were segregated and forced to abide by strict regulations. The Union of the African nations came in 1910, and the Republic of South Africa was born. In 1948, the Afrikaner ruled National Party succeeded in taking control of the South African Parliament and started disenfranchising those blacks that still had the right to vote. The policy of separateness (apartheid) was reinforced and embellished with many tyrannical acts passed by Parliament, such as the Job Reservation Act, the Mixed Marriages Act, the Group Areas Act, and many more. The black nations were split into homelands, and the Zulus into kwaZulu, comprising thirteen fragmented areas. In 1990, in response to the continued internal resistance and international sanctions, every previously banned black political party was unbanned, race laws were abolished, and political prisoners were freed. In 1994, the first democratic elections were held and the homeland of kwaZulu was dissolved. The entire province of Natal was renamed kwaZulu-Natal.
It seems like the Zulu empire seems to have followed the general form for the life of an empire quite solidly. They began as a small group of people, relatively weak, and grew in number from there. Once ruled by Shaka, the Zulu empire exploded in size and power. Under his rule, the Zulus conquered each surrounding clan, and incorporated them into their vastly growing numbers. In a matter of years the Zulus went from being nothing to being the strongest group of people on the African continent. However, just as quickly as Shaka brought the Zulus to power, he managed to overuse his rule and destroy them from the inside out nonetheless. Just as the general slope of an empire�s life rises and falls, so does the Zulu lifespan. After Shaka�s death, the Zulus were conquered by the English, and succumbed to white rule ever since. Just now in the past few years are the blacks once again starting to rise in power in modern-era South Africa, and perhaps the Zulus will rise again as a renewed power in the near future.

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[> [> Re: THE CARE AND FEEDING OF EMPIRES. (knot kneerlie as lung as Tym's) -- Chris Zegel, 07:49:44 05/09/02 Thu

HAH! Just kidding. The Zulus weren't a theocracy at all. I just emulated Tim's form without even thinking. I retract the title of my post. Just a comment... it's a real shame that it's impossible to alter posts once they've been added to the board.

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