NMC103H1 Lecture Notes - Lecture 4: The Twelve Imams, Córdoba, Andalusia, Abbasid Caliphate
18 Oct 2016
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NMC103HF WEEK 4:
Rulers and subjects: Islamic views on government and society
Sep 30, 2014
• Basics types of legitimate Rule
• Traditional-hereditary kigship; ofte oied ith idea of diie eletio
ex. Queen Elizabeth, English monarchy.
• Charismatic: exceptional individual, a hero, conqueror or a prophet. Tends to
be surrounding a person of a significance, like Mohammed, Moses, Changiz
Khan etc.
• After the death of that charismatic individual, you have a fall and usually
results in a civil war as to who will rule after that person.
• Rational: based on legal authority, impersonal, administrative, non-hereditary.
• 1st and last it is peaceful where as the charismatic there is usually a civil war.
The first Islamic polity
-religio-political community (umma) established by Muhammad in Medina 622 AD
-first head Muhammad; authority based on charisma, divine election as Messenger of
God
• Moved from mecca to medina
• Ummah, they like to think of this as a state but not a state.
• The first head of the comuit is the pophet hos authoit as ased o his
charisma and the leader of a religious movement.
• Prophet consults with his closest companions.
-epesets golden age; eais the ideal; ut ot eall a state
-after death of Muhammad (632 AD), problem of achieving consensus on issues of
leadership and legal authority; possible models: traditional/hereditary; non-
hereditary—chosen
• Afte his death, poe goes do: eithe taditioalo heedita ut he didt
leave anyone heir.
• Non-traditional mode chosen where the prophet companions basically suceesed
him, abu bakr, omar, uthman and ali.
• Traditional hereditary model prevails the Islamic dynasties after (they leave their
throne to their sons)
-eventually traditional/hereditary model prevails—rule by Umayyad, Abbasid caliphal
dynasties
The problem of legitimacy
• Who should be the leader? This has been a problem since the death of
Mohammed (saw).
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
-disagreement over succession to Muhammad by partisans of Ali (shiat Ali)—believed
successor should be from family of the Prophet; an expression of the notion of clan
charisma?
• Shiat Ali- political movement not much of a religious. They want ali to take the
leadership. And they believe the successor should be from the prophets fail.
• He had a lose fiedship ith the pophet. He as his ali; so-in-law and
cousin.
• The aitaied the pophet ade hi his suesso ad he as a haisati
leader and said he was a military commander.
-results in 2 civil wars—Umayyads vitoious; Ali assassiated ; Alis so Husa ad
family massacred at Karbala 680—oetous eet i “hiite histo; deelopet of
culture of martyrdom; beginning of doctrinal split based on genealogical descent of
imams from Ali
• Uthman is assassinated. Ali is assassinated and the family of muawiya emerge
victorious and you have the ummayad clan take power.
• Muawiya wanted to pass his role is Yazid.
• Alis son hussain (leader of the ali clan) and brutally massacrated along with his
family in karbala.
• For the shiat Ali this is more important for them, and it does not become only
political but also religious.
• Karbala marks the begin of this split between shias and sunnis.
• Shias begin their own interpretation of quran etc.
• Ali becomes a mythic proportion
• The 12 imams; geonogically decesended from ali
• The twelvers from ali to mohammaed mahdi (face a ray of light)
• The belief of the shia is that he will return as the mahdi who will establish
perfect government and order.
• After karbala, the culture of martyrdom gets some elaboration and martyrdom
becomes very important.
• Cota to s ae othe goups of shia; like the es ith ed ith th imam
Ismaeel (Ismailis).
• There is the druze, alawis etc.
• Safavid comes in Iran and shiism becomes the official religion of iran.
• Iran effectively becomes a shii state and most of them become shiized.
The caliphate
-caliph (khalifa)—theocratic ruler, no separation of temporal and spiritual authority
-title oade of the eliees amir al-uii) applied to head of Muslim
community
• Not based on church and state, just God andHis prophet
• God gave them the divine right to rule.
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
• Omar, amiir ol muminiin – all of the early ruling powers of the muslim world
were caliphs, rashidoon, Umayyad, rightly guidedcaliphs etc.
• Duties: uphold Islamic law, promote islam, engage in holy war (jihad)
• Haiga aliph is ipotat ee if ou didt hae poe.
• “oli akes of legitia:ois ited i …
-early Islamic empires headed by caliphal rulers: Rightly-guided/Orthodox, Umayyad,
Abbasid
-great symbolic significance as religious figurehead, even with loss of political power
-by end of 10th c., 3 caliphates: Abbasid (Baghdad), Umayyad (Cordoba, Spain), Fatimid
(Cairo)
• THE CALIPHATE CHALLENGED:
• Rise of independent dynasties in the east and th west, throwing off the
authority of the aliphate ut theiro rules ad alled theseles…
-in 11th c. caliphal power challenged by secular rulers (amir, sultan, malik, shah,
padshah)
•
Features of medieval Islamic government
-two important developments during Abbasid period:
1) Introduction of ancient Iranian concepts of kingship, imperial rule—ruler absolute,
divinely elected, rules through a court, centralized bureaucracy (headed by vizier),
postal/spy system, standing army, hierarchical organization of society; needs support of
the leial lass kigship ad eligio ae like ti othes
• Iranians enter the administration of arabs who conquered iran.
• Notion of a centralized state (Iranian concepts of kingship)- goes back to this idea
of religion and kingship are neutrally dependant eachtoher. (religion and
kingship are twin brothers)
• Development of imperial court culture; more royal and not about the individual
but what he projects is more important (Iranian culture).
• The ruler becomes unaccessible.
• Umayyad dynasty and the caliph becomes harder to become accessible.
• When the Abbasids come to power, it becomes more projecting this idea of
represting kingship and power although it is still Islamic.
• For theruler you have to go through a long hallway, or by guards etc. very
different from the 1st caliphs and the ummayads.
• Caliphs job bcomes too big for him to to anymore so you divide them into these
positions (in the first point, read it).
2) rise of the Turkic element—primacy of military force in politics; many tribal customs
(e.g., tanistry), concept of charismatic rule; promote Sunni Islam and Perso-Islamic
culture
• Turkic slave soldiers.
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
Rulers and subjects: islamic views on government and society. Sep 30, 2014: basics types of legitimate rule, traditional-hereditary ki(cid:374)gship; ofte(cid:374) (cid:272)o(cid:373)(cid:271)i(cid:374)ed (cid:449)ith idea of (cid:862)di(cid:448)i(cid:374)e ele(cid:272)tio(cid:374)(cid:863) ex. Queen elizabeth, english monarchy: charismatic: exceptional individual, a hero, conqueror or a prophet. Tends to be surrounding a person of a significance, like mohammed, moses, changiz. Religio-political community (umma) established by muhammad in medina 622 ad. First head muhammad; authority based on charisma, divine election as messenger of. (cid:396)ep(cid:396)ese(cid:374)ts (cid:862)golden age(cid:863); (cid:396)e(cid:373)ai(cid:374)s the ideal; (cid:271)ut (cid:374)ot (cid:396)eall(cid:455) a (cid:862)state(cid:863) Eventually traditional/hereditary model prevails rule by umayyad, abbasid caliphal dynasties. This has been a problem since the death of. Disagreement over succession to muhammad by partisans of ali (shi(cid:858)at (cid:858)ali) believed successor should be from family of the prophet; an expression of the notion of clan charisma: shiat ali- political movement not much of a religious.
