Hist 105A Focus Questions (Wks 1-10) Flashcards
All focus questions from weeks 1-10 found in the syllabus
If you were living in Western Asia in 600 C.E., what solutions to contemporary problems would you have favored? (wk 1)
The only solution to the contemporary problems of disease (bubonic), natural disaster (flood and earthquake), massacres and deportation I could have favored, as a women, would be to marry a Bureaucratic. If I was male my goal would be to get a job in government affairs, as the leaders of this time ruled with absolutism ideals, meaning that the government administration was centralized and the most powerful decision-making power in the lands.
What happens when a society based on kinship becomes stratified? (wk 2)
When a society based on kinship becomes stratified, occupations and social status become permanent and hereditary. Legal regulations are developed to support the social stratification as the state buys into the stratification because each social group (caste) is assigned different functions/responsibilities for state purposes.
On the civil level, discontent increases within the kinship, which usually leads to a usurper or revolt and subsequent increase state control.
How did polytheistic Arabs employ religious sanctions to deal with conflict? (wk 2)
The Quryash tribe in Mecca was anti-Muhammad’s revelations so they would barricade / prevent his companions from purchasing food in the markets. This was a major factor in their camp’s migration to Medina.
Why do you think Muḥammad was successful? How successful was he? (Wk2)
Muhammad was successful because he 1) propagated the spread of the Quranic revelation, 2) became leader of a community and 3) secured a political base through his actions as arbitrator in Medinian-Mecccan disputes.
Do you think Muḥammad intended in 610 to do what he had accomplished by
632? If not, why did things turn out the way they did? (Wk2)
In 610, Muhammad intended to spread the Quran and the belief that he was the prophet of the one true God. Although it seemed to compromise his goals, he made a peace treaty with Mecca decreeing that Meccans did not have to accept him as the prophet of god as long as the city would allow Muslims on pilgrimage to access the Ka’ba at Mecca. Muhammad proclaimed a “general amnesty” when he arrive in Mecca and “it seemed that Meccans accepted Islam on their own” (- Lapidus) In the year 632 the trail was revised and adapted as Muslim ritual.
How were contemporary issues addressed by the doctrine and social
regulations of the Qur’ān? Wk 2
The Qur’an address the issues of the era through championing personal and social responsibility. The Qur’ān’s social regulations laid the a common framework of domestic rules for all self-identifying Muslims to unite under.
The Qur’an rules on marriage ensured clarity of hereditary descendants and ensured that property stayed within the covert society. Men were allowed up to 4 wives, this not only ensured the biological survival of the religious community but also acted as motivation for Muslim men to contribute to the community. First cousins were allowed to marry, any closer relations were forbidden. This provided clarity on familial structure–something that was necessary as the coverts came from many different tribes–and ensured the healthy of the community.
The Quran’s social regulations defined homicide as “depriving an individual of his right to live” and “the biggest sin”. To kill another Muslin on purpose was thought to be satanic act that dooms one to hell; killing of non-Muslims described as “retaliation’ and must be regulated and restricted. This set the tone for conduct within Muslim cities and played a part in the fury over Uthman’s assasination.
What elements of existing religious ritual were adopted by Muslims and why? Wk2
Islam shares the label of monotheism along with Judaism and Christianity. Developed within a region where Christianity, Zoroastrianism, and Judaism defined the social environment, Islam continues their tradition of male dominance.
In late antiquity, women were repeatedly associated with esoteric, polytheist, and sometimes demonic, traditions.
What were the main causes and consequences of Islamic imperialism? Wk 2
The main causes for Islamic expansion were: 1) the instability of Byzantine and Assyria empires that left Arabia ripe for the taking; 2) the sunna established by Muhammad which decreed jihad–the convert community had a personal responsibility to spread the qur’anic doctrine; 3) the economic benefits of subjecting conquered territories to either convert, pay taxes, or die/be enslaved, and the fact that 4) the imperialism campaign allowed for a release of tension as Muslim tribes were not allowed to attack one another.
Some consequences of Islamic expansion are 1) the spread of the Qur’anic revelation 2) increased infrastructure in conquered lands/territories 3) the development of a new, wealthy, political elite in Medina, the “sedentary Arabs of the Ḥijāz” 4) Migration of the convert community, mainly fighting men who settled in the new territories.
What was the purpose of administration in the early Islamic Empire? Wk3
The purpose of Administration in the early Islamic empire was to ensure unity of the Muslim community, collect taxes/tributes & distribute them to Muslim soldiers, plan and approve military conquests, and promote Arabian merchants into government officials.
What was the ideological justification for Islamic absolutism? Wk3
The ideological justification for Islamic absolutism is that Allah had chosen the caliph to lead the people as they saw fit, as long as they followed the Qur’an.
Mucāwiya (661-80): “justice and protection in return for
obedience”
Ziyād at Baṣra, 665:
“We govern you with the authority
(sulṭān) of God, which He bestowed on
us, and we protect you by means of the
booty (fai’) of God, which He granted
us. You owe us obedience, and we
owe you justice.”
How did the problems and issues created by the early conquests lead to the murder of `Uthmān? Wk 3
By the time of cUthaman, military conquest had become more expensive and was bringing in dramatically less bounty. As a result, Uthman enacted economic policies that were super liberal compared to his predecessor, Umar, and allowed the Companions to take loans from the public treasury.
As a result, Economic power came to be concentrated in the hands of a small group (Quraysh). This led to a gulf between the haves and the havenots. Difficulties arose because some people grew rich overnight, and no institutions were devised to regulate the proper flow of wealth.
This provided an opportunity for other Muslims, like Abu Dhar Ghaffari who stood for an austere way of life, to criticize Uthman and his administration. Eventually, revolts among the disgruntled broke out in Kufa as there were large portions of the population who had nothing to lose by challenging the liberal caliph.
What was the connection between Islamic doctrinal issues and political
conflicts among Muslims during the first century of Islam? Lec9
The main issues of the Islamic doctrine in the first century of Islam dealt with the matters of: succession after Muhammad’s death,
How would you explain the fall of the Marwānī dynasty, and what
significance does it have for early Islamic history? Lec10
The third fitna was responsible for the fall of the Marwānī dynasty.
In June 747, an uprising started by Abū Muslims raising cAbbāsī black
banners in village near Marv and they drove the Marwānī governor out of Khurāsān. They marched west and defeated/purged all allied forces, tribably members in Egypt, and members of the Marwānī family in Syria.
This brings us to the start of the`Abbāsī dynasty and set the precedent for subversive, revolutionary, political propagandist movements among
Muslims.
In what ways did the `Abbāsī dynasty break radically with the practices and institutions of the Marwānīs?
What Marwānī institutions were kept by the early `Abbāsīs?
How did the way they had come to power create problems for the early Abbāsīs?
Lec 11
The Abbāsī dynasty broke from Marwānīs’ traditions in that they turned the previous armed retinues into private armies and passed succession from father to son, aside from those two changes, they kept most of the institutions from Marwānīs rule.
Some example of Marwānī institutions kept by the Abbāsīs are: the use of wazīr, personal attendants to the Caliph, and the system of diwāns.
The heavy revolutionary propaganda that the Abbāsīs utilized to justify and enforce their claim to power ended up causing discontent in early Abbāsīs rule and resulted in 20 yrs of revolts.
Do you think the change of dynasty in 750 brought any real improvement for the people of the Islamic empire, and, if so, for whom? Lec 11
