Contribution and Legacy of the Arabs, Persians and Turks to Islamic History - Essay Example

Student’s Name Professor’s Name Subject Date Ехрlоrе thе соntributiоn and lеgасy of thе Аrаbs, Реrsiаns and Turks to Islamic history Islamic history could be understood by looking at the social, economic, cultural as well as political developments of the Islamic civilization. It is believed that Islam originated in Mecca and Medina at the beginning of the 7th century and civilization took place gradually. Islamic civilization gave rise to a range of centres of science and culture, which led to the emergence of remarkable philosophers, doctors, mathematicians and astronomers during the Golden age of Islam. With technological growth and development, there was enhancement of economic infrastructure and the significance of reading the Quran resulted in a comparatively high level of literacy among the populations. Things have not been smooth all through but various challenges have been experienced. For instance, destructive invasions form the East as well as loss of population in the Black Death in the 13th and 14th centuries significantly weakened the traditional centres of the Islamic world, all the way from Persia to Egypt. It is however worth noting that in the early modern era, new world powers were recreated by the Mughals, Safavids and the Ottomans (Silverstein, 56). This piece of paper will give an in-depth discussion of the Islamic history and various aspects associated with it. Much emphasis will however be given to thе соntributiоn and lеgасy of thе Аrаbs, Реrsiаns and Turks to Islamic history. According to Corbin (112), some of the major historical centres of culture and power in the Islamic perspective include Arabia, Persia, Mesopotamia, Levant and Anatolia or modern Turkey among others. These areas remain significant when it comes to the discussion of the Islamic history. History requires individuals of thought as well as action. In the 8th and 9th centuries, Africans, Arabs, Spaniards and Persians had laid down the intellectual foundation of Islam. In the 10th century, the Turks went ahead to offer the energy that was needed to renew Islamic civilization. Individuals of action to propel it over 1000 years were also supplied. Arabs have had a significant contribution and legacy to Islamic history. For a long time, from the time Europeans initially came in contact with the Islamic civilization in Sicily and Spain, they have been acclimatized to designate the products associated with civilization as Arabian or Arab. For this reason, many historians use the words; Arab and Arabian in most aspects for instance Arab architecture, Arabian medicine and Arab science among others. Nonetheless, in the recent past, there has been a powerful reaction against the view. Critics have argued that many if not all of the significant figures in the realm of philosophy and sciences were not Arab by descent. Instead, they were Turks, Syrians or more often Persians. Many of these critics have been brought out as a way of underestimating the part played by the Arabs with regard to the creation and development of the Islamic civilization or even ignore it completely (Silverstein, 121). The conflicting view of the contribution and legacy of the Arabs to Islamic history and civilization is enough reason for a need to carry out further research in this area. According to Tezcür (78), the Arabs played a great role in offering the ideational foundation of the structure of Islam. Islam remains as the state religion of Saudi Arabia and hence, the link between Islam, Saudi Arabia and the Arabs is quite strong to a point that the kingdom is sometimes referred to as the home of Islam. The fact that the kingdom hosts the cities of Mecca and Medina is a special thing in Islamic history. This is more so since it is where the messenger of the Islamic faith, Muhammad, lived and died. It is an aspect that attracts an enormous number of Muslim hajj pilgrims every year as well as many students and clerics from all over the Muslim world as they study more about the religion and its origin. Mecca and Medina remains to be the spiritually most imperative places of the Muslim world and hence the Arabs remain a significant part of the Islamic history. The Qur’an, the holy book that guides the Islam believers necessitates that every Muslim who is physically fit and can afford it to make a Hajj or pilgrimage to Mecca at least once in their lifestyle. This is done during Dhu al-Hijjah, the Islamic month. This is an aspect that makes the place always relevant when it comes to the Islamic religion. Even today, Islam plays an important role in the state and society. The Saudi society adores Islam and as such, it is seen to be more than a religion. Islam is basically the way of life in Saudi Arabia. Реrsiаns are not to be overlooked when it comes to the discussion of Islamic history and civilization. Essential as Persian was the political advancement of Muslim Asia, its principal contribution was to protect, revive and transmit the spiritual legacy of Islam. This was made possible through its language, architecture and general art. While the Arabs offered the ideational foundation of the structure of Islam, the Persians were involved in adorning it with beauty and embellishing it with spirituality. The chief medium used to attain this was the lingua franca of the East, the Persian language, Farsi and the court language that is associated with dynasties in Afghanistan, Turkey, Central Asia, Persia and the Indo-Pakistan subcontinent. Persia acted as the fountain of tasawwuf which broadened the boundaries of Islam after the Mongol-tartar deluge. It was in Persia that the soul of Islam was rediscovered and hence the land remains significant. The battle of Al Qadasia is responsible for opening the Persian heartland to Islamic penetration. To add on that, victory at the battle of Nahawand reinforced the conquest. Muslim armies were in a position to overcome Chinese resistance at the battle of Tlas by the year 751. This made it possible for the Islamic domain to extend beyond the Oxus River to the north and the Indus River to the east (Corbin, 117). The Zoroastrian world, which was known to be so powerful to an extent of projecting it power from Athen Kabul, became part of the larger Islamic world. Some of the initial companions of the Prophet were Persians and hence they are greatly recognized by Muslims worldwide. A good example is Salman Farsi. The spread of Islam in Persia started slow especially in the first 40 years under the Omayyad rule. It is worth noting that as long as the Persians obeyed the laws of the state and paid protective tax, the Arabs did not in any way force Islam on the Persians. The triumphant Arabs passionately safeguarded their tribal social boundaries and the new entrants to the Islam religion were treated as mawalis or protected individuals. Later on, discriminatory taxes were eradicated as a way of making the new entrants equal to the rest by treating them with the same dignity as the traditional Arab nobility (Tezcür, 81). This was not the end of the contribution of the Persians towards the Islamic history and the battle continued. Turks have also played a role in the process of Islamic history and civilization. Turks is an ethnic group that dominated Turkey during the Medieval Era. The Turks constituted a powerful military empire that played a great role in the unification of the region under Islam, a Middle Eastern religion. This translates to the fact that the Turks played a significant role when it comes to the spread of Muslim culture, an aspect that led to the international religious wars known as Crusades. The ancient Turks lived near the Altai Mountains in the sixth century and had a nomadic life. By the eighth century, an enormous empire had been formed by Muslim forces from the Arabian Peninsula and they steadily moved into the region. Arab Muslims were in a position to control the Anatolian Peninsula and most part of Central Asia by 751. Turks were initially integrated as servants and ultimately as soldiers. They also served as the preferred troops of the Caliph, which is the religious and political leader of a Muslim state. Later on, Turkic leaders gained considerable political and military power, which made it possible for them to form their own empires (Akturk, 642). The empires played as essential power points especially with regard to the adoption of Islam as a religion in the tenth century. One particular empire that became vital for the Islamic world is the Seljuk Empire. Its rise was essential in the rise and spread of Islam in various areas and Turkey in general. Anatolia was a constituent of the Byzantine Empire, which is the chief Christian power east of Rome. The coming in of the Seljuk Turks was not without some effect. They came along with the Islamic religion and the Persian culture that had been largely adopted by the Turks after closely associating with the Muslim Empire. As usual, change is more often resisted and this was not an exception. The transition of the Anatolia region to Persian from European was a contentious transition with respect to identity, politics, religion and culture. With time, the Seljuk Empire expanded to include numerous smaller Muslim kingdoms. Within no time, they were recognized as one of the most powerful Muslim empires in the area and were linked to other Muslim Empires through religion such as the Fatimids. It is worth noting that everything was not as smooth and there were many battles for power that were witnessed within the Muslim world. Christianity was a force that had to be dealt with if Islam was to succeed (Ulutas, 392). For instance, a time came when the Byzantine Empire requested the Pope for assistance against the rise of Islam and the Seljuk took an active role in uniting the Muslim states against attacking Catholic armies. This led to an era of wars between the Muslim and Catholic armies as they fought toward gaining control of the Crusades, the Holy Lands around Jerusalem. The Seljuk Turks were the main figures in the Holy wars based on the fact that they were situated at the crossroad of the Muslim and Christian worlds. In 1096 during the first crusade, the Seljuk was in a position to easily defeat the first invasion of the Pope’s armies. However, the Catholic armies did not give up and soon later, they came back and were in a position to manoeuvre into Palestine and capture Jerusalem. The battles continued and at some point, the Catholic empires fell back under Muslim control and Seljuk conquered powerful armies from Germany and France. In many battles, the Seljuk emerged victorious over the Catholic armies and even as the empire declined, there was a rise of other Islamic Turkish kingdoms for instance Sultanate of Rum (Findley, 103). Over a long period of time, the Islamic religion and its beliefs maintained an influential presence in the region. All these and many other roles played by the Turks point out to the fact that the Turks contributed greatly in the history and survival of the Islamic religion. From the above discussion, it is apparent that a lot of factors can be attributed to the history of Islam. Thе Аrаbs, Реrsiаns and Turks have played various roles with regard to Islamic history. Different aspects of the origin and continuous development of Islam as a religion can be traced in places such as Saudi Arabia, Persia as well as Turkey. Apart from the physical places, the people who characterize the areas are also equally important. History remains a significant aspect for all generations to learn about their origin and embrace the positive attributes that come along with it. For instance, the fact that the Qur’an dictates the importance of every individual to make a point of visiting Mecca at least once in their lifetime shows the significance attached to history of religion and Islam in particular. The Аrаbs, Реrsiаns and Turks have all made considerable contribution to the Islamic history and religion in general. Works Cited Akturk, Ahmet Serdar. "Arabs in Kemalist Turkish Historiography." Middle Eastern Studies 46.5 (2010): 633-653. Corbin, Henry. History of Islamic philosophy. New York: Routledge, 2014. Findley, Carter Vaughn. Turkey, Islam, nationalism, and modernity: a history, 1789-2007. New haven: Yale University Press, 2010. Silverstein, Adam J. Islamic history: a very short introduction. Vol. 220. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2010. Tezcür, Günes Murat. "The moderation theory revisited: The case of Islamic political actors." Party Politics 16.1 (2010): 69-88. Ulutas, Ufuk. "Religion and secularism in Turkey: The dilemma of the directorate of religious affairs." Middle Eastern Studies 46.3 (2010): 389-399. Read More