Medina is the holy city of Islam, the city where the Prophet Muhammad ruled and died. At the Prophet's Mosque(Al-Masjid an-Nabawi) The tomb of the Prophet Muhammad is located in Medina. Medina is the first capital of the Arab Caliphate. Medina occupies an important place in the history and culture of the Muslim world.

Where is Medina? Medina (Medinat-Rasul-Allah; Medinat an-Nabi; Madina al-Monawwara) - a city in the northwest Saudi Arabia. Medina is located in a fertile oasis, and is located 360 km north of Mecca and 160 km east of the Red Sea.

History of Medina until the 7th century. The time of Medina's founding is unknown. In ancient times, the settlement on the site of modern Medina was called Yathrib (Yathrib). The name Medina (from the Arabic “madina” - city) appeared in the early Middle Ages. By the beginning of the 7th century. Medina consisted of small settlements scattered across the plain, well protected by forts or towers (perhaps more than 200 in number), where the Judeo-Arab population lived. The space between these settlements was filled with orchards, fields and palm groves.

The migration (hijra) of the founder of Islam, Muhammad, to Medina. After the migration (hijra) of the founder of Islam Muhammad (about 570 - 632) to Medina, which took place on July 26, 622 (this night was later recognized as the beginning of the Muslim calendar), Medina, along with Mecca, becomes one of the two holy cities of Islam .

Medina under Muhammad. House of Muhammad in Medina. Burial of Muhammad in Medina: Mosque of the Prophet. As the teacher and head of the Muslim community (ummah), Muhammad became the ruler, judge and military leader of Medina. Here the rules of ablution, prayer and fasting were developed. The House of Muhammad in Medina became the first mosque. It was a large courtyard surrounded by a wall, on the south side of which there was a portico made of palm trunks. They supported a flat roof made of leaves and clay. Qibla - the direction where believers had to face during prayer, was initially Jerusalem, but still in Medina, due to the enmity of Muslims with local Jewish tribes, the qibla became Mecca and its sanctuary, the Kaaba. In 632, Muhammad was buried in his home in the room of one of his wives.

Medina is the capital of the Arab Caliphate. Prophet's Mosque in Medina. In 632, after the death of Muhammad, Medina became the capital of the Arab Caliphate. The city remained the capital under the first three caliphs: Abu Bakr (632 - 634), Umar (634 - 644) and Uthman (Othman) (644 - 656). The first two of them were buried in the Mohammed Mosque. During the reign of Caliph Umar, the mosque's palm trunks were replaced with stone ones, and a new teak roof was installed. In 656, the Great Mosque or Mosque of the Prophet (Al-Masjid an-Nabawi) was built on the site of Muhammad's house. Subsequently, it was rebuilt many times. The green dome of this mosque marks the resting place of Muhammad.

History of Medina in the middle of the 7th century. - 10th century The fourth caliph - Ali ibn Abi Talib (656 - 661), cousin and son-in-law of Muhammad, was elected caliph in Medina, but moved his capital to the Iraqi city Kufa . From this time Medina developed as a religious center.

The first city wall was built around the center of Medina in 974 to protect against the Egyptian Fatimids (909 - 1171), who eventually conquered the city. From the 10th century Medina was dependent on the dynasties that ruled Egypt.

Medina within the Ottoman Empire. Ottoman architecture of the Medina. From 1517 until January 1919, Medina was part of the Ottoman Empire. Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent (1520 - 1566) surrounded the city with a new wall 12 meters high, made of granite and basalt blocks. He also ordered the construction of an aqueduct that brought water to the city from the south. In the 1860s, under the Ottoman Sultan Abd al-Aziz, the height of the walls was increased to 25 m. However, throughout the 20th century. The walls of the city were gradually dismantled as unnecessary.

After the death of Muhammad, the Arabs were ruled by caliphs. - heirs of the Prophet. Under the first four caliphs, his closest associates and relatives, the Arabs went beyond the Arabian Peninsula and attacked Byzantium and Iran. The main strength of their army was the cavalry. The Arabs conquered the richest Byzantine provinces - Syria, Palestine, Egypt and the vast Iranian kingdom. At the beginning of the 8th century. in North Africa they subjugated the Berber tribes and converted them to Islam. In 711, the Arabs crossed to Europe, to the Iberian Peninsula, and almost completely conquered the kingdom of the Visigoths; But later, in a collision with the Franks (732), the Arabs were driven back to south. In the east, they subjugated the peoples of Transcaucasia and Central Asia, breaking their stubborn resistance. Having then conquered Eastern Iran and Afghanistan, the Arabs penetrated into Northwestern India.

So during the 7th - first half of the 8th century. a huge state arose - Arab Caliphate, stretching from the shores Atlantic Ocean to the borders of India and China. Damascus became its capital.
In the middle of the 7th century. Under Caliph Ali, Muhammad's cousin, civil strife broke out in the country, leading to a split of Muslims into Sunnis and Shiites.

Sunnis recognize not only the Koran as sacred books, but also the Sunna - a collection of stories from the life of Muhammad, and also believe that the caliph should be the head of the Muslim church. Shiites reject the Sunnah as a holy book and demand that believers be led by imams - spiritual mentors from the clan of Ali.

After the assassination of Ali, the caliphs from the Umayyad dynasty, who relied on the Sunnis, seized power. The Shiite uprising against the Umayyads began in Central Asia and spread to Iran and Iraq, which the Abbasids - the descendants of Muhammad's uncle, Abbas - took advantage of. The caliph's troops were defeated, the caliph himself fled to Syria, and then to Egypt, where he was killed by the rebels. Almost all the Umayyads were exterminated (one of the fleeing Umayyads created an independent Arab state in Spain - the Emirate of Kardoba, and from the 10th century - the Cordoba Caliphate). In 750, power in the caliphate passed to the Abbasid dynasty. Iranian landowners who supported the Abbasids received high positions in the state. They could even occupy the post of vizier - a senior official, assistant to the caliph.
All land in the state was the property of the caliph. Emirs (governors) from among his closest relatives collected taxes in the provinces, supported the army at this expense, and led the campaigns of conquest. Tax relief for Muslims forced many residents of conquered countries to convert to Islam. As a result, during her time Islam was adopted by the majority of the population of Syria, Egypt, a large part of Africa, Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, parts of Hindustan and Indonesia.

Under the Abbasids, the conquests of the Arabs almost ceased: only the islands of Sicily, Cyprus, Crete and part of the south of Italy were annexed. At the intersection of trade routes on the Tigris River, a new capital was founded - Baghdad, which gave the name to the state of the Arabs under the Abbasids - the Baghdad Caliphate. Its heyday was during the reign of the legendary Harun al-Rashid (766-809), a contemporary of Charlemagne.
In the VIII-IX centuries. A series of uprisings swept through the caliphate. Particularly significant was the movement of the Qarmatians (one of the branches of the Shiites), who even managed to create their own state, which lasted for about a century and a half.

The huge caliphate did not remain united for long. The guard, recruited from captive Turks (immigrants from Central Asia), and the governor-emirs, who became independent rulers, acquired increasing power in it. In the 9th century. Egypt and other provinces in North Africa separated from the Baghdad Caliphate, middle Asia, Iran and Afghanistan. Only Mesopotamia was under the rule of the caliph, but the caliph remained the head of the Sunni Muslims.
In the middle of the 11th century. The Seljuk Turks (named after their leader Seljuk), who had by that time captured part of Central Asia, conquered most of the Arab possessions in the Middle East. In 1055 they captured Baghdad. The Caliph crowned the ruler of the Seljuk Turks and gave him the title of Sultan.

State of the Arab Caliphate

Ancient Arabia did not have favorable conditions for economic development. The main part of the Arabian Peninsula is occupied by the Najd plateau, whose land is little suitable for cultivation. In ancient times, the population here was mainly engaged in raising livestock (camels, sheep, goats). Only in the west of the peninsula, along the shores of the Red Sea, in the so-called Hijaz(Arabic “barrier”), and in the southwest, in Yemen, there were oases suitable for agriculture. Caravan routes ran through the Hejaz, which contributed to the creation of large shopping centers. One of them was Mecca.

In pre-Islamic Arabia, nomadic Arabs (Bedouins) and sedentary Arabs (farmers) lived in a tribal system. This system carried strong remnants of matriarchy. Thus, kinship was counted on the maternal side, cases of polyandry (polyandry) were known, although polygamy was also practiced at the same time. Arab marriages were dissolved quite freely, including on the initiative of the wife. The tribes existed autonomously from each other. From time to time they could enter into alliances with each other, but stable political entities for a long time did not arise. The tribe was led by Sayyid(lit. “speaker”), later the Sayyids began to be called sheikhs. The power of the sayyid was of a potestar nature and was not inherited, but the sayyids usually came from the same family. Such a leader supervised the economic work of the tribe, and he also headed the militia in case of hostilities. During the campaign, the seyid could count on receiving a fourth of the military booty. As for the activities of popular assemblies among the Arabs, science has no information about this.

At the turn of the VI–VII centuries. Arabia was going through a serious crisis. The country was devastated as a result of the wars waged in this region by the Persians and Ethiopians. The Persians moved transport routes east to the area Persian Gulf, between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. This led to the decline of the Hijaz's role as a transport and trade hub. In addition, population growth caused land hunger: there was not enough land suitable for farming. As a result, social tension increased among the Arab population. In the wake of this crisis, a new religion arose, designed to restore harmony and unite all Arabs. She got the name Islam(“submission”) Its creation is associated with the name of the prophet Muhammad(570–632 ). He came from the Quraysh tribe, which dominated Mecca. Until he was forty years old he remained an ordinary person, his transformation took place in 610 miraculously (through the appearance of the Archangel Jebrail). From that time on, Muhammad began to transmit heavenly messages to the world in the form of suras (chapters) of the Koran (al-Qur'an means “reading”, since the prophet had to read the heavenly scroll on the orders of the archangel). Muhammad preached a new creed in Mecca. It was based on the idea of ​​one God – Allah. This was the name of the tribal deity of the Quraish, but Muhammad gave it the meaning of the universal God, the Creator of all things. The new religion absorbed a lot from other monotheistic cults - Christianity and Judaism. Prophets Old Testament and Jesus Christ were declared prophets of Islam. Initially, the preaching of monotheism met with fierce resistance from the Quraish nobility, who did not want to part with pagan beliefs. Clashes began in Mecca, which led to the relocation of Muhammad and his supporters to the neighboring city of Yathrib (later called Medina an-nabi - “city of the prophet”). The migration (hijra) took place in 622, this date was then recognized as the beginning of the Muslim chronology. This significance of the hijra is due to the fact that it was in Medina that the prophet managed to create ummu- the Muslim community, which became the embryo of the first Islamic State. Relying on the forces of the Medinians, the prophet was able to conquer Mecca by military means. In 630 Muhammad entered into hometown winner: Mecca recognized Islam.

After the death of Muhammad in 632, the Muslim community began to elect his deputies - caliphs(“the one who comes after, the successor”). The name of the Muslim state, the Caliphate, is connected with this. The first four caliphs were called “righteous” (in contrast to the subsequent “godless” Umayyad caliphs). Rightly Guided Caliphs: Abu Bakr (632–634); Omar (634–644); Osman (644–656); Ali (656–661). The name Ali is associated with a split in Islam and the emergence of two main movements: Sunnis and Shiites. The Shiites were adherents and followers of Ali (“Ali’s party”). Already under the first caliphs, the conquest of the Arabs began, and the territory of the Muslim state expanded significantly. The Arabs seize Iran, Syria, Palestine, Egypt, North Africa, they penetrate into the Transcaucasus and Central Asia, subjugate Afghanistan and northwestern India to the river. Ind. In 711, the Arabs crossed to Spain and short term captured the entire Iberian Peninsula. They advanced further into Gaul, but were stopped by Frankish troops under the leadership of the majordomo Charles Martel. The Arabs also invaded Italy. As a result, a huge empire was created, surpassing in scale both the empire of Alexander the Great and the Roman Empire. Religious doctrines played an important role in the Arab victories. Faith in one God united the Arabs: Islam preached equality between all adherents of the new religion. For a while, this smoothed out social contradictions. The doctrine of religious tolerance also played a role. During jihad(holy “war in the path of Allah”), the warriors of Islam were supposed to show tolerance towards the “People of the Book” - Christians and Jews, but only if they accepted the status Zimmiev. Dhimmiyas are those non-Muslims (Christians and Jews, in the 9th century Zoroastrians were also counted among them) who recognize Muslim authority over themselves and pay a special poll tax - jizya. If they resist with arms in their hands or refuse to pay the tax, they should be fought as with other “infidels.” (Muslims were also not supposed to show tolerance towards pagans and apostates.) The doctrine of toleration turned out to be quite attractive to many Christians and Jews in countries conquered by the Arabs. It is known that in Spain and in the south of Gaul the local population preferred the softer Muslim power to the harsh rule of the Germans - the Visigoths and Franks.

Political system. According to the form of government, the Caliphate was theocratic monarchy. The head of state, the caliph, was both a spiritual leader and a secular ruler. Spiritual power was denoted by the word imamate, secular – emirate. Thus, the caliph was both the supreme imam and the main emir of the country. In the Sunni and Shia traditions there was different understanding the role of the ruler in the state. For Sunnis, the caliph was the successor of the prophet, and through the prophet, the executor of the will of Allah himself. In this capacity, the caliph had absolute power, but in the legislative sphere his powers were limited. The Caliph did not have the right to interpret the supreme law contained in the main sources of Islamic law. The right of interpretation belonged to Muslim theologians, who had high authority in the community - mujtahids. Moreover, the decision had to be made by them in an agreed form, and not individually. The Caliph cannot create new legislation, he only ensures the implementation of an existing law. The Shiites defined the powers of the imam-caliph more broadly. The imam, like a prophet, receives revelation from Allah himself, therefore he is endowed with the right to interpret sacred texts. The Shiites recognized the right of the ruler to make laws.

The idea of ​​the succession of power of the caliph was also different. The Shiites recognized the right to supreme power only for the descendants of Caliph Ali and his wife Fatima, the daughter of the prophet (i.e., the Alids). Sunnis adhered to the principle of election. At the same time, two methods were recognized as legal: 1) election of the caliph by the Muslim community - in fact, only by the mujtahids; 2) the appointment as caliph of his successor during his lifetime, but with his obligatory approval in the ummah - by the mujtahids, their concurring opinion. The first caliphs were usually elected by the community. But the second method was also used: the first precedent was given by Caliph Abu Bakr, who appointed Omar as his successor.

After the death of Caliph Ali in 661, power was seized by a relative of the third Caliph Osman and Ali's enemy, Muawiyah. Mu'awiyah was a governor in Syria, he moved the capital of the Caliphate to Damascus and founded the first dynasty of caliphs - the dynasty Umayyads (661–750 ). Under the Umayyads, the power of the caliph began to acquire a more secular character. Unlike the first caliphs, who led a simple lifestyle, the Umayyads started their own court and lived in luxury. The creation of a huge power required the introduction of a large bureaucracy and increased taxation. Taxes were imposed not only on dhimmiyyas, but also on Muslims, who were previously exempt from paying taxes to the treasury.
In a multinational empire, the Umayyads tried to pursue a pro-Arab policy, which caused discontent among non-Arab Muslims. A widespread movement to restore equality in the Muslim community led to the fall of the dynasty. Power in the Caliphate was seized by the descendant of the uncle of the prophet (al-Abbas) Abul-Abbas the Bloody. He ordered the destruction of all the Umayyad princes. (One of them escaped death and founded an independent state in Spain.)

Abul Abbas laid the foundation for a new dynasty of caliphs - Abbasid (750–1258 ). Under the next caliph Mansur, a new capital, Baghdad, was built on the river. Tiger (in 762). Since the Abbasids came to power, relying on the support of the population of the eastern regions of the Caliphate, primarily the Iranians, a strong Iranian influence began to be felt during their reign. Much was borrowed from the Sassanid dynasty of Persian kings (III–VII centuries).

Central authorities and management. Initially, the caliph himself directed and coordinated the activities of various departments and services. Over time, he began to share these functions with his assistant - wazir. At first, the wazir was only the personal secretary of the caliph, who conducted his correspondence, looked after his property, and also trained the heir to the throne. Then the wazir turned into the caliph's chief adviser, guardian state seal and the head of the entire bureaucracy of the Caliphate. All the central institutions of the empire were under his control. It should be borne in mind that the wazir had only the power that the caliph delegated to him. So the caliph had the right to limit his powers. In addition, the wazir did not have actual power over the army: the emir-military leader was at the head of the army. This undermined the influence of the wazir in the state. Usually, the Abbasids appointed educated Persians to the position of wazir; the position could be inherited. The central departments were called sofas. At first, this was the designation for registers of persons receiving salaries and pensions from the treasury, then for the departments where these registers were kept. The main departments were: the office, the treasury and the administration of the army. The main postal department (Diwan al-barid) was also allocated. It was in charge of managing roads and post offices and creating communications facilities. Diwan officials, among other things, were engaged in illustrating letters and performed the functions of the secret police in the state.

At the head of each sofa was sahib- chief, he had subordinates katiby- scribes. They underwent special training and formed a special social group in society with their own hierarchy. This hierarchy was headed by a wazir.

Local government. The Umayyad Caliphate was characterized by strong decentralization of power. When new regions were conquered, a governor was sent there, who was supposed to keep the local population in obedience and send part of the military booty to the center. At the same time, the governor could act practically uncontrollably. The Abbasids borrowed the experience of organizing the Sassanid Persian state. The entire territory of the Arab Empire was divided into large districts modeled on the Persian satrapies. In each such province, the caliph appointed his own official - emir, who bore full responsibility to him for his actions. His important difference from the governor of the Umayyad era was that he performed not only military and police functions, but also carried out civil administration in the province. The emirs created specialized departments similar to the capital's divans and exercised control over their work. The emirs' assistants were naibs.

Judicial system. Initially, the court was not separated from the administration. The highest judges were the caliphs; from the caliphs, judicial power was delegated to the governors of the regions. From the end of the 7th century. there is a separation of the court from the administration. The Caliph and his governors began to appoint special judges called cadi(“the one who decides”) A qadi is a professional judge, an expert in Islamic law (Sharia). At first, the qadi was not independent in his actions and depended on the caliph and his governor. The qadi could appoint a deputy subordinate to him, and the deputy had assistants in the districts. This extensive system was headed qadi al-kudat(“judge of judges”), appointed by the caliph. Under the Abbasids, the qadi became independent from local authorities, but his subordination to the center remained. The appointment of new qadis began to be carried out by a special divan, similar to the Ministry of Justice.

The qadi could conduct both criminal and civil cases (there were no differences in the judicial process in the Arab Caliphate yet). He also monitored the condition of public buildings, prisons, roads, monitored the execution of wills, was in charge of the division of property, established guardianship and even married single women deprived of a guardian.

Some criminal cases were removed from the jurisdiction of the qadi. Security cases and murder cases were handled by the police - shurta. Shurta made the final decision on them. It was also a preliminary investigation body and a court execution body. Headed the police - sahib-ash-shurta. Cases of adultery and alcohol consumption were also removed from the jurisdiction of the qadi and were considered by the mayor, Sahib al-Madina.

The highest court of appeal was the caliph. The Wazir was also endowed with judicial powers: he could consider cases of “civil offenses.” The wazir's court complemented the sharia court of the qadi and often acted more effectively.

Further fate Caliphate. Already in the 8th century. The Arab Empire begins to disintegrate. Provincial emirs, relying on their troops, achieve independence. By the middle of the 10th century. Only Arabia and part of Mesopotamia adjacent to Baghdad remain under the control of the caliph.
In 1055, Baghdad was captured by the Seljuk Turks. Only religious power remained in the hands of the caliph; secular power passed to to the Sultan(literally "lord") of the Seljuks. As spiritual leaders of Sunni Muslims, the Baghdad caliphs retained their importance until 1258, when Baghdad was captured by the Mongols and the last Baghdad caliph was killed on the orders of Hulagu Khan. The Caliphate was soon restored in Cairo (Egypt), where it existed until 1517. Then the last Cairo caliph was taken to Istanbul and was forced to renounce his powers in favor of Ottoman Sultan. Secular and spiritual power were again united in the hands of one person.
In 1922, the last Turkish Sultan, Mehmed VI, was deposed, and the duties of caliph were entrusted to Abdulmecid II. He became the last caliph in history. In 1924, the Grand National Assembly of Turkey passed a law to eliminate the Caliphate. Its more than thousand-year history has ended.

Caliphate as a medieval state formed as a result of the unification of Arab tribes, the center of settlement of which was the Arabian Peninsula (located between Iran and North-East Africa).

A characteristic feature of the emergence of statehood among the Arabs in the 7th century. There was a religious connotation to this process, which was accompanied by the formation of a new world religion - Islam (Islam translated from Arabic means “surrendering oneself” to God). Political movement for the unification of tribes under the slogans of renouncing paganism and polytheism, which objectively reflected the trends in the emergence of a new system, it received the name “Hanif”.

The Hanif preachers' search for a new truth and a new god, which took place under the strong influence of Judaism and Christianity, is associated primarily with the name of Muhammad. Muhammad (about 570-632), a shepherd who became rich as a result of a successful marriage, an orphan from Mecca, on whom “revelations descended”, later recorded in the Koran, proclaimed the need to establish the cult of a single god - Allah and a new social order that excluded tribal strife. The head of the Arabs was to be a prophet - “the messenger of Allah on earth.”

Early Islam's calls for social justice (limiting usury, establishing alms for the poor, freeing slaves, fair trade) caused dissatisfaction among the tribal merchant nobility with the "revelations" of Muhammad, which forced him to flee with a group of close companions in 622 from Mecca to Yathrib (later Medina). , "city of the Prophet"). Here he managed to enlist the support of various social groups, including Bedouin nomads. The first mosque was built here, and the order of Muslim worship was determined. From the moment of this migration and separate existence, which received the name “Hijra” (621-629), the summer reckoning according to the Muslim calendar begins.

Muhammad argued that Islamic teachings do not contradict the two previously widespread monotheistic religions - Judaism and Christianity, but only confirm and clarify them. However, already at that time it became clear that Islam also contained something new. His rigidity and, at times, fanatical intolerance in some matters, especially in matters of power and authority, were quite clearly evident. According to the doctrine of Islam, religious power is inseparable from secular power and is the basis of the latter, and therefore Islam demanded equally unconditional obedience to God, the prophet and “those who have power.”

For ten years, in the 20-30s. VII century The organizational restructuring of the Muslim community in Medina was completed in public education. Muhammad himself was its spiritual, military leader and judge. With the help of the new religion and military units of the community, the struggle against opponents of the new socio-political structure began.

Muhammad's closest relatives and associates gradually consolidated into a privileged group that received the exclusive right to power. From its ranks, after the death of the prophet, they began to choose new individual leaders of Muslims - caliphs ("deputies of the prophet"). Some groups of Islamic tribal nobility formed an opposition group of Shiites, which recognized the right to power only by inheritance and only by the descendants (and not the companions) of the prophet.

The first four caliphs, the so-called "righteously guided" caliphs, quelled discontent with Islam among certain sections and completed the political unification of Arabia. In the 7th - first half of the 8th century. Vast territories were conquered from former Byzantine and Persian possessions, including the Middle East, Central Asia, Transcaucasia, North Africa and Spain. The Arab army entered French territory, but was defeated by the knights of Charles Martell at the Battle of Poitiers in 732.

In the history of the medieval empire, called the Arab Caliphate, they usually distinguish two periods, which correspond to the main stages of development of Arab medieval society and state:

• Damascus, or the period of the Umayyad dynasty (661-750);
• Baghdad, or the period of the Abbasid dynasty (750-1258).

Umayyad dynasty(from 661), which carried out the conquest of Spain, moved the capital to Damascus, and the next one after them Abbasid dynasty(from the descendants of a prophet named Abba, from 750) ruled from Baghdad for 500 years. By the end of the 10th century. The Arab state, which had previously united peoples from the Pyrenees and Morocco to Fergana and Persia, was divided into three caliphates - the Abbasids in Baghdad, the Fatimids in Cairo and the Umayyads in Spain.

The most famous of the Abbasids were the caliph Harun al-Rashid, who was included in the characters of the Arabian Nights, as well as his son al-Mamun. These were enlightened autocrats who combined concerns for spiritual and secular enlightenment. Naturally, in their role as caliphs, they were also occupied with the problems of spreading the new faith, which they themselves and their subjects perceived as a commandment to live in equality and universal brotherhood of all true believers. The duties of the ruler in this case were to be a fair, wise and merciful ruler. Enlightened caliphs combined concerns about administration, finance, justice and the army with support for education, art, literature, science, as well as trade and commerce.

Organization of power and administration in the Arab Caliphate

The Muslim state for some time after Mohammed remained a theocracy in the sense of recognizing it as the true possession of God (state property was called God's property) and in the sense of striving to govern the state according to the commandments of God and the example of his Messenger (the prophet was also called rasul, that is, messenger).

The first entourage of the prophet-ruler consisted of mujahirs(exiles who fled with the prophet from Mecca) and Ansar(assistants).

Characteristic features of the Muslim social system:

1. 1. the dominant position of state ownership of land with the widespread use of slave labor in the state economy (irrigation, mines, workshops);
   2. state exploitation of peasants through rent-tax in favor of the ruling elite;
   3. religious-state regulation of all spheres of public life;
   4. the absence of clearly defined class groups, special status for cities, any freedoms and privileges.

Civilizations of the East. Islam.

Features of the development of Eastern countries in the Middle Ages

Arab Caliphate

Features of the development of Eastern countries in the Middle Ages

The term “Middle Ages” is used to designate the period in the history of the Eastern countries of the first seventeen centuries of the new era.

Geographically, the Medieval East covers the territory of North Africa, the Near and Middle East, Central and Middle Asia, India, Sri Lanka, South-East Asia And Far East.

In the historical arena during this period appeared peoples, like Arabs, Seljuk Turks, Mongols. New religions were born and civilizations arose on their basis.

The countries of the East in the Middle Ages were connected with Europe. Byzantium remained the bearer of the traditions of Greco-Roman culture. The Arab conquest of Spain and the Crusaders' campaigns in the East contributed to the interaction of cultures. However, for the countries of South Asia and the Far East, acquaintance with Europeans took place only in the 15th-16th centuries.

The formation of medieval societies of the East was characterized by the growth of productive forces - iron tools spread, artificial irrigation expanded and irrigation technology was improved,

leading trend historical process both in the East and in Europe there was a confirmation of feudal relations.

Re-odization of the history of the medieval East.

I-VI centuries AD – the birth of feudalism;

VII-X centuries – period of early feudal relations;

XI-XII centuries – pre-Mongol period, the beginning of the heyday of feudalism, the formation of the estate-corporate system of life, cultural takeoff;

XIII centuries - time Mongol conquest,

XIV-XVI centuries – post-Mongol period, conservation of the despotic form of power.

Eastern civilizations

Some civilizations in the East arose in ancient times; Buddhist and Hindu - on the Hindustan Peninsula,

Taoist-Confucian - in China.

Others were born in the Middle Ages: Muslim civilization in the Near and Middle East,

Hindu-Muslim - in India,

Hindu and Muslim - in the countries of Southeast Asia, Buddhist - in Japan and Southeast Asia,

Confucian - in Japan and Korea.

Arab Caliphate (V – XI centuries AD)

On the territory of the Arabian Peninsula already in the 2nd millennium BC. lived Arab tribes that were part of the Semitic group of peoples.

In the V-VI centuries. AD Arab tribes dominated the Arabian Peninsula. Part of the population of this peninsula lived in cities, oases, and was engaged in crafts and trade. The other part roamed the deserts and steppes and was engaged in cattle breeding.

Trade caravan routes between Mesopotamia, Syria, Egypt, Ethiopia, and Judea passed through the Arabian Peninsula. The intersection of these paths was the Meccan oasis near the Red Sea. In this oasis lived the Arab tribe Quraysh, whose tribal nobility, using geographical position Mecca, received income from the transit of goods through their territory.

Besides Mecca became the religious center of Western Arabia. An ancient pre-Islamic temple was located here Kaaba. According to legend, this temple was erected by the biblical patriarch Abraham (Ibrahim) with his son Ismail. This temple is associated with a sacred stone that fell to the ground, which has been worshiped since ancient times, and with the cult of the god of the Qureish tribe Allah(from Arabic ilah - master).

REASONS for the emergence of Islam: In the VI century. n, e. in Arabia, due to the movement of trade routes to Iran, the importance of trade decreases. The population, having lost income from the caravan trade, was forced to seek sources of livelihood in agriculture. But suitable for Agriculture there was little land. They had to be conquered. For this, forces were needed and, therefore, the unification of fragmented tribes, who also worshiped different gods. More and more clearly defined the need to introduce monotheism and unite the Arab tribes on this basis.

This idea was preached by adherents of the Hanif sect, one of whom was Muhammad(c. 570-632 or 633), who became the founder of a new religion for the Arabs - Islam.

This religion is based on the tenets of Judaism and Christianity. : belief in one God and his prophet,

doomsday,

afterlife reward,

unconditional submission to the will of God (Arabic: Islam - submission).

The Judaic and Christian roots of Islam are evidenced are common for these religions the names of prophets and other biblical characters are: biblical Abraham(Islamic Ibrahim), Aaron (Harun), David (Daud), Isaac (Ishak), Solomon (Suleiman), Elijah (Ilyas), Jacob (Yakub), Christian Jesus (Isa), Mary (Maryam), etc.

Islam shares common customs and prohibitions with Judaism. Both religions prescribe the circumcision of boys, prohibit depicting God and living beings, eating pork, drinking wine, etc.

At the first stage of development, the new religious worldview of Islam was not supported by the majority of Muhammad's fellow tribesmen, and primarily by the nobility, as they feared that the new religion would lead to the cessation of the cult of the Kaaba as a religious center, and thereby deprive them of income.

In 622, Muhammad and his followers had to flee persecution from Mecca to the city of Yathrib (Medina). This year is considered the beginning of the Muslim calendar.

However, only in 630, having gathered the required number of supporters, he was able to form military forces and capture Mecca, the local nobility of which was forced to submit to the new religion, especially since they were satisfied that Muhammad proclaimed the Kaaba the shrine of all Muslims.

Much later (c. 650) after the death of Muhammad, his sermons and sayings were collected in a single book Koran(translated from Arabic means reading), which became sacred to Muslims. The book includes 114 suras (chapters), which set out the main tenets of Islam, prescriptions and prohibitions.

Later Islamic religious literature is called sunnah. It contains legends about Muhammad. Muslims who accepted the Koran and Sunnah began to be called Sunnis, and those who recognized only one Koran - Shiites.

Shiites recognize as legitimate caliphs(vicars, deputies) of Muhammad, spiritual and secular heads of Muslims only his relatives.

The economic crisis of Western Arabia in the 7th century, caused by the movement of trade routes, the lack of land suitable for agriculture, and high population growth, pushed the leaders of the Arab tribes to seek a way out of the crisis by seizing foreign lands. This is reflected in the Koran, which says that Islam should be the religion of all peoples, but for this it is necessary to fight the infidels, exterminate them and take their property (Koran, 2: 186-189; 4: 76-78, 86).

Guided by this specific task and the ideology of Islam, Muhammad's successors, the caliphs, began a series of aggressive campaigns. They conquered Palestine, Syria, Mesopotamia, and Persia. Already in 638 they captured Jerusalem.

Until the end of the 7th century. The countries of the Middle East, Persia, the Caucasus, Egypt and Tunisia came under Arab rule.

In the 8th century Central Asia, Afghanistan, Western India, and North-West Africa were captured.

In 711, Arab troops led Tariqa swam from Africa to the Iberian Peninsula (from the name of Tariq came the name Gibraltar - Mount Tariq). Having quickly conquered the Pyrenees, they rushed to Gaul. However, in 732, at the Battle of Poitiers, they were defeated by the Frankish king Charles Martel. By the middle of the 9th century. Sicily, Sardinia were captured by the Arabs, southern regions Italy, Crete island. On this Arab conquests ceased, but there was a long-term war with Byzantine Empire. The Arabs besieged Constantinople twice.

The main Arab conquests were carried out under the caliphs Abu Bekr (632-634), Omar (634-644), Osman (644-656) and the Umayyad caliphs (661-750). Under the Umayyads, the capital of the caliphate was moved to Syria to the city of Damascus.

The victories of the Arabs and their seizure of vast areas were facilitated by many years of mutually exhausting war between Byzantium and Persia, disunity and constant hostility between other states that were attacked by the Arabs. It should also be noted that the population of the countries captured by the Arabs, suffering from the oppression of Byzantium and Persia, saw the Arabs as liberators who reduced the tax burden primarily for those who converted to Islam.

The unification of many formerly separate and warring states into single state contributed to the development of economic and cultural communication between the peoples of Asia, Africa and Europe. Crafts and trade developed, cities grew. Within the Arab Caliphate, a culture quickly developed, incorporating Greco-Roman, Iranian and Indian heritage. Through the Arabs, Europe became acquainted with the cultural achievements of the eastern peoples, primarily with achievements in the field of exact sciences - mathematics, astronomy, geography, etc.

In 750, the Umayyad dynasty in the eastern part of the caliphate was overthrown. The Abbasids, descendants of the Prophet Muhammad's uncle, Abbas, became caliphs. They moved the capital of the state to Baghdad.

In the western part of the caliphate, Spain continued to be ruled by the Umayyads, who did not recognize the Abbasids and founded the Cordoba Caliphate with its capital in the city of Cordoba.

The division of the Arab Caliphate into two parts was the beginning of the creation of smaller Arab states, the heads of which were the rulers of the provinces - emirs.

The Abbasid Caliphate waged constant wars with Byzantium. In 1258, after the Mongols defeated the Arab army and captured Baghdad, the Abbasid state ceased to exist.

The last Arab state on the Iberian Peninsula - the Emirate of Granada - existed until 1492. With its fall, the history of the Arab caliphate as a state ended.

The caliphate as an institution for the spiritual leadership of the Arabs and all Muslims continued to exist until 1517, when this function passed to the Turkish Sultan, who captured Egypt, where the last caliphate, the spiritual head of all Muslims, lived.

The history of the Arab Caliphate, dating back only six centuries, was complex, controversial and at the same time left a significant mark on the evolution human society planets.

Difficult economic situation population of the Arabian Peninsula in the VI-VII centuries. in connection with the movement of trade routes to another zone, it became necessary to search for sources of livelihood. To solve this problem, the tribes living here took the path of establishing a new religion - Islam, which was supposed to become not only the religion of all peoples, but also called for the fight against infidels (non-believers). Guided by the ideology of Islam, the caliphs carried out a broad policy of conquest, turning the Arab Caliphate into an empire. The unification of formerly scattered tribes into a single state gave impetus to economic and cultural communication between the peoples of Asia, Africa and Europe. Being one of the youngest in the east, occupying the most offensive position among them, having absorbed the Greco-Roman, Iranian and Indian cultural heritage, the Arab (Islamic) civilization had a huge impact on spiritual life Western Europe, posing a significant military threat throughout the Middle Ages.