This paper discusses two post-classical regions/societies (the post-classical Islamic and Indian society), and will draw upon the class lectures and readings to discuss the similarities and differences between the Islamic World and the Indian region during the post-classical era. The post-classical era refers to the historical period after the Iron Age, and falls between 200 CE and 1500 CE (Stearns, 79). During this period, there existed no enduring imperial authority, but the Indian society came to have a profound influence on the southern Asian cultures. During this time, it was also the norm to have regional kingdoms, and as a result, there were Indian forms of politics, economies and, religion all over the region, which was made possible by the extensive trade network within the Indian Ocean basin. As such, by the 13th c. C.E., there existed flourishing Muslim communities and emerging Sultanates from the Southern region of India to the Western Pacific Rim (Lecture 16).
Politics
In the post-classical Indian society, there were many regional kingdoms (Lecture 16). Politically, both the Islamic and Indian society had strong influence on the how the neighboring societies were shaped during the post-classical era. During this period, there was a collapse of centralized political rule within the Indian society. There were also several internal wars and invasions in the Indian region, and led to a situation in which this the northern Indian region became politically fragmented and quite chaotic. There was a lack of political unification in both societies which made foreign incursion easy, and this probably led to Muslim conquests in the Northern region of India between 8th-13th c. C.E. (Lecture 16). In the Islamic world, two emissari...
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...classical era (Lecture 14).
One major difference between the India society and the Islamic world in the post-classical era was that the Indian society did not develop political authorities that were seen to rival the Roman states, even though the distinctive cultural, religious and political traditions of the Indian region continued to evolve and have a profound effect on neighboring regions. The Islamic society on the other hand, came to adopted many Roman, Greek, as well as Indian cultural and political advances, spreading them to enable these advances to reach far and wide, to Europe, Central Asia and Africa. Islamic sea trade also helped connect the regions under Islamic influence, including those within the Indian Ocean.
Works Cited
Lecture 16
Lecture 14
Quran Handout
Stearns, P. (2008) World History in Documents: A Comparative Reader. Reviews NYU Press
The political structure of the Arabian and Byzantine empires greatly differed from each other. The Arabian empire was ruled over by a Caliphate. The Caliphate was the successor to the great prophet Muhammad. Politically, the Caliphate sometimes caused trouble for the stability of the empire. With multiple groups such as the Umayyad and the Abbasid believing the were in charge of the Caliphate led to conflicts and violence. An example of conflict would be towards the end of the Abbasid empire when the death of Harun al-Rashid brought several full scale revolutions. Another example would be at the beginning of Abbasid empire when they went as far as too kill off all of the remaining Umayyad leaders to sustain full control with little to no interference. Politically, the Arab/Muslim empire stretched from India and the Middle East into the Africa, the Mediterranean, and Iberia. They also had a large influence in Southeast Asia. When they conquered these areas, there was no forced conversion. On the other hand, they did enforce a higher tax for non-Muslims which prompted people to convert. Only later were there violently forced conversions. A testimony to this would be when the Muslims invaded India and did not touch the Buddhist or Hindus already there. They even respected the Hindu leadership and allowed them to continue. The Muslim empire was successful in other parts of the world due to tolerance, and continued to operate in the face of power struggles.
...o de-essentialize and de-Orientalize religious system of Islam, and instead locate it as part of a historical discursive tradition where practices were contested and in flux. This challenges notions of what authentic religious practices are in Theravada Buddhism, and in doing so expands an understanding of what forms can take. For this reason, the work is useful, and highly recommended for an aspiring religious or anthropological scholar.
For Western Europe, the Postclassical era mainly represented a search for truth. People were no longer happy with knowing how one thing affected another, they wished to delve deeper and find out why. At the beginning of the period most people, peasants and kings alike, turned to the Church for guidance and to discover the meaning of events in their lives. However, as time passed, philosophers began to stress the gathering of rational evidence to answer questions. This movement from religious to logical thinking brought great change with it in Western Europe.
The modern world is linked through networks of communication and exchange between peoples. These exchanges between regions has changed cultures, economics, and politics. Through time the cultural influence between regions has consisted of many factors and elements but comes down to the spread of religion and religious teachings , movement of peoples, technological and cultural advancements affecting trade and commerce. Beginning with the Middle Ages in the years 1100-1500 , Africa, Asia, and Europe developed and influenced each other in several different ways. Starting with religion. The birth of Islam in the Middle East rapidly spread throughout Afro- Eurasia. Islam was attractive to people who were uninterested in the requirements of Christianity and the Church.
Sean Lee. Ignoring the institution of slavery, look at the social change between 1815-1860, How did the US change socially and for what reason?
Expansion into Central Asia begins as early as the year 637 during the time of the Muslim Caliph Omar Ibn Al-Khattab. At the time, the Muslim army leader Al-Ahnaf Ibn Qays (1) in the battles with the Persian empire had pushed the last king of the Sasanian Empire Yazdegerd III all the way back to Amu River near Balkh at the Battle of Oxus River (4). The Amu River is in todays’ Turkmenistan and so is in the western side of Central Asia. The expans...
While some of the enormous discrepancies between Babur’s Islam and James Scurry’s Islam can be ascribed to differences in age and role, the strongest cause of such dissimilarities is a very similar political instability. Admittedly, Babur’s position as conqueror and Scurry’s status as prisoner are the obvious differences that inform their vastly different experiences. Although centuries lay between Babur’s victories and Scurry’s capture, both times were dominated by insecurity and warfare. Local rulers in both eras turned to Islam as a justifying cornerstone of their regimes, and as a tool and rallying cry against their enemies. It is this particular guise of Islam, as political instrument, that ultimately gives us Babur’s privileged piety and Scurry’s painful conversion.
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The Classical Era lasted from approximately 1775-1825, which is when Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart became famous. The classical era was also known as the Age of Enlightenment. Rousseau, Voltaire, and Montesquieu wrote the value of the common person and the power of human reasoning in overcoming problems. The music of the Classical Era reflects the principles of clarity, proportion, and what critics of the day called “naturalness.” During the Classical Era, performing publically was the new view in the way music should be written for the common person. Church music tended to be more conservative than secular compositions. Three composers kind of dominated the Classical Era which are Franz Joseph Haydn, Ludwig van Beethoven, and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.
Stewart Gordon is an expert historian who specializes in Asian history. He is a Senior Research Scholar at the Center for South Asian Studies at the University of Michigan and has authored three different books on Asia. Gordon’s When Asia Was The World uses the narratives of several different men to explore The Golden Age of medieval Asia. The fact that this book is based on the travels and experiences of the everyday lives of real people gives the reader a feeling of actually experiencing the history. Gordon’s work reveals to the reader that while the Europeans were trapped in the dark ages, Asia was prosperous, bursting with culture, and widely connected by trade. This book serves to teach readers about the varieties of cultures, social practices, and religions that sprang from and spread out from ancient Asia itself and shows just how far Asia was ahead of the rest of the world
Hobson, J. M., 2004. The Eastern Origins of Western Civilisation. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 57
The Mauryan Empire was a very intriguing empire, with rulers of different beliefs and ways of ruling, as well as antithetical ways that the rulers gained and maintained their power. Important events occurred during this period of time that affected future generations. The Empire’s people mainly had a Buddhist religion. The people of the Mauryan Empire contributed greatly to the fields of art, and architecture. The Mauryan Empire was very important to India’s way of life.
Islamic civilization began in Arabia, but it spread to many areas in the proximity of the peninsula. It spread as far as Spain, as well as many areas between the two locations. The civilization reached the Eastern Roman Empire, Persia, Egypt, and Africa. The Muslim warriors were extremely courageous, and their religious zeal aided in the conquests of many empires surrounding Arabia. However, the weakn...
Streusand, Douglas E. Islamic Gunpowder Empires Ottomans, Safavids, and Mughals. Boulder, Colo: Westveiw Press, 2011.
2 Stein, Burton (2001), A History of India, New Delhi and Oxford: Oxford University Press. Pp. xiv, 432,