Prophet Muhammad ibn Abd Allah has been able to carry on Islam religion during (ca. 570-632) in western Arabia. After the death of the prophet, caliphs have succeeded him as leaders that claimed political authority over the Muslim community. The period of the caliphate, Islam as a religion has undergone civilization around the world. The Near East period captures the historical view of Islam in its early development.
In the historical setting around the sixth century, two empires controlled Arabia these included Byzantine Empire in the west and the Sasanian Empire in the East. Small players in the political arena consisted of Axum kingdom in the Horn of Africa and Himayar kingdom in southern Arabia. The two major players in the east and west Byzantine-Sasanian rivalry was a struggle between Rome and Persia that lasts more than five hundred years. The two kingdoms rose competing demands to world dominion to represent different cultural traditions. The Byzantines from Rome brought the Hellenistic culture while the Sasanians held ancient Iranian and Semitic cultural traditions as they rejected Hellenism. The cultural antagonism specifically exacerbates religious rivalry in the third and fourth centuries. Byzantine emperors championed for Christianity with heavy imbued from Hellenistic culture while Sasanian Kings espoused Iranian faith called Magianism as their religion. On the arrival of Islam, Greek or Byzantine Christians and Zoroastrians had political supremacy. Both Byzantine and Sasanian empires had their official religion that did not have a homogenous population. Large populations of Jews were in the Near East such as Jerusalem, Hamadan, Susa, Alexandria, Sasanian capital at Ctesiphon, and Byzantine capital at Constantinople. intervene its affairs in the sixth century. The historical account of Prophet Muhammad state that he was born in Arabia, Mecca around 570 C.E.
The early community of believers believes that Muhammad could not have a successor. In that case, the community of believers agrees on a temporary head referred to as amir al- mu minin and not as caliph. Later on, the heads of community agree to change the name to caliph where that leader has great prestige and formality during the early conquest era. The first two caliphs Umar and Abu Bakr enjoy widespread support among the Believers. Dissent rose in the third Uthman where the caliph enrolls soldiers from the wealthy families. Some critics cite Uthman as unfair where he provides other relatives with lucrative appointments to the detriment of the Islamic society. The dissention led to a violent up rise that culminates the murder of the caliph in 656. The developments began to complicate issues of leadership that ensue the First Civil War where leaders fight each other. After Uthman murder, the people of Medina and other conspirators prescribe Ali ibn Abi Talib as the next caliph because he is a member of Hashim clan. Some of the community of believers opposes the proclamation of Ali as a caliph. Uthman relatives led by Muawiyah and Quraysh families propose Talha ibn Ubaydallah as their caliph. The struggle for power between Ali, Aishah, and Talha led to the battle of the camel. The war fails to provide an amicable solution the parties agree on arbitration to settle the matter. Parties are not content with arbitration results and Ali massacres most Uthman followers to advance his cause. A Kharijite assassinated Ali in the First World War and the majority of believers recognize Muawiyah as caliph. The Second Civil War saw the death of Muawiyah and the end of generation of Umayyads in power. Umayyads face opposition from Kufa Ali’s stronghold that claimed that the caliphate should belong to one of Ali’s family. The entire of Ali’s family were massacred by Umayyad troops while the Shiites resisted Umayyad rule in Kufa while al-Mukhtar acted as the leader as one of Ali’s sons.
In most of the Quran verses there is instruction concerning obedience to Allah and the prophets while in other verses there is the recognition of legitimacy and political organizations such as caliphs, kings, and regimes. For instance, some of its verses recognize Jihad as a powerful concept during revolution of Meccan oligarchy in the establishment of Islam while it does not provide on the formation of the government after the death of the prophet. The earlier prophets took their leadership posts as kings such as David. No male offspring survives Muhammad while his cousin successor Ali took the mantle his rulership did not last long since he was assassinated. Consequently the other descendant of Hashim, al-Hassan was also assassinated, and the rulership was held by the other cousin Abd Allah ibn al-Abbas. The Medina Constitution is one of the historical documents that describe the organization authority in the nascent Islamic polity. The constitution provides different pacts with Jews from Medina to mark the foundation of Umma Wahid to unify matters of common defense that recognizes Muhammad as one with judiciary authority. Muhammad political activity centers on jihad organization that culminate in the revolutionary war between Arab confederates and the Meccan oligarchy. The aftermath of the war leads to voluntary submission of the remnant tribes and the unification of Arabia. Afterwards, Muhammad dies while Abu Bakr and Umar remain apprehensive that caliphate and prophethood would reunite in the same family. In reality, BanuHashim blocks Ali’s succession to succeed the prophet and a civil war emerges and the subsequent murder of Uthman and Ali. The murder of the two proposed successors is a suggestion that Muhammad failed to settle the issue of succession before his death. The Prophet had a fortiori; a blueprint for the organization of government that show that his rule extends beyond Medina and the vast Arabia. The vast empire came into being after the conquest of Persian and Byzantine armies. At the end of the first civil war, Muslim had a large army consisting of Arab tribal contingents that settle in garrison cities and rudimentary civil bureaucracy.
The establishment of the caliphate and the political organization of the Arab empire entail a Khalifa in different passages in the Quran to signify successor or deputy. Most scholars in the Muslim world contest the succession of Abu Bakr to attain the title commander of the faithful. The Shiite doctrine preserves Ali’s conception of the imam as Khalifat Allah to attest to the designation of caliphs in the Umayyad dynasty. The dispute on the issue of legitimacy shapes the Islamic religion of Mu’awiya and separates the Muslim community of Ali. The lack of differentiation in the authority of the caliph as the ruler of the Arab empire has all the socio-political movements a sectarian and religious character.
Legitimacy and political organization take shape in the early caliphate to create a new administrative and fiscal bureaucracy in a broader culture. Some of the first Muslim administrators such as ZiyadibnAbhi and Ali the governor of Fars joined Mu ‘awiya to acquaint themselves with the tradition empires so that they are able to translate the Persian works to Arabic. The normative order binds the Muslim and the non-Muslim subjects of the caliphate. Abd Allah ibn al-Muqaffa is one of the Abbasid revolutionary power struggles that translate most of the crucial Persian statecraft as well as political animal fables. Most of the Persian literature became part of public law of the caliphate and Muslim monarchies to shape the medieval Muslim conception of the government. For instance, ayin records the act of foundation of order, dietary, domestic life, sumptuary regulations, and the regulations of the hours of the day. The Islamicization of political ideology in the Arab empire leads to contest in the Islam interpretation between the rebels and the oppositional movements. Khawarij is the first to contest the unconditional legitimacy of the caliph as God’s deputy. The people claim that the caliph forfeits his legitimacy to advocate God’s government that will dispose of imams of the radical egalitarian community of believers. Khurasanianmawali elevates Abbasids to power to enable them become sons of the state. The Umayyad Empire exhausts Transoxania to suppress the Berber rebellion
Worth mentioning are the sultans – leaders that rose to power through unique ways – unique in the sense that they rose to power in such a manner that there were no powerful leaders above them. Sultan is a word derived from the Arabic meaning for the term strength. Sultan leadership was mainly passed on through genealogy. The leadership was based on family relations I such a way that it was passed on to the next male in the kinship. Sultans were in charge of what could be the modern day provinces. On the contrary, a caliphate was a state ruled by some supreme religious leaders referred to as caliphs. Caliphates are sovereign states that represent the supremacy of the entire Muslim faithful referred to as Ummah.
The abbasid period is no doubt one of the most significant periods in Islamic history. Primarily, the Abbasid period, which ran from 750 to 1258, saw a major shift of the Islamic political and cultural essence from Syria to Iraq, particularly Baghdad – a city associated with profound peace and harmony. The Abbasid period succeeded the Ummayads (661-750). The Abbasids also established the city of Samarra – abbreviation for “He that sees it rejoices”. The period came with a major reconstruction of Islamic art. The Abbasid period came with revolutionary art and architecture, especially in the cities of Baghdad and Samarra.
Of the four major Islamic caliphates, the Umayyad Caliphate was the second. It came after the death of Prophet Muhammad, and was associated with the Umayyad dynasty – which was rooted in Mecca. Syria was the main base for the Umayyad, majorly because the sons of Umayyad were associated with the longest serving Syrian governor. With their central base of power being Syria, Damascus was their main capital. The centralization of power in Syria and Damascus came especially after the end of the first Muslim civil war in 661.
The crystallization of Islamic power and legitimacy was majorly based on genealogy. It means that all leaders were from the royal families in the Islamic kingdoms. Essentially, the families that rose to leadership were associated with earlier leaders especially in the Iranian domain.
Bibliography
Irwin, Robert. The new Cambridge history of Islam. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2010.
Madelung, Wilferd. Muhammad and the Caliphate. New York, NY, USA: Cambridge University Press, 1997.
