The Muslim Empire was formed at the beginning of the 12th century, by the hand of the prophet Maoma, who unified the Arab lands under the same banner: the Muslim religion. At the end of the 620s, most of the Arab Peninsula was part of the Muslim Empire, and it was at the end of this decade that the first conflicts between Arabs and Byzantines took place.
The battles that were fought under the orders of the Caliphs (the equivalent of kings for the Muslim Empire), gave rise to the total expansion of their religion in wide parts of Europe. The empire came to conquer all of North Africa, extending from Portugal to Pakistan.
Beyond the military, the success of the empire was largely due to its defined political organization under the Caliphates, its main exponent being the Ottoman Empire, one of the strongest Arab Caliphates that existed until the early twentieth century. The Ottomans were, however, primarily responsible for the fall of the traditional Muslim Empire.
History
Muhammad was born in Mecca, in the year 570, and is officially recognized as the founder of Islam. After beginning to prophesy the apparitions of the archangel Gabriel in 610, Muhammad was persecuted by polytheistic believers from his hometown. After his escape, the prophet amassed an army of 10,000 men faithful to his word, with whom he would retake Mecca.
Before his death in 632, the Arab Peninsula was mostly part of the Islamic religion. Muhammad's death gave rise to the Caliph, his successor, who would become leader of the empire. All who held this office contributed to the expansion of the Muslim Empire, which continued until 750.
The Muslim Empire wanted to reach Constantinople through the Iberian Peninsula, which unleashed an invasion of Gibraltar and the subsequent battles that took place in Spain. This led to the formation of the Emirate of Córdoba and the Arab settlement in the peninsula.
Although the Empire stopped growing territorially, it remained united until the end of the 15th century, when the Muslim Kingdom of Granada fell and on the other hand the Ottoman Empire emerged with the taking of Constantinople.
The Ottomans became the main heirs of Muslim expansion in the world and their empire remained standing until its dissolution in 1924, the end of the last great Caliphate.
Muslim invasion of Europe
Dark red: Age of the Caliphs (622-632). Light red: Ca lifato Rashidun (632–661). Yellow: Umayyad Caliphate (661–750)
The belief of the Muslim Empire had the conquest of Constantinople as its objective. To achieve this, they had to first make their way across the Iberian Peninsula and in 711, thousands of Arab soldiers landed in the Spanish city of Gibraltar.
This event marked the beginning of the Arab rule in Spain and Portugal, which would remain latent until the absolute Arab expulsion in 1492.
During the first years of the invasion, the Andalusian towns under Arab rule tried to reach a series of agreements with the new leaders, and many of its inhabitants accepted the foreign presence in the peninsula.
The Hispanic center and north, however, managed to repel the invaders and keep the Kingdom standing. These events triggered a break in relations between the Spanish Catholic Church and the Roman Church.
The cradle of Catholicism in Rome decided, together with Emperor Charlemagne, to officially recognize Galicia as an independent kingdom from the Emirate of Córdova, with Alfonso II as its king.
The domination of the south of the peninsula by the Arabs was maintained until the Spaniards completely completed their "Reconquest", when they retaken the dominion of Granada in 1492 and put an end to any hint of a caliphate in Spain.
Muslims also expanded their empire into the region of what is now known as Pakistan, in their attempt to expand their territorial dominance and Muslim belief.
The Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman Empire, also known as the Turkish-Ottoman Empire and the predecessor of what is now Turkey, was founded in 1354 and entered Europe in 1453 with the conquest of the Balkans.
This movement not only meant a resurgence of Islamic conquests in Europe, but also served as a catalyst to end the traditional Muslim Empire with its ambitions of expansion in North Africa.
The Ottomans followed in the footsteps of the prophet after establishing a clear territorial dominion, annexing anyone who stood up to them. The end of the Ottoman Empire, however, was due to internal movements and the formation of political parties that democratically dismantled the empire in 1924.
Organization of the Muslim Empire
Muslim society subsisted economically under three fundamental principles:
- Zakat, which consisted of collecting taxes for the use and production of certain goods such as cultivation, and using the money obtained to help those most in need.
- The Gharar, a contractual operation that eliminates the risk of luck between both parties, giving security guarantees to the merchant.
- Riba, an interest charged on money given or borrowed. This is basically an old form of loan.
These laws, along with other Islamic reforms that were backed by the word of Muhammad and gave rise to economic justice in the Muslim Empire.
Their political and civil organization was also based on the principles of Allah and on the word of the Prophet Muhammad. The Tawheed was the ability to feel one with Allah, the only God, and the Risalat was the means by which the word of Allah is communicated to the faithful. On the basis of these two fundamental laws, the Caliphates arose and were maintained for centuries.
The Caliphates, preceded by the Caliph, were organizations that lived on the word of Muhammad and expanded using the Muslim religion as the main reason for their advancement.
The conquest served to annex infidel territories, expand society and make the most of the planet's resources.
References
- Islamic Political System (nd). Taken from al-islam.org.
- A Brief History of Muslim Conquests (David Curp). Taken from catholicculture.org.
- Early Rise of Islam (nd). Taken from bbc.co.uk
- Siege of Constantinople (626) (January 22, 2018). Taken from en.wikipedia.org
- Political Aspects of Islam (November 21, 2017). Taken from en.wikipedia.org.
- Muhammad (February 5, 2018). Taken from en.wikipedia.org
- Umayyad Conquest of Hispania (January 29, 2018). Taken from en.wikipedia.org
- Reconquista (February 5, 2018) in Wikipedia. Taken from en.wikipedia.org
- Ottoman Empire (February 7, 2018) in Wikipedia. Taken from en.wikipedia.org
- History of Islam Economics (February 3, 2018) in Wikipedia. Taken from en.wikipedia.org.