AT 7th-8th centuries as a result of the conquests, a huge state was formed - Arab Caliphate, which later broke up into separate states. A rich culture was created in the countries of the Caliphate, linking together the achievements of different peoples. The Arabs made a huge contribution to the development of science, literature and art.

Arab conquests (emergence of the Arab Caliphate)

After the death of Muhammad, power in the state that united all the Arabs was inherited by the closest companions of the prophet, elected at meetings of the most respected Muslims. These rulers were called caliphs- "deputies" of the prophet, and the state they headed - Caliphate. Having united the Arabs, Islam set before them a common goal - to subdue the "infidels" to the new religion. The first century of the Caliphate passed under the sign of conquests. In 636, the Arabs defeated the Byzantines on the Yarmuk River north of Jerusalem and in a few years captured the eastern provinces of Byzantium: Syria, Palestine and Egypt, then Iran, and later the entire Mediterranean coast of Africa. In 711-714 years. they subjugated the Visigothic kingdom in Spain, crossed the Pyrenees, and only in 732 were stopped by the Franks at Poitiers. In the east, they went to the Indus River, captured Central Asia and in 751 at Talas, they defeated the Chinese army, but did not go further.

Arab ship. Miniature of the 13th century.

Each new victory strengthened the confidence of Muslims in the omnipotence of Allah, who chose the Arabs as an instrument for fulfilling his will. But there were other reasons for their amazing success. Former nomads turned out to be excellent warriors, their cavalry attacked swiftly, and their religious zeal doubled their strength. At the same time, the opposing powers - Iran, Byzantium, Visigothic Spain - were weakened by internal strife or mutual hostility. Their population, tired of wars and heavy taxes, was sometimes ready to submit without a fight. This was facilitated by the tolerance of the Arabs in relation to the "People of the Book" - as they called Christians and Jews, sharply distinguishing them from pagans. At the same time, exemption from certain important taxes encouraged the conquered population to convert to Islam, especially since the features of Judaism and Christianity were recognized in the new faith. It was easier to accept such a belief.

AT middle of the 8th century the Arab conquests were largely over. The Arabs created the largest power that history knew by that time.

Arab travelers. Miniature of the 13th century.

Arab conquests

Rise and Fall of the Caliphate

The Arab conquests unfolded against the backdrop of a fierce struggle for the power of the caliph. During this struggle, the Muslims were divided into Shiites(from the word "ash-shia" - supporters) and Sunnis(from the word "sunna", which means "tradition").

Sunnis and Shiites argued fiercely about who should be the imam, that is, the religious head of all Muslims, and about many other things. Both considered themselves supporters of the true teachings of Muhammad, which was distorted by their opponents. Later, both directions broke up into many movements and sects, but in general, the division of Muslims into Sunnis and Shiites has survived to this day.

At the turn of the VIII-IX centuries. The Arab Caliphate looked more solid than ever. Metropolitan Baghdad was one of the largest cities in the world, the court of the caliphs was immersed in luxury. material from the site

The memory of the power of the Caliphate was preserved in the tales of the Thousand and One Nights, but the heyday of the Caliphate was short-lived. Firstly, the conquered peoples did not always want to put up with the conquerors. Already in the VIII-IX centuries. a wave of rebellions and popular unrest swept through the Caliphate. Secondly, too much territory was under the rule of the caliphs. The governors of certain regions - the emirs - felt themselves complete masters in their possessions.

The interior of the Cordoba mosque. VIII-X centuries

First, Spain separated, then Morocco, Egypt, and Central Asia separated. Soon, the caliphs lost real power, and in the XIII century. The Mongols conquered Baghdad.

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 Northeast Africa).

A characteristic feature of the emergence of statehood among the Arabs in the 7th century. there was a religious coloring of this process, which was accompanied by the formation of a new world religion - Islam (Islam is translated from Arabic and means "surrendering oneself" to God). The political movement for the unification of the tribes under the slogans of rejecting paganism and polytheism, which objectively reflected the tendencies of the emergence of a new system, was called "Hanif".

The search by Hanif preachers 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. Mohammed (about 570-632), a shepherd who became rich as a result of a successful marriage, an orphan from Mecca, on whom "revelations descended", then 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 supposed to be a prophet - "the messenger of Allah on earth."

Calls of early Islam for social justice (limiting usury, establishing alms for the poor, freeing slaves, honesty in trade) displeased the tribal merchant nobility with the "revelations" of Muhammad, which forced him to flee with a group of closest associates in 622 from Mecca to Yathrib (later - Medina , "city of the Prophet"). Here he managed to enlist the support of various social groups, including the Bedouin nomads. The first mosque was erected here, the order of Muslim worship was determined. From the moment of this resettlement and a separate existence, which received the name "Hijra" (621-629), the summer reckoning according to the Muslim calendar begins.

Muhammad argued that the Islamic teaching does not contradict the two previously widespread monotheistic religions - Judaism and Christianity, but only confirms and clarifies them. However, already at that time it became clear that Islam contains something new. His rigidity, and sometimes even fanatical intolerance in some matters, was quite clearly manifested, especially in matters of power and on power. According to the doctrine of Islam, religious power is inseparable from secular power and is the basis of the latter, in connection with which Islam demanded equally unconditional obedience to God, the prophet and "those who have power."

For ten years, in the 20-30s. 7th century the organizational restructuring of the Muslim community in Medina into a state entity was completed. Mohammed himself was in it a spiritual, military leader and judge. With the help of the new religion and military detachments of the community, a struggle began with the opponents of the new socio-political structure.

The closest relatives and associates of Mohammed 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 for the descendants (and not companions) of the prophet.

The first four caliphs, the so-called "righteous" caliphs, suppressed dissatisfaction with Islam among certain sections and completed the political unification of Arabia. In the VII - the first half of the VIII century. Huge territories were conquered from the former Byzantine and Persian possessions, including the Middle East, Central Asia, Transcaucasia, North Africa and Spain. The Arab army also entered the territory of France, but was defeated by the knights of Charles Martel at the Battle of Poitiers in 732.

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

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

Umayyad dynasty(since 661), which carried out the conquest of Spain, moved the capital to Damascus, and the next Abbasid dynasty(from the descendants of a prophet named Abba, from 750) ruled from Baghdad for 500 years. By the end of the X 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 Caliph Haroun al-Rashid, who became one of the characters in the Thousand and One Nights, as well as his son al-Mamun. These were enlightened autocrats who combined concerns about spiritual and secular education. Naturally, in the role of caliphs, they were also busy 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 duty of the ruler in this case was to be a just, wise and merciful ruler. The enlightened caliphs combined the care of administration, finance, justice, and the military with support for education, art, literature, science, and 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) 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, i.e. messenger).

The first environment of the prophet-ruler was composed of Mujahirs(the 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 the 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, the special status of cities, any freedoms and privileges.

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 Nejd plateau, whose land is not very suitable for cultivation. In ancient times, the population was mainly engaged in livestock breeding (camels, sheep, goats). Only in the west of the peninsula, along the coast 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 Hijaz, which contributed to the creation of large trading centers here. One of them was Mecca.

In pre-Islamic Arabia, nomadic Arabs (Bedouins) and settled Arabs (farmers) lived in a tribal system. This system carried strong vestiges of matriarchy. Thus, kinship was counted along the maternal line, cases of polyandry (polyandry) were known, although polygamy was also practiced at the same time. Marriage among the Arabs was terminated quite freely, including on the initiative of the wife. Tribes existed autonomously from each other. From time to time they could enter into alliances with each other, but stable political formations did not arise for a long time. At the head of the tribe was seyyid(lit. “orator”), later the seyyids were called sheikhs. The power of the seyyid was potestary in nature and was not inherited, but the seyyids usually came from the same clan. Such a leader supervised the economic work of the tribe, he also led the militia in case of hostilities. During the campaign, the seyyid could count on receiving a quarter of the spoils of war. As for the activity of popular assemblies among the Arabs, science does not have information about this.

At the turn of the VI-VII centuries. Arabia was in 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 the transport routes to the east, to the region of the Persian Gulf, the interfluve of the Tigris and Euphrates. This led to the decline of the Hijaz's role as a transport and trade hub. In addition, population growth caused a land famine: land suitable for agriculture was not enough. As a result, social tension among the Arab population increased. In the wake of this crisis, a new religion arose to restore harmony and unite all Arabs. She got the name Islam("submissiveness"). Its creation is associated with the name of the prophet Muhammad(570–632 ). He came from a tribe of Quraysh who dominated Mecca. Until the age of forty, he remained an ordinary person, his transformation took place in 610 miraculously (through the appearance of the archangel Jabrail). Since that time, Muhammad began to transmit heavenly messages to the world in the form of suras (chapters) of the Koran (al-Kur'an means "reading", since the prophet had to read the heavenly scroll on the orders of the archangel). Muhammad preached the new creed in Mecca. It was based on the idea of ​​a single God - Allah. This was the name of the tribal deity of the Quraysh, but Muhammad gave it the meaning of the universal God, the Creator of all things. The new religion absorbed much from other monotheistic cults - Christianity and Judaism. The prophets of the Old Testament and Jesus Christ were declared prophets of Islam. Initially, the preaching of monotheism met with fierce resistance from the Quraysh nobility, who did not want to part with pagan beliefs. Clashes began in Mecca, which led to the resettlement of Muhammad and his supporters in the neighboring city of Yathrib (later called Medina an-Nabi - "the city of the prophet"). Migration (hijra) took place in 622, this date was then recognized as the beginning of the Muslim chronology. This meaning of the hijra is due to the fact that it was in Medina that the prophet managed to create ummah- the Muslim community, which became the embryo of the first Islamic state. Relying on the forces of the Medinans, the prophet was able to conquer Mecca by military means. In 630, Muhammad entered his hometown as a victor: Mecca recognized Islam.

After the death of Muhammad in 632, the Muslim community began to elect his deputies - caliphs("he who follows after, the successor"). The name of the Muslim state is connected with this - the Caliphate. The first four caliphs were called "righteous" (in contrast to the subsequent "godless" Umayyad caliphs). Righteous caliphs: Abu Bakr (632-634); Omar (634–644); Osman (644–656); Ali (656–661). The name of Ali is associated with a split in Islam and the emergence of two main currents: Sunnis and Shiites. Shiites were adherents and followers of Ali ("Ali's party"). Already under the first caliphs, the aggressive campaigns of the Arabs began, the territory of the Muslim state expanded significantly. The Arabs capture Iran, Syria, Palestine, Egypt, North Africa, they penetrate into the Transcaucasus and Central Asia, subdue Afghanistan and northwestern India to the river. Ind. In 711, the Arabs crossed into Spain and in a short time captured the entire Iberian Peninsula. They advanced further into Gaul, but were stopped by Frankish troops led by Major 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. Belief in one God rallied 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 its role. During jihad(the holy "war in the way of Allah"), the warriors of Islam were supposed to show religious tolerance towards the "People of the Book" - Christians and Jews, but only if they accept the status dhimmi. Dhimmis are those non-Muslims (Christians and Jews, in the 9th century Zoroastrians were also included in them) who recognize Muslim authority over themselves and pay a special poll tax - jizya. If they resist with weapons in their hands or refuse to pay tax, they should be waged war as with other "infidels". (Muslims were also not supposed to be tolerant of pagans and apostates.) The doctrine of religious tolerance turned out to be quite attractive to many Christians and Jews in the countries occupied by the Arabs. It is known that in Spain and in the south of Gaul, the local population preferred a softer Muslim government to the harsh rule of the Germans - 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 Shiite traditions, there was a different understanding of the role of the ruler in the state. For the 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 a coordinated form, and not individually. The Caliph, however, cannot create new legislation, he only enforces the existing law. The Shiites defined the powers of the Imam-Caliph more broadly. The imam, like a prophet, receives a revelation from Allah himself, therefore he is endowed with the right to interpret sacred texts. The Shiites recognized the ruler's right to legislate.

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

After the death of Caliph Ali in 661, Muawiyah, a relative of the third Caliph Osman and Ali's enemy, seized power. Muawiyah was the governor of 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 way of life, the Umayyads started their own court and lived in luxury. The creation of a huge power required the introduction of numerous bureaucracy and increased taxation. Taxes were imposed not only on dhimmis, but also on Muslims, who had previously been exempted from paying taxes to the treasury.
In the multinational empire, the Umayyads tried to pursue a pro-Arab policy, which caused discontent among non-Arab Muslims. A broad movement to restore equality to the Muslim community led to the downfall of the dynasty. Power in the Caliphate was seized by the descendant of the uncle of the prophet (al-Abbas) Abu-l-Abbas the Bloody. He ordered the destruction of all Umayyad princes. (One of them escaped death and founded an independent state in Spain.)

Abu-l-Abbas laid the foundation for a new dynasty of caliphs - Abbasids (750–1258 ). Under the next caliph Mansur, a new capital, the city of 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 rule. Much was borrowed from the Persian dynasty of Sassanid kings (III-VII centuries).

Central authorities and administration. 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 - vizier. At first, the wazir was only the personal secretary of the caliph, who conducted his correspondence, followed his property, and also trained the heir to the throne. Then the wazir became the chief adviser to the caliph, the keeper of the state seal and the head of the entire bureaucracy of the Caliphate. In his submission were all the central institutions of the empire. 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-commander was at the head of the army. This undermined the influence of the wazir in the state. Usually educated Persians were appointed to the post of Abbasid wazir, the position could be inherited. The central departments were called sofas. First, the registries of persons receiving salaries and pensions from the treasury were designated this way, then - the departments where these registries were stored. The main sofas were: office, treasury and army management. The main post office (Diwan al-barid) was also singled out. It was in charge of the management of roads and post offices, the creation of means of communication. The officials of the sofa, among other things, were engaged in the perusal of letters and performed the functions of the secret police in the state.

At the head of each sofa was sahib- the chief, he had subordinates katibs- scribes. They underwent special training and constituted 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 a strong decentralization of power. When conquering new regions, 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 almost uncontrollably. The Abbasids borrowed the experience of organizing the Persian state of the Sassanids. The entire territory of the Arab Empire was divided into large districts along the lines of the Persian satrapies. In each such province, the caliph appointed his official - emir who bears full responsibility 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 like capital sofas and exercised control over their work. The assistants of the emirs were naibs.

Judicial system. Initially, the court was not separated from the administration. The caliphs were the supreme judges, from the caliphs the 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 deputies began to appoint special judges, called cadi("the one who decides"). 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. Qadi could appoint a deputy subordinate to him, and the deputy had assistants in the districts. This branched system was headed by qadi al-kudat("judge of judges"), appointed by the caliph. Under the Abbasids, the qadi became independent of the local authorities, but his subordination to the center was preserved. The appointment of new qadis began to be carried out by a special sofa, like the Ministry of Justice.

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 state of public buildings, prisons, roads, supervised the execution of wills, was in charge of the division of property, established guardianship, and even married single women who were deprived of a guardian.

Part of the criminal cases was withdrawn from the jurisdiction of the qadi. Security cases and homicide cases were handled by the police - shurta. Shurta made the final decision on them. It was also the body of preliminary investigation and the body of execution of the court sentence. Headed the police sahib-ash-shurta. Cases of adultery and the use of alcohol were also removed from the jurisdiction of the qadi and were considered by the mayor, sahib al-madina.

The Caliph was the highest court of appeal. Wazir was also endowed with judicial powers: he could consider cases of "civil offences." The court of the wazir complemented the Sharia court of the qadi and often acted more effectively.

The further fate of the Caliphate. Already in the VIII century. The Arab empire begins to disintegrate. The provincial emirs, relying on their troops, achieve independence. By the middle of the X century. under the control of the caliph, only Arabia and part of Mesopotamia, adjacent to Baghdad, remain.
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 "ruler") of the Seljuks. As the spiritual leaders of the Sunni Muslims, the Caliphs of Baghdad retained their importance until 1258, when Baghdad was captured by the Mongols, and the last Caliph of Baghdad was killed on the orders of Khan Hulagu. Soon the Caliphate was 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 the 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 assigned to Abdul-Mejid II. He became the last caliph in history. In 1924, the Turkish Grand National Assembly passed a law on the liquidation of the Caliphate. Its more than a thousand-year history has come to an end.

On the territory of the Arabian Peninsula already in the II 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, engaged in crafts and trade.

The other part wandered in the deserts and steppes, 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. This oasis was inhabited by the Arab tribe Qureish, whose tribal nobility, using the geographical position of Mecca, received income from the transit of goods through their territory.

In addition, Mecca became the religious center of Western Arabia. Here was located the ancient pre-Islamic temple of the 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 Quraish Allah tribe (from Arabic ilah - master).

In the VI century. n, e. in Arabia, in connection with the movement of trade routes to Iran, the importance of trade falls. The population, which lost income from the caravan trade, was forced to look for sources of livelihood in agriculture. But there was little land suitable for agriculture. They had to be conquered.

For this, forces were needed and, consequently, the unification of fragmented tribes, moreover, worshiping different gods. The need to introduce monotheism and unite the Arab tribes on this basis was more and more clearly defined.

This idea was preached by adherents of the Hanif sect, one of whom was Mohammed (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, the Last Judgment, retribution after death, unconditional obedience to the will of God (Arabic Islam-obedience).

The names of the prophets and other biblical characters common to these religions testify to the Judaic and Christian roots of Islam: the biblical Abraham (Islamic Ibrahim), Aaron (Harun), David (Daud), Isaac (Ishak), Solomon (Suleiman), Ilya (Ilyas), Jacob (Yakub), Christian Jesus (Isa), Mary (Maryam) and others. Islam has common customs and prohibitions with Judaism. Both religions prescribe the circumcision of boys, forbid portraying 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 most of the tribesmen of Muhammad, and first of all 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 their 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 chronology. The agricultural population of Yathrib (Medina), competing with merchants from Mecca, supported Muhammad. However, only in 630, having recruited the necessary number of supporters, did he get the opportunity to form military forces and capture Mecca, the local nobility of which was forced to submit to the new religion, all the more it suited them 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 into a single book of the 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 recognized the Koran and the Sunnah became known as Sunnis, and those who recognized only one Koran became Shiites. The Shiites recognize only his relatives as legitimate caliphs (deputies, deputies) of Muhammad, spiritual and secular heads of Muslims.

The economic crisis in Western Arabia in the 7th century, caused by the displacement 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 also reflected in the Koran, which says that Islam should be the religion of all peoples, but for this it is necessary to fight against the infidels, exterminate them and take away 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, launched a series of conquest campaigns. They conquered Palestine, Syria, Mesopotamia, Persia. Already in 638 they captured Jerusalem. Until the end of the 7th century under the rule of the Arabs were the countries of the Middle East, Persia, the Caucasus, Egypt and Tunisia. In the 8th century Central Asia, Afghanistan, Western India, North-West Africa were captured.

In 711, Arab troops under the leadership of Tarik sailed from Africa to the Iberian Peninsula (from the name of Tarik came the name Gibraltar - Mount Tarik). Having quickly conquered the Iberian lands, 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 IX century. Arabs captured Sicily, Sardinia, the southern regions of Italy, the island of Crete. At this, the Arab conquests stopped, but a long-term war was waged with the Byzantine Empire. Arabs besieged Constantinople twice.

The main Arab conquests were made under the caliphs Abu Bakr (632-634), Omar (634-644), Osman (644-656) and the caliphs from the Umayyad dynasty (661-750). Under the Umayyads, the capital of the Caliphate was moved to Syria in the city of Damascus.

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

The unification of many former disparate and warring states into a single state contributed to the development of economic and cultural communication between the peoples of Asia, Africa and Europe. Crafts, trade developed, cities grew. Within the Arab Caliphate, a culture developed rapidly, incorporating the Greco-Roman, Iranian and Indian heritage.

Through the Arabs, Europe got acquainted with the cultural achievements of the Eastern peoples, primarily with the 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 caliphs were the Abbassids, descendants of the uncle of the Prophet Muhammad - Abbas. They moved the capital of the state to Baghdad.

In the western part of the Caliphate, in Spain, the Umayyads continued to rule, who did not recognize the Abbasids and founded the Caliphate of Cordoba 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 Abbassid Caliphate waged constant wars with Byzantium. In 1258, after the Mongols defeated the Arab army and captured Baghdad, the Abbassid state ceased to exist.

The Spanish Umayyad Caliphate was also gradually shrinking. In the XI century. As a result of internecine struggle, the Caliphate of Cordoba broke up into a number of states. This was taken advantage of by the Christian states that arose in the northern part of Spain: the Leono-Castile, Aragonese, Portuguese kingdoms, which began a struggle with the Arabs for the liberation of the peninsula - the reconquista.

In 1085 they conquered the city of Toledo, in 1147 - Lisbon, in 1236 Cordoba fell. 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 of the spiritual leadership of the Arabs by all Muslims continued to exist until 1517, when this function was transferred to the Turkish sultan, who captured Egypt, where the last caliphate, the spiritual head of all Muslims, lived.

The history of the Arab Caliphate, numbering only six centuries, was complex, ambiguous, and at the same time left a significant mark on the evolution of human society on the planet.

The difficult economic situation of the population of the Arabian Peninsula in the VI-VII centuries. in connection with the movement of trade routes to another zone necessitated the search for sources of livelihood. To solve this problem, the tribes living here embarked on the path of establishing a new religion - Islam, which was supposed to become not only the religion of all peoples, but also called for a fight against infidels (gentiles).

Guided by the ideology of Islam, the Caliphs pursued a broad policy of conquest, turning the Arab Caliphate into an empire. The unification of the former disparate 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, incorporating the Greco-Roman, Iranian and Indian cultural heritage, the Arab (Islamic) civilization had a huge impact on the spiritual life of Western Europe, representing a significant military threat throughout the Middle Ages. .

After the death of Muhammad, the Arabs were ruled caliphs military leaders elected by the entire community. The first four caliphs came from the inner circle of the prophet himself. Under them, the Arabs for the first time went beyond their ancestral lands. Caliph Omar, the most successful military leader, spread the influence of Islam to almost the entire Middle East. Under him, Syria, Egypt, Palestine were conquered - lands that previously belonged to the Christian world. The closest enemy of the Arabs in the struggle for land was Byzantium, which was going through hard times. A long war with the Persians and numerous internal problems undermined the power of the Byzantines, and it was not difficult for the Arabs to take away a number of territories from the empire and defeat the Byzantine army in several battles.

In a sense, the Arabs were "doomed to succeed" in their campaigns. First, excellent light cavalry provided the Arab army with mobility and superiority over infantry and heavy cavalry. Secondly, the Arabs, having captured the country, behaved in it in accordance with the precepts of Islam. Only the rich were deprived of their property, the conquerors did not touch the poor, and this could not but arouse sympathy for them. Unlike Christians, who often forced the local population to accept a new faith, the Arabs allowed religious freedom. The propaganda of Islam in the new lands was more of an economic nature. It happened in the following way. Having conquered the local population, the Arabs taxed it. Those who converted to Islam were exempted from a significant part of these taxes. Christians and Jews, who have long lived in many Middle Eastern countries, were not persecuted by the Arabs - they simply had to pay a tax on their faith.

The population in most of the conquered countries perceived the Arabs as liberators, especially since they retained a certain political independence for the conquered people. In the new lands, the Arabs founded paramilitary settlements and lived in their own closed, patriarchal-tribal world. But this state of affairs did not last long. In the rich cities of Syria, famous for their luxury, in Egypt with its centuries-old cultural traditions, noble Arabs were increasingly imbued with the habits of the local rich and nobility. For the first time, a split occurred in Arab society - adherents of patriarchal principles could not come to terms with the behavior of those who abandoned the custom of their fathers. Medina and the Mesopotamian settlements became the stronghold of the traditionalists. Their opponents - not only in the matter of foundations, but also in political terms - lived mainly in Syria.

In 661, there was a split between the two political factions of the Arab nobility. Caliph Ali, son-in-law of the Prophet Muhammad, tried to reconcile traditionalists and supporters of the new way of life. However, these attempts came to nothing. Ali was assassinated by conspirators from the traditionalist sect, and his place was taken by Emir Muawiyah, head of the Arab community in Syria. Mu'awiya broke decisively with the military democracy of early Islam. The capital of the Caliphate was moved to Damascus, the ancient capital of Syria. In the era of the Damascus Caliphate, the Arab world resolutely expanded its borders.

By the 8th century, the Arabs had subjugated all of North Africa, and in 711 they launched an offensive against European lands. What a serious force the Arab army was can be judged at least by the fact that in just three years the Arabs completely took possession of the Iberian Peninsula.

Muawiyah and his heirs, the caliphs of the Umayyad dynasty, created a state in a short time, the equal of which history has not yet known. Neither the dominions of Alexander the Great, nor even the Roman Empire in its heyday, extended as widely as the Umayyad Caliphate. The possessions of the caliphs stretched from the Atlantic Ocean to India and China. The Arabs owned almost all of Central Asia, all of Afghanistan, the northwestern territories of India. In the Caucasus, the Arabs conquered the Armenian and Georgian kingdoms, thus surpassing the ancient rulers of Assyria.

Under the Umayyads, the Arab state finally lost the features of the former patriarchal-tribal system. In the early years of Islam, the caliph, the religious head of the community, was chosen by general vote. Muawiya made this title hereditary. Formally, the caliph remained the spiritual ruler, but he was mainly engaged in secular affairs.

Supporters of a developed system of government, created according to the Middle Eastern models, won the dispute with the adherents of the old customs. Caliphate more and more began to resemble the eastern despotism of ancient times. Numerous officials subordinate to the caliph monitored the payment of taxes in all the lands of the caliphate. If during the first caliphs Muslims were exempted from taxes (with the exception of the “tithe” for the maintenance of the poor, commanded by the prophet himself), then during the time of the Umayyads, three main taxes were introduced. The tithe, which used to go to the income of the community, now went to the Caliph's treasury. Except for her, all the inhabitants caliphate they had to pay a land tax and a poll tax, the jiziyah, the same one that was previously levied only on non-Muslims living on Muslim land.

The Caliphs of the Umayyad dynasty took care to make the Caliphate a truly unified state. For this purpose, they introduced Arabic as the state language in all the territories subject to them. The Koran, the holy book of Islam, played an important role in the formation of the Arab state during this period. The Qur'an was a collection of sayings of the Prophet, written down by his first students. After the death of Muhammad, several texts-additions were created that made up the book of the Sunnah. On the basis of the Koran and the Sunnah, the officials of the caliph conducted the court, the Koran determined all the most important issues in the life of the Arabs. But if all Muslims recognized the Koran unconditionally - after all, these were sayings dictated by Allah himself - then the religious communities treated the Sunna differently. It was along this line that a religious split occurred in Arab society.

The Arabs called Sunnis those who recognized the Sunnah as a holy book along with the Koran. The Sunni movement in Islam was considered official, since it was supported by the caliph. Those who agreed to regard only the Koran as a holy book constituted a sect of Shiites (schismatics).

Both Sunnis and Shiites were very numerous groups. Of course, the schism was not limited to religious differences. The Shia nobility was close to the family of the Prophet, the Shiites were led by relatives of the murdered caliph Ali. In addition to the Shiites, the caliphs were opposed by another, purely political sect - the Kharijites, who advocated a return to the original tribal patriarchy and retinue orders, in which the caliph was chosen by all the warriors of the community, and the lands were divided equally among everyone.

The Umayyad dynasty lasted ninety years in power. In 750, the commander Abul-Abbas, a distant relative of the Prophet Muhammad, overthrew the last caliph and destroyed all his heirs, declaring himself caliph. The new dynasty - the Abbasids - turned out to be much more durable than the previous one, and lasted until 1055. Abbas, unlike the Umayyads, was a native of Mesopotamia, a stronghold of the Shia movement in Islam. Not wanting to have anything to do with the Syrian rulers, the new ruler moved the capital to Mesopotamia. In 762, the city of Baghdad was founded, which became the capital of the Arab world for several hundred years.

The structure of the new state turned out to be in many respects similar to the Persian despotisms. Under the caliph was the first minister - the vizier, the whole country was divided into provinces, in which the emirs appointed by the caliph ruled. All power was concentrated in the Caliph's palace. Numerous palace officials were, in essence, ministers, each responsible for his own sphere. Under the Abbasids, the number of departments increased dramatically, which at first helped to manage a vast country.

The postal service was responsible not only for the organization of the courier service (first created by the Assyrian rulers in the 2nd millennium BC). It was also the responsibility of the Minister of Posts to maintain state roads in fair condition and to provide hotels along these roads. Mesopotamian influence manifested itself in one of the most important branches of economic life - agriculture. Irrigation agriculture, practiced in Mesopotamia from ancient times, was widespread under the Abbasids. Officials from a special department monitored the construction of canals and dams, the state of the entire irrigation system.

Under the Abbasids, military power caliphate increased sharply. The regular army now consisted of one hundred and fifty thousand warriors, among whom were many mercenaries from barbarian tribes. The caliph also had at his disposal his personal guard, for which warriors were trained from early childhood.

By the end of his reign, Caliph Abbas earned the title of "Bloody" for cruel measures to restore order in the lands conquered by the Arabs. However, it was thanks to his cruelty that the Abbasid caliphate turned into a prosperous country with a highly developed economy for a long time.

First of all, agriculture flourished. Its development was facilitated by the thoughtful and consistent policy of the rulers in this regard. The rare variety of climatic conditions in various provinces allowed the caliphate to fully provide itself with all the necessary products. It was at this time that the Arabs began to attach great importance to gardening and floriculture. Luxury goods and perfumes produced in the Abbasid state were important foreign trade items.

It was under the Abbasids that the heyday of the Arab world began as one of the main industrial centers in the Middle Ages. Having conquered many countries with rich and long-standing handicraft traditions, the Arabs enriched and developed these traditions. Under the Abbasids, the East begins to trade in steel of the highest quality, the equal of which Europe did not know. Damascus steel blades were highly valued in the West.

The Arabs not only fought, but also traded with the Christian world. Small caravans or brave lone merchants penetrated far to the north and west of the borders of their country. Items made in the Abbasid Caliphate in the 9th-10th centuries were found even in the Baltic Sea area, in the territories of the Germanic and Slavic tribes. The fight against Byzantium, which the Muslim rulers waged almost incessantly, was caused not only by the desire to seize new lands. Byzantium, which had long-established trade relations and routes throughout the world known at that time, was the main competitor of Arab merchants. Goods from the countries of the East, India and China, which had previously reached the West through Byzantine merchants, also went through the Arabs. No matter how badly the Arabs were treated by Christians in the European West, the East for Europe already in the era of the Dark Ages became the main source of luxury goods.

The Abbasid Caliphate had many common features both with the European kingdoms of its era and with the ancient Eastern despotisms. Caliphs, unlike European rulers, managed to prevent excessive independence of emirs and other high-ranking officials. If in Europe the land provided to the local nobility for royal service almost always remained in hereditary property, then the Arab state in this regard was closer to the ancient Egyptian order. According to the laws of the caliphate, all land in the state belonged to the caliph. He endowed his close associates and subjects for the service, but after their death, allotments and all property were returned to the treasury. Only the caliph had the right to decide whether to leave the lands of the deceased to his heirs or not. Recall that the reason for the collapse of most European kingdoms during the Early Middle Ages was precisely the power that the barons and counts took into their own hands on the lands granted to them by the king in hereditary possession. Royal power extended only to the lands that belonged personally to the king, and some of his counts owned much more extensive territories.

But there was never complete peace in the Abbasid Caliphate. The inhabitants of the countries conquered by the Arabs constantly sought to regain independence, raising riots against fellow invaders. Emirs in the provinces also did not want to put up with their dependence on the favor of the supreme ruler. The collapse of the caliphate began almost immediately after its formation. The first to separate were the Moors, the North African Arabs who conquered the Pyrenees. The independent Emirate of Cordoba became a caliphate in the middle of the 10th century, securing sovereignty at the state level. The Moors in the Pyrenees maintained their independence longer than many other Islamic nations. Despite the constant wars against Europeans, despite the powerful onslaught of the Reconquista, when almost all of Spain returned to Christianity, until the middle of the 15th century, there was a Moorish state in the Pyrenees, which eventually shrunk to the size of the Granada Caliphate - a small area around the Spanish city of Granada, the pearl of the Arab world , which amazed its European neighbors with its beauty. The famous Moorish style came to European architecture through Granada, finally conquered by Spain only in 1492.

Beginning in the middle of the 9th century, the collapse of the Abbasid state became irreversible. One by one, the North African provinces separated, followed by Central Asia. In the heart of the Arab world, the confrontation between Sunnis and Shiites has escalated even more sharply. In the middle of the 10th century, the Shiites captured Baghdad and for a long time ruled the remnants of the once mighty caliphate - Arabia and small territories in Mesopotamia. In 1055 the Caliphate was conquered by the Seljuk Turks. From that moment on, the world of Islam finally lost its unity. The Saracens, who had established themselves in the Middle East, did not abandon their attempts to seize Western European lands. In the 9th century, they captured Sicily, from where they were later driven out by the Normans. In the Crusades of the 12th-13th centuries, European crusader knights fought against Saracen troops.

The Turks from their Asia Minor territories moved to the lands of Byzantium. For several hundred years, they conquered the entire Balkan Peninsula, cruelly oppressing its former inhabitants - the Slavic peoples. And in 1453, the Ottoman Empire finally conquered Byzantium. The city was renamed Istanbul and became the capital of the Ottoman Empire.

Interesting information:

• Caliph - the spiritual and secular head of the Muslim community and the Muslim theocratic state (caliphate).
• Umayyads - the dynasty of caliphs, who ruled in 661 - 750.
• jiziya (Jizya) - a poll tax on non-Muslims in the countries of the medieval Arab world. Jiziya was paid only by adult men. Women, children, old people, monks, slaves and beggars were exempted from paying it.
• Koran (from the Ar. "Kur'an" - reading) - a collection of sermons, prayers, parables, commandments and other speeches delivered by Muhammad and which formed the basis of Islam.
• sunnah (from ar. "mode of action") - a sacred tradition in Islam, a collection of stories about the deeds, commandments and sayings of the prophet Muhammad. It is an explanation and addition to the Qur'an. Compiled in the 7th - 9th centuries.
• Abbasids - a dynasty of Arab caliphs, who ruled in 750 - 1258.
• Emir - a feudal ruler in the Arab world, a title corresponding to a European prince. Possessed secular and spiritual power. At first, emirs were appointed to the post of caliph, later this title became hereditary.