AP World History Chapter 7

AP World History Chapter 7

1. The Islamic Heartlands in the Middle and Late Abbasid Eras

   • The Reign of al-Mahdi
     • -Third Abbasid Caliph, al-Mahdi, tried to reduce Shi'a opposition and failed
       • -Shi'a revolts and assassination attempts against Abbasid officials plagued the dynasty
         • -al-Mahdi broke the habits of his predecessor, establishing a taste for luxury and monumental building, and surrounded himself with wives, concubines, and couriers. This led to a massive financial drain.
           • -al-Mahdi (most critically) failed to solve the problem of succession. His eldest son was poisoned a year after al-Mahdi's death, but civil war was avoided.
             • -Harun al-Rashid succeeded al-Mahdi.
   • Imperial Extravagance and Succession Disputes
     • -Emissaries sent in the early 9nth century to Baghdad from Charlemagne showed that Harun al-Rashid shared his father's tastes.
       • -The luxury of Harun's court are portrayed in The Thousand and One Nights, set in the Baghdad of his day.
         • -Harun became dependent on a family of Persian advisors.
           • -The first civil war for the throne convinced the sons of al-Ma'mun (winner of the war) to build personal armies in anticipation of the next fight for the throne.
             • -The victor of the next war had recruited a "bodyguard" of 4,000 slaves, mostly Turkic-speaking nomads from central Asia. After becoming caliph, this force increased to more than 70,000.
               • -This army soon became its own power. In 846 slave mercenaries murdered the reigning caliph and placed one of his sons on the throne.
                 • -Over the next decade, four more caliphs were murdered. From this time onward, the leaders of the slave mercenary armies were often the real power behind the Abbasid throne and were major in the struggles for the throne.
                   • -The mercenaries were also the catalyst for periodic food riots when the price of staples rose too sharply.
   • Imperial Breakdown and Agrarian Disorder

2. An Age of Learning and Artistic Refinements

3. The Coming of Islam to South Asia

4. The Spread of Islam to Southeast Asia