History of Medieval Islam

by J.J. Saunders

This is an introduction to the history of the Muslim East from the rise of Islam to the Mongol conquests. It explains and indicates the main trends of Islamic historical evolution during the Middle Ages, and will help the non-Orientalist to understand something of the relationship between Islam and Christendom in those centuries.

Genres: History, Middle East, Islam, Nonfiction, Historical

240 pages, Hardcover

First published April 1, 1965

Reviews

[Rati Kobakhidze · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well-written and engaging reading, provides a decent introduction to the politics of medieval Islam.

[Tariq Mahmood · Rating 3 out of 5]

For a book written in 1965, it is very surprising, or maybe not why so many questions have yet to be answered by the Islamic scholars asserted by Saunders.
Why was there so little mention of the rise of Islam by independent resources if Islam was born in an age of literature?
How were the Arabs able to maintain their religion after they had conquered Rum and Persia when earlier 'barbarians' like Franks had failed?
How were the muwalid able to evolve Islam into a successful model of Sultanate?

Saunders tries to answer a few questions in the book but his arguments are very weak. Francis Fukuyama 40-50 years on does give a very articulate model of the reasons for the success of the Abbasids and Ottomans.

[Eugene Kernes · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book provides the history of Islam from the circumstance that gave rise to Islam, Islam’s rise and fall in Arabia under the Caliphate, Islam’s revival and fall under the Turkish Sultanate, and a brief explanation of what happened after that. Focusing on the time span circa 500 – 1300 C.E. The political and religious weakness of alternative states and empires gave space for Islam to rise. When the Islamic empire was massive, its own political weakness gave momentum to foreign powers to overtake it.

Before Islam, Arabia was tribal. Each tribe had independence without an overarching authority. Confrontations between the tribes was endemic for survival as they fought for scarce resources. Tribes fought but the situation was sustainable, only under external pressure could the situation have changed. That external pressure came from Islam. Islam replaced loyalty to tribe for loyalty to religious believers.

Much of Islam history is about tolerance for those who do not share their beliefs. This cultural aspect comes from the tribal era when each tribe struggled against nature. Hospitality was never withheld from travelers. Those who believed in Islam were favored, but others were allowed free practice of their religion at the cost of a tax. Due to the lack of religious persecution, the native Syrians, Christians, and Jews had no desire to restore imperial rule. Believers of Islam were supposed to be equal, but racial segregation between Arabs and non-Arabs was practiced. Although Muslims were exempt from the religious tax, non-Arab Muslims were forced to pay the tax to keep the state revenue from shrinking. The Omayyads even discouraged conversion to keep the revenue.

Muhammad’s revelations threatened tribal beliefs which created hostility against Muhammad. At least for some time, Muhammad was supported and guarded by familial relations. The fatal flaw of Muhammad was to not consider succession as Islamic division started right after the death of Muhammad. The division comes from the lack of clear succession for leadership. This division would plague the Islamic empire for its entirety. For the first successor, a vote for succession was forestalled, and the successor Omar was chosen due to Muhammad’s request for Omar to be Muhammad’s representative at prayer.

Many tribes wanted to secede due them not having be given a vote for the successor. The tribes were brought to heel. For most Islamic leaders, the question of succession caused intense internal struggle, some of which became civil wars. As Saunders references, the Caliphate was no sacred office, it was a prize to be gained by violence. Internal struggle hampered the Islamic empire, but did not break it. The Islamic empire was broken due to external pressure from Christian kingdoms and Mongolian empire. Due to the internal struggle, the external pressures could not be dealt with.

Much of the rise of Islam has sparse information as most people in Arabia were mostly illiterate and so could not document the events. The rise of Islam gave rise to knowledge and many libraries were built. Some libraries were burnt, but the ones conquered by foreign power, gave the foreign power a mass amount of knowledge. From that knowledge in the conquered libraries, came the West’s Renaissance.

Most of the book is well written with a focus on the internal and external threats. There is very little information about the times of relative internal peace. Some chapter jump from person to person and location to location quickly, making it difficult to understand their importance. Saunders explains many complicated events in great detail without simplifying the situation. The biggest lesson taken from the history of Islam is to have a clear line of succession.

[Tim · Rating 3 out of 5]

A history of Islam through the ascendancy of the Turks. It is heavy on the political, engaging religion mainly as ideas and sects encroach on politics. It is light on culture too, jamming it all into a last chapter and passing over Ibn Sina in two brief sentences. It was first written in the 60s and updated since then, it still has some politically incorrect howlers and is never afraid to dismiss rulers or movements as decadent. He is not very sympathetic to the Shi'a overall, though particular individuals are viewed positively. I was hoping for something more substantial.

[Abdelrahman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Although the author tried to indicate the Islamic history with positive point, He failed with some points. The Author made his thoughts with christian terms which might change the whole truth. For example, he wrote that Mu'awiya was protected from congregation (Mostly defined as Christian citizens) and what is right that Muslims are 'Ummah'.

[So Hakim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short, readable overview of Islamic political history from the beginning (age of the Prophet) to the fall of Baghdad (1258 AD). 204 pages not including preface, timeline, index.

Mostly geared towards general public. I kinda see it as "pocket history of medieval Islam", though. :P