CHAPTER ONE -
ISLAMIC EXPANSION INTO INDIA
This week, we
move on in terms of chronology/ time period, looking at significant influences
on civilizations in the Eastern Mediterranean, the Near East, and Asia during the six centuries from 900 - 1500. During
these key centuries, societies in all of these regions experienced several
dramatic changes. Although it might sound like an intimidating task to cover so
much time in so many regions, it is possible because there were a few shared,
critical episodes which tied together the fate of those in these regions –
relentless episodes of empire building.
There were three influential phases of empire-building between 900 -
1500 which resulted in significant short and long term effects for those
in Asia, the Eastern Mediterranean and the Near East.
Some of these consequences continue to impact world relations and
current events to the present day, for example key contributing factors
underlying instability and violence in Central Asia.
In this chapter, we deal with a number of historical occurrences with direct
connections to current events. We look at three examples of the
impact of empires:
(1) Islamic
expansion into Asia and in particular Northern India, Pakistan and Afghanistan,
(2) the Mongol Empire
which conquered most of Asia in the 13th-14th
centuries,
(3) the Islamic Ottoman
Empire which dominated the Eastern Mediterranean, Near East and Eastern
Europe beginning in the 14th century.
Although it is a bit
confusing to jump between topics (Islam/Mongols/Islam), it makes the most sense
to discuss these empires in chronological order to help you keep track of the
cause and effect relationships.
ISLAMIC
EXPANSION IN INDIA
One of the most important
global influences evident between the 10th and 16th
(900's - 1500's) centuries was the continued growth of the Islamic world. In fact,
except for the century and a half when the Mongols dominated Asia, the
predominant presence throughout N. Africa, Asia and the Near
East during these several centuries was the expanding influence of
Islamic religion and culture. Islam became firmly rooted in North
Africa, and spread deeper into Saharan Africa. Islamic religion
and culture also became more firmly established throughout the Near East and moved more deeply into Asian regions. Recognize,
much of this religious diffusion occurred through peaceful conversion of
peoples exposed to Islam through trade and interaction.
Efforts to
spread the "House of Islam" through war, however, also continued. Beginning
in the 10th century, there was a resurgence of military expansion by
Islamic armies. In particular, northern India and surrounding territories
were dramatically impacted by the renewal of Islamic expansion and warfare. One
of the key reasons for this renewal of expansionary fervor by Islamic forces
was a dynamic new presence in the Islamic world - specifically Turkish
speaking tribes from Central Asia. As a result
of the initial Arab expansion into Asia,
Turkish tribes were exposed to and converted to Islam. Over time, these Turkish
speaking Muslims became the most dynamic presence in the Islamic world. Turkish
Muslims were skilled fighters and were strongly motivated by their relatively
recent conversion to Islam - possessing the passion of new believers. Fueled by
the powerful motives of gaining wealth and spreading their religion, Turkish
Muslims targeted northern India.
Over the course of two centuries (the 10th - 13th)
Turkish led forces pushed east across Indian territory.
Using the Khyber Pass as their gateway, Islamic Turks consolidated Muslim
control of the Indus River valley, took control of the Punjab region, and
ultimately expanded as far East as the Ganges river basin. (see map) The
dramatic implication of these invasions was the introduction of a passionately
monotheistic religion into regions where there already existed
two powerful and deeply rooted polytheistic religious traditions -
Hinduism and Buddhism. The result, not surprisingly, was violent conflict.
The troops and leaders of
these Islamic campaigns were, usually, completely intolerant of the
polytheistic practices, holy sites and statues/images they found in India. In fact,
one of the most prominent Turkish invaders, Mahmud
of Ghazni, (971-1030) earned the nickname "the Idol Breaker" due to
his propensity for smashing the "idols" found in Hindu and Buddhist
temples. As a result of these violent invasions, Islam was forcibly introduced
into the traditional society of India,
most intensively into the northern regions of this civilization.
The important thing to
recognize is that Muslim conquest and rule was not brief; in Northern
India, Muslim rulers remained in power for the next several centuries.
Initially, the north was ruled under the Muslim based Delhi Sultanate.
(Sultan is a Turkish political title - it means "he with
authority".) When the power of the Delhi Sultanate began to decline
in the 1500's, a new family of Turkish based leaders emerged to solidify Muslim
control in northern India.
This was the beginning of the Islamic Mughal (Mogul) Empire;
some of the more famous Mughal rulers included Babur (1526-1530) and
Akbar the Great (1562-1605). Islamic based Mughal leadership continued in
Northern India until the 17th and 18th centuries
when the British replaced the Mughal dynasty as the imperial power in India. Northern India thus experienced centuries of
Islamic Turkish rule.
EFFECTS OF
ISLAMIC EXPANSION
Centuries of Muslim rule
meant Islam was transplanted into many regions in northern India. In Northern
India, in both the Indus river valley and the Ganges
River Valley
(the area known as Bengal),
Islam became the dominant religious presence. This Islamic
influence can be seen clearly today in the art and architecture in Pakistan and India. Islamic culture
brought the arch and the minaret to Indian architecture, resulting in stunning
creations such as the Taj Mahal, built by a Mughal ruler. The Arabic
language deeply influenced the development of languages such as Hindustani and
Urdu. Urdu, today the official language of Pakistan, is a blend of Persian,
Indian and Arabic language influences. Central Asian food, music and other
cultural manifestations also today reflect this long period of cultural blending.
But certainly the most significant changes were in terms of religious beliefs
and traditions.
As Islamic rule continued
for centuries in the north under different dynasties and leaders, Islam
became the dominant religion in some regions, displacing the prominent
place of the native religious traditions of Hinduism and Buddhism. (see map)
However, Hinduism did survive in parts of northern India as some
Indians clung to their traditions. And in fact some Indians abandoned
Buddhism for Hinduism (some hypothesize, a strong motive for such a conversion
was to better resist Islam, to cling more closely to traditional Indian society
and traditions perhaps). In the southern regions of India, Hinduism
was strongest and remained the dominant religious/cultural force; in fact in
southern territories, Hinduism became more entrenched, even more militant, in
opposition to the imposed Islamic culture in the north. For those Indians
seeking to resist the ideas and impositions of their conquerors, Hinduism
became the rallying point in sustaining their native Indian traditions.
Another obvious effect of
the intensified movement of Islam into India was that Buddhism suffered a
dramatic decline. Many Buddhists fled the destruction of the Muslims into
neighboring countries. Other Buddhists either converted to Islam or turned
fervently to Hinduism (especially in the south.) Buddhism all but disappeared
in the north of India,
and became a minority presence in the Hindu south. Historians point to
the devastation of Muslim invaders as a primary cause of Buddhism's decline in India. For
Indians hostile to the religion of Islam, Hinduism was the more
"Indian" religion; it was more firmly tied to their social life,
their traditions and their Indian heritage. Buddhism, the more universal
religion, was less connected to daily social and political life and therefore
did not have the same traditionalist appeal in this time of crisis and choice.
Ultimately, then, Muslim invasions into India dealt a serious, even
crippling blow to the presence of Buddhism in the land of its birth. Buddhism
will continue to have a more pronounced presence and influence throughout the
rest of Asia.
A long term consequence of the
Muslim invasions and centuries of Islamic rule in India was the deadly division that
emerged in Indian society between Hindus and Muslims. Recognize, there were
long periods of relatively peaceful coexistence between Muslim rulers and subjects,
and Hindus/Buddhists. Under some Mughal leaders a limited tolerance of Hinduism
was practiced. However, at best, these different religious traditions only ever
achieved an uneasy coexistence. And more often, these two very different
traditions directly clashed - resulting in confrontation, oppression and violent
conflict.
The inescapable legacy of
10th century invasions was that Indian civilization after the 10th century had
a glaring religious and cultural schism. Islam is monotheistic. In
regions in the north, where Islamic belief predominated, social patterns and
laws were based on the Qur'an. Hinduism is a polytheistic
tradition and is integrally tied to the laws and social patterns of the caste
system. A true "blending" of these two religions and legal/social
traditions was impossible.
The results are still
evident today. Although India
was held together politically by the Mughals and even more forcefully unified by
the later British empire, these underlying cultural
divisions remained. (see map)
India did finally gain its independence
in the late 1940's when Britain
relinquished control. Then, these deep historical divisions resurfaced with a
vengeance. As Indians moved to create a new independent state, hostilities
between Muslims and Hindus erupted into horrific violence. Much of the
blood shed that occurred as India struggled to achieve its independence from
Britain in 1947-1948 was not violence between the British and Indians,
rather it was between Muslim and Hindu Indians over which religion and cultural
traditions would guide the development of the new state of India.
After the tragic deaths of tens
of thousands of Indians in street violence in 1947-1948, the response was
to actually partition or divide the country into two separate states. The
unified Indian state that had been created by British rule did not last. Those
areas that were predominantly Muslim became the country of Pakistan - initially West Pakistan
in the Indus River
Valley and East Pakistan in the
Bengal region. Lying in between and in fact
separating East and West Pakistan was the country of India,
a Hindu based state. In 1971, tensions between east and west Pakistan resulted
in civil war. East Pakistan broke away from West Pakistan to form yet a third
country, the Muslim based country of Bangladesh.
The sub-continent which gave
rise to ancient Indian civilization is today three separate countries
representing two very different religious/cultural traditions. The blood shed
continues. India and Pakistan have
had numerous wars and border skirmishes since the Partition of 1947-48. In
particular, the disputed region of Jammu-Kashmir
is a current source of on-going bloodshed. While officially a region
in the state of India, Pakistan, since
1947, has made clear its interest in annexing this region. Muslims
are the majority in this region, and some radical groups have taken up arms to shift
control of this region from India
to Pakistan.
(see
map) The recent, horrific violence in Mumbai (formerly Bombay) had, in the eyes of most analysts, direct links to
the hatreds engendered by Pakistani/India tensions, and in particular the
dispute in Kashmir. (see sample article)
((As an aside - in looking for links on this kind of topic, balanced sources on
the web were almost impossible to find - sites are either *clearly* pro-India
or pro-Pakistan/Muslim in their interpretations, vocabulary and arguments.))
There are continued, chronic
outbursts of religious based violence within India and Pakistan reflecting Hindu/Muslim
and regional hostility. This part of the world remains a troubled area of
conflicting religious beliefs, religious hostilities which exacerbate long-standing
regional differences and loyalties. Knowledge of the complex and influential historic
roots of these differences is essential in trying to understand and determine
responses to one of the tensest regions in the world, one which directly affects
global security concerns.
On a further note, recognize,
the viability of political stability in Pakistan is a critical. If
violence, political anarchy and/or Islamic fundamentalism continues to grow in Pakistan, this will result in significant changes
in terms of relations with India,
and directly impact events in the current conflict in Afghanistan. The
very stability of Central Asia will
necessarily be negatively impacted. Also recognize, India has the second largest
population in the world and thus its political stability and border relations
are major factors in regional and global stability. And key to all these considerations is the disturbing fact that both Pakistan and India have nuclear
capabilities!
The potential for global repercussions
and possible domino effects if conditions in this part of the world continue to
deteriorate is substantial, with direct implications for policy decisions and
predictions of future directions. You need to remain aware and informed of
developments in this region, and do so with some understanding of historical
roots and memories linked to current tensions.
The momentum of Islamic
armies and the spread of Islamic culture into Asia
halted abruptly in the 13th century, stymied by an even more intimidating
military force - the Mongols. In the 1200's - 1300's, the Mongols not only
overwhelmed the impressive force of Muslim armies, but vanquished almost all
other forces they confronted. These two centuries in Asia and the Near East were dominated
by the presence of these seemingly invincible Mongol horsemen, an event we turn
to in the next two chapters.
Interesting Related Web
Sites
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