Fall of the Abbasid Dynasty

Fall of the Abbasid Dynasty

Throughout the period of the crusades the Muslim generals and soldiers showed the entremets sympathy and kindness, patience and preservence, forgiveness and gentleness, and above all, the chivalrous spirit. During this time the Khalifa of Baghdad were involved in their internal struggle. When their country was threatened by the Crusaders, they paid no head to it. They were passing their days idly and extravagantly. This mode of life continued till the capture of Baghdad by Halaqu, a grand son of Changiz Khan, who devastated the city and killed A-MustaSim, the last kalifa of the Abbasid dynasty in 1258 A.D. Thus the long reign of the Abbasid dynasty came to an end.

    CAUSES OF THE FALL OF THE Abbasid dynasty

    To trace the causes of the downfall of the Abbasid dynasty is to recount the doing of the Khalifas. Most of the later Khalifas of this dynasty led pompous and luxurious life and cared little for the state. Instead of making any attempt to uplift the condition of the subjects and to improve the government, they devoted their valuable time to wine, women and music. Moreover, they lost the vigor and energy to hold the scepter as their blood became diluted with that of the conquered.

    The supremacy of the Turks in the later period was one of the causes of the fall of the empire. After the death of Mutawakkil the power of the Turks began to increase rapidly and the successors of Mutawakkil could not resist it. The Arabs and the Persians became disgusted with their high handed policy. The result of this alienation was the established of a number4 of independent states which proved fatal to the empire.

    The negligence of the military department under the later Khalifa greatly contributed to the downfall of the Abbasids. The success and stability of the empire depends on military strength.

    The relation between the province and the central government was not cordial. In many cases the provincial governors endeavored to defy the authority of the centre and declared their independence.

    The struggle between the Arabs and non-Arabs between the Muslims and non-Muslim was going on in full swing during this period. The Iranians who were favored by the Abbasids despaired the Arabs and the Arabs despaired the Iranians and other. The conquences was the division of the Muslims into several sects and thus the disintegration of the empire set in slowly but steadily.

    Among several factors that led to the downfall of the empire, the economic factors were no less important. The imposition of taxes for the interest of the ruling class discouraged farming and industry and the constant bloody stripers left many a piece of cultivated land desolate and forlorn. The flood in Mesopotamia made the people hopeless and homeless. Besides this famine and epidemic decimated the population in many provinces.

    To these causes of decay must be added the invasion of Halaqu, a grandson of Changez Khan who divested the city of Baghdad on such a scale that for three years the streets ran with blood and the water of the Tigris was dyed red for miles along the course. He killed the last Khalifa of this dynasty and massacred his family so much so that for the first time in its history the Muslim world was left without a Khalifa whose name could be cited in the Friday prayers.

RAZIA SULTANA, short biography

RAZIA SULTANA

    Razia al-Din (1205-1240), throne name Jalâlat ud-Dîn Raziyâ, usually referred to in history as Razia Sultan or Razia Sultana, was the Sultana of Delhi in India from 1236 to 1240. She was of Turkish Seljuks ancestry and like some other Muslim princesses of the time, she was trained to lead armies and administer kingdoms if necessary.Razia Sultana, the fifth Mamluk Sultan, was the very first woman ruler in the Muslim and Turkish history
    Razia succeeded her father Shams-ud-din Iltutmish to the Sultanate of Delhi in 1236. Iltutmish became the first sultan to appoint a woman as his successor when he designated his daughter Razia as his heir apparent. (According to one source, Iltumish's eldest son had initially been groomed as his successor, but had died prematurely.) But the Muslim nobility had no intention of acceding to Iltutmish's appointment of a woman as heir, and after the sultan died on April 29, 1236, Razia's brother, Ruknuddin Feroze Shah, was elevated to the throne instead.
    Ruknuddin's reign was short. With Iltutmish's widow Shah Turkaan for all practical purposes running the government, Ruknuddin abandoned himself to the pursuit of personal pleasure and debauchery, to the considerable outrage of the citizenry. On November 9, 1236, both Ruknuddin and his mother Shah Turkaan were assassinated after only six months in power.
    With reluctance, the nobility agreed to allow Razia to reign as Sultan of Delhi. As a child and adolescent, Razia had had little contact with the women of the harem, so she had not learnt the customary behavior of women in the Muslim society that she was born into. Even before she became Sultan, she was reportedly preoccupied with the affairs of state during her father's reign. As Sultan, Razia preferred a man's tunic and headdress; and contrary to custom, she would later show her face when she rode an elephant into battle at the head of her army.
    A shrewd politician, Razia managed to keep the nobles in check, while enlisting the support of the army and the populace. Her greatest accomplishment on the political front was to manipulate rebel factions into opposing each other. At that point, Razia seemed destined to become one of the most powerful rulers of the Delhi Sultanate.
    But Razia miscounted the consequences that a relationship with one of her advisers, Jamal-ud-Din Yaqut, an Abyssinian Siddi (Habshi) slave, would have for her reign. According to some accounts, Razia and Yaqut were lovers; other sources simply identify them as close confidants. In any case, before long she had aroused the jealousy of the Turkish nobility by the favoritism she displayed toward Yaqut, who was not a Turk, when she appointed him to be Superintendent of the Stables. Eventually, a childhood friend named Malik Altunia, the governor of Bhatinda, joined a rebellion by other provincial governors who refused to accept Razia's authority.
    A battle between Razia and Altunia ensued, with the result that Yaqut was killed and Razia taken prisoner. To escape death, Razia agreed to marry Altunia. Meanwhile, Razia's brother, Muizuddin Bahram Shah, had usurped the throne. After Altunia and Razia undertook to take back the sultanate from Bahram through battle, both Razia and her husband were killed on October 14, 1240 (some sources say October 13). Bahram, for his part, would later be dethroned for incompetence.
    As sultan, Razia reportedly sought to abolish the tax on non-Muslims but met opposition from the nobility. By way of response, Razia is said to have pointed out that the spirit of religion was more important than its parts, and that even the Islamic prophet Muhammad spoke against overburdening the non-Muslims. On another occasion, Razia reportedly tried to appoint an Indian Muslim convert from Hinduism to an official position but again ran into opposition from the nobles.
    Razia was reportedly devoted to the cause of her empire and to her subjects. There is no record that she made any attempt to remain aloof from her subjects, rather it appears she preferred to mingle among them. Her tolerance of Hinduism would later bring her criticism from Muslim historians.
    Razia established schools, academies, centers for research, and public libraries that included the works of ancient philosophers along with the Qur'an and the traditions of Muhammad. Hindu works in the sciences, philosophy, astronomy, and literature were reportedly studied in schools and colleges.
    Razia refused to be addressed as Sultana because it meant "wife or mistress of a sultan". She would answer only to the title "Sultan".

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PROSE LITERATURE UNDER SALJUQUES

PROSE LITERATURE UNDER SALJUQUES:

    During the great Saljuque dynasty (1037 A.D -1157A.D) the Persian Prose flourished into a fruitful branch of literature. The period is remarkable fro a significant development in the writing of Persian-prose in Iran.  A host of writers produced their scholarly books on various branches of sciences. Most of the books were written due to the patronage of saljuque princes and ministers. The prose work of this period is usually in simple language and fluent style and free from rhetorical and literary pedanticity which made their way into Persian of the later Mongol period. And account of the celebrated works of the period of given below:-
    WORKS ON MYSTICISM:
Kashful Mahjub:  It was written by Abul Hasan Osman Ghaznavi well known as Hajari about the year 465/1072 A.D. It deals with the lives, doctrine and sayings of the Sufi saints. The book is considred to be the oldest original work on mysticism in Persian language.
Israrut-Tauheed: It was written in the later part of the 6th century A.H. by Md Bin Al Munawar. It is one of the most important and oldest mystical works on Sufi saints written in most elegant Persian. It mostly contains the biography, miracles and the sayings of Abu Sayeed Abil Khair and is full of anecdotes and mystical verses.
Tazkiratul Aulia: It was written in the early part of the 7th/13th century by the great Sufi poet and thinker Fariduddin Attar. It gives a vivid description of the biographies of 97 ancient mystics, their sayings, prayers and characters. The book is full interesting anecdots, traditions and moral teachings.
    WORKS ON HISTORY
Zainul Akhbar:  It is one of the oldest books on history Persian, written by Abu Sayeed Abdul Hayee of Gardiz, about 443-444 A.H. (1051-53A.D.) It is a brief history of Iran from the beginning of Islam to author's time.
Rahatus Sodur: It was written by Abu Bakr Muhammad Rawandi during the reign of Tughral bin Arsalan, the last Saljuqe ruler. It is the most significant and detailed history of the Saljuques from the beginning to its end. It is also important because it contains the names of a large number of poets and scholars of the period.
Tarikh-e-Baihqi:  It is another important historical work produced during the Saljuque period. The book written by Khawaja Abul Fazl Baihqi (d. 470/1077-78) is the most authentic work on the history. It originally consisted of 30 volumes but at present except a few incomplete volumes, all have been lost. It is also called Tarikh-e-Masudi. Infact the book is the best example of Persian prose of the period.
    ETHICAL WORKS:
Qaboos Nama: It is a book of moral percepts and rules of conduct. The book was written by Amir Ali Kaus bin Askandar bin Qabus Washmgir in 475/1082-83 A.D. for giving moral teachings to his son Jilan Shah. It contains 44 chapters and is full of wit and wisdom, rich in anecdotes and illustration. The language and style of the work is simple, clear and forcible.
Siyasat Namah or Sairul Muluk: It is a well known work on morality and ethics. Its author Abu 'Ali al-Hasan bin Ishaque (who is generally known by his title Nizamul Mulk Tusi (1012-1092 A.D.) had been a Prime Minister for 30 years in the court of Alp Arsalan and Malik Shah. The book was written in 485 A.H. (1091 A.D.) in a simple and straightforward style.
Kimiya-i-Sa'adat: Another important prose work is the celebrated Kimiya-i-Sa'adat of Hujjatul Islam Abu hamid Md. Al-Ghazali written in the later part of the 5th/11th century. It deals with the moral doctrine of Islam. The style of the book is lucid, simple, charming and attractive.

    LITERARY WORKS:
Hadaiq-us-Sihr: It is another interesting prose work on rhetoric and poetry. The author Rashiduddin Watwat was the poet laureate of Sultan Atsiz Khawarazm, on whose request he wrote the book in very eloquent prose. It was completed in the middle of the 6th/12th century.
Chahar Maqala: It was written by Nizami 'Aruzi Samarqandi in 550/1155 A.D. It consists of four parts on the art of secretary ship, poetry, astronomy and medicine. The book is the most authentic and valuable for the biographical account of the great poets and scholar, some of whom were contemporaries of the author. The style of Chahar Maqala is very charming, lucid, elegant and powerful.
Maqamat-e-Hamidi: It is well known work in ornate Persian. It consists of 23 chapters on literary discourse, arguments, discussions and riddles. It was written by Qazi Hamiduddin Omar bin Mahmud of Balkh (d. 559/1164 A.D. ) in the middle of the 6th century A.H.
Kalila Wa Damna:  Originally a Sanskrit work on fables was translated into Pahlavi during the reign of Sasanian king Anushirwan. This Pahlavi translation was rended into Arabic by Abdullah ibn Al-Muqaffa. The present Kalila was Damna, translated from the version of Ibn-Muqaffa into Persian, by Abul Ma'ali Nasrullah in the middle of the 6th century A.H. The style of the book is extremely fluent and charming.
Marzaban Nama: It is also a book of fables like the kalila wa Damna. It was written by Saaduddin Waravini of Azerbaijan in the early part of the 7th century A.H.