Much like the last three chapters, it would be difficult to study world history without learning about the history of Islam, the Mongol movement, and where the world was during the 15th century that precipitated essentially today’s global society.
I recently took a class entitled Religions of the World, where I learned about the prophet Muhammad and the Islamic religion. I recall the professor provided us with a statistic that I found surprising: more people are becoming Muslim today than they are Christian. It was equally surprising to learn that it was the largest and most influential of the third-wave civilizations. The statistic that Strayer provided was that in the year 2000, there were approximately 1.2 billion Muslims in the world, representing 22% of the world population (p 301). I think that what individuals found attractive about the Islamic religion is that it membership was a matter of belief, rather than a matter of birth, as it is in most other religions. The other thing that may be attractive is that Islam is practiced as part of one’s total life, with no separation between religion and state as in Christianity for example. Perhaps we could have a class discussion regarding the comments pertaining to Muslims that Pope Benedict made shortly after his appointment to the papacy. It seems that whatever earlier tolerance existed between the Christian and Islamic communities has eroded since those comments were made.
I have a better understanding of the word jihad from reading this chapter, and, I think, a better understanding regarding the philosophy of Islam and its expansion. With the war in Iraq, Pakistan, and Afghanistan against the Taliban and Al Queda, I found that journalists translated the word to mean “holy war.” However, Strayer’s definition of “struggle” makes more sense to me. Strayer included a further explanation of the word by stating that in its lesser form, such as in the jihad of the sword, the Qur’an authorized an “armed struggle against the forces of unbelief and evil as a means of establishing Muslim rule…” (p 306). While I am not convinced that Allah wanted Osama bin Laden and what I believe to be Muslim extremists to attack the United States on September 11, 2001, I do believe that Muslim extremists might view the United States as an evil empire replete with forces of unbelief. Truth be told, I was not at all familiar with the Islamic religion and the Muslim philosophy. I would venture to say that there are many people throughout the world that do not have a good understanding of the Islamic religion. That being said, I still cannot condone the acts of September 11th.
Other Things that I Learned
Sunni Muslims—rightful political, military leaders chosen by the Islamic community.
Shia (Shite)—Religious Islamic group that believes that Muslim leaders should be the blood relatives/descendants of Muhammad.
Sufi—Islamic groups that seek to have a direct and personal or mystical experience with the religion by renouncing of the material world.
Sikhism—a combination of religious elements from both the Islamic and Hindu religions.
I always wanted to learn more regarding the Mongolian Empire. I was unaware that the Mongols gave rise to the largest land-based empire in all human history. It extended from the Pacifica coast (China) to Eastern Europe and undeniably brought what Strayer refers to as “networks of exchange and communication” between Europe, China, and the Islamic world in the 13th century. The Mongolian Empire was similar to other empires in its expansive militaristic philosophy; however, history indicates that they were a brutal people. Strayer explains that the devastation brought about by the Mongol conquest of Russian either matched or exceeded the devastation that inflicted during the Persian and Chinese conquests. I found it very interesting that the Mongols, for the most part, seemed to retain their ethnicity. They did not learn or become Chinese during their 70-year conquest of China, however, Mongols in Persia did convert to Islam.
Taking into consideration the size of their empire and their frightening reputation, the Mongolian Empire ruled for such a short period of time (several centuries). Strayer explained that their “cultural imprint was modest” (p 342). They did not provide a new religion or a new civilization to the world. Their largest contribution perhaps was in that they promoted international commerce as a source of tax revenue (imagine that!). The empire collapsed, in Strayer’s opinion, due to a plague known as the Black Death, a deadly virus that was carried by rodents and transmitted by fleas. This plague broke out in northeastern China in 1331, reached Europe by 1347 and devastated it, killing up to two-thirds of the European population. With the tremendous decrease in population the volume of “global” trade was reduced and by 1350, the Mongol Empire was falling apart. It was during the next 100 years that the Mongolian Empire lost its control of China, Persia and Russia, and the overland trade routes in Central Asia were closed for the most part.
Chapter 13 introduced the world as it was known in the 15th century. During the 15th century, both Columbus and Zheng He participated in oceanic voyages. While I am very familiar with Christopher Columbus, I did not know anything about Zheng He and of China’s maritime abilities. There was a tremendous difference between the Columbus’ and Zheng He’s ocean expeditions, especially in the size of the expedition. Columbus made his world-changing expedition to the Americas in 1492 with three ships and a crew of approximately 90. He’s expedition included hundreds of ships with a crew in the thousands, and his presence was seen in the Indian Ocean. Europeans were seeking the wealth of Africa and Asia that included gold, spices, and silk, and were searching for peoples to convert to Christianity, while China found itself in a different position. After Mongolian rule and healing under the Ming dynasty, China found itself in a position where it faced no equivalent power, needed no military allies in the Indian Ocean basin and essentially was self-sustained (p 375). It had a powerful Chinese fleet, but did not seek to conquest or colonize, while Europeans did. China stopped its voyages in1433 abruptly. I can only wonder how our world would and could have been different had China chosen, instead, to continue with its oceanic voyages.
I truly enjoyed reading the Reflections section of this chapter and found that I agreed with Strayer’s thoughts. If China had chosen to go continue its oceanic voyages, would China have discovered the Americas first? What if the Ottoman Empire, who lasted from the 14th century to the early 20th century and who was considered one of the greatest empires of the world, had continued its expansion of Islam at the expense of Christianity? Would our world be 100% Islam? (Unfortunately, I did not have time to discuss the Ottoman Empire, which is another empire that I found very interesting. Perhaps we can have a discussion in class? Another blog for another day?)
Another Interesting Thing that I Learned
There truly is a place called Timbuktu and it is located in Africa!!!
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