Class 2 1 13 14 Where does history come from ASH 1044 From people who tell other people inaccurate sometimes From written records History is the product of interpretations of evidence by both professional historans and lay people in dialogue with one another These interpretations draw on primary sourcs what were created during the time How might we approach the history of the middle east Be mindful of the endency to reduce middle eastern people down to simple Recognize that cultural difference do exist and that they are important for attemps to understand the people in the middle east When you look at something and decide what it means No one tells you what it under study caricatures Primary source means Secondary source Objects or documents created during the time under study Someone telling you what they think about the sources Generally take the form of publications Interpret or analyze primary sources What is history Edward Said An attempt to interpret primary sources Said a person from the west couldn t understand the oriental mind vice versa Went to Columbia Universtity Saw orientalism as a system for producing representations for an imagined east Said European orientalists were just talking to each other instead of going out and engaging with their subject They would write their works by going to a library so didn t get a lof of new information It s a total reliance on secondary sources Just like the 4 year old only knowing a bear from the cuddly ones on TV American scientist worked for Jimmy Carter and went to Harvard Thought the world was divided into civilizations where the civilizations share characteristics with each other but not other civiliations Believed there was 3 parts of the world The US area and China area Everything in between was less developed Civ Are the west including western Europe Hindu china Islam orthodox eastern europe japan Latin America and Africa Samuel P Huntington 1 15 15 How was political power distributed in the Middle East in the period prior to the rise of Islam Large multi ethnic empires controlled those regions appropriate for agriculture form an imperial center and extracted wealth What was the role of religion in these power structures Zoroastrianism was still reasonably tolerant of other religions How did Mecca and its people fit into the political economic and religious systems of the day Mecca was a trade town led by the sedimentary tribe Also had a religious significance Many religions were practiced The Cradle of Civilization The fertile crescent Why stay there Grow food easily water source with all the rivers transportation by river Started becoming industrial Sumerians were first Egyptian was short after and run my pharaoh Persia The Achaemenid Empire 550 330 BCE Put together this huge empire because they used people and resources to their advantage Zoroastrianism Founded by a Persian philosopher names Zarthustra or Zoroastrian Came up with idea in the 7th century BCE Instead of 100 s of gods Persians usually believed in there was 2 in his religion Acuromasda god that was the judge of all of humanity at the end of time good Ariman bad force trying to destroy the world opposing force was the evil one Zoroastrians didn t believe in all powerful though People had the free will to do what they choose and would perfume acts of Acuromasda or ariman Didn t worship fire but it was symbolic to something as something cleansing the force world Alexander the Great and the Parthian Empire Tought by Aristotle Became King at 20 and was until he died at 33 he was fighting and conquering After he died there was civil war about who shoule rule and his empire collapsed Parthian Empire took over Zoroastianism was for the elite high class so many religions took place here The Sassanid and Byzantine Empire 226 the Parthian empire was overthrown by the Sassanids They moved the capital and made Zoroastrianism the national religion Rival was the Eastern Roman Empire Byazantine s Byzantine s grew out of the Roman Empire and Christianity developed after Judiasm Many different interpretations and divisions formed from Christianity Roman Empire didn t allow Christianity Constantine 1 converted to christitianity and made the rest of Rome do the same He changed the capital which was Byzantine to Constantinople Divided Rome into East and West when west fell East kept going Debate about how Christianity should be practiced and who jesus was Development of Christian Secs Arians Jesus was son of God and God had inspired his methods and actions but he himself was not God like He was still a creation of God though Widely popular but not accepted at all by other Sects The council set a date for easter and made rules for Christianity Said God was two chunks the God chunk and Jesus chunk Orthodox Accepted main stream Jesus is part of God Nestorians Jesus was both god and man like a bridge to humans and gods Were being persecuted in Eastern Roman empire so they fled to Persia Monophysites Jesus is divine but not God Popular in Egypt and Syria Sassanid and Byzantine Empires 16th century 2 major powers were Byzantine and Sassanid empires Arabian Peninsula was in between these and populated by loosely organized nomads 2 main empires didn t have motivation to go after Arabian Peninsula Had one ethnic group Arabs who spoke Arab Byzantine and Sassanid would try to get tribes in Arabian peninsula to join alliances and fight other countries in Arabian Peninsula that were alliance with other major power Arabian Peninsula Had different tribes usually led by an elder that would be elected by some kind of trait that set them apart Leader was person that would interact with others Tribe would only be needed when tribes would want to move or attack another tribe Pastoral lives off meat and milk of animals Nomadism moving from place to place Would do raids and they would try very hard not to kill anyone and rape was very uncommon because this was supposed to start a change of violence Vengeance was highly praised so it would start a chain reaction of violence Poetry would be either to build you up or tear others down Arabian Trade Routes was a success Mecca was in the middle of the routes Piracy picked up on the Red Sea so moving through land was best if it got there it 602 byzantine and Sassanid broke out into war and restricted trade in the north so Mecca became even more important Mecca The kaaba is a cube shaped stone building shrine No one really knows who built it but