Meanwhile, in singular contrast with the sanguinary turbulence of those who had usurped their power, the Arabs, weary of wars and civil strife, gave themselves up to the study of science and letters; the last of the Abbasids, in the closest seclusion their palaces would afford, sought consolation for the hardships of their lot in the society of scholars and literary men. The Buyid princes also followed the example set by Al-Mamun, and gave a great impetus to the study of astronomy and mathematics. They levied in their tributary provinces forces sufficient to enable them to maintain their supremacy against all rival factions, while the caliphs Muti, Tai, Kadir, and Kaim, deprived of their revenues and shorn of all authority and kingly state, played exactly the same part as was enacted by the Merovingian rois fainéants under the tutelage of their mayors of the palace. Nevertheless, it was only from the hands of the caliphs that the greater part of the ruling families of Asia would receive their investitures, the Abbasids being still the legitimate sovereigns in the eyes of devout Moslems.
THE VARIOUS RELIGIOUS SECTS
[750-945 A.D.]
In all times the Moslem empire had been disturbed by a variety of religious sects. Under the Abbasids the Mutazilites had promulgated a lofty faith which had exerted great influence over noble minds. There were others which had confined themselves to protesting against the license of the times and demanding social reformation, while many had been made merely the instrument of personal ambition. Among the most prominent were the Rawandis, a fanatical sect who believed that to caliphs should be accorded the worship due to divinities, and who so importuned Al-Mansur with their adoration that he caused them to be cut to pieces by his guards. More formidable were the Zendians, who boldly maintained that the holding of property was a crime, and that man should not eat the flesh of animals. They were mercilessly pursued and exterminated. In 781 Mokanna incited the population of Khorasan to revolt, and in 834 Babik founded in Aderbaijan the sect of the Ismailians, who professed, according to Arab historians, the most pronounced materialism, and for four years resisted all Mutasim’s efforts to put them down. Of all the sects, however, none promulgated its beliefs with such rapidity and success as that of the Karmathians, who, in the tenth century, infested Arabia and wrested from the caliphs their spiritual and temporal power over the whole eastern part of the peninsula.
An Arab Cavalier
(Based on decorations in the Alhambra)
Karmat retained most of the doctrines of the Koran, recognising Ali and the seven imams as direct descendants of Mohammed, and rejecting only the theory of revelation. He had devised a system of successive degrees into which his followers were to be initiated, and the last of these, according to Nowairi and Makrizi, was atheism. It is not likely that a belief of this nature would have found many adherents had not Karmat preached at the same time abolition of slavery. Fighting in the name of liberty, his partisans overcame all opponents; but having enriched themselves by pillage they fell into the most grievous excesses and incurred general contumely. The series of their victories commenced under the reign of Mutadid, when after defeating one of his generals they advanced on Cufa, and reduced and pillaged it. During the reign of Muktafi they carried their arms as far as Palestine, and even threatened Damascus. Their ablest chief, Abu Tahir, conducted them on another expedition against Cufa, as a result of which the city was totally destroyed; then drawing near to Baghdad he repulsed the attack of an army of thirty thousand men. “Are your master’s soldiers as devoted as mine?” asked Abu Tahir of one of the Moslem generals. He then commanded one of his men to plunge a sword into his own breast, another to leap into the Tigris, and a third to precipitate himself from the top of a high cliff; all of which commands were immediately obeyed. Some years previously (930) the Karmathians had besieged Mecca and massacred two thousand persons; they also destroyed the temple of the Kaaba, carried off the famous Black Stone, and choked up the well of Zemzem. In the Hamdanites and Ikhshidites they finally met adversaries who were their match; and after suffering defeat in several encounters they retired permanently to the deserts of Syria and Bahrain.
In addition to the powerful reformers who aimed at nothing less than the destruction of both the temporal and spiritual authority of the caliphs, there were numerous philosophers and ascetics who created schisms in the very heart of Islam. The most important of these minor sects was that of the Sufis, whose aim was to hold the soul in constant communication with God by destroying all natural sentiment and affection. Though frequently persecuted by the caliphs, the apostles of Sufism succeeded in spreading their doctrines through all Persia, thus hastening the extinction of Islam, which was every day losing more ground. The existence of the Shiites and the Sunnites was a further check on the growth of the Moslem faith; and the first Abbasids having failed to establish religious unity, the troubles resulting from such a confusion of creeds were constantly on the increase. Born enemies of the Omayyads though they were, the Abbasids, fearing to let the Alids or Shiites gain too much power, were avowedly on the side of the Sunnites and persecuted all who opposed their views.
[900-1020 A.D.]
After many vain attempts to gain the throne the Alids sought to found a dominion for themselves in some of the dismembered provinces. One of their number was for a short time ruler of Tabaristan, but was unable to maintain his supremacy. In Africa they were more fortunate, the Edrisites succeeding in establishing themselves in Mauretania, while in 908 Obaid Allah, who assumed the title of imam, rallied the whole Maghreb to his cause and overthrew the dynasty of the Aghlabites. Gradually extending his dominion further along the coast, he laid the foundations of the Fatimite rule in Kairwan and Mahdiya, and was already stretching out his hand toward Egypt when death cut short his plans. His immediate successors, Abul-Kasim (936-945) and Al-Mansur (945-953), were unable to shake the position of the adroit and valiant Ikhshid; but they placed themselves in communication with the Arabian Shiites in Hedjaz and Yemen, and gained many friends by means of largess wisely distributed. At Ikhshid’s death disputes arose as to the succession, and Muiz-lidinillah, who replaced Al-Mansur (953), penetrated into the interior of the country, received the submission of the emirs, and became the first Fatimite caliph in Egypt. From this period the Fatimites had the advantage in the spiritual struggle with the Abbasids. After founding Great Cairo (972) they conquered Syria and a part of Jezira, and their supremacy was acknowledged by nearly all the populations of Arabia, who hoped to find in them a defence against the Karmathians in future.
Thus three realms, which were governed respectively by the Fatimites, the Buyids, and the Samanids, formed the whole of the Arabian empire at the close of the tenth century; and the history of that period is most interesting, since it shows how centres of civilisation may shift; not at Baghdad but at Cairo were Arabian luxury and culture henceforth to shine with their brightest lustre.
Under the Fatimites commerce, industry, agriculture, the arts and sciences flourished in Egypt as they had flourished in Asia under the early Abbasids. Magnificent works were constructed to connect the little town of Fostat with Mesra, and splendid mosques were added to those erected by Tulun. It seemed to be the wish of the caliphs to efface from every mind the remembrance of the glories of Baghdad; and they were also most zealous in administering the government of their realm, giving their personal attention to the assessment and collection of taxes. Thanks to the remarkable fertility of the land, they were soon in receipt of a revenue nearly as large as those of Harun ar-Rashid. Muiz and Aziz were wise and moderate in their expenditures and just in their rule; but Hakim who succeeded them (996-1020) was like an evil genius on the throne. He reduced his subjects to a state of the most abject submission, and maintained a wonderfully organised system of police which kept him informed of the slightest occurrences, thus giving rise to the belief that he was omniscient. He was in fact worshipped as a divinity, and his sudden disappearance but confirmed the universal faith, inasmuch as it was publicly stated that he had ascended to heaven whence he would again descend to earth at a later day. One or two facts will serve to give an idea of the blind despotism of Hakim. He set fire to Cairo that he might enjoy the sight of the city in flames, and he tortured Jews and Christians to make them renounce their religion, then gave them permission to return to it again. Terror reigned wherever he appeared; yet he respected and encouraged learned men and caused the astronomical tables of Ibn Junis to be dedicated to him. He is supposed to have been assassinated by one of his sisters, who then assumed the regency in the name of his son Dhahir, who was still a child (1020-1036). On the death of Dhahir, Abu Temim Mustansir ascended the throne and held it for fifty-eight years. Being acknowledged ruler of Africa and Arabia and proclaimed their spiritual sovereign by the inhabitants of Baghdad, who were weary of the rule of Kaim-biamrillah, Mustansir was at one time on the point of re-establishing the universal caliphate; but he was shortly afterward punished for his ambitious schemes by the loss of the best part of Syria, and it was with difficulty that he could maintain his supremacy even in Palestine.