Both the Abbasid and Byzantine empires are well remembered today for many of their achievements. Both cultures constructed grand castles and palaces, with stunning artworks hanging on the wall. They were some of the most advanced civilizations of the time. What is possibly the aspect of each culture which has had the most lasting impression would be religion. Both Eastern Orthodox and Muslim religions are still practiced today. Al-Baladhri’s The Conquest of Alexandria and Fulcher of Chartres’ account of Urban’s speech to the Pope showed the heavy influence of religion on the foreign relations of both empires.
Primary Source Abbasid Empire
Al-Baladhuri: The Conquest of Alexandria
Amr kept his way until he arrived in Alexandria whose inhabitants he found ready to resist him, but the Copts in it preferred peace. Al-Mukaukis communicated with 'Amr and asked him for peace and a truce for a time; but 'Amr refused. Al-Mukaukis then ordered that the women stand on the wall with their faces turned towards the city, and that the men stand armed, with their faces towards the Moslems, thus hoping to scare them. 'Amr sent word, saying, "We see what you have done. It was not by mere numbers that we conquered those we have conquered. We have met your king Heraclius, and there befell him what has befallen him." Hearing this, al-Mukaukis said to his followers, "These people are telling the truth. They have chased our king from his kingdom as far as Constantinople. It is much more preferable, therefore, that we submit." His followers, however, spoke harshly to him and insisted on fighting. The Moslems fought fiercely against them and invested them for three months. At last, 'Amr reduced the city by the sword and plundered all that was in it, sparing its inhabitants of whom none was killed or taken captive. He reduced them to the position of dhimmis like the people of Alyunah. He communicated the news of the victory to 'Umar through Mu'awiyah ibn-Hudaij al-Kindi (later as-Sakuni) and sent with him the fifth.
The Greeks wrote to Constantine, son of Heraclius, who was their king at that time, telling him how few the Moslems in Alexandria were, and how humiliating the Greeks' condition was, and how they had to pay poll-tax. Constantine sent one of his men, called Manuwil, with three hundred ships full of fighters. Manuwil entered Alexandria and killed all the guard that was in it, with the exception of a few who by the use of subtle means took to flight and escaped. This took place in the year 25. Hearing the news, 'Amr set out at the head of 15,000 men and found the Greek fighters doing mischief in the Egyptian villages next to Alexandria. The Moslems met them and for one hour were subjected to a shower of arrows, during which they were covered by their shields. They then advanced boldly and the battle raged with great ferocity until the polytheists were routed; and nothing could divert or stop them before they reached Alexandria. Here they fortified themselves and set mangonels. 'Amr made a heavy assault, set the ballistae, and destroyed the walls of the city. He pressed the fight so hard until he entered the city by assault, killed the fathers and carried away the children as captives. Some of its Greek inhabitants left to join the Greeks somewhere else; and Allah's enemy, Manuwil, was killed. 'Amr and the Moslems destroyed the wall of Alexandria in pursuance of a vow that 'Amr had made to that effect, in case he reduced the city....'Amr ibn-al-Asi conquered Alexandria, and some Moslems took up their abode in it as a cavalry guard.
Paraphrase
The influence of islam on the Abbasids is exemplified in the Muslim conquests. The account of the conquest of Alexandria by Al-Baladhuri explains this well. It says that the Muslims came into Alexandria and had a confrontation with the greeks. The greeks desired to fight because of earlier transpirations involving the driving back of their king from Egypt to the city of Constantinople. The Copts wanted nothing to do with this, but a battle ensued nonetheless, resulting in the looting of the city, and made the non-muslims pay for their residences. The greeks were outraged at this development, and wrote to Constantine immediately expressing their indignation for what had befallen them, adding that there were not even so many muslims to deal with. Constantine was driven to send a fleet of navy to aid his countrymen. They proceeded to take over the city of Alexandria, as well as those around it, by killing all what guards there were, save those who found this an opportune time to leave. The muslims, upon hearing of the incursion, returned and laid heavy siege to the city until they had dispelled the polytheists. They finally destroyed the city walls to prevent defense of this sort in the future. Their actions were driven because they were trying to spread their religion and reclaim the holy lands once belonging to them. The banishment of the polytheists was the result of the influence of the monotheistic muslim religion on their government.
Primary Source Byzantine Empire
Most beloved brethren: Urged by necessity, I, Urban, by the permission of God chief bishop and prelate over the whole world, have come into these parts as an ambassador with a divine admonition to you, the servants of God. I hoped to find you as faithful and as zealous in the service of God as I had supposed you to be. But if there is in you any deformity or crookedness contrary to God's law, with divine help I will do my best to remove it. For God has put you as stewards over his family to minister to it. Happy indeed will you be if he finds you faithful in your stewardship. You are called shepherds; see that you do not act as hirelings. But be true shepherds, with your crooks always in your hands. Do not go to sleep, but guard on all sides the flock committed to you. For if through your carelessness or negligence a wolf carries away one of your sheep, you will surely lose the reward laid up for you with God. And after you have been bitterly scourged with remorse for your faults-, you will be fiercely overwhelmed in hell, the abode of death. For according to the gospel you are the salt of the earth [Matt. 5:13]. But if you fall short in your duty, how, it may be asked, can it be salted? O how great the need of salting! It is indeed necessary for you to correct with the salt of wisdom this foolish people which is so devoted to the pleasures of this -world, lest the Lord, when He may wish to speak to them, find them putrefied by their sins unsalted and stinking. For if He, shall find worms, that is, sins, In them, because you have been negligent in your duty, He will command them as worthless to be thrown into the abyss of unclean things. And because you cannot restore to Him His great loss, He will surely condemn you and drive you from His loving presence. But the man who applies this salt should be prudent, provident, modest, learned, peaceable, watchful, pious, just, equitable, and pure. For how can the ignorant teach others? How can the licentious make others modest? And how can the impure make others pure? If anyone hates peace, how can he make others peaceable ? Or if anyone has soiled his hands with baseness, how can he cleanse the impurities of another? We read also that if the blind lead the blind, both will fall into the ditch [Matt. 15:14]. But first correct yourselves, in order that, free from blame , you may be able to correct those who are subject to you. If you wish to be the friends of God, gladly do the things which you know will please Him. You must especially let all matters that pertain to the church be controlled by the law of the church. And be careful that simony does not take root among you, lest both those who buy and those who sell [church offices] be beaten with the scourges of the Lord through narrow streets and driven into the place of destruction and confusion. Keep the church and the clergy in all its grades entirely free from the secular power. See that the tithes that belong to God are faithfully paid from all the produce of the land; let them not be sold or withheld. If anyone seizes a bishop let him be treated as an outlaw. If anyone seizes or robs monks, or clergymen, or nuns, or their servants, or pilgrims, or merchants, let him be anathema [that is, cursed]. Let robbers and incendiaries and all their accomplices be expelled from the church and anthematized. If a man who does not give a part of his goods as alms is punished with the damnation of hell, how should he be punished who robs another of his goods? For thus it happened to the rich man in the gospel [Luke 16:19]; he was not punished because he had stolen the goods of another, but because he had not used well the things which were his.
"Although, O sons of God, you have promised more firmly than ever to keep the peace among yourselves and to preserve the rights of the church, there remains still an important work for you to do. Freshly quickened by the divine correction, you must apply the strength of your righteousness to another matter which concerns you as well as God. For your brethren who live in the east are in urgent need of your help, and you must hasten to give them the aid which has often been promised them. For, as the most of you have heard, the Turks and Arabs have attacked them and have conquered the territory of Romania [the Greek empire] as far west as the shore of the Mediterranean and the Hellespont, which is called the Arm of St. George. They have occupied more and more of the lands of those Christians, and have overcome them in seven battles. They have killed and captured many, and have destroyed the churches and devastated the empire. If you permit them to continue thus for awhile with impurity, the faithful of God will be much more widely attacked by them. On this account I, or rather the Lord, beseech you as Christ's heralds to publish this everywhere and to persuade all people of whatever rank, foot-soldiers and knights, poor and rich, to carry aid promptly to those Christians and to destroy that vile race from the lands of our friends. I say this to those who are present, it meant also for those who are absent. Moreover, Christ commands it.
"All who die by the way, whether by land or by sea, or in battle against the pagans, shall have immediate remission of sins. This I grant them through the power of God with which I am invested. O what a disgrace if such a despised and base race, which worships demons, should conquer a people which has the faith of omnipotent God and is made glorious with the name of Christ! With what reproaches will the Lord overwhelm us if you do not aid those who, with us, profess the Christian religion! Let those who have been accustomed unjustly to wage private warfare against the faithful now go against the infidels and end with victory this war which should have been begun long ago. Let those who for a long time, have been robbers, now become knights. Let those who have been fighting against their brothers and relatives now fight in a proper way against the barbarians. Let those who have been serving as mercenaries for small pay now obtain the eternal reward. Let those who have been wearing themselves out in both body and soul now work for a double honor. Behold! on this side will be the sorrowful and poor, on that, the rich; on this side, the enemies of the Lord, on that, his friends. Let those who go not put off the journey, but rent their lands and collect money for their expenses; and as soon as winter is over and spring comes, let hem eagerly set out on the way with God as their guide."
Paraphrase
On the Byzantine front, religious influence on foreign relations manifested itself in the crusades. The first crusade began as a result of a meeting between Urban and the Pope in 1094 C.E. Urban’s speech was documented by Fulcher of Chartres, titled Gesta Francorum Jerusalem Expugnantium, which translates to The Franks act Against Jerusalem. His account of the speech describes how they wish the people of Jerusalem to be peaceful, and that something must be done about it. Urban goes on and on, embellishing on how the Christians must be right, for to cure the ailments of Jerusalem, one must be “prudent, provident, modest, learned, peaceable, watchful, pious, just, equitable, and pure.”. In the midst of this talk of peace, he goes on to discuss how Jerusalem could be made more peaceful and Christian, to the effect that as he and his fellow Byzantines are so peaceful that they are going to destroy the non-christians in attempt to regain peace from Jerusalem, that they will use violence to illustrate their peaceful ways to drive out opposition to christianity. The Pope even pardons the use of violence on this account, saying that by doing this, he grants them remission of their sins, and says that christ commands it of them. Their planned course of action is nothing but a chance for them to be violent against their bitter rivals, the arabs, who have conquered some of the Christian kingdom, and destroyed churches. As Oliver J. Thatcher, who transcribed this speech for A Source Book for Medieval History contends, the “traditions of the peace and truce of God - aimed at bringing about peace in Christendom - ties in directly with the call for a Crusade.” The Byzantines are using their religion to coerce their government into driving away the pagans, with the threat that noncompliance would curse them to eternity in hell.
Outline
Body 1
A.The influence of islam on the Abbasids is exemplified in the Muslim conquests.
B.Muslims took over Alexandria
1.Fought against the greeks
2.Drove Heraclius all the way to constantinople
3.humiliated the greeks
a)made them dhimmis
C.Greeks called for support from Constantine
a)mad at their lowered stature
1.Constantine sends 300 ships and reconquers the surrounding area
2.Muslims find out and besiege the city
D.The banishment of the polytheists was the result of the influence of the monotheistic muslim religion on their government.
II. Body 2
A.On the Byzantine front, religious influence on foreign relations manifested itself in the crusades.
B.First Crusade
1.Franks and Turks were taking over the Byzantine/Eastern Orthodox land
a)destroying churches
b)Had just occupied Jerusalem
2.Byzantines decide to reclaim their holy land
a)send Urban II to the Pope
b)Pope gives them his blessing to conquer the land
(1) Furthermore says that they will be cursed if they refuse
C. The Byzantines are using their religion to coerce their government into driving away the pagans, with the threat that noncompliance would curse them to eternity in hell.
III. Body 3
A.There are many similarities between the Crusades and the Muslim conquests.
1.Same reasoning
a)reclamation of holy lands
b)Keeping rival religions at bay
2.Same contested area
a)Middle East
B.There are some differences however
1.The muslims did not try to avoid violence
2.The christians kept referring to how they are a peaceful people
C.These similarities and differences emphasize how religion is the answer for why these cultures did anything in regard to foreign affairs.
Works Cited
"The 'Abbasids." Central Michigan University. Central Michigan University, n.d. Web. 19 Dec. 2013. <http://www.chsbs.cmich.edu/fattah/courses/islampolitics/abbasids.htm>.
"Byzantine Empire." Wikipedia. Wikipedia, n.d. Web. 19 Dec. 2013. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Byzantine_Empire#Reconquest_of_the_western_provinces>.
"Internet Islamic History Sourcebook." Fordham University. Fordham University, n.d. Web. 19 Dec. 2013. <http://www.fordham.edu/Halsall/islam/islamsbook.asp>.
"Medieval Sourcebook: Accounts of The Arab Conquest of Egypt, 642." Fordham University. Fordham University, n.d. Web. 19 Dec. 2013. <http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/642Egypt-conq2.asp>.
"Medieval Sourcebook: Urban II (1088-1099): Speech at Council of Clermont, 1095, Five Versions of the Speech." Fordham University. Fordham University, n.d. Web. 19 Dec. 2013. <http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/urban2-5vers.asp>.
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