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The Early Middle Ages, 284--1000 (HIST 210)
In this lecture, Professor Freedman discusses the Islamic conquests. Although they were in some sense religiously motivated, Arab did not attempt to forcibly convert or eradicate Jews, Christians, or other non-Muslims. The conquests began as raids, but quickly escalated when the invaders discovered that Byzantium and Persia were too weak to withstand their assault. In a relatively short period of time, the Arabs were able to conquer an area stretching from Spain to India. Against this background of successful conquests, Islam began to experience deep internal divisions. These began as criticisms of the election of Mohammed's successors, but broadened to criticize the Caliphate and the ruling family. Out of this strife came the division between Sunni and Shiite Muslims. Professor Freedman concludes the lecture with observations on the increasingly non-Arab Muslim populations.
00:00 - Chapter 1. Introduction: Apparent Paradoxes of Islamic Conquest
04:01 - Chapter 2. Mohammed's Successors and the Beginnings of Conquest
10:08 - Chapter 3. Factors Favoring Arab Conquest
18:43 - Chapter 4. Arab Conquests
25:05 - Chapter 5. Internal Divisions
Complete course materials are available at the Yale Online website: online.yale.edu
This course was recorded in Fall 2011.
The Early Middle Ages, 284--1000 (HIST 210)
In this lecture, Professor Freedman discusses the Islamic conquests. Although they were in some sense religiously motivated, Arab did not attempt to forcibly convert or eradicate Jews, Christians, or other non-Muslims. The conquests began as raids, but quickly escalated when the invaders discovered that Byzantium and Persia were too weak to withstand their assault. In a relatively short period of time, the Arabs were able to conquer an area stretching from Spain to India. Against this background of successful conquests, Islam began to experience deep internal divisions. These began as criticisms of the election of Mohammed's successors, but broadened to criticize the Caliphate and the ruling family. Out of this strife came the division between Sunni and Shiite Muslims. Professor Freedman concludes the lecture with observations on the increasingly non-Arab Muslim populations.
00:00 - Chapter 1. Introduction: Apparent Paradoxes of Islamic Conquest
04:01 - Chapter 2. Mohammed's Successors and the Beginnings of Conquest
10:08 - Chapter 3. Factors Favoring Arab Conquest
18:43 - Chapter 4. Arab Conquests
25:05 - Chapter 5. Internal Divisions
Complete course materials are available at the Yale Online website: online.yale.edu
This course was recorded in Fall 2011.
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Who is Paul Freedman?Paul Freedman is the Chester D Tripp Professor of History at Yale University. He specializes in medieval social history, the history of Spain, the study of medieval peasantry, and medieval cuisine.
What is Islam?One of the major religions of the world, Islam literally translates to "submission," as a follower of Islam (Muslims) devotes their life to that of their God. The religion began with the teachings of Muhammad in the 7th century. The theology of Islam is based on the Qur'an, which was given to Muhammad by God. Some of the major fundamental principles of Islam include the Five Pillars, which hope to unite all Muslims into a community. Two different factions of Muslims exist - the majority are known as Sunni, with a small percentage known as Shi'a - both predominantly reside throughout the Middle East. Muhammad died in 632 AD and the religion of Islam formally started after his death. The Quran was formally compiled and finalised in 650 AD, prior to which it was 'memorised' and written across many parchments.
Where is Rome?Rome is the capital city of Italy and a special comune (named Comune di Roma Capitale). Rome also serves as the capital of the Lazio region. With 2,872,800 residents in 1,285 km2 (496.1 sq mi), it is also the country's most populated comune. It is the fourth-most populous city in the European Union by population within city limits. It is the centre of the Metropolitan City of Rome, which has a population of 4.3 million residents. Rome is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, within Lazio (Latium), along the shores of the Tiber. The Vatican City is an independent country inside the city boundaries of Rome, the only existing example of a country within a city: for this reason Rome has been often defined as capital of two states. Rome's history spans 28 centuries. While Roman mythology dates the founding of Rome at around 753 BC, the site has been inhabited for much longer, making it one of the oldest continuously occupied sites in Europe.
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