Islam and Eurasia: An Introduction
Overview
Islam and Eurasia: An Introduction
The relationship between Islam and Eurasia is defined by a number of factors. Among the most significant is the missionary impulse of Islam, which drove Islamic expansion across Eurasia. Conversely, limits to that expansion included the missionary impulse of other religions and belief systems, including Buddhism, Christianity, and Hinduism. In part, Geography influenced where Islam spread, either facilitating or hindering that process. Tribalism strengthened group identification with and loyalty to Islam, among other ideologies and/or belief systems. As an example, such tribalism among the pastoral peoples who first embraced Islam was part of Islam’s early resilience. Other factors included economics, which in a number of cases acted as an imperative in its spread.
Learning Objective
- Assess the contributions of these three empires to the early-modern world.
During the seventh century C.E. Islam spread across Arabia. In the process of expanding across Eurasia, Islam—and other expansionistic belief systems—spread by means of military force, economic incentive, and ideological and/or spiritual appeal. For the next several centuries Islam spread westward across north Africa and into southern Europe, northward into west Asia, and eastward into south and central Asia.
With the diversification of the expanding Muslim world, that world became multipolar, with numerous centers of political and military power, as well cultural creativity. These centers punctuated the corridors of Islam’s spread. They also competed with each other.
Since the seventh century C.E. Islam has been one of a number of forces that have influenced Eurasian history. Another way to look at Islam’s role is as part of a dynamic process in which each of the forces is continually evolving. Part of what historians do is try to paint a picture of a period, along with all the individuals, groups, and forces that are part of that period. That, of course, is one of the greatest challenges that historians face—describing a past essentially in static terms that is the sum of all the dynamic developments and events of which it is composed. This is the case with the effort to understand the development and expansion of Islam. Islam, among other expansionistic belief systems, ultimately was and is a complex and fluid force developing in the complex and fluid landscape that is Eurasia.
Attributions
Title Image - Taj Mahal photo by Vyacheslav Argenberg, via Wikimedia Commons. Attribution: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Taj_Mahal_2,_Agra,_India.jpg. Provided by: Wikipedia. Located at:https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Taj_Mahal_2,_Agra,_India.jpg . License: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International.