At the Grand Mosque of al-Zaytuna, in Tunis \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0(Wikipedia Commons public domain)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
In the classes that I teach on Islam, Islamic history, and Islamicate civilization and culture, I typically use the divisions proposed by Marshall Hodgson in his great (uncompleted) three-volume work, The Venture of Islam<\/em>. \u00a0He objected to the \u201cgreat man\u201d method of periodizing Islamicate history (or, for that matter, any other history), and sought more fundamental turning points. \u00a0So do I. \u00a0For your (lack of) interest, his divisions (and, derivatively, mine) are as follows:<\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
(Pre-Islamic Period, or, locally, the \u201cJahiliyya\u201d [the \u201cAge of Ignorance\u201d] \u2014 to about AD 570)<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
Formative Period \u2014 from about AD 570 to 692<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\nThis period covers the life of Muhammad, who was born in or around the year AD 570, as also the lives of his contemporaries and those who first succeeded him as heads of the rising community.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
High Caliphal Period \u2014 from about AD 692 to 945<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\nIn this period, the political ideal of absolute monarchy, taken from the Byzantine and, especially, from the Sassanian traditions, achieved its fullest expression.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
Middle Periods \u2014 about AD 945 to 1500<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n** Early Middle Period \u2014 AD 945-1258<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\nFollowing a time of social unrest, we have the Middle Periods.\u00a0 They are characterized by ephemeral and ever-shifting political boundaries, small states ruled by military figures.\u00a0 Nonetheless, this is a period in which the international civilization itself reached a full flowering, despite the political turmoil.\u00a0 (It is, in fact, tempting to say that the flowering occurred precisely because<\/em> of the break-up into multiple and competing centers of patronage; for creators of science, philosophy, medicine, art, and literature, decentralization made the Islamicate world a sellers market.)\u00a0 The Early Middle Period is marked by Turkish invasion and overlordship.<\/p>\n** Late Middle Period \u2014 AD 1258-1500<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\nThe Late Middle Period is marked more by Mongol invasion and overlordship.\u00a0 A convenient date to recall in this context, which might (rather arbitrarily) be used to set off the Early from the Late Middle Period, is the Mongol destruction of Baghdad in 1258.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
Period of the Gunpowder Empires \u2014 about AD 1500 to 1800<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\nTechnology from the West allowed for larger states and greater centralization.\u00a0 Three great empires dominate this period:\u00a0 1) The Ottomans, ruling modern-day Turkey or Anatolia, Balkan Europe, and almost all of the Arab world.\u00a0 2) The Safavids, ruling Iran.\u00a0 3) The Moguls, ruling in the Indian subcontinent.\u00a0 This period is marked, too, by the expansion of the West, and by increased competition between it and the East.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
Modern Period \u2014 AD 1800 to the glorious present<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\nThis period is usually counted from Napoleon\u2019s invasion of Egypt \u2014 which, to be precise, occurred in 1798.\u00a0 It is a time in which the Islamic world has been forced to come to grips with the West, in various ways.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
Posted from Seaside, Oregon<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\u00a0 \u00a0 In the classes that I teach on Islam, Islamic history, and Islamicate civilization and culture, I typically use the divisions proposed by Marshall Hodgson in his great (uncompleted) three-volume work, The Venture of Islam. \u00a0He objected to the \u201cgreat man\u201d method of periodizing Islamicate history (or, for that matter, any other history), and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1019,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[195,560,66,207,1769,1718],"class_list":["post-64437","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-arab","tag-arab-history","tag-islam","tag-islamic-history","tag-muslim","tag-muslims"],"yoast_head":"\n
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![\"Zaytuna](\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/186\/2015\/03\/Grand_Mosque_Tunis_Tunisia.jpg\")
<\/a>