 At the ruins of the Roman
city of
Nyssa in Turkey
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History 478A / 678A
Islamic Civilizations from Origins to 1750 C.E.
(scroll down for readings and powerpoint presentations)
Description: This seminar will examine the rise and development of Islamic civilizations from the time of the Prophet Muhammad in the sixth and seventh centuries up through the advent of the modern period during the eighteenth century. In doing so, we will hope to gain a greater appreciation of the diversity of Islamic civilizations as they evolved in various places and time periods, and better understand the historical contexts that affected the peoples and cultures of both the Islamic heartland and its surrounding regions.
NOTE: You need a username and password to access course files. If you are registered for the course, you can gain access to it via WebCampus, or please e-mail me so I can get it to you as soon as possible.
Course Syllabus, Study Guides and Extra Credit Assignment
(Study Guide links will be posted in the week before exams)
History 478A/678A Course Syllabus [PDF]
Accessibility Format History 478A/678A Course Syllabus [PDF]
History 678A Grad Student Syllabus Addendum [PDF]
* * * * *
Midterm Study Guide [PDF] (AVAILABLE NOW!)
Final Exam Study Guide [PDF] (AVAILABLE NOW!)
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Extra Credit Assignment [PDF] (AVAILABLE NOW!)
Course Readings by date and format
(.pdf = Adobe Acrobat format)
** Note #1: The Adobe Acrobat Reader is required to view readings; if you do not have it installed on your computer, a copy can be downloaded [HERE].
** Note #2: Downloading of resources may be slow from outside connections sometimes--try an on-campus computer lab if you are having trouble with downloads.
** Note #3: Instructor responses to the reading assignments and usernames/passwords can be found on the relevant WebCampus "Announcements" tab.
** Note #4: Please note that dates given here may be subject to changes based on circumstances; i.e., we may not complete all units in a single day, instructor illness may occur, etc..
1. The Pre-Islamic World in the Near East
Due September 3 @ 9:30am
Section
1 Questions/Readings: #1 and #2 [PDF]
2. Islamic Foundations: Muhammad in Mecca
Due September 8 @ 9:30am
Section 2 Questions/Readings: #3, #4 and #5 [PDF]
Optional Link 1: Online Text of the Qur'an with Arabic text
(click on "English" in right column and then scroll down)
Optional Link 2: Online Text of Qur'an with seven translations
3. The Early Muslim Community: Muhammad in Medina
Due September 10 @ 9:30am
2. Islamic Foundations: Muhammad in Mecca
Due September 8 @ 9:30am
Section 2 Questions/Readings: #3, #4 and #5 [PDF]
Optional Link 1: Online Text of the Qur'an with Arabic text
(click on "English" in right column and then scroll down)
Optional Link 2: Online Text of Qur'an with seven translations
3. The Early Muslim Community: Muhammad in Medina
Due September 10 @ 9:30am
4. The Rightly-Guided Caliphate and Muslim Expansion
Due September 15 @ 9:30am
Section 4 Question/Readings: #9, #10 and #11 [PDF]
5. Interpreting the Umayyad Caliphate
Due September 17 @ 9:30am
Sectin 5 Questions/Readings: #12, #13 and #14 [PDF]
Optional Link 1: Detail photos of the Umayyad Mosque
Optional Link 2: YouTube movie of Umayyad Mosque
Optional Link 3: Movie about Umayyad castles
6. The `Abbasid Revolution
Due September 22 @ 9:30am
Section 6 Questions/Readings: #15, #16 and #17 [PDF]
Optional Link: Genealogical charts for caliphs and Shi`ism
7. The `Abbasid High Caliphate
Due September 24 @ 9:30am
Section 7 Questions/Readings: #18, #19 and #20 [PDF]
Optional Link 1: Satellite Images of the ruins of Samarra'
(scroll north along river to see ruins beyond Great Mosque)
8. Political Fragmentation
and
Counter-Caliphates
Due September 29 @ 9:30am
Optional Link 1: The Mezquita in Spain (scroll down for images)
Optional Link 2: Film about Mezquita w/various images
9. Central Asian Migrations and the Saljuq Turks
Due October 1 @ 9:30am
Section 9 Questions/Readings: #24, #25 and #26 [PDF]
Optional Link: The Geography of the Saljuq Turkish world
10. Commerce, rural life, and non-Muslim communities
Due October 6 @ 9:30am
Section 10 Questions/Readings: #27, #28 and #29 [PDF]
11. Foundations of Islamic law and theology
Due October 8 @ 9:30am
Section 11 Questions/Readings: #30, #31 and #32 [PDF]
12. Mysticism and philosophy in the medieval Islamic world
Due October 13 @ 9:30am
Section 12
Questions/Readings: #33, #34
and #35 [PDF]
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TAKE-HOMEMIDTERM EXAM, ISSUED OCTOBER 13, TO BE COMPLETED NO LATER THAN OCTOBER 18 @ 11:59PM
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13. The Crusades and their impact on the Near East
Due October 22 @ 9:30am
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TAKE-HOMEMIDTERM EXAM, ISSUED OCTOBER 13, TO BE COMPLETED NO LATER THAN OCTOBER 18 @ 11:59PM
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13. The Crusades and their impact on the Near East
Due October 22 @ 9:30am
14. The Mongol Invasions
Due October 27 @ 9:30am
Section 14 Questions/Readings: #39, #40 and #41 [PDF]
15. Contours of the post-Mongol Islamic world
Due October 29 @ 9:30am
Section 15 Questions/Readings: #42, #43 and #44 [PDF]
16. The disastrous fourteenth century
Due November 3 @ 9:30am
Section 16 Questions/Readings: #45, #46 and #47 [PDF]
17. Gunpowder Empires I: the early Ottoman Empire
Due November 5 @ 9:30am
Section 17 Questions/Readings: #48, #49 and #50 [PDF]
18. The Evolution of Ottoman Society to 1750
Due November 10 @ 9:30am
Section 18 Questions/Readings: #51, #52 and #53 [PDF]
19. Gunpowder Empires II: the Safavids in Iran
Due November 12 @ 9:30am
Section 19 Questions/Readings: #54, #55 and #56 [PDF]
20. Gunpowder Empires III: the Mughal Empire in India
Due November 17 @ 9:30am
Section 20 Questions/Readings: #57, #58 and #59 [PDF]
21. The spread of Islam in sub-Saharan Africa
Due November 19 @ 9:30am
Section 21 Questions/Readings: #60, #61 and #62 [PDF]
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November 24 & 26 -- THANKSGIVING HOLIDAY; NO CLASS
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22. The spread of Islam in Asia and China
Due December 1 @ 9:30am
Section 22 Questions/Readings: #63 and #64 [PDF]
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TAKE-HOME FINAL EXAM, DUE DATE OF DECEMBER 8, NO LATER THAN 11:59pm
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Lecture notes (powerpoint reader required)
Introductory Session (Course Infrastructure, Overview)
Section 1--The Pre-Islamic Middle East
Section 2--Pre-Islamic Arabia and the Prophet Muhammad
Section 3--The Medinan Period of the Prophet
Section 4--The Rightly-Guided Caliphate
Section 5--The Umayyad Dynasty
Section 6--Sunni / Shi`a schism; the `Abbasid Revolution
Section 7--The `Abbasid Caliphate
Section 8--Political fragmentation in the Islamic world
Section 9--Turkic Migrations and the Saljuq Turks
Section 10--Non-Muslims and medieval Islamic life
Section 11--Formation of Islamic law and theology
Section 12--Knowledge, philosophy and mysticism
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Section 13--The Crusades of the Latin West
Section 14--The Mongol Invasions
Section 15--Contours of the post-Mongol Islamic world
Section 16--Disasters of the fourteenth century
Section 17--Rise of the early Ottoman state in Asia Minor
Section 18--The Ottoman Empire in the Near East
Section 19--The Persian Safavid Dynasty
Section 20--The Mughals of India
Section 21--Islam in sub-Saharan Africa
Section 22--The spread of Islamic civilization in Asia
Assistant Professor
4505 S. Maryland Parkway
Box 455020
Las Vegas, NV 89154
(702) 895-0891
