European?Islamic cultural contact
There was
cultural contact
between Europe and the
Islamic world
(at the time primarily represented by the
Ottoman Empire
and, geographically more remote,
Safavid Persia
) from the
Renaissance
to
Early Modern period
.
Much of Europe's contact with the Islamic world was through
various wars
opposing the
expansion of the Ottoman Empire
.
There was limited direct interaction between the two cultures even though there was substantial trade between Europe and the Middle East at this time: merchants would often use intermediaries,
[1]
a practice that had been common since the time of the
Roman Empire
. Historians have noted that even during the 12th and 14th centuries the two parties had little interest in learning about each other.
[2]
The history of the Ottoman Empire is intimately connected to the history of Renaissance and Early Modern Europe. The European Renaissance was significantly triggered by the
Fall of Constantinople
in 1453 (resulting in a wave of Byzantine scholars fleeing to Italy). The Ottoman Empire reached its peak in 1566, coinciding with the beginning of the
scientific revolution
in Europe, which would lead to the
political dominance of Europe
over the course of the following century.
Iberian Peninsula
[
edit
]
The
kingdom of Granada
was the last stronghold of
Al-Andalus
, which was for centuries a pinnacle of culture in the Islamic world.
[3]
Trade from Granada included
silk
,
ceramic
, and
porcelain
. From 1230 until its fall to the Christians, the city was under the rule of the
Nasrid
dynasty .
[4]
Ferdinand III of Castile
had conquered almost all Andalusia by 1251.
[5]
It was not until after the 1469 marriage between Prince
Ferdinand II of Aragon
and
Isabella I of Castile
that
Alhambra
, the Nasrid palace of
Granada
, fell to Spanish forces.
[6]
Alhambra fell to the combined forces of Isabella and Ferdinand on January 2, 1492.
[7]
Alhambra was known
[
by whom?
]
as one of the greatest achievements of urban art in the Muslim world during the time of the Nasrids.
[8]
The
Court of the Myrtles
and the
Court of the Lions
are the only two portions of the palace to survive to present time.
[9]
While the
Treaty of Granada (1491)
allowed the new subjects to keep practicing Islam, soon
forced conversion
was applied.
The Granada Moors joined the earlier Iberian
Moriscos
.
Some of them were
Crypto-Muslims
while others adhered sincerely to Christianity.
Part of the former Granada nobility tried an intermediate way issuing the
Lead Books of Sacromonte
, purported paleo-Christian documents establishing a view of Christianity more acceptable to former Muslims.
However, the Christianity of Moriscos and their fidelity to the Spanish kingdoms was doubted.
The rules of
cleanliness of blood
treated them as second-class subjects.
The battles of Spain and Portugal against
Barbary pirates
and the
Ottoman Empire
inspired fear of a fifth column, resolving
Philip III of Spain
to
expel the Moriscos
in 1609.
Even useful refugees like deposed prince
Muley Xeque
had to leave some years later.
Reception of Islam in Early Modern England
[
edit
]
Portrait of
Abd el-Ouahed ben Messaoud
, a
Moorish
ambassador to
Queen Elizabeth I
in 1600
The first English convert to Islam mentioned by name is
John Nelson
.
[10]
16th century writer
Richard Hakluyt
claimed he was forced to convert, though he mentions in the same story other Englishmen who had converted willingly.
[
citation needed
]
- This king had a son which was a ruler in an island called Gerbi, whereunto arrived an English ship called the Green Dragon, of the which was master one M. Blonket, who, having a very unhappy boy on that ship, and understanding that whosoever would turn Turk should be well entertained of the a yeoman of our Queen's guard, whom the king's son had enforced to turn Turk; his name was John Nelson
.
[11]
Captain John Ward
of
Kent
was one of a number of British sailors who became pirates based in the
Maghreb
who also converted to Islam (see also
Barbary pirates
). Later, some
Unitarians
became interested in the faith, and
Henry Stubbe
wrote so favourably about Islam that it is thought he too had converted to the faith.
[
citation needed
]
From 1609 to 1616,
England
lost 466 ships to
Barbary pirates
, who sold the passengers into
slavery in North Africa
.
[12]
In 1625, it was reported that
Lundy
, an island in the
Bristol Channel
which had been a pirate lair for much of the previous half century, had been occupied by three
Ottoman pirates
who were threatening to burn
Ilfracombe
; Algerine rovers were using the island as a base in 1635, although the island had itself been attacked and plundered by a Spanish raid in 1633.
[13]
In 1627, Barbary pirates under command of the Dutch renegade
Jan Janszoon
operating from the Moroccan port of
Sale
occupied Lundy.
[14]
During this time there were reports of captured slaves being sent to
Algiers
and of the Islamic flag flying over Lundy.
[15]
[16]
Ottoman presence in the Balkans
[
edit
]
The
Ottoman Empire
emerged in 1299 and lasted until 1919. The Ottomans were strong proponents of
Sunni Islam
.
[17]
In the 13th century, the kingdom was only in a small portion of northwest
Anatolia
but by the 16th century, it expanded to the heartland of the
Byzantine Empire
and its capital,
Constantinople
. The height of the Ottoman Empire occurred under the sultans Selim the Grim, also known as
Selim I
(1512?1520) and
Suleyman the Magnificent
(1520?1566). Under their reigns, the Turks conquered
Egypt
,
Syria
, and the North coast of
Africa
, the
Red Sea
, the island of
Rhodes
, and the
Balkans
all the way to the
Great Hungarian Plain
.
Many members of Kosovo’s higher class, such as the
Serbs
and the
Vlachs
, converted to Islam during the
Du?an
period (1331?1355). A large part of the reason for the conversion was probably economic and social, as Muslims had considerably more rights and privileges than Christian subjects. As a result, Kosovo’s three largest towns were majority Muslim by 1485, where Christians had once formed a dense population before the rise of the Ottoman Empire. The movement was effective due to the wandering of
Sufis
who traveled around the region teaching religion as they went. By the 16th century, towns like
Prizren
,
Skopje
, and
đakovica
had established centers of learning that became crucial in inspiring and educating scholars who would then use their knowledge to benefit the Ottoman Empire and the Muslim world. From this time onward, many books circulated in the region that had a
Persian
influence while written in the
Albanian
language and
Arabic alphabet
. The oldest genre in this style is known as
Bejtexhinji
poetry.
[18]
Slavery
[
edit
]
Slavery at the time of the European Renaissance was a socio-economic factor especially around the
Mediterranean Sea
region. It was accepted and approved for both Muslims and Christians. Most slaves came from warfare, privateering, or the international slave trade. Only some of the Arabian slaves in Europe were Muslims by origin.
[19]
Many of the Muslim slaves were baptized before they were sold for the first time and then were given a new Christian name. There were, however, some Muslims who were not baptized and who kept their original names, but if they had children the newborns were immediately baptized. Most Muslim slaves converted to Christianity because there was hard social pressure at the time for them to convert. They also improved their social position by converting to Christianity, such as they would rise from a slave to a serf.
[20]
There were a small percentage of learned Muslim captives who were among the intellectual elite in their original hometowns among the Muslim prisoners and slaves. Captured Muslim scientists, physicians, and copyists were in high demand at slave markets. Learned Muslim captives were held in high regard by the authorities and they were sold for very high prices. They were wanted for the knowledge and advancements the Arabs had made over the Europeans. Copyists of Arabic manuscripts were needed in Spain to translate Arabic texts for the practice of medicine, the study of Arabic philosophy, and because of the popular interest in Europe for the translations of Arabic scientific texts. Learned Muslim captives played a very important role in the spread of Arabic science and philosophy over the Christian world.
[21]
The liberation of Muslim slaves was a state affair and elevated the popular esteem of the sovereign government. Muslim slaves were either freed or exchanged through special legislation and international treaties.
[22]
Examples of learned Muslim captives
[
edit
]
Portrait assumed to be of
Leo Africanus
(Sebastiano del Piombo, around 1520)
One account of a highly esteemed Muslim slave is of Moroccan geographer
al-Hassan al-Wazzan al-Fasi
, who made important contributions to geography and Italian texts. In 1519, al-Fasi was captured by a group of Sicilian pirates while he was on his way home from Egypt. When he was picked up he had scholarly notes on him that he had made from his travels through Africa. The pirates soon realized his value and they gave him to
Pope Leo X
in Rome. Al-Fasi was baptized on June 6, 1520, and renamed Joannis Leo, but he became known as Leo the African or Leo Africanus. Leo Africanus learned Italian, taught in Barcelona, and made Arabic notes in a book called Description of Africa, which was used for many years as an important source of geographic information on Muslim Africa.
[21]
Barbary pirates
[
edit
]
The
Barbary States
, who were allies of the Ottoman Empire, sent
Barbary pirates
to raid parts of
Western Europe
in order to capture Christian
slaves
to sell at
slave markets
in the
Arab World
throughout the Renaissance period.
[23]
[24]
Contemporaneous accounts suggest that a population of about 35,000 European slaves was maintained on the Barbary Coast. One writer estimates, on the basis that about 8,500 fresh slaves per annum would be required to maintain such a population, that as many as 1.25 million Europeans may have been taken in the 250 years to 1780, though there are no records to confirm such numbers.
[23]
The slaves were captured mainly from seaside villages in
Italy
,
Spain
and
Portugal
, and from farther places like
France
or
England
, the
Netherlands
,
Ireland
and even
Iceland
and
North America
, ultimately provoking the
First Barbary War
of the newly-formed
United States
.
Early Modern Orientalism
[
edit
]
Following the first wave of Arabic interest during the
Renaissance of the 12th century
, which saw numerous Arabic texts being
translated into Latin
, there was a 'second wave' of interest in the study of
Arabic literature
,
Arabic science
and
Islamic philosophy
in 16th-century France and 17th-century England.
Arabic
astronomical
manuscript of
Nasir al-Din al-Tusi
, annotated by
Guillaume Postel
.
Together with the development of the
Franco-Ottoman alliance
, cultural and scientific exchanges between France and the Ottoman Empire flourished. French scholars such as
Guillaume Postel
or
Pierre Belon
were able to travel to
Asia Minor
and the
Middle East
to collect information.
[25]
Ottoman Empire
Coran
, copied circa 1536, bound according to regulations set under Francis I circa 1549, with arms of
Henri II
.
Bibliotheque Nationale de France
.
Scientific exchange is thought to have occurred, as numerous works in Arabic, especially pertaining to
astronomy
were brought back, annotated and studied by scholars such as Guillaume Postel. Transmission of scientific knowledge, such as the
Tusi-couple
, may have occurred on such occasions, at the time when
Copernicus
was establishing his own astronomical theories.
[26]
Books, such as the
Coran
, were brought back to be integrated in Royal libraries, such as the
Bibliotheque Royale de Fontainebleau
, to create a foundation for the
College des lecteurs royaux
, future
College de France
.
[25]
French novels and tragedies were written with the Ottoman Empire as a theme or background.
[25]
In 1561,
Gabriel Bounin
published
La Soltane
, a
tragedy
highlighting the role of
Roxelane
in the 1553 execution of
Mustapha
, the elder son of
Suleiman
.
[25]
[27]
This tragedy marks the first time the Ottomans were introduced on stage in France.
[28]
Arabic manuscripts were considered the key to a 'treasure house' of ancient knowledge, which led to the founding of
Arabic Chairs
at
Oxford
and
Cambridge Universities
, where
Arabic
was taught. A large collection of Arabic manuscripts were acquired, collected in places such as the
Bodleian Library
at Oxford. These Arabic manuscripts were sought after by
natural philosophers
for their research in subjects
such as mathematics
and
observational astronomy
, and also encompassed subjects ranging from science, religion,
and medicine
, to typography and
garden plants
.
[29]
Besides scientific and philosophical literature, works of Arabic fiction were also translated into
Latin
and
English
during the 17th and 18th centuries. The most famous one was the
One Thousand and One Nights
(
Arabian Nights
), which was first translated into English in 1706 and has since then had a profound influence on
English literature
. Another famous work was
Ibn Tufail
's
philosophical novel
[30]
[31]
Hayy ibn Yaqdhan
, which was translated into Latin as
Philosophus Autodidactus
by
Edward Pococke
the Younger in 1671 and then into English by
Simon Ockley
in 1708. The English translation of
Hayy ibn Yaqdhan
, set on a
desert island
, may have inspired
Daniel Defoe
to write
Robinson Crusoe
, considered the
first novel in English
, in 1719.
[32]
[33]
[34]
[35]
Later translated literary works include
Layla and Majnun
and
Ibn al-Nafis
'
Theologus Autodidactus
.
The Muslim
Moors
had a noticeable influence on the works of
George Peele
and
William Shakespeare
. Some of their works featured Moorish characters, such as Peele's
The Battle of Alcazar
and Shakespeare's
The Merchant of Venice
,
Titus Andronicus
and
Othello
, which featured a Moorish
Othello
as its title character. These works are said to have been inspired by several Moorish
delegations
from
Morocco
to
Elizabethan England
around 1600.
[36]
A portrait was painted of one of the Moorish ambassadors,
Abd el-Ouahed ben Messaoud ben Mohammed Anoun
, who had come to promote an
Anglo-Moroccan alliance
.
At the Bodleian Library of Oxford University, there were hundreds of Arabic manuscripts, as well as dozens of
Persian
and
Turkish
ones, available during the 17th century. These included works on
Islamic law
and
Arabic grammar
; the
lexicography
of
Al-Firuzabadi
and
Al-Jawhari
; works on
Arabic poetry
; the
Indian literary
work
Kalila and Dimna
; the proverbs of
Al-Maydani
and
Maqama
of
Al-Hariri of Basra
; the medical works of
Al-Razi
,
Avicenna
,
Ibn al-Baitar
,
Hunayn ibn Ishaq
,
Al-Majusi
,
Ibn al-Jazzar
,
Abu al-Qasim al-Zahrawi
,
Ibn Zuhr
,
Maimonides
and
Ibn al-Nafis
; the astronomical works of
Ibn al-Banna
,
Ibn al-Shatir
,
Al-Farghani
and
Alhazen
; the
Masudic Canon
by
Abu Rayhan Biruni
and the
Book of Fixed Stars
by
Al-Sufi
; several
Ottoman scientific
works by
Taqi al-Din Muhammad ibn Ma'ruf
; occult and
alchemical works
; the
Secretum Secretorum
; Al-Safadi's
biographical dictionary
Al-Sihah
; the
historical works
of
Al-Tabari
,
Al-Isfahani
,
Al-Makin
,
Ibn Khallikan
,
Al-Dhahabi
,
Al-Waqidi
, Ibn al-Shina,
Al-Utbi
,
Ibn al-Jawzi
,
Ibn al-Athir
,
Sibt ibn al-Jawzi
,
Ibn Abi Usaibia
,
Bar-Hebraeus
, Al-Tunaynai, Ibn Duqmaq,
Ibn Taghribirdi
,
Al-Suyuti
,
Al-Jannabi
,
Ibn Hayyan
,
Ibn Miskawayh
,
Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani
and
Al-Maqrizi
; the
History of Time
by
Al-Masudi
and volume five of
Ibn Khaldun
's
historiographical work
Kitab al-Ibar
; the historical and geographical works of
Abu al-Fida
; the
Sahih al-Bukhari
and
Qur'anic commentaries
; the
Algebra
by
Al-Khwarizmi
and the mathematical works of
Nasir al-Din al-Tusi
; the
Encyclopedia of the Brethren of Purity
and Avienna's
The Book of Healing
; the works of
Ibn Bajjah
and Ibn Tufail;
geographical works
of
Ibn Khordadbeh
and
Ibn Hawqal
; .
[37]
A Latin translation of two of
Ali Qushji
's works, the
Tract on Arithmetic
and
Tract on Astronomy
, was published by
John Greaves
in 1650.
[38]
The turban in art and politics
[
edit
]
Suleiman the Magnificent
appears at the table in the 1563
The Wedding at Cana
by
Paolo Veronese
.
The
turban
often represented Muslims in the paintings of Italian and Flemish artists when they depicted scenes of the
Ottoman Empire
and Biblical lore. Famous figures such as
Suleyman the Magnificent
,
Hagar
, and
Hayreddin Barbarossa
appear in these paintings. The tradition of depicting Biblical characters in turbans has continued through to this century, as at least one of the wise men is always depicted with a turban.
[39]
Turban iconography was highly prominent, especially in Renaissance England. While friendly relations were formed between England and the Islamic civilization of the Middle East in the early 16th century, Turkish fashions became popular for the higher classes. During times of interaction with
Istanbul
, Queen
Elizabeth I of England
wore Turkish clothing styles. It was believed that she favored working with the Islamic sultans of Istanbul rather than the Roman Catholic leaders of Europe. These suspicions were heightened when she asked Sultan
Murad III
and his son
Mohammad III
for military assistance. Although she never did receive any assistance from the sultans, her relations with the Sultan and his son did not waver.
[40]
Views on Muslim women
[
edit
]
Alexander Ross
, a writer and controversialist living in the first half of the 17th century, praised the Turks for being “more modest in their conversation generally than we; Men and Women converse not together promiscuously, as among us.”
[41]
Ross believed that England could learn a great deal from the Muslims.
[41]
During the Renaissance, English women disrespected their husbands because they were free to do what they wanted, which society believed led to a moral deterioration.
[
dubious
–
discuss
]
[42]
European women also began leaving home to become male-like figures in society. Other European women attacked male chauvinism and defended the status of women by handing out pamphlets. Women rebelled against male religious hierarchy and began to replace men as preachers and pastors.
[43]
Christian writers highly admired Muslim women because they were frugal compared to English women, they were respected by their husbands because they did not play “false” with them, and because Muslim women went immediately back to work after giving birth and they still had time to raise their children themselves, unlike English women.
[44]
[
additional citation(s) needed
]
The Muslim model became an example of the “exotic” and “
Utopian
” ideal because it was not possible in European society.
[45]
European men sought to reinforce the traditional role of women and wanted their women to adhere to the model of Muslim women as frugal, obedient, wearing modest apparel, and respectful towards their husbands. Muslims and Englishmen differed in various ways, especially in their religious beliefs and militarism, but they did agree with each other on the representation of Muslim women.
[43]
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
James Chamber,
The Devil’s Horsemen: The Mongol Invasion of Europe
, (Edison: Castle Books, 2003), page 33.
- ^
Jane I. Smith. "Islam and Christendom," in
The Oxford History of Islam
. Edited by John L. Esposito.
Oxford Islamic Studies Online
.
http://www.oxfordislamicstudies.com/article
. (accessed January 29, 2008), page 1.
- ^
"Andalusia." The Islamic World: Past and Present. Edited by John L. Esposito. Oxford Islamic Studies Online,
http://www.oxfordislamicstudies.com/article
(accessed February 2, 2008).
- ^
"Granada." The Oxford Dictionary of Islam. Edited by John L. Esposito. Oxford Islamic Studies Online,
http://www.oxfordislamicstudies.com/article
(accessed February 2, 2008).
- ^
"Andalusia."
- ^
David Nicole, El Cid and the Reconquista: 1050-1492, (Great Britain: Osprey Publishing Limited, 1988), page 8.
- ^
David Nicole, page 39.
- ^
"Granada."
- ^
"Alhambra." The Oxford Dictionary of Islam. Edited by John L. Esposito. Oxford Islamic Studies Online,
http://www.oxfordislamicstudies.com/article
(accessed February 2, 2008).
- ^
[/religion/religions/islam/history/uk_1.shtml BBC]
- ^
Voyager's Tales, 3, The voyage made to Tripolis in Barbary,1584
, Richard Haklyut
- ^
Rees Davies,
British Slaves on the Barbary Coast
,
BBC
, 1 July 2003
- ^
History of Lundy
- ^
Konstam, Angus (2008).
Piracy: the complete history
. Osprey Publishing. p. 91.
ISBN
978-1-84603-240-0
. Retrieved
2011-04-15
.
- ^
de Bruxelles, Simon (February 28, 2007).
"Pirates who got away with it"
.
Study of sails on pirate ships
. London
. Retrieved
2007-11-25
.
- ^
Davies, Norman (1996).
Europe: A History
. Oxford University Press. p.
561
.
ISBN
978-0-19-820171-7
. Retrieved
2007-11-25
.
- ^
Everett Jenkins, Jr., The Muslim Diaspora: a Comprehensive Reference to the Spread of Islam in Asia, Africa, Europe, and the Americas. (Jefferson, NC: McFarland and Company, Inc., 2000), 2:7.
- ^
Isa Blumi. “Kosovo.” The Oxford Encyclopedia of the Islamic World. Edited by John L. Esposito. Oxford Islamic Studies Online.
http://www.oxfordislamicstudies.com/article
. (accessed January 29, 2008)
- ^
P.S. Konningsveld, P.S., page15.
- ^
P.S. Konningsveld, page16.
- ^
a
b
P.S. Konningsveld, page10.
- ^
P.S. Konningsveld, page6.
- ^
a
b
"British Slaves on the Barbary Coast"
.
- ^
"Jefferson Versus the Muslim Pirates by Christopher Hitchens, City Journal Spring 2007"
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
Ecouen Museum exhibit
- ^
Whose Science is Arabic Science in Renaissance Europe?
by George Saliba Columbia University
- ^
Arthur Augustus Tilley
,
The Literature of the French Renaissance
,
p. 87
- ^
The Penny cyclopædia of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge
p.418
[1]
- ^
G. A. Russell (1994).
The 'Arabick' interest of the natural philosophers in seventeenth-century England
.
Brill Publishers
.
ISBN
90-04-09888-7
.
- ^
Jon Mcginnis,
Classical Arabic Philosophy: An Anthology of Sources
, p. 284,
Hackett Publishing Company
,
ISBN
0-87220-871-0
.
- ^
Samar Attar
,
The Vital Roots of European Enlightenment: Ibn Tufayl's Influence on Modern Western Thought
, Lexington Books,
ISBN
0-7391-1989-3
.
[2]
- ^
Nawal Muhammad Hassan (1980),
Hayy bin Yaqzan and Robinson Crusoe: A study of an early Arabic impact on English literature
, Al-Rashid House for Publication.
- ^
Cyril Glasse (2001),
New
Encyclopedia of Islam
, p. 202, Rowman Altamira,
ISBN
0-7591-0190-6
.
- ^
Amber Haque (2004), "Psychology from Islamic Perspective: Contributions of Early Muslim Scholars and Challenges to Contemporary Muslim Psychologists",
Journal of Religion and Health
43
(4): 357-377 [369].
- ^
Martin Wainwright,
Desert island scripts
,
The Guardian
, 22 March 2003.
- ^
Professor Nabil Matar (April 2004),
Shakespeare and the Elizabethan Stage Moor
,
Sam Wanamaker
Fellowship Lecture,
Shakespeare’s Globe
Theatre (
cf.
Mayor of London
(2006),
Muslims in London
, pp. 14-15, Greater London Authority)
- ^
G. A. Russell (1994).
The 'Arabick' interest of the natural philosophers in seventeenth-century England
.
Brill Publishers
. pp. 130?1 & 134?7.
ISBN
90-04-09888-7
.
- ^
G. A. Russell, The 'Arabick' Interest of the Natural Philosophers in Seventeenth-century England, BRILL, 1994,
ISBN
90-04-09888-7
, p. 162
- ^
Nabil I. Matar, “Renaissance England and the Turban,” Images of the Other: Europe and the Muslim World Before 1700 Ed. David Blanks, (Cairo: Cairo Press, 1997).
- ^
Nabil I. Matar, “Renaissance England and the Turban.”
- ^
a
b
Nabil Matar, “The Representation of Muslim Women in Renaissance England,” page 51.
- ^
Nabil Matar, “The Representation of Muslim Women in Renaissance England,” page 52.
- ^
a
b
Nabil Matar, “The Representation of Muslim Women in Renaissance England,” page 61.
- ^
Nabil Matar, “The Representation of Muslim Women in Renaissance England,” page 53 and 54.
- ^
Nabil Matar, “The Representation of Muslim Women in Renaissance England,” page 60.
[
unreliable source?
]