Dilmun: a Human Paradise

Dilmun: a Human Paradise

In the ancient near-east, several civilizations emerged and constituted the first cities in the world. In particular, the Arabian-Gulf region was to experience several of those civilizations in a very unique way. The region formed a medium in which within it the first civilizations of the world came into contact with one another. Specifically, the Arabian Gulf came to play a major role in the early development of those civilizations in the period from c. 3300 to c. 2200 BC, (Rice 1985, 8). This important role initiated the civilization of Dilmun. Furthermore, Dilmun was an ancient civilization that flourished from 3500 B.C. to 700 B.C. For over almost three thousand years Dilmun’s society experienced different phases and developed gradually into a more complex society that, indeed, contributed to the prosperity of its neighboring civilizations; namely in Mesopotamia, Persia, and the Indus Valley. Taking in consideration the changes that Dilmun experienced during that period, we can divide the history of Dilmun into five phases. The first is between 3500 B.C. and 3000 B.C. This phase was the formative phase of the civilization in which it first developed its trading relations with the Uruk civilization in Mesopotamia. Additionally, there was also an increase in settlements at that period. Secondly, from 3000 to 2300 BC., Dilmun flourished with the establishment of firm trade-relations with the Sumerians during the beginning of the Early Dynastic period in Mesopotamia. It was during this time that the notion of Dilmun’s ‘holiness’ began to infuse in the region. Thirdly, at 2300 BC. Sargon, the great, made his conquest of Dilmun and destroyed its cities. At about 2200 B.C. after the end of the Sargoinc dynasty, Dilmun began to flourish again, but this time in an attempt to strengthen its defenses, the state built walls surrounding their cities. During this period and until 1700 BC., Dilmun experienced tributary relations with both Old-Babylon and Elam. Fourthly, after the fall of the Elamites in Persia and the rise of the Kassites, Dilmun became under the rule of the Kassites in c.1500 BC. Finally, in the last period of Dilmun, and as revealed by Assyrian records, a durable system of kingship developed. By then, the kings of Dilmun substantiated the city-state structure of their civilization. To better understand the ancient and even modern history, scholars examine the social, religious, economic and political structure of each ancient civilization. Taking into consideration that the Gulf region witnessed the rise of the first civilizations on earth, this paper will study the different attributes of the society of Dilmun, and the elements it shared with those emerging civilizations.

            In the context of this paper, the Arabian Gulf is going to be divided into four major areas: Mesopotamia in the North, the Persian coast, which includes Elam and Kassite civilizations, Magan, referring to modern day Oman, in the South, and Dilmun on the East Arabian coast. “It would be reasonable to suggest that it was only in the later third millennium, when commercial contacts became more regular and more important, that sailors knew the seas well enough to be able to subdivide the great area to the south, known as the Lower Sea, into different geographical parts, each of which then received its own name” (Crawford 1998, 5)

            One of the major geographical and topographical advantages of the Arabian coast of the Gulf, over the Persian coast, is its flatness and the absence of mountains, high hills or rigid stones. Those advantages would later account for the intensity of information and activity found on the Western shores of the Arabian Gulf. Further, such conformity in the topography of the western shores of the Gulf would help account for the extent of the Dilmun civilization and culture. This identical topographical layout is not only evident along the north western shores of the Gulf but also among the neighboring islands, especially Bahrain and Failakah. Further, similar to the few exceptional oases in the neighboring Arabian coast, “much of Bahrain is desert, sharply contrasting with the northern limits of the island which are richly fertile” (Rice 1985, 126). In an attempt to connect Dilmun’s mythology to its environment Crawford proposes that “to the early voyagers a landfall near these groves must have seemed like an evidence of the protection of a powerful god, whose presence might be manifested at any moment” (Rice 1985, 128).  Such similarity between Bahrain and the Arabian coast imply that the state of Dilmun could have extended beyond the Bahrain Island to encompass the entire East Arabian coast. “The two areas are, of course, very close to each other both geographically and culturally. By the late third millennium the material cultures of the two were almost identical” (Crawford 1998, 5).

            The Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, along with the Island of Failakah in Kuwait, define the limits of the Dilmun state. Beside the archaeological evidence, the goods that Dilmun was said to be export to Mesopotamia existed in small amounts on the Bahrain Island. Instead, the mainland of Eastern Arabia was a major resource for surplus exportation. In fact, Rice says that “the dates of Dilmun were always specially favored in ancient times and probably the best of them came from the oasis of Qatif and Hofuf in Saudi Arabia, another indication of the likely extent of Dilmun’s territories” (Rice 1985, 87). Furthermore, Crawford argues that the first contacts between Mesopotamia and Dilmun existed on the mainland ports rather on the island (Crawford 1998, 5). In fact, archaeological evidence indicate that Tarut the island, which is a two miles away from the mainland, served as port in which Dilmunite merchants from both the island and the mainland established colonies to exchange their goods (Rice 1985, 215). Also, there’s possible evidence that Tarut was used by Dilmun officials and administrators to monitor the shipment of goods, (Potts 1990, 67).   On the other hand, the Island of Failakah, which is about 200 miles away from the Bahrain Island, served as another port which was probably, due to geographical proximity, more specific to Mesopotamian related trade. Finally, Crawford asserts Dilmun extension throughout the gulf by taking later history of the area and comparing them to the ancient past of Dilmun: “further support for the suggestion that the same geographical name might have been used for both the islands and parts of the mainland come, by analogy, from the early Islamic period when the name Bahrain also covered large areas of the mainland” (Crawford 1998, 6).

Moreover, climatic changes can extensively affect the study of any civilization. On the one hand, droughts, and famines affect the farming industry by influencing the fertility of the soil. On the other hand, the change of sea nature affects the nature of harbors and bays and can, to a great extent, affect the fishing industry. Specifically, there used to be small rivers around the Alhasa and certainly Qatif Oases, which are on the mainland of Eastern Arabia that survived the early fourth millennium B.C.  Crawford comments that “these more hospitable conditions certainly allowed for the development of one large village site of fourth-millennium” (Crawford 1998, 9). The decline of such a lacustrine system from Eastern Arabia, in all probabilities, had a great impact on the economy. Such regression could also account for the decline of the Dilmun civilization as well as the Mesopotamian-Indus trade route. In this regard, Rice asserts that “the gulf is significantly lower today that it was in the fourth and early third millennium” (Rice 1985, 278). Crawford agree saying that “The changing sea levels would have had consequences for fresh water supplies as well as for the positioning of harbors and waterways” (Crawford 1998, 144). These changes must have had a deep impact on the availability of freshwater in those pure water springs. Further, Crawford argues that, through hydrostatic pressure, the variations of sea levels must have diminished such availability, (Crawford 1998, 9).

            To begin with, because all parts of the Dilmun civilization were surrounded by the sea, fish were the most vital ecological resource to the entire area, and it continuous to be so today. Fish was not only valuable for their meal-value, but they also were important in other industries as well. In fact, “fish was traditionally used in the Gulf region as a fodder for animals and as fertilizer, in addition to providing food for man himself” (Crawford 1998, 145). At the same time, the sea was not the only a source of fish but it was a source for Oysters. Rice confirms that and says that “Oyster middens of great antiquity on Bahraini and other sites suggest that the oyster beds were fished for pearls and not simply for an elegant addition to the diet of the region’s ” (Rice 1985, 20).

            On the other hand, the abundant fertile soils on the mainland and on the island made agriculture a basic resource for both the people of Dilmun and their neighboring nations: “It seems likely that Bahrain’s exceptional fertility and the fact that the island was well-wooded contributed to her value as a metal-working centre” (Rice 1985, 132). The economy of the region and its survival highly depended on the cultivation of dates and garlic (Rice 1985, 18). Further, the prominence of agricultural products such as dates, onions as well as timber suggests that the area had an exceptional unique character despite the fact that it was surrounded with arid deserts. The secret to such agricultural abundance is the extensive, and rather ‘magical’, presence of pure water springs all over the mainland and the island of Bahrain. Surprisingly, the water springs even existed in the midst of the desert, forming small oases. What’s more, the pure water springs also existed directly beside the very salty sea. Such ‘magical existence’ and dispersion of the water springs can contribute to evidence that accounts for the attached holiness to the land and how people of the surrounding lands, such as the Sumerians, deemed it to be a heavenly land. Also, what confirms such notions of holiness, beside the Sumerian texts especially the epic of Gilgamesh, is the presence of thousands of tombs dispersed all over the mainland and the island. Rice says that this suggests “that there must have been some sort of mortuary cult in Dilmun as a whole” (Rice 1985, 160).

Mythology and religion make all-embracing contributions to the culture of Dilmun. A key element in understanding the components that made up the Dilmunite society is examining the Dilmunite symbology. Diverse symbols are dispersed all over the archaeological evidence found in the land of Dilmun. Each of these symbols reflected both the ecological resources of the land and the material needs of the Dilmunite society. First, the Unicorn symbol, which was represented sometimes as a bull and others as Bucranium, held great significance in Dilmun’s mythology. Such significance might be attributed to the fact that the Oryx used to be a prominent ‘king’ of the Arabian deserts that surrounded Dilmun (Rice 1985, 122). As we shall see later, it appears to be that Dilmun’s priests used ‘harp bulls’ regularly as sacrificial objects. In fact, archaeologists found depictions on seals that reveal a bull and an axe in what appears to be a sacrificial position, (Rice 1985, 206). Secondly, the scorpion symbols, which, too, are widely popular in different pottery and seals, referred to the actual existence of them all over the Bahrain Island. In fact, scorpions are still widely dispersed all over Bahrain. It was also believed that scorpions and Bucraniums were used as a symbol of protection. Specifically, scorpions were found in great abundance in Diraz, a sight which is famous for its royal tombs (Rice 1985, 198). Thirdly, another animal that occupied a less prominent role in Dilmun’s symbology are birds.  At one of the famous and central temples in Dilmun, the Temple of Barbar, archaeologists found a bronze statue for a bird, (Rice 1985, 149). Apparently, birds were deemed as holy sky protectors of the temple. Another probability would be that they were sacrificed to the Gods: “There is evidence that animals were tethered to pierced stone blocks in the sacrificial area of the temple”, (Rice 1985, 206). Fourthly and one of the last prominent symbols is the ibex. It takes prominent presence on a considerable number of seals. In fact, on some of the seals, the ibex is placed in juxtaposition with other sky elements (Rice 1985, 199).

 In addition to being carved on to buildings, temples, pottery, and tombs, symbols were most valuable to the seals industry. This is because the seals industry was used not only in identifying dead people tombs and which families they belonged to, but more importantly used in trade: “The Dilmun seals are different in that they often contain groupings of apparently random elements; but the repetition of certain ones, the ibex, gazelle, goat, Bucranium, bird, tree, foot, scorpion and others in a variety of permutations, suggests that each element had a particular significance” (Rice 1985, 199). Most of the symbols that were prevalent around Dilmun expressed their cosmology. Symbols were attached to good and even concepts. Even more, many symbols honored the fertility of men and women and attached to certain animals, (Rice 1985, 199).

Other indirect symbols are mostly found when it comes to examining the physical positions of graves and religious temples. For example, parallel and right across from the strong and skillfully built doorways of the tombs you can watch the sunrise. This popular trend among the tombs suggests “elements of a solar faith, and the recognition of the son’s divinity” (Rice 1985, 161). One interesting fact is that the name of the sun-God of Dilmun, Shams in Akkadian language, which was used by Dilmun merchants suggesting their literacy, is the same word for the sun in Arabic. In fact, there are several other examples where the son came as a symbol of worship. On one of the Seals found on the Bahrain Island, there’s a depiction of two men drinking from the same pot and the Sun is centered above them. Scholars deem such practice, which is called the ‘symposium’, as a method of worship (Rice 1985, 202)

On the other hand, because of the significance of dates as both a source of food and a valuable trading good, palm-trees and dates are evident throughout Dilmun’s symbology. Specifically, palm-trees are also deemed to hold a significance that equals that of the sun, if not more. On another seal found beside the former one, there’s a depiction of two men “gesticulating (socially) at each other by a palm-tree, this time with the moon’s crescent riding over them” (Rice 1985, 202). Further, the appearance of the crescent on the seal in similar position as the sun in the former one also suggests that the moon held a significant part of Dilmun’s cosmology. In fact, the crescent held supreme importance in Arabian pre-Islamic symbology. Such significance might be traced to the ancient Dilmunites:

“The successive levels of Sin temples found at Khafajah show that from the earliest times, the moon-god was divinity to which worship was elaborately given. It has been observed that the moon is the prototype of the universal god to desert people and that the Semitic tribes followed this practice. Moon Temples were built by the pre-Islamic Arabs who, like their ancestors, considered the planet mild and beneficent and understandable view for a people who had to endure the daily torments of the sun at its height” (Rice 1985, 153).

Moreover, Rice and Potts both confirm that most of Dilmun’s mythology and religious practices were very similar to those of the Sumerians. Both the Dilmunites and the Sumerian had a deep veneration toward fish. In fact, Enki, who is the highest God of Dilmun and the symbol of Dilmunites in Sumerian texts, was associated with the fish, (Rice 1985, 104). Convincingly, fish-cults were established in the region since pre-Dilmun history, dating back to the Ubaids, (Rice 1985, 20). On the other hand, the presence of the pure water-springs, which was unique to the land of Dilmun, was heavenly incorporated into its religious mythology. For instance, in one of the Sumerian texts, Inanna, the goddess who is associated with Enki, and thus with Dilmun, herself announced ‘I am Inanna of the place where the sun rises’. This reminds us of the solar faith that Dilmun’s religion reflected. Also, later she says that she ‘washed her head in the fountain of Dilmun’. Rice claims that it might be a “reference perhaps to the many fresh water springs which may be found in the north of the island, and more surprisingly, in the sea itself which divides Bahrain from the mainland of Arabia” (Rice 1985, 103). On the other hand, it seems that the Dilmunites had complex beliefs of the after-life. Evidence of pottery, “Copper and bronze artifacts, swords, daggers and dress ornaments” in the tombs suggest that they believed in “means of sustaining the spirit after death”, (Rice 1985, 163). 

            On the other hand, throughout the Bahrain Island, which is deemed to be the capital of Dilmun, there are a number of building that still survive throughout the different cities of the Island. One of the most densely populated cities on the Island was a site now called Qala’at al-Bahrain. Moreover, one of the most significant attributes of the site, which reflect the particular building skills of the Dilmunites is that the walls of that surround the city and form the buildings were made “remarkably well” that they still survive for over four thousand years (Rice 1985, 132). In addition, the site contains a number of huge buildings which archaeologists believe that they were used as storage rooms for dates. Most probably, dates would have been stored in those warehouses until they’re used for different purposes, which include trade, juice-making, and cuisine, (Rice 1985, 88).

            Further, Dilmun was deemed to be a holy land and thus had to possess many temples, which were dispersed in different parts of the island and the mainland. One of the most famous temples in which archaeologists found extensive information regarding the religious beliefs and practices of the Dilmunites is the “Barbar Temple.” The temple covers a vast area which is surrounded by outer walls. Evidence of dog bones, suggested that dogs were used as guardians that can alert the priests for any disturbances, (Rice 1985, 145). Within the temple there’s a vast empty area that was designed, most probably, to accommodate the Dilmunites sacrificial practices to the Gods. Within this vast empty area, archaeologists found a small copper rattle, which they deemed to be used as musical instrument that would facilitate the priestly chanting, (Rice 1985, 128). On the other hand, inside one of the storage rooms within the temples, archaeologists found a great amount of silver, bronze, and copper deposits. “This, itself, is of some significance since the mercantile Dilmun, the secular counterpart of Dilmun the sacred land, depended on the copper trade for its exceptional prosperity” (Rice 1985, 145). Thus, inside the temple there are different practices that venerate the variety of resources which the survival of the civilization of Dilmun hinges upon. Further, this can even be seen as a celebration of life, and a veneration of a civilized way of life. Also, such presence of relatively luxurious artifacts and resources might signify a social or political power or influence that priests practiced over the people and the King of Dilmun. The fact that priests conducted rituals and ceremonies in a state of nudity, which usually characterizes royalty, supports such an argument (Rice 1985, 217). Even more, on several Dilmun seals there are depictions of sexual intercourse, (Rice 1985, 201). This also might indicate the possibility that “divine sexual intercourse” was part of their religious system.

            Moreover, right across from the storage room, archaeologists found a Well or possibly a bath.  “The well, like so much of Barbar, is constructed from finely cut stone blocks, from stone brought from Bahrain’s nearby island, Jidda” (Rice 1985, 144). In attempt to understand better the role of the well, Crawford identified channels that extend from the sacred well at the temple, (Crawford 1998, 63). Such channels can be seen as irrigation techniques that extend to the fertile soil of Dilmun originating from their religious temple. Such origination must be interpreted in terms of the notion of ‘Holly-Land’ that surrounds Dilmun. The agricultural industry is the main supplier of Dilmun’s trading goods. To ensure such fertility the waters that irrigate the soil must be blessed. On the other hand, this reminds us of the holly fountains that the Goddess Inanna claimed to wash herself with.

            Furthermore, because of the variety of resources and the needs to manage them, the society of Dilmun was rather more complex than we would imagine. In the beginning “we can suggest the presence of a relatively unstratified society, probably of diverse origins, abased in the main on the nuclear family as the basic unit” (Crawford 1998, 145). Later on, those small families became gradually specialized in different fields of industry, (Crawford 1998, 145). Because of the significance of trade, merchants became distinguished for their prestige, and thus a class of elites developed. Because of this increasing complexity of the Dilmun society, priests emerge as the true managers of the society. The priests, hence, secured the stability of the society and ensured the absence of any friction between the different classes of society. The ruling class, which includes the king, functions as national symbol of unity and pride. This royal class, most probably functioned as a symbol that offers a stronger common identity to the Dilmunites.  The king’s most valuable role is the management of Dilmun’s international relations with civilizations that extend as far and as important as Egypt (Rice, 1985, 64).

In regard of the different classes that existed in Dilmun, archaeological evidence suggests that the Dilmunites were not actually a stratified society. Instead, those different families, which later became extensive, seem to share an evenly-spread material repertoire.  Again, such a shared cultural sphere was probably utilized to develop a common identity for the Dilmunites. Also, as Crawford suggests, there was a localized distribution of goods all over Dilmun. Such distribution would have certainly promoted “economic interdependence”, (Crawford 1998, 145). Another factor that supports the semi-egalitarian structure of Dilmun’s society is their relative racial homogeneity. That’s not to say that Dilmun wasn’t diverse, but archaeological evidence of their skulls indicates that most Dilmunites “were Caucasoid in racial affiliation”, (Rice 1985, 159). Also the diet of the Dilmunites seem to be equally high in carbohydrates, which probably indicates that the dates, which Dilmun was famous for, represented a major part of their daily diet, (Rice 1985, 159). Additionally, examinations of skeletal remains suggest that Dilmunites didn’t experience any major diseases, and thus lived longer, in contrast to the rest of their region, (Rice 1985, 167).  This, along with the fact that Dilmunites were “taller than their present-day successors”, (Rice 1985, 158), would have been a reasonable factor for their neighbors to deem Dilmun as ‘holy’.

The different, specialized-families that composed the society of Dilmun occupied diverse jobs. First, there were the architects, who were responsible in building temples, monuments, trading ports, and possibly, royal palaces. Secondly, you have the class of the fishermen who compose the majority of the society of Dilmun, as they still do in modern times. There’s evidence which “indicates that a number of different fishing techniques were used and in addition to hooks, for which there is direct archaeological evidence, nets and traps were almost certainly known.” (Crawford 1998, 145) Thirdly, you have the class of farmers and peasants, though they’re not the largest, yet they compose a big proportion of the population. This class dealt with the cultivation of onions, garlic palm-trees, and possibly cereal. They also developed a variety of usages of dates: “The distillation of liquor also played a part in the early Dilmun economy and rooms specially designed for the pressing of date juice demonstrate the antiquity of a process which may still be seen in use in parts of Arabia” (Rice 1985, 1132). Fourthly, there’s the class of the metal and copper smelting people. As raw copper comes from the land of Magan to Dilmun through trade, a need for smelting arose. Following such establishment of smelting workshops all over Dilmun, helped it gain popularity in the ancient world as a center for producing bronze artifacts.  Fifthly, there’s the class which deals with cattle and domestication. This class supplies the state with the required means of land-transportation for the elites. It also supplies the religious-priests class with the required number of goats or unicorns which will be sacrificed to the gods. The sixth class is the one which deals with ship-building. Dilmun was famous for its ships, “Sargon speaks proudly of the ships of Dilmun riding fearlessly at anchor in the harbor of Agade”, (Rice 1985, 75). The seventh class is the religious class, the priests. As previously described, the priests didn’t only play a religious role, but instead they were the security forces whose job was to maintain the coherence of the Dilmun society. Crawford comments: “There is one other class of specialist for whom there is convincing evidence and that is the priest. The number and variety of temples is remarkable” (Crawford 1998, 146). The eighth class is that of the merchants, who were famous beyond Dilmun and all over the Gulf area. Ancient Babylonian texts reveal that, due to the reputable proficiency of Dilmun’s traders, they used their names as a synonym for ‘trader’, which they called “lu-tilmun-a,” (Rice 1985, 182). Finally, there’s the royal class which include the king. The so-called royal tombs in the center of the Bahrain Island demonstrate the existence of such a class. In fact, in one of those tombs archaeologists found, beside the bronze artifacts, a body position on “a bed decorated with ivory carvings and ornaments” (Rice 1985, 163).

In this regard, the presence of an Elite class, and even a royal family, is evident in the luxurious pottery and bronze artifacts, swords as well as intricate dress ornaments that archaeologists found in some of the tombs on the island of Bahrain. In this regard, Rice also mentions that those tombs were “exceptionally large” and that they were of “impressive heights”, (Rice 1985, 164). Additionally, Ur-Nanshe, the king of Lagash, is mentioned in one of the texts to “receive tribute from Dilmun in the twenty sixth century BC.”, (Rice 1985, 210). This indicates that not only did the land of Dilmun have a central authority, but that they also had a tributary relationship with the kings of Mesopotamia at that time. On the other hand, the elite class probably included the merchants who were engaged in heavy trade within Dilmun as well as surrounding civilizations such as the Sumerians, Elamits and the Indus Valley (Rice 1985, 182). As Potts suggests, merchants established colonies in the port cities which they traded with. Potts also claims that merchant moved back and forth with their families, (Potts 1990, 181). From such statements we can infer that traveling across nations was a practice that distinguished the elites from the commoners. Also, this may indicate that some of the royal family themselves engaged in trade. Both Rice and Crawford suggest that those merchant and their families, were literate since Akkadian was the language employed throughout the trading Gulf network. Because of the explosion of trade that occurred in the middle of the third millennium BC, the Dilmunites needed to keep track of their increasingly complex system of trade, (Crawford 1998, 94). In such context, scholars such as Crawford and Rice propose that the Dilmunites developed a system of writing, which could be highly similar to that of Mesopotamia. Possible evidence includes the use of stamp seals all over Dilmun. Stamp seals are most conveniently used with “perishable material such as palm leaves or parchment, using inks or dyes from natural sources such as cuttlefish” (Crawford 1998, 18).

Meanwhile, the diverse classification of responsibilities, which were well-spread among society according to the availability of resources, triggered Dilmun to develop a variety of skills and technologies that, as we will see, enhanced Dilmun’s role in the trading route in the Arabian Gulf. First, because of the abundance of palm-trees in the region, Dilmun utilized dates, which they deemed holy, in creating a special kind of juice. “The distillation of liquor also played a part in the early Dilmun economy and rooms specially designed for the pressing of date juice demonstrate the antiquity of a process which may still be seen in use in parts of Arabia” (Rice 1985, 132). Both the dates and the intoxicating juices were one of the top indigenous goods that Dilmun exported to the rest of the region.  In fact, palm-trees were not indigenous to Mesopotamia, and, archaeological evidence suggests that they were inherited and brought over from Dilmun, (Rice 1985, 54). Again, this would have been a very good reason that could account for the Sumerian veneration of Dilmun, especially that palm-trees were very significant in Sumerian mythology.  Apparently, the Dilmunites used the fibers of the palm-trees to create a type of linen. Potts provides evidence that Mesopotamian kings enjoyed those linens, especially in certain festivals. The skillful decorations of cult symbols and gods are evident on the linens, (Potts 1990, 183). Crawford agrees and says that “Date fibers woven into baskets and mats are good evidence that there was a plentiful local supply”, (Crawford 1998, 63). As mentioned before, irrigation techniques were definitely used in the island, especially that palm-trees were less prominent on the island than on the mainland. Also, the several Mesopotamian texts, which say that timber was heavily imported from the land of Dilmun itself, indicate that the Dilmunites must have developed extensive simple irrigation techniques, (Rice 1985, 81). Incidentally, because dates were of part of the Dilmunites daily diet, the remains of their teeth show cariosities. Surprisingly, to heal such caries, the Dilmunites developed sophisticated dental techniques: “A number of skulls have produced evidence of carious teeth extracted in life” (Rice 1985, 158).

On the other hand, fish was abundant all over the costs of Dilmun, and they symbolized Enki, the highest god of Dilmun. The increase in the population of Dilmun meant that more fish should be extracted of the sea. To satisfy those demands, the fishermen class developed different fishing techniques such as hooks, nets, and traps, (Crawford 1998, 145). Additionally, fishing techniques were, above all, important in the extraction of oysters, and thereby pearls, from the sea. “The Danish excavations identified  vast oyster middens on the island, dating back five thousand years and more, showing that the oyster was harvested from early times” (Rice 1985, 124). In addition, Crawford speculates that the Dilmunites used cuttlefish as writing material, (Crawford 1998, 18). Besides, there’s direct archeological evidence which reveals that Dilmunites used Fish as both fertilizer and fodder, (Crawford 1998, 9).

            In reference to the religious and secular buildings of Dilmun, there were probably different workshops that were dispersed all over the state to satisfy the needs of providing “fine-grained limestone-bricks” in every city. Notably, Dilmun is distinguished for such stone-bricks; especially since Mesopotamia were using clay at that time. Apparently, the Dilmun’s craftsmen skillfully followed the instructions of the architects who designed the cities’ buildings, (Rice 1985, 144). In agreement with this, Crawford says that “the seals, too, must have been produced by specialists, possibly from a single workshop in each area, in order to avoid repetition of designs” (Crawford 1998, 146). As mentioned before, there is ample evidence, which is found all over the state from the north in Failakah to the south in the mainland oases, of the existence of copper smelting shops.  In fact, Rice suggest that “small drills, of copper, bronze or stone were employed in cutting the  fine details of the design once the face of the seal had been prepared by grinding and polishing the surface” (Rice 1985, 195). No copper is naturally found in the land of Dilmun. Instead ore was shipped from Magan, at the port city of Umm an-Nar (current day Abu-Dhabi), through trade. This ore would probably later be distributed to the different smelting work-shops around Dilmun to convert it to ingot, (Rice 1985, 18). Moreover, ancient Mesopotamian texts claim that huge amounts of copper and bronze artifacts have been shipped from Dilmun. If this was true then Dilmun must’ve had an extensive smelting industry. In addition to having trade relations with Mesopotamia and Magan, archaeological evidence suggest that Dilmun received gold and iron from Egypt, carnelian from Ethiopia, Bronze from Zagros (in Persia) and silver from Amanus (in Turkey). What’s more, the same texts mention that Dilmun’s market places were filled, beside precious pearls, with semi-precious stones, ivory objects, combs, breastplates, ivory boxes, and ornaments for furniture, (Rice 1985, 81). In addition, archaeologists found copper rattles in some of the religious temples, suggesting that some of the priests formed a semi-orchestra during their rituals (Rice 1985, 128). Such findings indicate the level of skill and technology that Dilmunites achieved in the ancient times.

                                                Further, to facilitate both trade and fishing, the Dilmunite ship-builders developed special boats for fishing, and, also unique ships for long-distance trading, (Rice 1985, 78). All of those techniques were evenly distributed among Dilmun, even though the island was the center of the ‘nation’, especially around the important port-cities of the land of Dilmun: “The Tarut corpus includes nearly 200 with presentations of combatant snakes of felines, date-palms, scorpions, lions, or Imdugud birds(lion headed eagles), as well as a wide variety of naturalistic and geometric motifs, including the so-called ‘hut’ or temple facade, mat and rope weave, and cable, whirl, imbricate, and beveled square” (Potts 1990, 67).

            Above all, through trade, the Dilmunites were not only capable of gaining financial benefits. Instead, the Dilmun merchants traveled and exchanged goods with other civilizations. The most prominent trade relations are that with Mesopotamia and the Indus Valley civilizations, in which Dilmun functioned as a means of communication between the two distant civilizations. First, evidence of Arabian Gulf seals and metal artifacts confirm the travels of the Dilmun merchants and possibly suggest the existence of small merchant-based colonies in the Indus’ port cities, (Possehl, 227). What’s more, evidence which shows a startling resemblance between the Dilmun weight standards and that of the Indus Valley, also suggests that the Dilmunite merchants examined other civilizations and served a bigger role than just traders, (Possehl, 227). Further, many of the Dilmun seals were inscribed with characters of the mysterious Harappan script, ( Scarre 2003, 205). Even more, evidence of Monkey bones in Dilmunite lands, which weren’t indigenous to that area, suggest definite importation of exotic animals and products from the land of the Indus Valley, (Rice 1985, 201). Secondly, the trade relations with Mesopotamia, which were the earliest in the region, fundamentally initiated the development of the civilization of Dilmun. In addition to previously mentioned exported goods, Dilmun imported from Mesopotamia barely, cedar, oil, flour, silverware and fabulous dresses which were often selected by the king and queens themselves “in exchange for Dilmun’s copper and splendid dates” (Rice 1985, 177).

            In addition to their trade relations, Dilmun held a unique stance in Mesopotamian society. In fact, it was the frequent reference to Dilmun in the Mesopotamian text, especially the Sumerians ones, which triggered scholars to study such a civilization. In particular the Sumerians apparently studied the land of Dilmun and on the basis of their investigation they deemed the land to be holy. Rice says that “the subterranean waters of eastern Arabia and the central Gulf were a particularly powerful element in giving the region its reputation for sanctity and the special favor of gods” (Rice 1985, 103). Even though the Dilmun water springs didn’t affect them at all, the Sumerians believed that the Dilmun springs were the source of their rivers. According to their beliefs, the springs in the land of Dilmun were responsible for the vitality of their rivers, and thus Sumer. Also, the Sumerians wrote legends which indicate that Dilmun might have been their place of origin.  Actually, there’s archaeological evidence which suggest that there was an increase in population just before the start of the Early Dynastic period. Connecting the Sumerian legends with the evidence of migration might help better explain the ‘holy’ notions that seem to surround Dilmun. In other words, a migration of people from the Arabian Gulf region to Mesopotamian cities would definitely explain the “infusion of myths and legends which are centered on Bahrain-Dilmun”, (Rice 1985, 54).

            In conclusion, the society of Dilmun appears to have been made up of several fully urbanized settlements which interact with their surrounding smaller agricultural villages. This “craft-specialized society” was made up of different families divided into different classes according to their particular skills. Fisherman and pastoralists composed a large part of the society; yet administrators, merchants and metal-workers still represented a reasonable proportion of it, (Crawford 1998, 17). Taking that into consideration, we can conclude that Dilmun was a combination of city-states that were ruled by a King who symbolized the unity of the state. On the other hand, clearly, evidence suggests that the Dilmunites developed a cosmology of their own. The positioning of the ibex in juxtaposition with the sky, the arrangement of tombs along with the sunset, and the many central appearances of the sun on the seals, imply elements of a mysterious solar and even astronomical faith, (Rice 1985, 199).

            Furthermore, it would certainly be of great help if scholars considered the region as a whole rather than the Bahrain Island alone. A collective interpretation of the archaeological evidence that is found in the different parts of the Arabian Gulf could reveal more secrets of the Ancient Dilmunites. Interestingly, Ancient names and traditions in the Arabian Gulf never cease to exist, no matter how many other civilizations and culture came to displace them. For example, the name of the Lord of Dilmun, Enki, is still used by the local people in the region of Qatif in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia. Although most locals don’t know the origin of such names, “Enuk”, a major town in the region of Qatif, traces its name back to the Dilmun God, Enki- the God of fish. The exposure of such links that connect modern history to the ancient one would enhance our understanding of both the modern and the ancient people who have lived in this region. ). Archaeologists deem ancient Dilmun to be “the first land in the world perhaps to be accorded this sacred character” (Rice 1985, 122). At the same time, “Dilmun was the operational nerve center for this early Gulf and Arabian sea-trade”, (Possehl, 220). Studying both the material as well as the religious significance of Dilmun would definitely elucidate the origins of the history that we know; namely, the values of Western societies as well as their great three monotheistic faiths can be better understood when scholars examine evidence collectively rather than separately.

Bibliography

1)      Rice, Michael. Search for the Paradise Land: an Introduction to the Archaeology of Bahrain and the Arabian Gulf, from the Earliest Times to the Death of Alexander the Great. London and New York: Longman, 1985.

2)      Potts, T. F. The Arabian Gulf in Antiquity: From Prehistory to the Fall of the Achaemenid Empire. Oxford: Clarendon, 1990.

3)      Crawford, Harriet. Dilmun and Its Gulf Neighbors. Cambridge: University Press, 1998.

4)      Scarre, Christopher, and Fagan, Brian. Ancient Civilizations 2^nd ed. New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 2003.

5)      Possehl, Gregory L. “The Indus Civilization: A Comparative Perspective”. New York: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.

Kartini: a Quest for Freedom (Indonesia)

Kartini: a Quest for Freedom

Indonesia’s battle for Independence endured a gradual process that grew exponentially after World War II. Although the movement towards the unity and the independence of Indonesia didn’t take shape until 1908, the origins of the movement trace their roots to earlier pioneers. Further, Kartini’s revelations motivated and triggered Indonesian nationalism. Indeed, in response to her writings, Indonesian struggle for independence gradually developed to a profound revolution in Indonesian political, social and educational sphere. A symbol for Indonesian nationalism, Kartini took advantage of her environment and transformed the restraint imposed on her into innovative ideas, nationalist ambtions, and, most importantly, pioneering feminine thought. “He who does not dare does not win” (p.19), and because Kartini was the first one to dare, she eventually allowed her people to win something that they have longed for for hundreds of years.

Although Kartini lived to witness the age of Dutch Ethical Policy, she didn’t live to benefit from it. In all probabilities, Kartini would have certainly influenced the National revival of Indonesia if she had survived such a period of transformation.  The period of Ethical Policy raised the awareness of Indonesians and allowed them to further recognize the constructive aspects of Western political, economic and social life. Such awareness made Indonesians, both nobility and commoners demand and have access to extensive education. Because of the increasing number of educational institutions that were dispersed all over the Archipelago, knowledge was no more a privilege exclusive to the highest Javanese Elites. This development was critical into the awakening of Indonesian politics. As we will see, the historical development of Nationalism in Indonesia can be traced back and outlined in Karitini’s revelations.

To begin with, Kartini’s environment, shaped by her social and economic status, greatly influenced her later views on Javanese culture. Kartini was born into “Bupati” aristocratic social class. Belonging to such an aristocratic social status brought with it a great burden of responsibility, “To my mind there are only two kinds of aristocracy, the aristocracy of the mind , and the aristocracy of the soul-of those who are noble in spirit” (p.11). From her letters, Kartini reveals her great appreciation of her social status and the privileges she had access to through it. As an exchange for such a privellege, Kartini believed that it was her duty to bring change to her country, “And how will her people ever be awakened, when those who should serve as examples, themselves love sleep so much”p.8-9

First, part of belonging to such a status in Javanese society was to work for the Dutch. As a result, her father had extensive relations with Dutch officials and Dutch friends.  Being the daughter of an elite who deals with Dutch on daily basis, Kartini had the exclusive privilege to Dutch education.  The Bupati class played an intermediary role between the Dutch and the Native commoners.  Visiting various villages in and around Batavia was one of the daily activities that Kartini’s father had to do as part of his job.  Occasionally, he would take his children along with him.  Thus, at such a young age, Kartini was exposed to the struggles of the Native commoners. Such visits had a great impact on her Nationalist thoughts as she began to develop a stronger relation with her people. Those visits also helped her recognize a stream of setbacks that increased the difficulty of bringing change to her people.

On the other hand, the second and most important aspects of the Javanese Bupati culture was its commitment to social etiquettes, and it over-protective sexist treatment of women.  Although her father had occasionally broke some cultural norms, such as allowing her daughter to study Dutch and accompany him on some of his visits,  Kartini’s ambitions came to a severe halt because of cultural restrictions.  According to her traditional culture, Kartini was expected to remain home protected from the outside world until her parents arrange a marriage for her.  Though aware of his daughter’s ambitions, Kartini’s father was bound by his customs which he had an obligation to preserve. Such devoted sanctity toward tradition bothered Kartini and is a persisting theme of every letter that Kartini sent to Stella.  She utilized logic as her decisive factor in making judgments, “To me, it goes against the brain when people older than I creep in the dust before me” p. 43. Though she considered her self a Muslim, she questioned her faith and scrutinized it, “The Mohammedan law allows a man to have four wives at the same time. And though it be a thousand times over no sin according to the Mohammedan law and doctrine, I shall of ever call it a sin” p.17

Continuing her long persistence and resistance, Kartini took advantage of her knowledge of Dutch and began to transform the imprisonment imposed on her into a self-taught institutional of learning. To Kartini, reading was not just a means of seeking pleasure, though it was her only means. In fact, Kartini believed in education and she deemed learning as the ultimate path to freedom, self-awareness, and unity. Through out her letters, Kartini restates her dream of establishing a school system for all of her people, especially the women. Confined by her home-stay imprisonment, Kartini struggled to establish the least form of education that she can provide for her people.  Kartini greatly understood the specific aspects of her society. Because she recognized that school education is impossible to accomplish, as she couldn’t offer that to herself, Kartini launched a local program that aims at fostering technical skills. Her vocational program aimed particularly at attracting ordinary girls who were lived on the margin of society.  Recalling the conditions and the needs of the people from her childhood village visits, Kartini’s school were greatly concerned with wood-carving.  In general, wood-carving was the only job woman can do besides taking care of her husband and children. Kartini saw and experienced the distinct suffering that female members of society had to undergo. In her letters, Kartini doesn’t only complain about restrictions on women but she also expresses bewilderment of the idea itself.  In addition to her unique independent thinking, Kartini’s collection of books and newspaper articles furthered her hopes for the emancipation of Javanese women. Not only was she aware of the process of the development of feminism in Europe, but she extended such knowledge and tried to apply it and theorize it on her Javanese fellow individuals. Moreover, Kartini was knowledgeable enough of the uniqueness of her society that she refused to be a pseudo-European, “It is the greatest of all lies that any two human beings can think alike in everything. That cannot be; people who say that must be hypocrites” (p.9). In one of her early letters, she confirms that “Civilization is a blessing, but it has its dark side as well” (p.7). What’s more, she doesn’t idealize European culture but, in fact she points out to many features that she deem wrong.  For instance, “Kissing the foot is the highest token of respect that we Javanese can show to our parents, or elderly blood relatives, and to our won rulers. We do not find it pleasant to do this for strangers; no, the European makes himself ridiculous in our eyes whenever he demands from us those tokens of respect to which our won rulers alone have the right” p. 42

            The greatest achievement that made Kartini’s letters influential to both the Colonizers and the Natives, was her recognition of the significance of education in escaping backwardness and achieving prosperity and progress. She says: “Oh, now I understand why they are opposed to the education of the Javanese. When the Javanese becomes educated then he will no longer say amen to everything that is suggested to him by his superiors” (p.45). As a result,  Kartini made it clear in her letters that, though the Dutch are civilized and friendly, they aim at exploiting the people and the country’s resources. Stimulated by her commitment to her people and sense of duty, she promoted education as a means of revolting against repression and ending the colonization of South East Asian Archipelago. Partly in response to her demands, the age of ethical policy came to achieve Karitini’s dream and awaken the long sleeping Natives of Indonesia. What’s more, Kartini never benefited from the period of Ethical Policy. In her life, Kartini struggled to articulate her thoughts and voice her concerns to the citizens of her country. Taking this into consideration, one can speculate the great revolution that Kartini would have made during the Ethical Policy period had she survived it.

Shang Dynasty - China

The Shang dynasty is considered to be the first state-dynasty in the history of Chinese civilization. Archaeologists have discovered the first socially stratified and politically complex Chinese state. The Shang ‘empire’ was socially differentiated into commoners, a class of merchants, nobility and elites, and an emperor. This social structure influenced the political structure of the Shang state. We will merchants and elites emerging to sustain a complex political structure that the Shang dynasty gradually developed. Regardless of the structure of their state, the Shang state had a central authority which is symbolized by the king. Although the king traveled around the domain of his empire to publicize his authority and confirm his power, the capital was his home, and hence, became the center of the empire.

            Further, the emperor was a symbolic representation of both a political empire (the World and the earth) and the spirtual realm (the heavens). In other words, he held two powers: a secular position as the political and cultural center of the Shang state (the world), and a spirtual position as the head of the spirit-worship religion. The king was the intermediary between the earth and the heavens; he connected the people with the heavenly gods. Through this ideology, which was composed of two parts, the capital became the center of the Shang world and the outerlands symbolized the remaining parts.

            In order to firmly fulfil such an ideology, and due to the difficulty of controlling vast outer lands, the king developed a tributary systerm (semi-fuedal). In other words, because the emperor had difficulty organizing a military and political power to control the outer domains directly, he utilized a tributary system that eases the expansion of his empire.  Using this system, the empire lay further and beyond the city-state nature. Instead, it reaches out to the neighboring lands and imposes strong but indirect rule over them. Moreover, this practice of indirect contorl produced allied states or possibly territories that pay tributes through resources, goods and perhaps military support to the central Shang capital. The rulers of those outer provinces belonged to the elite class of the state. On the other hand, the merchant-class was used to endorse the communication among the provinces and between the provinces and the central capital. In other words, the Shang emperor utilized the merchant class and possessed absolute control over the circulation and the distribution of goods and resources. Evidentally, the king became successful in shifting their political power from being a city state to a more complex political organization.

            As we can see, there’s evidence that supports both the centrality of the capital and the possible existence of outer provinces. Furthermore, the Shang-military presence in the capital, which is supported by archaeological evidence, reflects a rather firm central authority and a strong identification with the capital and the emperor. At the same time, the absence of the military in the outerlands can further serve as evidence for the possible tributary territorial system that the Shang developed to expand their state. On the other hand, the Shang oracle bones, which also were mostly found in the capital, actually mention some warfare in the later phase of the Shang. This could also be a consequence that is attributed to the tributary system. Further, the warefare involved the outer territories who were fighting among themselves but still paid tribute and loyalty to the Shang emperor. Thus the outer territories while belonging to the Shang world system, still practiced partial autonomy over their land.

            In fact, this could also account and explain the demise of the Shang dynasty: because of their increasing power, the loyal territories stopped paying tributes to the Shang emperor and gradually revolted against him. To the point, this actually connects with the chronicles that describe the Zhou dynasty’s arrival to the rule of China. Chrnoicles tell that the Shang emperor committed suicide after his own supporters and military betrayed him and allied with the Zhou dynasty.             

Ancient Urbanization Clusters (China & West Africa)

            Traditional theories of urbanization and definitions of a city focus on the notion of centrality.  Those theories necessitates that every city requires the existence of an absolute, centralized, and possibly despotic power that ensure a centralized economy. Such notions imply the unification of the different people within the city is imposed on them rather than spontaneously emerging. Also, in such a scheme, self-identity couldn’t be questioned since members of the city were born into a rigid, and well-defined relationship to the rest of the community, especially to the king. Such definitions fail to account for cities in ancient Shang- China and West Niger civilizations. Both of these civilizations contained diverse populations of discrete specialized families which lived in great proximity and functioned together through exchange of goods. Within such a scheme, both of those civilization experienced a diversified subsistence level.

            To begin with, the city of Jenne-Jeno is the earliest identified settlement in West Africa. Because of the absence of a centralized political, social and economic power or even a unifying ideology or religion, scholars have declined to accept the sight as a city-sight. In Jenne-jeno we encounter the development of increasingly populated groups with a variety of collective skills that slowly developed into a “network of specialized parts.” To develop their city, those groups must have developed concepts of collective differentiation and probably created symbols that would facilitate communication among those different groups. This concept of collective differentiation means that members of one group, to preserve their unique ancestor-worship-cults, tried to establish a self-identity. Thus, despite their extensive communication and exchange of goods with other groups, each group maintained its unique character, “cities without citadels”.

            Because of their different and unique ancestor cults, members of those smaller groups or communities avoided assimilating themselves with other groups, and thus, integration into a single community was avoided. In an effort to preserve their individuality local communities maintained spatial boundaries that separated them from other. These small collective groups, however, still maintained strong relationship with other suppliers or clients, with whom the exchanged goods, by remaining relatively close to other groups. As a result, they were separate but close small collective groups of different specialties and of different spiritual practices. Gradually, one or two cities would develop or  merge into a larger settlement. This larger settlement is still surrounded by groups which, too, slowly developed into surrounding villages. This egalitarian system, which indicates flexibility and fairness, facilitated the intersection and overlap or resources, as well as communication of knowledge and kills. Hence, a clustering system of urbanization emerged peacefully and spontaneously, forming something similar to our modern day concept of a city ( downtown and suburbs!).

            Similarly, the settlements during the Shang dynasty in China, are marked by their dispersed scheme. Each of these small settlements had its own set of artisans, ancestor-worship-cult, and elite lineage. This suggest the presence of independent communities that were almost self-sufficient, “eco-social independence”. Moreover, as described earlier in the first essay, the Shang empire was rather a territorial state that allowed a great amount of flexibility. Thus one can propose that these independent communities, because of their proximity, decided to join a ‘federation’ initiated and led by the founders of the Shang state. Indeed this confirms the need of a tributary system as well as “publicity-tours” that the king often used to take to the different areas of his state. Further, because of the relative independence of the those communities, the Shang emperor had to develop a “distribution of goods” system that would facilitate communication and would confirm unity among the various communities. Also, because of the variety of ancestor cults that existed in the Shang state, the founders couldn’t claim absolute superiority over the different local cults. In fact, the founders tried to merely unify them, by claiming the divine relationship between the emperor and the heavenly Gods.

Social Hierarchy in Ancient Egypt

Ancient Egypt is a civilization that passed through different periods. Each of these periods had a relatively distinct political and social structure. However, due to the relative similarities between Early Dynastic and Old Kingdom periods and their significance in developing Egyptian History, the period of the third millennium BC of the Egyptian civilization will be discussed in this paper. To ensure authority and control over their state, rulers create social and political boundaries that are designated to standardize their society and make them easier to manage. Part of facilitating the management of their state is creating sub-authorities that can be viewed as an intermediary institution between the ruler and the commoners.

The first tool in reducing a complex society to a manageable one is to develop a common identity. This common identity includes the emergence of an ethnic common ground that’s associated with pride and traditions such as festivals, rituals and royal ceremonies. For example, they provided prehistorical narratives of Egyptian Kings (which possibly never existed). In other words, the Egyptian kings sought to create a national identity. This identity excludes certain people from Egyptian society. Moreover, Pharaohs developed the concept of Egyptian Civility: To be civilized, is to be Egyptian. Pharaohs extended this concept and applied it to establish their absolute authority. Naturally, to achieve a civilized society, your state must be in peace and order. To avoid chaos and obtain order you thus have to seek the loyalty of the Pharaoh who represents the land and people of Egypt. The pharoses are the protectors of Egypt who are responsible in maintaining the survival and prosperity of Egypt. The pharos also used the intermediary periods as learning lessons to the people of Egypt through which they recognized the disadvantages of competing kingdoms and the damages of chaotic politics. In those periods of political disunity, famine and drought broke out through Egyptian land. Using these cases, Egyptian pharos established their role in maintaining cosmic balance which is symbolized in the integrity of Egypt and the control of the Nile.

Due to the large extent of Egyptian land, Pharos developed a complex administrative system and regional authorities that ensure their control. Those governmental systems would require a large number of administrators, clerics, and court officials. At this point, the Pharaohs develop the most distinguished characteristic of Egyptian civilization which is social stratification. Egyptian society in this period is marked by a hierarchal system headed by the absolute authority of the Pharaoh. A class of ruling elites was developed to fill in the different administrative positions. On top of those Elites is the Vizier who resembles an intermediary between the pharaoh and the rest of Egypt.

Different Bureaucratic institutions developed to manage the economy, which is central to every emerging state. The first step was to develop royal foundations which collect and accumulate resources from different parts of Egypt and send them to the central government. Then the central administration redistributes and allocates the food and goods to different regions. This concept of the “provider state” was also confirmed in terms of trade. However, controlling trade strengthened the power of the elites. For instance, not only the accumulation of resources was now in their hands, but also communication via trade became exclusive to them.

What’s more, the development of the Egyptian writing system expanded the gap between the commoners and the elites. The writing system produced a “high exclusive culture” that’s very distinct from the rest of society. Further, to be in an administrator position meant literacy and knowledge. Administrators developed records that keep precise numbers of farms and locations of resources so that they ensure that everyone is paying tax-money.

One of the most significant visual mechanisms that the Egyptian kings devised to remind the people of the centrality of the state, which is represented in the Pharaoh, was the development of huge monuments, which glorify the Pharaoh. Initially, taxation money was needed to fund those huge projects. This taxation money gradually increased corresponding to the need of building bigger monuments. This processes developed a greater social stratification.  The hierarchy of Egyptian society is analogous to their favorite structures, the pyramids. On top of the pyramid sits the Pharaoh, and on the bottom the commoners. In the beginning a lesser social stratification was presented depicted by the step pyramids. Gradually, greater social stratification developed and with that the Giza Pyramids came to existence

Comparing Ancient Egypt to Mesopotamia

Every society is greatly influenced by the environmental setting it emerges in. Although there’re some similarities in the paths of development between different civilizations, great differences may exist. Political systems in Mesopotamia and Egypt differed and so did their environmental settings.                                   

source

To begin with, the natural fertility of Mesopotamian land was vital to the emergence of its civilization. Although the climate is generally hot and arid, the existence of the Tigris -Euphrates reveries made the land more fertile. In effect, the two rivers became critical in the development of the irrigation system that farmers established around different parts of Mesopotamia, especially in the South. Incidentally, although Mesopotamia is generally fertile, the Northern and Southern parts differ in their climate. The North part is cooler and has greater rainfalls, while the Southern part is arid and hotter. Because of the hot weather in the South, early settlements there exploited their proximity of the Euphrates River and developed an irrigation system that would later prove to be vital in the development of the first civilization of the world. The irrigation system was easy to develop because, at that time, the Tigris and Euphrates topography were more complex and interlinked than they’re now. Also, the Persian Gulf coast was much closer to the earlier settlements in the South, contributing to Marine and fishing industries as well as further trade.

Initially, the establishment of the irrigation system attracted more people to settle and farm. Gradually the population increased and community leaders gained greater authority. The people of the Ubaid period took advantage of their geographical position and interacted with other neighboring areas. The need for raw materials that the fertile plains of Mesopotamia lacked sparked the Ubaid to establish an exchange system of trade with Iran, Oman, Anatolia and Dilmun. This would intensify the population of the villages, and eventually this cluster of Villages would be dominated by a more significant village, which would later develop into an urban center. The Ubaids were just the first to exploit the geographical features of their land. The Uruks and the following periods of Mesopotamian civilization developed more sophisticated irrigation canals and trade networks.

The Egyptian land was far simpler than that of Mesopotamia. The arid climate and the deserts that surround Egyptian land contributed to their veneration of the sun; it reflected a spiritual significance. For instance, just as the sun provides light and warmth and is associated with the hot nature of the desserts, the desserts, at the same time, protect Egypt from foreign invasions.

However, the most vital feature of the landscape of Egypt is the Nile River. The Nile to Egypt was as vital as the irrigation system to Mesopotamia. The Nile provided food into ways. First, fishing developed. Secondly, the inundation of the Nile was essential to the Egyptian agricultural industry. Every year, the annual flood would end a hot arid summer and start a cool autumn in which crops can be developed. On the other hand, the Nile was a means of travel and trade. The Nile stretched from the middle of Africa to the Mediterranean Sea. Hence, it crossed different civilizations that Egypt can trade with; most notably Nubia.

What’s more, the Nile provided a means of communication and unity between Upper and Lower Egypt, which symbolize the dualistic aspects of Ancient Egyptian philosophy. To maintain the balance of the cosmos, there had to be a consolidation of the two parts. That consolidation is strongly influenced by the Nile and is then accomplished by the Pharaohs.

Moreover, to build their huge monuments the Pharaohs needed raw building materials that the Nile area lacked. Hence, they would go to the desserts through different expeditions to find rocks and precious stone. Through the Nile and the desserts, Egypt was both united and isolated by its geography.

In conclusion, the numerous Mesopotamian city-states reflect the diversity and complexity of the Mesopotamia landscape. On the other hand, the unity and the establishment of the Egyptian nation-state are reflected in the uniformity and simplicity of its environment. In addition, the Nation-state experience in Mesopotamia eventually failed. This could possibly be attributed to the difficulty of controlling a diverse landscape under one rule.

Medieval Islam: a Conflict between Reform and Revival

Islamic Renaissance and the Failure of a Reformation:

a Wrangle Between Philosophy and Religion

 Since the 1980’s, politics within the Muslim world have played a major role in developing debates over the compatibility of Islam within the modern world. Recently, the tragic events of 9/11 drew a greater attention to examining Islamic ideology, and sparked a controversy on the need for an Islamic Reformation. In light of that, Western scholars, and some Muslim intellectuals emphasized the urgent need for a comprehensive restructuring of Islam. Alternatively, religious thinkers opposed such propositions claiming their insincerity and their inherent secular and Western character. Others argue that the concept of a reformation is not alien to Islamic history. They claim that Muslims have recognized and appreciated the concept of reformation long before the Christians did. In reference to such a viewpoint, scholars questioned the triumph of such efforts and asserted their failure. Through a historical examination of Islam, scholars observed that medieval Islamic culture encompassed a discourse on the philosophy of religion. Moreover, they confirm that such a discourse articulated hopes for a Reformation. Though, they attribute the failure of that Reformation to the hypocrisy of political and religious leaders.

In the beginning, to understand the concept of Reformation, one must consider the foundations of the European Reformation. First, throughout the early medieval centuries, Europe sunk into a period of darkness and ignorance. At that time the only central authority that united most of Europe was the Papacy of the Catholic Church at the Vatican. This absence of nation-states ended when various royalties took control over different regions of Europe. Gradually, conflicts within the different states and the central church weakened the absolute authority of the Church.  This decline in the influence of the Catholic Church triggered the European Renaissance.

Furthermore, Renaissance, as defined by Margoliouth, is the “recovery of classical art (from antiquity), literature and science, which during the Dark and the earlier Middle Ages had been neglected” (p. I)[1]. During this period, great intellectual achievements have taken place throughout Italy as a result of the scientific revival of ancient Roman and Greek science. The discovery of the works of Galen’s on anatomy and Ptolemy on Geography gave the birth of new scientific revelations. Leaders of the scientific Renaissance include Galileo and Da Vinci, whose works formed the basis of modern Science. Moreover, al-Khowarismy work on Algebra, which reached Europe through the crusades, also had a great influence on the development of mathematics. In addition, the interactions with the Muslims through the conquest of Spain introduced translations of classical Greek philosophy to Europe. The Muslim scholar Ibn-Rushed, known as Averroës in the west, was the leader of the movement that developed Aristotle’s scholasticism. This humanistic revival shifted Latin literature to a new phase.

This new thriving culture emphasized critical thinking and encouraged skepticism. As a result, new interpretations of the bible and religious traditions initiated a spiritual-awakening. This free-thinking approach allowed thinkers to voice their concerns over the Church’s repressions. Additionally, political tensions between the Catholic Papacy and the various European states contributed to greater widespread criticism. Initiated by a few unorganized theologians, such as Martin Luther, a Revolution against the Church began. With the aid of religious philosophers, political leaders from Germany and England established the Reformation[2].

Accordingly, the Reformation stemmed from long periods of struggle and a series of intellectual revival, which the Christian World had to undergo to reach such a theological and political reform.  On the other hand, the existence of many revolutionary campaigns in the Muslim world makes it hard to agree on a specific period of Reformation or even to define the nature of such a reformation.  This complex and dynamic nature of political medieval Islam differentiated it from Christianity and, as a result, the nature of an Islamic Reformation would differ from its Christian counterpart. Further, Roberson explains that “Islam, as a religion, was able, through the behavior of its believer, to continually remain cognizant of the social, economic and political condition of the time it was passing through. It was like the passage of a long series of intermittent ‘mini-reformations’, all the while the basic structure of the religion was maintained including the law, rather than the experience of one great all-mighty reformation as in Europe”[3]. Here a distinction must be made between the Protestant Reformation in Europe and the Reformation within the context of Islam. First, unlike the Catholic Church in Renaissance Europe, the Muslim World lacked a central religious authority. Secondly, the continuous refusal of the Muslim community to create “further split” in it eliminates the many difficulties that the leaders of the Protestant Reformation had to face to separate from Catholicism[4].

In the context of this paper, an Islamic Reformation corresponds to constructing an inclusive humanistic approach to theology which allows intellectual criticism and, yet maintains the central structure of Islam. In other words, a Reformation must result in a comprehensive and flexible system that preserves the continual development of the economic, intellectual, social and political status of the Muslim community and the human civilization. However, there is a current debate over the concept of an Islamic Reformation. In a private meeting Mrs. Sherine Ebadi, the first Muslim women to win a Nobel Prize, expressed to me that she would rather call it an “Islamic Revival.” Her fear emerges from the fact that the term “Reformation” provokes a greater controversy and hinders the renewal of Islam, since the term is always associated with the split of Christianity. Nevertheless, the term “Islamic revival” has recently turned to a cliché that is used by various movements that extensively differ in their objective. As we will see later, Revivalism has been associated sometimes with groups that challenged efforts of Reform. Still, we can define Revivalism as movements that claim to represent the return to the ‘true and original form of Islam.’

Looking back at the roots of the Christian Reformation, we saw that the revolution was based on the intellectual prosperity of the Renaissance. Thus, to study the history of Reform in Islam we first have to examine the Islamic Renaissance.  In the context of Islamic History, Renaissance refers to the philosophers, scientists and theologians whom works have contributed profoundly to the emergence of the European Renaissance. This implies that Renaissance in the Muslim world have started earlier than that of Europe’s. Antony Black confirms: “the east was intellectually superior to the West in jurisprudence, mathematics, medicine, astronomy, and philosophy until around 1200. Early Islam was more open that pre-twelfth century Christendom to foreign and ancient ideas.”[5] The Muslims didn’t only translate Greek science and philosophy. However, they also developed it. Ibn-Sina’s, known as Avicenna in the Latin world, works on anatomy and medicine rivaled that of Hippocrates and Galen. Similarly, commentaries of Al-Faraby on Aristotle’s theories added an additional perspective to early Renaissance Italy. However, the most influential Muslim thinker was Ibn-Rushed, whose significance was even celebrated by Raphael’s famous ‘School of Athens’ painting.

To begin with, Al-Faraby is known to be the first influential philosopher of the Golden Age of Islam. As with most other Muslim philosophers, Faraby seeked education by himself; “he didn’t belong to the court, bureaucracy or any literary group”[6]. However, Greek philosophy was introduced to him through a Christian teacher of the Alexandrian school. Faraby’s revolutionary concept of the philosophical nature of Prophecy and religion meant that philosophy itself is of divine nature. While such thoughts heavily conflicted with the Sunni school of thought, Shiites “enthusiastically adopted al-Faraby’s political ideas”.  Faraby saw that “religion is an imitation of philosophy.” Moreover, because “philosophy demonstrates what religion symbolizes”, “Philosophy is ‘true education’ and the way to Salvation” [7]. In the later part of his life he wrote his most distinguished books that constituted the development of Aristotle’s work. His book, the Virtuous City, represented his detailed vision of the ideal Caliphate. Additionally, he used Plato’s work to form the basic attributes of a Caliph[8].

In Plato’s perspective, knowledge was the essential qualifier for leadership. Such view corresponded to that of the Shiites. Both Shiites and the Faraby believed that the propagation of knowledge and virtue, which is necessary to the development of the human civilization, required not only political regulations but a virtuous leadership. This “affinity between Philosophy and Shi’ism” triggered the Shiite Hamdanids Caliphate to invite al-Faraby to Aleppo. The construction of the Houses of Wisdom in Mosul, Aleppo and Tripoli shows the Shiite appreciation of Greek philosophy. Another reason for al-Faraby’s abandonment of Baghdad, which was the central intellectual city of his time, is the increasing popularity of Hanbali Sunnism.

In this regard, Ahmed Ibn-Hanbal was a theologian that initiated a movement that denied the option of innovations in dealing with religion. Unlike al-Faraby, Ibn Hanbal believed that it’s the religious duty of the people to comply with their leader regardless of his actions with the exception of apostasy and the absence of communal prayer[9]. In addition, he denigrated every form of rational speculation. His literary movement came from his rejection of the rational approach of reading the Quran. This conflict between traditional Islam and philosophy developed in the Abbasid Caliphate with the accession of al-Ma’mun. Al-Ma’mun was interested in Greek philosophy. Therefore, he attracted Shiites and Mu’tazilites, who opposed literalism. At his time, Baghdad, especially with his construction of the House of Wisdom, became the center of intellectual discourse. This approach cultivated philosophers such as Faraby and Avicenna, and equated their academic status to that of religious scholars. Alternatively, to illustrate his tolerant policies and theory of Deputyship, Ma’mun deliberately designated the Shiite eighth Imam, Ali Al-Ridha, as his successor, and retained Mu’tazilte thinkers in authoritative positions.

This spread of philosophy and Shiite teachings triggered Ibn-Hanbal to publicly expose his distaste to philosophers. He taught that philosophers blind individuals from recognizing the truth, and in this manner, they deviate people from the ‘true Islam.’ “To call a man a philosopher was still to brand him as a heretic or infidel”[10] Moreover, the fierce dispute between philosophers and Hannibal’s Sunni beliefs emerged when Ibn-Hanbal “took to the streets proclaiming that it was the duty of the Deputy to command t good and forbid the evil, that is, to enforce the Shari’a in public life”. In one way or another, this implied that Al-Ma’mun wasn’t fulfilling his duty as a Caliph. Expectedly, Al-Ma’mun responded with imprisoning Hanbal. Al-Ma’mun’s action depicts the only occasion in the entire history of Islam in which a Caliph chooses rationalism prior to religion. In this regard, one can come to see some resemblance between Philip, the Magnanimous of Renaissance Germany, and al-Ma’mun. Both championed innovative religious notions and condoned liturgical attitudes toward religion. Additionally, Al-Ma’mun’s theory of deputyship also resembled that of the small republics that existed in Italian Renaissance. In this manner, Al-Ma’mun “adopted a cultural policy that was designed to boost high culture and the intellectual standing of the Caliphate”[11].Thus, to Islamic Renaissance, al-Ma’mun was the founder. His initiative of institutionalizing philosophy as well as his interest to a multiethnic and religiously variant society corresponded to the only possible Reformation in Islam. For the first time in any Caliphate, and perhaps the only time, Al-Ma’mun, as a leader, demonstrated that “the ruler must be loved by his people and combine clemency with severity”[12].  Indeed, with severity he dealt with literalism and compassion with those who were tolerant.

As a result of the thriving intellectual culture in Baghdad, Avicenna came to being. Avicenna believed not only that philosophy can be superior to religion, but that it can interact with the human’s active intuition, which he claimed to emanate from God. In other words, Avicenna meant that regular humans can, through mysticism along with philosophy, exceed limits and possibly achieve Prophecy.  Challenges to Sunnism continued with al-Razi’s skeptics in concepts such as Revelation and Prophecy. He defied his Sunni background when “he called Socrates ‘the Imam’”, arguing that if intellectual enlightenment is sufficient to prove the existence of God, then “Prophecy and revelation are unnecessary; indeed they are harmful because they retard knowledge and cause wars”[13].

In comparison, and in the endorsement of the traditional Sunni school of literalism, Ibn Hazm composed a love story in which he tried to establish that “plain language” is the only way one in which one can understand the sacred texts.[14] Thus, Quran can only have an apparent meaning; allegorical approaches to the Quran used by Sunni philosophers were deemed unacceptable. Because of his scholar standing and his position as the Ummayed’s Vizier, Ibn Hazm thoughts on philosophy gave some legitimacy to the Ummayed’s rule in Spain. As we will see, the end of the Ummayed’s rule corresponded also to the beginning of rational thinking in Muslim Spain and the emergence of thinkers such as Ibn Tufail and Ibn Rushed.

During that period of time, particularly in the center of the Muslim World, Sunnism school of thought still didn’t prevail against the campaign of philosophy. It only became well established when AlGhazaly, around the 11th century, wrote his famous book, Destructio Philosopherum , condemning the works of Faraby and Avicenna. Al-Gahzaly got the public’s approval because he relied on his personal experience. His arguments were based upon his conversations with philosophers, Shiites, and Sufis. In addition, his book, Revival, also was revolutionary, since it’s the first time that a theologian truly criticizes the ‘Ulama in their tactics within the political authorities, which focus on the establishment of the traditional Sunni school instead on the correct implementation of Shari’a. What’s more, Ghazaly also accepted Sufi thoughts and indeed embraced them in the latter part of his life. Further, he developed the predominantly rigid nature of Sunnism to a school of thought that encourages science and mathematics[15].  This increasing flexibility of Sunnism, together with his denunciation of philosophy, distinguished Al-Ghazaly and compared his influence on mainstream Islam to that of Thomas Aquinas in Catholicism. [16] Both theologians persisted that religion and science, are in fact, related.

On the other side of the Muslim world, the fall of the Almoravids dynasty in Muslim Spain, which included the decline of the restrictive Sunni atmosphere, as well as the rise of the intellectually vibrant environment of Almohads’ Cordova promoted Averroës’ interest in exploring science and philosophy beside Islamic Jurisprudence. His natural interest in medicine gave birth to his medical encyclopedia, the Colliget. His companionship with Ibn-Tufail, a philosopher who he shared interest in medicine with, launched him to embark upon the study of philosophy. The open-minded theology of Almohads allowed him to further develop his thoughts without the usual Sunni restrictions.[17] In Europe, he was considered as the true interpreter of Aristotle. However, some Christian theologians such as Albertus Magnus, the teacher of Thomas Aquinas, deemed him “godless and the enemy of Christ.” [18] Again, this relates to the resemblance of Thomas Aquinas and Al-Ghazaly. Indeed, both of them, though advocates of science, viewed Averroes’ pure philosophy as contradictory to the nature of religion. In defense of philosophy, Averroes wrote a detailed refutation, called the Incoherence of the Incoherence, to Al-Ghazaly’s degradation of Philosophy.

More than any other thinkers of his time, Averroes applied and traced his work on Plato’s politics through Islamic history. This indicated that he, unlike Faraby’s ideal vision, tried to relate Greek politics into Muslim political history in an attempt to establish a future change. His unparalleled, both in Europe and the Muslim world, feminist observations in which he attributed economic regression to the subordination of women in society, provoked religious leaders to publicly condemn him. Black explains, “Supporters of Sunni Legalism saw a clear contradiction between religion and philosophy, and they were now suppressing the practice of philosophy and persecuting philosophers, including Ibn Rushed himself”[19].  Markedly, Ibn Rushed was beyond comparison to all of Islamic thinkers. His Sunni status and his revolutionary ideas distinguish him as the supreme Islamic thinker. Being a Sunni at that time implied a certain ideology that Ibn-Rushed clearly transcended while still adhering to Sunnism. Those reasons illustrate the similarities of Ibn-Rushed and Martin Luther. This suggests the possibility of Reformation if Ibn-Rushed were tolerated.

On the other hand, the Shiite school of thought believed that philosophy and implicit understanding are the keys to the sincere interpretations of theology. Thus, the pursuit for a philosophical Islam didn’t die out with Ibn-Rushd’s sad end. In fact, Shiite theology encouraged the use of philosophy, mathematics, astronomy and science in interpreting the sacred texts. Al-Tusi exemplified that approach and developed. Tusi was born in the far eastern end of the Muslim Empire. Although he was the only thinker of his time, Tusi’s influence exceeded the boundaries of his Shiite beliefs. First, as a Shiite theologian, unlike his Sunni cotemporaries, Tusi held that Shari’a isn’t absolute, and that interpretations by the experts, who he called Mujtahids, are within the scope of the divine laws. Further, the concept of Ijtihad, which is done by the Mujtahids, “gave the Shiite legal system flexibility and dynamism; it enabled new question to be take seriously. Above all, it elevated Reason.”[20] This individual reasoning resembles democracy, as it enables dialogue over theology within the Shiite sect, let alone with other Muslim schools of thought. Secondly, his political theories also embraced an unparalleled democratic thinking within the Islamic Renaissance. Tusi proposed a political theory of love through which he “saw the rule by the people as part of virtuous government”.[21] He believed that “the love of good men for one another” blends and connects different societies into one civilization. Antony says that “this was the kind of view of human nature that one would find two centuries later in Italian Renaissance thinkers”[22] Critics believed that “Tusi transmitted elements of classical Islamic political philosophy to the early modern world”[23]. However, a simultaneous but different movement evolved in the center of the Muslim World after Tusi’s death.

Just as Hanbalism opposed Faraby and Avicenna in the beginning of the Renaissance, Ibn Taymia’s applied his dogma in opposition to al-Tusi’s and, thereby ending the Renaissance. Though he was less literal than Ibn-Hanbal, Ibn-Taymia propagated his teachings by refuting other schools of thoughts. He engaged in regular disputation with Shiite leaders. Those controversies influenced his promotion of a Sunni form of Ijtihad. However, his Ijtihad opposed any innovations. He viewed innovations as the path of deviation to the ‘errant’ beliefs of Suffism and Christianity[24]. On the political scope, Ibn-Taymia enforced Ibn-Hanbal’s theory of the religious political leader. In fact, he loathed the abstention of religious participation in political authorities. “Ibn Taymia was particularly insistent that religion cannot be practiced without state power” [25]. In fact, Ibn-Taymia was the first thinker to portray former Islamic Caliphs as exemplary political rulers. His “special admiration for the first four Deputies, and also for the Seljuks, Nur al-Din and Salah al-Din and the Mamluk Sultans,”[26] formed the basis of the modern historical view of early Islam. In this regard, Ibn-Taymia disapproved the discussion of the disputes that occurred within the early politics of Islam. Namely, he prohibited arguments over the Sahaba, or prophet’s companions; questioning the Sahaba, a Shiite practice, meant deviation from Sunnism. Thus, Ibn-Taymia was very successful in his attempts of establishing his model of religious reform. Above all, his main objective was to integrate religion in every political aspect. His ideal model of the Sahaba and the Salaf, who are early Islam’s true followers, and his proposition of Ijtihad, came to balance one another in religious-legal practice. Eventually, the beginnings of the 14^th century marked the end of the age of Renaissance within the history of mainstream Islam. In particular, the last original thinkers, Tusi, as a philosopher, and Ibn Taymia, as a religious scholar, concluded the golden age of Islam.

At the end of such a review of the complex movements during Renaissance Islam, one wonders what would have been the implications if Ibn-Rushd’s thoughts were tolerated within the Muslim community. Would it influence them as it did to their counter Christians? Although Muslim philosophers were more successful in relating Greek philosophy to Islam, than the Europeans did to Christianity, the absence of philosophical institutions which increase communication among the intellectual community made Islamic Renaissance less coherent than that of Europe. Intellectual institutions were usually built to solely encompass religious scholars whom, as usual, rejected philosophical approaches to the sacred text. Blank asserts that “most philosophers were self-educated.”[27] We probably can speculate that similar changes to that of Europe would have taken place only with the tolerance and institutionalization of Philosophy. The ruling government plays a pivotal role in determining those two circumstances.

Ironically, the absence of a single, central and tyrannical power, such as the Papacy in Europe, perhaps, made the Muslims overlook the idea of Reformation.[28] Islamic leaders didn’t take up extensive power similar to that of the Catholic Church until the end of Renaissance. Then, influenced mainly by Ibn-Taymia, all post-Renaissance dynasties, both Shiite and Sunni, became manipulated by religious authorities. Antony Blank illustrates that “Orthodox-minded ‘Ulama could charge anyone who showed independence of mind, especially if they criticized the ‘Ulama themselves, with heresy and unbelief. In such cases, the Sultan, if he were to maintain his status as religious leader, had to be seen to act. Sufis were persecuted from time to time and any one who expressed doubts about the Quran.” Even more, “1n 1580, an observatory as modern as any in Europe was destroyed, just three years after being built.”[29] Evidently, Ibn-Taymia’s spreading ideology ensured the failure of any kind of Reformation. Sultanates’ need for religion to justify their legitimacy made it difficult for the ruler to exclude religious authorities from the political realm. As a result, any scientific or intellectual development, such as the construction of institutions or the funding of research, was based on the degree of tolerance that Religious authorities rule with.

 Although not nearly as sever as the politics that followed it, Renaissance politics also abused the function of religion to justify their rule. In our former review of Renaissance leaders, we discussed three main revivalist movements: Ibn-Hanbal, Al-Ghazaly, and Ibn-Taymia. We previously saw, that Ibn-Taymia’s post-Renaissance political influence surpassed that of any other Renaissance philosophers or religious academics. Nonetheless, the other two thinkers generated critical political changes during the Renaissance.

First, Hanbalism, as the first enemy of philosophy, played an important role in developing the thoughts of the other two movements that followed it. To philosophers, the Sunni movement represented incoherence and contradictions. Moreover, Hanbalis claimed that human intellect cannot justify everything in the world, and, in fact, is not supposed to. Most of the time they would say “ask not how”[30]. Their belief that Shari’a’ law is the divine law that guides human behavior, implied that “To be moral one virtually must be Muslim”[31]. This theory shattered the unity of the Muslim community because it made Islam exclusive to a school of thought and alienated non-Muslims from the rest of the Muslim community. After all, “within the Caliphate itself were many people who had not embraced Islam, for instance Christians, Jews, atheists, Mazdaans, idolaters, Buddhists, Gnostics, and son.”[32]Conversely, philosophers believed that religious differences among a community rather promote discussion and mutual gain of knowledge. In contrast to philosophy, Ibn Hanbal’s approach to leadership made Sunnism a perfect religious system that can maintain its structure through the dynamic nature of Muslim politics. The Suljks exploited such ideology, especially in dealing with their Shiite enemy, the Buyids dynasty.  With the accession of the Al-Qadir, the first Seljuk Caliph, execution of non-Sunnis such as Mu’tazilites and Shiites became the essential tool to end theological and philosophical disputations. Sourdel comments on the reference of Suljks to themselves as the ‘champions of Sunnism’, “No one can tell how sincere their Sunnism was, but what is important is that they could not claim to dominate such a vast empire without taking up a stance on religious questions.”[33]

Secondly, al-Ghazaly represented a more moderate, and different approach to traditional Sunnism that is far from literalism. In fact, al-Ghazaly accommodated science and increased the capacity of developing the Shari’a within Sunnism. Since he lived in a Shiite dominant Egypt under the Fatimid rule, it was hard for him to share his teachings with the public. However, his renewal to Sunni thinking and his strong arguments against philosophy captured the attention of several political authorities outside of Egypt. Particularly, al-Ghazaly paved the roads to the accession of the Ayyubid dynasty in Egypt. “The Ayyubids were devoted advocates of political Sunnism, and collaborated with the ‘Ulama.”[34] In fact, Saladin, who is the founder of this dynasty, was proclaimed as “the restorer of Sunnism in Egypt”[35]. He radically eradicated Shiites and their philosophy in the fear of threats to his new empire.  In this regard, Sourdel argues that it was only until he established his Muslim Empire that Saladin thought of recapturing Jerusalem. Sourdel also confirms that Saladin had to engage in a counter-crusade due to the fact that his denial to the religious leaders’ demands for the restoration of Jerusalem would threaten the legitimacy of his kingdom[36].  

Clearly, each of the three thinkers had a distinct approach to the character and nature of the Islamic Law, which depended on his current environment. This demonstrated Islam’s capability of diverse interpretations even in the most traditional Sunni school. Such tolerance can also differentiate it from medieval Christian Catholicism. In the case of Islam, one can generalize that Muslims during the Renaissance didn’t experience radical narrow-minded manipulations of religion, as the Christians did in Europe. Hence, they believed that neither Muslims nor Islam needed a reconstruction.

Again, ruling kingdoms exploited the people’s faith in the integrity of Islam, and have always sought to contain knowledge and setup limits to intellectual upbringing. Unlike religious authorities, their motives were insincere and far from any concerns with preserving religious authenticity. Incidentally, in an interview on U.C. Berkeley’s TV channel, Tariqh Ali, editor of the New Left Review, said “I really do not believe that they want citizens in this world to think. They don't want that. They want a population which is more or less servile, which listens to them, accepts all they say, a population which is obsessed with consumerism and fornication, and carries on doing that. That they don't mind at all. That's fine. But anything beyond that which challenges them, they more or less stopped.”[37]

In addition, some ruling dynasties in the Renaissance made extensive efforts to establish intellectual institutions. However, their intentions weren’t genuine. For example, funding institutions and promotion of learning were at the heart of the Shiite Fatimid rule. In fact, the first university in the Muslim world was built by them. Through the endorsement to learning, Shiite Fatimids found a diplomatic strategy that stabilizes their rule over the predominantly Sunni Egyptians. Unlike the Seljuks, Fatimids intelligently used the propagation of their teachings in converting Egypt to Shiite majority. Tariqh Ali confirms this in his analogy of such intellectual manipulation to the recent collapse in the media. He says “Channel 4, which was set up in 1982 to be an innovative, critical television channel (it was set up by Parliament) -- by the middle to end of the nineties had collapsed. A lot of experimental, very good work was done, but then it came to an end and it's almost as if one can trace this end to the collapse of the communist enemy; that with the ending of that, it's almost as if the rulers of this world, the dominant capitalist world, decided, ‘We don't need to educate our citizens so much. We have nothing to be worried about. If you educate them too much, give them too many opportunities, make them too vigilant and alert, they might actually turn on us.’ I'm not saying this is how they thought it concretely, but certainly that's how it seemed to one, that that's what they were trying to do. The dumbing-down seemed sudden, that one day the networks were actually quite intelligent, and then six months later everything had disappeared.”[38] Surprisingly, the dynamic tool that served political changes in the medieval ages (i.e. heresy), is still used, and serves similar purposes.

Evidently, a true Reformation is one that develops within ethical politics. In other words, regardless of their differences, all Renaissance philosophically-based political theories were based on the notion of the supremacy of knowledge and virtue. Clearly, their theories only serve as ideal paradigms that, in reality, cannot be fully applied. Whether now, or in the medieval ages, politics have always lacked virtue. Apparently, philosophers themselves realized the practical failure of their idealist theories which is a clear answer to why they avoided any actual discussion of the politics of their time. Yet, adopting a philosophical outlook on religion carries with it a persistent hope for a virtuous civilization.

In view of that, I believe that if Ibn-Rushed and Al-Ma’mun coexisted, just like the case with Philip and Luther, then mainstream Islam of today would be certainly different than it is now. Our examination to the Renaissance period shows that the concept of an Islamic Reformation is rooted within the history of Islam. It’s neither a product of modernism, nor Westernization. In addition, it became evident that an Islamic Reformation shouldn’t necessarily result in secularism. In fact, rational reasoning and religion, as Faraby argued, are one entity. However, what hinders a Reformation is the abuse of censorship. In reference to our former discussion, we saw that censorship was misused by both politicians and theologians because it limited intellectual discourse. The former used censorship to guarantee authority and the latter used it out of ignorance. In addition, one must be careful not confuse Reformation with modernist movements. While Reformation can correspond to certain religiosity, modernism entails secularism, and therefore is more anti-religious. Again, the currently increasing popularity of an Islamic Reformation is the excessive censorship that religious authorities and governments impose on the people. The frustration and anger of Muslims all over the world expresses how they are fed up with religious deceit and government fabrication. This growing dissatisfaction might one day develop into a Reformation. Incidentally, Reformation within Christianity didn’t occur until the 16^th century, meaning 1600 years after its birth. Interestingly enough, the Muslims have just celebrated the 1427^th anniversary of the establishment of their religion. Based on this and the Muslims’ increasing frustration, one can predict that Islam is on the verge of a new age: the age of Reformation.

---

[1] Mez, Adam. The Renaissance of Islam. New York: AMS Press Inc, 1975. Page I

[2] “Renaissance.” In: Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Renaissance

[3] Roberson, B. A., The Shaping of the Current Islamic Reformation, Portland, Oregon: Frank Cass Publishers USA, 2003. Page 5.

[4] Safi, Omid. Encyclopedia of Religion, Modernism: Islamic Modernism. Detroit: Macmillan Reference USA, 2005, under the subtopic of “An Islamic Reformation?”

[5] Antony Blank, The History of Islamic Political Thought. New York: Routledge Publishers USA, 2001. Page 57.

[6] [6] Antony Blank, The History of Islamic Political Thought. New York: Routledge Publishers USA, 2001. Page 61

[7] Antony Blank, The History of Islamic Political Thought. New York: Routledge Publishers USA, 2001. page 63.

[8] Antony Blank, The History of Islamic Political Thought. New York: Routledge Publishers USA, 2001. page 63.

[9] Antony Blank, The History of Islamic Political Thought. New York: Routledge Publishers USA, 2001. page 37.

[10] Patricia Crone, Medieval Islamic Political Thought. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press Ltd UK, 2004. Page168.

[11] Antony Blank, The History of Islamic Political Thought. New York: Routledge Publishers USA, 2001. page 26

[12] Antony Blank, The History of Islamic Political Thought. New York: Routledge Publishers USA, 2001. page 27

[13] Antony Blank, The History of Islamic Political Thought. New York: Routledge Publishers USA, 2001. page 63.

[14] Antony Blank, The History of Islamic Political Thought. New York: Routledge Publishers USA, 2001. page 83

[15] Franco Cardini, Europe and Islam. Malden, Massachusetts: Blackwell Publishers Ltd USA, 2001. Page 92

[16] Antony Blank, The History of Islamic Political Thought. New York: Routledge Publishers USA, 2001. page 106

[17] Antony Blank, The History of Islamic Political Thought. New York: Routledge Publishers USA, 2001. page 117

[18] Franco Cardini, Europe and Islam. Malden, Massachusetts: Blackwell Publishers Ltd USA, 2001. Page 92

[19] Antony Blank, The History of Islamic Political Thought. New York: Routledge Publishers USA, 2001. page 124

[20]  Antony Blank, The History of Islamic Political Thought. New York: Routledge Publishers USA, 2001. page 150

[21] Antony Blank, The History of Islamic Political Thought. New York: Routledge Publishers USA, 2001. page 150

[22] Antony Blank, The History of Islamic Political Thought. New York: Routledge Publishers USA, 2001. page 147

[23] Antony Blank, The History of Islamic Political Thought. New York: Routledge Publishers USA, 2001. page 152

[24] Antony Blank, The History of Islamic Political Thought. New York: Routledge Publishers USA, 2001. page 153

[25] Antony Blank, The History of Islamic Political Thought. New York: Routledge Publishers USA, 2001. page 153

[26] [26] Antony Blank, The History of Islamic Political Thought. New York: Routledge Publishers USA, 2001. page 157

[27] Antony Blank, The History of Islamic Political Thought. New York: Routledge Publishers USA, 2001. page 60

[28] Antony Blank, The History of Islamic Political Thought. New York: Routledge Publishers USA, 2001. page 143

[29] Antony Blank, The History of Islamic Political Thought. New York: Routledge Publishers USA, 2001. page 215

[30] Antony Blank, The History of Islamic Political Thought. New York: Routledge Publishers USA, 2001. page 83.

[31] Antony Blank, The History of Islamic Political Thought. New York: Routledge Publishers USA, 2001. page 84

[32] Maurice Lombard, The Golden Age of Islam. New York: American Elsevier Publishing Company USA, 1975. Page 97.

[33] Dominique Sourdel, Medieval Islam. Boston: Routledge & Kegan Paul USA 1983. Page182.

[34] Antony Blank, The History of Islamic Political Thought. New York: Routledge Publishers USA, 2001. page 109

[35] Antony Blank, The History of Islamic Political Thought. New York: Routledge Publishers USA, 2001. page 144.

[36] Dominique Sourdel, Medieval Islam. Boston: Routledge & Kegan Paul USA 1983. Page183.

[37] Ali, Tariqh. Islam, “Empire and the Left” In: Conversations with History. The Institute of International Studies, University of California at Berkeley. May 8, 2003

http://globetrotter.berkeley.edu/Elberg/Ali/ali-con0.html

[38] Ali, Tariqh. Islam, “Empire and the Left” In: Conversations with History. The Institute of International Studies, University of California at Berkeley. May 8, 2003

http://globetrotter.berkeley.edu/Elberg/Ali/ali-con0.html

Bibliography

1. Black, Antony. The History of Islamic Political Thought. New York: Routledge, 2001.
2. Lombard, Maurice. The Golden Age of Islam. New York: American Elsevier Publishing Company, 1975.
3. Crone, Patricia. Medieval Islamic Political Thought. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2004.
4. Roberson, R.A. Shaping the Current Islamic Reformation. Portland, OR: Frank Cass, 2003.
5. Cardini, Franco. Europe and Islam. Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishers, 2001
6. “Renaissance.” In: Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Renaissance