The rate of growth and longevity of Islam fascinates me. It is one of fastest growing religions and as
the book points out, encompasses 22 percent of the world’s population.
The initial concept of Islam is stimulating
depending on it’s interrupted. For example,
the Arabian Peninsula, where Islam was founded, consisted mainly of nomadic
tribes that were constantly warring with each other. Life seemed chaotic, but they did halt fighting to
worship gods, ancestors, and spirits in the years before Islam. In my opinion what I always found the most
interesting about Islam is what the prophet Muhammad was told in his first
revelation. He was told to “read,” and
that lead the religion into something powerful because the nomadic people did
not read or write, and as Islam began to take hold of this region of the world,
it really opened up a lot of potential which eventually lead to the Ottoman
Empire, among other things. However,
after Muhammad’s death it did led to divisions in the religion due to the
arguments breaking out on which Caliph (Successors
of Muhammad), would continue on the legacy.
Creating ultimately two separate components of Islam: Sunni and
Shia.
Although, Islam today is
considered extreme towards women, up until the last 250+ years, Islam seemed to
be more liberal in a loosely based sense.
Even as the world continued to war, break down, and build up, Islam grew
and remained strong because it really grabs the attention of people, in an
essence Islam is a good book of morals and guidelines if you want to approach
it from a non-religious stand point.
I
remember learning about Chinggis Khan growing up, but I had no clue he had
brands of beer, rock bands, and even a chocolate bar named after him. It made me laugh a little about the candy
bar. It just goes to show the power of persuasion can have on a group of
people. However, even though the Mongol’s once controlled lands from the
Pacific coast of Asia to Eastern Europe, they left no cultural imprint on the
world. They numbered about 700,000 people and were fearsome, but unlike the
Arab world and Islam, they offered no new civilization or religion. The Mongols
never tried to spread their own faith among subject peoples. Matter of fact, the most impressive thing the
Mongols accomplished was probably the discipline and loyalty of their army to
its leaders. This paved the way and
ensured steady momentum for the Empire to expand as rapidly as it did. Not to mention, the strategic decision making
by the Empire’s leaders in dispersing its conquered subjects into different
regiments. Maybe Chinggis Khan’s policy was a major factor as well, “whoever
submits shall be spared, but those who resist, they shall be destroyed with
their wives, children and dependents…so that the others who hear and see should
fear and not at the same.”
The way Strayer breaks down how the world was shaped after
the voyages in 1492 is inspiring, but when he concludes with, “But none of
these developments were even remotely foreseeable in 1492,” it seemed
obnoxious. It seemed that Strayer was
making a point in chapter thirteen that many cultures choose to avoid becoming
assimilated into the growing civilizations and empires in the fifteen. Groups of people that were still
gather-hunter societies were happy with their way of life. As for the Aztecs I found it crazy the
tribute they collected from its people. Their
level of sacrificing human life in the name of the Gods was fascinating but I
had heard stories of it since elementary school. Lastly, the Inca Empire shared
a similar “rages to riches” story, growing from a modest group of people, in
which they encompassed more than the Aztecs.
They required its conquered people to not so pay in tribute, but rather
to pay in labor.
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