VIᵉ siècle – XIᵉ siècle
North Africa, the Middle East, Central Asia and connected regions of Africa
Traduction non disponible · Original (anglais) · français indisponible
The Muslim world of the seventh to eleventh centuries was a transregional religious and cultural civilization that emerged from the Arab conquests and expanded across North Africa, the Middle East, Central Asia and connected trade zones. Although political unity fragmented after the mid-eighth century, a shared Islamic identity endured among diverse peoples. Its urban economy, commercial networks, intellectual traditions and technological exchanges linked Africa with Europe, Asia and the Indian Ocean.
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Le récit
Between the seventh and eleventh centuries, Islam expanded from its Arabian birthplace across a vast zone of the Old World. Its adherents extended from the Ebro, Senegal and Niger in the west to the Syr-Darya and Indus in the east, and from the Volga to the East African coast. Political unity did not survive throughout the period, but a broad cultural and religious community continued to connect populations of highly diverse origins.
The civilization associated with the Muslim world was not simply an Arab creation. It developed through the combination of Arab religious and linguistic institutions with Classical, Hellenistic, Persian, Indian, Chinese and local traditions. Arabic became a major language of administration, literature and science, while the wider civilization reshaped inherited knowledge into new forms of scholarship, artistic expression and technological practice.
Urban life and long-distance commerce were central to this development. The incorporation of many countries into a common political and commercial sphere stimulated the circulation of commodities, precious metals, ideas and technical knowledge. Muslim-controlled lands occupied a central position between the Mediterranean and Indian Ocean, allowing them to act as intermediaries among Byzantium, Western Europe, India, China, the Eurasian steppes and the Sudanic Sahel.
Africa occupied several positions within this interconnected world. Egypt and North Africa became integral parts of the Muslim empire after the first wave of conquests, while other regions experienced Islamic and commercial influence without direct political incorporation. Egypt later became a major centre of the Fatimid empire, a entrepôt between the Mediterranean and Indian Ocean, and an important centre of Arab cultural life. Its connections also shaped the Islamization of North Africa and the later Arabization of parts of the Nile Valley.
VIᵉ siècle – XIᵉ siècle
North Africa, the Middle East, Central Asia and connected regions of Africa
Traduction non disponible · Original (anglais) · français indisponible
The Muslim world of the seventh to eleventh centuries was a transregional religious and cultural civilization that emerged from the Arab conquests and expanded across North Africa, the Middle East, Central Asia and connected trade zones. Although political unity fragmented after the mid-eighth century, a shared Islamic identity endured among diverse peoples. Its urban economy, commercial networks, intellectual traditions and technological exchanges linked Africa with Europe, Asia and the Indian Ocean.
Poursuivre l’exploration
Le récit
Between the seventh and eleventh centuries, Islam expanded from its Arabian birthplace across a vast zone of the Old World. Its adherents extended from the Ebro, Senegal and Niger in the west to the Syr-Darya and Indus in the east, and from the Volga to the East African coast. Political unity did not survive throughout the period, but a broad cultural and religious community continued to connect populations of highly diverse origins.
The civilization associated with the Muslim world was not simply an Arab creation. It developed through the combination of Arab religious and linguistic institutions with Classical, Hellenistic, Persian, Indian, Chinese and local traditions. Arabic became a major language of administration, literature and science, while the wider civilization reshaped inherited knowledge into new forms of scholarship, artistic expression and technological practice.
Urban life and long-distance commerce were central to this development. The incorporation of many countries into a common political and commercial sphere stimulated the circulation of commodities, precious metals, ideas and technical knowledge. Muslim-controlled lands occupied a central position between the Mediterranean and Indian Ocean, allowing them to act as intermediaries among Byzantium, Western Europe, India, China, the Eurasian steppes and the Sudanic Sahel.
Africa occupied several positions within this interconnected world. Egypt and North Africa became integral parts of the Muslim empire after the first wave of conquests, while other regions experienced Islamic and commercial influence without direct political incorporation. Egypt later became a major centre of the Fatimid empire, a entrepôt between the Mediterranean and Indian Ocean, and an important centre of Arab cultural life. Its connections also shaped the Islamization of North Africa and the later Arabization of parts of the Nile Valley.