ÇAĞDAŞ DÜNYA UYGARLIKLARI - Deneme Sınavı - 10

Two main empires controlled the world to the east and the west of Mecca. In the west the Byzantine Empire, (330 CE - 1453 CE) was based in Constantinople and was the final version of the mighty Roman Empire. Until fairly recently this empire was actually referred to as the Roman Empire, and would have called itself the same.

The empire to the east of Mecca was the Sasanian Empire, or Persian Empire. There were actually a series of Persian Empires, stretching back to before the time of Rome. The first Persian Empire, or Achaemenid Empire, ended in 330 BCE, when Alexander the Great defeated Darius III. Several leaders of the Achaemenid Empire were not only King of Persia, but also Pharaoh of Egypt. Darius the Great was the most notable leader who was both King and Pharaoh.

After the Greek conquest of the Achaemenid Empire, there was a brief period of chaos followed by the Parthian Empire. The Parthian Empire lasted from 247 BCE to 224 CE. Greek culture, installed in Persia after Alexander’s conquest, continued to play an important role in politics and commerce. This influence was passed on from the Parthian Empire to the Sasanian Empire, which ruled Persia from 224 CE to 651 CE.

Hz. Mohammed was born in 571. His clan, or family, was Hashim, which was one of the less influential families in the powerful Quraysh tribe. A different clan of the same tribe, the Abd Shams, became important a few decades after the Prophet’s death. Their descendants would lead the Omayyad Caliphate in one form or another, for several hundred years, ensuring the success of the initial expansion of the Islamic Empire after the death of the Prophet.

The science of medicine was close to the study of philosophy, which was a very popular subject. Arabian scientists made progress in the art of healing, especially in the use of curative drugs. They established hospitals and even provided advanced medical care to prisoners. They made careful studies of diseases and did creative work in the optics, or eye care. Possibly the greatest contribution of Islamic Civilization to the medical world of the Middle Ages was in the writing of medical text books. Al Razi (865-925 CE.), from Persia, wrote one of these books. It contains all of the medical knowledge of the Arabs in the 10th century. It was translated and published in Sicily, Italy, in 1279 CE The greatest of the medical books was by Ibn Sina (Avicenna in Europe: 980-1037 CE). One of the world’s great intellects, Ibn Sina had a photographic memory.

The correct answer is E.

To enable his Hijrah, Hz. Mohammed’s cousin Ali pretended to be Mohammed in his bed. He was disguised and wearing protection to save him from an attack. While Hz. Mohammed escaped, the assassins were fooled and Ali was protected.

After his arrival in Medina, Hz. Mohammed invited the elders of various religious groups and tribes and suggested establishment of a city-state. All Muslims, Christians, Arabs, and Jews then ratified the Constitution of Medina. The pact transformed Medina into a small but the first ever Muslim State in the world’s history. A common governance system was that crossed cultural boundaries. All religious communities were free to follow their own law and traditions. Using religion to force people to change their way of life ended. Hz. Mohammed was the only official leader of the newly founded group. Defense of Medina became the shared responsibility of the community.

The Constitution of Medina is the first written civil and political law spelling out the religious autonomy and freedom. Tribal chiefs were allowed to settle their intra-tribal disputes. The Prophet, however, was to be the judge for disputes. The new constitution explained the responsibilities and rights of both the citizens and local leaders.

Briefly, the Constitution laid down the principles of defense and foreign policy; organized a system of social insurance (called ‘Ma’aqil’); recognized Hz. Mohammad as the judge; and complete religious freedom was allowed.

The Islamic scholars brought the idea of a number zero from the India and used it in the decimal system, which has helped progress in science. Indian philosophers first conceived the idea that nothing, represented by zero, could have any mathematical value. They said that the value of less than nothing could be indicated algebraically as negative quantities. Arab numerals are an adaptation of the ten Hindu digits, which gradually displaced the clumsy Greek symbols and Roman numerals.

The correct answer is C.

There are five main characteristics that distinguish Islamic civilization from other civilizations:

Islamic Civilization is based on the monotheistic Islamic faith that believes in the oneness of the Almighty Allah, the Creator of this universe. It is characterized by submission to the will of Allah and service to humankind. It is a socio-moral and metaphysical view of the world.

It is a civilization with a universal dimension. It is not associated with a particular geographic region, race or historical era. It is based on the idea that man comes before the rest of the creatures of Allah. All human activities should lead to the happiness and welfare of man. Any action intended to serve this goal is a blessed action indeed.

It is an open civilization. Islamic Civilization has happily incorporated good parts of other civilizations, as long as they are not against the spirit of Islam (Iqbal, 2003: 10). Islam is the most pluralist religion; it coexists with other religions, allowing full religious autonomy.

It is a well-balanced civilization. It insists on a balance between the material and the spiritual life. This moderation is the essence of Islamic thought and civilization. It permits no excess, no neglect, no extremism and no recklessness.

It will last as long as Islam exists. So long as it embodies the principles of
Islam, the Almighty Allah will preserve it. This unique civilization will never wither away because it is not a national or a racial civilization, nor does it run counter to human nature. Islam should not be identified with Muslims. Individual Muslims may become weak or strong, but Islam would remain an everlasting guidance to humankind.

The Islamic Civilization started to build universities in the 9th century. They built them in Baghdad, Cairo, Fez, Cordova and other cities. The University of al-Qarawiyyin in Morocco founded in 859 CE boasts of being the oldest existing university in the world. Al-Azhar University in Cairo was founded in 972 CE. The University of Cordova and the University of Toledo were well known to Europeans, and their hospitals were the best at the time. The first medical schools of Europe were the result of Islamic influence.

The correct answer is E.

The first four leaders who followed Hz. Mohammed are known as the Rightly Guided Caliphs. They were Abu Bakr, Omar, Uthman and Ali. Some important facts about the Rightly Guided Caliphs are:

• They assumed office only with the consent of the people and never imposed themselves through force and fraud;

• They governed the people through ‘shura’ (consultation) and were not inclined toward tyranny, oppression, and dictatorship;

• The state and its functionaries were committed to the establishment of a just moral order.

• They were committed to the rule of law and constitutional order. They called on the people to help them in with the running of the government.

• They made it clear that the people were individually responsible and that if they somehow departed from the Qur’an and the Sunnah, they would be judged and punished by the community.

• They acknowledged the judiciary, or judges and laws, and even took their own cases to the courts.

• They respected the treasury and never used it for themselves.

• The dignity and divinity of man was the basis of the socio-political and moral order.

The greatest of the medical books was by Ibn Sina (Avicenna in Europe: 980-1037 CE). One of the world’s great intellects, Ibn Sina had a photographic memory. By the age of twenty-one he had read and absorbed all of the books in the Royal Library of the Sultan of Bukhara. Ibn Sina’s book was eventually translated into Latin in the 12th century and became the most important medical book of the middle-ages in all of Europe. From the 12th to 17th centuries, it was the main medical book in the West and it is still in occasional use in the Muslim East.

Turk refers to a people that originated in the harsh north Central Asian steppes and moved mainly to the south and west for various reasons over the centuries. Like other nomads, Turks were comprised of various tribes with similar customs, traditions, and beliefs.

Arabic has had a significant influence, as the Turks borrowed many words since they were introduced to Islam and became adherents. However, Persian has had the heaviest influence on Turkish, since Central Asia for the longest time was a dual-language realm. Turks as nomads in vast north Central Asia may have spoken only Turkish, but once they settled in cities, speaking Persian as well became almost a necessity.

Historians believe that the Xiongnu, identified by the Chinese in third century BCE, is the precursor of the Turks:

“The Xiongnu (Hongnu in Old Chinese, Xwn in Soghdian, probably Old Turkic Qun), also known as the Asiatic Huns, were one of the nomadic peoples of Ancient Central Asia. They are thought to have descended from various Turkic peoples known as Xianyun, Xunyu and Hongyu, yet all the knowledge we have come from Chinese sources written centuries later”.

The first notable leader of the Xiongnu was Touman (Teoman). He fought not only the Chinese to the south, but also the Yuezhi people to the west. Around 215 BCE, China started unifying and it completed the Great Wall to keep territory recently conquered and to advance further north and west. Touman’s son Modun became the leader in 209 BCE. He was successful in subduing many other nomadic peoples to the north including the Tung-nu and Dingling, and Donghu to the east in Manchuria. He then invaded China and laid siege to the capital Taiyuan.

After Attila’s death, the Huns were defeated by the Ostrogoths and the Gepidae. Under the leadership of Attila’s son Dengizich, the Huns had to withdraw to the northeast of the Black Sea. So, the European Huns regrouped one last time. They crossed the Danube River and attacked the Eastern Roman Empire, only to be defeated decisively. As a result, the Huns left the Balkans for good. Two remaining Hun clans, the Kutrigurs and the Utrigurs, lived near the Sea of Azov until the end of the sixth century when they were overrun by Avar Turks, who had been running from other Turks. This latter group were starting the first Turkish Empire with the Turkish name in it: The Kok Turk (Göktürk) Empire.

Turks were introduced to Islam around the eighth century and became Muslims at an increasing rate by the eleventh century. Using their nomadic warrior skills and aptitude in state formation, the Turks established control over Islamic lands, in some cases by the invitation and encouragement of local peoples. The rise of the Mongolians shook and dispersed the Turks a bit, but that was short-lived and the Turks re-established authority in Muslim lands and expanded their authority into Christian lands, ultimately reaching Central Europe by the sixteenth century.

Severe snowstorms and frosts resulted in widespread famine in the 620s. The new and strong Tang Dynasty in China took advantage of this by conspiring to stir the affairs of the Ashina clan to bring on an era of feuding. The Eastern Kok Turk Empire could not last longer and it fell in 630. At the same time, the Western Kok Turk Empire continued its expansion south, all the way to southern Afghanistan. However, internal fighting escalated, and the Western Kok Turk Empire also fell to the Chinese in 659.

Selim I turned his attention to the East and South. In swift succession, he defeated the Safavids at the Battle of Chaldiran (1512) and then the Mamluks at the Battles of Marj Dabiq (1516) and Ridaniya (1517). Safavids were pushed back and the Mamluk Empire collapsed.

Turkic languages are divided into three main groups: Turkish, Turkmen, and Azeri in the southwest; Tatar, Kazakh, Kirghiz, Karakalpak in the northwest; and Uighur and Uzbek in the east.

Starting with Murad I, the Ottoman Sultans exercised the claim to be the caliph, i.e., being designated as the Leader of Islam. With the success of Selim I against the Safavids and his conquest of the Holy Islamic cities of Mecca and Medina, these claims came to fruition. Selim I was the undisputed Caliph of the Islamic world after defeating the Mamluks and conquering Syria, Arabia, and Northeast Africa in 1517.