Final Exam

Nancy Magana
History 140-2429
Wed 6:00-9:10 P.M.
Professor Suarez

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Usually when we think about unity amongst world regions, we only consider the fact that
people have came together to share the same views and values. What we lack to consider is that
even before being able to unify there must have been some fragmentation between the two
regions, in order for unity to ever take place (Suarez, Class lecture). This occurred in Islam and
Europe. These world regions were able to unify their people by using religion. In the case of
Islam the Prophet Muhammad was responsible for such unity and in the case of Europe, the
Papacy were the ones that brought unity to their region (Suarez, Class lecture).
When a region is unified not only is it better for the people that reside in it, but also, it is
important for expansion. The Treaty of Tudimir is a perfect example of why Islams approach for
expansion was so successful. The Islamic world was also very successful in science and Greek
knowledge (Suarez, Class lecture). It was successful in science due to the use of numbers and in
regards to Greek knowledge; the Islamic world had translated many Greek books that were
considered lost. All of this knowledge was not useful if there wasnt a place that made it
accessible to other regions, in particular Europe. Islamic Spain (Al-Andalus) was where the
exchange of knowledge occurred (Suarez, Class lecture). With the extensive amount of
knowledge that was making its way to Europe came several controversial philosophers that were
not admired by Christianity. Thomas Aquinas was a Catholic priest that made Aristotles
philosophical views acceptable by the church (Suarez, Class lecture). Overall, these series of
connections made it possible for the unity, expansion, and shared knowledge between Islam and
Europe.
As previously stated, before unity between people was even possible there had to be
some sort of fragmentation amongst the population. In the case of Islam, the region was divided
between two of its most important trade urban centers, the city of Mecca and Medina (Suarez,

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Bedouin Arabia). The city of Mecca was founded by the Umayyad clan; this was the city that
Muhammad was born into (Suarez, Bedouin Arabia). Although the people that lived in this
society did not have a particular political prospect, they subscribed to tribal organizations
(Suarez, Bedouin Arabia). Eventually, this was not good for them because it allowed for
polytheism. Polytheism is a belief system that believes/worships more than one god (Suarez,
Class lecture).
When Mohammad was born, in c. 570 C.E., in the city of Mecca, the Quraysh tribe was
an important clan in this part of Arabia. Mohammad parents died when Mohammad was very
young and he was raised by his uncle, which was a merchant (Suarez, Mount Hira). Being raised
by a merchant made it possible for Muhammads early exposure to Jewish and Christian
merchants, that later benefited him and his success (Suarez, Class Lecture). When Muhammad
was about 40 years old, he began to practice meditation. Muhammad would go up Mount Hira to
practice meditation, this is where many historians suggest was where angel Gabriel appeared to
him and declared him as the prophet of Allah (Suarez, Mount Hira).
Due to Arabia practicing polytheism, the new proclaimed Prophet Muhammad was not
very welcomed, particularly in the city of Mecca where the majority of its population subscribed
to tribes. Since Muhammad was introducing a new belief system, that adopted monotheism, he
was persecuted by the people that lived in the city of Mecca (Suarez, Constitution of Median and
Umma). Muhammad, together with some of his followers, moved to the neighboring city of
Medina (Suarez, Class Lecture). In Medina, Muhammad displaced traditional family ties with
umma, a community solely defined by the acceptance of Islam and Muhammad as the
Messenger of God.(Suarez, Constitution of Medina and Umma).

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After Muhammads death, Islam had the Four Rightly-Guided Caliphs (successors), Abu
Bakr, Umar, Uthman, and Ali (Suarez, Four Rightly Guided Caliphs). Under the rule of these
Caliphs, Islam was able to expand and conquer several important regions in Egypt and Persia
(Suarez, Four Rightly Guided Caliphs). Such large expansion was possible because of Islam.
A reason why Islam was so successful with expansion was that it allowed for different
belief systems to exist amongst their territories. As Islam began to make its way to Europe they
established in the city of al-Andalus (Spain) (Suarez, al-Andalus).In regards to Islamic expansion
into Spain, the Visigoths were in control and they were not tolerant of the Jewish community,
which lead to their persecutions (Suarez, Class Lecture). Due to Islams expansion and their
belief that anyone could worship whichever religion the subscribed to, the Visigoths were forced
to move to northern Spain (Suarez, Iberia).
Because Christianity and Islamic beliefs were very similar The Treaty of Tudimir was
established in al-Andalus which was under Muslim control. The Treaty of Tudimir, demonstrates
how Islam was so successful, it was very tolerable of all belief systems. As long as you paid your
taxes, you were able to live in places under Islamic control and subscribe to whichever belief
system suited you. As a result, of Islamic control and The Treaty of Tudimir, the Jewish
community was not longer persecuted (Suarez, Class Lecture).
In Europe, the Papacy was the reason for their unity. During this time, Europe was not
expanding due to several contradictions between the Papacy and the Holy Roman Emperors
(Suarez, Investiture Controversy). They were fighting to have the power to appoint Bishops.
Bishops would take control of territories that belonged to the Christian church. By establishing
bishops the Papacy was able to expand and conquers other parts of the world, for example the
Holy Land (Suarez, Crusades). Their success was not only measured by the amount of newly

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conquered territories, but also, new trade routes were established which made it possible for a
variety of goods to make their way into Europe (Suarez, Crusades). Success during the Papacy
reached its peak under Innocent III control (Suarez, Innocent III).
In Islam, expansion wasnt the most measurable source of success; knowledge also
played an important role. Because Islam was spreading into areas that had Greek knowledge they
began to establish Houses of Wisdom (Suarez, Class Lecture). Houses of Wisdom were
translation centers where many Greek books were translated into Arabic, thus making Greek
knowledge accessible to the Islamic people. As a result of these translation centers, many books
about science, medicine, and mathematics made its way into Spain (Suarez, Class Lecture).
Islam also became a source of science, Many scholars argue that Islamic scientific
culture was a natural outcome of Islams expansion (Suarez, Translation Movement).
Mohammed Ibn Musa Al-Khwarizmi, was one of the greatest Muslim mathematicians he
developed a practical system of mathematics called al-Jabor (algebra) (Suarez, ibn Sina- alKhwarizmi). Due to their newly acquired Greek knowledge, Islam was able to combine their
knowledge with Greek knowledge and develop elaborate scientific methods. Developing
elaborate scientific methods could not have been possible using Greek Roman numerals; this is
where Arabic numerals played an important role.
So now, that Islam has acquired some Greek knowledge, Islamic al-Andalus was a
common ground where both Islamic and European people came together. As a result of this
common ground some of the knowledge that was considered lost by the Greeks was rediscovered, but now translated into Arabic. Even after their translation this knowledge was
accessible to Greek philosophers.

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With this newly found knowledge several philosophers works were re-discovered, this
was great for people that wanted to learn about the subject, but no for the Christian church. The
works of Aristotle were one of the churchs major challenges because it focused on natural
philosophy (Suarez, Aristotle). Asristotle argued, the heaven as a whole neither came into
being nor admits of destruction, as some assert, bur is one eternal, with no end or beginning of its
total duration, containing and embracing in itself the infinity of time(Suarez, Aristotle). This
was a challenge to the church because Aristotles works contradict what the church is trying to
teach.
Many people questioned the fact that church taught them that one was eternal with not
beginning or end, so how was God able to create something that never had a beginning.
Thoughts and concerns of this kind frighten the church which did not recognize any of
Aristotles work. This was much more frightening for the church because Aristotles works were
becoming available in many universities (Suarez, Aristotle). The church saw Aristotles work as
competition because it made some people question the churchs teachings thus making the
church less powerful.
This is where Thomas Aquinas played an important role in the history of the Western
traditions. Thomas Aquinas made the reading of Aristotle possible. Aquinas believed that you can
approach the truth about God in two ways, through reason or revelation/faith (Suarez, Class
Lecture). For example fornication, in the churchs opinion, is not a good thing, however, the
ultimate outcome of fornications is procreation, which for the church is essential. Aquinas
suggested that the church should look at Aristotles work through a scientific world and to not
fear nature, but rather, to embrace it. Due to Thomas Aquinas, now Western tradition was able to

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accept Aristotles work which benefited them because now, Western population was getting
educated in both religion and philosophy.
In conclusion, religion was played an important role in unifying the Middle East and
Europe. In the Middle East, Islam under the prophet Muhammad was accountable for such unity,
mainly because it brought people together which also aided in its expansion. Islam was also very
successful in expansion because it was very flexible with its people in regards to religion. The
Treaty of Tudimir was established when Islam conquers al-Andalus, it describes how Muslims
dealt with those that were not subscribed to Islam.
Overall, Islam just required its population to pay taxes you were allowed to worship
whichever religion you wanted. In Europe, unity was made possible under the Papacy. The
Papacy established bishops which would take control over church territories, this also aided in
Europes expansion. As a result of Islams expansion, much Greek knowledge became accessible
to them. They translated many books that were written in Greek which made it possible to adopt
many sources of Greek knowledge.
In additions to Greek knowledge, Islam was high source of scientific knowledge, due to,
their numbering system. Islam adopted the Arabic numerals which were much simpler than
Roman numerals. One of Islams territories, al-Andalus, was very important in the sharing of
knowledge amongst the Western and Eastern regions. This was sort of common ground where
both populations merged together. From the merging of these populations several lost Greek
knowledge was re-discovered. Aristotles works reappeared, making their way back to Europe.
Because Europe was run by the church, Aristotles works were not recognized until Thomas
Aquinas reshaped their thinking. Thomas Aquinas suggested that religion should be view in two

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ways, through reason and faith. With the help of religion, expansion, and translation the Western
and Eastern traditions were able to unite and share knowledge between them.