The Tang Dynasty and Abbasid Empire

Vocabulary of Note

• Caliph – the main political and religious leader of Muslims, considered to be a successor to the prophet Muhammad
• Caliphate – a state over which a caliph rules, where political and religious authority are held by one person
  • Muhammad died in 632
  • The first caliphate established to succeed Muhammad’s rule was the Rashidun Caliphate 632–661
  • The 2nd caliphate was that of the Umayyads 661–750
  • The 3rd caliphate was that of the Abbasids 750–1258
• Empire – a large, centrally governed collection of many states or peoples
• Emperor – the ruler of an empire

Names of Note

• Tang dynasty 618–906 CE Capitals: Chang’an (present-day Xian) and Luoyang
• Muhammad (570–632 CE) – the founder of Islam
• Umayyad Caliphate 661–750
• Abbasid Caliphate (also “Empire”) 750–1258 CE, when they overthrew the Umayyad
  • Capital: mainly Baghdad, capital until conquered by the Mongols in the 13th c
• Empress Wu Zetian (624–705) Chinese empress during the Tang, one who promoted the civil service exam, Buddhism, and trade with other regions
• Emperor Xuanzong Tang dynasty emperor (ruled 712–756 CE) when the Abbasid Caliphate came to power
• Yang Guifei (719–756) – famous as a great beauty during the Tang dynasty; beloved consort of the Tang Emperor Xuanzong (ruled 712–756 CE); the army officers blamed the An Lushan rebellion on her influence and that of her family and forced her death
• An Lushan – a general in the Chinese army
• An Lushan Rebellion – rebellion instigated by An Lushan that led to civil war in Tang China from 755–763, that greatly weakened the Tang dynasty and stopped its expansion to the west, into central Eurasia (said to have brought the “golden age” of the Tang dynasty to its end)
• Harun al-Rashid (766–809) – fifth caliph of the Abbasid Caliphate; under his rule, a “golden age” of culture and politics considered to have begun
• Ibn Sina (d. 1037), also known as “Avicenna” – major scientist and physician in this period
• Belitung Shipwreck – shipwreck that occurred in the 9th c in the waters around the islands of present-day Indonesia, carrying Chinese ceramics and other goods along the maritime route for trade with the western areas of the Abbasid empire (possibly around present-day Oman)

Outline of Presentation – with [Timecode] and Slide #

Introduction

Two of the greatest empires of the Silk Road domain

• Maps of both empires [02:21]
  • Tang had expanded into Central Asia
• Map of the Abbasid empire shows [03:00]
  • Great expanse – into North Africa and Spain
  • Reaches border of China
• Both domains going through spectacular periods in their histories [03:15]

Tang Dynasty

• The greatest civilization in East Asia at this time (and regarded as such by the other countries in East Asia) [03:28]
• During the Tang period, aspects of Chinese civilization spread to other East Asian countries – Korea, Japan, and Vietnam
  • Chinese written script (called “characters”) and written language
  • Confucian principles of government
  • Mahayana Buddhism
• During the Tang dynasty China sought contact with other civilizations to exchange goods and have political influence [04:00]
  • Horses were essential for travel and trade on the Silk Roads
  • China sought horses

Battle of Talus River – 751 CE

• Both the Tang dynasty and the Umayyid Caliphate, which preceded the Abbasids, were empires expanding their territory in central Eurasia, seeking control of the oasis market towns of the Silk Road across Eurasia
• The Abbasids took power in 750 and sent troops to take over the positions of the Umayyids; in the area known as “Transoxiana” (“beyond the Oxus River”) they fought with the Chinese Tang troops for dominance of the area in the battle of the Talus River in 751, in present-day Uzbekistan
  • Speaker speculates: “What IF?”
    • If the Abbasids had won, they could have pushed into China proper
    • If the Chinese had won, they could have expanded further westward into the area of Persia (Iran)
• The Abbasids won, but
  • Due to the dynastic upheaval where the Abbasids were replacing the Umayyads as rulers of an already vast empire, they chose not to move further into China
  • The Tang dynasty faced a major rebellion just three years later, greatly weakening it (An Lushan rebellion 755–63)

Relations led to tremendous interchange [06:42]

• Abbasids receive from China:
  • Technique of paper making
  • Technique of making gun powder
  • Ceramics
  • Printing (which they did not go on to use)
• Chinese receive:
  • Horses and camels
  • Grapes
  • Medicines
  • Silversmiths
• Also, introduction to other religions from western Eurasia: [11:35]
  • Zoroastrianism
  • Manichaeism
  • Nestorian Christianity
  • Islam
  • Judaism
• (Editor’s Note: Scientific knowledge exchanged both ways. An enterprising student can research the “mechanical water clock” that Harun al-Rashid, the Abbasid Caliph, gives to Charlemagne’s emissaries to take back to present-day Europe to give to Charlemagne. See also the related video on the mixed heritage of inventions “Easternization not Westernization: Modernity is a Global Formation”)

Empress Wu of the Tang [15:00]

• Encourages trade by elevating the status of merchants
• Elevates the importance of the civil service in China
• Buddhism spreads throughout China, almost elevated to state religion [16:50]

An Lushan Rebellion

• Yang Guifei, consort of Emperor Xuanzong, forced to commit suicide in 756 [17:10]
• Fall of the capital, Chang’an and weakening of the Tang dynasty
  • Famous Tang dynasty poets, Li Bo and Du Fu, lament this [19:00]

Images of traded goods showing extent of interchange

• Non-Chinese female riding a horse
• Musical troupe on camels [20:50]

Trade with Middle East [21:50]

• Belitung Shipwreck—goods as example of sea trade between two empires [23:00]

Comparison of Two Empires [24:50] #6

Reason for Collapse [27:35] #7