Lecture 25: Muslim Spain & India

(Duiker 236-250; Brians 223-224)

Questions about Duiker: What are the main reasons suggested for the decline of Buddhism in India? *Describe the relationship between the Islamic rulers and the Hindu society they ruled. Which groups in India probably turned to the Muslim faith? *What are the major differences between Islam and Hinduism? What effect did the influence of Islam have on Hindu women?

Questions about Ibn Hazm: *Choose one of the lines and explain what it conveys about the poet's feelings. What is one of the images which the woman in Ibn Hazm's poem uses to depict her longing for the man she loves?

Question about Wallada: *What blessing does Wallada pray to come to her absent lover?

Lecture topics:
Muslim Spain
Literature
Science
Philosophy
Music in the Islamic World
Muslim conquest of India
Early contacts
Incursions in the Indus Delta
Northern India conquered in 13th century
The Kutub Minar
Babur, Founder of the Mughal Empire

Supplementary materials:

The Alcazar Palace in Cordoba (text in Spanish)
The Muslim Invasions of India
An outstanding student project on the Taj Mahal, which is later than our period, but fun to read about.

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