Crusades, Jihad, & End of the Caliphate

This episode focuses on the way Islam was shaped by the experience of the crusades. We talk about the historical development of the concept of "jihad" and how it was defined over time. Providing a brief overview of the major events of the first and second crusades, we talk about the politicization of jihad in the campaigns of Imad ad Din Zengi and Saladin. We discuss how the cultural production of a genre of literature known as fadai'l al quds along with poetry work with theological writings to articulate the experience of the loss of Jerusalem and how that in turn produces a militarization and professionalization of jihad. Finally we discuss the collapse of the Abbasid caliphate, the rise of the Seljuk Empire, and the coming of the Mongol Horde which in turn gives rise to the Turko-Persian world.