A second published piece in one day is a trend that I'm going to have to continue. This paper is from my Global History Since 1500 course, one that I took last semester and enjoyed heavily due to the professor (David Thomas) and the subject matter (the whole world).
It pertains to an important part of economic history: the Indian Ocean as well as its role in regional warfare and widespread wealth. I mention one of my personal heroes - Ibn Battuta - constantly. It shares a lot of similarities (and I mean a lot) with my Globalization vs Tribalism essay, which was done for the same course. I learned a whole lot that semester in my History classes.
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Trade along the Indian Ocean was the result of much heroic exploration and a major impact in historic rises in power, such as the Portuguese Empire which grew wealthy, as well as collapses in structure, such as the caravan system across Central Asia. Among the first few to make the arduous journey to the Far East were three men of particular note for one specific reason: they did a fine job of recording their travels. The first individual was the intrepid Italian explorer Marco Polo, who wrote of his times on the islands in the Eastern Indian Ocean as well as many large cities in the Orient and the Muslim world; for years, he worked in Kublai Khan’s court at mythical Xanadu. The second individual was the Moroccan student Ibn Battuta, who travelled at length, sometimes unexpectedly, along the coasts of the Indian Ocean; his travels displayed the true impact of its cultural exchange and the importance of the area’s trade. The final of the great three individuals to survey and travel the Indian Ocean was the Chinese eunuch admiral Zheng He, charged with exerting Ming power over the rulers of the Indies; his attendant Ma Huan recorded much ethnographic information, ranging from the regional garb of women to the religions professed by far-off foreigners. As seen through the travels and discoveries of Marco Polo, Ibn Battuta, and Zheng He, the importance of the Indian Ocean as a trading front is a historical contingency in that the ambitions of intrepid western travelers and the use of the Indian Ocean after sailing around Africa were the result of the collapse of overland trade routes and inaccessibility of the Eastern world to Europeans.
The reasons as to why the three men and their respective entourages trekked across the Indian Ocean shed some light as to why others may have also done so. Marco Polo’s reasoning for his journey, as the son of a prominent Venetian merchant who also travelled with him, was to establish direct links with the producers of the goods from which his family garnered wealth. Wealth may have been a driving force for many of those who looked to the Indian Ocean; it certainly turned out well for Marco Polo and his father, who worked under the employment of Kublai Khan, the Mongol-Yuan Emperor. The authors’ use of Marco Polo as an example of what could be gained from the Indian Ocean is a fine one: essentially, Polo and his entourage experienced vastly more than what they would have dealt with as simple traders in Venice. Polo’s systematic categorizing and recording of the land, including notes on the unique aspects of each place such as the valuable gemstones of Sri Lanka and linguistic isolation of Gujarat, has contributed much to interpretations by modern historians.
The background of Ibn Battuta’s travels from his home in Morocco to the Far East was not based on financial gain; instead, he was a scholar and tasked himself with experiencing the whole of the Dar al-Islam, the realm of the Muslims. His records are certainly scholarly, showing extensive observance of ethnographic observation and recognition of local customs that were heavily influenced by others in the Indian Ocean region. Ibn Battuta’s noting and questioning of the extent of the regional powers with which he dealt brings to light pointed observations; in the cases of the Bedouin banditry that controlled the reservoirs of Aden or the Hindu brigands who attacked Ibn Battuta’s entourage as he operated on the outskirts of the Delhi Sultanate’s territory, the scholar saw rich lands populated by those who were isolated from their rulers in practice and ethnicity . Ibn Battuta recorded huge amounts of information, citing meetings with dozens of political leaders and approximately two thousand separate people with whom he spoke, lending much information to modern-day historians for study.
The Chinese admiral Zheng He’s reason for travelling the Indian Ocean is much different than those of Polo and Ibn Battuta, as he was unconcerned with sole financial compensation or intellectual pursuits. Instead, the naval leader was tasked by the Yongle Emperor of Ming China to force the submission of the many rulers of the Indies to Ming rule, demanding tribute and allegiance from them with the use of the massive Ming Armada. Exertion of power is thus another reason many powers looked upon the Indian Ocean – while not looking to expand territorially like the Portuguese who would come less than a century later, military might aided in the journeys of Zheng He. The admiral’s translator Ma Huan took very extensive records of each place visited by the Ming Armada, explaining at length many ethnographical notations such as clothing, every possible available commodity, agriculture and craftsmanship, cultural practices and the amount of foreigners at any given place.
The Indian Ocean became very important to many powers, especially European or otherwise western ones, for one main reason: trade supremacy. To the Europeans, the Indian Ocean represented a method of avoidance of the Muslim world’s stranglehold on the Far East – using the body of water to travel, merchants and diplomats could avoid conflict with the ummah and do their business directly with the rich foreign lands beyond. However, a major aspect of this was that of how to access the Indian Ocean without notable Muslim interaction. As of the thirteenth century, Venice’s trade with the Far East was conducted through the conduit of Alexandria, which throughout its history had been ruled by followers of Islam. At one point, the Venetians had planned to outmaneuver the Egyptians and flank the Muslim powers by launching naval military expeditions into the Indian Ocean – a prime example of the importance of the Indian Ocean to westerners, and a display of frustration over the Muslim world’s hold on trade with the East. To the powers of the East, the Indian Ocean represented the next great trade venture after the fall of the Silk Road, which the armies of Tamerlane severed by conquering many major cities along the historic trade route. This was not just the case for the powers of the Near East such as the Sultanate of Delhi or the Ilkhanate (which was responsible for the end of the Silk Road in the first place as subjects of Tamerlane) but was also the case of Ming China, which grew concerned over its loss of trade revenue with the West and sought to find a new route for trade. Just months after the collapse of the caravan system across Central Asia, Zheng He was commissioned by the Yongle Emperor to begin his travels along the Indian Ocean to establish trade dominance.
The actions taken by the major regional powers in regards to the Indian Ocean allow for a better understanding of global history in that a major similarity can be made between all powers involved: despite cultural or societal differences, regional powers recognize the importance of trade and react accordingly. The Venetians, craving an open market with the Far East, nearly acted militarily against the Egyptian Sultanate to gain such a benefit. The Ming Chinese saw their trade collapse with the Silk Road and thus sought new ventures to continue on financially. Knowing the importance of trade supremacy and their position within the region, Ibn Battuta reports that the Sultanate of Delhi shunned casual visitors (including foreign traders) to their lands and forced pledges of allegiance and residence upon foreign guests. These are just examples of what can be seen as a whole chain of reactions as empires and regional powers continuously react to changes made by other powers, in turn making their own changes that must be reacted to; thus, the history of the Indian Ocean can be viewed as a string of historical contingency. This contingency can be linked to the topoi system, which is seen as a long series of recurring and almost cyclical ideas and methods pertaining to history. While the setting may be different, powers will follow familiar ideas in order to achieve their goals.
The end of the Indian Ocean as a prosperous global trading network can be blamed on the discovery of the New World by European powers as well as replacement sources of resources being found outside of the Indian Ocean region. The wealth found in the New World surpasses the resources provided by trade on the Indian Ocean; riches abound began to blow into the Christian and Muslim worlds, and even as far as China did travel silver mined in the mountains of Bolivia. The victories of the Spanish conquistadores over the native Aztec and Incan forces of Mesoamerica provided gigantic amounts of gold, drawing even more attention to the New World and away from the Far East. Spanish silver became common in foreign lands as far as China, the Latin “piece of eight” meeting with newly-discovered Japanese silver to choke the East. The focus of goods began to shift away from the East and focus on Europe and the New World, between which luxuries and precious minerals were shipped as they had been in the Indian Ocean years earlier. Europe began to manufacture goods that were once staples of the Eastern economy, even exporting them to the East and effectively destroying economic necessities there such as the once-plentiful textile industries of India and China.
Ultimately, the trade system of the Indian Ocean can be seen solely as a historical contingency in which the different regional powers of Afro-Eurasia reacted appropriately to outlying circumstances; in this case, trade. The Europeans searched for new methods to avoid the Muslim powers between the West and the East, eventually concluding upon the use of the Indian Ocean. The Muslim powers, on the other hand, sought to maintain their supremacy in the region despite the fall of the Silk Road and maintained their power through Indian Ocean trade. Finally, the powers Far East continued its importance in Afro-Eurasian trade by dominating the region in the face of foreign influence. The situation is a blatant contingency due to the reactionary nature of the situation. If the Muslims did not have a monopoly on Eastern trade, the Europeans would not have sought other routes; if the Muslims did not seek to consolidate their regional power and lose the Silk Road, the East would not have sought different methods of dominance. The Indian Ocean was a prime place of importance for those three civilizations due to the general path of history, as events branching off events.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Secondary Sources
1. Lunde, Paul. “The Indian Ocean and Global Trade”, July-August 2005. http://www.saudiaramcoworld.com/issue/200504/default.htm (February 10 2008)
2. Tignor, Robert, Jeremy Adelman, Stephen Aron, Stephen Kotkin, Suzanne Marchand, Gyan Prakash and Michael Ts’in.. Worlds Together, Worlds Apart: A History of the Modern World from the Mongol Empire to the Present. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 2002.
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I'd hoped to work in the Ghaznavids and Ghorids in any huge capacity like I really want to but it never came to fruition within any essay's framework. The Delhi Sultanate gets a shout-out, though, and that's got a Ghorid legacy. I'll pull it off one day.
Monday, November 24, 2008
Flawed Concepts Through Time, Vol. XXVI: Military Politics
Don't get me wrong, I think military activity is cool in a historical sense - medieval and pre-modern militaries up until the 1900's are really interesting. Maybe it's just the depersonalized nature of pressing a button and having a thousand people explode that turns me off of modern warfare. Call it a penchant for putting a personal touch on things, who knows.
Here's my just-graded (and thus publishable, in my opinion) essay on the negative effects of military politics within the framework of pre-modern Islamic government. The work took on an almost anarchic bent against inappropriate government practices as I began to finish it, and I think that was the view my professor hoped we'd achieve.
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The importance of religion within the Muslim sphere between the age of Mohammad and the eighteenth century is supreme: Islam acted as a definitive compass for life, providing common cultural and social practices for the great amount of people who practiced it; it also birthed new legal systems, allowing for a sense of universal law and safety while in the company of practitioners. Islam, as a belief system, existed primarily as such but barely secondarily as a unifier of disparate peoples and places – the Muslim community, or ‘umma’, was a world-spanning system under which, despite political fractures, a Muslim could travel from the far ends of the North African Maghreb to the southern depths of the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia with little relative problem. The overarching umma, united under a similar religion and thus relatively related cultural practices, would allow for the traveler to find safe haven wherever they would go within the Dar al-Islam, or ‘abode of Islam’. The missionary work of Sufis worked as a major conversional factor for Islam: the fringe regions of the world outside of the Dar al-Islam were soon home to peaceful, materially-uninvolved Muslims who sought to spread the wealth of their religion – meaning that Islam as a religious and communal sphere was constantly expanding across Eurasia. Under the umma, a Muslim could feel ‘asabiyyah’ – group feeling, or social solidarity. According to the Muslim scholar Ibn-Khaldun, asabiyyah was an essential factor to a properly-functioning umma: without it, groups would fight amongst themselves and cities would crumble.
Hamilton Gibb’s piece “The Community in Islamic History”, as published in Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society, extolls upon the lack of necessity for traditional government within the early Islamic world. The development of the umma as a structure within Islam is a unique experience for the religion – Christianity, for instance, did not have such a continent-spanning community that provided for its members in the way the umma does. In this way, the Islamic world needed less governance: a cohesive community would fight less amongst itself as would the disjointed world of Christian Europe. Although it experienced roughness along the way in the form of pretenders to rule and fanatics in its ranks, the umma learned to deal with these difficulties. Gibb speaks sternly on the fact that the umma is not a political entity: while a widespread government may put to use strict orthodoxy in all manners of life (including politics), the umma did the opposite by bringing together very different people under a community that fostered an all-encompassing “Islamic culture”. Gibb comments on the propensity for criticism toward the umma for not promoting, through influence of political reforms, helpful standards such as change in education; he counters his own point by pointing to the Islamic revival of Hellenistic literature, an example of the already established Islamic tradition of high intellectual and cultural importance. However, the Muslim sphere was not wholly influenced by Greek works in politics and philosophy – it was not of their heritage and, thus, not as adhered to as it was in the Christian world. Instead of promoting reforms in government and material culture, Muslims gave birth to new spirituality through the work of Sufis – orthodox thought was not heavily addressed in the face of spiritual symbolism and theological issues. This proved to be a handicap in cases involved foreign influence and earthly matters – the umma had trouble confronting new challenges such as opposing governments within the Islamic world and began to oppose disunifying challenges to their community. Eventually, centralized governments proved to be a harsh opponent toward the umma; in the modern day, the politically-inclined doubt the general existence of the umma. Gibb, on the other hand, believes that the umma is still very much alive at its core and is expanding due to its all-encompassing nature and its lack of involvement with troubling, diving societal aspects such as politics.
J.C. Hurewitz discusses the invariable nature of military involvement and social disunity in Islamic politics in his Journal of the American Oriental Society article, “Military Politics in the Muslim Dynastic States, 1400-1750”. Hurewitz sees military politics as a regular method of power transmission for dynasties and political systems within the Dar al-Islam and states that they are extremely popular due to a lack of concrete succession policies. Most Muslim dynasties were tribalist and militaristic at their roots due to the origin of their religion: the harsh upbringing of the umma resulted in superior martial ability, supporting the belief that the subjects of stable Islamic leader have little to fear due to the superior protective ability of that figure. Hurewitz states that the famed scholar Ibn-Khaldun would be widely displeased with the three existing Muslim dynasties of the 1700’s – the Ottoman Empire, the Safavid Empire and the Mughal Empire – due to their high propensity for bureaucracy and a lack of social unity, factors which would eventually lead to their downfall (yet not so in the case of the Ottomans, who would exist only due to Europeans who feared a regional power vacuum in the face of Ottoman collapse). Despite political disunity, the umma still existed: states were connected through common religion and legal background in shari’ah, allowing traveling Muslims such as Ibn-Khaldun and Ibn-Battuta to work in very different settings due to their understanding of universal Muslim law. However, political disunity did prove from time to time to be harmful – for instance, the Safavid development of their uniquely Shiite Ja’fari code in the face of Sunni neighbors did little to unify the Dar al-Islam. In fact, little outside of the basic political structure existed within the Islamic sphere that would suggest a capability for governments to exist in the European sense: lines of sovereignty were never properly drawn in the Muslim world, creating regional legal imbalances and disputes. Fratricide proved to be a major problem for every major Muslim dynasty in the Near East: the Ottomans were eventually forced to legalize only specific ways of kin murder due to its high prevalence and the Safavids were faced with possibly dozens of murders every time a succession crisis occurred. This lack of traditional rules led to a lack of balance within the politics of the Dar al-Islam, balanced only through military politics: power was enforced through constant strength of arms due to government policies not covering essential subjects such as succession and power boundaries. Eventually, military power came into play as a major decider in succession: those with the most support from the military as well as administrative support from the palace would be best in the running for the position of leader. This led to heated rivalries between family members, all of whom could must some military power due to their position as nobility; in turn, this led to disunity within the umma due to the possibility of widespread armed conflict between Muslims. This focus on government that the major Muslim dynasties allowed actually found itself undermined due to a necessary focus on military strength: the Turkic Qizilbash nomads who entered into the military service of rival Safavid princes, for instance, eventually came to dominate the political scene of the region due to the military clout they held. Similarly, nomadic Berber groups employed by the Moroccan ‘Alawi leaders such as Mawlay Isma’il would exert a large amount of influence over succession upon leaders’ deaths. The Ottomans felt the impact of the Janissaries upon their courts upon the dilution of the strict military corps by Murad III, who discontinued the Islamization of the group by allowing free Muslims, as opposed to non-Muslim slaves or conscripts; this led to an essential corruption within the military. Hurewitz concludes that the use of an army as a political tool proved to be a major obstacle in the path of Islamic unity.
Advancing government proved to be a very complicated obstacle for Islam and its umma. In medieval and Renaissance-age Europe, governments and ruling systems would be challenged, overthrown and modified to fit the societies over which they resided; the Dar al-Islam was no different, as it would take little time until politics would come head-to-head with the umma. Non-tribal or religious politics and government within the Islamic world are a juxtapositional, if not detrimental, presence: inherently, politics act as a partitioner within groups of people, dividing people into different factions that almost assuredly come to blows over almost any societal detail. Gibb’s comments on material governments presenting a challenge and splitting up the non-orthodox, spiritually-inclined umma support this. Politics breed rivalries within the umma that remove the legitimacy and existence of asabiyyah – politically-fueled fractures within a community prevent social solidarity, invalidating the umma’s purpose. Modernly-defined government within the Islamic sphere leads ultimately to selfish, self-promoting behavior that creates power blocs within the umma, shattering it for good and leading to a lack of protective unity.
As stated by Ibn-Khaldun, this lack of unity inevitably leads to annihilation: other factions possessing a functioning asabiyyah, such as Turkic nomads or other less-centralized yet concentrated Muslim contingencies can easily tear apart the shreds of society that separative government leaves in its wake. The tendency of Muslim dynasties to resort to allowing militaristic influence to take over their own government shows, quite blatantly, the accuracy of Ibn-Khaldun’s opinion: the umma will eventually collapse in the face of centralized government due to a loss of asabiyyah. Asabiyyah is essential to nomadic life, and to an extent military life, because it stresses a unity that allows the individual to simply survive under the protection of their family. Properly-governed people lack this sort of familial unity because they are protected by the ruling dynasty and no longer need to relate to one another like the nomads.
Religion too, is important under asabiyyah, because it acts as a uniting factor that brings followers together for very basic reasons: worship and support. In Gibbs’ article, it can be seen that those Muslims who focus on government and material matters lose their focus on religion and spirituality; while they make eventually make progress against the non-orthodox umma, it is all for naught once factionalization becomes overwhelming. Politics causes people to factionalize quickly; they have no use for unity or respect for faith as they fight amongst themselves, or in the name of their political leaders . The splintering of the Muslim world between Sunni and Shia as a result of a succession crisis would be a damning example of this.
Without asabiyyah, Islamic folk who focus on government instead of social unity find themselves enraptured with earthly luxuries and political intrigue; the purpose of the umma however, is to function as a support system for its people, uniting them under religion as opposed to focusing on earthly matters . Among the non-political umma there is little corruption for this very reason. Political issues not only divide the umma between opposing state and political parties but also cause fractures in society in terms of wealth and ability. When the political system is eventually corrupted and militaristic factions compete for power, the entire populace suffers – chunks of the umma are erased in the name of succession and political boundaries. The government experienced by Muslims from the fifteenth century to the eighteenth century fails to follow traditional Islamic standards: it cleaves apart the umma, leaving savagery in its wake.
Ibn-Khaldun; trans. F. Rosenthal. Ed. N.J. Dawood. Al-Muqadimmah [The Introduction], 124.
Ibn-Khaldun, 134.
Bibliography
1. Gibb, Hamilton A.R. April 1963. The Community in Islamic History. Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society. Volume 25, Issue 2.
2. Hurewitz, J.C. March 1968. Military Politics in the Muslim Dynastic States, 1400-1750. Journal of the American Oriental Society. Volume 88, Issue 1.
3. Ibn-Khaldun. Trans. Franz Rosenthal. Ed. Nessim Joseph Dawood. Al-Muqadimmah [The Introduction]. Princeton University, 1981. 124-54.
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A pre-modern Islamic political piece I recently read, 'Ministers and Bribery' by Sari Mehmed Pasha (an Ottoman vizier who introduced anti-corruption thought into the government's virtues before being cut down by a man who was either a crazed dervish or a hired blade of the sultan), seems to be the response to my view. Through proper jurisdiction, an Islamic government is incorruptible; needless to say, however, was the corruptibility of the Ottoman government throughout its tenure. Despite his potentially conspired end, I find him to be an entirely reasonable source whose political ideals should be studied closer by modern politicians both in the Middle East and elsewhere. I'll put up an assignment pertaining to Sari's work pretty soon.
Here's my just-graded (and thus publishable, in my opinion) essay on the negative effects of military politics within the framework of pre-modern Islamic government. The work took on an almost anarchic bent against inappropriate government practices as I began to finish it, and I think that was the view my professor hoped we'd achieve.
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The importance of religion within the Muslim sphere between the age of Mohammad and the eighteenth century is supreme: Islam acted as a definitive compass for life, providing common cultural and social practices for the great amount of people who practiced it; it also birthed new legal systems, allowing for a sense of universal law and safety while in the company of practitioners. Islam, as a belief system, existed primarily as such but barely secondarily as a unifier of disparate peoples and places – the Muslim community, or ‘umma’, was a world-spanning system under which, despite political fractures, a Muslim could travel from the far ends of the North African Maghreb to the southern depths of the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia with little relative problem. The overarching umma, united under a similar religion and thus relatively related cultural practices, would allow for the traveler to find safe haven wherever they would go within the Dar al-Islam, or ‘abode of Islam’. The missionary work of Sufis worked as a major conversional factor for Islam: the fringe regions of the world outside of the Dar al-Islam were soon home to peaceful, materially-uninvolved Muslims who sought to spread the wealth of their religion – meaning that Islam as a religious and communal sphere was constantly expanding across Eurasia. Under the umma, a Muslim could feel ‘asabiyyah’ – group feeling, or social solidarity. According to the Muslim scholar Ibn-Khaldun, asabiyyah was an essential factor to a properly-functioning umma: without it, groups would fight amongst themselves and cities would crumble.
Hamilton Gibb’s piece “The Community in Islamic History”, as published in Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society, extolls upon the lack of necessity for traditional government within the early Islamic world. The development of the umma as a structure within Islam is a unique experience for the religion – Christianity, for instance, did not have such a continent-spanning community that provided for its members in the way the umma does. In this way, the Islamic world needed less governance: a cohesive community would fight less amongst itself as would the disjointed world of Christian Europe. Although it experienced roughness along the way in the form of pretenders to rule and fanatics in its ranks, the umma learned to deal with these difficulties. Gibb speaks sternly on the fact that the umma is not a political entity: while a widespread government may put to use strict orthodoxy in all manners of life (including politics), the umma did the opposite by bringing together very different people under a community that fostered an all-encompassing “Islamic culture”. Gibb comments on the propensity for criticism toward the umma for not promoting, through influence of political reforms, helpful standards such as change in education; he counters his own point by pointing to the Islamic revival of Hellenistic literature, an example of the already established Islamic tradition of high intellectual and cultural importance. However, the Muslim sphere was not wholly influenced by Greek works in politics and philosophy – it was not of their heritage and, thus, not as adhered to as it was in the Christian world. Instead of promoting reforms in government and material culture, Muslims gave birth to new spirituality through the work of Sufis – orthodox thought was not heavily addressed in the face of spiritual symbolism and theological issues. This proved to be a handicap in cases involved foreign influence and earthly matters – the umma had trouble confronting new challenges such as opposing governments within the Islamic world and began to oppose disunifying challenges to their community. Eventually, centralized governments proved to be a harsh opponent toward the umma; in the modern day, the politically-inclined doubt the general existence of the umma. Gibb, on the other hand, believes that the umma is still very much alive at its core and is expanding due to its all-encompassing nature and its lack of involvement with troubling, diving societal aspects such as politics.
J.C. Hurewitz discusses the invariable nature of military involvement and social disunity in Islamic politics in his Journal of the American Oriental Society article, “Military Politics in the Muslim Dynastic States, 1400-1750”. Hurewitz sees military politics as a regular method of power transmission for dynasties and political systems within the Dar al-Islam and states that they are extremely popular due to a lack of concrete succession policies. Most Muslim dynasties were tribalist and militaristic at their roots due to the origin of their religion: the harsh upbringing of the umma resulted in superior martial ability, supporting the belief that the subjects of stable Islamic leader have little to fear due to the superior protective ability of that figure. Hurewitz states that the famed scholar Ibn-Khaldun would be widely displeased with the three existing Muslim dynasties of the 1700’s – the Ottoman Empire, the Safavid Empire and the Mughal Empire – due to their high propensity for bureaucracy and a lack of social unity, factors which would eventually lead to their downfall (yet not so in the case of the Ottomans, who would exist only due to Europeans who feared a regional power vacuum in the face of Ottoman collapse). Despite political disunity, the umma still existed: states were connected through common religion and legal background in shari’ah, allowing traveling Muslims such as Ibn-Khaldun and Ibn-Battuta to work in very different settings due to their understanding of universal Muslim law. However, political disunity did prove from time to time to be harmful – for instance, the Safavid development of their uniquely Shiite Ja’fari code in the face of Sunni neighbors did little to unify the Dar al-Islam. In fact, little outside of the basic political structure existed within the Islamic sphere that would suggest a capability for governments to exist in the European sense: lines of sovereignty were never properly drawn in the Muslim world, creating regional legal imbalances and disputes. Fratricide proved to be a major problem for every major Muslim dynasty in the Near East: the Ottomans were eventually forced to legalize only specific ways of kin murder due to its high prevalence and the Safavids were faced with possibly dozens of murders every time a succession crisis occurred. This lack of traditional rules led to a lack of balance within the politics of the Dar al-Islam, balanced only through military politics: power was enforced through constant strength of arms due to government policies not covering essential subjects such as succession and power boundaries. Eventually, military power came into play as a major decider in succession: those with the most support from the military as well as administrative support from the palace would be best in the running for the position of leader. This led to heated rivalries between family members, all of whom could must some military power due to their position as nobility; in turn, this led to disunity within the umma due to the possibility of widespread armed conflict between Muslims. This focus on government that the major Muslim dynasties allowed actually found itself undermined due to a necessary focus on military strength: the Turkic Qizilbash nomads who entered into the military service of rival Safavid princes, for instance, eventually came to dominate the political scene of the region due to the military clout they held. Similarly, nomadic Berber groups employed by the Moroccan ‘Alawi leaders such as Mawlay Isma’il would exert a large amount of influence over succession upon leaders’ deaths. The Ottomans felt the impact of the Janissaries upon their courts upon the dilution of the strict military corps by Murad III, who discontinued the Islamization of the group by allowing free Muslims, as opposed to non-Muslim slaves or conscripts; this led to an essential corruption within the military. Hurewitz concludes that the use of an army as a political tool proved to be a major obstacle in the path of Islamic unity.
Advancing government proved to be a very complicated obstacle for Islam and its umma. In medieval and Renaissance-age Europe, governments and ruling systems would be challenged, overthrown and modified to fit the societies over which they resided; the Dar al-Islam was no different, as it would take little time until politics would come head-to-head with the umma. Non-tribal or religious politics and government within the Islamic world are a juxtapositional, if not detrimental, presence: inherently, politics act as a partitioner within groups of people, dividing people into different factions that almost assuredly come to blows over almost any societal detail. Gibb’s comments on material governments presenting a challenge and splitting up the non-orthodox, spiritually-inclined umma support this. Politics breed rivalries within the umma that remove the legitimacy and existence of asabiyyah – politically-fueled fractures within a community prevent social solidarity, invalidating the umma’s purpose. Modernly-defined government within the Islamic sphere leads ultimately to selfish, self-promoting behavior that creates power blocs within the umma, shattering it for good and leading to a lack of protective unity.
As stated by Ibn-Khaldun, this lack of unity inevitably leads to annihilation: other factions possessing a functioning asabiyyah, such as Turkic nomads or other less-centralized yet concentrated Muslim contingencies can easily tear apart the shreds of society that separative government leaves in its wake. The tendency of Muslim dynasties to resort to allowing militaristic influence to take over their own government shows, quite blatantly, the accuracy of Ibn-Khaldun’s opinion: the umma will eventually collapse in the face of centralized government due to a loss of asabiyyah. Asabiyyah is essential to nomadic life, and to an extent military life, because it stresses a unity that allows the individual to simply survive under the protection of their family. Properly-governed people lack this sort of familial unity because they are protected by the ruling dynasty and no longer need to relate to one another like the nomads.
Religion too, is important under asabiyyah, because it acts as a uniting factor that brings followers together for very basic reasons: worship and support. In Gibbs’ article, it can be seen that those Muslims who focus on government and material matters lose their focus on religion and spirituality; while they make eventually make progress against the non-orthodox umma, it is all for naught once factionalization becomes overwhelming. Politics causes people to factionalize quickly; they have no use for unity or respect for faith as they fight amongst themselves, or in the name of their political leaders . The splintering of the Muslim world between Sunni and Shia as a result of a succession crisis would be a damning example of this.
Without asabiyyah, Islamic folk who focus on government instead of social unity find themselves enraptured with earthly luxuries and political intrigue; the purpose of the umma however, is to function as a support system for its people, uniting them under religion as opposed to focusing on earthly matters . Among the non-political umma there is little corruption for this very reason. Political issues not only divide the umma between opposing state and political parties but also cause fractures in society in terms of wealth and ability. When the political system is eventually corrupted and militaristic factions compete for power, the entire populace suffers – chunks of the umma are erased in the name of succession and political boundaries. The government experienced by Muslims from the fifteenth century to the eighteenth century fails to follow traditional Islamic standards: it cleaves apart the umma, leaving savagery in its wake.
Ibn-Khaldun; trans. F. Rosenthal. Ed. N.J. Dawood. Al-Muqadimmah [The Introduction], 124.
Ibn-Khaldun, 134.
Bibliography
1. Gibb, Hamilton A.R. April 1963. The Community in Islamic History. Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society. Volume 25, Issue 2.
2. Hurewitz, J.C. March 1968. Military Politics in the Muslim Dynastic States, 1400-1750. Journal of the American Oriental Society. Volume 88, Issue 1.
3. Ibn-Khaldun. Trans. Franz Rosenthal. Ed. Nessim Joseph Dawood. Al-Muqadimmah [The Introduction]. Princeton University, 1981. 124-54.
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A pre-modern Islamic political piece I recently read, 'Ministers and Bribery' by Sari Mehmed Pasha (an Ottoman vizier who introduced anti-corruption thought into the government's virtues before being cut down by a man who was either a crazed dervish or a hired blade of the sultan), seems to be the response to my view. Through proper jurisdiction, an Islamic government is incorruptible; needless to say, however, was the corruptibility of the Ottoman government throughout its tenure. Despite his potentially conspired end, I find him to be an entirely reasonable source whose political ideals should be studied closer by modern politicians both in the Middle East and elsewhere. I'll put up an assignment pertaining to Sari's work pretty soon.
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
Russian Leader Goes Crazy, Kills Indiscriminately, Isn't Stalin
Well then who is it? It's Ivan, the guy Stalin imitated in order to get his kicks. My professor really liked this paper - it's an analytical book review of Isabel de Madariaga's Ivan The Terrible: First Tsar of Russia. I wasn't sure how well I did on it but the instructor's high praise bolstered how I felt about it.
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An utterly brutal and undoubtedly troubled man, Grand Prince – and later Tsar – Ivan IV of Moscow stands as one of the starkest and least human personalities of Russia’s authoritarian history. As investigated in Isabel de Madariaga’s Ivan the Terrible: First Tsar of Russia, the paranoia of the Tsar can be explained as a result of the many negative influences he felt along his life. From the beginning of Ivan’s life until his death, intrigue in the courts lead to death among his family and confidantes, forcing him to utilize similar underhandedness in order to regain his royal power after years of his supporters being crushed publicly. Ivan’s mental state would continue to deteriorate as a result of possible court intrigues: the death of his beloved wife Anastasia soon after his own brush with death quickly led to his wedding with the widely-despised ‘pagan’ princess Maria Temrjukovna, who acted harshly toward Ivan and may have incited him to poison her for political gain, showing the full change in Ivan’s personality over the course of two marriages. Maria would only be the second of Ivan’s eventual eight wives, all of whom would suffer at the hands of Ivan. His cruelty, which bloomed during his youth as he pointlessly ended lives with nary a care, became center stage during his rule as he ravaged any and all potential rivals to his power (as well as the general public) with the use of his Oprichnina, a personal “state” consisting of totally loyal, notably savage subjects; these men would become known for their wanton slaughters of entire populations in locales such as Novgorod and Tver. Later, Ivan IV’s sanity collapsed sharply and, with it, did the stability his harshness had achieved: opponents such as the Crimean Khanate, the Ottoman Empire and Poland-Lithuania encroached upon Ivan’s borders as he acted wildly at home, committing acts such as the accidental murder of his son Ivan, granting the position of heir to his other son Feodor – a future Tsar regarded as aloof, politically uninterested and, in the opinion of de Madariaga, mentally unsound. Fedor’s inability to not only rule but also reproduce would eventually collapse the nigh-ancient dynasty of Rurik, leading to the tumultuous Time of Troubles. It is very evident that through Ivan’s life, most specifically his developmental years and young adulthood, negative influences played a major part in the shaping of his personality: his mental instability, self-importance and cruel authoritarianism can all be seen as results of events in his youth. Despite his political skill, reform-based management preferences and general intelligence, Ivan IV would forever be remembered for his maddening paranoia – which, as seen in Isabel de Madariaga’s seminal Ivan the Terrible, originated early in Ivan’s life as a result of the dangerous environment into which Ivan was born.
The emphasis of this review will be based on de Madariaga’s focus on the youth of Ivan IV, for good reason: the author places a special importance upon the early experiences of the future Tsar of All Russia, citing many examples that would be repeated through Ivan’s life which would come to characterize his personality and, in general, his reign. Court treachery and barbarity toward rivals were heavily experienced by Ivan during his youth – the offenses experienced by Ivan and his brother Iuri at the hands of the Shiusky’s during the Regency Council period bred contempt in young Ivan, giving him reason to repeat the actions of that period upon later rivals. The direct cruelty Ivan experienced also fueled that part of his personality: he exhibited rage toward defenseless creatures and, later in his youth, adult subjects. This cruelty would come to characterize his rule: grisly, widespread executions as a result of paranoia were commonplace. Other examples as provided by de Madariaga and analyzed in this piece will show the necessity of the author’s emphasis upon Ivan IV’s youth.
De Madariaga rings true in her belief that the early youth of Ivan IV is rife with situations that may eventually breed a contemptible, paranoid individual. The very first of these examples would be the Regency Council set up by his father Vasily III and his mother Elena Glinskaya: as easily observable by Ivan, his importance to his parents and their supporters overshadowed the stability and potential acquiescence of the boyars – rivals to Ivan IV’s reign such as the Shiusky family were suppressed with physical harm, and insults toward the honor of rival princes were made on a constant basis (and usually followed by arrests) . This sort of background may have granted Ivan IV an inflated sense of self importance; the later influence of Vasily III’s ally Metropolitan Makarii, too, can be seen as a major influence in this regard. One of Ivan’s only true outlets during this time of his life was the church, where latent delusions of grandeur in young Ivan were influenced heavily by the teachings of Makarii, whose words may have convinced Ivan that he possessed the favor of God. Makarii, the Archbishop of Novgorod, was also responsible for introducing Ivan to the Poems of Repentance, a series of hymns focused on the admittance of mortal sins; de Madariaga’s comments on the appropriateness of the subject matter in pertinence to Ivan’s behavior is a display of the message she is accurately attempting to portray in her branding of Ivan as a disturbed individual . De Madariaga makes note of Makarii’s impact on Ivan’s religious self-importance quite often; it is a valid point, however, in that Ivan used his position to assume the title of Tsar, a notably non-secular role. In doing so, Ivan attempts to place himself into the same role as the Byzantine Emperor or, in the West, Holy Roman Emperor: a monarch whose role was bestowed upon him by the will of God. This action by Ivan is further evidence as provided by de Madariaga of a potential for mental instability in terms of an extreme inflated ego.
De Madariaga mentions that through this holy outlet Ivan may have also fell under the spell of Vlad Tepes Dracul, the infamous Wallachian voivod whose shocking actions against court rivals and his Turkish enemies – done so in the name of protecting his own assets – could have dictated to Ivan the proper way of responding to internal threats . Another example of a negative influence upon Ivan can be seen when, in the midst of the Regency Council period, Ivan’s hale and hearty mother Elena died suddenly – poisoned, by de Madariaga’s estimation, and mourned only by Ivan . The death of Elena and the succession of neglectful political rivals undoubtedly had a major impact on Ivan, now eight years old. De Madariaga’s mentioning of this as an impact upon Ivan’s personality is dreadfully important: it is the first true exposure of Ivan to human cruelty. The result of his mother’s death leads to the virtual abandonment of Ivan and his brother Iuri by the political structure until his adulthood – leading Ivan, naturally, to become a frustrated individual with a skewed sense of self-importance. Madariaga’s claims make it plain to see from where Ivan’s youthful habits, including animal torture, began to originate . Later, Ivan acts out further against defenseless prey when he and his friends act as criminals and chase innocent women with little reason other than malice. He would go on to execute three princes as a result of boredom during army exercise. These examples may strike the reader as similar to Ivan’s later origination and administering of the ‘Oprichnina’ system, which functioned similarly in its brigand-esque activity and intentional harassment of non-guilty subjects. Without this build-up, de Madariaga would be hard pressed to explain the mean behavior exhibited by Ivan later in life.
Ivan is seen accurately through his youth by de Madariaga as a cunning yet overly suspicious individual, even in his youth. As discussed earlier, Ivan was influenced negatively through the intrigue of the Muscovite court; this can be seen through the death of his mother and neglect at the hands of the rival Shiusky party. Despite this, Ivan showed a quick aptitude for adherence to such underhanded behavior: before his marriage to Elena Glinskaya, some of Ivan’s letters as well as other documents support harsh actions against former friends and the families of rivals that strike a tone similar to the traitorous methods put to use by the Regency Council in the suppression of rivals to the Rurikid power structure . De Madariaga’s special mentioning of this event harkens to Ivan’s later years in which he would brutally attack and destroy entire lineages that he considered, despite the reality of their position, rivals to his own power. The Oprichnina were a further example of this: formed originally as a separate ruling body free from the influence of the plotting boyars, the organization was eventually put to use as an oppressive deterrent against any who opposed Ivan’s rule (or who he suspected of doing so, factually or not). Through this and other mentioned examples, de Madariaga makes clear that Ivan’s youth is just a foreshadowing to later events: the future Tsar’s early years would set the stage for a Russia at the whim of a man, quick to act, whose suspicions would rule his realm.
De Madariaga’s ability to articulate her case on the subject of Ivan IV’s development toward the desolate historical figure he now represents is admirable in the least. The lengthy cases she makes pertaining to Ivan’s religious importance are central to his own self-view and assumption of formerly Byzantine religious importance. His cruelty is explained truthfully as being a result of the behavior he was exposed to and the treatment he dealt with at the hands of early opponents; this maturing negative behavior would become a hallmark of his name. His political maneuverings are simply an extension of his harshness: his consistent actions against any perceived threats and his institutionalization of the Oprichnina were executed as a result of the behavior for which he became known. It is not only the treatment he was victim to that is to blame for his identity as a vindictive, paranoid ruler but also how he acted unchecked due to his position – de Madariaga’s discussion of his youth show this, despite how early on in his life the events occurred.
Works Cited
1 de Madariaga, Isabel. Ivan the Terrible: First Tsar of Russia. Yale University Press: New Haven & London, 1981.
---
That's a wrap. Hope you enjoyed the "gripping narrative".
---
An utterly brutal and undoubtedly troubled man, Grand Prince – and later Tsar – Ivan IV of Moscow stands as one of the starkest and least human personalities of Russia’s authoritarian history. As investigated in Isabel de Madariaga’s Ivan the Terrible: First Tsar of Russia, the paranoia of the Tsar can be explained as a result of the many negative influences he felt along his life. From the beginning of Ivan’s life until his death, intrigue in the courts lead to death among his family and confidantes, forcing him to utilize similar underhandedness in order to regain his royal power after years of his supporters being crushed publicly. Ivan’s mental state would continue to deteriorate as a result of possible court intrigues: the death of his beloved wife Anastasia soon after his own brush with death quickly led to his wedding with the widely-despised ‘pagan’ princess Maria Temrjukovna, who acted harshly toward Ivan and may have incited him to poison her for political gain, showing the full change in Ivan’s personality over the course of two marriages. Maria would only be the second of Ivan’s eventual eight wives, all of whom would suffer at the hands of Ivan. His cruelty, which bloomed during his youth as he pointlessly ended lives with nary a care, became center stage during his rule as he ravaged any and all potential rivals to his power (as well as the general public) with the use of his Oprichnina, a personal “state” consisting of totally loyal, notably savage subjects; these men would become known for their wanton slaughters of entire populations in locales such as Novgorod and Tver. Later, Ivan IV’s sanity collapsed sharply and, with it, did the stability his harshness had achieved: opponents such as the Crimean Khanate, the Ottoman Empire and Poland-Lithuania encroached upon Ivan’s borders as he acted wildly at home, committing acts such as the accidental murder of his son Ivan, granting the position of heir to his other son Feodor – a future Tsar regarded as aloof, politically uninterested and, in the opinion of de Madariaga, mentally unsound. Fedor’s inability to not only rule but also reproduce would eventually collapse the nigh-ancient dynasty of Rurik, leading to the tumultuous Time of Troubles. It is very evident that through Ivan’s life, most specifically his developmental years and young adulthood, negative influences played a major part in the shaping of his personality: his mental instability, self-importance and cruel authoritarianism can all be seen as results of events in his youth. Despite his political skill, reform-based management preferences and general intelligence, Ivan IV would forever be remembered for his maddening paranoia – which, as seen in Isabel de Madariaga’s seminal Ivan the Terrible, originated early in Ivan’s life as a result of the dangerous environment into which Ivan was born.
The emphasis of this review will be based on de Madariaga’s focus on the youth of Ivan IV, for good reason: the author places a special importance upon the early experiences of the future Tsar of All Russia, citing many examples that would be repeated through Ivan’s life which would come to characterize his personality and, in general, his reign. Court treachery and barbarity toward rivals were heavily experienced by Ivan during his youth – the offenses experienced by Ivan and his brother Iuri at the hands of the Shiusky’s during the Regency Council period bred contempt in young Ivan, giving him reason to repeat the actions of that period upon later rivals. The direct cruelty Ivan experienced also fueled that part of his personality: he exhibited rage toward defenseless creatures and, later in his youth, adult subjects. This cruelty would come to characterize his rule: grisly, widespread executions as a result of paranoia were commonplace. Other examples as provided by de Madariaga and analyzed in this piece will show the necessity of the author’s emphasis upon Ivan IV’s youth.
De Madariaga rings true in her belief that the early youth of Ivan IV is rife with situations that may eventually breed a contemptible, paranoid individual. The very first of these examples would be the Regency Council set up by his father Vasily III and his mother Elena Glinskaya: as easily observable by Ivan, his importance to his parents and their supporters overshadowed the stability and potential acquiescence of the boyars – rivals to Ivan IV’s reign such as the Shiusky family were suppressed with physical harm, and insults toward the honor of rival princes were made on a constant basis (and usually followed by arrests) . This sort of background may have granted Ivan IV an inflated sense of self importance; the later influence of Vasily III’s ally Metropolitan Makarii, too, can be seen as a major influence in this regard. One of Ivan’s only true outlets during this time of his life was the church, where latent delusions of grandeur in young Ivan were influenced heavily by the teachings of Makarii, whose words may have convinced Ivan that he possessed the favor of God. Makarii, the Archbishop of Novgorod, was also responsible for introducing Ivan to the Poems of Repentance, a series of hymns focused on the admittance of mortal sins; de Madariaga’s comments on the appropriateness of the subject matter in pertinence to Ivan’s behavior is a display of the message she is accurately attempting to portray in her branding of Ivan as a disturbed individual . De Madariaga makes note of Makarii’s impact on Ivan’s religious self-importance quite often; it is a valid point, however, in that Ivan used his position to assume the title of Tsar, a notably non-secular role. In doing so, Ivan attempts to place himself into the same role as the Byzantine Emperor or, in the West, Holy Roman Emperor: a monarch whose role was bestowed upon him by the will of God. This action by Ivan is further evidence as provided by de Madariaga of a potential for mental instability in terms of an extreme inflated ego.
De Madariaga mentions that through this holy outlet Ivan may have also fell under the spell of Vlad Tepes Dracul, the infamous Wallachian voivod whose shocking actions against court rivals and his Turkish enemies – done so in the name of protecting his own assets – could have dictated to Ivan the proper way of responding to internal threats . Another example of a negative influence upon Ivan can be seen when, in the midst of the Regency Council period, Ivan’s hale and hearty mother Elena died suddenly – poisoned, by de Madariaga’s estimation, and mourned only by Ivan . The death of Elena and the succession of neglectful political rivals undoubtedly had a major impact on Ivan, now eight years old. De Madariaga’s mentioning of this as an impact upon Ivan’s personality is dreadfully important: it is the first true exposure of Ivan to human cruelty. The result of his mother’s death leads to the virtual abandonment of Ivan and his brother Iuri by the political structure until his adulthood – leading Ivan, naturally, to become a frustrated individual with a skewed sense of self-importance. Madariaga’s claims make it plain to see from where Ivan’s youthful habits, including animal torture, began to originate . Later, Ivan acts out further against defenseless prey when he and his friends act as criminals and chase innocent women with little reason other than malice. He would go on to execute three princes as a result of boredom during army exercise. These examples may strike the reader as similar to Ivan’s later origination and administering of the ‘Oprichnina’ system, which functioned similarly in its brigand-esque activity and intentional harassment of non-guilty subjects. Without this build-up, de Madariaga would be hard pressed to explain the mean behavior exhibited by Ivan later in life.
Ivan is seen accurately through his youth by de Madariaga as a cunning yet overly suspicious individual, even in his youth. As discussed earlier, Ivan was influenced negatively through the intrigue of the Muscovite court; this can be seen through the death of his mother and neglect at the hands of the rival Shiusky party. Despite this, Ivan showed a quick aptitude for adherence to such underhanded behavior: before his marriage to Elena Glinskaya, some of Ivan’s letters as well as other documents support harsh actions against former friends and the families of rivals that strike a tone similar to the traitorous methods put to use by the Regency Council in the suppression of rivals to the Rurikid power structure . De Madariaga’s special mentioning of this event harkens to Ivan’s later years in which he would brutally attack and destroy entire lineages that he considered, despite the reality of their position, rivals to his own power. The Oprichnina were a further example of this: formed originally as a separate ruling body free from the influence of the plotting boyars, the organization was eventually put to use as an oppressive deterrent against any who opposed Ivan’s rule (or who he suspected of doing so, factually or not). Through this and other mentioned examples, de Madariaga makes clear that Ivan’s youth is just a foreshadowing to later events: the future Tsar’s early years would set the stage for a Russia at the whim of a man, quick to act, whose suspicions would rule his realm.
De Madariaga’s ability to articulate her case on the subject of Ivan IV’s development toward the desolate historical figure he now represents is admirable in the least. The lengthy cases she makes pertaining to Ivan’s religious importance are central to his own self-view and assumption of formerly Byzantine religious importance. His cruelty is explained truthfully as being a result of the behavior he was exposed to and the treatment he dealt with at the hands of early opponents; this maturing negative behavior would become a hallmark of his name. His political maneuverings are simply an extension of his harshness: his consistent actions against any perceived threats and his institutionalization of the Oprichnina were executed as a result of the behavior for which he became known. It is not only the treatment he was victim to that is to blame for his identity as a vindictive, paranoid ruler but also how he acted unchecked due to his position – de Madariaga’s discussion of his youth show this, despite how early on in his life the events occurred.
Works Cited
1 de Madariaga, Isabel. Ivan the Terrible: First Tsar of Russia. Yale University Press: New Haven & London, 1981.
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That's a wrap. Hope you enjoyed the "gripping narrative".
Monday, November 10, 2008
The Temperance Movement: To Saloon or Not To Saloon, That Is Not A Question (Because It's Not Up To You)
Excuse the cryptic title, I'm just trying to justify posting for the second time in a day after a month (and before that, months) of inactivity. This paper was written at the beginning of my sophomore year and I can't tell if it's any better than the work I do now, but I hope it is. Not that it's bad by any means, but one would assume they get better at what they do all day.
The piece touches on the impact of the American dry movement at the turn of the twentieth century - its message (and the corruption of said message) is discussed heartily. The work can most certainly be applied to modern substance abuse prevention programs (Above The Influence? C'mon, now) and the villain's face they attach to the use of, well, anything.
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To suggest that alcohol has done no wrong in this world is quite the fallacious statement; however, to say it can be blamed for every wrong a person can commit is even more false a declaration. During the late 1800’s and early 1900’s, the temperance, or ‘dry’, movement gained a notable amount of steam within American society, impacting the grand ranges of life from the office to the bedroom via the use of the printed word. Beforehand, it had been believed that alcohol had never been a truly acceptable social practice; problems in the developing industrial nation of the United States were blamed on drunkenness, as opposed to the root ailments of poverty, crime and unemployment. One would hope, obviously, that objective information about alcohol would be provided in order to better educate the public about their own choices concerning the matter. However, as history has shown, the exact opposite of what should have happened did indeed happen, and a plethora of skewed information based on scaremongering and shock value was printed and distributed in an effort to promote specific moralistic viewpoints that happened to clash against the imbibing and sale of alcohol. The Anti-Saloon League, which was the organization behind much of the gathering of the temperance movement at the time, consisted mostly of highly moralistic American citizens with a religious slant as well as politicians with an axe to grind or blame to place.
The temperance movement was massively popular among the middle class during the late 1800’s and promoted often by religious figures, doctors and more noted employers (Levine 1). True to their reputation at the time, the Republican Party’s constant pushing of ‘moral views’ culminated in the formation of the Prohibition Party shortly after the end of the Civil War that had engulfed the United States. Soon, another organization known as the ‘Anti-Saloon League’ was formed and operated in a similar fashion to a modern corporation in that it collected political debts and wrote laws with the use of hired lawyers (Levine 1). The Anti-Saloon League, in this situation, can easily be compared to anti-drug and anti-alcohol organizations such as MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Driving) and others in that they act as company entities, collecting donations and influencing law-making while promoting very specific political viewpoints.
One famous document printed by the Anti-Saloon League detailed an occurring at the trial of a man charged with the ‘willful murder of (his) wife’, ‘firing the fatal shot that killed the wife (he) had sworn to love, cherish and protect’; the document is, as could be guessed, complete with many loaded and moralistic statements (Murder 1). Unsurprisingly, the man (an admitted alcoholic) claims that he is calling upon his church’s pastor as well as God himself (further examples of the Anti-Saloon League’s pushing of their own agenda) in admitting that alcohol is to blame in his actions against his wife and that the only reason she is dead is because of the bars open in the town in which he had lived (Murder 1). He goes on to claim that he had attempted to reform his sinful ways but with the presence of a saloon in his town, his ‘weak, diseased will power’ could not put up a fight against alcohol; later, he attempts to turn his case around by blaming the murder on the local government which had voted saloons into existence and had effectively caused thousands of possible deaths (Murder 1). This document is one of many documents printed by the Anti-Saloon League which promote its heavy-handed, conservative viewpoint against alcohol. This document is similar in its attempted message that alcohol is to blame for many of life’s problems when compared to literature released by organizations such as Alcoholics Anonymous, which is at its core a religiously-motivated organization dedicated to the recovery of alcoholics.
Alcohol was compared to the heroin in its utter addictiveness as well as the inherent evil that the substance contained due to its capacity to destroy lives (Levine 1). Let’s stop here and ponder that last statement: alcohol is just as addictive as and more harmful than heroin. Outwardly, people may balk at this statement; however, a closer look would not hurt. There is no doubt that both substances are highly addictive, and every person has heard stories about how either has ruined a life close to their own at a surprisingly rapid rate with a low turnover rate for those already affected by the substances. According to the research of Daniel M. Perrine, an associate professor of chemistry at Layola College, alcohol can indeed be compared to heroin in its capacity for addiction with only nicotine topping both of them (Perrine 1). In mild disagreement with Perrine are Jack Henningfield of the National Institute on Drug Abuse and Neal L. Benowitz of the University of San Francisco, who teamed up for a study on the addictiveness of six well known drugs and found that while heroin and alcohol are both addictive, heroin sits on a altogether higher level than alcohol does in terms of dependence and tolerance (Henningfield 1). The weighted information presented by the Anti-Saloon League draws similarities to modern anti-drug campaigns, especially in terms of pre-90’s movements against drugs which proclaimed of harms caused by drugs which did no such harm. One of the more extreme examples of this would be the infamous film Tell Your Children (better known as Reefer Madness) which displays marijuana as a “violent narcotic” that causes families to fall apart in an instant and causes death (either the user’s, or a passer-by’s) to occur within seconds of ingesting the substance (Tell Your Children). One of the better-known quotes of the movie, which was presented as nothing but a factual interpretation of the drug’s effects upon an everyday person, is the following.
“Yes. I remember. Just a young boy... under the influence of drugs... who killed his entire family with an axe.” (Joseph Forte, Tell Your Children)
Please note that this is a (n) (now) obvious exaggeration as to what marijuana actually does to a person. (11/10/08: I actually meant horribly incorrect, but I was trying to phrase it in a way that didn't make me think the film makers were propagandist assholes, as I think they're comedic genuises). According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse the negative effects of ingesting marijuana upon a human being include short term memory loss, loss of coordination and distorted perception (NIDA 1). Nowhere on the site, which is officiated by the US government, does it suggest that the urge to slay one’s family with a wood-cutting implement is a common side effect of marijuana use. This is an example of the same sort of scaremongering used by organizations such as the Anti-Saloon League and their ‘Charged with Murder’ pamphlet.
Without a doubt, alcohol and modern drugs have very distinct problems which can be addressed through proper campaigns concerning them. However, as seen in the examples of modern campaigns as well as the works of the Anti-Saloon League, this does not occur in enough of a realistic, truthful capacity. Perhaps a more objective campaign format would benefit modern temperance movements; in the very least, it would be harder to find faults with them if they actually presented the facts.
Works Cited
Levine, Harry G., and Craig Reinarman. "Temperance, Prohibition, Alcohol Control." DrugText. DrugText Foundation. 05 Mar. 2007.
Perrine, Daniel M. The Chemistry of Mind-Altering Drugs. Baltimore: American Chemical Society, 1997.
Henningfield, Jack E., and Neal L. Benowitz. "Is Nicotine Addictive? It Depends on Whose Criteria You Use." New York Times 2 Aug. 1994.
Charged with Murder. Westerville: The American Anti-Saloon League P Bureau, 191-.
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At least I used footnotes now. It's still a decent essay, I'd say.
The piece touches on the impact of the American dry movement at the turn of the twentieth century - its message (and the corruption of said message) is discussed heartily. The work can most certainly be applied to modern substance abuse prevention programs (Above The Influence? C'mon, now) and the villain's face they attach to the use of, well, anything.
---
To suggest that alcohol has done no wrong in this world is quite the fallacious statement; however, to say it can be blamed for every wrong a person can commit is even more false a declaration. During the late 1800’s and early 1900’s, the temperance, or ‘dry’, movement gained a notable amount of steam within American society, impacting the grand ranges of life from the office to the bedroom via the use of the printed word. Beforehand, it had been believed that alcohol had never been a truly acceptable social practice; problems in the developing industrial nation of the United States were blamed on drunkenness, as opposed to the root ailments of poverty, crime and unemployment. One would hope, obviously, that objective information about alcohol would be provided in order to better educate the public about their own choices concerning the matter. However, as history has shown, the exact opposite of what should have happened did indeed happen, and a plethora of skewed information based on scaremongering and shock value was printed and distributed in an effort to promote specific moralistic viewpoints that happened to clash against the imbibing and sale of alcohol. The Anti-Saloon League, which was the organization behind much of the gathering of the temperance movement at the time, consisted mostly of highly moralistic American citizens with a religious slant as well as politicians with an axe to grind or blame to place.
The temperance movement was massively popular among the middle class during the late 1800’s and promoted often by religious figures, doctors and more noted employers (Levine 1). True to their reputation at the time, the Republican Party’s constant pushing of ‘moral views’ culminated in the formation of the Prohibition Party shortly after the end of the Civil War that had engulfed the United States. Soon, another organization known as the ‘Anti-Saloon League’ was formed and operated in a similar fashion to a modern corporation in that it collected political debts and wrote laws with the use of hired lawyers (Levine 1). The Anti-Saloon League, in this situation, can easily be compared to anti-drug and anti-alcohol organizations such as MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Driving) and others in that they act as company entities, collecting donations and influencing law-making while promoting very specific political viewpoints.
One famous document printed by the Anti-Saloon League detailed an occurring at the trial of a man charged with the ‘willful murder of (his) wife’, ‘firing the fatal shot that killed the wife (he) had sworn to love, cherish and protect’; the document is, as could be guessed, complete with many loaded and moralistic statements (Murder 1). Unsurprisingly, the man (an admitted alcoholic) claims that he is calling upon his church’s pastor as well as God himself (further examples of the Anti-Saloon League’s pushing of their own agenda) in admitting that alcohol is to blame in his actions against his wife and that the only reason she is dead is because of the bars open in the town in which he had lived (Murder 1). He goes on to claim that he had attempted to reform his sinful ways but with the presence of a saloon in his town, his ‘weak, diseased will power’ could not put up a fight against alcohol; later, he attempts to turn his case around by blaming the murder on the local government which had voted saloons into existence and had effectively caused thousands of possible deaths (Murder 1). This document is one of many documents printed by the Anti-Saloon League which promote its heavy-handed, conservative viewpoint against alcohol. This document is similar in its attempted message that alcohol is to blame for many of life’s problems when compared to literature released by organizations such as Alcoholics Anonymous, which is at its core a religiously-motivated organization dedicated to the recovery of alcoholics.
Alcohol was compared to the heroin in its utter addictiveness as well as the inherent evil that the substance contained due to its capacity to destroy lives (Levine 1). Let’s stop here and ponder that last statement: alcohol is just as addictive as and more harmful than heroin. Outwardly, people may balk at this statement; however, a closer look would not hurt. There is no doubt that both substances are highly addictive, and every person has heard stories about how either has ruined a life close to their own at a surprisingly rapid rate with a low turnover rate for those already affected by the substances. According to the research of Daniel M. Perrine, an associate professor of chemistry at Layola College, alcohol can indeed be compared to heroin in its capacity for addiction with only nicotine topping both of them (Perrine 1). In mild disagreement with Perrine are Jack Henningfield of the National Institute on Drug Abuse and Neal L. Benowitz of the University of San Francisco, who teamed up for a study on the addictiveness of six well known drugs and found that while heroin and alcohol are both addictive, heroin sits on a altogether higher level than alcohol does in terms of dependence and tolerance (Henningfield 1). The weighted information presented by the Anti-Saloon League draws similarities to modern anti-drug campaigns, especially in terms of pre-90’s movements against drugs which proclaimed of harms caused by drugs which did no such harm. One of the more extreme examples of this would be the infamous film Tell Your Children (better known as Reefer Madness) which displays marijuana as a “violent narcotic” that causes families to fall apart in an instant and causes death (either the user’s, or a passer-by’s) to occur within seconds of ingesting the substance (Tell Your Children). One of the better-known quotes of the movie, which was presented as nothing but a factual interpretation of the drug’s effects upon an everyday person, is the following.
“Yes. I remember. Just a young boy... under the influence of drugs... who killed his entire family with an axe.” (Joseph Forte, Tell Your Children)
Please note that this is a (n) (now) obvious exaggeration as to what marijuana actually does to a person. (11/10/08: I actually meant horribly incorrect, but I was trying to phrase it in a way that didn't make me think the film makers were propagandist assholes, as I think they're comedic genuises). According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse the negative effects of ingesting marijuana upon a human being include short term memory loss, loss of coordination and distorted perception (NIDA 1). Nowhere on the site, which is officiated by the US government, does it suggest that the urge to slay one’s family with a wood-cutting implement is a common side effect of marijuana use. This is an example of the same sort of scaremongering used by organizations such as the Anti-Saloon League and their ‘Charged with Murder’ pamphlet.
Without a doubt, alcohol and modern drugs have very distinct problems which can be addressed through proper campaigns concerning them. However, as seen in the examples of modern campaigns as well as the works of the Anti-Saloon League, this does not occur in enough of a realistic, truthful capacity. Perhaps a more objective campaign format would benefit modern temperance movements; in the very least, it would be harder to find faults with them if they actually presented the facts.
Works Cited
Levine, Harry G., and Craig Reinarman. "Temperance, Prohibition, Alcohol Control." DrugText. DrugText Foundation. 05 Mar. 2007
Perrine, Daniel M. The Chemistry of Mind-Altering Drugs. Baltimore: American Chemical Society, 1997.
Henningfield, Jack E., and Neal L. Benowitz. "Is Nicotine Addictive? It Depends on Whose Criteria You Use." New York Times 2 Aug. 1994.
Charged with Murder. Westerville: The American Anti-Saloon League P Bureau, 191-.
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At least I used footnotes now. It's still a decent essay, I'd say.
Unlike the Bible, the Navajo Creation Story Had Transsexuals
This is my critique of Paul G. Zolbrod's very important compiling of the 'Diné bahanè', or Navajo Creation Story. Every culture (or, traditionally, religion) has their own creation story and after reading this version of the Navajo tradition as provided by Zolbrod's impressive efforts, I have come to realize the importance of belief in the development of culture and the importance of society to the individual in terms of basic comprehension. Anyway. Enjoy.
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Zolbrod, Paul G. Diné bahanè: The Navajo Creation Story. 2nd ed. Albuquerque, NM: University of New Mexico P, 1984. 431 pp.
Zolbrod’s work in Diné bahanè is anthropologically unique because it is traditional ethnographic work yet most certainly functions as such. The bulk of the text is a the author’s rendition of the traditional Navajo creation story, a very long and tumultuous experience describing how the spiritual foundations and historical annals of the people that call themselves “Diné” - the Navajo Nation.
The format of Zolbrod’s text is suitable and, at times, particularly helpful for the potential student of Navajo mythology. The table of contents follows an orderly theme but may feature some surprises for a person who may not grasp the depth of Diné bahanè. The pronunciation key is a very useful reference for those readers who may attempt to pronounce the deluge of Navajo names, titles and terms throughout the story. Past the Introduction (which will be spoken of at length) is ‘The Text’ – a thick portion of the book (approximately 250 pages) consisting of the creation story as compiled by Zolbrod. Following this is ‘Notes’ – the author’s constant use this section allows it to billow outward and number approximately 60 pages, full of detailed personal opinions and scholarly references.
Zolbrod’s completionist attitude and non-traditional background, as explained in the very important Introduction as well as the Text, add much to Diné bahanè. Zolbrod speaks of his time as a literature professor in the early 1960’s and mentions a distinct interest in ‘preliterate poetry’ – literary works that began and, for the most part, lived in the oral tradition with little written existence; in the case of the Navajo, an intense emphasis on human performance and oration disallows the written word to do justice for the group’s mythological traditions. A professor of English works, Zolbrod finds himself entranced with the peculiarities of Native American literature, which he pursues using analytical and sorely academic methods that are not fully applicable. He ventures onto the field, hoping to begin work on a compilation of Native American mythological tales. At this point, he uneducated in anthropology and essentially ignorant to his future difficulty; unsurprisingly, he finds disappointment when a Pueblo governor explains to him the improbably large scope of his work, made even harder due to his ethnicity and background. He meets with the Navajo, a group known to be more open with their traditions, and begins his compiling of their mythologies. Zolbrod also finds Washington Matthews’ expansive text Navajo Legends, at that time the leading reference on the Navajo creation story, but finds fault as his own research progresses: Matthews’ morals seem to cloud the text as important references to sex and gender are ignored completely. In addition, Matthews compiles Diné bahanè as a simple text: he removes the essential human nature from the work, delivering it to the reader as a basic story instead of, as Zolbrod sees it, a work that defines Navajo culture and personal comprehension. He is appreciative of Matthews in the end, however – without his original compiling, Zolbrod would never have been able to complete his own work and compile the most complete (and coherent) version of the Diné bahanè to date.
An important aspect to keep in mind about Zolbrod’s Diné bahanè is that it is not the compilation of an anthropologist, nor is it an example of traditional ethnographic work. It is the professional study of an English literature professor hoping to record the spiritual stories of a Native American group – no small feat, especially when it is considered that Zolbrod’s regimentation in terms of comprehension for English literature does not apply to the Navajo. Constant references are made to important Eurasian literary works such as the Gilgamesh Epic as well as Homer’s tales – a telltale sign of Zolbrod’s background. From the view of a student of anthropology, the author’s work leaves an impact: despite his early behavior and lack of knowledge, Zolbrod’s dedication to the work and his efforts in dealing with the Navajo show that a non-traditional approach to anthropology always has an important place in cultural studies. The author’s attention toward the importance of the creation story to the Navajo as a general basis for their culture and comprehension shows a keen understanding for the foreign worldview of the people he is studying. At one point, Zolbrod speaks of the Navajo’s comparisons between real life happenings and the Diné bahanè in order to better understand current events: during World War II, Adolf Hitler is associated with Ye’iitsoh, a monster the Navajo see as a killer of innocents and a destroyer of landscapes. This example, as provided by Zolbrod, shows the true important of the Diné bahanè: it is the foundation for Navajo life.
Although he chides Washington Matthews on his presentation of the same stories as bland and non-cultural in Navajo Legends, the author’s background does show in Diné bahanè: despite its subject matter, it reads as many English-translated mythologies or ‘folk tales’ do. While this is a frustrating concept – especially considering Zolbrod’s heavy criticism of Matthews – it does have an important use: as a bridge to cross for those possessing a background consisting solely of English literature. Zolbrod’s work is very easy to understand and may help those who are afraid of delving into Native American literature due to its assumedly ‘different’ nature; teachers and professors, for example, would find a grand amount of potential in Diné bahanè. Any person with exposure to folk tales would have no trouble understanding the events of the Navajo creation story due to Zolbrod’s extensive work and the general straightforwardness of the tales.
Zolbrod’s recognition of his own work being potentially unsuitable for his purpose as a true display of Navajo culture is, while troubling, a benefit to the reader. The author’s own view of his work may be overly critical – he seems to share the viewpoint of several Navajo that he meets in thinking that the Diné bahanè is untranslatable because of the significance of its public performance; to make up for it, Zolbrod attempts to display the creation story in a phenomenally complete and detailed account that will do the work written justice. This may also have resulted in his impressive amount of notes and references, many of which are essential for even basic comprehension. The full nature of his work is a boon to an academic with a dedicated interest in Navajo culture or a need to find further sources on the subject: Zolbrod’s references are lengthy and extremely helpful for those hoping to learn more.
Paul Zolbrod’s Diné bahanè: The Navajo Creation Story is work that, to the uninformed, may not seem like anthropology at all but instead as a simple folk literature. However, for Zolbrod to comprehend the events and importance of the creation story, he had to conform himself into the mold an anthropologist. The author’s willingness to investigate and compile such a monstrous oral tradition into print while also attempting to preserve the meaning behind the words themselves shows a keen mind, willing to acculturate and dedicate itself to a work in which many others would have not found as much meaning. Zolbrod’s work is irreplaceable and, despite his position as a non-anthropologist, his work here is most certainly a suitable ethnography.
Bibliography
Zolbrod, Paul G. Diné bahanè: The Navajo Creation Story. 2nd ed. Albuquerque, NM: University of New Mexico P, 1984. 431 pp.
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So there you go. You should go read the text - it's hefty, but it's definitely an interesting read. Lots of people seem to underestimate the complexity of Native American groups or lump them into one "cultural" group. I've learned in my time under the professorship of Pierre Morenon at Rhode Island College that this is most certainly an incorrect assessment of the many, many ways of life that Native Americans put to use.
---
Zolbrod, Paul G. Diné bahanè: The Navajo Creation Story. 2nd ed. Albuquerque, NM: University of New Mexico P, 1984. 431 pp.
Zolbrod’s work in Diné bahanè is anthropologically unique because it is traditional ethnographic work yet most certainly functions as such. The bulk of the text is a the author’s rendition of the traditional Navajo creation story, a very long and tumultuous experience describing how the spiritual foundations and historical annals of the people that call themselves “Diné” - the Navajo Nation.
The format of Zolbrod’s text is suitable and, at times, particularly helpful for the potential student of Navajo mythology. The table of contents follows an orderly theme but may feature some surprises for a person who may not grasp the depth of Diné bahanè. The pronunciation key is a very useful reference for those readers who may attempt to pronounce the deluge of Navajo names, titles and terms throughout the story. Past the Introduction (which will be spoken of at length) is ‘The Text’ – a thick portion of the book (approximately 250 pages) consisting of the creation story as compiled by Zolbrod. Following this is ‘Notes’ – the author’s constant use this section allows it to billow outward and number approximately 60 pages, full of detailed personal opinions and scholarly references.
Zolbrod’s completionist attitude and non-traditional background, as explained in the very important Introduction as well as the Text, add much to Diné bahanè. Zolbrod speaks of his time as a literature professor in the early 1960’s and mentions a distinct interest in ‘preliterate poetry’ – literary works that began and, for the most part, lived in the oral tradition with little written existence; in the case of the Navajo, an intense emphasis on human performance and oration disallows the written word to do justice for the group’s mythological traditions. A professor of English works, Zolbrod finds himself entranced with the peculiarities of Native American literature, which he pursues using analytical and sorely academic methods that are not fully applicable. He ventures onto the field, hoping to begin work on a compilation of Native American mythological tales. At this point, he uneducated in anthropology and essentially ignorant to his future difficulty; unsurprisingly, he finds disappointment when a Pueblo governor explains to him the improbably large scope of his work, made even harder due to his ethnicity and background. He meets with the Navajo, a group known to be more open with their traditions, and begins his compiling of their mythologies. Zolbrod also finds Washington Matthews’ expansive text Navajo Legends, at that time the leading reference on the Navajo creation story, but finds fault as his own research progresses: Matthews’ morals seem to cloud the text as important references to sex and gender are ignored completely. In addition, Matthews compiles Diné bahanè as a simple text: he removes the essential human nature from the work, delivering it to the reader as a basic story instead of, as Zolbrod sees it, a work that defines Navajo culture and personal comprehension. He is appreciative of Matthews in the end, however – without his original compiling, Zolbrod would never have been able to complete his own work and compile the most complete (and coherent) version of the Diné bahanè to date.
An important aspect to keep in mind about Zolbrod’s Diné bahanè is that it is not the compilation of an anthropologist, nor is it an example of traditional ethnographic work. It is the professional study of an English literature professor hoping to record the spiritual stories of a Native American group – no small feat, especially when it is considered that Zolbrod’s regimentation in terms of comprehension for English literature does not apply to the Navajo. Constant references are made to important Eurasian literary works such as the Gilgamesh Epic as well as Homer’s tales – a telltale sign of Zolbrod’s background. From the view of a student of anthropology, the author’s work leaves an impact: despite his early behavior and lack of knowledge, Zolbrod’s dedication to the work and his efforts in dealing with the Navajo show that a non-traditional approach to anthropology always has an important place in cultural studies. The author’s attention toward the importance of the creation story to the Navajo as a general basis for their culture and comprehension shows a keen understanding for the foreign worldview of the people he is studying. At one point, Zolbrod speaks of the Navajo’s comparisons between real life happenings and the Diné bahanè in order to better understand current events: during World War II, Adolf Hitler is associated with Ye’iitsoh, a monster the Navajo see as a killer of innocents and a destroyer of landscapes. This example, as provided by Zolbrod, shows the true important of the Diné bahanè: it is the foundation for Navajo life.
Although he chides Washington Matthews on his presentation of the same stories as bland and non-cultural in Navajo Legends, the author’s background does show in Diné bahanè: despite its subject matter, it reads as many English-translated mythologies or ‘folk tales’ do. While this is a frustrating concept – especially considering Zolbrod’s heavy criticism of Matthews – it does have an important use: as a bridge to cross for those possessing a background consisting solely of English literature. Zolbrod’s work is very easy to understand and may help those who are afraid of delving into Native American literature due to its assumedly ‘different’ nature; teachers and professors, for example, would find a grand amount of potential in Diné bahanè. Any person with exposure to folk tales would have no trouble understanding the events of the Navajo creation story due to Zolbrod’s extensive work and the general straightforwardness of the tales.
Zolbrod’s recognition of his own work being potentially unsuitable for his purpose as a true display of Navajo culture is, while troubling, a benefit to the reader. The author’s own view of his work may be overly critical – he seems to share the viewpoint of several Navajo that he meets in thinking that the Diné bahanè is untranslatable because of the significance of its public performance; to make up for it, Zolbrod attempts to display the creation story in a phenomenally complete and detailed account that will do the work written justice. This may also have resulted in his impressive amount of notes and references, many of which are essential for even basic comprehension. The full nature of his work is a boon to an academic with a dedicated interest in Navajo culture or a need to find further sources on the subject: Zolbrod’s references are lengthy and extremely helpful for those hoping to learn more.
Paul Zolbrod’s Diné bahanè: The Navajo Creation Story is work that, to the uninformed, may not seem like anthropology at all but instead as a simple folk literature. However, for Zolbrod to comprehend the events and importance of the creation story, he had to conform himself into the mold an anthropologist. The author’s willingness to investigate and compile such a monstrous oral tradition into print while also attempting to preserve the meaning behind the words themselves shows a keen mind, willing to acculturate and dedicate itself to a work in which many others would have not found as much meaning. Zolbrod’s work is irreplaceable and, despite his position as a non-anthropologist, his work here is most certainly a suitable ethnography.
Bibliography
Zolbrod, Paul G. Diné bahanè: The Navajo Creation Story. 2nd ed. Albuquerque, NM: University of New Mexico P, 1984. 431 pp.
---
So there you go. You should go read the text - it's hefty, but it's definitely an interesting read. Lots of people seem to underestimate the complexity of Native American groups or lump them into one "cultural" group. I've learned in my time under the professorship of Pierre Morenon at Rhode Island College that this is most certainly an incorrect assessment of the many, many ways of life that Native Americans put to use.
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