Lote Tree Foundation

Part I: Setting the Stage – The Islamic World in 1200 CE

• Overview of the Islamic world in 1200: Geography, diversity of societies

Part II: Fragmentation of the Abbasid Caliphate and rise of regional powers

• Key Themes: Political decentralisation, trade networks, intellectual legacy

Part I - Al-Andalus in Decline – From the Almohads to the Nasrids

• The fall of the Almohad Caliphate and its impact on Iberia

Part II - Rise of the Nasrid Emirate of Granada (1238) and its cultural patronage

• Christian Reconquista and Muslim-Christian relations

Part I - The Later Ayyubids and the Rise of the Mamluks in Egypt and Syria

• The Ayyubid dynasty after Saladin – internal divisions and external threats

• Mamluk coup (1250): Origins and consolidation of power

Part II – Age of the Slave Kings

• Mamluk military system and society

• Defense of the Islamic world against Crusaders and Mongols (e.g., Battle of Ain Jalut, 1260)

Part I - The Mongols and the Islamization of the Steppes

• Initial Mongol invasions and destruction (e.g., sack of Baghdad, 1258)

Part II - The Ilkhanate and conversion to Islam under Ghazan (1295)

• Cultural synthesis: Persian-Islamic court life under Mongol rule

• Impact on Islamic political thought and administration

Part I - The Sultanate of Delhi – Islam in the Indian Subcontinent

• Formation and consolidation of the Delhi Sultanate (early 13th century)

• Cultural pluralism and religious dynamics: Islam, Hinduism, and Sufism

• Architecture, literature, and administration under rulers like Alauddin Khalji and Muhammad bin Tughluq

Part II - A Muslim Minority

• Challenges of ruling a multi-ethnic, multi-religious empire

Part I - The Kingdom of Mali – Islam in West Africa

• The rise of Mali and the legacy of Sundiata Keita

• Mansa Musa (r. 1312–1337): Pilgrimage to Mecca and global awareness of Mali

• Spread of Islam through trade, scholarship, and urbanization (e.g., Timbuktu)

• West African Islamic institutions: mosques, madrasas, and clerical classes

Part I - Anatolia in the Aftermath of the Mongols

• The decline of the Seljuks of Rum and the rise of Anatolian beyliks

• Interactions with Byzantium and Mongol Ilkhanate

Part  II – The Rise of the Ottomans

• Foundation of the Ottoman Beylik (c. 1299): Osman I and early expansion

• Religious and cultural life in early Ottoman Anatolia

Part I – Synthesis and Legacy – A Connected Islamic World (1200–1400)

• Trade routes and the circulation of knowledge across regions

• Common religious and legal traditions vs. regional diversity

• Enduring institutions: madrasas, Sufi orders, waqf systems

• Preparation for the 15th century: Ottomans, Timurids, and post-Mamluk world