Early Muslim conquests
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| + | "Under the last of the [[Umayyad Caliphate|Ommiades]], the [[Arabian empire]] extended two hundred days’ journey from east to west, from the confines of [[Tartary]] and India to the shores of the [[Atlantic Ocean]]. And if we retrench the sleeve of the robe, as it is styled by their writers, the long and narrow province of march of a [[Caravan (travellers)|caravan]]. We should vainly seek the indissoluble union and easy obedience that pervaded the government of [[Augustus]] and the [[Antonines]]; but the progress of [[Islam]] diffused over this ample space a general resemblance of manners and opinions. The language and laws of the [[Qur'an]] were studied with equal devotion at [[Samarkand|Samarcand]] and [[Seville]]: the [[Moors|Moor]] and the Indian embraced as countrymen and brothers in the pilgrimage of [[Mecca]]; and the Arabian language was adopted as the popular idiom in all the provinces to the westward of the [[Tigris]]." --[[Edward Gibbon]], ''[[The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire]]'': | ||
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| - | :''[[medieval culture]]'' | ||
| - | # The period of [[European]] history encompassing (roughly) [[AD]] 476–1000. | + | The '''early Muslim conquests''', also referred to as the '''Arab conquests''' and '''early Islamic conquests''' began with the [[Prophets of Islam|Islamic prophet]] [[Muhammad]] in the 7th century. He established a new unified [[polity]] in the [[Arabian Peninsula]] which under the subsequent [[Rashidun Caliphate|Rashidun]] and [[Umayyad Caliphate|Umayyad]] [[Caliphate]]s saw a century of rapid expansion. |
| - | # [[barbarous]], [[rude]], [[unpolished]], belonging to the "[[Dark Ages]]", medieval as opposed to [[classical]]. | + | |
| - | #: "Enormities which gleam like comets through the darkness of gothic and superstitious ages." | + | |
| - | ====Synonyms==== | + | The resulting empire stretched from the borders of [[China]] and the [[Indian subcontinent]], across [[Central Asia]], the [[Middle East]], [[North Africa]], and parts of [[Europe]] ([[Sicily]] and the [[Iberian Peninsula]] to the [[Pyrenees]]). |
| - | * [[Early Middle Ages]] | + | |
| - | ==See also== | + | The Muslim conquests brought about the collapse of the [[Sasanian Empire|Sassanid Empire]] and a great territorial loss for the [[Byzantine Empire]]. The reasons for the Muslim success are hard to reconstruct in hindsight, primarily because only fragmentary sources from the period have survived. Most historians agree that the Sassanid Persian and Byzantine Roman empires were militarily and economically exhausted from decades of [[Byzantine–Sassanid Wars|fighting one another]]. |
| - | * [[Fall of Rome]] | + | |
| - | * [[Plague of Justinian]] | + | It has been suggested that some [[Jew]]s and [[Christian]]s in the [[Sassanid Empire]] and Jews and [[Monophysitism|Monophysites]] in [[Syria (Roman province)|Syria]] were dissatisfied and welcomed the Muslim forces, largely because of religious conflict in both empires. However, this is not universally accepted. It has also been suggested that later Syriac Christians reinterpreted the events of the conquest to serve a political or religious interest. At other times, such as in the [[Battle of Firaz]], [[Arab Christians]] allied themselves with the Persians and Byzantines against the invaders. In the case of [[Byzantine Egypt]], [[Palestine (region)|Palestine]] and [[Syria]], these lands had been reclaimed from the Persians only a few years before. |
| - | * [[Migration Period]] | + | |
| - | * [[Middle Ages in history]] | + | [[Fred McGraw Donner]], however, suggests that formation of a state in the Arabian peninsula and ideological (i.e. religious) coherence and mobilization was a primary reason why the [[Rashidun army|Muslim armies]] in the space of a hundred years were able to establish the [[List of largest empires|largest pre-modern empire]] until that time. The estimates for the size of the Islamic Caliphate suggest it was more than thirteen million square kilometers (five million square miles). |
| - | * [[Islamic Golden Age]] | + | |
| - | * [[Muslim conquests]] | + | |
| - | * [[Carolingian Renaissance]] | + | == See also == |
| - | * [[Medieval demography]] | + | * [[Ghazi (warrior)|Ghazi]] |
| - | * [[Crisis of the Late Middle Ages]] | + | * [[History of Islam]] |
| - | * [[Great Apostasy]] | + | * [[Spread of Islam]] |
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"Under the last of the Ommiades, the Arabian empire extended two hundred days’ journey from east to west, from the confines of Tartary and India to the shores of the Atlantic Ocean. And if we retrench the sleeve of the robe, as it is styled by their writers, the long and narrow province of march of a caravan. We should vainly seek the indissoluble union and easy obedience that pervaded the government of Augustus and the Antonines; but the progress of Islam diffused over this ample space a general resemblance of manners and opinions. The language and laws of the Qur'an were studied with equal devotion at Samarcand and Seville: the Moor and the Indian embraced as countrymen and brothers in the pilgrimage of Mecca; and the Arabian language was adopted as the popular idiom in all the provinces to the westward of the Tigris." --Edward Gibbon, The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire: |
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The early Muslim conquests, also referred to as the Arab conquests and early Islamic conquests began with the Islamic prophet Muhammad in the 7th century. He established a new unified polity in the Arabian Peninsula which under the subsequent Rashidun and Umayyad Caliphates saw a century of rapid expansion.
The resulting empire stretched from the borders of China and the Indian subcontinent, across Central Asia, the Middle East, North Africa, and parts of Europe (Sicily and the Iberian Peninsula to the Pyrenees).
The Muslim conquests brought about the collapse of the Sassanid Empire and a great territorial loss for the Byzantine Empire. The reasons for the Muslim success are hard to reconstruct in hindsight, primarily because only fragmentary sources from the period have survived. Most historians agree that the Sassanid Persian and Byzantine Roman empires were militarily and economically exhausted from decades of fighting one another.
It has been suggested that some Jews and Christians in the Sassanid Empire and Jews and Monophysites in Syria were dissatisfied and welcomed the Muslim forces, largely because of religious conflict in both empires. However, this is not universally accepted. It has also been suggested that later Syriac Christians reinterpreted the events of the conquest to serve a political or religious interest. At other times, such as in the Battle of Firaz, Arab Christians allied themselves with the Persians and Byzantines against the invaders. In the case of Byzantine Egypt, Palestine and Syria, these lands had been reclaimed from the Persians only a few years before.
Fred McGraw Donner, however, suggests that formation of a state in the Arabian peninsula and ideological (i.e. religious) coherence and mobilization was a primary reason why the Muslim armies in the space of a hundred years were able to establish the largest pre-modern empire until that time. The estimates for the size of the Islamic Caliphate suggest it was more than thirteen million square kilometers (five million square miles).
See also
