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Islam/Arabs
Muhammad appointed no successors and had no sons, only his son-in-law Ali. In fact, under Islam there could never be another prophet after Muhammad since his revelation was considered to be the true and final word of God. Instead, the Arab tribal leaders elected Abu-Bakr as kalifa (caliph) on the grounds that he was one of the first converts to Islam outside of the Prophet's family. His policy was to unite the Arabs in a jihad against the Byzantine Romans and Persian Sasanids, and in a very short time, "the mightiest empires in the Middle East…were humbled by the Arab warriors for Islam" (Glouldschmidt and Davidson, 2009, p. 53).
Short Summary
Within 100 years, the Arab-Islamic Empire had conquered a truly vast territory, from Spain to the borders of China, and come close to taking over all of Europe. For the Arabs, this was the Golden Age of science, medicine, philosophy and mathematics, to which they still look back longingly after centuries of being humiliated and controlled by other imperial powers....
Over time, though, their empire fragmented and divided, and thus left itself open to conquest by other powers.
Main Body
Arab armies were very small, often under 1,000 men, yet they benefitted from expert use of their camels and horses, and efficient exploitation of the desert climate and terrain. They fought battles of ground of their own choosing, and often surprised their enemies by attacking from behind dust storms. Many years of warfare between the Persians and Byzantines had also "depleted the resources and manpower of both" (Goldschmidt and Davidson, p. 56). Nor could they any longer afford to maintain their mercenaries, who then defected to the other side in hopes of greater opportunity for plunder and looting. In addition, Egyptian Copts and Syrian Jacobites were alienated from the Greek Orthodox Church for theological reasons, and regarded the Arabs as liberators from oppressive Byzantine rule. Indeed, the Copts handed over Egypt without a fight in 640.
Muawiyya, the governor of Syria, was the first…
REFERENCES
Catherwood, C. (2011). A Brief History of the Middle East. Constable and Robinson, Ltd.
Goldschmidt, A. And L. Davidson (2009). A Concise History of the Middle East, 9th Edition. Westeview Press.
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