Western Civilization.p

Rome’s Successors: Byzantium, Islam, and the Germanic West 125

These are the basic requirements of Islam, but the
goal of pious Muslims is to live according to shari`a,a
way of life totally commanded by God. The guides to
that life are the Koran, the tradition, and reason; no
mysteries are required. Islam, like Judaism, is essentially
a religion of the law. Based firmly on the Arabic of the
Koran, which in theory cannot be translated, Islam has
always been committed to the conversion of all peo-
ples. This universality, together with the clarity of its
ethical and theological demands, made the Muslim
faith attractive to millions. By the time Muhammad
died in 632, Islam had conquered most of the Arabian
peninsula. Within the space of another generation, it
had spread throughout the Middle East.

The Expansion of Islam

From the beginning, Islam spread largely through mili-

tary conquest. Muhammad had been a capable com-

mander, and his caliphs or successors followed in his

footsteps. The first Muslim attack on the Byzantine

Empire occurred in 629, while Muhammad was still

alive. In 635 Arab armies seized Damascus for the first

time. Recently converted Syrians took Mesopotamia in

638–639, and Egypt fell to an Arab army in 640. The

motives behind this expansion were not entirely reli-

gious. Some Muslims regarded the conquests as a jihad,

or holy war, and believed that they could attain par-

adise through death on the battlefield. Not all of the

conquerors were religious, however, and some were not

even Muslim. For such men, the Arabic tradition of

raiding and the hope of booty would have been reason

enough. Because Islam prohibits war against fellow

Muslims, the raiding impulse tended to be directed out-

ward, at least in the early years when the memory of

the Prophet was still fresh.

The terrifying speed of the Arab conquests was in

part a measure of Byzantine weakness. The emperor

Heraclius (c. 575–641) had been engaged from 603 to

628 in a bitter struggle with the Persian Empire during

which parts of Syria and Palestine had been ruined or

occupied. At the same time he was forced to deal with

MAP 7.1

Byzantium and the Expansion of Islam

Ca

sp

ian

Se

a

Mediterranean Sea

Black Sea

Atlantic

Ocean

Sea

Arabian

Sea

AralSea

Adriatic Sea

Red

R.

Rhi

neR

.

Euphra

tes

R.

Tigris

R.

Pe

rsia

nG

ulf

Danube

Ni

le

R.

R. Corsica

Sardinia

Sicily

Crete

Cyprus

BYZAN

TINE

EM

PIR

E

FRANKS

LOMBARDS

SLAVS

PERSIAN EMPIRE

EGYPT ARABIA

SYRIA

Caucas

usMts

.

TaurusMts.

Fez

Córdoba

Tunis

Tripoli

Mecca

Medina

AlexandriaJerusalem

Damascus Baghdad

Rome Constantinople

Poitiers Alps

Mts.

Pyrenees

Mts.

CarpathianM

ts.

Sahara

0 300 600 Miles

0 300 600 900 Kilometers

Byzantine Empire

Islamic territory at

Muhammad's death

Islamic expansion 632–661

Islamic expansion 661–750

Arrows indicate expansion