The Decisive Battles of World History

Lecture 14: Frigidus, Badr, Diu—Obscure Turning Points

the west, departing Constantinople in May 394 and crossing the

Alps unopposed.

x The battle began with a headlong attack by Theodosius’s men.

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x On the second day, a tempest supposedly swept through the valley,

with the high winds blowing directly into the faces of Eugenius’s

army. Our only sources for this battle are Christian ones, which

emphasize the role of this storm, claiming that it was so powerful

that it blew the arrows of Eugenius’s men back at them. The army

of Theodosius was victorious.

x The battle was perceived by contemporaries as a clear victory of the

Christian God over the pagan ones, and it resulted in the deaths of

many of paganism’s most prominent adherents. Thus, Christianity

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the inhabitants of the Roman Empire converted.

The Battle of Badr (624)

x In 624, Islam had only a few hundred converts, who had been

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nearby town of Medina, an event known as the Hejira.

x These converts were led by the Prophet Mohammed, struggling

to spread his nascent religion and establish his authority. The

expulsion from Mecca undermined this ambition and left him and

his followers refugees. It seemed as if Islam might fade away before

it started.

x Mecca was a major trading center and a key point on the caravan

route. For this reason, Mohammed decided to raid the caravans,

simultaneously providing a source of income and offering the

satisfaction of getting back at the Meccans who had spurned them.

x After several years of minor raids, the tension between the early

Muslims and Mecca came to a head when the Meccans organized