Muhammad, the Qur'an and Islam
that two Arabs had aspired to be prophets before Muhammad. The little^40
information which seems to have survived regarding them, definitely points
to Christian or later sectarian sources for this doctrine, as both prophets
appear to have assimilated some Christian practices or terms.^41
Government
By comparison to the older empires to the north and west, 6th century
Arabia was politically underdeveloped. With the exception of the rather
centralized governments of the Ghassanids, Lakhmids and for a time the
Kinda, most of the Arabs on the peninsula were still under tr^42 ibal rule.
Moreover, due to the deficiency of arable land, periodic migrations were
often the only means by which a tribe could insure its survival. However,
these migrations also caused petty wars between various tribes (or even
among the separate clans of a single tribe), raiding and blood feuds; all of
which appear to have been the norm for Arabs of the time period.^43
Political Wars
The century before Muhammad's birth found the empires of Byzantium and
Persia in frequent wars with each other. Those who in general sided with
the Byzantines were the Abyssinians and several Arab tribes in the
northwest. The most influential of Byzantium's Christian Arab allies were
the Ghassanids, and the most powerful Arab allies of the Persians were the
Lakhmids, both of whom have been mentioned above. Although they were
political enemies, who often warred against each other, both the Ghassanids
and Lakhmids suffered at the hands of their respective overlords. The
Persians had the Lakhmid king Nu`man III murdered in 601-602 AD, and
this provoked the rebellion of the eastern Arabs, who consequently defeated
the Persians at Dhu Qar. As Monophysite converts, the Ghassan^44 ids
became the target of Melkite persecution resulting from the Council of
Chalcedon in 451 AD. Although the Ghassanids had, in general, served the
Byzantines faithfully, the latter betrayed them and sent the last two
Ghassanid rulers into exile in Sicily. This action did much to create a deep
sense of mistrust in and resentment of Byzantium among the Arab tribes of
the west, some of whom became loyal to Persia as a result. The P^45 ersians
then defeated the Byzantines near Damascus in 614 AD and got control of
Syria. The Byzantines later fended off a Persian attack on Co^46 nstantinople
and won Syria back in about 626 AD, only to lose it in 636 AD to Arab
Muslims. The treacherous Arabian policies of the Byzantin^47 es and Persians