Western Civilization

son-in-law, as the true rulers, and the Sunnites, who

claimed that the descendants of the Umayyads were

the true caliphs. This seventh-century split in Islam

has lasted to the present day.

Internal dissension, however, did not stop the

expansion of Islam. After sweeping across North Africa,

the Muslims crossed the Strait of Gibraltar and moved

into Spain around 710. The Visigothic kingdom col-

lapsed, and by 725, most of Spain had become a Mus-

lim state with its center at Cordoba. In 732, a Muslim

army, making a foray into southern France, was

defeated at the Battle of Tours near Poitiers. Muslim

expansion in Europe came to a halt.

Meanwhile, in 717, another Muslim force had

launched a naval attack on Constantinople with the

hope of destroying the Byzantine Empire. In the spring

of 718, the Byzantines destroyed the Muslim fleet and

saved the Byzantine Empire and indirectly Christian

Europe, since the fall of Constantinople would no

doubt have opened the door to Muslim invasion of

eastern Europe. The Byzantine Empire and Islam now

established an uneasy frontier in southern Asia Minor.

(^) C
as
pi
an
(^) S
ea
Mediterranean Sea
Black Sea
Atlantic
Ocean
Sea Arabian
Sea
AralSea
Adriatic Sea
Red
(^)
(^) R.
Rh
ine
(^) R.
Eup
hrate
s (^) R
.
Tigris
(^)
(^) R
.
(^) Pe
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(^) Danu
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Ebro R. Corsica
Sardinia
Sicily
Crete
Cyprus
BYZA
NTIN
E (^)
(^) E
MP
IRE
FRANKS
LOMBARDS
PERSIAN EMPIRE
EGYPT ARABIA
SYRIA
Cauca
sus (^) M
ts.
(^) Taurus Mts.
Fez
Córdoba
Tunis
Tripoli
Mecca
Medina
AlexandriaJerusalem
Damascus Baghdad
Rome Constantinople
Poitiers
Alps
(^) Pyrenees
Carpathian
(^) Mt
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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 direction of expansion
MAP 7.5The Expansion of Islam.Muhammad, the Prophet of Islam, engaged in warfare against
neighboring tribes. Militaristic expansion continued with great zeal under the Prophet’s successors.
Islamic rule spread rapidly in the decades after Muhammad’s death, stopped finally by the
Byzantine Empire and the Franks.
Q Why was the continued existence of the Byzantine Empire a key factor in stopping
the spread of Islam into Europe?
CHRONOLOGYTheRiseofIslam
Birth of Muhammad ca. 570
Muhammad’s flight from Mecca (Hegira) 622
Death of Muhammad 632
Defeat of Byzantines at Yarmuk 636
Seizure of Byzantine provinces of Syria and
Egypt
640–642
Defeat of Persians 650
Invasion of Spain ca. 710
The Rise of Islam 169
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