50. Karen ArmstrongThe political health of the ummah was, therefore, central to
the emerging piety of Islam. While the caliph and his admin-
istration struggled with the problems that beset any agrarian
empire, and tried to develop a powerful monarchy, the devout
were utterly opposed to any such solution. From a very early
stage, therefore, the behaviour and policies of a ruler had ac-
quired a religious significance that had profound reverbera-
tions with the asceticism, mysticism, sacred jurisprudence
and early theological speculation of the Muslim world.
T H E LAST YEARS OF T H E
UMAYYADS (705-750)
Despite the disapproval of the more devout, Abd al-Malik
was able to ensure that his son al-Walid I succeeded him: for
the first time, the dynastic principle was accepted in the
Islamic world without demur. The Umayyad dynasty had
reached its zenith. Under al-Walid, the Muslim armies con-
tinued the conquest of North Africa, and established a king-
dom in Spain. This marked the limit of the western expansion
of Islam. When Charles Martel defeated the Muslim troops
at Poitiers in 732, this was not regarded by Muslims as a great
disaster. Western people have often exaggerated the impor-
tance of Poitiers, which was no Waterloo. The Arabs felt no
compulsion-religious or otherwise to conquer western
Christendom in the name of Islam. Indeed, Europe seemed
remarkably unattractive to them: there were few opportuni-
ties for trade in that primitive backwater, little booty to be
had, and the climate was terrible.
By the end of the reign of Umar II (717-20), the empire
was in trouble. Any pre-modern empire had a limited life-
span; based as it was on an agrarian surplus, there would in-
evitably come a time when a large, expanding state would
outrun its resources. Umar had to pay for a disastrous attempt