[97] Starting in the summer of 710, the Muslim forces in Morocco had launched several successful raids into Spain, which demonstrated the weakness of the Visigothic state. [124] Arab settlers turned to civilian occupations and in eastern regions established themselves as a landed aristocracy. Please try again. [73] However, a reported saying of Muhammad that "Two religions may not dwell together in Arabia" led to different policies being pursued in Arabia with conversion to Islam being imposed rather than merely encouraged. Where is that warlike mien and where are those [14] Southern Arabia, especially what is now Yemen, had for thousands of years been a wealthy region that had been a center of the spice trade. [110] Although Muslim dominion was finally established by the time the Umayyads acceded to power in 661, it was not able to implant itself solidly in the country, and Armenia experienced a national and literary efflorescence over the next century. Bring your club to Amazon Book Clubs, start a new book club and invite your friends to join, or find a club that’s right for you for free. [29] By the Umayyad period, the caliphate had a standing army, including the elite Ahl al-Sham ("people of Syria"), raised from the Arabs who settled in Syria.

[81], Another key reason was the weakness of the Byzantine and Sasanian empires, caused by the wars they had waged against each other in the preceding decades with alternating success. This item has a maximum order quantity limit. [73], The majority of the people in Syria remained Christian, and a substantial Jewish minority remained, as well; both communities were to teach the Arabs much about science, trade and the arts.

[114], By the time of the Abbasid revolution in the middle of the 8th century, Muslim armies had come against a combination of natural barriers and powerful states that impeded any further military progress. [33] Overall, the Roman Army remained a small, but professional force of foederati. [54] Al-'As was planning to divide the Nile river valley in two. [104] The expansion lost its momentum when Qutayba was killed during an army mutiny and the Arabs were placed on the defensive by an alliance of Sogdian and Türgesh forces with support from Tang China. In the Mediterranean region, city-states which traditionally governed themselves and their surrounding areas were replaced by a territorial bureaucracy separating town and rural administration. Kabul and Zabulistan housed Indic religions, with the Zunbils and Kabul Shahis offering stiff resistance to Muslim rule for two centuries until the Saffarid and Ghaznavid conquests. [91] In 670 Arabs founded the settlement of Qayrawan, which gave them a forward base for further expansion. [51] In the frontier area where Anatolia met Syria, the Roman state evacuated the entire population and laid waste to the countryside, creating a "no-man's land" where any invading army would find no food. The Islamic Conquest of Europe 2020 - Kindle edition by Harrin, Barry. [18] The idea of a holy war against the "fire worshipers", as the Christians called the Zoroastrians, had aroused much enthusiasm, leading to an all-out effort to defeat the Persians. These promotions will be applied to this item: Some promotions may be combined; others are not eligible to be combined with other offers. Instead, our system considers things like how recent a review is and if the reviewer bought the item on Amazon. [52] At the same time, the Romans began a policy of launching raids via sea on the coast of the caliphate with the aim of forcing the Muslims to keep at least some of their forces to defend their coastlines, thus limiting the number of troops available for an invasion of Anatolia.