Islamic Conquests up to 700 a.d. - Islamic Strenghts / Roman Weaknesses?
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ARAB STRENGTHS

• Becker’s view those migrations only after initial victories in Iraq and Syria.  Migrations after thought – unleashed promise of wealth and of land in conquered domains.  Hunger and greed rather than religious zeal.
• general weakness Byzantine and Sasanid Persia due to prolonged wars – lucky presence of good generals and administrators on Arab side.

• Canard - Attributes much to dissatisfaction of people in Syria and Iraq – rejects Arabs driven out of Arabia by misery – yes booty, yes economic factors encourage people to the front, but not driving forward.  Would have stopped in Syria and Iraq and not continued.
• Gabrieli - “was seething with arms and armed men: the victors, no less than the vanquished, needed an outlet for their surplus energies…Certainly one of the major incentives for external conquest may have lain in this explosive internal situation”.
• Muhammad’s career and doctrines of Islam revolutionised both the ideological base and political structures of Arabian society – gave rise of state for first time capable of organizing and executing an expansionist movement.  Yes accidental factors – such as weakness of empires – more than an accident – testament to power of human action mobilised by ideological commitment as a force in human affairs

• Muhammad’s Medina displayed much greater cohesiveness - new ideology and gradual rise of new institutional and organizational arrangements – grew into a new state – much better relations with tribal confederations etc.  No problem creating confederation – bigger problem maintaining it.

• Muhammad controlled a polity main characteristics of state: high degree centralisation, primacy of law or centralised higher authority in the settlement of disputes, institutions to perform administrative functions. 622 for convenience.

• integrative power of acting on raw material of Arabian society unleashed expansive military potential of peninsula and generated Islamic conquest

• 1. Unique, Separate and unified Islamic community – umma 2. concept of absolute higher authority 3. concept of centralisation of authority within Umma
• UMMA OR COMMUNITY OF BELIEVERS – yes communities with religious ties – such as inks of tribes around Harams etc.  But umma universal community of believers reflecting one universal God.  Main difference monotheism - active rejection of Paganism laid clam to whole pagan population. Notion umma could and must expand to include entire Pagan population – if not mankind implicit.  Conscious or unconscious acceptance of such a notion proves most supportive of an extended conquest movement with political and religious character.

• “O believers, take not for your intimates outside yourselves; such men spare nothing to run you:  they year for you to suffer”.  Emphasis separateness leads to social and political centralisation.  Umma had to transcend tribal ties

• Set stage for great process of integration and expansion that we call Islamic conquests – Islam provided powerful ideological underpinning for rise of state institutions and for interfering with community that extended beyond the tribe.  “There is no God but God, and Muhammad is the apostle of God”.

• New ideology that gave accomplishments durability and made them the foundation of the conquest movement.  Discern them in features of the state
• Creation of a centralised tax regime formed culmination of Muhammad’s long process of political consolidation. 
• End of career Muhammad had created a new state in Western Arabia – constructed by traditional means bound together by ideological and institutional factors that allowed it to transcend usual forms of political organization in tribal confederations.

• Hitherto unknown durability and centralised control over subjects- by prevalence eof overriding concept of law, focusing of political authority in God, the umma and Muhammad, systemisation of tax and justice, establishment network of administrative agents.

• Muhammad preaches that nomadic life incompatible with Islam – yes Muslims but take another oath of allegiance.  We see sedentary groups begin seen as more powerful and Islamic that nomadic groups – change in power dynamic: “”…can be no Islam to those who do not settle”

• 3 kinds of domination:
1. Hegemony of Muslims over non-Muslims
2. Dominance of essentially Hijazi ruling elite over other tribal groups

• Hegemony of a sophisticated sedentary elite and their state over nomadic groups
• “On the way to the front, the core forces so assembled were also able to raise further recruits as they passed through the territories of various tribes” – not just hordes organized contingents with objectives and general movements caused by the ruling elites.

• “impetus to political unification and centralization implicit in Islam’s concept of a universal, unique God, of a overriding moral authority established by God”.

• Tribal ties good way of identifying where soldiers were and what they were up to – pay and military organization.
• Solve nomadic problems recruiting their finest and most dangerous warriors into the Arabian armies – thus increasing military power, whilst reducing real power of nomads in the desert.  Ata or stipend more of a reward for settling down. – Umar “The sooner one settles, the sooner one receives a stipend”
• Placement of garrison towns important -  yes defence against Byzantine and Sasanians and springboard for further campaign – but also keep an eye on nomadic Syrian an Arabian populace.  Ringing remaining nomads in desert with forts – garrison in alKufa central Iraq
• Success conquests first and foremost product of organizational breakthrough of proportions unparalleled in Arabian world.
• Muslims succeeded because able to organize effective conquest movement – impact new religion of Islam which provided ideological underpinnings for remarkable breakthrough in social organisations – truly an Islamic movement – Islam set of beliefs preached by Muhammad – social and political ramifications sparked whole integration process and hence ultimate cause of conquests’ success.
• Umar seen as creator of perfect welfare state – presented by God for embracing his cause – initially emigrants subsidized by the government.
• “expand and survive”

• only toward end of Umayadd period that Byzantines able to face Muslims on anything approaching equal basis.  Little incentive for sending diplomatic missions to establish modus vivendi with other powers to establish permanent relations who were soon to be defeated and incorporated within Daral-Islam

• Why? Arabs were excellent warriors, culture that prized personal valour. Groups of Bedouin significant threat but united Arab groups such as confederate allies of Romans more formidable – Ghassanids as effective in pitched battle as any other Persian troops.

BYZANTINE WEAKNESS

• Reflect broader cultural differences – Monophysiote used vernacular and essentially rural – powerful lay supporters in Syria – Ghassnids – significant proportion population alienated from ruling class culturally and religion seen as heretical – whilst did not cooperate with Islamic conquests – little enthusiasm for Byzantine cause - parts of Syria actually welcomed – no where near as significant resistance as in Anatolia, Armenia or Fars in southern Iran.
• Long term weakness revealed by catastrophes following death Maurice 602 – aided by Khursau II Perez peace helped form border harmony Avars and Slavs – Phocas incompetent usurper – pretext Khursau to invade and avenge benefactor’s death – catastrophic effects – Antioch (613) and Jerusalem (614) – all Syria and Palestine, plus Egypt, much Anatolian highlands – destruction Anatolian highlands. Phocas replaced by Heraclius who led brilliant campaigns against Persians – 628 enters Ctesiphon – Persian conquests Syrian and Egypt restored to Byzantine control
• Long war accelerated and confirmed tendencies of previous centuries – demographic and urban decline. Syrian borderlands deserted to less chaotic areas, generations inhabitants grown up without any sense of Empire – little residual loyalty.  Little time to repair defences or self-government.  Syria attempts to solve religious issue Monophytism and Diophytism – Monotheletism – Egypt militant dio bishop appointed – systematic alienation of population, little Christian unity.  If Heraclius enjoyed fruits of victory for a few decades new structure in near East perhaps – Islamic armies arrived when Byzantine rule was recent, shaky and widely resented.  Islamic conquest product of decline Byzantine civilisation as well as blow itself.

• 631 Heraclius entrusts Cryrus, bishop of Phasis in Caucasus with patriarch Alexandria – persecuted Monophysites of Coptic church – alienated much population from Roman rule, more so than Syria where some Orthodox.

·        Time to re-establish complicated structure of administrative and personal ties which bound the provinces to the capital.

• Defeat Persia vindication of the Christian Empire – require time to recover from strains of war and set about realising the opportunities of the post war world.
• neither provincials or imperial government would have good reason to think beginning of exceptional crisis transform near East.
• Imperial control slowly being reconstructed after 20 year absence – generations without experience of imperial rule – much Palestine, Syria and Transjordan effctiely self-governing under bishops and local notables 0 Muslim Arabs must have appeared as a desirable continuation of state affairs.
• Limited ability to strike back – Romans achieve victory over Persia with a Turkish alliance – making supreme effort to raise an army, despite loss of empire’s most productive regions – if Herakleios’ eastern campaign failed 627-8 no further stocks of church treasure to melt down and it would be some time before the attempt could be repeated.
• Devastated by continuing Arab invasions and raids by sea and land, cut off from main trade routes of Near East which now focussed on Syria, Egypt and Iraq – empire’s economy rapidly fell away from levels of 600.
• Copper coins, although common in Muslim territory, virtually disappear within empire. Red-slip fine wares from North Africa no longer found – long tradition of manufacture and distribution had come to an end.  General lack of pottery implies disappearance centres of production and d of long-distance trading networks.
• Imperial capital never ceased to be a relatively large city – a centre of government and of some commerce.  Mango evidence of decay.  C early middle ages centre of Roman world – largest and wealthiest cities. More important from 600 onwards as no other major cities – preservation essential to empire’s survival

PERSIAN WEAKNESS

• Conquests made easier by exhaustion of Byzantine and Sasanian Empire due to prolonged warfare, confusion that reigned in Sasanian ruling house, disruption caused by recent enemy occupation of Syria and Iraq, destruction wrought by immense floods in Southern Iraq, disaffection for religious and other reasons, convenience of inner lines of communication that Muslims enjoyed
• Dynastic rule of Sasanians – whilst stopping early usurpers who could not gain respect – Bahram Chobin (590-1) in years of Kurso II Pavez death difficult for sovereign to emerge to 628-32 ten different Kings – by time Yazdgard III found hiding and made King – Muslim armies attacking the Empire.
• Mazdakite uprising of late 5^th and early 6^th century – religious movement with strong social overtones – abolition property and class distinction. – Kavad I 488 – 531 backed it!  Symbolises rare insight into social discontents in Iran – left an ideological legacy for 9^th century uprising in Azerbaijan.
• Two levels of Persian aristocracy upper aristocracy consisted of a few great families – suspicion of great magnates, see Bahram Chbin – Khursau’s ill-advised decision to abolish Lakhmid buffer kingdom of al-Hira which guarded desert frontier of Iraq.
• Mixture religious beliefs reflects ethnic and linguistic diversity – Kurds Dalymites n Iraq, Lurs, Baluchis – Iraq mostly Aramiac, arabs in al-Jazira and al-Hira – Persians confine to cities.
• Long term weaknesses exacerbated by short-term problems – violent and unpredictable policies of Khursau II Parvez and struggle for succession - Khursau II no great administrator – centralisation alienated monarchy, ten yr rebellion Khuran executed southern governor.  Determination for authority led to arrest and execution of al-Nu’man last of Lakhmid kings of Hira – replaced by Persian governor.  These problems les to attack 602 – disastrous to both empire –initially successful but comeback takes Ctesiphon – extensive floods and resistance weakened by plague – Kursau’s failings as a military commander led to murderous feud amongst sons – ruined and bitterly divided – not surprising that Persian defeated, but they fought so well.
• Byzantine and Sassanain undergone far-reaching and fundamental changes in century before Islam – social, economic and structural changes like increased importance pastoral people and absence civic autonomy associated with development of Islamic society – under way before 6^th century.  Muslim conquest breaking up conservative world order far from truth – entered an already changing world and shaped and accelerated existing trends.  Dynamic development of Islamic world understood against this background.
• much larger Persian army 12,000 much larger Persia army under Rustam – battle of Qadisiyya decisive – Persian host totally defeated and shortly afterwards Persian capital (Ctesiphon) occupied and occupied by victorious army 637  -victory at Jalula forced Yazdgird III to withdraw to Isfahan areas  - secures position of Muslims, small groups of whom now took control of town and villages of Iraq as far north as Mosul.
• Persian resistance ineffective with loss of Iraq Persians lose wealthiest province and capital Ctesiphon – political centre of the empire.  Ctesiphon and Sasanian court privded powerful political and cultural focus – beyond religious alliance – as long as that survived Persian empire could cope with disasters such as death and defeat of shah Perox at hands Hepthalites in 484 – Roman invasion 627 – 8 – comparative ethnic unity of Iranian plateau and mountainous barrier it offers invader from west counted for very little as Arabs hunted down last shahs.  Constantinople 1200 k from Damascus.

·        Sasanian army at Dhu Qar turn 7^th century unified group of nomads could overcome army of settled folk.  Impetus Islam – not under-rated in brilliant victories for Arabs. – unity as well as inspiration and drive to conquest.

Other Notes in this Category

1. Ancient Cities
2. Carolignian Period
3. Charles the Bald
4. Chronology of Byzantium and Persia
5. Dynasty of Theodosius I and Barbarians in the West
6. French and British Agriculture
7. Islamic Conquests up to 700 a.d. - Islamic Strenghts / Roman Weaknesses?
8. Islamic Conquests up to 700 a.d. - Islamic Strenghts / Roman Weaknesses?
9. MOHAMMED, CHARLEMAGEN AND THE ORIGINS OF EUROPE
10. New Centres of Power in the 8th and Ninth Century
11. Peace and War - Rome and Persia - 5-7th Centuries
12. Practice Questions
13. The Age of Attila
14. The Decline of the Ancient World
15. The Mediterranean and the Dilemma of the Roman Empire in Late antiquity
16. Warfare
17. Was successful Kingship in Merovingian Gaul simply a matter of being an effective and lucky war leader?
18. Why did the western empire fall when the east survived?

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