Whittow – making of byzantium
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·        THE DESERT – not sufficient resources to support creation of a start – state-less society – members of tribe hierarchical head was a sheikh – power to coerce lesser tribesmen very limited – impact such a fragmentary society could make on well-organised fertile states of the fertile crescent

·        Possible – religious leader, economics of oases – powerful confederations have been created – inherent logic desert undermines authority - no sufficient pasture to support large groups bought together – small groups each competing for scarce resources.  Camels – mobile and difficult to discipline – desert not enough surplus to which would enable higher authority – external source of wealth to reward followers – create a military force bound by its leader by non-tribal ties 0 conquering part of fertile crescent for oneself – or persuading one of settled states to accept Arab state as a client to be subsidied or granted territory – not surprising that many Arab states have not originated in the desert, but on margins of fertile crescent – only assts world of desert had to achieve unity and wealth was its military ability.

·        Bedouin needed settled world but not vice versa.  Some times ignore the Bedouin and at other times demanded attention

FALL OF THE OLD ORDER

·        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.

Other Notes in this Category

1. army – its size and effectiveness for the defense of the eastern borders
2. Birth of the Islamic State
3. Byzantine authority and the nomads – divergent views
4. Byzantine reliance on arab military resistance
5. Byzantium and the early islamic conquests
6. Caliphate of ali – 656 – 661
7. Conquest and division in the time of the rashidun caliphs
8. Difficulty in devising defence for Syria
9. Elements of Failure and Endurance
10. End of the Ancient Economy
11. Foundation of the marwand caliphate and the achievemnet of ‘abd al-malik
12. Islamic conquests
13. Limitations defense-in-depth strategy
14. Military leadership of heraclius
15. relevance of recent war with persia
16. Richard n. frye – arab conquests in iran
17. State of strategy and warfare
18. The matric of the muslim world:
19. The umayyad caliphate
20. Umar and the early islamic conquests – 634 – 644
21. Whittow – making of byzantium

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