Islamic conquests
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• Herakleios die 641 Roman Empire facing as deep a crisis as any in worst years of the Persian war.
• Romano – Persian war – 602 – 609 – Greek, Syriac, Armenian sources are brief, confused, ill-informed or all three.  Work from Islamic historians draw on contemporary and Islamic eyewitness accounts..
• Islamic sources dffeent nature to those of the roman world: al-Baladhuri, al-Ya’kubi, al-Tabari – 9^th and – 8^th and 9^th centuries – 150 years after event – transmission of historical information oral tradition of Muslim scholars – ulama and the story-tellers of the Bedouin tribes.
• Whiggish – details in past to help explain the present and the future.
• Oral history Arab world compounded by creation new religion – caliphs rivals for authority with alama – or religious scholars aims to only legitimate source of religious authority,
• Ulama do not transmit coherent narrative of vital events - instead short accounts of particular incidents – progressively shaped by evolving demand of religion – real past of the 7^th century transformed to serve the purposes of what was by 8^th century dominant religion. Written down in 8^th century – difficult to change orthodox account.  Arbitrary reworking serve contemporaries interests – flux of years of creation Islamic world???
• Watch new work of discovering Arabic, Syriac, Greek and Armenian sources.
• Syriac material does allow one to identify a meagre but secure core of fact.
• Only manage a bald summary-
• Late 620s tribes Arabia united under Prophet Muhammad 0 begun raids into Palestin.  Conquest eastern provinces began in 633 – succession of cities in Transjordan, Palestine, Syria surrender to muslims.
• 635 Damascus falls
• 636 Large Roman army bought the Arabs to battle near the Yarmuk river in the north of modern Jordan.  Decisive Arab victory.
• No further attempt to drive Arabs out of Syria and Palestine.  Jerusalem surrenders in 638 – Herakleios dies 641 with earlier victories reversed.
• 641 – Caesarea on Palestine coast falls and decisive Roman defeat in Egypt.  Dara, Edessa and Antioch lost already – 645 counter-attack recaptures Alexandria – Roma forces soon ejected and by 646 Egypt wholly in Muslim hands. 
• Arabs press on and in 646 Egypt wholly in Muslim hands.
• Pressed on in 640s to raid Africa and launch attacks over Taurus mountains on Anatolian plain, over Hakkari mountains and through Azerbaidjan into Armenia.
• 653-4 citizens of Constantinople for the first time saw a Muslim army on the shores of the Bosphorous.
• Persian position far worse – pre 641 Arabs had defeated Persian armies at decisive battle of al-Kadisiyya, Persian capital, Ctesiphon had falled and shah and his nobility were refugees on Iranian plateau – mid 650s Sasanian state effectively ceased to exist – old political order come to a rapid an unexpected end.
• 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.
• Not invasion of alien, nomadic barbarians over throwing a civilised settled world of the Near East – not even an obvious enemy invasion like a Persian attack.
• Appearance of Muslim armies more characteristic of an internal struggle for power - Roman Eastern Provinces full of Arabs, nomadic and settled who had close relationship with empire for centuries.
• 4^th century onwards –succession of Arab political confederations developed on edge Fertile Crescent – leaders depend on Roman subsidy and political recognition Roman authorities use them for various purposes – inc. suppression internal revolts.  New confederations came to prominence by attacking current client.
• 19 yr absence imperial authority – inter-Arab struggle to become next client of Roman administration to be expected.  Later sources show large number of Arabs fighting on both sides – neither provincials or imperial government would have good reason to think beginning of exceptional crisis transform near East.
• Cities sensibly came to terms to avoid damage to gardens and surrounding fields – like imperial government waited to see who would come out on top – both imaging victors in due course integrate into Roman empire.
• 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.
• Muhammad and successors leadership – provide an ideology which did not look to Constantinople.
• Only external influence was Jews – anti-Roman fervour in Jewish population of near east – certainly a group excluded from Christian Roman identity – every wish to see Empire fall.
• 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.
• 629 – Eastern Provinces not been reconquered – Hereakleois gains end causing a political crisis in Persian heartland – used divisions to negotiate return of the Eastern Provinces – if opponent held onto Mesopotamian fortresses difficult to make any significant advances – once Muslims taken cities of the East – won a decisive battle at Yarmuk – and forced Romans to regroups at Analtolia – always tough to reverse decision.  Decisive victory in field best hope – without western provinces, war-weary empire lacked the resources and allies for such an endeavour.

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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