Early Muslim conquests

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Early Muslim conquests

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The rapid military expansion of Islam following Prophet Muhammad's establishment of a state.

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Origins & Early Life

The early Muslim conquests, or the early Islamic conquests (Arabic: الْفُتُوحَاتُ الإسْلَامِيَّة, romanized: al-Futūḥāt al-ʾIslāmiyya), also known as the Arab conquests, were a series of wars initiated by the Islamic prophet Muhammad, and continued by the early Muslims. In 622, he established the first Islamic state in Medina, with Muslim armies expanding rapidly out of Arabia under the succeeding Rashidun Caliphate and then the Umayyad Caliphate, culminating in Muslim rule being established throughout most of the Middle East and North Africa, parts of South Asia and Central Asia, and parts of Southern Europe over the following century. According to the Scottish historian James Buchan: "In speed and extent, the first Arab conquests were matched only by those of Alexander the Great, and they were more lasting." At the height of the expansion, Muslim-ruled territory under the Caliphates is estimated to have covered 13,000,000 square kilometres (5,000,000 sq mi), stretching from the Indian subcontinent (at Sind) in the east to the Iberian Peninsula (up to Septimania) in the west. Among other socio-political changes, the early Muslim conquests caused a rupture in the status quo dominated by the Sasanian Empire in the east and the Byzantine Empire in the west; Muslim armies overran the Sasanians and confined the Byzantines, who were left with part of Anatolia and Southeastern Europe. Detailed explanations for the success of the Muslim campaigns have been difficult to discover, largely because only fragmentary sources have survived from the period.

Career & Major Achievements

American scholar Fred Donner suggests that Muhammad's establishment of the first Islamic state coupled with ideological coherence and mobilization constituted the main factor that propelled his community to successfully establish one of the largest empires in history. Most historians also agree that, as another primary factor that favoured the Muslim war effort, the Sasanians and the Byzantines were rendered militarily and economically exhausted from decades of warfare against each other, with the Sasanian civil war of 628–632 further accelerating political collapse. It is also believed that Jews and some Christians in both Sasanian and Byzantine territory may have been dissatisfied with the state of the two empires and either welcomed or were indifferent to the invading Muslim troops. However, Arab Christian confederations such as the Ghassanids initially allied themselves with the Byzantines. There were also instances of working alliances being established between the Sasanians and the Byzantines in spite of their prior hostilities, such as when they combined forces against the Rashidun army during the Battle of Firaz in 633/634.

Enduring Legacy & Impact

A significant portion of the lands that the Byzantines lost to Muslim offensives in Syria and in Egypt had been taken back from Sasanian occupation just a few years earlier. Arabia was a region that hosted several cultures, some urban and others nomadic Bedouin. Arabian society was divided along tribal and clan lines, with the most important divisions being between the "southern" and "northern" tribal associations. Both the Byzantine and Sasanian empires competed for influence in Arabia by sponsoring clients; in turn, Arabian tribes sought the patronage of the two rival empires to bolster their own ambitions. The Lakhmid kingdom, which covered parts of what is now southern Iraq and northern Saudi Arabia was a client of Persia, and in 602 the Persians deposed the Lakhmids to take over the defense of the southern frontier.

Notable Quotes by Early Muslim conquests

“In speed and extent, the first Arab conquests were matched only by those of Alexander the Great, and they were more lasting.”

Historical Fact-Check Quiz: Early Muslim conquests

True or False: “The early Muslim conquests immediately resulted in the complete collapse of both the Byzantine and Sasanian Empires simultaneously.”

Answer (FALSE ❌): While severely weakening them, the empires were not instantly overthrown; they endured prolonged conflicts and periods of resistance.

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