Europe Prior to Islam
The Mediterranean region was long dominated by the Roman Empire. Rome began as a small kingdom in 753 BCE. After 200 years, it became a Republic, which began its ascent into power, wealth, and expansion. The Republic of Rome saw major land gains over the next 500 years.
In 27 BCE, Rome made the full transformation from Republic to Empire. It was during this time the empire saw its greatest amount of land.
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| Rome, c. 120 CE |
Rome controlled an empire ranging from modern day Spain to northern Iran, from Britain to Egypt and parts of Arabia. Yet, as with all major empires, this would not last. Over the next several hundred years, Rome would go through countless civil wars, invasions, and decline, especially in the West, where various tribes were constantly causing trouble.
By 324 CE, the emperor of the Roman Empire, Constantine, moved the capital to Byzantium, which was later renamed Constantinople. This shifted the power of Rome eastward, where there was more wealth, more stability, and more opportunity for expansion. Emperor Constantine also caused a cultural shift by becoming heavily entangled with the up and coming religion of Christianity. It was after his rule that Christianity and State became intertwined in Europe.
This strengthened empire would not last for long, and some 150 years after Constantine took power, the Western portion of the Empire fell, as the Ostrogoths sacked Rome.
This is how Europe looked in 476 CE:
This would go on to present some interesting issues that would fully form over the next 600-800 years. In the East, Christianity began to form into something that is more similar to what we see today. In the West, however, outside of the Pope in Rome, Christians fell into a particular heresy called Arianism. This would take place strongest in the various Germanic kingdoms.
Culture, power, language, and religion were vastly different between the East and West, and only grew further apart as the centuries. There was a brief relapse, when a peasant rose through the ranks and became Emperor. Emperor Justinian, with the help of his awesome general Belisarius, went on to reconquer many of the lands that fell to the Goths, Vandals, etc.
This, again, did not last long. Many of the gains were lost as the Empire did not have resources to protect the many frontiers. Much of Italy divided into smaller governing bodies. Byzantine gains in Iberia were limited to what is now southern Spain. Much of Northern Africa stayed in control of the Empire, through the Exarchate of Africa (a particular administrative division.
Around 600 CE, this is what Europe looked like:
The Empire was in a state of continuous war with its neighbor and archenemy, the Sassanids (as well as skirmishing with other neighbors). Wealth, resources, and manpower were squandered on war after war. The final war with the Sassanids (also known as Persians) came to last some 26 years, starting in 602 CE, ending in 628 CE. Both sides saw victories in the war, as well as losses. By 626 CE, the Sassanids, allied with European Avars, held the first siege of Constantinople (there would be many move over the next 800 years). Thanks to the famous walls of Constantinople, the Byzantine fleet, and the bravery of the soldiers and citizens in the capital, the siege was a complete failure.
A double whammy came when a famous general in the Sassanid army was defeated. Finally, the Byzantines called on their own allies, a group of Turkic people in the Caucus region, to help fight against the Persians. All of this caused the Persians to withdraw from the lands it conquered (parts of modern day Israel, Syria, Lebanon, and Egypt). By 628 CE the war was over, and the Byzantines had won a Pyrrhic victory (a victory that came at great cost). There would be a truce between the great powers, giving them time to breath and reorganize. The Byzantines expected a new golden age, after years of decline. Yet, there was something brewing to the south that would sweep over the lands.
Starting in 633, the Persians were attacked from the south. Still wrestling with the unrest, heavy taxation, and high toll of the last war, the Persians were able to fight until 651 CE, when they were finally conquered.
The Byzantines fared somewhat better. They lost many lands to the invading forces, but their empire did not fully collapse until 1453 CE.
Now, I will shift gears to the invasion force from Arabia.
Foundations of Islam
According to Muslims, Islam has always been around since the days that Adem (Adam) walked the Earth. Later prophets, such as Nuh (Noah), Musa (Moses), and Isa (Jesus) were all messengers to lead people back to true worship of Allah (God). The final messenger to mankind came with the birth of Muhammad, c 570 CE.
Muhammad was born in the Arabian peninsula, during a time when there was no great power exerting itself over the people of the peninsula. There were several minor kingdoms around the peninsula, but the main powers of the Byzantines and Persians were to the north. With a few exceptions, these powers did not interact much with the polities of Arabia.
There were trade routes to Arabia, which is possibly how some of the culture from the north came to be there. While Arabia was majority pagan when Muhammad was born, there were pockets of Christians, Jews, and Zoroasters.
For the first 40 some years of his life, Muhammad worked as a merchant, trading all over Arabia. However, this came to an end when, according to Islam, he started receiving revelations. These revelations would later compiled into the Qur'an, Islam's holy book. As a result of his revelations, he began to be mocked by the pagans in his home city of Mecca. Though he was mocked by many, he was also finding followers who were genuinely convinced of his revelations. Because of the increase in followers, and the publicity that he received, the mockery turned into hatred and violence. In what is known as the hijra, Muhammad and his followers fled from Mecca to Medina. Over the next 5-6 years, Muhammad would lead campaigns against the pagans in Mecca, until finally they signed the Treaty of Hudaybiyyah.
After just a year or two of enforcement, the treaty was broken by the pagans of Mecca, and he marched with his army of 10,000 Muslims. Mecca was captured, and Muhammad focused his attention on the other tribes of the peninsula. After some battles and skillful diplomacy, he subdued those other tribes who were a threat to his rule. He successfully united the rest of the Arabian Peninsula under the single banner of Islam. He would not, however, live to see Islam spread past Arabia. Muhammad died in 632 CE.
The death of Muhammad presented a problem. He had successfully united an entire region under a common banner, but who would carry that legacy? This led to a debate about his successor. This debate still rages in the Islamic world, some 1400 years later. In one camp, there was support for Abu Bakr, close companion to Muhammad, to be leader of the Muslims. The other camp threw their support behind Ali, the cousin of Muhammed. Eventually, Abu Bakr won the majority of support and began the first of the four major Caliphs. This was, in part, what led to the rise of Sunni Islam.
Ali would later become Caliph, after three others before him, but his followers, the Shi'ites, claimed he was the first of the Caliphs. Because of this tension there were a few periods of unrest called the Fitna.
Once the dust settled, the Muslims were able to make considerable gains into the power vacuum that existed after the wars between the Byzantines and the Persians. 30 years after the death of Muhammad, Muslims had conquered lands from North Africa to Afghanistan. 100 years after Muhammad's death, they extended their lands into modern day Spain, reaching even southern France, as well as reaching northern India.
In the next blog post I will cover more details of the early expansion of Islam after the death of Muhammad. However, before I get into that, here are some terms that I have used, or will use over the remainder of my posts on this topic.
Terminology
**I will update this post with terms as I remember various terms**
Sources:
I will be honest, a majority of this information came from my previous knowledge on the subject. I double checked with Wikipedia to make sure I didn't make glaring mistakes.
The maps were mostly taken from Wikipedia as well, although a few were taken from else were, and have been cited in the caption under their names.
Finally, I did use a book as a guide for some of the information on the Byzantine Empire, and will use it in upcoming posts. It is titled: Lost to the West, authored by Lars Brownworth. It is a very good introduction into the Byzantine Empire, and I highly suggest it for further reading on that topic.
By 324 CE, the emperor of the Roman Empire, Constantine, moved the capital to Byzantium, which was later renamed Constantinople. This shifted the power of Rome eastward, where there was more wealth, more stability, and more opportunity for expansion. Emperor Constantine also caused a cultural shift by becoming heavily entangled with the up and coming religion of Christianity. It was after his rule that Christianity and State became intertwined in Europe.
This strengthened empire would not last for long, and some 150 years after Constantine took power, the Western portion of the Empire fell, as the Ostrogoths sacked Rome.
This is how Europe looked in 476 CE:
 |
| Europe, after the fall of Rome Source: W.R. Shepard, Historical Atlas |
This would go on to present some interesting issues that would fully form over the next 600-800 years. In the East, Christianity began to form into something that is more similar to what we see today. In the West, however, outside of the Pope in Rome, Christians fell into a particular heresy called Arianism. This would take place strongest in the various Germanic kingdoms.
Culture, power, language, and religion were vastly different between the East and West, and only grew further apart as the centuries. There was a brief relapse, when a peasant rose through the ranks and became Emperor. Emperor Justinian, with the help of his awesome general Belisarius, went on to reconquer many of the lands that fell to the Goths, Vandals, etc.
 |
| Justinian |
 |
| Belisarius |
 |
| Byzantine (Roman) Empire under Justinian |
This, again, did not last long. Many of the gains were lost as the Empire did not have resources to protect the many frontiers. Much of Italy divided into smaller governing bodies. Byzantine gains in Iberia were limited to what is now southern Spain. Much of Northern Africa stayed in control of the Empire, through the Exarchate of Africa (a particular administrative division.
Around 600 CE, this is what Europe looked like:
 |
| Europe, c. 600 CE. Source:globalsecurity.org |
The Empire was in a state of continuous war with its neighbor and archenemy, the Sassanids (as well as skirmishing with other neighbors). Wealth, resources, and manpower were squandered on war after war. The final war with the Sassanids (also known as Persians) came to last some 26 years, starting in 602 CE, ending in 628 CE. Both sides saw victories in the war, as well as losses. By 626 CE, the Sassanids, allied with European Avars, held the first siege of Constantinople (there would be many move over the next 800 years). Thanks to the famous walls of Constantinople, the Byzantine fleet, and the bravery of the soldiers and citizens in the capital, the siege was a complete failure.
A double whammy came when a famous general in the Sassanid army was defeated. Finally, the Byzantines called on their own allies, a group of Turkic people in the Caucus region, to help fight against the Persians. All of this caused the Persians to withdraw from the lands it conquered (parts of modern day Israel, Syria, Lebanon, and Egypt). By 628 CE the war was over, and the Byzantines had won a Pyrrhic victory (a victory that came at great cost). There would be a truce between the great powers, giving them time to breath and reorganize. The Byzantines expected a new golden age, after years of decline. Yet, there was something brewing to the south that would sweep over the lands.
Starting in 633, the Persians were attacked from the south. Still wrestling with the unrest, heavy taxation, and high toll of the last war, the Persians were able to fight until 651 CE, when they were finally conquered.
The Byzantines fared somewhat better. They lost many lands to the invading forces, but their empire did not fully collapse until 1453 CE.
Now, I will shift gears to the invasion force from Arabia.
Foundations of Islam
According to Muslims, Islam has always been around since the days that Adem (Adam) walked the Earth. Later prophets, such as Nuh (Noah), Musa (Moses), and Isa (Jesus) were all messengers to lead people back to true worship of Allah (God). The final messenger to mankind came with the birth of Muhammad, c 570 CE.
Muhammad was born in the Arabian peninsula, during a time when there was no great power exerting itself over the people of the peninsula. There were several minor kingdoms around the peninsula, but the main powers of the Byzantines and Persians were to the north. With a few exceptions, these powers did not interact much with the polities of Arabia.
 |
| Arabia, c.600 CE |
There were trade routes to Arabia, which is possibly how some of the culture from the north came to be there. While Arabia was majority pagan when Muhammad was born, there were pockets of Christians, Jews, and Zoroasters.
For the first 40 some years of his life, Muhammad worked as a merchant, trading all over Arabia. However, this came to an end when, according to Islam, he started receiving revelations. These revelations would later compiled into the Qur'an, Islam's holy book. As a result of his revelations, he began to be mocked by the pagans in his home city of Mecca. Though he was mocked by many, he was also finding followers who were genuinely convinced of his revelations. Because of the increase in followers, and the publicity that he received, the mockery turned into hatred and violence. In what is known as the hijra, Muhammad and his followers fled from Mecca to Medina. Over the next 5-6 years, Muhammad would lead campaigns against the pagans in Mecca, until finally they signed the Treaty of Hudaybiyyah.
After just a year or two of enforcement, the treaty was broken by the pagans of Mecca, and he marched with his army of 10,000 Muslims. Mecca was captured, and Muhammad focused his attention on the other tribes of the peninsula. After some battles and skillful diplomacy, he subdued those other tribes who were a threat to his rule. He successfully united the rest of the Arabian Peninsula under the single banner of Islam. He would not, however, live to see Islam spread past Arabia. Muhammad died in 632 CE.
The death of Muhammad presented a problem. He had successfully united an entire region under a common banner, but who would carry that legacy? This led to a debate about his successor. This debate still rages in the Islamic world, some 1400 years later. In one camp, there was support for Abu Bakr, close companion to Muhammad, to be leader of the Muslims. The other camp threw their support behind Ali, the cousin of Muhammed. Eventually, Abu Bakr won the majority of support and began the first of the four major Caliphs. This was, in part, what led to the rise of Sunni Islam.
Ali would later become Caliph, after three others before him, but his followers, the Shi'ites, claimed he was the first of the Caliphs. Because of this tension there were a few periods of unrest called the Fitna.
Once the dust settled, the Muslims were able to make considerable gains into the power vacuum that existed after the wars between the Byzantines and the Persians. 30 years after the death of Muhammad, Muslims had conquered lands from North Africa to Afghanistan. 100 years after Muhammad's death, they extended their lands into modern day Spain, reaching even southern France, as well as reaching northern India.
 |
| Expansion of Islam |
Terminology
- Arianism: A heresy of Christianity which claims that Jesus was not eternal with the Father.
- BCE/CE: Before Common Era/Common Era. This is a more academic way to label the time periods commonly referred to as BC/AD, respectively.
- Byzantine Empire: The Greek speaking, eastern remnant of the Roman Empire. For many hundreds of years, it was the main opponent to the Muslims forces trying to reach Eastern Europe
- Caliph: The spiritual, political, and military leader of the Muslims.
- Caliphate: The lands under the control of the Caliph.
- Dar al Harb: "The house of war". The name for lands outside of the Islamic world.
- Dar al Islam: "The house of Islam". The name for the Islamic world.
- Dhimmi: Those who are Christians and Jews under Islamic rule.
- Fiqh: Term referring to the understanding of Islamic law, or Sharia.
- Qur'an: The final revelation of Allah, according to Muslims
- Sharia: Islamic holy law. The basis for fiqh
- Shi'ite: The secondary branch of Islam. Began as the followers of Ali as the first Caliph.
- Sunni: The primary branch of Islam. Began as the followers of Abu Bakr as the first Caliph.
- Sunnah: This translates to mean "example", specifically the example of Muhammad for Muslims to follow. The base word of the term Sunni.
- Ummah: The collective of Muslims around the world.
**I will update this post with terms as I remember various terms**
Sources:
I will be honest, a majority of this information came from my previous knowledge on the subject. I double checked with Wikipedia to make sure I didn't make glaring mistakes.
The maps were mostly taken from Wikipedia as well, although a few were taken from else were, and have been cited in the caption under their names.
Finally, I did use a book as a guide for some of the information on the Byzantine Empire, and will use it in upcoming posts. It is titled: Lost to the West, authored by Lars Brownworth. It is a very good introduction into the Byzantine Empire, and I highly suggest it for further reading on that topic.
