Afro-Eurasian world transform,ed by the Prophet after his death
Arab state - huge empire; in all or part of Egypt, Rome/Byzantine, Persia, Mesopotamia, and India
Islam widely spread throughout
Language of Arabia thanks to relocation diffusion and advantages of learning Arabic
Mixing and blending of these people caused uprise of civilization of Islam, bound by a common faith but divided by differences of culture, class, politics, gender, and religious understanding
War, Conquest, Tolerance
after Muhammad died in 632, the Byzantine and Persian empires were engaged and the Arabs soon spread from Spain to INdia
Persia → weakened by plague and endemic rivalries → defeated in 644
Byzantium → remains of East Rome → lost South part of territory
Westward to North Africa → 642 - 648
Spain → early 700s
South France → attacked
Indus River & major oasis towns in Central Asia
China → defeat in Battle of Talas River
checked Chinese westward expansion and conversion of Turkic speakers to Islam
mostly involved imperial armies, but sometimes civilians too
Islam’s initial rapid and extensive spread - far more than Buddhism and Christianity
gave rise to empire ruled by Muslim Arabs that encompassed previous empires
Motives for Arab empire creation - broadly similar to other empires
Merchants wanted to capture good trade routes and agriculture regions
individual Arabs found in military expansion route to wealth and social promotion
need to harness energies of the Arabisn transformation - unity of umma threatened to come apart, expansion gave them a common task
Creation of a religion - to many, the mission was in terms of jihad but they didn’t mean to make a new religion
jihad - religious struggle; in this context, a struggle vs opps of Islam
Muhammad’s followers called themselves “believers” - appears in Quran more than Muslims
included Jews, Christians, and new monotheistic Arabs
easted acceptance of the new political order because many were already monotheists and familiar with core ideas and practices of believers movement
prayer, fasting, pilgrimage, revelation, and prophets
new rulers tolerant of Judaism and Christianity
first governor of Arab-ruled Jerusalem was a Jew - many old churches continued to operate and new ones were built
dhimmis - protected but second class status given to Jews, CHristians, and Zoroastrians
if they paied a special tax called the jizya, they could freely practice their religion
substitute for military service - many dhimmis served the highest offices in Muslim kingdoms and their armies
Arab rulers wanted to limited destructiveness - to prevent destruction and exploitation occupying armies restricted to garrisons segregated from native population
local elites and structures incorporated into empires; nonetheless mass conversion to Islam
Conversion to Islam
“Social conversion” motivated by convenience instead of conviction
after Muhammad died, millions in Arab empire believed in Allah and became Muslims
Islam wasn’t a foreign concept: monotheism, ritual prayer and cleansing ceremonies, fasting, divine revelation, Heaven Hell and Final Judgment; similar to Jews, Christianity, and Zoroastrianism
it was sponsored by a powerful state unlike Buddhism nd Christianity
deliberately forced conversion rate and forbidden by Quran but there were incentives for being a Muslim
slaves and prisoners of war, especially in Persia, were among early converts
avoiding jizya, social mobility for going for office, and a religion friendly to commerce
merchants enjoyed a safe, huge, and predictable trade (reduced uncertainty)
conversion wasn’t easy or automatic - resistance in North African Berbers, Spanish Christians insulted Prophet, and Persian Zoroastrianism followers fled to escape