Spread of Islam and Arabs

The spread of Islam was a major factor for the spread Arabic culture, language, and customs. The introduction of a new religion, Islam, to the world by the Prophet Mohammed united numerous warring Arab tribes. With their new found religious fervor, Arab armies march forth to spread the word of Islam.  Arab invasions of surrounding lands resulted in the establishment of one of the largest empires in history, the Arab Empire. This strategy saw the Arabs dominate most of the Middle East since they segregated out the original culture; that did not value Islam.

Arabs applied a form of scorched earth policy in the course to spread the religion. The general, in charge of the expansion, burnt all forms of literature that was against Islam. (Drabu R, Nanji A, Greenfield S. Science and learning in Islam, 2005) A large library and collection of literature were burnt while a part of the collection was thrown into the river Euphrates. Many scholars, historians and the literate in the Middle East were killed. Due to this, the spread of Islam and Arabs in the Middle East highly successful.

The Persian and Byzantine Empires had both been weakened by years of warfare against other neighboring empires. (Zachariah M. The Golden Age of Islam, 1970)The Arab Muslim conquerors were primed to take advantage of this; they were familiar with Byzantine and Sasanian military tactics, having served in both armies. . (Drabu R, Nanji A, Greenfield S. Science and learning in Islam, 2005)  They had won most of the wars and had imposed their political rule over these nations and incorporated them into their armies. This made the armies larger but weakened their unity and destroyed a common vision that all men could ascribe to. As a result of the political, religious and social oppression that most citizens of these empires underwent, it was difficult to incorporate a new learned religion and way of life. Both empires were permanently weakened by the pandemic, (the Plague of Justinian erupted, spreading through Persia and into Byzantium territory during 602-628). As their citizens struggled to deal with death as well as substantial taxation, which increased as both empires campaigned for more territory.

The military successes of the Omayyad and Abbasids Arab Empires

The two dynasties, Omayyad and Abbasids Arab empires had many military successes. (Zachariah M. The Golden Age of Islam, 1970) They had control on the economic affairs of the nation, where they were in charge of controlling all the tributes that came from the provinces for the leader and therefore controlling how finances flowed through the country. The military also worked towards the spread of Islam in the provinces and new territories evidently in the conquest against the Meccans by the military. After the Islamic war, the Umayyad won and after that united all the Muslims.

The Abbasids tried differentiating themselves from their Umayyad predecessors, but still had a lot of similarities. Abbasid leadership was also dynastic and centralized. However, they changed the social hierarchy by constructing a more inclusive government in a more cosmopolitan capital city, Baghdad. Under the Abbasids, Islamic art and culture flourished. They are famous for inaugurating the Islamic golden age. Religious scholars, called ulema, developed more defined religious institutions and took on judicial duties and established systems of law. It was also during Abbasid rule that many people converted to Islam due to avoiding paying of taxes like the other believers but also through the firm belief in the religion. Islam was due to avoiding paying taxes like the other believers but also through a firm belief in the religion. As a result, Islamic culture spread over the Abbasids’ vast territory.

REFERENCES

Drabu R, Nanji A, Greenfield S. Science and learning in Islam—a shared legacy. Royal     Institution of Great Britian, London, 1 December 2005.

Zachariah M. The Golden Age of Islam. [Last accessed on January 15, 2013]. Available from: http://www.irfi.org/articles/articles_401_450/golden_age_of_islam.htm .