When Muhammad died,
Muslims controlled most of Arabia. Soon they started expanding much further.
Why did they do this? Some Arabs were eager to spread Islam. The Koran promised
that any Muslims who died in battle for his religion would go to Heaven. It
also said that Allah supported the use of war to defend Muslims against enemies
of Islam. Other joined the attacks for the riches they brought. They wanted to
expand into the fertile land of the Persian Empire and the Byzantine Empire
(the remains of the Roman Empire).
The success of the
Arabs was amazing. By 640, moving north, they had captured Jerusalem and
Damascus and controlled Syria. Soon after, they conquered Persia, Arab armies
also headed west. By 642 these armies captured Cairo and took control of Egypt.
A navy was created and Cyprus was captured in 649. By 670 the Arabs had
occupied Tunisia and in 708 they reached the Atlantic Ocean. Striking east,
they had reached Samarkand by 676 and the borders of India by 707. Victory at
the Battle of Talas in 751 against the Chinese secured central Asia. From such
a humble start, how had they done it? The sources in this unit give some clues.
The Arab tactics were
simple. They would charge the enemy and cast a shower of javelins. They would
repeat this until the enemy showed signs of breaking and then start hand to
hand combat. They were usually outnumbered and the superiority of their enemies
should have been overwhelming. The Arabs had no siege equipment (to help them
break down the defenses of a city of fortress).
Within a few years,
they had destroyed the Persian Empire, which had already been weakened by the
Byzantium, their task was easier because the people were tired of heavy taxes. They
had been persecuted because of differences of opinion about some points of the
Christian religion. They expected better treatment from the Muslims. In North
Africa the fierce Berbers became Muslims and added new strength to the Arab
armies.
The Arabs were tough
men. They knew that if they were killed in this holy war, Allah would reward
them in paradise. They believed that Allah had decided that Islam would
triumph.
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