Since the beginning of Islam in 622, Muhammed created the religion that would grow and flourish into the most successful and powerful empire in its era. Throughout history, historians have witnessed the rise of many powerful and brutal other empires including the Byzantines and the Romans, none of which are comparable to the extent of the Islamic Empire. Muhammed established an empire that never crumbled to pieces like the Byzantines and Romans did, given that the Islamic empire still thrives today as it had in the first century. Many believed that the Muslim strategies to convert Western Christians was said to be “all by sword”, and forceful, while others point out it was the most intellectual and strategic empire driven by an incomparable
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The first piece of evidence is given by historian Hugh Kennedy in The Great Arab Conquests: How the Spread of Islam Changed the World We Live in, “Arab commanders were normally content to make agreements that protected the lives and properties of the conquered”(Source 3 Excerpt 1). This statement makes the reader understand why Islam gained so many converts so fast. With the Arab commanders being fine with making agreements that protected the lives and property of those who were conquered, it gives the people an assertiveness and understanding of what the religion was like if they did indeed choose to convert. This was one of the many ideas of Islam that made conversion so desirable. In terms of how this helped the Arabs, they saved a large amount of money when deciding not to destroy infrastructure. This allowed them to put the money saved towards other necessities of the empire. The second quote given by historian Hugh Kennedy was, “By converting to the new religion of Islam, conquered people could move to being conquerors, members of new ruling class, and equal to all other Muslims”(Source 3 Excerpt 2). According to this excerpt, for the people, being conquered was somewhat beneficial for them. The conquerors were promoting peace and equality, making conversion very desirable to the conquered people. The Arab commanders …show more content…
As stated by historian Desmond Stewart and the editors of the Time-Life Books in Great Ages of Man: Early Islam, “Mecca was prosperous and important. It was at the crossroads at the lucrative caravan trade”(Source 6). This quote describes the map given because of how great of location Arabia possessed giving it was at the core of all surrounding empires. It was also surrounded by many waterways. This was great luck for the Islamic Empire in terms of trade. With the empire being in the middle of all empires, many merchants from neighboring territories would often pass through as they were on their journey to their certain destination, giving the Islamic cities many opportunities to trade. This was the result of vast camel trains, bearing spices, perfumes, precious metals, ivory, and silk, passing through the Arabian peninsula often. In terms of being geographically gifted with waterways, the Islamic empire flourished with strategic waterways in their control, in connection to the Muslim’s powerful naval force. These waterways were key points in which the Muslims could collect more riches from sea travelers, allowing for quality amounts of product to sell and trade. The next piece of evidence is given by Historian Hugh Kennedy in The Great Arab Conquests: How the Spread of Islam Changed the World We Live in, stated, “There were many features of Islam that would have made it approachable to
The first piece of evidence is given by historian Hugh Kennedy in The Great Arab Conquests: How the Spread of Islam Changed the World We Live in, “Arab commanders were normally content to make agreements that protected the lives and properties of the conquered”(Source 3 Excerpt 1). This statement makes the reader understand why Islam gained so many converts so fast. With the Arab commanders being fine with making agreements that protected the lives and property of those who were conquered, it gives the people an assertiveness and understanding of what the religion was like if they did indeed choose to convert. This was one of the many ideas of Islam that made conversion so desirable. In terms of how this helped the Arabs, they saved a large amount of money when deciding not to destroy infrastructure. This allowed them to put the money saved towards other necessities of the empire. The second quote given by historian Hugh Kennedy was, “By converting to the new religion of Islam, conquered people could move to being conquerors, members of new ruling class, and equal to all other Muslims”(Source 3 Excerpt 2). According to this excerpt, for the people, being conquered was somewhat beneficial for them. The conquerors were promoting peace and equality, making conversion very desirable to the conquered people. The Arab commanders …show more content…
As stated by historian Desmond Stewart and the editors of the Time-Life Books in Great Ages of Man: Early Islam, “Mecca was prosperous and important. It was at the crossroads at the lucrative caravan trade”(Source 6). This quote describes the map given because of how great of location Arabia possessed giving it was at the core of all surrounding empires. It was also surrounded by many waterways. This was great luck for the Islamic Empire in terms of trade. With the empire being in the middle of all empires, many merchants from neighboring territories would often pass through as they were on their journey to their certain destination, giving the Islamic cities many opportunities to trade. This was the result of vast camel trains, bearing spices, perfumes, precious metals, ivory, and silk, passing through the Arabian peninsula often. In terms of being geographically gifted with waterways, the Islamic empire flourished with strategic waterways in their control, in connection to the Muslim’s powerful naval force. These waterways were key points in which the Muslims could collect more riches from sea travelers, allowing for quality amounts of product to sell and trade. The next piece of evidence is given by Historian Hugh Kennedy in The Great Arab Conquests: How the Spread of Islam Changed the World We Live in, stated, “There were many features of Islam that would have made it approachable to