Introductory Points Essay, Research Paper
TRADITIONAL MUSLIM VIEW ? conquest result religious
zeal from new faith and truly miraculous demonstration of divine favour
that Islam supposed to enjoy. TRADITIONAL WESTERN VIEW ? Sir William Muir ?
result of mass migration of Arab tribesman = ?love of rapine? kept going
and going in swarms.? Leone Caetani
disagrees: forces of all three groups far too small.? Agrees migration but mainly due to
economic distress in Arabia.? Henri
Lammens talks of tumultuous incursions due to superior military
organization and ?irresistible penchant for the raid? Becker?s view those migrations only after initial
victories in Iraq and Syria.?
Migrations after thought ? unleashed promise of wealth and of land
in conquered domains.? Hunger and
greed rather than religious zeal. Butzer modifies this view ?The Arab migration
was mainly conditioned by economic factors, by the poor living conditions
of the Bedouin in the inhospitable steppes of Arabia ? The Bedouin
emigration was mainly caused by economic factors, [but] was rendered
possible by social and surrounding political events? ? once conquests,
to him unplanned, had taken place ? mass migration to ?promise land?. Bousquet sees economic factors ? booty ? as
important, but these guys got caught up in religious enthusiasm. Causes
for conquests ? general weakness Byzantine and Sasanid Persia due to
prolonged wars ? lucky presence of good generals and administrators on
Arab side. Canard ? argues against military superiority ? he
sees large weaknesses in tactics, weaponry, tactics etc ? downplays
advantage of knowledge of desert etc.?
Attributes much to dissatisfaction of people in Syria and Iraq ?
rejects Arabs driven out of Arabia by misery ? yes booty, yes economic
factors encourage people to the front, but not driving forward.? Would have stopped in Syria and Iraq and
not continued. Gabrieli- religion important not because it unified
tribesmen but elites around the prophet who led campaigns of
conquest.? Short term material
motives important ? ?the need for food, pastureland and booty?? – Post Ridda wars ? regime in Medina
put down rebellious tribe ?was seething with arms and armed men: the
victors, no less than the vanquished, needed an outlet for their surplus
energies?Certainly one of the major incentives for external conquest may
have lain in this explosive internal situation?. Shaban uses trade disruption by ridda wars.? Nomadic tribesmen peninsula in such
dire straits ? greatly temped to launch raids in the Fertile
Crescent.? Accidental beginning for
economic reasons by Arab tribesmen ? only some Muslims. Need to distinguish between Islamic Conquest ? extension
hegemony of Islamic states from Medina over vast domains into western Asia
and North Africa ? second Arab migration ? movement Arab speaking
individuals ? some nomadic and some sedentary from peninsula to domains in
conquest. Distinguish between causes of Islamic Conquests,
causes of its success and causes Arab migrations directly follow it. Most see reasons as part of a deterministic
historical process or a series of accidents ? ignores view of Islam and
its part.? Appearance of Islam
might itself have itself have been of some importance in generating the
Islamic conquests. Muhammad?s career and doctrines of Islam
revolutionised both the ideological base and political structures of
Arabian society ? gave rise of state for first time capable of organizing
and executing an expansionist movement.?
Yes accidental factors ? such as weakness of empires ? more than an
accident ? testament to power of human action mobilised by ideological
commitment as a force in human affairs Importance careful examination of social and
political organization in the Arabian peninsula on the eve of Islam ? rise
of Islam affects realities of Arabian life.