165-406: Inconclusive Rashidun Caliphate Sunni States : Shia States : The Levant Egypt North Africa Anatolia & Constantinople Border conflicts Sicily and Southern Italy Naval warfare Byzantine reconquest The Arab–Byzantine wars or Muslim–Byzantine wars were a series of wars from the 7th to 11th centuries between multiple Arab dynasties and
330-839: A civil war in the Arab Empire the Umayyads came to power under Muawiyah I . Under the Umayyads the conquest of the remaining Byzantine and northern Berber territories in North Africa was completed and the Arabs were able to move across large parts of the Berber world, invading Visigothic Spain through the Strait of Gibraltar , under the command of the allegedly Berber general Tariq ibn-Ziyad . But this happened only after they developed
495-555: A de facto independent prince. The conquest of the island was of major importance as it transformed the naval balance of power in the Eastern Mediterranean and opened the hitherto secure Aegean Sea littoral to frequent and devastating raids. The Andalusians also occupied several of the Cyclades during these early years, but Michael II organized another large-scale expedition, recruiting an entire new marine corps,
660-540: A second Arab civil war was raging in Arabia and Syria resulting in a series of four caliphs between the death of Muawiyah in 680 and the ascension of Abd al-Malik in 685, and was ongoing until 692 with the death of the rebel leader. The Saracen Wars of Justinian II (r. 685–695 and 705–711), last emperor of the Heraclian Dynasty , "reflected the general chaos of the age". After a successful campaign he made
825-521: A "Roman lake", to Arab expansion, and began a centuries-long series of naval conflicts over the control of the Mediterranean waterways. 500 Byzantine ships were destroyed in the battle, and Emperor Constans II was almost killed. Under the instructions of the caliph Uthman ibn Affan , Muawiyah then prepared for the siege of Constantinople . Trade between the Muslim eastern and southern shores and
990-568: A base or a stop-over, as during the return of Leo of Tripoli's fleet from Thessalonica, when many of the over 20,000 Thessalonian captives were sold or gifted as slaves in Crete. Likewise, the Cretan emirate received strong support from the Tulunid emirs of Egypt (868–905), but their Ikhshidid successors neglected aid to Crete. In 911, another large-scale Byzantine expedition of well over 100 ships
1155-643: A brief siege in July 634 ( see Battle of Bosra ), effectively ending the dynasty of the Ghassanids . From Bosra, Khalid sent orders to the other corps commanders to join him at Ajnadayn, where, according to early Muslim historians, a Byzantine army of 90,000 (modern sources state 9,000) was concentrated to push back the Muslims. The Byzantine army was defeated decisively on 30 July 634 in the Battle of Ajnadayn . It
1320-500: A caliph, Abu Bakr was not a monarch and never claimed such a title; nor did any of his three successors. Rather, their election and leadership were based upon merit . Notably, according to Sunnis, all four Rashidun Caliphs were connected to Muhammad through marriage, were early converts to Islam, were among ten who were explicitly promised paradise , were his closest companions by association and support and were often highly praised by Muhammad and delegated roles of leadership within
1485-523: A campaign that took most of the island back in 842-43 under Theoktistos , but the reconquest was not completed and would soon be reversed. Later attempts by the Byzantine Empire to recover the island failed, and for the approximately 135 years of its existence, the emirate was one of the major foes of Byzantium. Crete commanded the sea lanes of the Eastern Mediterranean and functioned as a forward base and haven for Muslim corsair fleets that ravaged
1650-586: A few short decades would lead to one of the largest empires in history . Abu Bakr began with Iraq , the richest province of the Sasanian Empire . He sent general Khalid ibn al-Walid to invade the Sassanian Empire in 633. He thereafter also sent four armies to invade the Roman province of Syria , but the decisive operation was only undertaken when Khalid, after completing the conquest of Iraq,
1815-521: A fight. Abu Ubaida himself, along with Khalid, moved to northern Syria to reconquer it with a 17,000-man army. Khalid, along with his cavalry, was sent to Hazir and Abu Ubaidah moved to the city of Qasreen. Khalid defeated a strong Byzantine army at the Battle of Hazir and reached Qasreen before Abu Ubaidah. The city surrendered to Khalid, and soon after, Abu Ubaidah arrived in June 637. Abu Ubaidah then moved against Aleppo , with Khalid, as usual, commanding
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#17327719443231980-431: A governor ( amir ) and a financial officer called an amil . These new posts were integral to the efficient network of taxation that financed the empire. With the bounty secured from conquest, Umar was able to support its faith in material ways: the companions of Muhammad were given pensions on which to live, allowing them to pursue religious studies and exercise spiritual leadership in their communities and beyond. Umar
2145-544: A heavy defeat at the hands of the new Byzantine admiral, Niketas Ooryphas , at the Battle of Kardia . Shortly after, Ooryphas once again defeated the Cretans at the Gulf of Corinth and took many prisoners, whom he tortured extensively in revenge for their raids. At about the same time, the Muslim fleet of Tarsus led by Yazaman al-Khadim was destroyed in a raid against Euripos . These Byzantine victories apparently led to
2310-561: A major army reform with lasting effect: the establishment of the themata , the large territorial commands into which Anatolia, the major contiguous territory remaining to the Empire, was divided. The remains of the old field armies were settled in each of them, and soldiers were allocated land there in payment of their service. The themata would form the backbone of the Byzantine defensive system for centuries to come. After his victory in
2475-402: A man following them, holding an order to execute them, at which point, the protesters returned to Uthman's home, bearing the order. Uthman swore that he did not write the order and to talk the protesters down. The protesters responded by demanding he step down as caliph. Uthman refused and returned to his room, whereupon the protesters broke into Uthman's house from the back and killed him while he
2640-633: A man who became known to history and legend as Count Julian . As the first tide of the Muslim conquests in the Near East ebbed off, and a semi-permanent border between the two powers was established, a wide zone, unclaimed by either Byzantines or Arabs and virtually deserted (known in Arabic as al-Ḍawāḥī , "the outer lands" and in Greek as τὰ ἄκρα , ta akra , "the extremities") emerged in Cilicia , along
2805-599: A member of the Banu Hashim clan, who transferred the capital to Kufa . Ali presided over the civil war called the First Fitna as his suzerainty was unrecognized by Uthman's kinsman and Syria's governor Mu'awiya ibn Abu Sufyan ( r. 661–680 ), who believed that Uthman's murderers should be punished immediately. Additionally, a third faction known as Kharijites , who were former supporters of Ali, rebelled against both Ali and Mu'awiya after refusing to accept
2970-532: A model ( sunnah ) to be followed and emulated from a religious point of view. This term is not used by Shia Muslims , who reject the rule of the first three caliphs as illegitimate. After Muhammad 's death in 632 CE (11 AH ), his Medinan companions debated which of them should succeed him in running the affairs of the Muslims while Muhammad's household was busy with his burial. Umar and Abu Ubayda ibn al-Jarrah pledged their loyalty to Abu Bakr , with
3135-724: A naval power of their own, and they conquered and destroyed the Byzantine stronghold of Carthage between 695 and 698. The loss of Africa meant that soon, Byzantine control of the Western Mediterranean was challenged by a new and expanding Arab fleet, operating from Tunisia. Muawiyah began consolidating the Arab territory from the Aral Sea to the western border of Egypt. He put a governor in place in Egypt at al-Fustat , and launched raids into Anatolia in 663. Then from 665 to 689
3300-451: A navy, manned by Monophysitise Christian , Copt and Jacobite Syrian Christian sailors and Muslim troops. This resulted in the defeat of the Byzantine navy at the Battle of the Masts in 655, opening up the Mediterranean. The shocking defeat of the imperial fleet by the young Muslim navy at the Battle of the Masts in 655 was of critical importance: it opened up the Mediterranean, hitherto
3465-470: A new North African campaign was launched to protect Egypt "from flank attack by Byzantine Cyrene ". An Arab army of 40,000 took Barca , defeating 30,000 Byzantines. A vanguard of 10,000 Arabs under Uqba ibn Nafi followed from Damascus . In 670, Kairouan (modern Tunisia ) was established as a base for further invasions; Kairouan would become the capital of the Islamic province of Ifriqiya , and one of
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#17327719443233630-639: A new force, which made a stand at the Battle of Nihawānd , some forty miles south of Hamadan in modern Iran . The Rashidun army, under the command of Umar's appointed general Nu'man ibn Muqarrin al-Muzani, attacked and again defeated the Persian forces. The Muslims proclaimed it the Victory of Victories (Fath alfotuh), as it marked the End of the Sasanians , shattering the last strongest Sasanian army. Yazdegerd
3795-615: A peak in the 9th and early 10th centuries: their fleets attacked the coasts of Italy and Dalmatia , while Abassid vassals conquered Crete in 827 and gradually took Sicily from 831 to 878. Due to political instability beginning in 861 , the Abbasid state entered a period of decline and fragmentation. Simultaneously, the Byzantines began a resurgence under their emperors of the Macedonian dynasty . From c. 920 to 976,
3960-549: A perilous march of 5 days, appeared in north-western Syria. The border forts of Sawa , Arak , Tadmur , Sukhnah , al-Qaryatayn and Hawarin were the first to fall to the invading Muslims. Khalid marched on to Bosra via the Damascus road. At Bosra, the Corps of Abu Ubaidah and Shurhabil joined Khalid, upon which, per Abu Bakr's orders, Khalid assumed overall command from Abu Ubaidah. Bosra, caught unprepared, surrendered after
4125-516: A renewed offensive against Constantinople. In Byzantium, the general Leo the Isaurian (r. 717–741) had just seized the throne in March 717, when the massive Muslim army under the famed Umayyad prince and general Maslama ibn Abd al-Malik began moving towards the imperial capital. The Caliphate's army and navy, led by Maslama, numbered some 120,000 men and 1,800 ships according to the sources. Whatever
4290-529: A subject class, as in other Muslim conquests, although according to the same sources the Muslims, whether descendants of the Andalusians, more recent migrants, or converts (or any combination of these) formed the majority. There is also evidence of rival classes on the island as when Theodosius the Deacon reports that the rural Cretans, not rulers of the land but inhabitants of crags and caves, descended from
4455-544: A temporary truce, and it appears that the Cretan emir Saïpes ( Shu'ayb ibn Umar ) was obliged to pay tribute to Byzantium for about a decade. Raids resumed soon after, in which the Cretans were joined by North African and Syrian fleets. The Peloponnese in particular suffered considerably from their raids, but also Euboea and the Cyclades: the islands of Patmos , Karpathos and nearby Sokastro came under Cretan control, and Cretan rule extended as far north as Aegina in
4620-490: A truce with the Arabs, agreeing on joint possession of Armenia , Iberia and Cyprus ; however, by removing 12,000 Christian Mardaites from their native Lebanon , he removed a major obstacle for the Arabs in Syria, and in 692, after the disastrous Battle of Sebastopolis , the Muslims invaded and conquered all of Armenia. Deposed in 695, with Carthage lost in 698, Justinian returned to power from 705 to 711. His second reign
4785-534: Is also remembered for establishing the Islamic calendar; like the Arabian calendar, it is lunar , but the origin is set in 622, the year of the Hijra when Muhammad emigrated to Medina. While Umar was leading the morning prayers in 644, he was assassinated by the Persian slave Abu Lu'lu'a Firuz . He appointed Suhayb ibn Sinan to lead the prayers. Before Umar died, he appointed a committee of six men to decide on
4950-688: Is characterized by a 25-year period of rapid military expansion followed by a five-year period of internal strife . The Rashidun Army numbered more than 100,000 men at its peak. By the 650s, in addition to the Arabian Peninsula , the caliphate had subjugated the Levant to the Transcaucasus in the north; North Africa from Egypt to present-day Tunisia in the west; and the Iranian Plateau to parts of Central and South Asia in
5115-447: Is evidence that Chandax was a cultural centre of some importance. The survival of numerous gold, silver, and copper coins, of almost constant weight and composition, testifies to a strong economy and a high living standard among the population. The economy was strengthened by extensive trade with the rest of the Muslim world, especially with Egypt, and by a booming agriculture: the need to sustain an independent state, as well as access to
Arab–Byzantine wars - Misplaced Pages Continue
5280-457: Is in one Byzantine source possibly referencing the Battle of Mu´tah traditionally dated 629, but this is not certain. The first engagements may have started as conflicts with the Arab client states of the Byzantine and Sassanid empires: the Ghassanids and the Lakhmids of Al-Hirah . In any case, Muslim Arabs after 634 certainly pursued a full-blown offensive against both empires, resulting in
5445-566: Is known as the Battle of the Iron Bridge . The Muslim army defeated the Byzantines and Antioch surrendered on 30 October 637 CE. Later during the year, Abu Ubaidah sent Khalid and Iyad ibn Ghanm at the head of two separate armies against the western part of Jazira , most of which was conquered without strong resistance, including parts of Anatolia, Edessa and the area up to the Ararat plain . Other columns were sent to Anatolia as far west as
5610-706: The Tessarakontarioi , and building new ships. Under the admiral Ooryphas , this fleet managed to evict the Arabs from the Aegean islands but failed to retake Crete. Michael II's successor Theophilos ( r. 829–842 ) sent an embassy to Abd ar-Rahman II of Córdoba proposing a joint action against the Andalusian exiles, but beyond Abd ar-Rahman giving his assent to any Byzantine action against Crete, this came to nothing. In October 829, those Arabs destroyed an imperial fleet off Thasos , undoing much of
5775-587: The Anatolic Theme , and Damian, Count of the Stable , was defeated in open battle, where Damian was killed. The next expedition was sent a year later and comprised 70 ships under the strategos of the Cibyrrhaeots Krateros . It was initially victorious, but the overconfident Byzantines were then routed in a night attack. Krateros managed to flee to Kos , but there he was captured by
5940-520: The Battle of Muzieh , then the Battle of Sanni , and finally the Battle of Zumail . These devastating defeats ended Persian control over Iraq. In December 633, Khalid reached the border city of Firaz, where he defeated the combined forces of the Sasanian Persians , Byzantines and Christian Arabs in the Battle of Firaz . This was the last battle in his conquest of Iraq. Khalid then left Mesopotamia to lead another campaign in Syria against
6105-469: The Battle of River , fought in the third week of April 633; the Battle of Walaja , fought in May 633 (where he successfully used a pincer movement ), and the Battle of Ullais , fought in mid-May of 633. In the last week of May 633, the capital city of Iraq fell to the Muslims after initial resistance in the Battle of Hira . After resting his armies, Khalid moved in June 633 towards Anbar , which resisted and
6270-628: The Battle of the Bridge in which Abu Ubayd was killed. The response was delayed until after a decisive Muslim victory against the Romans in the Levant at the Battle of Yarmouk in 636. Umar was then able to transfer forces to the east and resume the offensive against the Sasanians. Umar dispatched 36,000 men along with 7500 troops from the Syrian front, under the command of Sa`d ibn Abī Waqqās against
6435-594: The Byzantine Empire and nearly the entire Sasanian Empire . Umar was assassinated in November 644 and was succeeded by Uthman, a member of the Banu Umayya clan, who was elected by a six-person committee arranged by Umar. Under Uthman, the caliphate concluded its conquest of Persia in 651 and continued expeditions into the Byzantine territories. Uthman was assassinated in June 656, and succeeded by Ali,
6600-584: The Byzantine Empire to recover. The first Islamic invasion of the Sasanian Empire, launched by Caliph Abu Bakr in 633, was a swift conquest, taking only four months. Abu Bakr sent his general, Khalid ibn al-Walid, to conquer Mesopotamia after the Ridda wars . After entering Iraq with his army of 18,000, Khalid won decisive victories in four consecutive battles: the Battle of Chains , fought in April 633;
6765-494: The Byzantine Empire . The Muslim Arab Caliphates conquered large parts of the Christian Byzantine empire and unsuccessfully attacked the Byzantine capital of Constantinople . The frontier between the warring states remained almost static for three centuries of frequent warfare, before the Byzantines were able to recapture some of the lost territory. The conflicts began during the early Muslim conquests under
Arab–Byzantine wars - Misplaced Pages Continue
6930-528: The First Arab Siege of the city. Constantine IV (r. 661–685) however used a devastating new weapon that came to be known as " Greek fire ", invented by a Christian refugee from Syria named Kallinikos of Heliopolis , to decisively defeat the attacking Umayyad navy in the Sea of Marmara , resulting in the lifting of the siege in 678. The returning Muslim fleet suffered further losses due to storms, while
7095-533: The Macedonian dynasty , exploiting the decline and fragmentation of the Abbasid Caliphate , the Byzantines gradually went on the offensive, and recovered much territory in the 10th century, which was lost however after 1071 to the Seljuk Turks . Following the failure to capture Constantinople in 717–718, the Umayyads for a time diverted their attention elsewhere, allowing the Byzantines to take to
7260-667: The Peloponnese , the Cyclades, and Athos. In 866, the Byzantine Caesar Bardas assembled another large-scale expeditionary force to subdue Crete, but his murder by Basil the Macedonian only two weeks after the fleet set sail from the capital spelled the end of the undertaking. In the early 870s, the Cretan raids reached a new intensity: their fleets, often commanded by Byzantine renegades, ranged
7425-647: The Roman province of Mauretania where he was finally halted. As the historian Luis Garcia de Valdeavellano explains: In their struggle against the Byzantines and the Berbers, the Arab chieftains had greatly extended their African dominions, and as early as the year 682 Uqba had reached the shores of the Atlantic, but he was unable to occupy Tangier, for he was forced to turn back toward the Atlas Mountains by
7590-545: The Saronic Gulf , and to Elafonisos and Cythera off the southern coast of the Peloponnese; the great Cycladic island of Naxos , probably along with the neighbouring islands of Paros and Ios , was forced to pay them the poll-tax ( jizya ). As the Muslim presence left generally few material or literary traces, the list of islands at one time controlled or occupied by them could well be longer. Nevertheless,
7755-498: The Taurus Mountains , the important city of Marash , and Malatya , which were all conquered by Khalid in the autumn of 638 CE. During Uthman's reign, the Byzantines recaptured many forts in the region and on Uthman's orders, a series of campaigns were launched to regain control of them. In 647 Muawiyah , the governor of Syria, sent an expedition against Anatolia, invading Cappadocia and sacking Caesarea Mazaca . In 648
7920-476: The Umayyad Caliphate in 661, who over the next fifty years captured Byzantine Cyrenaica and launched repeated raids into Byzantine Asia Minor . Umayyad forces twice placed Constantinople under siege, in 674 to 678 and 717 to 718 , but were unable to capture the heavily fortified Byzantine capital. Following the failed second siege, the border stabilized at the Taurus Mountains in Asia Minor . The Umayyads launched frequent attacks across this frontier, which
8085-410: The succession to his leadership . Muhammad's close companion Abu Bakr, of the Banu Taym clan, was elected the first caliph in Medina and he began the conquest of the Arabian Peninsula . His brief reign ended in August 634 when he died and was succeeded by Umar, his appointed successor from the Banu Adi clan. Under Umar, the caliphate expanded at an unprecedented rate, ruling more than two-thirds of
8250-402: The war of 970–971 against the Rus' . This early Muslim period of Crete remains relatively obscure due to a paucity of surviving evidence regarding its internal history. Furthermore, other than a few place names recalling the presence of the Arabs, no major archaeological remains from the period survive, possibly due to deliberate Byzantine destruction after 961. This has influenced the way
8415-449: The "unnecessarily prolonged Byzantine–Persian conflict opened the way for Islam". In the late 620s, the Islamic Prophet Muhammad had already managed to unify much of Arabia under Muslim rule via conquest as well as making alliances with neighboring tribes, and it was under his leadership that the first Muslim–Byzantine skirmishes took place. Just a few months after Emperor Heraclius and the Persian general Shahrbaraz agreed on terms for
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#17327719443238580-459: The 820s. In 647, a Rashidun-Arab army led by Abdallah ibn al-Sa’ad invaded the Byzantine Exarchate of Africa . Tripolitania was conquered, followed by Sufetula , 150 miles (240 km) south of Carthage , and the governor and self-proclaimed Emperor of Africa Gregory was killed. Abdallah's booty-laden force returned to Egypt in 648 after Gregory's successor, Gennadius, promised them an annual tribute of some 300,000 nomismata . Following
8745-399: The Aegean and further afield, reaching the Dalmatian coasts. On one occasion c. 873 a Cretan fleet under the renegade Photios even penetrated into the Marmara Sea and unsuccessfully attacked Proconnesos , the first time since the Second Arab Siege of Constantinople in 717–718 that a Muslim fleet had come so close to the Byzantine capital. On its return, however, it suffered
8910-423: The Andalusians were already familiar with Crete, having raided it in the past. They also claim that the Muslim landing was initially intended as a raid, and was transformed into a bid for conquest when Abu Hafs himself set fire to their ships. However, as the Andalusian exiles had brought their families along, this is probably later invention. The Andalusians' landing-place is also unknown; some scholars think that it
9075-418: The Andalusians' landing in Crete is uncertain. Following the Muslim sources, it is usually dated to 827 or 828, after the Andalusians' expulsion from Alexandria. Byzantine sources however seem to contradict this, placing their landing soon after the suppression of the large revolt of Thomas the Slav (821–823). Further considerations regarding the number and chronology of the Byzantine campaigns launched against
9240-408: The Ansar and the Quraysh soon following suit. Abu Bakr adopted the title of Khalīfaṫ Rasūl Allāh ( خَلِيفةُ رَسُولِ اللهِ , "Successor of the Messenger of God") or simply caliph. Abu Bakr embarked on campaigns to propagate Islam. First he would have to subdue the Arabian tribes, which had claimed that although they pledged allegiance to Muhammad and accepted Islam, they owed nothing to Abu Bakr. As
9405-477: The Ansar for his succession, explained by the genealogical links he shared with them. Whether his candidacy for the succession was raised during Saqifah is unknown, though it is not unlikely. Abu Bakr later sent Umar to confront Ali to gain his allegiance, resulting in an altercation which may have involved violence. However, after six months the group made peace with Abu Bakr and Ali offered him his fealty. Troubles emerged soon after Muhammad's death, threatening
9570-413: The Arab fleet suffered further casualties to storms and an eruption of the volcano of Thera . The first wave of the Muslim conquests ended with the siege of Constantinople in 718, and the border between the two empires became stabilized along the mountains of eastern Anatolia. Raids and counter-raids continued on both sides and became almost ritualized, but the prospect of outright conquest of Byzantium by
9735-488: The Arab landing, and before the Andalusians had secured their control over the entire island, he reacted and sent successive expeditions to recover the island. Losses suffered during the revolt of Thomas the Slav hampered Byzantium's ability to respond, however, and if the landing occurred in 827/828, the diversion of ships and men to counter the gradual conquest of Sicily by the Tunisian Aghlabids also interfered. The first expedition, under Photeinos , strategos of
9900-400: The Arabs and crucified . Makrypoulias suggests that these campaigns must have taken place before the Andalusians completed their construction of Chandax, where they transferred the capital from the inland site of Gortyn . Abu Hafs repulsed the early Byzantine attacks and slowly consolidated control of the entire island. He recognized the suzerainty of the Abbasid Caliphate , but ruled as
10065-413: The Arabs and Byzantines in the 1040s and 1050s, forming the Seljuk Empire and beginning the Byzantine–Seljuk wars . The prolonged and escalating Byzantine–Sasanian wars of the 6th and 7th centuries and the recurring outbreaks of bubonic plague ( Plague of Justinian ) left both empires exhausted and vulnerable in the face of the sudden emergence and expansion of the Arabs . The last of the wars between
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#173277194432310230-524: The Arabs just as the Monophysites did in Jerusalem. The loss of this lucrative province deprived the Byzantines of their valuable wheat supply, thereby causing food shortages throughout the Byzantine Empire and weakening its armies in the following decades. The Byzantine navy briefly won back Alexandria in 645, but lost it again in 646 shortly after the Battle of Nikiou . The Islamic forces raided Sicily in 652, while Cyprus and Crete were captured in 653. However, Crete reverted to Eastern Roman rule until
10395-404: The Byzantine Empire, after which Mithna ibn Haris took command in Mesopotamia. The Persians once again concentrated armies to regain Mesopotamia, while Mithna ibn Haris withdrew from central Iraq to the region near the Arabian desert to delay war until reinforcement came from Medina. Umar sent reinforcements under the command of Abu Ubayd al-Thaqafi . This army was defeated by the Sasanian army at
10560-419: The Byzantine army was at Fahl, which was joined by survivors of Ajnadayn. With this threat at their rear, the Muslim armies could not move further north nor south. Thus Abu Ubaidah decided to deal with the situation, and defeated and routed this garrison at the Battle of Fahl on 23 January 635, which proved to be the "Key to Palestine". After this battle Abu Ubaidah and Khalid marched north towards Emesa ; Yazid
10725-436: The Byzantine army, however, the Byzantine army had retreated beforehand. Though it was not a battle in the typical sense, nevertheless the event represented the first Arab encounter against the Byzantines. It did not, however, lead immediately to a military confrontation. There is no contemporary Byzantine account of the Tabuk expedition, and many of the details come from much later Muslim sources. It has been argued that there
10890-436: The Byzantine-controlled shores of the Aegean Sea . The emirate's internal history is less well known, but all accounts point to considerable prosperity deriving not only from piracy but also from extensive trade and agriculture. The emirate was brought to an end by Nikephoros Phokas , who successfully campaigned against it in 960–961, re-annexing the island to the Byzantine Empire. Crete had been raided by Muslim forces since
11055-427: The Byzantines at bay, as well as the corresponding retaliatory Byzantine raids, eventually became established as a fixture of Byzantine–Arab warfare for the next three centuries. The outbreak of the Muslim Civil War in 656 bought a precious breathing pause for Byzantium, which Emperor Constans II (r. 641–668) used to shore up his defences, extend and consolidate his control over Armenia and most importantly, initiate
11220-428: The Byzantines pushed Arab forces back, recovering some of their lost territories in northern Syria and Armenia. The Emirate of Crete was reconquered in 961. By the end of the 10th century the Fatimid Caliphate had replaced the Abassids as the major Arab power; they halted the Byzantine reconquests although border conflicts continued. The frontier remained stable until the Seljuk Turks began to take territory from both
11385-440: The Byzantines; embassies were exchanged and there were several periods of truce. Nevertheless conflict remained the norm, with almost annual raids and counter-raids, either by the Abbasid government or by local client rulers , which continued until the mid-10th century. Byzantine attempts to take back the lands they had lost only provoked Abbasid retaliation, in the form of destructive invasions of Asia Minor. Arab naval raids reached
11550-402: The Caliphate receded. This led to far more regular, and often friendly, diplomatic contacts, as well as a reciprocal recognition of the two empires. In response to the Muslim threat, which reached its peak in the first half of the 8th century, the Isaurian emperors adopted the policy of Iconoclasm , which was abandoned in 786 only to be readopted in the 820s and finally abandoned in 843. Under
11715-557: The Christian Arab auxiliaries of the Roman army in a skirmish . Nothing further happened until the third week of August, during which the Battle of Yarmouk was fought. The battle lasted 6 days during which Abu Ubaida transferred the command of the entire army to Khalid. Outnumbered five-to-one, the Muslims nevertheless defeated the Byzantine army in October 636. Abu Ubaida held a meeting with his high command officers, including Khalid, to decide on future conquests, settling on Jerusalem . The siege of Jerusalem lasted four months, after which
11880-554: The Christian northern shores almost ceased during this period, isolating Western Europe from developments in the Muslim world: "In antiquity, and again in the high Middle Ages, the voyage from Italy to Alexandria was commonplace; in early Islamic times the two countries were so remote that even the most basic information was unknown" (Kennedy). Muawiyah also initiated the first large-scale raids into Anatolia from 641 on. These expeditions, aiming both at plunder and at weakening and keeping
12045-578: The Cretan threat were undertaken by the new Byzantine regime: in 843 a new maritime theme , that of the Aegean Sea , was established to better deal with the Arab raids, and another expedition to recover Crete was launched under the personal leadership of the powerful logothetes and regent Theoktistos . Although it succeeded in occupying much of the island, Theoktistos had to abandon the army due to political intrigues in Constantinople , and
12210-460: The Mediterranean island of Crete from the late 820s to the reconquest of the island by the Byzantine Empire in 961. Although the emirate recognized the suzerainty of the Abbasid Caliphate and maintained close ties with Tulunid Egypt, it was de facto independent. A group of Andalusian exiles led by Abu Hafs Umar al-Iqritishi conquered Crete in either 824 or 827/828, and established an independent Islamic state. The Byzantines launched
12375-410: The Muslim armies in late 637, and by then the Muslims occupied the whole of northern Syria, except for upper Mesopotamia , which they granted a one-year truce. At the expiration of this truce in 638–639, the Arabs overran Byzantine Mesopotamia and Byzantine Armenia , and terminated the conquest of Palestine by storming Caesarea Maritima and effecting their final capture of Ascalon . In December 639,
12540-472: The Muslim cavalry, under Khalid's command, attacked the Roman army by catching up to them using an unknown shortcut at the battle of Maraj-al-Debaj . On 22 August 634, Abu Bakr died, making Umar his successor. As Umar became caliph, he restored Abu Ubaidah ibn al-Jarrah to the overall command of the Muslim armies. The conquest of Syria slowed down under him while he relied heavily on the advice of Khalid, who he kept close at hand. The last large garrison of
12705-572: The Muslims departed from Palestine to invade Egypt in early 640. By the time Heraclius died, much of Egypt had been lost, and by 637–638 the whole of Syria was in the hands of the armies of Islam. With 3,500–4,000 troops under his command, 'Amr ibn al-A'as first crossed into Egypt from Palestine at the end of 639 or the beginning of 640. He was progressively joined by further reinforcements, notably 12,000 soldiers by Zubayr ibn al-Awwam . 'Amr first besieged and conquered Babylon Fortress , and then attacked Alexandria . The Byzantines, divided and shocked by
12870-402: The Persian . Demands to take revenge for the assassination of Caliph Uthman rose among parts of the population, and a large army of rebels led by Zubayr , Talha and the widow of Muhammad, Aisha , set out to fight the perpetrators. The army reached Basra and captured it, whereupon 4,000 suspected seditionists were put to death. Subsequently, Ali turned towards Basra and the caliph's army met
13035-522: The Persian army. The Battle of al-Qādisiyyah followed, with the Persians prevailing at first, but, on the third day of fighting, the Muslims gained the upper hand. The legendary Persian general Rostam Farrokhzād was killed during the battle. According to some sources, the Persian losses were 20,000, and the Arabs lost 10,500 men. Following this Battle, the Arab Muslim armies pushed forward toward
13200-522: The Persian capital of Ctesiphon (also called Madā'in in Arabic), which was quickly evacuated by Yazdgird after a brief siege . After seizing the city, they continued their drive eastwards, following Yazdgird and his remaining troops. Within a short span of time, the Arab armies defeated a major Sasanian counterattack in the Battle of Jalūlā', as well as other engagements at Qasr-e Shirin , and Masabadhan. By
13365-469: The Persian government was, however, incitement to revolt in the conquered territories and unlike the Byzantine army, the Sasanian army was continuously striving to regain their lost territories. Finally, Umar pressed forward, which eventually resulted in the wholesale conquest of the Sasanian Empire. Yazdegerd, the Sasanian king, made yet another effort to regroup and defeat the invaders. By 641 he had raised
13530-554: The Rashidun army raided Phrygia . A major offensive into Cilicia and Isauria in 650–651 forced the Byzantine Emperor Constans II to enter into negotiations with Muawiyah. The truce that followed allowed a short respite and made it possible for Constans II to hold on to the western portions of Armenia . In 654–655, on the orders of Uthman, an expedition prepared to attack Constantinople , but this plan
13695-580: The Roman and Persian empires ended with victory for the Byzantines: Emperor Heraclius regained all lost territories, and restored the True Cross to Jerusalem in 629. Nevertheless, neither empire was given any chance to recover, as within a few years they found themselves in conflict with the Arabs (newly united by Islam), which, according to Howard-Johnston, "can only be likened to a human tsunami". According to George Liska,
13860-549: The arbitration in the Battle of Siffin . The war led to the overthrow of the Rashidun Caliphate and the establishment of the Umayyad Caliphate in 661 by Mu'awiya. The civil war permanently consolidated the divide between Sunni and Shia Muslims, with Shia Muslims believing Ali to be the first rightful caliph and Imam after Muhammad, favouring his bloodline connection to Muhammad. The Rashidun Caliphate
14025-495: The army lost many men to the thematic armies who attacked them on their route back. Among those killed in the siege was Eyup , the standard bearer of Muhammed and the last of his companions; to Muslims today, his tomb is considered one of the holiest sites in Istanbul. The setback at Constantinople was followed by further reverses across the vast Muslim empire. As Gibbon writes, "this Mahometan Alexander, who sighed for new worlds,
14190-399: The caliphate is considered to have been 'rightly guided' (the meaning of al-Rāshidūn ; الراشدون ), meaning that it constitutes a model ( sunna ) to be followed and emulated from a religious point of view. The caliphs are also known in Muslim history as the "orthodox" or "patriarchal" caliphs. The caliphate arose following Muhammad’s death in June 632 and the subsequent debate over
14355-435: The capable general Nikephoros Phokas . At the head of a huge fleet and army, Phokas sailed in June or July 960, landed on the island, and defeated the initial Muslim resistance. A long siege of Chandax followed, which dragged over the winter into 961, when the city was stormed on 6 March. The city was pillaged, and its mosques and walls were torn down. Muslim inhabitants were either killed or carried off into slavery, while
14520-471: The cavalry. After the Battle of Aleppo the city finally agreed to surrender in October 637. Abu Ubaidah and Khalid ibn al-Walid, after conquering all of northern Syria, moved north towards Anatolia taking the fort of Azaz to clear the flank and rear of Byzantine troops. On their way to Antioch, a Roman army blocked them near a river on which there was an iron bridge. Because of this, the following battle
14685-564: The city agreed to surrender, but only to Caliph Umar Ibn Al Khattab in person. Amr ibn Al As suggested that Khalid should be sent as Caliph, because of his very strong resemblance to Caliph Umar. Khalid was recognized and eventually, Caliph Umar ibn Al Khattab came and Jerusalem surrendered in April 637. Abu Ubaida sent Amr bin al-As, Yazid bin Abu Sufyan, and Sharjeel bin Hassana back to their areas to reconquer them; most submitted without
14850-451: The city in March 636. The prisoners taken in the battle informed them about Emperor Heraclius's plans to take back Syria. They said that an army possibly 200,000 strong would soon emerge to recapture the province. Khalid stopped here on June 636. As soon as Abu Ubaida heard the news of the advancing Byzantine army, he gathered all his officers to plan their next move. Khalid suggested that they should consolidate all of their forces present in
15015-638: The civil war, Muawiyah launched a series of attacks against Byzantine holdings in Africa, Sicily and the East. By 670, the Muslim fleet had penetrated into the Sea of Marmara and stayed at Cyzicus during the winter. Four years later, a massive Muslim fleet reappeared in the Marmara and re-established a base at Cyzicus, from there they raided the Byzantine coasts almost at will. Finally in 676, Muawiyah sent an army to invest Constantinople from land as well, beginning
15180-497: The collection and dispatch of the maximum number of available troops under major commanders, including Theodore Trithyrius and the Armenian general Vahan, to eject the Muslims from their newly won territories. At the Battle of Yarmouk in 636, however, the Muslims, having studied the ground in detail, lured the Byzantines into pitched battle, which the Byzantines usually avoided, and into a series of costly assaults, before turning
15345-475: The conquest of the Levant , Egypt and Persia for Islam. The most successful Arab generals were Khalid ibn al-Walid and 'Amr ibn al-'As . In the Levant, the invading Rashidun army were engaged by a Byzantine army composed of imperial troops as well as local levies. According to Islamic historians, Monophysites and Jews throughout Syria welcomed the Arabs as liberators, as they were discontented with
15510-427: The deep valleys and cliffs into a catastrophic death-trap. Heraclius' farewell exclamation (according to the 9th-century historian Al-Baladhuri ) while departing Antioch for Constantinople , is expressive of his disappointment: "Peace unto thee, O Syria, and what an excellent country this is for the enemy!" The impact of Syria's loss on the Byzantines is illustrated by Joannes Zonaras ' words: "[...] since then [after
15675-591: The east. The four Rashidun caliphs were chosen by a small electoral body – consisting of prominent members of the high-ranking companions of the Prophet ;– called shūrā ( شُورَى , lit. ' consultation ' ). The Arabic word rāshidūn (singular: rāshid راشد ) means "rightly-guided". The reign of these four caliphs is considered in Sunni Islam to have been 'rightly-guided', meaning that it constitutes
15840-505: The eleventh year of the Hijri. The year 12 Hijri dawned on 18 March 633 with the Arabian peninsula united under the caliph in Medina. After Abu Bakr unified Arabia under Islam, he began the incursions into the Byzantine Empire and the Sasanian Empire . Whether or not he intended a full-out imperial conquest is hard to say; he did, however, set in motion a historical trajectory that in just
16005-757: The emir al-Hakam I of Córdoba in 818. In the aftermath of the revolt's suppression, the citizens of the Córdoban suburb of al-Rabad were exiled en masse . Some settled in Fez in Morocco , but others, numbering over 10,000, took to piracy, probably joined by other Andalusians. They landed in Alexandria and took control of the city until 827, when they were besieged and expelled by the Abbasid general Abdullah ibn Tahir al-Khurasani . As W. Kubiak points out, however,
16170-513: The emirate is generally regarded: scholars, forced to rely mostly on Byzantine accounts, have traditionally viewed the Emirate of Crete through a Byzantine lens as a quintessential "corsair's nest", surviving on piracy and the slave trade . The picture painted by the few and scattered references to the Cretan emirate from the Muslim world, on the other hand, is of an ordered state with a regular monetary economy and extensive trade links, and there
16335-533: The enemy accepted Islam or tributary status." Both as governor of Syria and later as caliph, Muawiyah I (r. 661–680) was the driving force of the Muslim effort against Byzantium, especially by his creation of a fleet, which challenged the Byzantine navy and raided the Byzantine islands and coasts. To stop the Byzantine harassment from the sea during the Arab-Byzantine Wars, in 649 Muawiyah set up
16500-602: The expansionist Rashidun Caliphate , part of the initial spread of Islam . In the 630s, Rashidun forces from Arabia attacked and quickly overran Byzantium's southern provinces. Syria was captured in 639 and Egypt was conquered in 642. The Exarchate of Africa was gradually captured between 647 and 670. From the 650s onwards, Arab navies entered the Mediterranean Sea , which became a major battleground. Both sides launched raids and counter-raids against islands and coastal settlements. The Rashiduns were succeeded by
16665-605: The fall of Syria] the race of the Ishmaelites did not cease from invading and plundering the entire territory of the Romans". In April 637 the Arabs, after a long siege, captured Jerusalem , which was surrendered by Patriarch Sophronius . In the summer of 637, the Muslims conquered Gaza , and, during the same period, the Byzantine authorities in Egypt and Mesopotamia purchased an expensive truce, which lasted three years for Egypt and one year for Mesopotamia. Antioch fell to
16830-630: The first four successive caliphs (lit. 'successors') who led the Muslim community following the death of the Islamic prophet Muhammad in 632 – Abu Bakr ( r. 632–634 ), Umar ( r. 634–644 ), Uthman ( r. 644–656 ), and Ali ( r. 656–661 ). During the Caliphate's existence, the empire was the most powerful economic, cultural, and military force in West Asia and Northeast Africa . In Sunni Islam ,
16995-470: The first wave of the Muslim conquests in the mid-7th century. It first experienced a raid in 654 and then another in 674/675, and parts of the island were temporarily occupied during the reign of the Umayyad Caliph al-Walid I ( r. 705–715 ). However, the island at that time was not conquered and despite occasional raids in the 8th century, it remained securely in Byzantine hands; Crete
17160-554: The foundations of a political structure that could hold it together. He created the Diwan , a bureau for transacting government affairs. The military was brought directly under state control and into its pay. Crucially, in conquered lands, Umar did not require that non-Muslim populations convert to Islam, nor did he try to centralize government. Instead, he allowed subject populations to retain their religion, language, and customs, and he left their government relatively untouched, imposing only
17325-527: The hand and offered them to the Ansar as potential choices. He was countered with the suggestion that the Quraysh and the Ansar choose a leader each from among themselves, who would then rule jointly. The group grew heated upon hearing this proposal and began to argue amongst themselves. Umar hastily took Abu Bakr's hand and swore his own allegiance to the latter, an example followed by the gathered men. Abu Bakr
17490-464: The impact of this new wave of Arab raids was felt across the Aegean, where some islands were deserted altogether, and elsewhere coastal sites were abandoned for better protected inland locations. Athens may have been occupied in c. 896–902 , and in 904, a Syrian fleet led by Leo of Tripoli sacked the Byzantine Empire's second city, Thessalonica . The Arabs of Crete co-operated closely with their Syrian counterparts, who often used Crete as
17655-472: The invaders and prosopographical questions of the Byzantine generals that headed them have led other scholars like Vassilios Christides and Christos Makrypoulias to propose an earlier date, c. 824 . Under the terms of their agreement with Ibn Tahir, the Andalusians and their families left Alexandria in 40 ships. Historian Warren Treadgold estimates them at some 12,000 people, of whom about 3,000 would be fighting men. According to Byzantine historians,
17820-496: The island's last emir Abd al-Aziz ibn Shu'ayb (Kouroupas) and his son al-Numan (Anemas) were taken captive and brought to Constantinople, where Phokas celebrated a triumph . The island was converted into a Byzantine theme , and the remaining Muslims were converted to Christianity by missionaries like Nikon "the Metanoeite" . Among the converts was the prince Anemas , who entered Byzantine service and fell at Dorostolon , in
17985-431: The landward side, isolating the capital. Their attempt to complete the blockade by sea however failed when the Byzantine navy employed Greek fire against them; the Arab fleet kept well off the city walls, leaving Constantinople's supply routes open. Forced to extend the siege into winter, the besieging army suffered horrendous casualties from the cold and the lack of provisions. In spring, new reinforcements were sent by
18150-486: The lifetime of Muhammad. The first incident of apostasy was fought and concluded while Muhammad still lived; a supposed prophet Aswad Ansi arose and invaded South Arabia ; he was killed on 30 May 632 (6 Rabi' al-Awwal, 11 Hijri) by Governor Fērōz of Yemen, a Persian Muslim. The news of his death reached Medina shortly after the death of Muhammad. The apostasy of al-Yamama was led by another supposed prophet, Musaylimah , who arose before Muhammad's death; other centers of
18315-399: The long conflict between Byzantines and Persians had left both sides militarily exhausted, and the Islamic armies easily prevailed against them. By 640, they had brought all of Mesopotamia , Syria and Palestine under the control of the Rashidun Caliphate; Egypt was conquered by 642, and almost the entire Sassanian Empire by 643. While the caliphate continued its rapid expansion, Umar laid
18480-666: The main Arabo-Islamic religious centers in the Middle Ages . Then ibn Nafi " plunged into the heart of the country, traversed the wilderness in which his successors erected the splendid capitals of Fes and Morocco , and at length penetrated to the verge of the Atlantic and the great desert " . In his conquest of the Maghreb , Uqba Ibn Nafi took the coastal cities of Bejaia and Tangier , overwhelming what had once been
18645-406: The markets of the Muslim world, led to an intensification of cultivation. It is also possible that sugar cane was introduced to Crete at the time. It is unclear what happened to the island's Christians after the Muslim conquest; the traditional view is that most were either converted or expelled. There is evidence from Muslim sources, however, for the continued survival of Christians on Crete, as
18810-461: The meeting became concerned about a potential coup and hastened to the gathering. Upon arriving, Abu Bakr addressed the assembled men with a warning that any attempt to elect a leader outside of Muhammad's own tribe, the Quraysh , would likely result in dissension as only they can command the necessary respect among the community. He then took Umar and another companion, Abu Ubaidah ibn al-Jarrah , by
18975-698: The mid-7th century, the Arabs controlled all of Mesopotamia, including the area that is now the Iranian province of Khuzestan . It is said that Caliph Umar did not wish to send his troops through the Zagros Mountains and onto the Iranian plateau. One tradition has it that he wished for a "wall of fire" to keep the Arabs and Persians apart. Later commentators explain this as a common-sense precaution against over-extension of his forces. The Arabs had only recently conquered large territories that still had to be garrisoned and administered. The continued existence of
19140-662: The nascent Muslim community. These caliphs are collectively known in Sunni Islam as the Rashidun , or "Rightly Guided" caliphs ( الْخُلَفاءُ الرّاشِدُونَ , al-Khulafāʾ ar-Rāšidūn ). According to Sunni Muslims, the term Rashidun Caliphate is derived from a famous hadith of Muhammad, where he foretold that the caliphate after him would last for 30 years (the length of the Rashidun Caliphate) and would then be followed by kingship (the Umayyad Caliphate
19305-627: The natives of Medina, took place in the Saqifah (courtyard) of the Banu Sa'ida clan. The general belief at the time was that the purpose of the meeting was for the Ansar to decide on a new leader of the Muslim community among themselves, with the intentional exclusion of the Muhajirun (migrants from Mecca ), though this has later become the subject of debate. Nevertheless, Abu Bakr and Umar, both prominent companions of Muhammad, upon learning of
19470-454: The new caliph, Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz (r. 717–720), by sea from Africa and Egypt and over land through Asia Minor. The crews of the new fleets were composed mostly of Christians, who began defecting in large numbers, while the land forces were ambushed and defeated in Bithynia . As famine and an epidemic continued to plague the Arab camp, the siege was abandoned on 15 August 718. On its return,
19635-471: The next caliph and charged them with choosing one of their own numbers. All of the men, like Umar, were from the tribe of Quraysh. The committee narrowed down the choices to two: Uthman and Ali . Ali was from the Banu Hashim clan (the same clan as Muhammad) of the Quraysh tribe, and he was the cousin and son-in-law of Muhammad and had been one of his companions from the inception of his mission. Uthman
19800-536: The offensive, making some gains in Armenia. From 720/721 however the Arab armies resumed their expeditions against Byzantine Anatolia, although now they were no longer aimed at conquest, but rather large-scale raids, plundering and devastating the countryside and only occasionally attacking forts or major settlements. Rashidun Caliphate The Rashidun Caliphate ( Arabic : ٱلْخِلَافَةُ ٱلرَّاشِدَةُ , romanized : al-Khilāfah ar-Rāšidah ) consisted of
19965-431: The province of Syria (Syria, Jordan, Palestine) and then move towards the plain of Yarmouk for battle. Abu Ubaida ordered the Muslim commanders to withdraw from all the conquered areas, return the tributes they had previously gathered, and move towards Yarmuk. Heraclius's army also moved towards Yarmuk, but the Muslim armies reached it in early July 636, a week or two before the Byzantines. Khalid's mobile guard defeated
20130-418: The province of Syria. However, it is regarded more as an attempt by Mu'awiya to assume the caliphate, rather than to take revenge for Uthman's murder. Ali fought Mu'awiya's forces to a stalemate at the Battle of Siffin , and then lost a controversial arbitration that ended with the arbiter, 'Amr ibn al-'As , pronouncing his support for Mu'awiya. After this Ali was forced to fight the Battle of Nahrawan against
20295-516: The real number, it was a huge force, far larger than the imperial army. Thankfully for Leo and the Empire, the capital's sea walls had recently been repaired and strengthened. In addition, the emperor concluded an alliance with the Bulgar khan Tervel , who agreed to harass the invaders' rear. From July 717 to August 718, the city was besieged by land and sea by the Muslims, who built an extensive double line of circumvallation and contravallation on
20460-428: The rebel army. Though neither Ali nor the leaders of the opposing force, Talha and Zubayr, wanted to fight, a battle broke out at night between the two armies. It is said, according to Sunni Muslim traditions, that those who were involved in the assassination of Uthman initiated combat, as they were afraid that negotiations between Ali and the opposing army would result in their capture and execution. The battle thus fought
20625-549: The rebellious Kharijites , a faction of his former supporters who, as a result of their dissatisfaction with the arbitration, opposed both Ali and Mu'awiya. Weakened by this internal rebellion and a lack of popular support in many provinces, Ali's forces lost control over most of the caliphate's territory to Mu'awiya while large sections of the empire—such as Sicily , North Africa , the coastal areas of Spain and some forts in Anatolia —were also lost to outside empires. In 661, Ali
20790-551: The rebels in the Battle of Dawmat al-Jandal in the last week of August 633. Returning from Arabia, he received news that a large Persian army was assembling. Within a few weeks, he decided to defeat them piecemeal in order to avoid the risk of defeat by a large unified Persian army. Four divisions of Persian and Christian Arab auxiliaries were present at Hanafiz, Zumiel, Sanni, and Muzieh. In November 633, Khalid divided his army into three units, and attacked these auxiliaries one by one from three different sides at night, starting with
20955-538: The rebels were in the Najd , Eastern Arabia (known then as al-Bahrayn ) and South Arabia (known as al-Yaman and including the Mahra ). Many tribes claimed that they had submitted to Muhammad and that with Muhammad's death, their allegiance was ended. Caliph Abu Bakr insisted that they had not just submitted to a leader but joined an ummah ( أُمَّـة , community) of which he was the new head. The result of this situation
21120-532: The regions which were not conquered during Umar's reign; hence, the Rashidun Caliphate's frontiers in the east extended to the lower river Indus and north to the Oxus River . After Khalid consolidated his control of Iraq, Abu Bakr sent four armies to Syria on the Byzantine front under four different commanders: Abu Ubaidah ibn al-Jarrah (acting as their supreme commander), Amr ibn al-As , Yazid ibn Abu Sufyan and Shurhabil ibn Hasana . However, their advance
21285-575: The rule of the Byzantines. The Roman Emperor Heraclius had fallen ill and was unable to personally lead his armies to resist the Arab conquests of Syria and Roman Paelestina in 634. In a battle fought near Ajnadayn in the summer of 634, the Rashidun Caliphate army achieved a decisive victory. After their victory at the Fahl , Muslim forces conquered Damascus in 634 under the command of Khalid ibn al-Walid . The Byzantine response involved
21450-621: The southern approaches of the Taurus and Anti-Taurus mountain ranges, leaving Syria in Muslim and the Anatolian plateau in Byzantine hands. Both Emperor Heraclius and the Caliph ' Umar (r. 634–644) pursued a strategy of destruction within this zone, trying to transform it into an effective barrier between the two realms. Nevertheless, the Umayyads still considered the complete subjugation of Byzantium as their ultimate objective. Their thinking
21615-489: The span of 24 years, a vast territory was conquered comprising Mesopotamia , the Levant , parts of Anatolia , and most of the Sasanian Empire . Unlike the Sasanian Persians , the Byzantines, after losing Syria, retreated back to Anatolia. As a result, they also lost Egypt to the invading Rashidun army, although the civil wars among the Muslims halted the war of conquest for many years, and this gave time for
21780-417: The strategic town of Chalcis made peace with the Muslims for one year in order to buy time for Heraclius to prepare his defences and raise new armies. The Muslims welcomed the peace and consolidated their control over the conquered territory. However, as soon as the Muslims received the news of reinforcements being sent to Emesa and Chalcis, they marched against Emesa, laid siege to it and eventually captured
21945-411: The successful Ridda wars , which resulted in the consolidation of a powerful Muslim state throughout the peninsula. According to Muslim biographies, Muhammed, having received intelligence that Byzantine forces were concentrating in northern Arabia with intentions of invading Arabia, led a Muslim army north to Tabuk in present-day northwestern Saudi Arabia , with the intention of pre-emptively engaging
22110-406: The sudden loss of so much territory, agreed to give up the city by September 642. The fall of Alexandria extinguished Byzantine rule in Egypt, and allowed the Muslims to continue their military expansion into North Africa; between 643 and 644 'Amr completed the conquest of Cyrenaica . Uthman succeeded Caliph Umar after his death. According to Arab historians, the local Christian Copts welcomed
22275-504: The supposed origin from Córdoba is contradicted by other sources, which record the presence of Andalusian corsairs in Alexandria as early as 798/9, and their takeover is dated to 814, before the revolt took place; furthermore, the Andalusians' leader, Umar ibn Hafs ibn Shuayb ibn Isa al-Balluti, commonly known as Abu Hafs , came from a locality ( Fahs al-Ballut , now Los Pedroches ) that was far from Córdoba. The exact chronology of
22440-471: The troops left behind were slaughtered by the Arabs. In an effort to weaken the Arabs in 853, several Byzantine fleets engaged in coordinated operations in the Eastern Mediterranean, attacking the Egyptian naval base of Damietta and capturing weapons intended for Crete. Despite some Byzantine successes against the Arabs in the following years, the Cretans resumed their raids in the early 860s, attacking
22605-401: The two men. The treaty stated that Mu'awiya would not name a successor during his reign, and that he would let the Islamic world choose the next leader. This treaty would later be broken by Mu'awiya as he named his son Yazid I successor. Hasan was assassinated, and Mu'awiya founded the Umayyad Caliphate , supplanting the Rashidun Caliphate. The Rashidun Caliphate expanded steadily; within
22770-651: The unity and stability of the new community and state. Apostasy spread to every tribe in the Arabian Peninsula with the exception of the people in Mecca and Medina , the Banu Thaqif in Ta'if and the Bani Abdul Qais of Oman . In some cases, entire tribes apostatized. Others merely withheld zakat , the alms tax, without formally challenging Islam. Many tribal leaders made claims to prophethood; some made it during
22935-550: The wars of conquest started by Umar. The Rashidun army conquered North Africa from the Byzantines and even raided Spain, conquering the coastal areas of the Iberian Peninsula , as well as the islands of Rhodes and Cyprus . Coastal Sicily was raided in 652. The Rashidun army fully conquered the Sasanian Empire, and its eastern frontiers extended up to the lower Indus River . Uthman's most lasting project
23100-406: The withdrawal of Persian troops from occupied Byzantine eastern provinces in 629, Arab and Byzantine troops confronted each other at the Battle of Mu'tah in response to the murder of Muhammad's ambassador at the hands of the Ghassanids , a Byzantine vassal kingdom. Muhammad died in 632 and was succeeded by Abu Bakr , the first Caliph with undisputed control of the entire Arabian Peninsula after
23265-473: The work of Ooryphas and opening the Aegean and its coasts to pillage. Later they attacked Euboea ( c. 835–840 ), Lesbos (837), and the coasts of the Thracesian Theme , where they destroyed the monastic centre of Mount Latros . They were heavily defeated, however, by the local strategos , Constantine Kontomytes . After the death of Theophilos in 842, new measures to confront
23430-602: Was a hereditary monarchy). Furthermore, according to other hadiths in Sunan Abu Dawood and Musnad Ahmad ibn Hanbal , towards the end times, the Rightly Guided Caliphate will be restored once again by God. Note that a caliph's succession does not necessarily occur on the first day of the new year. After Muhammad's death in June 632, a gathering of the Ansar ( lit. ' Helpers ' ),
23595-461: Was assassinated by Ibn Muljam as part of a Kharijite plot to assassinate all the different Islamic leaders in an attempt to end the civil war, but the Kharijites failed to assassinate Mu'awiya and 'Amr ibn al-'As. Ali's son Hasan briefly assumed the caliphate for six months and came to an agreement with Mu'awiya to fix relations between the two groups of Muslims that were each loyal to one of
23760-501: Was at the north coast, at Suda Bay or near where their main city and fortress Chandax ( Arabic : ربض الخندق , romanized : rabḍ al-kḫandaq , lit. 'Castle of the Moat';, modern Heraklion ) was later built, but others think that they most likely landed on the south coast of the island and then moved to the more densely populated interior and the northern coast. As soon as Emperor Michael II learned of
23925-509: Was defeated , and eventually surrendered after a siege of a few weeks in July 633. Khalid then moved towards the south, and conquered the city of Ein ul Tamr in the last week of July 633. By now, almost the whole of Iraq was under Islamic control. Khalid received a call for help from Dumat al-Jandal in Northern Arabia, where another Muslim general, Iyad ibn Ghanm , was trapped among the rebel tribes. Khalid diverted there and defeated
24090-454: Was dominated by Islamic teaching, which placed the infidel Byzantines in the Dār al-Ḥarb , the "House of War", which, in the words of Islamic scholar Hugh N. Kennedy , "the Muslims should attack whenever possible; rather than peace interrupted by occasional conflict, the normal pattern was seen to be conflict interrupted by occasional, temporary truce ( hudna ). True peace ( ṣulḥ ) could only come when
24255-509: Was first to clear Najd and Western Arabia near Medina, then tackle Malik ibn Nuwayrah and his forces between the Najd and al-Bahrayn, and finally concentrate against the most dangerous enemy, Musaylimah and his allies in al-Yamama. After a series of successful campaigns Khalid ibn al-Walid defeated Musaylimah in the Battle of Yamama . The Campaign on the Apostasy was fought and completed during
24420-689: Was from the Umayyad clan of the Quraysh. He was the second cousin and son-in-law of Muhammad and one of the early converts of Islam. Uthman was ultimately chosen. Uthman reigned for twelve years as a caliph. During the first half of his reign, he was the most popular caliph among all the Rashiduns , while in the latter half of his reign he met increasing opposition, led by the Egyptians and concentrated around Ali, who would albeit briefly, succeed Uthman as caliph. Despite internal troubles, Uthman continued
24585-483: Was halted by a concentration of the Byzantine army at Ajnadayn. Abu Ubaidah then sent for reinforcements. Abu Bakr ordered Khalid, who by now was planning to attack Ctesiphon , to march from Iraq to Syria with half his army. There were 2 major routes to Syria from Iraq, one passing through Mesopotamia and the other through Daumat ul-Jandal. Khalid took an unconventional route through the Syrian Desert , and after
24750-464: Was heavily fortified by both sides and the surrounding region became depopulated . During this period, the Byzantines were usually on the defensive, avoiding open field battles and preferring to retreat to their fortified strongholds. After 740 they began to launch their own raids across the frontier and by sea. In 750 the Umayyads were overthrown by the Abbasid Caliphate , who were less expansionist than their predecessors and did not seek to eliminate
24915-458: Was launched against Crete, headed by the admiral Himerios , but it was forced to leave the island after a few months. On its return journey, Himerios' fleet was destroyed in battle off Chios by the Syrian fleet. Cretan piracy reached another high in the 930s and 940s, devastating southern Greece, Athos, and the western coasts of Asia Minor . As a result, Emperor Constantine VII ( r. 913–959 ) sent another expedition in 949. This too
25080-510: Was marked by Arab victories in Asia Minor and civil unrest. Reportedly, he ordered his guards to execute the only unit that had not deserted him after one battle, to prevent their desertion in the next. Justinian's first and second depositions were followed by internal disorder, with successive revolts and emperors lacking legitimacy or support. In this climate, the Umayyads consolidated their control of Armenia and Cilicia, and began preparing
25245-494: Was near-universally accepted as head of the Muslim community (under the title of Caliph) as a result of Saqifah, though he did face contention as a result of the rushed nature of the event. Several companions, most prominent among them being Ali ibn Abi Talib , initially refused to acknowledge his authority. Ali may have been reasonably expected to assume leadership, being both cousin and son-in-law to Muhammad. The theologian Ibrahim al-Nakha'i stated that Ali also had support among
25410-530: Was not carried out due to the civil war that broke out in 656. The Taurus Mountains in Turkey marked the western frontiers of the Rashidun Caliphate in Anatolia during Caliph Uthman's reign. Emirate of Crete The Emirate of Crete ( Arabic : إقريطش , romanized : Iqrīṭish or إقريطية , Iqrīṭiya ; Greek : Κρήτη , romanized : Krētē ) was an Islamic state that existed on
25575-719: Was reading the Qur'an . It was later discovered that the order to kill the rebels did not, in fact, originate from Uthman, but was, rather, part of a conspiracy to overthrow him. Following Uthman's assassination, Muhammad's cousin Ali ( r. 656–661 ) was elected caliph by the rebels and townspeople of Medina . He transferred the capital to Kufa , a garrison city in Iraq. Soon thereafter, Ali dismissed several provincial governors, some of whom were relatives of Uthman, and replaced them with trusted aides, such as Malik al-Ashtar and Salman
25740-405: Was routed in a surprise attack, a defeat which Byzantine chroniclers ascribe to the incompetence and inexperience of its leader, the eunuch chamberlain Constantine Gongyles . Constantine VII did not give up, and during the last years of his reign he began preparing another expedition. It would be carried out under his successor, Romanos II ( r. 959–963 ), who entrusted its leadership to
25905-431: Was stationed in Damascus while Amr and Shurhabil marched south to capture Palestine. While the Muslims were at Fahl, sensing the weak defense of Damascus, Emperor Heraclius sent an army to re-capture the city. This army, however, could not make it to Damascus and was intercepted by Abu Ubaidah and Khalid on their way to Emesa. The army was destroyed in the battle of Maraj-al-Rome and the second battle of Damascus. Emesa and
26070-418: Was the Ridda wars . Abu Bakr planned his strategy accordingly. He divided the Muslim army into several corps. The strongest corps, and the primary force of the Muslims, was the corps of Khalid ibn al-Walid . This corps was used to fight the most powerful of the rebel forces. Other corps were given areas of secondary importance in which to bring the less dangerous apostate tribes to submission. Abu Bakr's plan
26235-423: Was the final compilation of the Qur'an. Under his authority diacritics were written with Arabic letters so that non-native speakers of Arabic could easily read the Qur'an. After a protest turned into a siege on his house, Uthman refused to initiate any military action, in order to avoid civil war between Muslims and preferred to negotiate a peaceful solution. After the negotiations, the protesters returned but found
26400-418: Was the first battle between Muslims and is known as the Battle of the Camel . Ali emerged victoriously and the dispute was settled. The eminent companions of Muhammad, Talha, and Zubayr, were killed in the battle and Ali sent his son Hasan ibn Ali to escort Aisha back to Medina. Thereafter, there rose another cry for revenge for the blood of Uthman, this time by Mu'awiya , a kinsman of Uthman and governor of
26565-419: Was the first major pitched battle between the Muslims and Byzantines and cleared the way for the former to capture central Syria. Damascus , the Byzantine stronghold, was conquered shortly after on 19 September 634. The Byzantine army was given a deadline of 3 days to flee as far as they could, with their families and treasure, or simply agree to stay in Damascus and pay tribute. After the three days had passed,
26730-418: Was too far from the Arab naval bases in the Levant for an effective expedition to be undertaken against it. At some point in the second half of the reign of Byzantine Emperor Michael II ( r. 820–829 ), a group of Andalusian exiles landed on Crete and began its conquest. These exiles had a long nomadic history. Traditionally they have been described as the survivors of a failed revolt against
26895-523: Was transferred to the Syrian front in 634. Before dying in August 634 from an illness, Abu Bakr appointed Umar ( r. 634–644 ) as his successor. Upon his accession, Umar adopted the title amir al-mu'minin , which later became the standard title of caliphs. The new caliph continued the war of conquests begun by his predecessor, pushing further into the Sassanian Empire , north into Byzantine territory, and went into Egypt . These were regions of great wealth controlled by powerful states, but
27060-433: Was unable to preserve his recent conquests. By the universal defection of the Greeks and Africans he was recalled from the shores of the Atlantic." His forces were directed at putting down rebellions, and in one such battle he was surrounded by insurgents and killed. Then, the third governor of Africa, Zuheir, was overthrown by a powerful army, sent from Constantinople by Constantine IV for the relief of Carthage . Meanwhile,
27225-520: Was unable to raise another army and became a hunted fugitive. In 642 Umar sent the army to conquer the remainder of the Persian Empire . The entirety of present-day Iran was conquered, followed by Greater Khorasan (which included the modern Iranian Khorasan province and modern Afghanistan ), Transoxania , Balochistan and Makran (part of modern-day Pakistan), Azerbaijan , Dagestan (Russia), Armenia and Georgia ; these regions were later re-conquered during Uthman's reign with further expansion into
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