The Great Arab Conquests: How the Spread of Islam Changed the World We Live In

by Hugh Kennedy

In this engaging history, world-renowned historian Hugh Kennedy deftly sews together the stories of the people, armies, and events that conquered an area from Spain to China in just over 100 years.

Genres: History, Islam, Middle East, Nonfiction, Religion, World History, Medieval History

643 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2007

About the author

NOTE: There is more than one author with this name on Goodreads.
Hugh^Kennedy

Has studies Arabic at the Middle East Centre for Arabic Studies. Went on to read Arabic, Persian & History at Cambridge. Taught in the Department of Medieval History at St Andrews since 1972, and was elected Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (2000).

Reviews

[Matt · Rating 4 out of 5]

“The Arab conquests had a major impact on human history and the results of these tumultuous years have shaped the world we all live in today. Yet there is nothing inevitable about the Arab/Islamic identity of the Middle East. In the year 632, Islam was confined to Arabic-speaking tribesmen living in Arabia and the desert margins of Syria and Iraq. Most of the population of Syria spoke Greek or Aramaic; most of those in Iraq, Persian and Aramaic; in Egypt they spoke Greek or Coptic; in Iran they spoke Pahlavi; in North Africa they spoke Latin, Greek, or Berber. None of them were Muslims. In Egypt and North Africa, lands we now think of as clearly Islamic, there were no Muslims and effectively no Arabic speakers, and the same was true of Iran and Afghanistan. The scale and speed of the transformation are astonishing; within a century of the Prophet’s death, all these lands, along with Spain, Portugal, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan and southern Pakistan (Sind), were ruled by an Arabic-speaking Muslim elite, and in all of them the local population was beginning to convert to the new religion…”
- Hugh Kennedy, The Great Arab Conquests: How the Spread of Islam Changed the World We Live In

For roughly a century after the death of the Prophet Mohammed, his Arab followers surged outward from their peninsula to conquer a territory larger – in a comparison seemingly required by law – than the Roman Empire. Sometimes using force, sometimes coercion, the Arabs gained control of swathes of modern-day Syria, Iraq, Egypt, and Iran. They pushed against the borders of China, occupied much of Spain and Portugal, and raided into France. The ancient Persian Empire fell before the onslaught, while the Byzantines were reduced to a rump state centered on Constantinople. While the military accomplishments are remarkable in and of themselves, just as remarkable is the rapid speed in which they occurred.

This is the story told in Hugh Kennedy’s The Great Arab Conquests. As he notes early and often, the most lasting effect of these victories was the introduction of Islam, which indelibly shaped the character of the conquered lands. Though it is hard to imagine today, at the beginning of the Arab conquests, there were large – and in some places predominant – Christian settlements all over the map. Meanwhile, in Iran, most people were followers of Zoroastrianism. In the centuries since, the borders of the nations within the Middle East have changed many, many times. Yet Islam has remained a constant presence.

The difficulty in presenting this tale is that it took place a long time ago. Having recently read a book on the dinosaurs, I have a new appreciation for the true vastness of time. Still, we are separated from the Arab conquests by a chasm of roughly 1,400 years, which makes piecing events together quite difficult.

The result is that Kennedy begins The Great Arab Conquests with a dense essay that explains his methodology, the available evidence (including artifacts and archaeology), the extant written sources, and the limits of those documents. For example, many chronicles were produced long after the events, eschew chronology, or share certain tropes, meaning that they were meant to deliver a message, rather than a strictly factual account. Most popular histories these days try to hook you with a vivid prologue, an opening that invests you in the material, and lures you into reading farther. Kennedy makes no such effort. Though this is purportedly directed at a general readership, it is rather academically oriented.

After setting the parameters, Kennedy proceeds to methodically lay out the course of the Arab advance. He does this by giving each specific conquest its own chapter. Thus, there is a chapter on the subjugation of Iraq, another on Egypt, and a third covering Iran. Other thematic chapters cover the war at sea, and the experience of the conquered. While there is a rough chronology at play in the order that the conquests are presented, many things were obviously happening simultaneously. In order to avoid further complicating a complex situation, however, Kennedy tends to keep each chapter rather self-contained. This was very helpful in allowing me to grasp the particulars, though something of the overall context gets lost.

Because of the paucity of sources, Kennedy is unable to provide a seamless narrative. Instead, he attempts to put together a jigsaw puzzle in which the broad outlines are known, but the size and shape of the various pieces are up to vigorous debate. This can make for some rather tough reading. At less than 400 pages of text, this is not an overly long book. Nevertheless, it took me quite a while to get through to the end.

All the elements that typically help history come alive for me – the personalities of the major characters, the vivid details of daily life – are absent here. Despite all Kennedy’s digging, we are left with a great deal of uncertainty. Battles occur, and their outcomes are obvious, but we do not know the ebb and flow of troop movements, the weaponry they used, or how they fought. Cities fall after sieges, but we do not know how those sieges progressed (one of the interesting things Kennedy notes is how seldom siege engines are mentioned, leaving it to the imagination as to how fortified positions were taken). Kingdoms submitted to Arab might, but it is not always clear whether this occurred due to force alone, or whether other variables were at play (Kennedy surmises that during the invasion of Egypt, many Coptic Christians may have welcomed the Arabs, having been persecuted for years by other Christians).

One of the things that Kennedy does make very clear is that the spread of Islam was not a “conversion by the sword” type of situation. Demographic realities meant that Arabs could not simply occupy every bit of territory they won. More to the point, they were just as concerned with economic matters as with religious ones. To that end, they relied on local administrators to collect the taxes and direct the tributes. At first, this meant that indigenous populations could keep their own religion and languages if they chose. Over time, of course, when speaking Arabic and practicing Islam became necessary to join the ranks of the elite – or to avoid certain taxes – conversion followed. From this distance, it is impossible to know what percentages of people converted out of pragmatism, economic pressure, or true belief. Whatever the reason, Kennedy pushes back against the idea that it was entirely the result of brute pressure.

Relatedly, it is worth noting that Kennedy has no particular axe to grind. I'm not an expert in this field, obviously, but in tone, this felt objective. He's not making an argument, or interpreting events through a modern prism, but rather trying his best to understand and describe what happened.

Ultimately, The Great Arab Conquests is a book that I could only really appreciate once I finished. This was not a bad reading experience, but it required relatively high levels of effort and concentration, meaning that I wasn’t necessarily looking forward to it each day. Once it was on my shelf, though, I came to recognize its worth. Immediately after this, I started a volume on the Ottoman Empire. Even though the Ottomans rose hundreds of years after the conquests, the knowledge I’d gained – with regard to geography, ethnic groups, and the zigzagging road of the region's shared history – proved immensely helpful. I can’t say that about every history book I’ve read, even the ones that might have been more fun.

The claim that the Arab conquests “changed the world we live in” is both obviously true and grossly oversimplified. As momentous as they were, a lot has happened in between, making it impossible to trace the present-day back to a single moment, even one as big as this. There are just too many intervening proximate causes. That said, understanding this consequential period is necessary to understanding how it all – the history of the Middle East, the often fraught relations between the Middle East and the West – fits so uncomfortably together.

[Dmitri · Rating 4 out of 5]

While written as a popular history, it is clear from the beginning that this book is of a scholarly nature. The author Hugh Kennedy, along with his peers Fred Donner and Robert Hoyland, is a top historian of the Islamic conquests. The Donner book on the topic is less accessible, while Hoyland is squeezed into the condensed format of Oxford's "Ancient Warfare and Civilization" series.

This book allows more space to treat the events in detail, and Kennedy makes the most of the opportunity. One of his strengths is military history, which is the primary concern at hand, and this focus works to his advantage. The political and cultural context is not ignored however, and a look at the competing religions and governments of the period is integrated into the narrative.

Kennedy begins by addressing the often vexing challenges posed by the written sources of the conquests. Al-Tabari, the 9th C. Abbasid court historian and other early writers were concerned with heroic deeds and fabulous booty instead of clear battle accounts. Kennedy makes the best of the sources without creative embellishment. Everything is uncertain except a broad outline of events.

The Arabian and Islamic background prior to the conquests is discussed briefly, and then accounts of the campaigns in the Middle East, Central Asia, Northern Africa and Spain are given. Each geographical area is shown before, during and shortly after the conquests. The book is logically arranged by region, which conveniently mirrors the sequence of the conquests.

How did a small army defeat the Romans and the Persians? Kennedy shows that the Arabs did not have the benefit of superior military strategy or arms. Any advantages they had were in mobility and morale. Motivated by religious fervor, the promise of martyrdom and the spoils of war, they also offered the lands conquered liberation from Constantinople and Ctesiphon.

Other major factors in the Arabs success were a weakening of the superpowers from their shared conflict, by internal factions, and population decline from outbreaks of plague prior to the Islamic conquests. After their early victories, the Arabs were able to co-opt men and material from the lands they had conquered in order to further their subsequent campaigns.

Kennedy does not adequately address 'How Islam Changed The World We Live In' as the book is subtitled. Beyond the narrative of how lands were taken and rulers deposed, a discussion of the long term impact of the conquests is mostly missing. Perhaps he may not have chosen this title, but it points to a level of analysis that would have been worthwhile to include.

The book strikes a balance between a desire for academic rigor and the clarity needed for a general audience. It is thorough without becoming pedantic, and Kennedy argues convincingly throughout. I was less impressed with his cultural history of the Baghdad caliphate ‘When Bagdad Ruled’. This is a good example of how well written military history can be interesting.

[فهد الفهد · Rating 4 out of 5]

الفتوح الإسلامية

يحاول هيو كينيدي تفسير الفتوح الإسلامية والتي تمت بسرعة كبيرة ولمساحات واسعة وصبغت كل المناطق التي وصلتها بالصبغة الإسلامية ولم تفقد منها بعد 14 قرناً إلا الأندلس وأطراف أوروبا التي حكمها العثمانيون، تبدو مهمة أي مؤرخ يتصدى لهذا الموضوع معقدة، فالروايات كثيرة ومتداخلة، وهذا يعني أن المؤرخ سيجد صعوبة في أي التفاصيل يمكن له أن يقبله ويضمه لتأريخه وأيها يمكن له أن يرفضه أو يسقطه، ينتهي كينيدي من تأريخه بلا تفسير واضح أو جديد لسر الفتوحات الإسلامية، رغم الجهد الجيد الذي بذله في تتبع حركة الفتوح وتقدمها من عهد النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم وحتى نهاية الفترة الأموية، طبعاً تركيز المؤلف كان على فترة الفتوح الأولى، ولم ينتقل أو يتناول مرحلة الفتوح اللاحقة شمال الهند وما تبقى من الدولة البيزنطية.

عابت الترجمة اعتراضات المترجم المتكررة في الهامش على المتن كلما رأى أن المؤلف تحيز ضد الإسلام والمسلمين.

[ميقات الراجحي · Rating 3 out of 5]

من يقرأ هذا الكتاب أو أي من كتبه التي تتناول العالم الإسلامي بصفته من مستشرق بريطاني معاصر في تاريخ العصور الوسطى يجد كثرة تأويلات كنيدي خصوصًا حول أنتصارات المسلمين فنظرته فوق أنها مادية وفق المدرسة الحديثة إلا أنها قليلة الإنصاف حيث تصويره للمسلمين أنهم مجرد شعوب حريصون على المكاسب المادية فقط دونما أي تخطيط وشبه إنعدام للعقلية العسكرية والتخطيط المدروس وهذا تجني، إضافة لكثرة ترديده ضعف الطرف الثاني البيزنطيين والروم والأوربيون الذين تقابلوا في معاركهم مع المسلمين.



حاول كنيدي مناقشة سر تغلب المسلمين مع سرعة وكثرة إنتصاراتهم ضد عدوهم فركز بذلك جهده على الجانب السياسي من خلال طرحه للعديد من قصص التاريخ الإسلامي. رغم إستمرارية تشكيك الكاتب في الرواية القادمة من المصدر العربي / الإسلامي، وهو يُلمح لأن التدوين التاريخي جاء متأخرًا عن تلك الفتوحات يقصد توثيق عصر الرسول – صلى الله عليه وسلم – وعصر الخلافة الراشدة وعصر الدولة الأموية. فيرى أن ما قد نطلق عليه حماس المؤروخ ساهم في مبالغة توثيق الحدث التاريخي، وهو قد أنصف ف�� ذلك – وهذه حقيقة – هيث أن مصادر تلك الفترة التي نعتبرها أحادية المصدر همّشت المنهزم تمامًا وحضر المنتصر.

لا أنكر قوة الكتاب من ناحية التحليل في الكثير من النقاط لكن الكاتب كان يناقش إنتصارات المسلمين ويثني عليها وفجأة يعزو ذلك النصر لضعف المناطق التي سيطر عليها المسلم كمصر والعراق والشام وغيرها!!، ثم يذكر أنهافي الأصل كانت مناطق مضطهدة من قبل الحاكم البيزنطي أو غيره وهذا تلميح لأنها قبلت بالمسلم بحثًا عن مخرج!!، وهذا للمعلومية طبيعة معظم الدراسات الغربية الإستشرقية.

أنا لا أطلب منه مدح وثناء ولا "تطبيل" ولكن نظرتهم ليس فقط مادية بقدر ما أنها في الغالب لن تنصف المسلم ولو أنصفته بنسبة (99%) ستجد بذكاء بين الأسطر ذلك الـ(1%) الذي ينسف ما مضى.

قراءات 2013م

[Tin Wee · Rating 2 out of 5]

For whatever reasons, the arabs never kept many detailed records of their conquests, choosing to extol individual acts of courage/ shame, so this book is a 'best guess' chronicle of the expansion of Islam through the Middle East. At its height, the empire stretched from Spain to the borders of China. It was aided by great timing - the Byzantine and the Persian empires were in decline after infighting and plague, and even the Christian communities were fighting over theological differences. It seemed easy for Arab attackers to find collaborators from their enemies which aided them in many battles. Their tolerance to religion and relatively easier tax also helped turn entire communities against their former masters which tended to be more dogmatic and cruel. The resulting spread of Islam has left its imprint of the world today, with many parts still firmly Muslim even today.

This is a good book to have a general sense of the speed of spread of Islam, but unfortunately is short on strategies and tactics employed by the Muslims - a real tragedy as they were often portrayed as inferior in numbers to the enemies they faced, and must have been expertly commanded and/ or better equipped. I would recommend only if you are a history buff.

[Libby · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book taught me sooo much I didn't know and did it so painlessly! How can you beat that? Hugh Kennedy packed an incredible amount of information into this book, while managing to make it a smooth and enjoyable read. Despite possessing a degree in history, I have huge gaps in my knowledge. You could drive an Empire through my pathetic understanding of the Middle East and its history. I had this vague idea that the Arabs just came boiling out of the Arabian peninsula and vanquished everybody within reach, looting indiscriminately and destroying art, irrigation systems and cities. But it didn't happen quite like that. First of all, the territories that the Arabs invaded were already in poor shape, depopulated by repeated plague epidemics, impoverished and exhausted by a catastrophic war between the Byzantines and the Sassanid Persian Empire, and hopelessly divided by religious rivalries between differing sects of Christianity. Undoubtedly the conquests brought destruction and chaos with them, but things were in bad shape before Mohammad decamped from Mecca to Medina. The wars of conquest were also more gradual than I had imagined. Certainly, the Arab armies were capable of rapid deployment. They could and did make amazing marches in record times. However, it took many seasons of campaigning and two to three generations of fighters before the new territories were subdued. Kennedy provides several helpful maps to accompany his narrative. He clarifies naming practices so the reader doesn't get bogged down in unfamiliar names. When important actions occurred at the same time, he makes that clear, as well. Altogether, this is an exciting story of a process that remade our world. I found it absorbing and relevant and I'm sure other readers will too.

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

Starting in the 630s CE, the history of the world was transformed by a new force exploding out of the Arabian Peninsula. It was from there that a series of Arab armies spread rapidly to the north, east, and west to destabilize kingdoms, roll back empires, and reshape the map of a broad swath of the world. By the time it was over little more than a century later, not only had they established the foundations for the Arab world as it is commonly known today, they had introduced across three continents a new religion, Islam, that became the faith of millions of people over the generations that followed.

While such a significant event has long been the subject of historical interest, many of its details remain obscure or unknown. As Hugh Kennedy notes in the forward to his book, for all of its scope surviving records were few and the handful of contemporary accounts are often fragmentary. Much of what remains is based on the recording of oral accounts taken down decades or even centuries after the events they describe. Reconstructing the details of the conquests from this circumscribed pool of information makes for a formidable challenge, yet it is one that Kennedy ventures with this book. From these limited sources he works to provide a narrative of events that not only recounts the major events of the Arab conquests, but the factors that determined their outcome as well.

Central to this were the conditions in the Arabian Peninsula in the 7th century. As he explains, Muhammad’s introduction of the Islamic faith brought a measure of stability to a region that was coping with considerable economic and social strains. The conversion of the Arabic population, however, created a new problem, as one of the core principles of early Islam was that Muslims should not attack one another, which challenged the traditional Bedouin practice of living off raiding and tribute. This left the community with a stark choice: disintegration, or striking out beyond Arabia. Given the options, the choice was perhaps inevitable.

What was not inevitable, however, was the success the Arabs enjoyed from the outset. Here Kennedy notes the circumstances that favored their initial expansion. Though bounded to the north by two larges empires, those of the Byzantines and the Sassanians, the devastating war between them that had only recently been concluded left both powers weakened. While the Arabs suffered several defeats on the battlefield, their mobility, their leadership, and their high morale proved critical in overcoming setbacks and grinding down their enemies in wars waged over the next several decades. Starting with initial conquests in Syria and Iraq, they pushed westward into Palestine and Egypt and eastward into Persia.

While Kennedy’s focus is on conquest rather than rule, the process of absorbing new territories into their growing empire was key to their ability to continue the expansion. Though their initial conquests were undertaken by Berbers skilled in combat, over time the gradual conversion of conquered populations added others to their ranks. Because of this, by the time the conquerors reached Spain in the early 8th century, the ranks of the invading forces were composed not of Arabs but of North African Berbers who had recently converted to Islam and were eager to profit from new conquests. Advances in the east were similarly supplemented by local warriors supporting the advance into central Asia and the Hindu Kush. Thanks to such conquests, by 750 the Arabs possessed a vast empire that was relatively secure from external pressures and able to acculturate over time the populations within their borders.

As a specialist in early Islamic history, Kennedy is well suited to write a narrative history of the Arab conquests. This he does extremely well, as he uses the latest scholarly research to supplement and interpret the sources on which he relies. While his book worth is reading just for this, his examination of both the experiences of the conquered and the social memory of the events only adds to its value for understanding the impact of the conquests and how they have been remembered. When combined with his astute analysis of the factors that shaped the conquests, it makes for an excellent survey of the conquests and their impact on world history, one that for English-language readers is unlikely to be surpassed anytime soon.

['Aussie Rick' · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Great Arab Conquests by Hugh Kennedy is a delightful book to read, full of interesting facts and great stories. I have read numerous books on the Roman Empire, Byzantium and the Crusades, this book fills in the gaps between those periods.

The Great Arab Conquests covers the period from death of the Prophet Mohammed in 632 to the beginning of the Abbasid Caliphate in 750. We follow the victorious Arab armies as they spread from Mecca and Medina out through the Middle East into Afghanistan, into Morocco and the countries in-between and then across the straights into Andalusia. I wanted to share this quote from the chapter Into the Maghreb with other lovers of history:

“It was at the end of his raid in the Sus that Uqba reached the Atlantic. The moment has passed into legend. He is said to have ridden his horse into the sea until the water came up to its belly. He shouted out, ‘O Lord, if the sea did not stop me, I would go through the lands like Alexander the Great [Dhul-Qarnayn:], defending your faith and fighting the unbelievers.’ The image of the Arab warrior whose progress in conquering in the name of God was halted only by the ocean remains one of the most arresting and memorable in the whole history of the conquests."

The stories from the historians, Christian and Muslim, the participants and the conquered are layed throughout the book offering interesting first-hand accounts within the narrative. I found the book to flow easily from one place to the next although the many different Arabic names caused me to slow down sometimes and re-check my notes this didn’t detract from the story.

This is a well-researched and well-presented story, which was easy and enjoyable to read. I learnt quite a few things on the way and had a good time doing so. Recommended to anyone who enjoys a good history book or who has an interest in this region.

[Ahmad · Rating 2 out of 5]

Hugh Kennedy's over cautious and suspicious treatment of Arab sources makes this a bumpy read. The book though is informative but should not be the definitive book on the subject rather a supplement to other works. The author's attempt at neutrality fails and he leaves no doubt as to which side he supports. In some instances the Islamic perspectives are not even mentioned for e.g.the battle of Tours.

[Arief Bakhtiar D. · Rating 5 out of 5]

GEOGRAFI

DUA bulan yang lalu saya membaca buku Hiburan Orang-orang Shalih—judul buku itu, mungkin karena dimaksudkan sebagai sebuah kalimat doa, terlalu tinggi menilai saya. Buku itu saya pinjam dari perpustakaan daerah sekedar buat mengisi waktu. Di dalamnya diceritakan ceramah Malik bin Dinar, seorang tabi’in yang sempat bertemu dan didoakan oleh Anas bin Malik.

Dari penelusuran lain yang saya belum tahu kebenaran sejarahnya, Malik hidup dari menulis kitab, dan mendapat honor dari itu. Di rumahnya, barang berharga hanya sebatas kitab Al-Qur’an dan pakaian. Rumahnya tak pernah dikunci. Ia tak akan mempersoalkan kalau kitab suci dan pakaiannya dicuri orang. Ia tak ingin terikat dengan dunia: Malik pernah mengembalikan bejana pemberian tetangga karena benci disibukkan dengan pikiran kalau-kalau bejana itu hilang karena rumahnya tak pernah dikunci. Malik juga pernah tidak memakan roti campur susu yang diidamkannya sejak 40 tahun yang lalu setelah roti itu terhidang cuma-cuma di hadapannya.

Rupanya ada rasa penasaran yang tiba-tiba muncul ketika buku itu memberi perkenalan sedikit mengenai kegiatan Malik bin Dinar selain menulis kitab. Malik, seperti yang tertulis di hHiburan Orang-orang Shalihh, adalah penasehat Masjid Agung Kufah.

Maka saya segera mengambil atlas untuk mencari di mana letak Kufah. Kira-kira itu di Irak, tapi rupanya saya tak menemukannya.

Saya baru menemukan letaknya di peta setelah mengetahui, melalui sumber-sumber lain, bahwa kota Kufah ada di sebelah barat daya Baghdad, Irak, di dekat Sungai Eufrat yang subur. Kufah bergabung dengan kota Najaf, dan kota Najaf itulah yang bisa saya temukan di atlas.

Yang menarik dari situ adalah hari ini Kufah seperti kota yang hilang.

Padahal kota ini, setidaknya di masa lalu, dihuni oleh orang-orang yang sangat penting dalam sejarah Islam.

Dulu pada masa kekhalifahan Umar bin Khattab, pada abad ke-7, kota Kufah ini (juga masjid besarnya) dibangun sebagai pusat komando angkatan perang untuk menguasai atau melebarkan kekuasaan Islam ke Persia/ Iran. Pada masa Utsman bin ‘Affan (yang diangkat menjadi khalifah pada 24 H) Kufah menjadi pusat pemerintahan untuk mengurus Iran daerah utara. Sementara untuk mengurus Iran daerah selatan dipusatkan di kota Basrah, di Teluk Persia di antara Sungai Tigris dan Eufrat.

Setelah Utsman, waktu itu 82 tahun, dibunuh sekelompok orang di rumahnya di Madinah, Ali bin Abi Thalib sebagai khalifah selanjutnya memindahkan ibu kota kekhalifahan ke Kufah. Pemindahan itu terjadi sekitar 36 Hijriyah atau 656 Masehi. Mobilisasi tentara Ali dalam Perang Siffin melawan Muawiyah (yang menjadi Gubernur Suriah) ada di kota ini. Di Kufah inilah Ali ditikam Ibnu Muljam saat subuh di Masjid Besar Kufah. Juga tragedi Karbala, pembunuhan terhadap Imam Husein pada tahun 61 Hijriyah, terjadi di kota ini. Dengan begitu, sejarah kota Kufah bagi Islam bukan sejarah yang sepele.

Tapi buku-buku agama, baik buku kisah atau sejarah yang terbit di Indonesia, terutama yang ditulis oleh nama-nama Arab, hampir tidak pernah menyebut kota-kota seperti Kufah, atau negara-negara zaman dulu, termasuk zaman para nabi dan rasul, dengan menyertakan nama dan nasibnya yang sekarang. Buku-buku agama sangat jarang menyertakan gambar atau peta sehingga pembaca tak bisa membayangkan situasi dan letaknya. Atau kita balik: kalau kita ingin mencarinya, hal itu tidaklah mudah, sebab tidak setiap pengarang buku menganggap penting pengetahuan geografis.

Saya, barangkali juga sebagian besar pemeluk Islam, tidak tahu lokasi Perang Shiffin antara kubu Mu’awiyah dan kubu Ali bila dihadapkan peta masa kini. Juga kurang mengerti batas-batas sebuah negeri yang diberi nama Madyan—negeri tempat pelarian Nabi Musa untuk menghindari pembunuhan pasukan Fir’aun, yang di sana ia menikah dengan anak Nabi Syu’aib—kecuali apa yang kini disebut Yordania. Kalau ingin daftar yang lebih panjang, kita bisa bertanya pada orang-orang yang telah membaca sirah Nabi: di mana letak Tha’if di peta, letak Tabuk di peta, letak Qadisiyah?

Peta wilayah kekuasaan Islam di masa Kekhilafahan yang membentang dari Spanyol ke Iran pun pertama kali saya temukan di buku The Great Arab Conquest karya Hugh Kennedy, yang terbit tahun 2007. Ia bukan pemeluk Islam, tapi memiliki perhatian terhadap peta sejarah Islam—meski hal itu standar keharusan sesuai gelar akademisnya.

Dalam bukunya Kennedy, seorang profesor dan guru besar di Universitas London, memulai penjelasannya dengan peta zaman sebelum penaklukan Islam di halaman mula-mula, saat dunia terdiri dari Imperium Byzantium dan Imperium Sasanian, sementara Arab waktu itu tidak dikuasai imperium mana pun.

Dengan menaruh peta dunia tahun 632 Masehi dan 750 Masehi di awal dan akhir buku, Kennedy sanggup menunjukkan dengan baik di bab pertama buku seberapa mengesankan penaklukan di bawah bendera Islam: kaum-kaum Arab itu menguasai seluruh wilayah dari dua imperium besar yang ada sebelum mereka, bahkan lebih luas lagi, dalam waktu yang terhitung cepat. Memang Kennedy juga menulis, kecepatan penaklukan itu dalam sejarah masih bisa dibandingkan dengan penaklukan Alexander Agung atau Jengis Khan. Tapi dari pengamatannya melalui beribu-ribu sumber pustaka, Kennedy mengakui kelebihan penaklukan para pengikut Muhammad: ada bahasa, agama, dan budaya yang ditinggalkan secara permanen di Mesir, Persia, Syria, Palestina, yang bertahan sampai saat ini.

Agaknya saya tak perlu mengemukakan alasan yang panjang untuk mengkhawatirkan lemahnya pengetahuan geografi muslim di Indonesia. Perhatian terhadap lokasi telah menjadi bahasan dan analisis penting dalam Perang Uhud dan pelarian hijrah Nabi. Panglima Khalid bin Walid, yang saat Perang Uhud masih belum memeluk Islam, pernah mengatakan ia selalu mengingat seluruh daerah yang dilewatinya sambil memikirkan bagaimana ia akan mengatur strategi perang di tempat itu.

Dari situ kita menuju pemahaman bahwa wajar kalau umat Islam hari-hari ini, setelah masa kejayaannya, selalu menjadi pihak yang ditaklukan oleh bangsa-bangsa dari jauh dengan jumlah pasukan yang tidak terlampau besar. Dan ketika penaklukan yang terjadi berubah begitu halus, yaitu pada tataran ide-ide, kita sulit sekali untuk bangkit dan percaya diri pada ajaran agamanya sendiri.

[Erik Graff · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don't know much about Arab or Islamic history and read this as a primer. As such, it served, but I'll need to read a lot more to get it down as Arabic names, whether of persons or of places, are hard to remember and Arab activities in the east are activities in areas I know little about.

This book covers the expansion of the Arab peoples and of Islam from the period of the Prophet until approximately 750. Notably, according to the author, the success of these endeavors was predicated substantially on (a) dissatisfaction with existing regimes, (b) instability of existing regimes, and (c) the liberality and simplicity of Islam, not primarily on violent conquest. Battles did occur, but much of the expansion consisted of deals being made, primarily as regards tribute, the Arabs actually doing very little colonization. So far as ordinary people were concerned, it was simply a matter of substituting one, more liberal and often less demanding, master for another.

[Haitham fahmy · Rating 2 out of 5]

آفة الرأي الهوي ... عندما يتم تلخيص سبب الفتوح الاسلاميه فى الصدفه والحظ فقط فهو التعصب والتحيز .. فنجاح المسلمين فى دخول مصر سببه الانقسام الطائفي بين الطبقه الحاكمه من قبل البيزنطيين والشعب المصري وسبب فتحهم الشام وباء اصاب اراض الشام فأخلى الاراضي من المدافعين .. وسبب فتح العراق وايران الحقد واتساع الفجوه بين الفلاحين وطبقه الامراء... لادور هنا لبساله وشجاعة وتكتيك المسلمين ... الغريب ان الكاتب يشكك فى الاخبار اذا جائت من كاتب عربي او مسلم .. ويقبلها برحابة صدر اذا اتت من مصدر غير عربي ... الكتاب فى بعض صفحاته قدي يكون جيد ولكن التعصب يفيض من بين دفتيه

[Elliott Bignell · Rating 5 out of 5]

This wonderful account clarifies a period that has fascinated me from a position of ignorance for many years now. Written with style and with sympathy for its subjects, it performs neither hagiography nor demonisation of its Muslim subjects, engagingly investigating the enigma of this remarkable wave of transformation without claiming to know more than the obscure and partial records justify. For a lay audience it could not be better presented - exciting while measured and perfectly readable, one is carried along.

The expansion of Islam so soon after its inception is the greatest of puzzles when one stops to consider. Not quite as fast as a horse could cross the country, but within the lifetimes of Companions of the Prophet himself, Islam had not only been proselytised, but had actually started to govern, from the Oasis in the West (Atlantic Ocean) to the borders of China. Moreover, it seems to have achieved this with rather little overt violence.

The solution to this riddle is multifactorial, and the search for it confounded by the paucity of records. Kennedy works with Arab and other contemporary or more often near-contemporary sources which paint more a picture of how the Muslims later viewed the conquerors than a primary source of historical information. Primary sources are fairly thin on the ground, and one of the most telling metrics of the impact of Islam is the absence of one in its wake: African Red Slip. This characteristic pottery, traded across the Mediterranean, suddenly disappears from the historical record coincident with the conquest of North Africa. This confirms Henri Pirenne's thesis that the rise of Islam ushered in a period of economic stagnation in Europe, triggering a Dark Age. (See Mohammed and Charlemagne)

A few things can be said with some certainty, one of which is that the suddenness of Islam's explosive expansion is not a historical illusion. It really did happen in mere decades. In fact, the only place it seems to have stagnated and actually provoked a mutiny among a Muslim army - and there's a bitter irony here for latter-day Knights of the Cross - is in what are now Iran and Afghanistan. The Byzantian and Sassanid Empires, we can safely say, were an open door. Having fought themselves to exhaustion with mutual invasions a few short years previously, Islam rose at exactly the time for them to collapse in the face of its advance. The religiously tolerant Sassanids had no internal theological dissent for the Muslims to exploit, but they often left local governance in place with a mere gesture to Islamic rule in the first generation or two, and the tax load may even have decreased. There was no reason to resist, as the early Muslims were not even particularly censorious of the monotheistic Zoroastrianism.

In Byzantium, the Empire sought to resist but there was most definitely internal dissent. Coptic Christians and other Docetic and other heretical groups actually dominated the population in much of North Africa, and were subject to vicious persecution which rapidly ended under Islam. In fact, the Levant and Egypt had only just been recovered from the Sassanids. The African province had been comprehensively demolished by Vandals and only one significant military engagement even occurred, by all accounts. Jews may still have formed a quarter of Alexandria's population and faced a similar calculation. The Empire was not wanted, and it was a couple of generations before any downside in terms of discrimination came to outweigh this. Even then, a symbolic conversion to Islam secured one rather equal treatment. It is no surprise that the door was probably held open with a sneaky Coptic foot or two.

Perhaps more interesting, then, are the reasons for Islam's expansion coming to an end. At Kashgar, the Muslims had probably their only engagement with Chinese forces. After being nearly thwarted in Afghanistan a pretext of piracy was found - more ironies for our day! - for an invasion of Sind, where Buddhist-Hindu tension allowed them some ingress. In France the battle of Poitiers, of disputed significance, is said to have stopped their advance. Why were these all different? The door does not seem to have been open. Chinese and Indian cultures were entrenched, already ancient, rich and polytheistic. The contrast with Islam and potential for religious discrimination must have made it unpalatable. In France and Northern Spain the Muslims may simply have made the catastrophic miscalculation of finding it not worth conquering.

At any rate, Kennedy paints a sympathetic picture of generous victors who regarded the Byzantine adversary Heraclius as a fine but tragic figure, flawed only by the fatal flaw of not being Muslim. The record is coloured by the fact that most of the sources are Muslim self-assessment, but Kennedy does a fine job of finding the nuggets of fact that allow us to make some safe inferences. He also delivers a thumping good read.

[Lee Prescott · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting, but like a few other history books I've read recently, this one assumes you have undergraduate-level knowledge of the subject already and so large passages of this book are lost on the reader. The chapters on the early history of islam in Arabia make it worth reading overall though.

[عبد الله القصير · Rating 4 out of 5]

عندما تقرأ في الفتوحات العربية الإسلامية من المراجع العبية الكبيرة (الطبري وابن كثير مثلا) تحس بالضياع. الأحداث تتسارع ومنطقة الفتوحات شاسعة، فهناك عدد كبير من القادة والمشاهير باسماءهم وأسماء قبائلهم التي إن لم تكن ملم بها سابقا فلن تستطع أن تتبع الأحداث بشكل مفهوم. الأمر الأخر هو أن المراجع التاريخية تحتوي على تفاصيل كثيرة وثانوية (أشعار الفخر وتوزيع الغنائم والمحادثات الجانبية بين الأبطال) تجعلك لا تعرف خط الأحداث بالتفصيل، مع كل هذا فمشكلة المراجع العربية أنها كتبت بعد زمن طويل نسبيا، فكثير من الأخبار تكون متضاربة أو متناقضة. أيضا هذه المراجع ينقصها وضع الفتوحات العربية بسياقها التاريخي، فلا تجد أخبار الحروب بين الرومان والفرس قبل الفتوحات ولا أحوال الشعوب المغلوبة قبل الفتح إلا بمقاطع صغيرة ومربكة.

في الوقت الحاضر أغلب ما كتبه المؤلفين العرب عن الفتوحات فهي كتب فخرية أو اعتذارية الطابع، نادرا ما تجد مؤلف عربي يناقش هذه الأحداث بأسلوب أكاديمي رزين.
في السنوات الماضية توجه اهتمام باحثين غربيين للفتوحات العربية وكتبوا مجموعة من الكتب القيمة عنها. هذا الكتاب من أفضلها عندي. فالمؤلف مؤرخ أكاديمي مشهور وهذا الكتاب مصاغ بطريقة سهلة.. الكتاب مفصل وكل فصل يناقش أحد مناطق الفتح (مصر أو العراق أو الشام وهكذا) يبدأ الفصل بأحوال أهل ذاك القطر قبل ظهور المسلمين ثم يتتبع حركة الفتوحات مع نقاش ناقد ومحلل للمراجع العربية.
أرى أن هذا الكتاب من أفضل ما كتب بموضوعه هذا .

[Mohamed Ramadan · Rating 2 out of 5]

من حين لآخر يجنح المؤلف إلى تفسيرات أحادية والتي تختزل السببية التاريخية في الرغبة الجامحة للحصول على الأسلاب والغنائم ,, ودائمًا وأبدًا إلا فيما ندر يعوّل النصر لأسباب عدة وليس من ضمنها بالطبع التكتيك والنبوغ العسكري للجيوش الإسلامية وإيمانهم الراسخ والذي كان أكبر وأقوى دافع
ففي الشام عوّل على الطاعون الذي أصاب البلد وترك الجيش مريض ضعيف
ومع الفرس فقد كانت الفُرقة والتصارع على الحكم هو السبب في ضياع الفرس
وفي مصر الخلافات الطاحنة بين ممثل الكنيسة المبعوث من الدولة الرومانية وبين المصريين وعدم الإستقرار ما أدت إلى سقوط مصر في أيدي الفاتحين المسلمين
ولم يسلم الأندلس فقد كان الكيد والغل هو السبب حيث قال يُليان : لا أرى عقوبة ولا مكافأة إلا أن أدخل عليه العرب
وبالطبع لم يغفل عن مساعدات اليهود للجيش الإسلامي :)

كنت أتمنى أن أجد ما يروي أرض أسئلتي الجدباء بين دفتي هذا الكتاب ولكن حقًا آفة الرأي الهوى

[Olethros · Rating 3 out of 5]

-Sobre unos eventos que marcaron, en buena medida, el mundo que conocemos.-

Género. Historia.

Lo que nos cuenta. Acercamiento a los eventos y circunstancias que permitieron que, en poco más de un siglo desde la muerte de Mahoma, el Islam se extendiese mediante conquistas desde Asia Central hasta la Península Ibérica a partir de un pequeño pueblo sin ventajas geográficas, económicas ni de ningún tipo, excepto su fe.

¿Quiere saber más de este libro, sin spoilers? Visite:

http://librosdeolethros.blogspot.com....

[晓木曰兮历史系 Chinese · Rating 4 out of 5]

From the one thousand and one nights in the remote Arabian court, to the chaos in the Middle East that has been broadcast on the screen for decades, to the current negative price of oil futures, everyone can say something about the Arab world. But they are all the same, knowing it but not knowing why, it's like a series of "A Arabian Nights": the sky is far from the region, the night is far from the truth.

In recent years, with the implementation of the "One Belt, One Road" strategy, the prominent "Northwestern Geosciences" during the Qing Dynasty and the Republic of China has advanced with the times and developed into the studies of the history and geography of Central Asia and the Middle East, as well as works on Arab history. Published successively. Scott Anderson's "Lawrence of Arabia" introduces the political games of Western powers in the Middle East during World War I and the actions of the Arabs in the situation, revealing the complex process of the formation of the modern Middle East and its significant historical impact on the present. Eugene Logan's "Arabs in Conquest and Revolution" tells the history of the Arabs for five hundred years since they were conquered by the Ottoman Empire in the early 16th century. The later version of Hugh Kennedy's "The Great Conquest: The Rise of the Arab Empire" focuses on the history of Arab empires that lasted more than 100 years in the 7th and 8th centuries, and finally established the Arab empire spanning Europe, Asia and Africa. The book "The Great Conquest" was published the latest, but it focused on the source of Arab history and the most glorious era in the Arab world.

In addition to the preface and conclusion of the "Great Conquest", the main body is divided into eleven chapters. The first chapter examines the "basis of the Great Conquest", the last chapter conveys the "Voice of the Conquered", and the remaining chapters basically describe the Arabs in chronological order. The conquest of Syria, Palestine, Iraq, Egypt, Iran, North Africa, Hezhong, Sindh, Pakistan, Spain and the Mediterranean islands.

The author is well versed in dialectics, and he is dedicated to finding the historical logic of the great conquest from both the conqueror and the conquered. He believes that the foundation of the conqueror lies in "the emerging Islamic regime has manpower, military technology, ideological beliefs, and collective leadership.... The leaders of this new regime have fully realized that they must expand abroad or they will collapse. For them, there is only one feasible way to survive: conquer." The former rulers of Syria, Palestine, Iraq, Egypt, North Africa and Iran, the Eastern Roman Empire and the Persian Sassanid dynasty, have been fighting each other for many years. After the plague, the population was greatly reduced and religious sects were in a real dilemma. Therefore, the Arabs benefited and destroyed their lives, and they were welcomed as liberators in some areas. Because the Hezhong area did not have the disadvantages of the aforementioned Eastern Roman Empire and the Sassanid dynasty, it became the hardest piece of bone for the Arabs to gnaw. It took 150 years before and after the conquest.

Specific to each case of conquest, the author generally first describes the geography, politics, ethnicity, religion and other background conditions of the conquered area, and then reconstructs the route of the Arab army, such as the conquest of Iran. From 642 to 650, the Arabs followed Khorasan Avenue, from Nahawand, Hamadan, Isfahan, Rey, Bastam to Merv marched in sequence, so the utilization rate of the maps equipped in this book is very high, many Places need to compare pictures and texts. After the war, Arabs would build cities, emigrate, collect taxes, and build mosques. Cities such as Fustat, Baghdad, Basra, and Kairouan were all built by Arabs. The Dome of the Rock on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem was also built at that time. .

The author's writing attitude is cautious. He maintains a minimum of trust in his historical colleagues, whether Arabs or conquered, and carefully selects and uses historical materials, especially the description of the war. Of. He said in the preface, “Any historical research is inevitably influenced by the nature of the historical material itself. In a sense, this is a question of reliability, that is, can I believe what I read? "In the text, we often see such descriptions. "In some anecdotes, it is said that Heraclius realized the greatness of Muhammad." "Contemporary chronicler Sebeos described how the Byzantine emperor was Ordering the army to hold the position.” The author’s cautiousness and the Great Conquest form a very interesting contrast. The theme of the Great Conquest seems to be inherently exciting. Soothes the reader's excitement. The way of civil and martial arts, one by one, one nation conquering another nation, even if it is only history, it seems that it should not be a big fanfare. I understand and agree with the author's cautiousness.

It is important to point out that the author reshapes the history of conquest by region, focusing on individual cases of conquest, but for the center of Arabia in the same period, from Muhammad to the four great caliphs to the Umayyad dynasty and then to the Abbasid dynasty. It is an understatement, perhaps his prospective readers should have this historical knowledge. But expectations are after all expectations, and readers who do not have the above-mentioned relevant historical knowledge will encounter certain obstacles when reading this book.

Because the author is cautious about his historical counterparts and historical materials, I am curious about his attitude towards Chinese historical materials when reading. In the last chapter "Voices of the Conquered", he quoted a lot of Du Huan's "Jing Xing Ji", which is rare in the whole book. It can be seen that he is relatively at ease with this historical material. However, one thing needs to be clarified. Du Huan, especially his home country, Datang, is not an Arab conquered. In 751 AD, Du Huan was captured in the Battle of Tarros between the Tang Dynasty and the Abbasid dynasty. He traveled in the Arab world for 11 years before returning to his homeland. Although Datang was defeated in the Battle of Tarros, it was also the end of the Arab army's eastward expansion. The battle was divided into victory and defeat, but there were no conquerors and conquerors.

In history, Islam has expanded eastward twice. The first was the expansion of the Arabs in the 7th and 8th centuries, and the second was the expansion of the Turks in the 15-17th centuries. An inspiring view of the "Great Wall of Buddhism". He believes that during the second eastward expansion of Islam, especially from Mongolia, northern Xinjiang, the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, to Burma, Siam, Cambodia, and Laos in the Indo-China Peninsula, Buddhism has achieved a dominant position in these areas and formed a circle. The "Great Wall of Buddhism" in the west, north and south of China. This Great Wall contained the eastward expansion of Islam, thus allowing China to avoid India's fate. In fact, if we observe this "Buddhist Great Wall" carefully, we will find that there is still a long and narrow gap in the Hexi Corridor. This should be the reason why there are more Muslims in Gan, Shaan, Ning and other places.

In 2015, the photo of the 3-year-old Syrian refugee Aylan Kurdi Fushi Beach shocked the world. In 2019, the Lebanese film "How Home is Home" was released, telling the tragic situation of Syrian refugees through the perspective of innocent children. Real stories and stories adapted from real stories make more viewers rethink the cost of change and the meaning of stability. The era of the Great Conquest is long gone. Every nation and every culture should learn from Hugh Kennedy's cautious approach to the "Great Conquest". Conquer is an abyss, like an abyss; conquest is thin ice, like walking on thin ice.

[Stephen Simpson · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book is a very good summary of how Arab armies and political maneuvering spread Islam across the map. It doesn't really live up to the "... Changed The World We Live In" part to any meaningful extent, but it is a very solid, detailed, well-sourced account of a roughly 100 year period of history that is often just summarized in history books.

[Katherine 黄爱芬 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Buku ini menceritakan kisah penaklukan Arab Muslim pertama setelah kematian Nabi Muhammad. Pasukan Arab ini pertama menguasai Syria dan Palestina, lalu Byzantium (Turki), kemudian Mesir, Irak & Iran (Persia). Terakhir adalah Transoxonia, sptnya India (Pakistan) yg berbatasan dgn China juga.

Saya kurang nyaman membaca buku ini krn terlalu banyak hal-hal yg ditumpahkan dlm satu paragraf. Kadang malah meloncat-loncat dari periode yg dibaca ke abad modern dsb. Ibaratnya, masakan sayur asem kan dasarnya hanya terdiri dari labu, jagung, kacang panjang, kacang tanah, nangka, melinjo. Paling divariasi ditambah belimbing sayur atau pepaya muda. Tapi di novel ini, sayur asemnya dimasukkan dgn kentang, tahu, tempe, ikan teri dsb, yg akhirnya malah merusak selera makan saya. Seandainya makanan tsb, tahu tempe digoreng, ikan teri digoreng dgn kacang tanah, kentang dimasak balado dan gak dicampuraduk pasti jauh lebih estetis dan lebih enak makannya juga. Maksudnya gitu deh. Jangan semua dicampuradukkan antara geografi, demografi, sosial politis, ketentaraan dsb jadi satu. Malah kadang-kadang beda abad juga dicampur aja dlm satu paragraf.

Dari buku ini saya dapat pelajaran bhw tentara Arab Muslim pada abad 7-8 ini termasuk yg praktis dan efisien. Setelah menaklukkan satu kota, mereka biasanya tidak terlalu minta macam-macam kecuali pajak. Jarang ada yg memaksakan agama Islam yg notabene baru saat itu utk dianut paksa kpd penduduknya, krn tindakan tersebut tidak populer dan bahkan bisa mengancam kedudukan mereka yg masih rentan di tanah jajahan mereka. Pemimpin wilayah yg baru dikuasai biasanya menawarkan daya tarik spy penduduk setempat mau menganut agama baru ini, dari memberikan uang spy mau sholat bersama hingga membebaskan pajak jika mereka mau pindah agama scr sukarela. Teknik marketing yg cerdas kan.

Wilayah penaklukan Arab-Turki Muslim ini termasuk sangat cepat pada masa itu, bukti mereka efisien dan ternyata hierarki ketentaraan mereka punya kepatuhan yg jauh lebih tinggi drpd musuh-musuh mrk spt Byzantium yg terkuat sekalipun. Jarang ada komandan Islam yg memberontak terhadap atasannya walau mrk tahu bakal dicopot/dimutasi bahkan dibunuh akibat politik. Salut sama loyalitas mereka ini. Dan satu lagi, tentara Muslim pertama ini tidak mengenal nepotisme. Sbg komandan, dia hrs membuktikan bhw dia mumpuni, bukan krn ikatan darah dari orang yg berkuasa. Hal inilah yg dipandang "aneh" pada masa feodalisme/vazal masih sangat kental saat itu.

Jadi buku ini lumayan saja. Belum terlalu menjelaskan sisi politis dan psikologisnya mengapa ekspedisi ekspansi agama Islam ini dijalankan. Dan andai saja penyusunan ceritanya lebih tertata, gak campur aduk macam gado-gado dgn bumbu sayur asem, saya pasti jauh lebih menikmatinya.

[Syandrez Prima Putra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Butuh perjuangan membaca buku sejarah yg satu ini, tapi puas, banyak pengetahuan baru yang didapatkan. Cerita tentang sejarah selain kisah nyata, selalu saja menarik untuk jadi ibrah pembelajaran. Alhamdulillah, jadi tahu bagaimana kejayaan Islam masa lampau, semenjak Nabi Muhammad saw diutus di Mekah, hingga lahirnya "negara" Islam yang berpusat di Madinah. Menakjubkan ketika mengetahui betapa cepatnya Islam menyebar ke seluruh dunia, ke Irak & Persia dibawah pimpinan Saad bin Abi Waqqas, ke Suriah oleh Khalid bin Walid, ke Mesir oleh Amr bin Ash, ke seantero Afrika Utara sampai batas Samudera Atlantik oleh Uqba bin Nafi, ke Spanyol oleh Thariq bin Ziyad dan Musa bin Nushair, belum lagi ke timur jauh, Transoxania hingga perbatasan China oleh Qutaibah bin Muslim, sampai ke Sindh dekat India oleh Muhammad bin Ishaq al-Tsaqafi. Panglima-panglima Islam ini mampu menaklukan 7000 km diameter kekhalifahan Islam selama kurang dari 150 tahun, bahkan melebihi kekuatan Byzantium Romawi dan Persia yg berdiri berabad-abad sebelumnya. Melihat jutaan manusia berbondong2 masuk Islam setelah mengetahui inti ajarannya, itu benar2, MasyaAllah. 😍 Walaupun tidak sedikit kisah politik memilukan dan fitnah yang terjadi di kalangan Muslim sendiri, tidak lain tentu saja menjadi pembelajaran untuk generasi berikutnya.

[Emmanuel_S · Rating 4 out of 5]

A must-read for anyone who wishes to better understand how Islam expanded from its inception in the 7th century - at lightning speed - across the Middle East, Eastern Mediterranean / North Africa, Caucasus, Caucasus and Spain. Hugh Kennedy does a great job creating a coherent narrative around a period for which written sources are scarce and often unreliable. Battles are told in vivid detail wherever possible, and every attempt is made to understand the perspective of local populations in the conquered areas and their relationship to the invaders and their new religion. While the book focuses on the conquests, it omits to mention (other than in passing) the developments at the centre of Islamic power - this can make it sometimes a bit difficult to follow for the uninitiated reader. A nice complement to the Silk Roads by Peter Frankopan.

[Sherif Gerges · Rating 5 out of 5]

An exceptional tour-de-force of the earliest history of Arab Islamicization and expansion, all which happened during a relatively brief period that forever changed the Middle East and Europe. Typically, commentary on this subject has expressed awe at the early success of Islam. Yet the question of how Muslim Arabs had managed to conquer the centers of ancient Near Eastern civilization - from Egypt, Persia, parts of what-would-be Spain and even China is likely one of the most understudied axes of Islamic history.

To Muslims, the transfiguration of this region and displacement of Christianity, Zoroastrianism, Hinduism and even Buddhism and the unification of the entire Arab world as a single “Ummah” reflects divine presence. But the precise details of conquest have been poorly understood for years. The reason for this is that while Arabs have a rich oral tradition that ostensibly captures the miraculous natures of these conquests, the lack of documentation hitherto have made the history of Arab imperialism uniquely difficult to study.

With “The Great Arab Conquests”, Hugh Kennedy has written what might be one of the most comprehensive, rigorous and judicious efforts to explain the rise of the Arabs, and the role of Islam in their expansionist efforts. By design, this book is highly fastidious and a long, almost dry read. Kennedy dutifully sticks to primary sources, with an earnest focus on corroborating Arab and Islamic "futuhat" with Christian, Byzantine or Persian accounts. Given his meticulous focus on deriving facts rather than speculation - this book will please dedicated history aficionados more than the average reader who might have a passing interest in this subject.

[Michael Barsoum · Rating 5 out of 5]

تعودنا فى بلادنا ان نرى الفتوحات الاسلامية من منظور واحد , اما من ناحية المنتصر او المهزوم و فى كلتا الحالتين تغلب العاطفة على العقل , يدور الكتاب حول سؤال هام ( كيف استطاع العرب باعدادهم الصغيرة و تجهيزاتهم المتواضعة السيطرة على امبراطوريات عظمى مثل بيزنطة و فارس ؟؟؟ ) ...و هنا نرى ان للحقيقة طرفان , فالعرب لم يكونوا بعض الجهلة من الرعاة البدو مثلما كان المغول , و لم تكن الامبراطوريات البيزنطية او الفارسية بنفس القوة اللى كانت عليها من قرنين قبل ظهور الاسلام ...لم يكن العرب مجموعة من السفاحين و على النقيض لم يكونوا حمائم سلام ...و لم يكن البيزنطيون اخوة فى الدين لسكان مستعمراتهم بل انهم اسرفوا فى الاضطهادات المذهبية حتى فضل بعض سكان مصر و الشام الحكم العربى عليهم و فى نفس الوقت لم تستقبل كافة الشعوب الفاتحين العرب بالزهور
كان هذا الكتاب بنسخته العربية الامينة الترجمة عن دار (عين) للنشر من افضل ما قرأت خلال 2016 و ان اردت ان اعطى درجة لحيادية الكاتب فستكون 80 - 85 %

[Omar Ali · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very readable.
A very fair and balanced account (or so it seemed to me).. Having recently read "Empires of the Silk Road" I had a somewhat different picture of the Central Asian account though..

[Amra · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hugh Kennedy has stitched together varying stories, from all people in all places and times, into one seamless story of how the Arab Conquests came to be one of the most influential and powerful turning points in history. From the early nomadic conquests, to proper centralized armies, The Great Arab Conquests covers all the historic events through the stories recorded at the time in poems, letters, and apocalypses.

Most of this book was written through the words of all those who had recorded their version of history. The assumptions of how events played out are restricted, and when assumptions are made, Kennedy is sure to acknowledge the fact. By reading The Great Arab Conquests I have come to realize how vital it is to document historical events and in complete detail. Many of the battles and other significant points of time were not recorded with the detail that historians are looking for: amount of people, year, place, etc. and instead are filled with unnecessary information such as whose daughter married who after the war. Therefore, much of history is up to archeologists and historians to piece the puzzle together, resulting in what we consider ‘close to reality’, never being truly sure, as it’s built on a foundation of our assumptions.

On the other hand, as Hugh uses narratives to depict the conquests and events, the story he creates serves as a social memory of the people. We can pick out their attitudes, ideas, dreams and desires at the time, really connecting to those who lived in the era by understanding the reality of their environment through their eyes. For example, a poem written after a famous battle in Iraq demonstrates the proud and gratifying feeling of the Muslims after victory as they describe their warriors,
‘The most steadfast men on the field...They left Qadisiya in honor after long days of battle on the mountain slopes.’ (Hugh 63).
And another poem depicting the attitude of the people when one of their most incompetent selfish leaders, Ubayd Allah b. Abi Bakra died,
‘You were appointed as their Amir. You destroyed them while the war was still raging… You were selling a qafiz of grain for a whole dirham. While we wondered who was to blame, You were keeping back their rations of milk and barely, and selling them unripe grapes.’ (Hugh 196-97). As we can see, the harshness of the words embellish the poem, showing displeasure and hate towards the leader.

Overall, referring to the social memory, preserved in the writing of the people, was a more genuine way of representing history, allowing for an open display of events, which I have come to learn is more important, as humanity’s history is more than just places, dates, and times, but the emotions that fuel our actions whether those be: greed, praise, longing, hate or love, that ultimately create history.




The Great Arab Conquests was also a key turning point in the way I look at the rise and fall of civilizations. As Hugh gives multiple stories, from all points of view, we can see that the success and failure of a civilization is affected by variables underneath the surface level. For example, history usually attributes loyalty to the religious cause and knowing the terrain well, as main factors that led to the Muslim’s easy conquests. However, after reading this book, I have come to realize that many of their opponents were already weak: loyalty or military-wise. Taking the example of the conquests of Syria and Palestine; their religion was split into two groups, so when the Muslims attacked, the two social classes were in disarray, a significant factor in their defeat. The same goes for when the Muslims campaigned in Egypt: their conquest was successful as they forged ahead after the Romans and Copts divided in the area, reducing opposing forces. Contrasting to Transoxania, where the men fought for their land together, making the process of conquest far more difficult and longer for the Muslims. However, many of the territories conquered openly accepted Muslim rule, as the new rulers allowed religious freedom and peace in exchange for tax and alliance. This was also a great part of why the Muslims were so successful; not just religious drive.

They did allow religious freedom as stated above, but over time, the major faith in the conquered lands became Islam. The Muslins had not only placed such political and cultural boundaries in place but made it attractive instead of forcing it on the people. By placing requirements of being Muslim and speaking Arabic to hold important positions, many people in the land started turning to the religion. Islam was the last of the monotheistic faiths, claiming to be perfect, instead of destroying the others, and so people found it familiar and easier to understand, converting to the faith in time. This diplomatic, implicit force is what truly transformed the cultural landscape of the Muslim’s conquered land. What I took away from this was that a better way to get people to do something is to try to implicitly encourage them, and give them something that’s beneficial to them. It might take time, as it did for all the conquered land, but in the end it’s a firmer change than forcing it upon people.

Hugh Kennedy, a British medieval historian, focused on retelling stories of the people to limit assumptions. Keeping his writing as though he was narrating, his personal beliefs did not affect the overall recounting of events, which is something that historians strive for: neutrality. Another way he kept it neutral was by mentioning different versions of a story. An example is when recounting the story of the secondary conquests in Iran, Hugh mentions two versions of the story: in one the Muslims forge ahead and take the land by force, and in another the ruler of the opposition opened negotiation as the defenders became ill, bringing upon the new rulers. This writing style allows for the readers to keep an open mind, as history always has many perspectives; especially when these conquests were illy recorded.

The Muslim conquests were complex chains and webs of events, and understanding the situation at the time along with understanding how each conquest was unique and similar is key to fully grasping the whole acquisition of territory. Kennedy takes it upon himself to briefly explain the people, culture, religion, and terrain of the area when beginning a new chapter for each new conquest. In doing so, he creates a picture in the reader of the scenario, helping to understand different aspects like tactics, division of people, and other obstacles or eases of the Muslims. Towards the end of each chapter for each conquest, Kennedy compares the conquest to previous ones: was it because of similar terrain? Culture? Or something entirely else? These analyses ultimately help the reader decipher why the conquests were so successful, while keeping them engaged throughout.
Overall, Hugh Kenedy kept a professional tone, however, in regards to mentioning the four caliphs: successors of Muhammad (PBUH), and other notable figures, he was not hesitant to attribute negative qualities to them and speak in a franker manner regarding their behavior. For example, he wrote ‘grumpy Caliph’ to describe Umar’s mood at the time. This take on history provides a broader spectrum in which we can see different sides of these heroic figures; the humanness in them.

The Great Arab Conquests: How the Spread of Islam Changed the World We Live In, originally published in 2007, has won the Outstanding Academic Title, given by the American Library Association, was written by a British Historian specialized in Islamic History: Hugh Kennedy. Born on October 22, 1974, he came to become a world-renowned historian, claiming many awards and titles. He graduated with his Ph.D. in 1978, while working in the University of St. Andrews as a Professor of Middle Eastern History; later a Professor of Arabic along with leading a project on Islamic History from 800-1000CE at the University of London from 2007 onwards. For being the best specialist in his field, Hugh was elected as a Fellow of the British Academy along with being elected as the Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh: both highly prestigious. The Great Arab Conquests, written by this brilliant historian, gives a balanced perspective while being a great fit for the general reader, needing no background knowledge on the subject, and therefore is appealing to the mass audience. Therefore, I would recommend this book to anyone who wishes to learn more about the spread of Islam or conquests in general. Also to anyone who wishes to gain more depth as to how and why the Arab conquests were so successful, changing the landscape of the land forever. The ease and story-telling style of the book makes it accessible to most, from 10 years old and onwards as by this age, most are able to sufficiently comprehend text.

High Kennedy takes on every narrative, even when many would discard irrelevant information as being unworthy or inaccurate. He uses these narratives to stitch a story, true to the attitudes of the people. Taking poetry and letters from multiple sides we see the realities of all: harshness and kindness, proudness and cowardice, peace and war. As light is shed on all sides’ stories, questions arise: is there ever a universal hero and villain? And if perspective decides what is good or bad, then can there ever be a universal truth? Although this book is focused on history, its depth into the human social memory helps us question what we know and brings boring facts to life.

[Conor · Rating 3 out of 5]

Whilst I learnt a lot from this, and the author clearly has a strong grasp of the subject matter, there are a few failures that stop this history really hitting the mark for me.

1. The author sets out in his preface his determination to avoid this being a list of battles and generals. Sadly, for the first two thirds of the book, that's more or less all it is. Only in the chapters on Transoxania and Africa do we really get a sense of the depth of conquest and the reasons for its success or failure.

2. The subtitle is "How the spread of Islam changed the world we live in". I'd like to give Kennedy the benefit of the doubt and blame this on a marketing-minded publisher, but at no point is there any assessment made of how the events in the seventh and eighth centuries have impacted life in the twenty first.

3. Kennedy frequently notes the difficulty in relying on ancient sources, particularly Arab ones, for details regarding numbers of soldiers, the chronology of battles. I'm sure this is correct, but the critical observer might ask why you would then choose to write a popular history book on the topic.

There are other shortcomings along the same lines. The author is clearly an expert but I think the subject matter available doesn't really fit the book that was imagined. I'm happy to assign most of the blame to the publisher who, in the blurb, seems to assert that a generation is approximately eighty years.

[Andres Felipe Contreras Buitrago · Rating 4 out of 5]

El primer capítulo empieza a mencionando lo enorme de la península arábiga, por lo que los locales tenían un gran conocimiento del desierto, los primeros registros sobre los árabes datan de la época del imperio asirio, desde allí, eran vistos como un pueblo inferior, ya sería en el año 328 que se encuentran las primeras inscripciones en árabe y muestran estos como un grupo con su propia identidad. Para el siglo VI, los árabes presentaban un problema para los dos grandes imperios dominantes de la época, los romanos y persas, por ello ambos imperios pagaban a jefes árabes para controlar las incursiones de otros, la riqueza de estos líderes árabes incentivó la poesía y cultura de este lugar. Los lugareños allí practicaban una vida nómada donde los camellos eran de suma importancia, el autor sostiene que las tribus no eran tan Unidas como se creían mencionando que se hacían muy pocas reuniones pero que igual las tribus contaban con sus propios jefes, algo muy común era la hospitalidad por parte de los beduinos para recoger información importante.
Los hombres árabes eran grandes guerreros desde pequeños y también cultivaban la poesía, en estos textos se hablaba del individuo, así como el valor de la guerra, más al sur de la península arábiga había partes de Yemen y Omán que si tenían cultivos, en estos lugares sí habían reinos que comercian principalmente con especias, incienso y mirra, pero para la época del nacimiento de Mahoma es su reino ya se encontraban en declive. Las ciudades como Medina y meca eran centros comerciales que, si enriquecieron también por la extracción de metales preciosos cercanos, la meca era un lugar donde llegaban caravanas comerciales por lo que allí había toda una red de contactos comerciales y políticos. HP posterior a esto sino describe la vida de Mahoma en el que se resalta cómo ayudó a mucha gente a salir de la pobreza y unió a diferentes tribus, era importante para el profeta el uso de la diplomacia y la guerra una constante en la expansión musulmán.
Con la muerte de Mahoma surgen los primeros califas, esto no dirigía personalmente a los ejércitos y los comandantes eran los que tenían mayor poder y autonomía pero que debían rendir cuentas al califa, con la muerte de Mahoma algunas tribus rechazaron la autoridad de los nuevos califas ya que su compromiso era con el profeta y no con estos nuevos dirigentes políticos, por ello se empezó a usar la fuerza para exigir los pagos de impuestos hacia Medina, esta primera expansión se le conoció como las guerras ridda, con la conquista de las tribus de la península arábiga era necesario usar todas esas energías militares contra otros imperios para evitar una guerra musulmana interna. En estas primeras expediciones las fuerzas musulmanas no eran tan numerosas, inclusive su equipo militar lo conseguían muchas veces de los enemigos derrotados y cada hombre tenía sus propios suministros. Las armas que usaron los árabes eran espadas que aún no eran curvas, arcos y lanzas y por supuesto protección con cota de malla, usaron elementos innovadores que ya venían expandiéndose como los estribos y la artillería.
El primer lugar para la expansión musulmana fueron Siria y Palestina las cuales estaban bajo control bizantino y era un lugar con muchos árabes cristianos y comunidades judías pequeñas, dentro de estos lugares habían divisiones cristianas por la naturaleza de Jesús, estos lugares previamente habían sido duramente impactado por la peste y luego tuvieron un mayor impacto las conquistas persas, lo que había una debilidad del Gobierno bizantino allí, pese a toda esa destrucción eran lugares ricos en cultivos de cereales y extracción de aceite. los primeros ataques no fueron muy exitosos para los musulmanes ya sería en el 630 que se iniciaría toda una expedición hacia este lugar, al ser sí un lugar desértico similar al mundo árabe era más fácil conquistarlo, la primera gran ciudad en ser tomada por los musulmanes fue Bostra, sin armas de asedio los musulmanes pudieron conquistar Damasco gracias a su bloqueo de la ciudad, los cristianos de esta ciudad ofrecieron poca resistencia a los musulmanes, en el 636 se llevaría a cabo la batalla de yarmuk, la cual fue una gran derrota para los bizantinos y con ello empezaron la toma de varias ciudades sirias, luego fue tomada Antioquia, las ciudades que más resistieron en esta primera oleada fueron las costeras ya que podían recibir suministros a través del mar, pero la caída de Trípoli significó el fin del control bizantino de la parte litoral oriental mediterránea, otra conquista simbólica importante fue Jerusalén o lo que para el 640 toda Siria está controlada por los musulmanes.
El tercer capítulo es hacia la conquista de Irak donde se nos menciona el contexto de lo poderoso y grande que era el imperio persa sasánida, sus aspectos militares se centraban más en lo defensivo, pero como se mencionó anteriormente se encontraba débil luego de la guerra contra los bizantinos, en el 633 los no más musulmanes ya habían hecho sus primeras incursiones en el imperio persa, sería ese mismo año que el primer Ejército llegaría a Irak consiguiendo su primera conquista en la que muchos prisioneros se convertirían al islam, una derrota en un puente fue muy dura para los musulmanes los cuales juraron venganza y demostraron también que los persas tenían mucho desorden dentro de sus filas militares, lograrían una gran victoria a los musulmanes contra los persas en la batalla de Qadisiya, es importante resaltar que en este encuentro los persas siempre mostraban su riqueza y los musulmanes se mostraban como personas sencillas y humildes, con los años el imperio persa se desintegraría y habría poca resistencia por parte de este imperio, donde no solo eran las ciudades sino también en el campo que se debilitaba el poder del antiguo imperio, la conquista este lugar también se ayudó en que muchas tropas persas desertaron y los árabes pagaron sus salarios, con la construcción de nuevas ciudades como Kufa, se llevan allí el emplazamiento de nuevas mezquitas por lo que allí se desarrolla la administración fiscal islámica incipientemente, para el 640 los musulmanes habían logrado un gran dominio de las tierras irrigadas de Irak.
La conquista de Egipto era algo diferente puesto que tanto Siria e Irak tenían dentro de sus territorios poblaciones árabes para conquistar cosa que no pasaba con la tierra de los faraones, es importante mencionar que Egipto era una tierra fértil y rica en la que existían muchos cristianos y la iglesia copta, la cual rechazaba mucho el dominio de la religión bizantina, por supuesto que al igual que otros territorios fue azotada primero por la peste y luego por los persas, empieza la campaña hacia Egipto con las noticias de su riqueza con una expedición de muy pocos soldados hacia el 639, algunos cristianos coptos querían deshacerse de los bizantinos, 1 de los elementos más fuertes de la defensa de este territorio era la fortaleza de Babilonia, pero con la muerte de Heraclio, el poder bizantino se debilitó y no se lleva a cabo una gran defensa de este lugar, con la toma de gran parte de Egipto los lugareños debían pagar el impuesto y los terratenientes suministrar alimentos hacia los musulmanes, el siguiente objetivo sería Alejandría, pero allí se estaban llevando a cabo disputas entre generales bizantinos por lo que para el 641 caería esta ciudad con poca resistencia, por más de un siglo los musulmanes recogieron los mismos impuestos que los bizantinos y usaron el griego como la lengua del Gobierno ahora los árabes podían obtener los cereales de Egipto. Se sientan allí las bases están viendo lo que en un futuro será El Cairo y pese a que los bizantinos intentaron retomar Alejandría en el 645 fracasarían, en 2 años se logró la conquista de Egipto, demostrando el mal liderazgo romano, y que no había señores locales que pudieran tener ejércitos para defender a Egipto puesto que eran muy dependientes al dominio central bizantino.
Irán era el otro lugar para expandir aún más los ejércitos musulmanes los cuales entre el 642 y 650 conquistaron gran parte de este lugar, muchas zonas inclusive llegaron a salir ilesas y solo pagaban tributo a los musulmanes, muchas ciudades se entregaban a cambio de seguridad y protección para los habitantes cosa que siempre he respetado a los musulmanes, otras comunidades recibían bien a los árabes para que los defendiera de otras comunidades, también en esta época además del avance por Irán se lograron grandes victorias en la actual Azerbaiyán, mostrando que el límite de la expansión sería por el Cáucaso en esta parte, luego seguiría la conquista del Golfo Pérsico hasta llegar a las fronteras de la actual Afganistán, el rey persa nunca pudo conseguir gran apoyo y moriría en el olvido. Con ello se marcaría el fin definitivo del imperio persa pero mucha de la cultura iraní continuaría, como se puede apreciar en que el persa fue la lengua común en este territorio mientras que el árabe era el idioma de la administración imperial.
La expansión musulmana en el norte de África no se detendría en Egipto sino que continuaría por todo el Magreb, el cual era un lugar rico en producción de aceitunas y aceite de oliva, el cristianismo también está muy arraigado allí, y los habitantes norafricanos tenían grandes confianza de los bizantinos, este lugar era muy marginal incluso para el dominio de los bizantinos, muchas tropas estacionadas que habían allí las usó Heraclio en su toma el poder por lo que se abandonaron muchos asentamientos, los lugareños que vivían allí eran bereberes los cuales tenían una sociedad tribal con muchos estilos de vida, el avance hacia el norte de África empezó en el 642 en el que se consiguieron los primeros esclavos bereberes, pero en este lugar solo un único encuentro contra los bizantinos los cuales fueron te rotados fácilmente, tras 20 años de pausa a causa de luchas de poder dentro de los musulmanes se conquistó Cartago y luego Marrakech, por supuesto que todo eso hizo que se generará un gran resentimiento de los bereberes hacia los musulmanes, el califa en el 694 sabía que necesitaba el control total del norte de África para evitar una futura campaña bizantina por lo que se logró la ocupación pacífica de Cartago, pero con la eliminación de los bizantinos el nuevo problema eran los bereberes que solo terminarían su resistencia hacia el 698 por lo que el norte de África tardó 70 años en conquistar puesto que se completó totalmente su dominación en el 708.
un lugar desconocido para los árabes era lo que se conoce como Asia Central, allí existían varias cortes turcas y grandes guerreros locales que defendían un territorio muy rico, la dominación de este lugar tardó un siglo a causa de las duras luchas que enfrentaron a árabes con turcos, este lugar era rico gracias a la ruta de la seda que allí pasaba o lo que había un gran comercio lucrativo en este lugar, la frontera entre los árabes y los turcos era el río Oxus, por lo que muchos querían cruzar esta frontera natural para conseguir más riquezas, gran parte de 2 capítulos se centra en la conquista de este lugar, lo importante es que por ejemplo pese a la construcción de una nueva mezquita en el 713 muchos lugareños no se convirtieron al islam por lo que se demuestra que la conversión es un proceso gradual y lento, 1 de los grandes logros en este lugar fue la conquista de Samarcanda, por lo que los árabes estaban adentrando cada vez más en la frontera con los chinos, estos últimos alentaron a los turcos a llevar un contraataque contra los árabes en los que lograron grandes victorias contra estos al punto de perder los avances que habían logrado, pero este revés temporal no impediría que los árabes volvieran a retomar el control de este lugar dando fin al primer imperio turco en el 739, con el tiempo muchas personas se convertirían al islam al igual que los príncipes locales turcos a causa de las ventajas que proporcionaba, en el 751 los musulmanes ganarían una batalla contra los chinos siendo éste el único conflicto importante entre ambos imperios y marcando el fin del avance árabe en este lugar, lo importante de esta región fue el contacto con El Mundo chino con el cual pudieron traer nuevos conocimientos como la fabricación del papel.
Hacia el norte de la India es donde más se expandirá los musulmanes en esta región, allí existían Reyes brahmanes, los cuales fueron fácilmente derrotados pero los nuevos conquistadores mantuvieron los templos budistas solos y pagaban tributo y respetaron a muchos brahmanes por lo que hubo cierta amabilidad con los budistas pese a ser una religión tan diferente no como la cristiana por ejemplo, el problema es que el despido del general Mahoma el cual era el que logró los avances en este lugar significó no avanzar más hacia el subcontinente indio, pese a que allí habían grandes riquezas.
otro lugar donde se expandiría el imperio musulmán sería en la península Ibérica a causa de que los recién convertidos al islam bereberes, querían botín. El Reino visigodo pese a que en el pasado era un reino fuerte en el momento de las conquistas musulmanas estaba débil a causa de un trono arrebatado, la conquista empezó en el 711 con pocos hombres, y el rey visigodo se encontraba en el norte suprimiendo una rebelión vasca por lo que llegó muy tarde para frenar a los musulmanes, para muchos lugareños la invasión musulmana solo fue una simple incursión, cuestión a debatir es el supuesto apoyo de locales y judíos hacia los musulmanes una cosa que aún no es clara, lo importante es que los musulmanes lograron conquistar casi toda la península Ibérica, solo una parte del norte de España no sería conquistada a causa de que no representaban una amenaza para los musulmanes al igual que lo era con la Armenia cristiana, luego en la batalla de Tours, se detendría el avance musulmán a causa de que era difícil llevar más suministros y personas hacia este lugar.
En el ámbito marítimo hacia finales de la antigüedad los mares del Mediterráneo eran dominados por el imperio bizantino, los musulmanes llevarían a cabo la conquista de la isla de Chipre en el 649 en la que esta isla pagaba tributo ambos imperios, lo interesante está islas que conservó mucho de la cultura bizantina griega, después de esto se llevaron a cabo ataques hacia otra islas como Rodas, solo sería en el 655 que se llevaría a cabo el primer gran enfrentamiento entre las dos poderosas Armadas con una victoria musulmana, pero, la flota bizantina seguía siendo muy superior a la musulmana como se vio en el fracaso del primera sede de Constantinopla en el 674, en el segundo a sello hacia esta ciudad entre los años 716 a 718, nuevamente se fracasaría también con ayuda del fuego griego por parte de los bizantinos, otras expediciones que llevaron a cabo los musulmanes serían en Sicilia y el norte de África.
El lugar donde partían las flotas musulmanas primero fue en Tiro, en el 861 se pasaría luego a Acre, aunque para el 780 ya había un base en tarso, Egipto también contaba con sus propias bases navales las cuales serán manejadas por marineros coptos, aún en esta época falta mucho por desarrollar para la Marina musulmana. Las embarcaciones que se usaron fueron principalmente Galeras, los barcos bizantinos eran principalmente dramones, que tenían remos y velas eran triangulares.
Sobre las voces de los conquistados, muchos veían el avance musulmán como una prueba del fin de los tiempos, para otras personas cristianas que daban a los bizantinos los musulmanes eran instrumentos de Dios, habían dos visiones de ver a los musulmanes ya sean como héroes o bárbaros, para los judíos por ejemplo los musulmanes les dieron un respiro frente a la persecución bizantina, cuando la civilización musulmana comenzó a mejorar cada vez eran más vistos como civilizados, aunque a algunos no les gustaba el gobierno musulmán era difícil la resistencia y si llegaba a verla era muy local.
En las conclusiones el autor menciona que para el 750 se lograron las fronteras que durarían varios siglos de este imperio musulmán, aunque muchas de estas fronteras no eran tan claras a causa por ejemplo del desierto, uno de los lugares que fue muy fuertemente luchado y fortificado fue la península de anatolia, contrario a lo que había pasado con el imperio romano los ataques de pueblos extranjeros como jázaros, turcos o cristianos españoles no representaron un peligro para grandes ciudades musulmanas como Bagdad o El Cairo.
Finalmente está la cuestión de por qué lo lograron los musulmanes y expandirse con gran éxito, aquí el autor desglosa varios elementos: el primero es que estos lugares contaban con poca población, lo que se demuestra que las personas eran un bien escaso y la resistencia era muy poca. Otro factor fue obviamente la guerra destructiva entre los bizantinos y los persas por lo que ambos imperios aún estaban en reconstrucción. En el ámbito bizantino con la muerte del emperador Heraclio se inició una lucha por el poder, tanto bizantinos como persas nunca vieron a los árabes como un enemigo potencial además de que sus ejércitos estaban muy centralizados lo que hacía difícil la poca resistencia local. Existió poca oposición hacia los musulmanes e inclusive como se mencionó algunos grupos los veían como libertadores. Elementos más subjetivos como la religión y los elementos pre islámicos fueron importantes para esta expansión, los musulmanes contaban con gran movilidad, un buen liderazgo y una gran organización desde las capitales del califato. Existió poca resistencia ya que las condiciones que pusieron los musulmanes a los conquistados eran muy pocas por lo que no eran muy exigentes, nunca se obligó a las personas a convertirse al islam y la conversión de las personas se debió más a un interés de ascender socialmente, finalmente la religión del islam no era tan diferente a las otras como el cristianismo o el judaísmo puesto que compartían muchos elementos, cosa que no pasaba por ejemplo con el budismo.

[Aiza · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Great Arab Conquests, a book on how the spread of Islam has changed the world. This book explains the concepts of Arab leaders, their strategies; not only from the Arab point of view, but from all empires. Each conquest is explained in detail in order for us to understand the complex minds of these leaders.

The book is written by Hugh N. Kennedy, a British Historian. He mainly focuses on the early Islamic Middle East, Muslim Iberia and the Crusades. In 1956 he was studying at the Middle East Center for Arab Studies. Hugh then got a scholarship to Pembroke College, he was studying the Arabic and Persian Tripos. In 1978, Kennedy earned his Philosophy PhD, while also publishing a doctoral thesis called, Politics and the political élite in the early Abbasid Caliphate. Hugh was a lecturer at St. Andrews in Medieval History in 1972. He then got promoted to a professor of Middle Eastern History in 1997. From 1992 to 1998 Hugh was the Deputy Head of the School of History. In 2007 he left this college and went to another one (School of Oriental and African Studies). He spent a great deal at SOAS, being the professor of Arabic and in 2015 leading a project. While his time there, he began writing about history, that’s when The Great Arab Conquests: How the spread of Islam changed the world we live in. was written and published.

The first 4 chapters of the book are each conquest. The rest are the impacts of the Arabs and Islam. The first chapter was ‘The Conquest of Syria and Palestine’. This chapter was mainly the setting on how the Arabs conquered. Their strongest trait and what they would do to keep the peace. In this conquest, I learned that the Arab’s strongest trait was to attack at night. They knew this too, so they would take advantage of this knowledge. This chapter also showed how the Arabs would conquer the area. They would build mosques and slowly get more people to convert.

The second chapter was ‘The Conquest of Iraq’. This chapter was about Abu Bakr and his journey to lead the Arabs to conquer Iraq. With the help of Khalid ibn al Walid, they won swiftly. The impact of conquering Iraq was they offered a new government system. Once again, helping the development of Iraq.

The third chapter was ‘The Conquest of Egypt’. This chapter was when the Byzantines had Egypt. The Arab leader Amr ibn al-'As leading the Arabs to Egypt and conquering the new place. They won Egypt and the effects of beating the Byzantine Empire weakened the overall Empire. It cost them a tremendous loss. Which made it easier to end the Byzantine Empire.

The fourth, and final for conquests, was ‘The Conquest of Iran’. This chapter was about the Arab leader, Musa. His journey to leading the Arabs to victory. In this conquest, no mosques were made, but attacks were. Since no mosques were made, it was harder to get people to convert. Musa, the leader, did not give up and made strategic plans to overthrow the Iranian leader. In the end, the Arabs won. They ended the Sassanian Empire and kickstarted the trade in the Indo-Iranian Trade. It helped the economy and development of Iran.

The last chapters talk about how the Arabs were “swift” to conquer a new place. The Arabs would strike an area when it was at its weakest point. Either the government was failing or rulers passed. This made the Arabs more powerful than their enemies. One big factor was mobility. The Arabs could travel far distances in short periods of time compared to the Byzantines. Leaders, this was also a contributing point. The Arabs had real leaders. There are some who order and there are some who lead; who take you along with them. The Arab leaders took their soldiers with them and showed they cared. Along with this, the leaders took advice. Seeking the most rational decision they could make. This led the Arabs to victory each time.

Compared to the Byzantines, the members of the Arab armies would listen to the government or Caliphs. The Byzantine had rebels, but not the Arabs. The Arabs had loyal members. Lastly, when the Arabs conquered each area they did not cause mass destruction unlike the Sassainians and Byzantines. They would only build mosques and convert as many people to Islam as they could. They would offer rewards to those who would join them in daily prayers and they would also translate the Holy Quran to their language.

I have learned important lessons from reading this book. First being, ‘Everyone loses in war.’ At the end, no matter who ‘won’, they all lost something. Whether it be soldiers or land, we all lose in war. Along with the advantages comes the disadvantages. The advantages fade out with time, but the disadvantages stay. A poem was written by the Persians:

“Men will conceal their wealth, but when they’ve died
Their foes will pillage everything they hide.
Men will pretend they're holy or they're wise,
To make a livelihood by telling lies.

Sorrow and anguish, bitterness and pain
Will be as happiness was in the reign
Of Bahram Gür - mankind's accustomed fate:

There'll be no feasts, no festivals of state,
No pleasures, no musicians, none of these:
But there'll be lies, and traps and treacheries.

Sour milk will be our food, coarse cloth our dress,
And greed for money will breed bitterness
Between generations: men will cheat
Each other as they calmly counterfeit
Religious faith. The winter and the spring

Will pass mankind unmarked, no one will bring
The wine to celebrate such moments then;
Instead they'll spill the blood of fellow men.” (Kennedy, 359)
It paints a picture of moral and political decay. When at war, everybody loses.

Second, I learned how important it is to be a leader, and how important leaders are. The leaders of the Arab world are true leaders. They lead their troops to victory, they are wise and rational, and they care about their armies, their people. When they found the valuable items when conquering the new areas, they would trade it for money. The troops would get paid first then the remaining went to the government. They put their troops first because they acknowledged the sacrifice of the soldiers. Being a leader is important and the best way to lead a group of people. Whether it be at school or the real world, it’s very important.

Third, the Arabs had smart war strategies. They would use their strengths in order to win, like their special night ambushes. Whenever they conquered a new area, they would build mosques and would try to convert as many people into Muslims. They would advertise their Jihads and gather more, newly converted, Muslims to fight in the Holy War. In order to show gratitude towards the soldiers, the soldiers would get a wealthy pay. It became honorable to fight with the Arabs and so, they gained a larger following. Having the monopoly meant easier wins. This taught me to be in control of what I do. Know what’s going on and to stay on my mission. All those tiny strategies helped the Arabs win, if I have those in the real world, things will be easier.

Throughout each conquest, the author would write the other point of view. For example, in the first chapter, the Arab’s story was not the only point of view, the Persians version of the story was also present. This helped gain more knowledge about what actually happened and can help find root causes. This can also help find what to do and what not to do.The author also used the purest form of self-expression, poetry. Leaders wrote poems about battles and their feelings. In order to fully understand what happened, reading the poems was a great addition. The word choice of the book made it easier to understand, as the point of the book was to be clear and concise. I don’t think having less frequent words is the “best” for all books, simple words make the reading experience better. I would recommend this book to readers 13 and above, the complex ideas might be a little harder to process for younger readers.

When I finished reading, the book raised a few questions. First being, “What mistake did the Arabs make that made their empire less powerful?”. There has to be a root cause and if that was explored more in the book would have made it more helpful. Second, “What makes a conquest different from an attack?” In the book, the author describes all the attacks made by the Arabs as ‘conquests’ in their view. The author refutes that and makes major wars the ‘conquests’. What exactly made the author think that? What did he and the Arabs mean by ‘conquest’? Finally, “What would the Islamic Empire look like today if the Arabs didn’t do a great job spreading it?”. Islam is the second most largest religion in the world, right under Christanity. Would Muslims still be a minority in some countries? More than right now? What would Persia, Iran, Iraq and Egypt look like?

After being published, The Great Arab Conquests: How the Spread of Islam Changed the World we Live in Today was a big hit. Pakistan PM, Imran Khan, has said himself “the youth of Pakistan should read this book. It has the history of their ancestors.” It is a non-bias view, giving the readers more room for thought.

The Arabs conquered many great places, they were once the kings. They spread Islam and brought the idea of good morals, shaping the society. They were crucial for some countries' development. I have learned valuable lessons from this deep book, from the victories and failures of kings and rulers, and I encourage you to read it too.

[Gianluca Fiore · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mostly a strategic view instead of a tactical one, the book does nonetheless a good job in describing with clarity around one century of Arab conquests.