What Was the Importance of Muhammad for the Arab Conquests?
What was the importance of Muhammad for the success of the Arab conquests?
The role of Prophet Muhammad, as both a temporal and religious leader was undeniably an important factor in the success of the Arab conquests. These events took place between 622 and 750, first involving the establishment of a new unified polity in the Arabian Peninsula, then leading to a Muslim Empire which stretched from central Asia to North Africa and was one of the largest the world has ever seen. This overwhelming success merits explanation, yet this is difficult to establish with certainty, due to the small number and poor quality of surviving sources. Muhammad’s main role was to provide a unifying influence, both during his lifetime when he united a fragmented pre-Islamic peninsular, and after his death when the message of Islam contributed to the continuing formation of a prosperous Umma. Muhammad’s success arguably provided the platform for successors Abu Bakr and Umar to consolidate the expansion of Arab territory and power. However, other historians such as Crone and Cook have argued that Muhammad’s legacy was fragile, the caliphates such as Abu Bakr and Umar were of far more importance in the Arab conquest, and that the wider political context in which the conquests took place was of crucial importance for their success. This essay will argue that Muhammad was essential to the success of the Arab conquest, as he created the conditions necessary for their beginnings, but that other conditions were also necessary to their continuing success.
Firstly, Muhammad made the initial Arab conquests possible by waging war to unite feuding groups on the Arab peninsular. Previously, various tribal groups vied for regional supremacy and Muhammad’s political, and religious leadership was the vehicle that facilitated the integration of Arabian tribal areas, and thus allowed the conquest to happen through the formation of a unified Arab army. Lapidus states that previously “the leading
The role of Prophet Muhammad, as both a temporal and religious leader was undeniably an important factor in the success of the Arab conquests. These events took place between 622 and 750, first involving the establishment of a new unified polity in the Arabian Peninsula, then leading to a Muslim Empire which stretched from central Asia to North Africa and was one of the largest the world has ever seen. This overwhelming success merits explanation, yet this is difficult to establish with certainty, due to the small number and poor quality of surviving sources. Muhammad’s main role was to provide a unifying influence, both during his lifetime when he united a fragmented pre-Islamic peninsular, and after his death when the message of Islam contributed to the continuing formation of a prosperous Umma. Muhammad’s success arguably provided the platform for successors Abu Bakr and Umar to consolidate the expansion of Arab territory and power. However, other historians such as Crone and Cook have argued that Muhammad’s legacy was fragile, the caliphates such as Abu Bakr and Umar were of far more importance in the Arab conquest, and that the wider political context in which the conquests took place was of crucial importance for their success. This essay will argue that Muhammad was essential to the success of the Arab conquest, as he created the conditions necessary for their beginnings, but that other conditions were also necessary to their continuing success.
Firstly, Muhammad made the initial Arab conquests possible by waging war to unite feuding groups on the Arab peninsular. Previously, various tribal groups vied for regional supremacy and Muhammad’s political, and religious leadership was the vehicle that facilitated the integration of Arabian tribal areas, and thus allowed the conquest to happen through the formation of a unified Arab army. Lapidus states that previously “the leading