Date Posted: Friday, September 05, 2003

In the Arabian Peninsula: The Apostasy Wars

The news of the Prophet's death in 632 spread quickly among his companions and followers. Abu Bakr had taken leave of him at the dawn prayer to spend the day in a nearby oasis, and had believed that the Prophet's sickness was passing. On hearing the news, he returned immediately to Madinah. The Muslims had already gathered in the guest hall of Banu Sa'idah, shocked by the death of their Prophet and leader and wondering how to proceed. Being mostly Madinese, the gathered people were inclined to elect their tribal chief, Sa'd ibn 'Ubadah (of the Khazraj tribe), as successor to the Prophet. Then Abu Bakr, 'Umar ibn al Khattab, and Abu 'Ubaydah ibn al Jarrah, arrived. Their presence altered the course of history.  Had tribal feeling crystallized around Sa'd, it would have resurrected the pre-Islamic particularism, which Islam had condemned so severely. As the conversation progressed, the Madinese suggested that two successors be elected at once, a Madinese for the Ansar (literally, helpers) and a Quraysh for the Makkans. The three Makkans objected that this would split the ummah, which God had declared to be one (Qur'an 21:92). 'Umar then boldly nominated Abu Bakr to succeed the Prophet on the grounds that he was the Prophet's oldest and most trusted companion whom the Prophet had delegated to lead the Muslims in prayer in almost every one of his absences from Madinah. 'Umar asked Abu Bakr to stretch forth his hand, placed his hand on it as was the custom, and gave his oath of fealty to him. Abu 'Ubaydah followed and gave his oath of fealty to Abu Bakr. Overwhelmed by a feeling of Islamic solidarity and unity, the Ansar present followed the example of the two Makkans, one after another. The trustworthiness of Abu Bakr, his closeness to the Prophet, and the tremendous esteem in which he and 'Umar were universally held, were obviously irresistible.

Abu Bakr accepted their oaths, thanked them, and returned to the Prophet's house to arrange for the funeral and burial. It was Abu Bakr's decision that the Prophet should be buried at the very spot where he died, in 'A'ishah's chamber, which adjoined the mosque and was later incorporated into it. On the following day, Abu Bakr took his place at the pulpit in the mosque and delivered his inaugural speech.  He said: "Oh Men! I am assigned the duty of leading you when I am not the best of you. Therefore, if I do well, help me; if I do wrong, redress me…The weak shall be mighty in my eye until I have restored to them their right; the mighty shall be weak until I have restored from them the rights of the weak…Obey me as long as I obey God and His Prophet. But if I disobey them, then no obedience is incumbent upon you." The whole assembly rose and, filing past Abu Bakr, rendered to him their oath of fealty. This was the public bayah (election) of the khalifah (successor), which was to become the pattern of caliphal election in Islam. The decision of the previous day was the "first bayah" acting as a nomination of the caliph by ahl al hall wal 'aqd (the decision-makers of the community).

The first political decision Abu Bakr took was to send the Muslim army back to al Sham (Syria). The Prophet had sent the army to Syria in response to Byzantine mobilization. Its leader was Zayd ibn Harithah who received reinforcement of a cavalry force under Khalid ibn al Ward. The first force lost the battle at Mu'tah, in Jordan; and its three leaders fell one after the other. The Byzantines were equally exhausted and withdrew, not caring to press their victory on the battlefield. Khalid's arrival on the scene was late and resulted in no engagement. The Prophet then led the same army back north, covenanted peace with Aylah in south Jordan, and thus secured the northwest flank. Khalid was sent to Dawmat where he secured the central north flank after subduing Ukaydir, its chief, and bringing him captive to Madinah. When news of further troop deployment by Byzantium reached the Prophet shortly before he died, he sent the same army under the leadership of Usamah, the teenage son of the fallen general who had led the force on the earlier expedition. The army returned to Madinah without engaging the enemy. In fact, it had marched for two days when the news of the Prophet's death reached it and its commander decided to return home. The new chief-of-state, Caliph Abu Bakr, decided to reinforce the army and send it back north to fulfill the mission entrusted to it by the Prophet. Abu Bakr rejected arguments that Usamah was too young to lead, and that the time called for Muslim unity, for presence of the army closer to home. He argued that no action started by the Prophet could be altered or interrupted; and he probably thought that the presence of the army in the northern regions constituted a better defense against the only real dangers confronting the Islamic state, namely, Byzantium and Persia.

The news of the Prophet's death produced another crisis of far greater proportion. A number of tribes defaulted on paying the zakat to its collectors, arguing that it had been a tribute to Muhammad; since he died, the tribute was no longer due. Obviously, this was either a misunderstanding of the institution of zakat or a cloak behind which the old tribalism and separatism reasserted themselves. In either case, it drew Abu Bakr's fury and caused him to prepare for war. When his opponents objected that no war was legitimate against those who witnessed to the unity of God and the Prophethood of Muhammad, Abu Bakr replied that zakat was of the essence of Islam and could not be denied without denying the religion itself. The 'Abs and Dhubyan tribes, who held an unorthodox view of the zakat, camped at Dhul Qassa, thirty miles east of Madinah. Abu Bakr quickly ordered every available man to take up arms, surprising the two tribes and vanquishing their main force in battle while putting the rest to flight. The fleeing remnant joined Tulayhah, chief of Banu Asad, who camped farther east and who had declared himself a prophet. Abu Bakr put Khalid ibn al Walid at the head of his force, and he returned to Madinah after commanding Khalid to win back to Islam every recalcitrant in Arabia. The Tay tribesmen from the area joined with Khalid. The Muslims scored a great victory at Buzakha and dispersed their enemies. Tulayhah himself escaped to Syria but later repented and was forgiven. His defeat reverberated throughout Arabia. The Banu Asad came out en masse to give fealty, and their surrender prompted the Banu Sulaym and Hawazin tribe to follow suit and pay the zakat. Abu Bakr readily pardoned all upon their return to the fold of Islam.

Farther east, Banu Tamim and Banu Hanifah lent their support to Musaylimah who also claimed to be a prophet. Khalid marched against them. One branch of Banu Tamim, the Banu Yarbu', resisted under their leader Malik bin Nuwayrah. Khalid gave them battle until they returned to Islam. Their leader, Malik, fell captive and was killed. The Banu Hanifah gave battle to the Muslims and killed a number of the Prophet's older companions. Zayd ibn al Khattab, Thabit ibn Qays, al Bara', and Abu Dujanah, among numerous others, laid down their lives. The Banu Hanifah were cornered in a garden at Yamamah, and its members were killed to the last man. The encounter came to be known as the Battle of Yamamah. Musaylimah was killed by Wahshi, now a fervent Muslim and the same Makkan who, before his conversion to Islam, had fought for Makkah against the Muslims and had, in fact, killed the Prophet’s uncle Hamzah at Uhud. His javelin had killed "the best and the worst of men," as he bemoaned during the rest of his days. The number of companions killed was so large - some historians claim it was half the force of 5, 000 - that the Muslims feared for the loss of the Qur’an itself, which the fallen heroes had kept in their memories.

The Battle of Yamamah was the major engagement of the Riddah (Apostasy) Wars that raged after the death of the Prophet. But it was not the last one. 'Ikrimah, son of Abu Jahl, and two tribal chieftains, Hudhayfah and Arfajah, joined forces to subdue 'Uman and succeeded in adding that large province to the Islamic state. Later, in their march, they added the province of Mahrah. A number of tribes living in the South and Southwest joined the successful cause. The Christian Najran renewed the covenant they had made with the Prophet. Their neighbors, however, the Zubayd and Kindah tribes, rebelled under the leadership of 'Amr ibn Ma’di Karib and al Ash'ath ibn Qays, respectively. The news reached Abu Bakr, who immediately dispatched al Muhajir ibn Abu Umayyah with a small force to Yaman and ordered 'Ikrimah and his men to proceed thither in all haste. The two joined forces at Ma'rib, the site of the great dam, and moved westward against the rebellious tribes in Yaman. They laid siege to al Ash'ath in Nujayr; al Ash'ath was seized and sent captive to Madinah where Abu Bakr forgave him and gave him his sister in marriage. The other chief, 'Amr ibn Ma'di Karib, surrendered to al Muhajir and repented. This brought the Riddah Wars to an end, and Arabia stood once more united, this time into an indissoluble religious as well as administrative unit. Henceforth, the tribal wars of Arabia stopped, having been condemned religiously and politically by Islam, as religion and as state.

On the Persian Front

Al Muthanna ibn Harithah, chief of Banu Shayban, a clan of Banu Bakr, having distinguished himself as one of the heroes of the battle of Dhu Qar against the Persians, had risen in esteem among Banu Bakr. He was largely responsible for the reconciliation of the various clans of Banu Bakr when Khalid ibn al Walid was sweeping through their territories. These clans, living in the shadow of the Persian Empire, had formed the satellite state of Lakhm, with its capital at al Hirah. They were adversely affected when Persia revoked the semi-autonomous status they had enjoyed and subjected them to direct colonialist rule by Persia. Full of resentment against their imperial master, these tribesmen welcomed the opportunity al Muthanna’s leadership provided to rally together under the Islamic state and face the Persian Empire as a new unity with a separate identity, a new purpose, and a new mission. The reconciliation among the clans of Banu Bakr was a direct result of their allegiance to Islam and the Islamic state. Naturally, the tribesmen saw in all this, in addition to the promise of Islam, an occasion to restore their dignity and assert their will against Persia. However, Caliph Abu Bakr did not trust them, precisely on account of their previous apostasy, and forbade Khalid ibn al Walid to recruit any of them into the Islamic army. Only the few clans who never apostasized were permitted to join the Muslim army, and these included al Muthanna and his men. Al Muthanna's men joined with Khalid's forces at al Hafir in the Northeast (about 100 miles southeast of modern Kuwait). Together with the forces of the Tay tribe who lived farther east in Jabal Shammar and rallied under Khalid's command, they made a formidable army.

With these reinforcements, the Muslim army moved to Kadhimah (present-day Kuwait) and defeated the Persians in 11/633. Pushing north toward the Euphrates estuary, the Muslims took Ubullah, the port city on Shatt al 'Arab, and brought its largely Christian Arab inhabitants under the protection of the Islamic state. Skirting the Euphrates, the Muslim army proceeded north. But before engaging the Persians at Ullays, it crossed the Euphrates to give battle to the Persians at Walajah (near modern Shatrah). Both cities were seized and entered under the same covenant of peace. The stage was set for an advance on al Hirah. At the approach of the Muslims, the Persian commander fled to Mada'in (Ctesiphon) and left the city to its inhabitants, who were quick to welcome the Muslims, to agree to pay the jizyah, and to enjoy peace under the Islamic flag. Khalid then advanced toward al Anbar, on the northwestern edge of Sawad, the alluvial plain between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. The capital of the region had been inhabited for centuries by the Arab tribes of Taghlib, Namir, and lyad. Following its conquest, Khalid moved in the direction of 'Ayn al Tamr, which he took after a brief battle with its desert garrison. It was at this site that he received the caliph's order to march with his men to Syria.

On the Byzantine Front

The ruler of Dawmat al Jandal, a Christian, had embraced Islam in the course of the Prophet's last campaign to Tabuk and Aylah. At Muhammad's death, he lapsed and renounced his allegiance. Together with the news of further military moves by Byzantium, this was the prime reason behind Abu Bakr's decision to send the Islamic army back to the north. Three columns were ordered to march under the command of 'Amr ibn al 'As, Shurahbil ibn Hasanah, and Yazid ibn Abu Sufyan in the direction of Palestine, Jordan, and Syria, respectively. Yazid engaged and defeated the Byzantines at Wadi 'Arabah, southwest of the Dead Sea, killing the Greek commander Sergius. The rest of the Byzantine army retreated to Ghazzah; but on their way, 'Amr at Dathin engaged them in another battle which nearly annihilated them. That battle took place south of Bi'r al Sab' or Beersheba. The two columns then turned back to the desert route in the east and marched parallel to the column of 'Amr toward Dir'ah and Busra. These cities commanded the narrow passage to Damascus, between the mountain chain of al Shaykh (Hermon) and Hawran. There, their march was stopped by the bulk of the Byzantine army, reinforced by fresh recruits under command of Heraclius’s brother Theodorus.

It took Khalid only eighteen days to cross the desert from east to west and surprise the enemy by emerging behind his lines. The march took place in March 634, and was regarded as the greatest military feat in the history of the area. Going southwest from Hirah, Khalid arrived at Dawmat and brought it back t o the fold of Islam. He then proceeded through Wadi Sirhan to Quraqir. There he prepared to cross one of the driest deserts in the world, outflanking the Byzantines and the other Muslim columns. Five days later, his army arrived at Suwa or Sab' Abar, where they found some water below the surface near an acacia tree. Replenishing themselves and their animals, the men drove to Tadmur (Palmyra), seized it, and moved southwest to meet the Byzantines from behind their lines. On the way, Qaryatayn and Marj Rahit were the scenes of bloody encounters with the Byzantines, from which the Muslims emerged victorious. The march continued southward, and the cities of Busra and al Fihl (Greek Pella) surrendered. The retreating Byzantine force was attacked again at Marj al Suffar; and in the fall of 23/635 the Islamic army entered Dimashq (Damascus). Ba'albak, Hims, Hamah, and the other towns of Syria met the same fate.

Undaunted by this defeat, Heraclius thought of another strategy to counter the Muslim army. Just as the Muslims were invincible when fighting under desert conditions, Heraclius, with his heavily armored army, could move safely within Palestine. The route south was shorter, and he could reach Wadi 'Arabah before any Muslims could. There he hoped to cut off the Muslim supply lines to Madinah, and the road of their possible retreat.

Having raised another army, Heraclius marched south via Caesarea on the coast, aiming at the elimination of the guardian force the Muslims had left at Bi'r al Sab' (Beersheba) in south Palestine. Khalid learned of this march, and hastened to meet him. The Muslim commander took the longer and more arduous road, passing through Karak and 'Ayn Hasb at the head of Wadi 'Arabah. He joined with the other Muslim forces under 'Amr ibn al 'As and arrived at Bi'r al Sab' long before Heraclius. Without delay, he marched northward to meet Heraclius halfway between Caesarea and Bi'r al Sab'. The two armies fought at Ajnadayn, between the Mediterranean coast and Bayt Jibrin, and another Muslim victory was scored.

After all these encounters, only the Byzantine force at Dir'ah remained. Khalid returned to that front forthwith, rallied all the Muslim forces, and confronted the enemy. With their defeat at Ajnadayn and their loss of the territories to the north, the Byzantine position at Dir'ah became untenable. Heraclius ordered a retreat to a small plain on the banks of the Yarmuk River, which was surrounded with high cliffs, a position he regarded as defensible. A sandstorm - a common phenomenon at that time of the year - blinded the Byzantines and their horses and gave advantage to the Muslim troops who were used to desert conditions. Khalid rallied all the Muslim forces he could muster. The Muslim army attacked and routed the enemy in one day. Byzantium was driven from the Fertile Crescent once and for all.

A few days after news of the Muslim victory had reached him, Abu Bakr died. He had been caliph for a little more than two years. 'Umar ibn al Khattab succeeded him as khalifah. The new ruler appointed Abu 'Ubaydah ibn al Jarrah governor of Syria, and proceeded in person to inspect the new territories, the garrisons, and their generals, and to define their status, rights, and obligations. He arrived at al Jabiyah, one of the camps of the Muslim army north of the Yarmuk battlefield. Abandoned by the Byzantines, Jerusalem, which was until then under siege, offered to open its gates. Ready to make peace with the Muslims, the bishop of Jerusalem requested 'Umar to take charge of the city in person. 'Umar acquiesced to his request, journeyed to Jerusalem, and took over its keys in the fall of 25/637. It was on this occasion that he executed the covenant mentioned earlier.

Return to the Persian Front

On the eastern front, Khalid's departure to Syria with half or better of the Muslim armed forces had left that area unprotected. Al Muthanna had come to Madinah to ask for help, and Abu Bakr, on his deathbed, had ordered recruitment of a new army to be sent to the eastern front against Persia. His successor, 'Umar, fulfilled the order by calling for fresh recruits. Abu 'Ubaydah ibn Mas'ud of Ta'if, being the first to volunteer, was appointed a general. Al Muthanna returned to the eastern front, ahead of his colleague, to recruit more men from the tribes en route, who had been forbidden by Abu Bakr to join because of their earlier apostasy. 'Umar had issued a new edict permitting their recruitment. The new Persian emperor Yazdigird appointed Rustum to the command of the front against the Muslims. Rustum began by sending delegates to the cities that had made covenants of peace with the Muslims, urging them to renege on their agreements.

Soon the two armies confronted each other near al Hirah. There they fought the Battle of the Bridge, which resulted in the loss of several thousand Muslim lives. The rest of the army withdrew under the command of al Muthanna following the fall of Abu 'Ubaydah in battle. Reinforcements soon arrived from Madinah. A month later, the two armies stood again face to face at al Buwayb (between Kufah and Najaf) on the west side of the Euphrates. The Persians were now in the same position as the Arabs had been in the previous battle. The bridge was seized by al Muthanna. Denied access and a passage for retreat, the Persians were decimated. The Muslims reoccupied al Anbar and 'Ayn al Tamr, advanced to and took al Hirah, and penetrated deeply into the plain between the two rivers. In a short time they stood before the gates of al Mada'in.

Al Muthanna did not recover from the wounds he suffered at Buwayb and died a month after his victory.  Caliph 'Umar appointed a close companion of the Prophet to assume command of the eastern front. This was Sa'd ibn Abu Waqqas, a veteran of the Battle of Badr, a man about forty years old. He was sent forth with an army of 5,000 men, with the promise that more would come later. The lifting of the ban on the tribes who were guilty of apostasy increased the army's manpower resources. Even Talhah, the false prophet, converted to Islam and arrived at the scene heading 3,000 men from his tribe of Banu Asad. The Muslim forces, agile and quick of foot because they wore no armor, were perfectly at home in the deserts adjoining the Euphrates. In addition, they had been resting during the last two to three months of winter and spring, the wounded among them recovering and their horses and camels feeding on the spring pastures at the oases of Sharaf, Sulman, Thalabiyyah, and Ghuday some eighty miles from the Euphrates, well beyond the reach of Persian cavalry. The Persians, on the other hand, were laden with armor. For a "tank regiment," they brought to battle a force of thirty-three elephants to lead the attack. Yazdigird, the Persian king, had impetuously ordered Rustum, his commanding general, to waste no time and to attack the Muslim force. Against his better judgment, Rustum gave the order, and the army crossed to Qadisiyyah, forty-five miles from the Euphrates, in the desert. The engagement took place there in the spring of 15/637. The Muslims won, and pursued their enemies to and beyond Mada'in (the twin cities of Seleukia and Ctesiphon, on either bank of the Tigris). Although the caliph had instructed Sa'd to stop there and not to advance deeper into Persia, the Persians' preparation of another army to recapture Iraq forced the caliph to rescind his order and to permit the Muslim armies to advance. An engagement at Jalula', in the north, followed by another at Mawsil piled further defeat on the Persians. The last effective engagement took place at Nihawand (ancient Ecbatana), and the remnant of Yazdigird's army was completely destroyed.  Khurasan, Elam, Pars, and Persepolis followed in 28/649-29/650. Khurasan, Makran, and Baluchistan were also subdued; Yazdigird was assassinated by one of his own generals at Marw in 29/651.

Nothing is more indicative of the spirit that moved the Muslims in these battles than the conversation, as reported by al Baladhuri, between Rustum, the commanding general of the Persians, and al Mughirah ibn Shu'bah, the Muslim delegate. Without ceremony, al Mughirah entered the carpeted hall riding on his horse and seeking to sit at the side of Rustum. When he was prevented from doing so, he remained standing by his horse. Rustum suggested that, since the Arab tribesmen were moved to this war by their poverty and lack of food, the Persians would gladly give them wealth and food in plenty, provided they promised to return home. Al Mughirah answered: "We are here neither for food nor wealth, but to reorient your men from adoration of men to adoration of the one God. Our men are as eager to lay down their lives for this cause as your men are eager to preserve theirs. I call you to Islam. If you accept, you are one of us. If you do not, I offer you the peace of Islam and ask you to pay the jizyah. If you do not accept this, then war."

Futuhat in Egypt and North Africa

Caliph 'Umar ibn al Khattab prepared an army, gave its command to 'Amr ibn al 'As, and commissioned him to take Islam to Egypt. The march began in the winter of 18/639. After taking al Faramah (Pelusium), the army moved to Babilyun (Babylon), where the Byzantine army was routed. Cyrus, the archbishop of Alexandria and representative of the emperor who came to defend Babylon, returned to Alexandria after the fall of Babylon with the following description of the Muslims:

We have witnessed a people to each and every one of whom death is preferable to life, and humility to prominence, and to none of whom this world has the least attraction. They sit not except on the ground, and eat naught but on their knees. Their leader [amir] is like unto one of them: the low cannot be distinguished from the high, nor the master from the slave. And when the time of prayer comes none of them absents himself, all wash their extremities and humbly observe their prayer.

To save Alexandria from a similar defeat, Cyrus agreed to pay tribute to 'Amr ibn al 'As, to keep the peace, and to maintain a Muslim garrison in the city. 'Amr reopened the ancient canal linking the Nile to the Red Sea. Popular dissatisfaction with the Byzantine government of Alexandria caused the Greek emperor to send a naval force under Manuel, an Armenian general, to subdue the city. The Greeks succeeded in taking the city and they slaughtered the Muslim garrison. However, the Muslim army returned, engaged and defeated the Byzantine army at Nikiu (25/646), and then proceeded to evict the Byzantines from Alexandria. This time, they established a permanent Muslim administration. This campaign was the occasion of 'Abd al Latif al Baghdadi’s false charge - repeated blindly by a number of Muslim and Orientalist historians after him - that Caliph 'Umar had ordered the destruction of Alexandria's famous Ptolemaic library. In fact, that library was first burned in 48 B.C.E. by Julius Caesar and then destroyed completely in 389 C.E. by an edict of Emperor Theodosius.

In 28/649 the Muslims built a fleet. From Alexandria and other ports of the eastern Mediterranean shore, they launched an attack upon Cyprus and wrenched it from Byzantium. In 34/655 the maritime battle of Dhu al Sawari, in which 500 Greek ships were destroyed, put an end to Greek hegemony in the eastern Mediterranean. The fall of Alexandria opened the way for the Muslims to march westward toward Libya.  Barqah (Pentapolis) was conquered by 'Amr ibn al 'As with little or no resistance. The people of Tripoli offered tribute the same year; and 'Amr's successor, 'Abdullah ibn Sa'd ibn Abu Sarh, moved westward into Ifriqyah (Africa) and forced Carthage to pay tribute as well. In 31/652, 'Abdullah pushed southward and entered into a covenant of peace with the Nubians.

Futuhat in the East and West

Subsequent developments were to take place in the east under the leadership of al Hajjaj ibn Yusuf al Thaqafi (95/714) and in the west under Musa ibn Nusayr (97/716). Having distinguished himself in the service of the Umawi dynasty in the Hijaz, al Hajjaj was appointed governor of the eastern provinces in 74/694 in order to pacify them. He did so with an arm of steel, and mobilized the region to undertake further expansion of Islam in Asia. Al Hajjaj picked three outstanding generals and sent them in different directions with three well-equipped armies. 'Abdul Rahman ibn al Ash'ath went to Kabul and subdued its king, Zunbil, in 80/700. Qutaybah ibn Muslim conquered Balkh in 85/705 and Bukhara, Samarqand, and Khawarizm (modern Khiva) in the short period of two years (91/710 - 93/712). Farghanah was conquered a year later, and Kashgar (in Chinese Turkestan) in 96/715. In 133/751, al Shash (Tashkand) was added to the Islamic Empire. The third general, Muhammad bin Qasim, pacified Mukran and entered Sind in 92/711 to rescue a shipload of Muslim merchants whose boat was shipwrecked at Daybul at the mouth of the Sind River (near present Karachi). He advanced to Nirun (modern Hyderabad) and established an Islamic administration as far as Multan.

On the western front, Musa ibn Nusayr appointed the general 'Uqbah ibn Nafi' to lead an army into Ifriqyah. In 50/670, 'Uqbah founded the city of Qayrawan (modern-day Tunis), near Carthage, for use as a Muslim base. 'Uqbah overran the whole of North Africa and reached the shore of the Atlantic Ocean.  Muslims remember his statement: "If I knew of a land beyond this sea, I would cross it on horseback and conquer the land for Islam!" But he did not live to conquer the Maghrib (Northwest Africa) for Islam, for he died in 63/683. Musa ibn Nusayr took charge of Ifriqyah by a direct commission from the caliph in Damascus. He extended the frontier to the Atlantic and brought the hinterland under direct control. The Berber inhabitants were exposed to Islam and began to join its ranks en masse. In 92/711, Tariq ibn Ziyad, a Berber convert to Islam, landed near the rock at the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula. The rock has since that time been known as "Jabal Tariq" (the mountain of Tariq) - or in its later corrupted form, Gibraltar. King Roderick with an army of 25,000 met the Muslim force at nearby al Buhayrah, was dealt a crushing defeat, and lost his life. With this victory, any possibility of a centralized resistance was removed, and only local garrisons in the cities remained. These fell one after the other either after a brief siege or through direct assault. Tariq marched toward Toledo, the capital, taking Ecija on the way.  Another column took Archidona, a third seized Elvira, and a fourth led by Mughith al Rumi took Cordova. The following year, Musa ibn Nusayr himself arrived on the scene with 10,000 fresh troops. His objectives were the fortified towns that Tariq had avoided on his march. Madinah, Sidonia and Carmona, Seville, and Merida were all in Muslim hands before the end of the year. Muslim troops continued their advance into Aragon, Leon, the Asturias, and Galicia. The conquest of Saragosa sealed the fate of Spain, which the Muslims renamed al Andalus.

The Muslims did not stop in Spain but continued their march into France until they reached Poitiers/Tours, where the battle with Charles Martel stopped their northward thrust in 113/732. Their move into France, however, was not stopped. Avignon fell into their hands two years later (115/734); Lyons, Narbonne, and most of the area of the Provence down to the Mediterranean, two years thereafter.  In 176/792 two armies were raised by order of Hisham I (172/ 788 - 180/796) to carry the flag of Islam deeper into the northwest and northeast corners of the Iberian Peninsula. The latter column met with greater success than the former. Having subdued Catalonia, it marched straight into southeast France and joined ranks with the remnants of the Muslim forces that had retreated from Poitiers/Tours. They reoccupied Narbonne and Carcassonne. Arles and Nimes followed. Having occupied the islands of Majorca, the Muslims of Spain and those of Africa carried out a number of raids against Corsica and Sardinia in 191/806 - 193/ 808. They were aided by their co-religionists from Nice. But it was not until the end of the century that the Muslims made a serious advance into southeast France. The Muslims chose another area east of Marseilles, around the bay of Grimaud, and established a base for their operations at Fraxinet (today's Garde-Frainet) because of its strategic location: accessible by sea, guarded by a dense forest of ash (fraxini), and providing passage to the Alps. The Muslims seized the passages of the Alpine chains, one after another, and spread their dominion over the countryside. By 288/900, the regions of Provence, Dauphin, Piedmont, Monferrat, and La Maurienne, and up the Rhine including St. Gall, Great St. Bernard, St. Remy, and south to the Mediterranean slightly east of Nice, all were under Muslim control. The Muslims were forced out of these areas by the invading Huns from the north and Hungarians from the east. The Castle of Fraxinet was captured by the French in 365/975, and Muslim presence in France and Switzerland was over by the end of the fourth/tenth century. The Muslims seized the island of Sicily in 217/832, and they ruled it until the arrival of the Normans in 450/1058. However, the Normans allied themselves to the Muslims, who kept the actual government of their realm in their own hands for another two centuries, admittedly with a gradual waning of their influence in government, trade and industry, agriculture, local government, and the arts. The last remnant of Muslims was evacuated from Sicily by order of the German King Frederick.

Futuhat in the North

In the sixth - seventh/thirteenth - fourteenth centuries, the Muslim presence in Spain was losing ground; it came to a virtual end with the fall of Granada in 901/1492. Simultaneously, an 'Uthmanli (Ottoman) state was founded in Anatolia in 699/1299 by 'Uthman I, as a successor to the waning Byzantine power in that region. It consisted of Turkomen who had emigrated from Central Asia and arrived in the Muslim world in repeated waves as "Tatars" or Mongols under Genghis Khan and Tamerlane. The Turks who founded the 'Uthmanli state were the converted grandchildren of the invaders. Since they arrived in waves, their numbers and density in central and eastern Turkey had been increasing for years, and the lands that had come into their possession had been expanding steadily. They formed a number of petty states under diverse dynasties. In Turkey proper (Asia Minor), the Artukis dominated Diyarbakr from 495/1102-811/1408, when the Karkoyunlu displaced them and united the lands of both tribes. The Danishmandis ruled in central and eastern Anatolia from 464/1071 - 563/1178, when the Saljuqs of Rum, who first founded their power in Anatolia, expanded their domain and joined that of the Danishmandis to theirs. The Saljuqs of Rum dominated Anatolia until they were displaced by the Mongol invasion under the leadership of the children of Genghis Khan. The rest of Anatolia which did not fall in the foregoing conquests was under the dominion of the Qaramanis from 654/1256 to 888/1483, when the 'Uthmanli state added it to its own territory.

The 'Uthmanli state had a vigorous leadership which expanded its dominion constantly for three centuries. Bursa was conquered and made the capital in 715/1315; Iznik (Nicaea) was conquered in 730/1329. An alliance was made between the ‘Uthmanli state and Kantakuzinos, the Byzantine regent (whose daughter Theodora was married to the ‘Uthmanli Sultan Orhan Ghazi). This alliance, made against the rebellious Greek constituents of the Byzantine regent, occasioned the arrival of Turkish troops in Europe. The ‘Uthmanli state moved its seat to Adrianople in 768/1366. Finally, Constantinople itself was conquered in 857/1453, and its name changed to Istanbul (a corruption of Islampul, or city of Islam). The conquered city became the capital of a vigorously growing Muslim Empire. Before the conquest, the Muslims had brought most of Bulgaria, Serbia, and Rumania under ‘Uthmanli rule. In the following century, the Muslims continued their advance into the Balkans, central Europe, and south Russia. By the middle of the sixteenth century, the Black Sea had become a Muslim lake, Muslim soldiers laid siege to Vienna, the island of Rhodes was conquered, and Islam was firmly rooted in the central Balkans.

Futuhat in South Asia

In South Asia, as the 'Abbasi state power declined, autonomous Muslim states emerged in Baluchistan, Afghanistan, Multan, and Sind. Sebuktigin had established himself in Ghazna in 367/977 and consolidated the provinces surrounding it when the neighboring Indian state took to war against the Muslims. The Indians were defeated by Sebuktigin's son Mahmud. Nonetheless, the states of Ujjayn, Gwalior, Kalinjar, Kannawj, Delhi, and Ajmer confederated in order to make war against the Muslims; but they were defeated in the battle of Peshawar in 399/1008. Anxious to secure the kingdom for the future; Mahmud then took the initiative to expand his dominion into these Indian states. His army gave battle to the Hindus and marched victorious into Nagarkot, Thanesar, Kannawj, Kalinjar, and Somnath.  Ghaznawi power passed into the hands of the Ghuris a century later; and under Ghiyath al Din Muhammad, Muslim power spread over most of North India. Ucch and Gujarat were conquered in 573/1178, Lahore in 582/1186, Bhatinda in 587/1191, Delhi and Ajmer in 588/1192, Kannawj and Banaras in 590/1194. Under Shihab al Din, the successor, a small expeditionary force led by Bakhtiyar Khalji conquered Bihar and Bengal. The Khalji Sultanate based itself in Delhi (659/1196720/1320) and secured Devagiri (Dawlatabad), which had been added to Muslim dominion two years earlier; it had conquered Warangel, Madura, and Dvarasamudra in 710/1310. Ghiyath al Din Tughluq, a provincial ruler, had come to Delhi to punish the Hindu slave who usurped power from the last Khalji Sultan. He established a new sultanate that carried his name. The Tughluq sultanate (723/1323-801/1398) did not add new territory to the domain of Islam, and it carried only one expedition into Hindu lands - Kangra, in the Himalaya Mountains. The Sayyid and Lodi dynasties ruled the Muslim provinces of India after the Tughluq Sultanate; but it did not add to Muslim territories.

The Moghul Dynasty was founded by Babur following his victory over the Lodis at Panipat in 932/1516. A period of consolidation followed. In 971/1564, Gondwana was annexed, and Akbar marched against Chitor and conquered it. The only territorially significant addition after that was Jinji in 1110/1698, and Koukan in 1112/1700. This followed the successful termination of the Maratha's resistance to Muslim Moghul power. From then on, Muslim political and military power went on the decline, but not the power to convince of the truth of Islam.