Humanities Homework Help

PART 1: Answer the following prompt in 300 words.

What was the most important result of the expansion of Islam in the 7th and 8th centuries?

Primary Sources: (Read two of the following)

Accounts of the Arab Conquest of Egypt (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site., 642 CE
The Coptic account from The History of The Patriarchs of Alexandria and an Arab account – Al-Baladhuri: The Conquest of Alexandria

Ibn Abd-el-Hakem: The Islamic Conquest of Spain (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.

Al Maggari: Tarik’s Address to His Soldiers (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site., 711 CE, from The Breath of Perfumes

Anonymous Arab Chronicler: The Battle of Poitiers (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site., 732 CE

Arabs, Franks, and the Battle of Tours: Three Accounts (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. 732 CE

PART 2: Respond to TWO CLASSMATES

Classmate 1 (Jeremy)

Islamic expansion was very swift and overwhelming. They used a strong armed method of quickly converting masses of individuals and using those individuals to fight against infidels or nonbelievers. They rapidly expanded and credited all of their victories to God, which allowed for more to convert since they saw the mounting amounts of victories credited to their religion. The expansion of the Islamic Empire was rapid and expansive, but it was mostly a disunified group of people sharing the same set of beliefs rather than national identity.

The first account, The accounts of the Arab Conquest of Egypt, discusses on how Heraclius, the Byzantine Emperor at the time of Arab invasion and the eventual sacking of Alexandria, had a vision where his city will vanquish him and conquer all of his lands by the hand of those who are circumcised. Obviously he interpreted this to mean he would fall to the hands of the Jews, a religion with circumcision as a rite. But later a man from Arabia, who goes by Muhammad, declared that his new religion was right and he was sent from God to lead those who did not know the right way. He conquered Damascus and Syria and continues his rapid expanse southward. After swift victories against the Romans protecting the city, the Muslims captured the city and razed it to the ground.

In the second article, Ibn Abd-el-Hakem reflects on the Islamic conquest of Spain. This article discusses the Islamic infiltration into Spain, and how they gave their victories to God. They Muslims gained a massive amount of treasures, riches, and land in their brief presence in Spain. Also importantly in the article it states that the Muslims took natives captive and boiled them and ate them. This may have been true, but it also could have been a myth made by the Spanish in order to spread misinformation about the Muslims.

Classmate 1 (Karson)

The Islam expansion in the early centuries in the world is now more often studied in the history classes I have taken more than any other religion expansion, including Judaism and Christianity. Interestingly, most classes did not look into Islam in-depth, but now the study of Islam is even with Christianity or done more so. In most of my studies, I have changed my opinion that the soldiers of ancient times were necessarily brutal for the most part because I had previously believed that there was truly no good reason behind ancient wars and attacks that seemed intellectual. With further studies of prominent ancient civilizations, even if I think their motivations were not intellectual, I have to consider that they did, which was the dealings they used to solve their problems. On that note, the Islamic religion at its core had many routes in fighting and wars compared to that of Buddhism and other faiths. For this discussion, I read the primary sources Tarik’s address to His Soldiers, 711 CE, From The Breath of Perfumes and The Anon Arab Chronicler: The Battle of Poitiers, 732 CE.

Of course, my peers may disagree with everything I have to say, but in both of the primary sources, I chose I felt as though there was a continuation in a theme of strength and pleasure. So, the most important result of the Islamic expansion of the 7th and 8th centuries is that persons belonging to the Muslim faith have an abundance of pride and a need for pleasure to be taken in life. In Tarik’s address to His Soldiers, 711 CE, From The Breath of Perfumes, the overall tone is courage and that the ‘spoils go to the victor’ from the military leader, Tarik. Furthermore, Tarik states that “in this country, there are a large number of ravishingly beautiful Greek maidens, their graceful forms are draped in sumptuous gowns on which gleam pearls, coral, and purest gold, and they live in the palaces of royal kings. The Commander of True Believers, Alwalid, son of Abdalmelik, has chosen you for this attack from among all his Arab warriors; and he promises that you shall become his comrades and shall hold the rank of kings in this country.” The inclusion of “Greek maidens,” riches, and places of kings implies that Arab men are in the same status bracket as kings, meaning they have a lot of pride and are allowed to take romantic pleasure (in other ethnicites at that). Additionally, within The Anon Arab Chronicler: The Battle of Poitiers, 732 CE , the theme of strength, winning (overall victory in battles and war), and having access is reinforced.