In God's Path: The Arab Conquests and the Creation of an Islamic Empire

321 Pages·2014·14.82 MB·English

by  Robert G. Hoyland

In God’s Path

Ancient Warfare and Civilization

series editors

richard alston robin waterfield

In this series, leading historians offer compelling new narratives of the
armed conflicts that shaped and reshaped the classical world, from the
wars of Archaic Greece to the fall of the Roman Empire and the Arab
conquests.

Dividing the Spoils: The War for Alexander the Great’s Empire

Robin Waterfield

By the Spear: Philip II, Alexander the Great, and the Rise

and Fall of the Macedonian Empire

Ian Worthington

Taken at the Flood: The Roman Conquest of Greece

Robin Waterfield

In God’s Path: The Arab Conquests and the Creation of an Islamic Empire

Robert G. Hoyland

1

In God’s Path

The Arab Conquests and the
Creation of an Islamic Empire

Robert G. Hoyland

1

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Hoyland, Robert G., 1966-

In God’s path : the Arab conquests and the creation of an Islamic empire / Robert Hoyland.

pages cm. — (Ancient warfare and civilization)

Includes bibliographical references.

ISBN 978–0–19–991636–8 — ISBN 978–0–19–991637–5 1. Islamic Empire—History—622–661.

2. Islamic Empire—History—661–750. I. Title.

DS38.1.H688 2014
909’.09767—dc23

2013043047e

1 3 5 7 9 8 6 4 2

Printed in the United States of America

on acid-free paper

‘To the great despair of historians men fail to change their vocabulary every
time they change their customs’

—(Marc Bloch, The Historian’s Craft, trans. Peter Putman,

Manchester 1954, 28).

Contents



Acknowledgments
ix

Introduction
1

Chapter One The Setting
8

Chapter Two The First Battles (630–640)
31

Chapter Three Eastward and Westward (640–652)
66

Chapter Four The Push for Constantinople

(652–685)
103

Chapter Five The Great Leap Forward (685–715)
138

Chapter Six Retrenchment and Revolt (715–750) 170

Chapter Seven The Making of Islamic

Civilization
207

Appendix: Sources and Source Critical Remarks
231

Timeline
241

Dramatis Personae
245

V I I I  C O N T E N T S

Genealogical Tables of Quraysh and the Umayyads
249

Notes
253

Select Bibliography
279

Index
287

Acknowledgments



I am indebted to two particular sources for the writing of this book. The

first is the many students to whom I have taught Islamic history and who
have helped me think about the shortcomings of the traditional narrative.
The Oxford graduate intake of 2010–11 were particularly influential, for
I was then fully engaged in writing this book and we discussed some of its
aspects in our seminars, so thank you Anna, Benedict, Charlie, Hasnain, Josh,
and Ryan. The second is my undergraduate teacher and doctoral supervisor,
Patricia Crone, who first introduced me to Islamic history and encouraged
me to think critically about its origins and formation. In addition, there are
the many colleagues with whom I have had interesting discussions that have
helped shaped some of the ideas presented in this book. Although there are
too many to name them all here, I would particularly like to thank Aziz
al-Azmeh, Amikam Elad, James Howard-Johnston, Hugh Kennedy, Marie
Legendre, Milka Levy-Rubin, Andrew Marsham, Fergus Millar, Harry Munt,
Arietta Papaconstantinou, Richard Payne, Gabriel Reynolds, Christian Robin,
Sarah Savant, Petra Sijpesteijn, Adam Silverstein, Jack Tannous, David Taylor,
Luke Treadwell, and Kevin van Bladel. Of course, none are responsible for
how I have used the wisdom that they imparted to me. My editor Stefan
Vranka and reader Robin Wakefield put in a lot of work to improve this book’s

x  A C K N O W L E D G M E N T S

coherence and readability, and Michael Athanson gave freely of his time and
expertise to help make the regional maps. Finally I am eternally grateful to
Peter Waidler for his astute and thoughtful proofreading and to Sarah for her
love and support.

Byron’s Muse, October 10, 2013

MAP 1 The World on the Eve of the Arab Conquests.

MAP 2 The Arab Empire in AD 685 (with approximate dates of major campaigns).

MAP 3 The Arab Empire in AD 750 (with approximate dates of major campaigns).