Реферат: Islamic Conquests Up To 700 Ad
a result had to fight on the Muslim?s terms. In previous wars the Byzantines
used attritional methods to defeat their enemies, but as the disastrous defeat
at Yarmuk suggests the significant early conflicts were large battles.? The Byzantine defences, in relation to the
Arabian desert, were clearly inadequate.?
Much responsibility for the maintenance of city walls was given to city
dwellers, perhaps symptomatic of a lack of imperial control. Residents of the
frontier cities were only too keen to make peace with the Muslims.? It is debatable whether this was due to
cultural and religious differences with the imperial authorities, or to a
rational and pragmatic belief that Muslim rule was the most advantageous way
forward.? Some historians suggest that
the defence in depth policy that necessitated the self-protection of cities
played into the hands of the Muslims.?
The strategy of leaving the elite and mobile forces behind the frontier
was tantamount to letting the Muslims invade the border-lands.? However, it can also be argued that this
policy was also the saviour of the empire.?
These mobile forces were able to restrict the Muslims behind the
Anatolian plateau and thus protect Constantinople. Again the viability of this
argument is largely irrelevant.? The
Roman Empire lacked the resources; the strategy and the military might to
defeat the Muslims.? The dearth of men,
money and close-knit administration was primarily the result of the sapping
Persian war, as well as the cultural and religious divisions that beset the
empire in the 7th century.The Byzantine Empire, in part at
least, survived the 7th century, but by the middle of the 7th
century the Sasanian Empire had been totally destroyed.? The Sasanian Empire had of course
experienced the same debilitating effects of war that the Byzantine Empire
had.? Thus we can say that both empires
were stretched in terms of resources, as well as psychologically
war-weary.? Short-term problems also