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

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