Реферат: Islamic Conquests Up To 700 Ad

century being the prime examples.? More

long term, structural weaknesses were exposed as a result of the Byzantine

war.? The dynastic rule of the Sasanian

house caused problems in terms of succession.?

It was difficult for new rulers to gain the credibility and respect that

was needed to maintain the support of the independently minded

aristocracy.? The ten different Sasanian

Kings between 628 and 632 bear testament to this problem.? Internal struggles, as in the Roman Empire,

plagued the Sasanian Empire.? Bloody

fights for succession and the Madzakite revolutions of the 5th and 6th

centuries are indicative of an empire with severe political and social

problems.? Again, there is little in the

way of military evidence to explain the chronic poor performance of the

Sasanians.? We can point to lack of

resources and war exhaustion, but at the decisive battle of Qadisiyya Rustam

had a significantly larger force under his command than his Muslim

counterpart.? The loss of this key

battle and the subsequent loss of the capital Ctesiphon highlight another

weakness.? The location of Ctesiphon,

without the protection of strong enough natural or man-made barriers, hastened

the decline of the empire.? The Sasanian

empire, with Ctesiphon acting as a fulcrum for political, military and

administrative activity, survived the death of Peroz in 484 at the hands of the

Hepthalites and the Roman invasion of 627-8, but without Ctesiphon it stood no

chance of defending itself from the Muslims.It is clear than Sasanian and

Roman weaknesses played a significant role in the success of the Islamic

conquests.? Both empires were slowly

recovering from a long and damaging war and we can say with some certainty that

their military status was perilous.?