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	<title>Love of History &#187; arabs</title>
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	<link>http://loveofhistory.com</link>
	<description>A historical perspective of current events</description>
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		<title>Arabs and Christians in peace</title>
		<link>http://loveofhistory.com/arabs-and-christians-in-peace/</link>
		<comments>http://loveofhistory.com/arabs-and-christians-in-peace/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 17 Aug 2013 14:21:14 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[constantinakatsari]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Medieval]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[arabs]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[byzantines]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[christians]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://loveofhistory.com/?p=2956</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[I am not certain why but for the last few weeks I have been fascinated with the Arabs and their impact in European cultures. I am predominately interested in the outcome of their contact with the Byzantines in the eastern Mediterranean. Many times I wondered how did the Arabs view the Christians? It is evident in the sources that Islam respected deeply both the Arabs and the Christians. After all, the Muslims believe into the largest part of the Christian Bible, which is characterised in the Quran as the ‘books of light and wisdom’. The muslims believe that both Moses and Jesus were divine prophets. The only difference is that Jesus preceeded Muhammed who is acknowledged as the last and most important Prophet of Allah. Furthermore, according to Islam the Paradise and the Second Coming exist. Because of these basic similarities in the beliefs of the two religions, the Christians and the Jews were not persecuted in the same way as the pagan Persians. Around the Mediterranean regions, Muslims and Christians co-existed, believing in the same God, even though obvious differences were still in place. There was no need for radical conversions or aggressive military actions. Especially in the previous byzantine regions, the Arabs protected the Christian Church and its property. What was the degree of cultural contact between the Byzantium and the Arabs? It is widely accepted that Byzantium gave to the Muslims the scientific knowledge, as it was inherited from Classical Greece. After all, Byzantium is nothing less than the continuation of the Roman Empire in the eastern Mediterranean. We know that the Arabs translated the philosophical works of the Greek philosopher Aristotle, and the works of the Roman doctor Gallenus from Greek into the Arabic language. However, the Arabs did not accept them as doctrine. Instead, they expanded on previous knowledge, they perfected the sciences and they became quite innovative in disciplines such as mathematics, astronomy, geography and zoology. Extensive studies on the influence between the two civilisations are still in their infancy but I do hope that soon we will experience a new renaissance in this aspect of Arabic studies. Apart from the scientific exchanges the two empires experienced also a flourish of commercial exchanges. Even if monetary systems divide regions, commerce always has the tendency to break the borders and spread across large geographical areas. Commercial enterprises were favoured by religious tourism. The Arabs allowed the Christians to visit Jerusalem as pilgrims. In return, the Byzantine emperors permitted the construction of mosques across their territories. The communication between Arab and Christian artists is evident in architecture, painting and mosaics. It has been suggested that the Arabs used in their workshops Christians.]]></description>
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		<title>Why did Islam become the undoubted ruler of the Mediterranean?</title>
		<link>http://loveofhistory.com/why-did-islam-become-the-undoubted-ruler-of-the-mediterranean/</link>
		<comments>http://loveofhistory.com/why-did-islam-become-the-undoubted-ruler-of-the-mediterranean/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 25 Jul 2013 09:48:23 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[constantinakatsari]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Medieval]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[arabs]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[army]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[byzantine]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Islam]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Medieval Sassanians]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Prophet]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://loveofhistory.com/?p=2941</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Have you ever thought how the Arabs, a nomadic people, managed to rule the Mediterranean and beyond? How did they expand beyond their small (by comparison) region in the Middle East and occupied areas such as North Africa, Spain and the Eastern Mediterranean? Most scholars agree that one of the main factors that allowed the Arabic conquests was the tendencies towards their political unification and centralization of power. Allah, the one and only God to whom they believed, in a way made this unification possible. It also gave them the impetus to spread the divine word to other areas and thus make their religion universal. Islam itself preached a message of social and political unification and, thus, united the Arabs. Through prayer and religious fervour the new Arabic nation knew no boundaries, by divine intervention. Islam doctrine affected deeply the political decisions of the rulers, provided guidance and gave them greater political and social authority. Religious beliefs obviously played an important role in securing the loyalty of the individuals to the new unifying state. There have been, though, also other means to give incentive to the Arabs to remain firmly loyal. One of the most powerful ones was booty that followed looting during wars. Military expeditions in the past were an excellent way to pay for the expenses of the armies. In many cases, military leaders would pay for the wages of the soldiers until after the battle, thus ensuring their participation. Booty was an added bonus that ensured the loyalty of the troops. In addition, the organization of a centrally controlled army united the Arabs and weakened their tribal links. Tribesmen started feeling that they belonged to the central state. Lines of command cut across different tribes and overcame the older tribal identities. The prophet, Muhammad, placed great emphasis on the importance of settlement (hijra) and the abandonment of the nomadic life. Although the identities of being and nomad and being a Muslim were not in conflict, one seemed to be more powerful than the other. In order to reduce the power of the tribes the reigning elite recruited nomads into the centralised army. In order to ensure the loyalty of these tribesmen to a central Muslim cause, they transported them away from their desert homes into garrison towns. Consequently, on one hand the political and military power of the tribes was reduced, while the Islamic state became even more powerful. At the same time, the Arabic rulers made certain that very few men of fighting age were left back in their homes; this way they ensured that there would be no pockets of resistance to their decisions. Apart from the internal factors that led to the rise of Islam, there have been also external factors. By the time of the Prophet, the Byzantine empire and its counterpart, the Sassanian empire, have already lost their political strength and military prowess. Both empires were facing internal political strife and insecurities when it came to the inheritance of the throne. At the same time, opposing religious factions eroded religious unification and caused widespread riots (or even wars) over several centuries. These problems were a distinct advantage for the united and powerful Islam. As if these problems were not enough, the weather has also conspired against the Sassanians. Immense floods in southern Iraq became responsible for material destructions on a very large economic scale. On the whole, the rise of Islam was the result of a combination of internal and external factors. The attempts to centralise the Arabic State, the creation of a new Arabic identity based on religious doctrine, and the timely deterioration of the political power of the Sassanians and the Byzantines were fundamental causes.]]></description>
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		<title>The Arabic Invasion of Europe</title>
		<link>http://loveofhistory.com/the-arabic-invasion-of-europe/</link>
		<comments>http://loveofhistory.com/the-arabic-invasion-of-europe/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 13 Jul 2013 08:53:09 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[constantinakatsari]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Medieval]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[arabs]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[byzantium]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[civilisation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[constantinople]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[culture]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Europe]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[medieval]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://loveofhistory.com/?p=2661</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Arab influence on European culture was undoubtedly important and long lasting. The Byzantines were the first people that came in direct contact with the Arabic civilisation. On 14 September 628 the byzantine emperor Heraclius returned to Constantinople victorious after his military clashes with the Persian neighbours. He brought with him the True Cross of Christ that, until then, remained in Jerusalem. The Cross had a powerful meaning for the people of Constantinople. It signified the fact that Persia would never threaten the byzantine empire again! The Persians may have stayed in the shadows for the subsequent centuries but another force made its presence known in the area. The Arabs, an islamic civilisation, moved out of Arabia in 633 AD and headed north, towards the southern provinces of the byzantine empire. The move lasted several decades during which time, they conquered Damascus, Jerusalem, Syria, Egypt, Armenia, the Persian empire, Afghanistan and Punjab. When they reached the limits they could afford in the east, they turned west. By 711 AD they conquered north Africa and they invaded Spain. By 732 AD they have crossed the Pyrenees and reached France. The Byzantines were certainly aware of the Arabic threat and the imminent annihilation of their world. The Arabic army camped outside their capital, Constantinople, for almost four years (674-677 AD)! The city was saved through the stubborn resistance of its inhabitants and the employment of a new ‘chemical’ weapon, the Greek Fire. The Arabs may not have conquered the byzantine empire but it certainly influenced it in other ways. The building of mosques across the byzantine empire became a common feature after some time. After all, the byzantines were not oblivious to the (mostly commercial) advantages that the Arabs could offer them. The Orthodox patriarch Nikolaos I Mysticos who lived during the 10th century said to the muslim Emir of the island of Crete: “The two Great Powers of the Universe, Byzantium and Islam, shine like the all shiny stars in the sky. So, despite our differences in religion and customs, we should always be in friendly terms, like brothers, and cooperate harmoniously’.]]></description>
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