The Handy Military History Answer Book. Samuel Willard Crompton

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      Once a Greek Orthodox church and later a mosque and museum, the Hagia Sophia in present-day Istanbul, Turkey, was built at the height of the Byzantine Empire as part of Emperor Justinian’s efforts to beautify Constantinople.

      How many times did the peoples of Iran and Iraq change their names?

      So many times that one can spend hours trying to puzzle them out. Originally, the people in present-day Iran were known as Persians, but during the third century C.E., following a dynastic change, they came to be known as the Parthians. Later they became known as the Sassanids, another dynasty, and still later they reverted back to being Persians. During all these centuries and dynasties, one thing remained fairly constant: the Persians, Parthians, Sassanids, and others were aggressive and eager to combat the Byzantines.

      Which Byzantine emperor pushed the Persians right to the brink?

      The Emperor Heraclius (reigned about 600) fought the Persians relentlessly, driving them from Asia Minor and large parts of the Middle East. During his reign, the Byzantines gained definitive control of the city of Jerusalem and claimed to be defenders of the faith (this was, of course, disputed by the popes in the West). But just as he neared complete victory, Heraclius realized that his empire was overextended. He began a withdrawal that seemed like an excellent strategic move. Heraclius and his successors did not envision the new danger that was about to appear, however.

       How important is the life of the Prophet Mohammed?

      To those who believe he was the final prophet, Mohammed is the single most important person of human history. But even those who do not recognize Mohammed acknowledge him as one of the great change agents of the first millennium, whose impact lasted well into the third. Mohammed started a new monotheistic religion, with the faithful expressing their belief with a brief but poignant saying: “There is no God but God, and Mohammed is his Messenger.”

      One can dispute aspects and parts of the Prophet’s teachings, but when it comes to war, there can be no mistake. Mohammed stands out among all the great religious figures as the one leader who believed force was sometimes necessary to accomplish the will of heaven. To be sure, some of his beliefs have been exaggerated or distorted by his followers, but the popular image of Mohammed holding the Koran in one hand and a curved sword in the other is not inaccurate.

      To this point in military history—about 630—the Arabian Peninsula had not figured largely in the events or campaigns of any of the major powers. The Arabs, who numbered perhaps one million, were a people standing on the outskirts of history. No one—Byzantine, Persian, or Roman—expected them to make the sudden, swift appearance that occured in the 640s.

THE ARAB EXPLOSION

      When did the Arabs leave their peninsula?

      The Prophet Mohammed died in 632, and Arab military moves began within a handful of years following his death. No one person—civilian or military—lays claim as the leader of the Arab explosion; this is perhaps because Muslim writers wish to give all the credit to the Prophet. He had certainly established the path by creating a new religion, but even he would have been astonished at the speed and success of the Arab conquests.

      Within ten years of the Prophet’s death, the Arabs had conquered Jerusalem and were on their way to taking Damascus and Cairo. Baghdad and the Libyan Desert were conquered next, followed by Arab movements into Spain and Central Asia. There were times, quite likely, when their opponents cursed and raved about the Arabs. How could a rather primitive people, equipped only with camels and horses, beat so many other peoples and advance so far?

      Who led the way for the Arabs?

      During his lifetime ‘Ali, the son-in-law of the Prophet, was the leader of most of the Arab forces. By the time the Arabs fought the Byzantines and the Persians, however, they were on the verge of the great split that remains today: that between Sunni and Shi’ite.

      Those who claimed that the leader of the Arabs must be connected by blood to the Prophet followed ‘Ali, and his name remains, in that Shi’ite means “follower of ‘Ali.” Those who claimed that majority ruled and whoever was designated by the majority would serve as the caliph became known as Sunnis, meaning majority. By the time ‘Ali died in 664 the split was apparent, but the Arabs kept on winning battles and wars.

      What was the farthest westward extent of Arab conquest?

      In 711, the Muslim leader al-Tariq led a group of Arabs and Berbers across what the Greeks called the Pillars of Hercules and what we know as the Strait of Gibraltar. Little known is the fact that the very word Gibraltar comes from Arabic: it is a corruption of Tariq’s Rock.

      The Muslims soon occupied the southern two-thirds of Spain. They seemed destined to take over much of Western Europe, but they suffered a defeat at the hands of the Frankish cavalry at the Battle of Tours in 732. The defeat was not large, by Arab standards, but it prevented any further crossings of the Pyrenees, which became the unofficial division between Muslim and Christian Europe.