Document D
Source: Karen Armstrong, Iefart: A Short History, Random House, 2000.
Spread of Islam Mini-Q
For centuries... Arabs had [added to] their inadequate resources by means of
the ghazu [raids against other tribes], but Islam had put a stop to this because the
ummah [Muslim community] was not permitted to attack one another. What would
replace the ghazu, which had enabled Muslims to scratch out a meager liveli-
hood?... The obvious answer was a series of ghazu raids against the non-Muslim
communities in the neighboring countries. The unity of the ummah would be pre-
served by an outwardly directed offensive [attack].
... was
There was nothing religious about these campaigns.... The objective
plunder and a common activity that would preserve the unity of the ummah. For
centuries the Arabs had tried to raid the richer settled lands beyond the [Arabian]
peninsula: the difference was that this time they encountered a power vacuum.
Persia and Byzantium had both been engaged for decades in a long ... series of wars
with one another. Both were exhausted.
Document Analysis
4. Why were the Arabs able to conquer much of Persia and parts of Byzantium?
5. How does this document explain how Islam spread so quickly?