The Conquerors and the Conquered

THE RISE OF ISLAM AND CALIPHATES HIST 1301 | History The Conquerors and the Conquered The conquering effort had been tremendously successful in the eyes of the Arab-Muslims, who saw it as evidence of God's might and his favouritism towards their ummah. Christians who were not in line with the Muslims at the time also saw the entrance of the Arab-Muslims as a divine act—a God who was furious with the Christians for their immorality and had sent the Arab-Muslims as a necessary retribution. But to refer to these as the "Arab-Muslim conquests" is a bit inaccurate. Even though there were a few significant conflicts during the initial years of expansion, such as those at Yarmuk and Qadisiyya, much of the region was brought under Islamic rule through peace treaties. Cities and regions consented to terms of surrender that safeguarded the rights of their citizens to practise their faith and to keep most of their possessions. Non-Muslim populations made sense of peaceful accords. The Muslims upheld a policy of noninterference with regard to the religious customs of the subject populations, particularly in the seventh century. The vanquished were allowed to live in the Islamic kingdom and continue to practise their faith relatively freely as long as they paid taxes to their new Muslim rulers. The Muslims created a legal hierarchy for the Zoroastrians, Christians, and Jews who were subject to their authority. They recognised them as monotheists who had previously received a revealed text from God and were entitled to protection by the Islamic state as long as they paid taxes and complied with Muslim authority. They called them ahl al-kitab, or People of the Book. Many saw this as an improvement over their previous circumstances. For example, under Byzantine control, anyone who did not practise the empire's recognised form of Christianity frequently faced discrimination. They could face more taxes, be denied the ability to hold certain positions, and receive other harsh treatment because they are heretics. Situations for Jewish people had frequently been far more dire. Many had been prevented from meeting outside the synagogue or from publicly practicing their beliefs. Under the Muslims, Zoroastrians were regarded as People of the Book even though they were not recognised as monotheists and were not thought to have a revealed scripture. This was probably due to practical considerations because of their high standing in Persian society. Another problem with the phrase "Arab-Muslim conquest" is that it included individuals who were not Arabs, such as those who joined the Muslim army and came from North and East Africa or Persia. Amazigh (Berber) tribes from North Africa and the asawira, the elite Persian cavalry, were among them. Although they had not necessarily converted to Islam legally, the other combatants were Arabs. These were Arabs who belonged to pious Christian clans like the Banu Taghlib. Non-Arabs and non-Muslims have probably contributed to the Muslim cause for a variety of reasons. If one had participated in the conquests, one would have been entitled to a share of the war booty and a place in the new society—both of which were very advantageous. Ultimately, conqueror vs conquered was a more significant status distinction in this prehistoric culture than Arab versus non-Arab or Muslim versus non-Muslim. During the initial centuries of Islamic history, society was divided into two groups: those who contributed taxes to the state for protection and advantages, and those who were paid to offer the same protection and benefits. In the early years of the eighth century, Arabs by ethnicity enjoyed possibilities to enjoy particular privileges within the government and society; but, as more non-Arabs became involved in state matters, this difference began to dissolve by the end of the eighth century.