Early Muslim Conquests (622-656
CE)
by Syed Muhammad Khan
published on 25 June 2020
Islam arose as a religious and socio-political force in Arabia in the 7th century CE (610 CE onwards).
The Islamic Prophet Muhammad (l. 570-632 CE), despite facing resistance and persecution, amassed
a huge following and started building an empire. The tenets of this empire were to be humanitarian
and its military might uncontestable. After he died in 632 CE, his friend Abu Bakr (l. 573-634 CE) laid
the foundation of the Rashidun Caliphate (632-661 CE), which continued the imperial expansion.
Though a feeble force at first, the Islamic Empire soon became the most important influencer in the
Middle East and the Mediterranean. Within a few decades, the empire expanded from the city of
Medina in Hejaz to engulf all of Arabia, Iraq, Syria, Levant, Iran, Egypt, parts of North Africa, and
several islands in the Mediterranean. Internal conflict during the First Fitna (656-661 CE), or the first
Islamic civil war, stagnated the empire's borders temporarily but the conquests were resumed
afterward by the Umayyad Dynasty (661-750 CE).
Muhammad Conquers Mecca & Destroys Its Idols
Unknown (Public Domain)
The Prophet's Empire
The Islamic Prophet Muhammad started preaching a monotheistic faith called Islam in his
hometown of Mecca from 610 CE onwards. Prophet Muhammad was a charismatic and talented
person, these qualities augmented by his reputation for honesty allowed him to gather quite a
following. Equality, egalitarianism, equal rights for women (who had been hitherto considered
“property” by the Meccans), and the prospect of heaven attracted many towards Islam. This change,
however, was unacceptable to the Meccans who considered it a serious threat to their economic
framework and unfair social stratification.
Despite putting forth strict persecution of the new
religion and its preacher, Meccans failed to contain
the Muslim community. As the Meccan atrocities MEDINA OFFERED PROPHET
became unbearable, Muslims migrated to the city
of Medina, in 621 CE, where they had been invited. MUHAMMAD SOVEREIGNTY
The Prophet himself arrived in 622 CE alongside OVER THE CITY, MAKING HIM
his close friend Abu Bakr. Medina offered Prophet THE FIRST RULER & KING OF
Muhammad sovereignty over the city, making him
the first ruler and king (r. 622-632 CE) of what was
WHAT WAS LATER TO
later to become the Islamic or Muslim Empire. The BECOME THE ISLAMIC OR
city-state of Medina soon came into conflict with MUSLIM EMPIRE.
Mecca, and the latter was conquered, after years of
warfare, in 629/630 CE.
The fall of Mecca started a snowball event and one after the other, major Arabian cities began
submitting to the Prophet's authority as exemplified by Taif, the city that had once mistreated the
Prophet for preaching his faith, surrendering in 631 CE. Seeking to retain their autonomy, opposing
forces and confederacies made vehement attempts to crush the Muslim forces but were all defeated;
a Jewish confederacy was crushed in 628 CE at the Battle of Khaybar, while a Bedouin confederacy
was vanquished in 630 CE at the Battle of Hunayn. By the time of his death in 632 CE, the Prophet
ruled over an empire in its cradle which was to be further expanded and aggrandized by subsequent
rulers.
Dawn of the Caliphate & Ridda Wars
At the morrow of Prophet Muhammad's death, the Islamic Empire slid to the brink of disintegration,
as many advocated pre-Islamic home-rule system. This threat, however, was averted when Abu Bakr
(r. 632-634 CE) proclaimed himself the Caliph of the Prophet and the first supreme ruler of the
Islamic realm. Back in the days of the Prophet, the Byzantine governor of Syria had murdered a
Muslim envoy in cold blood, prompting the Prophet to send an expeditionary force to avenge this
injustice and dishonor, however, the force was defeated with severe losses at the Battle of Mu'tah (629
CE). Caliph Abu Bakr's first action was to dispatch another force to avenge the defeat at Mu'tah, as had
been planned by the Prophet.
As this force left, the Arabian Peninsula broke into an open rebellion. The Caliph cleverly exploited
his foes' disunity and subjugated their forces within a year in what was later termed as the Ridda Wars
(632-633 CE). Khalid ibn al-Walid (d. 642 CE), a prominent Muslim strategist, played a pivotal role in
this fight by crushing the strongest opposition force under an imposter (false prophet) named
Musaylimah in December, 632 CE, at the Battle of al-Yamama. After the defeat at al-Yamama, the
rebels could no longer pose a threat equal to what they had in the beginning, and by March 633 CE,
order was restored. Abu Bakr had saved his Prophet's empire and religion; for this, he was hailed as a
hero and his authority became unquestionable.
Khalid ibn al-Walid's Campaign in Arabia
Mohammad adil (GNU FDL)
Abu Bakr now sought to expand his realm beyond the Arabian Peninsula. The Muslim Empire
bordered two superpowers: the Byzantine Empire (330-1453 CE) and Sassanian Empire (224-651 CE)
to the north-west and north-east respectively. These two colossal powers often clashed violently in
prolonged wars, had exhausted their resources, and severely repressed Arabian tribes living in the
Middle East in the course of pursuing ultimate power. For Abu Bakr, this was an opportune moment,
although he may not have known that.
Invasion of Sassanian Persia (Iraq & Khorasan)
During the Ridda Wars, an Arab chieftain named Muthanna ibn al-Haritha approached Abu Bakr and
informed him of the vulnerability of Sassanian Iraq. Never content with wasting an opportunity, the
Caliph sent Khalid, who had now distinguished himself as a war hero, to raid Iraq (633 CE). The duo
stuck to the western side of the Euphrates, where they enjoyed much success, employed eager locals
in their ranks, and countered Sassanian advances towards the conquered territory.
Khalid ibn al-Walid's Invasion of Iraq
Mohammad Adil (GNU FDL)
Simultaneously, a Rashidun invasion force in Syria, after gaining considerable ground, now faced the
imminent danger of a major Byzantine counterattack. This prompted Abu Bakr to send Khalid to the
Syrian front where he solidified Muslim control. In this absence, the Muslim commander Abu Ubaid
al-Thaqafi, moving against the advice of Muthanna, gave battle to a strong Sassanian force and faced
a crushing defeat at the Battle of the Bridge (October 634 CE). Abu Ubaid died in the battle but
Muthanna managed to get an orderly retreat and hold his ground to the west of the Euphrates until
reinforced from Medina.
Abu Bakr died in 634 CE, and his successor Umar ibn al-Khattab (r. 634-644 CE) took charge as the
second caliph of the Islamic Empire and the "commander of the faithful". Caliph Umar reinforced the
Iraqi front with fresh troops under the command of a reputable companion of the Prophet: Sa'd ibn
Abi Waqqas (l. 595-674 CE). Meanwhile, the Sassanians sought to restore their authority over lost Iraqi
regions.
Rustam Farrokhzad, a legendary warrior and a cunning strategist, came out of his respite to face the
ever-growing Muslim army. The year was 636 CE, and Sa'd's army was reinforced by victorious
troops from Syria. Despite the reinforcements, the Rashidun army was heavily outnumbered and
their foe had the advantage in equipment, but the Muslims made up for it with their unparalleled
skill in hand-to-hand combat. Rustam thought that his numbers guaranteed him victory and for the
first few days of the Battle of al-Qadisiyya (636 CE), it certainly did seem so.
Battle of Al-Qadisiyya
British Library (Public Domain)
The situation was fatefully reversed when some Muslim cavalry troops snuck past the main lines
under the cover of a sandstorm and slew the valiant general. Rustam's death demoralized his men,
who despite having overwhelming numbers began to rout and were utterly crushed. With this defeat,
Sassanian control over Iraq was shattered, the Rashidun troops soon swept over the land and even
took Ctesiphon – the Persian capital, ironically located far off from their power base in Khorasan, the
eastern province – located in modern-day Iran.
The last Sassanian king, Yazdegerd III (l. 624-651 CE) raised another mighty army to face the
Muslims, but this titanic force too was shattered in the Battle of Nahavand (642 CE). Despite this
victory, Umar instructed the corps to hold their gains and not to advance further into Iran; he was
cautious in this matter and wished not to risk a major setback. The victory at Nahavand brought
heaps of war booty to Medina, but with it also came retribution, Caliph Umar was assassinated in 644
CE by a Persian slave named Lu'lu who wished to avenge the losses of his kingdom.
Umar's successor Uthman (r. 644-656 CE) continued the military expansion undertaken by his
predecessors. Yazdegerd III, who had escaped to the eastern parts of his kingdom, was murdered by a
local at Merv in 651 CE. The last king of the once glorious Sassanian Empire lost his life to treachery,
and with his death, died any hope of fighting the Muslim advance. Khurasan was subjugated in a
campaign lasting from 651 to 653 CE, and the remainder of the Sassanian lands fell swiftly. The
Rashidun Empire spread as far as Sindh, located in present-day Pakistan, to the East.
Invasion of Syria & Levant
Abu Bakr sent four divisions under Shurahbil ibn Hasana (l. 583-639 CE), Yazid ibn Abi Sufyan (d.
640 CE), Amr ibn al-As (l. c. 573-664 CE), and Abu Ubaidah (l. 583-639 CE) to raid Syria and the
Levant. These corps were instructed not to face the Byzantine army in the open or to attack any
major cities and castles. Initially successful, these corps soon faced the threat of a major Byzantine
force mustered by the ailing Byzantine emperor Heraclius (r. 610-641 CE) and led by his brother
Theodore. Not wishing to leave anything to fate alone, Abu Bakr ordered Khalid to advance to Syria.
Khalid handpicked his best men and moved through the trackless desert, using camels as water
reservoirs, and appeared on the fringes of Syria. There he united the four divisions and defeated the
Byzantine army at the Battle of Ajnadayn (634 CE). When Umar ascended to the office, he dismissed
Khalid from his post and placed Abu Ubaidah in charge, probably seeking to assert more control over
the campaign.
Khalid ibn a-Walid's Invasion of Syria
Mohammad adil (GNU FDL)
The Rashidun forces continued to advance northwards in the Levant and Syria. They took Damascus
in 634 CE, either through an assault or treason, defeated the Palestinian imperial division in the
Battle of Fahl (Pella; 635 CE). Emesa (Homs) became the next target and fell in 636 CE, bringing the
Muslims dangerously close to Aleppo and Antioch – where the emperor was residing himself.
Angered at Theodore's early defeat, Heraclius dismissed him and sent another huge army under
Vahan of Armenia (d. 636 CE) to face the Rashidun troops.
Khalid, who was not officially in command, was given charge owing to his skill in warfare. The
notorious general retreated southwards beyond the Yarmouk river and confronted the imperial army
there. The Battle of Yarmouk (August 636 CE) raged on for six days, with the Muslim forces on the
back foot initially, but on the climactic dawn of 20 August 636 CE, Khalid ordered an advance and
enveloped his foes with his cavalry. The imperial troops routed in panic and faced severe casualties;
their field commander probably died in the battle. After this victory, the Muslims swept over Syria,
Jordan, and Palestine. Since the Byzantines had given up on the region thereafter, victorious troops
were sent to the Iraqi front to reinforce the campaign there.
Illustration of the battle of Yarmouk (636 CE)
Unknown (Public Domain)
Jerusalem was besieged shortly in 637 CE and then capitulated after receiving guarantees of safety
personally from Caliph Umar. The holy city thus entered Muslim control bloodlessly and the Jewish
population that had been banished by the Romans, five centuries prior, was allowed to return. Umar
also dismissed Khalid from his post officially; this was either because of personal reasons or because
of controversies around the general.
Before his dismissal, Khalid had led expeditions into Anatolia and Armenia in 638 CE; he died in 642
CE and was buried in Emesa. Abu Ubaidah, who had been placed as the governor of Syria, died in
639 CE in the wake of the plague that devastated the region. In his stead, Muawiya (l. 602-680 CE),
the son of Abu Sufyan, a prominent pre-Islamic Meccan aristocrat from the Umayya clan who had
later converted, was sent as a replacement. Muawiya effectively took hold of the region and solidified
Muslim control over it, and later on, during the reign of Uthman, his cousin and the third caliph (r.
644-656 CE), he conquered all of Armenia (653-655 CE).
Invasion of Egypt & North Africa
Amr ibn al-As, one of the four commanders originally sent to the Byzantine frontier by Abu Bakr,
appeared before Umar with the proposition of another conquest. Egypt had long rested in the hands
of the Eastern Roman Empire, but the condition of the people was no different here than it was in the
Levant and Syria. Repressive Byzantine policies ensured that an invasion would not be met with stiff
resistance.
Umar, however, was not inclined to order an advance, and it took great persuasion on the part of Amr
to convince him otherwise. From Egypt, the Byzantines threatened Muslim lands to the north, and
with this section cut off from the core of the empire, an invasion would be very effective. Amr,
reinforced by Zubayr ibn al-Awamm (l. 594-656 CE), took on an imperial army at Heliopolis (640 CE)
and secured a decisive victory.
Muslim Conquest of Egypt, 640-642 CE
Mohammad adil (CC BY-SA)
Two years later, most of Egypt had been taken by the Rashidun army. Caliph Uthman (r. 644-656 CE)
allowed regional governors to expand their realms autonomously. In 646 CE, a major Byzantine
counterattack at Alexandria was beaten off with the help of the locals who felt no compunction in
serving against their former tormentors. Part of the North African strip beyond Tripoli was also
wrested from Byzantine control after a decisive victory in the Battle of Sufetula (647 CE).
Naval Operations in the Mediterranean Sea
Honed for their shipbuilding skills, the Syrians were employed to create a formidable Rashidun fleet
to challenge Byzantine authority in the Mediterranean. After defeating the Byzantine fleet attempting
to retake Alexandria (646 CE), the Muslims went on the offensive. Cyprus fell in 649 CE, followed by
Rhodes in 654 CE, and in 655 CE, the Byzantine naval authority was crushed with a victory at the
Battle of the Masts. Muslims held uncontested control over the Mediterranean and sent raiding
parties as far as Crete and Sicily.
Aftermath & Conclusion
At its peak, the realm of the Rashidun Caliphate spread from parts of North Africa in the west to parts
of modern-day Pakistan in the east; several islands of the Mediterranean had also come under their
sway. They were a force to be reckoned with and the most important influencer in the region. This
initial expansion halted in 656 CE with the cold-blooded murder of Caliph Uthman by renegade
soldiers. His successor Ali ibn Abi Talib (r. 656-661 CE) spent his entire reign attempting to restore
order to a realm plunged into tumult known as the First Fitna (656-661 CE). Caliph Ali was later
murdered by a radical group named the Kharijites in 661 CE, and upon his death, the governor of
Syria and his rival, Muawiya, assumed power and gave rise to the Umayyad Dynasty (661-750 CE),
who, after facing some initial tumult, resumed the initial conquests.
The Byzantines and Sassanians were superpowers of their time but years of warfare had weakened
the two colossal titans. Moreover, Arabs were never expected to pose any threat to them, these
disunited desert dwellers did not have the numbers or the will to face an empire. This, however,
changed as the Arabian Peninsula was united under the banner of Islam by 633 CE. Freed from the
infighting that had plagued them for centuries, the Arabs directed their potential towards their
neighbors. They considered a just war as a holy struggle and if death was to embrace them, they
would be immortalized as martyrs.
Such a strong resolve, however, was lacking in their foes. Both empires employed mercenaries, and
these men did not feel similar passion for their client state as the Arabs did for the Caliphate.
Moreover, a multiethnic army lacked the coherence imparted by a single faith and unified national
sentiment, but perhaps the most destructive penalty that these empires faced was because of how
they treated their people in their provinces. As the Rashidun armies swept over these areas, their
numbers swelled with eager volunteers, and many of those who did not fight supported them
indirectly. It was also nothing short of a miraculous fortune for the Arabs to have capable military
leaders like Khalid ibn al-Walid in their ranks. The early Muslim expansion was ensured by both the
strength the Arabs found in Islam and the circumstances under which it happened.
Bibliography
Ali, S. A. Short History of the Saracens. Apex Books Concern, 1981.
Doak, R. S. Empire of the Islamic World. Chelsea House Publications, 2009.
Donner, F. M. The Early Islamic Conquests. ACLS Humanities E-Book, 2008.
Nicolle, D. Yarmuk AD 636. Osprey Publishing, 1994.
Saunders, J. J. A History of Medieval Islam. Routledge, 1978.
Sonn, T. Islam. Wiley-Blackwell, 2015.
About the Author
Syed Muhammad Khan
Muhammad is a biologist, history enthusiast, and freelance writer, he has been actively contributing
to the Encyclopedia since 2019.
Cite This Work
APA Style
Khan, S. M. (2020, June 25). Early Muslim Conquests (622-656 CE).
World History Encyclopedia. Retrieved from
https://www.worldhistory.org/article/1571/early-muslim-conquests-622-656-ce/
Chicago Style
Khan, Syed Muhammad. "Early Muslim Conquests (622-656 CE)."
World History Encyclopedia. Last modified
June 25, 2020.
https://www.worldhistory.org/article/1571/early-muslim-conquests-622-656-ce/.
MLA Style
Khan, Syed Muhammad. "Early Muslim Conquests (622-656 CE)."
World History Encyclopedia. World History
Encyclopedia, 25 Jun 2020. Web. 20 May 2023.
