HIST 331,    Medieval Mediterranean
(Also listed as CORE 365, JC)

Spring Semester 2008

Presentation 3:

The Islamic conquest

This presentation will address the reasons for the rise of Islam and its spread through the Mediterranean region. The presentation itself may take any form, but must incorporate in some way the following readings:
 

Primary Sources:

• Pact of Umar
• Arab Conquest of Egypt (642)
• Muslim conquest of Spain (711)
• Battle of Tours (732)

Secondary works:

• Maxime Rodinson, Muhammad
• Fred Donner, The Early Islamic Conquests
• Judith Herrin, The Formation of Christendom
• Patricia Crone, Meccan Trade and the Rise of Islam
• Kenneth W. Frank, "Pirenne Again: A Muslim Viewpoint," The History Teacher  26 (1993): 371-383.
  Stable URL: http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0018-2745%28199305%2926%3A3%3C371%3APAAMV%3E2.0.CO%3B2-H
• Ira M. Lapidus, "State and Religion in Islamic Societies," Past and Present, No. 151 (1996):  pp. 3-27.
  Stable URL: http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0031-2746%28199605%290%3A151%3C3%3ASARIIS%3E2.0.CO%3B2-Z
• Robert Schick, "Archaeological Sources for the History of Palestine: Palestine in the Early Islamic Period: Luxuriant Legacy," Near Eastern Archaeology 61 (1998): 74-108. Stable URL: http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=1094-2076%28199806%2961%3A2%3C74%3AASFTHO%3E2.0.CO%3B2-W
• Chris Wickham, "The Mediterranean around 800: On the Brink of the Second Trade Cycle," Dumbarton Oaks Papers 58 (2004): 161-174.
  Stable URL: http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0070-7546%282004%2958%3C161%3ATMA8OT%3E2.0.CO%3B2-B
  

Some suggestions for class participation/discussion:

• Historians have debated why Islam spread so rapidly, and why it was so successful in Christian regions. Ask the class to identify specific reasons for the successful spread of Islam in the Mediterranean, (such as military, political, economic, religious, or cultural) and to discuss which reasons seem most likely.
• Debate: Did the Islamic invasions obliterate the Roman world or take advantage of its infrastructure? The debate should center on technology, trade, and political institutions.

Prepared 10 February 2003

Updated 09 January, 2008

T. Vann

Department of History / College of Saint Benedict/St. John's University

www.csbsju.edu

email  tvann@csbsju.edu