The battle of Yarmuk (636) and the arab conquest of syria and palesine - Essay Example

One of the deciding factors of these battles aside from the strategies is the increase in numbers of Muslims that formed alliances with those of their own fates, and also their conquests of nearby regions, stopping the expansion of Christianity towards the Middle East and India, and allowed the Muslims to move westward up to Spain (The Great Islamic Conquests 49). It was believed by historians that if these battles did not happen or if it had other results, the history of the world might have been changed dramatically, since the major contributions of Islam like mathematics and science would be prevented from being spread, and without these two important concepts the beginning of the scientific revolution would be prevented.

The Arab Conquests of Syria and Palestine When the Muslims were able to take control of former cities that were previously under Christianity, not only did they expanded their territories, but also removed the fertile lands that the Byzantine Empire relied on (Fouracre 298). The unification of the bands of Arabs by the Muslim faith has created large and uniform bands that were able to take over territories because of their members having something in common: a strong faith in Muhammad (The Great Islamic Conquests 48). . This created an opening for the Muslim Army to take over Syria and Palestine, before ultimately fending off the advancing Byzantine army at the Valley of Yarmuk.

Around the year 628 A.C.E., the Prophet Muhammad signed a non-aggression pact with the Meccans because he was not yet allowing the Jihad, or Holy War to commence yet. However, due to the need to expand the Islamic faith and to loot the rich countries, some three thousand of his men initiated attacks on the eastern regions of Jordan, and eventually caused them a devastating defeat from the defending Byzantines (Avi-Yonah and Peres 199). Initially this made the Byzantine Emperor Heraclius complacent about the defenses of the Syrian borders, and after a year from being attacked by Muslim Arabs, he created an opening by not paying the tribes that defended this side of the kingdom (Kennedy 143).

In addition to the discontent with the Byzantine rulers and religions, the persecutions added to the disinterest of the tribes that were living in the Syrian border, which made these parts vulnerable to either attacks or conversions (Kennedy 147). The Muslim army advanced towards southern Syrian borders, and one of the governors signed a peace treaty with Muhammad, which helped him secure one of the entrances to Syria (Avi-Yonah and Peres 199). After gaining control of Syria around 633-634 A.C.E.

, the Muslim army then planned on invading Palestine, annexing it and liberating the people from Byzantine rule. The battle lead by Khalid entered Palestine first by invading the northern part in order to control the region without other problems. The Byzantines were taken over by the Muslim soldiers due to the former undermining the capacity of the advancing Muslim army. Aside from the Byzantine Emperor