How did the Islamic Empire develop, and expand?

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Answers will vary. The Islamic Empire spread enormously under Mohammad and also within a very short time after his death in 632. By then, one-third of the Arabic Peninsula had converted to Islam and was subsumed under the political and religious authority of the first four caliphs. Within thirty years of Mohammad's death, the empire had spread from Iran to the Black Sea, and around the Mediterranean from Antioch to Alexandria. It took a large bite out of the Byzantine Empire, where populations who had long objected to steep taxes suddenly found their taxes considerably lower under Islamic rule. Additionally, Muslim rulers were fairly tolerant of diverse religions, unlike the Byzantine emperor. In particular, Monophysites found relief from oppression. Muslim incorporation of new territories also retained old political structures, simply adding a Muslim military adviser to them. The Islamic Empire soon stretched across North Africa and into Spain, under the leadership of the Berber general Tariq ibn Ziyad in 711. It approached the midpoint of France before being turned back at the Battle of Tours in 732. The incorporation of Spain initially diverted revenue to the caliph in Damascus, with an appointed governor from North Africa. Land was subsequently allotted in Spain to supporters of the Ummayad caliphate. There was little resistance to assimilation in Spain from both Christians and Jews, at least in the first few centuries. Resistance was encountered in France, however, and the caliphate drew its borders with the Pyrenees Mountains dividing Spain and France.