[lit-ideas] Prior to the First Crusade
- From: "Lawrence Helm" <lawrencehelm@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: "Lit-Ideas" <Lit-Ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Tue, 18 Dec 2007 10:12:00 -0800
One of the books on Cantor's long list is Medieval Islam, A Study in
Cultural Orientalism by Gustave E. Von Grunebaum, 2nd ed 1953. On page 4,
Von Gunebaum writes,
"In exactly one hundred years, between the death of the Prophet in 632 and
the Battle of Tours and Poitiers, Islam carved out its dominion. During
the last ten years of his life Mohammad had built up a state centered on
Medina firmly controlling the Hijaz and parts of the Najd and more loosely
imposing its authority on other sections of Arabia proper. His death was
the signal for the nominally converted Bedouins to revolt. When this
centrifugal movement had been crushed, expansion set in with incredible
swiftness. Syria was torn from the Byzantines, weak and weary after a
bitter struggle with Persia and even more embittered religious controversies
within. In 638 Jerusalem fell. Only two years later Egypt was invaded, its
conquest sealed when Alexander surrendered in 647. In the meantime Persia
had been overrun, and the Battle of Nihavand (641) had put an end to
effective large-scale resistance, although it took another decade before the
power of the last Sassanian ruler was completely eliminated and the king
himself a disgruntled subject (651).
"The chronology of the Arab movement to the West is not entirely clear, but
in 670 the soldiers of the caliph had advanced into what is today Tunisia
and founded the city of Qairawan. Determined resistance of the native
Berbers and the Byzantine garrisons in various seacoast towns slowed up the
Arab advance, but by about 700 the country had been cleared of Greek troops
and the Berbers subdued. It seems that a sizable percentage of the
Latinized and Hellenized population of the cities emigrated to Spain and
Sicily. At any rate, the vestiges of ancient civilization were quickly
obliterated.
"Only ten years later Africa was sufficiently secure for the Arabs to use it
as a base for an attack on Spain. In July, 711, the Visigoth Kingdom
collapsed in the defeat of its army at Jerez de la Frontera. A few more
years and the Arabs felt strong enough to cross the Pyrenees. But despite
temporary successes on French soil, where they maintained themselves for
about half a century in the south around Narbonne, their aggressive impulse
was spent after they had met defeat at the hands of the Franks."
It should be noted that Constantinople is not on the list of conquered
Christian lands. That didn't occur until much later (see The Fall of
Constantinople, 1453 by Steven Runciman). The Byzantine Empire was
subjected to ongoing pressure from the Turks. It was that pressure that
ultimately caused the cry for help that resulted in the Pope's much-belated
response: a call for a crusade.
Lawrence
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