Q4: Why Islamic invaders were so successful against two contemporary super powers i.e Byzantine and

Why Islamic invaders were so successful against two contemporary super powers i.e Byzantine and Sassanid?

There were many reasons we can analyze based on the facts available besides the blessing of Allah as Arabians like to put it. Following are the main points

Mutual Religious conflicts between Byzantine and Sassanid Empire: The long Byzantine–Sassanid conflict left both the empires exhausted and vulnerable against the Arabians

Internal problems of Byzantine Empire: Dissatisfied and ambitious Nobles were trying to get hold of their territory. People of peripheral regions of the empire were tired of ongoing wars with Sassanid empires. They welcomed Arabians. High Taxes were also imposed due to wars and that made situation worse and last but not the least, frequent outbreaks of plague left the empire in a vulnerable state.

Motivation of a new religion: Muhammad united the Arabs based on fraternity and one God. It seems the blessings of Allah that he managed to conquer a vast region within short span of time. This fact made followers highly motivated. Generals used stories like martyrs on battle field will go to heaven.

Knowledge of desert:  what made Arabians undefeatable against byzantine and Sassanid, was the knowledge of desert. They were accustomed with harsh conditions.  They knew how to survive during long battles in desert whole people in byzantine army were from Mediterranean region and were not trained for desert battle.

Military Strategy: Arabian generals adopted Surprise attack and siege as war strategy which was completely new for Byzantine soldiers. Arabian soldiers used to attack suddenly and would quickly move as much inside as they can. General Saad under Umar caliph trained his cavalry with lance. Arabians also used a long siege to conquer cities. They would cut the supplies and sit for really long time. Damascus was conquered after 6 months long siege.

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