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Rise of Islam and the Arab conquests
Muhammad's hijra 622; Jerusalem taken 637/638· Event· Bible story & events
Historical recordConfirmed by archaeology, outside sources or contemporary records.
A new faith proclaimed by Muhammad in Arabia, whose armies took most of Christianity's Middle Eastern and North African heartland within a century.
See it on the Bible & Christianity map →What it is
Muslims believe Muhammad (c. 570–632) received God's revelations, the Quran, from about 610. His move from Mecca to Medina in 622 (the hijra) begins the Islamic calendar. Within a decade of his death, Arab armies took Syria, Jerusalem (637/638) and Egypt from the Byzantines; Persia fell by 651, Spain from 711. Christians and Jews became protected but specially taxed subjects (dhimmis). Islam honors Jesus as a prophet born of a virgin, but not as God's Son.
Why it matters
Three of Christianity's five great centers, Alexandria, Antioch and Jerusalem, came under Muslim rule, shifting Christianity's weight toward Europe; recovering Jerusalem later became the Crusades' rallying cry.
Sources and history
Christian sources from the 630s mention the Arab conquests and a prophet. Radiocarbon dates on early Quran pages in Birmingham fall about 568–645. The Dome of the Rock's inscriptions date to 692.
Questions and debates
Historians debate how reliable the Muslim biographies of Muhammad, written over a century later, are, and why the conquests succeeded so fast.
Connections (3)
▸Rise of Islam and the Arab conquests took control of Jerusalem, City of DavidHistorical record
The connection
After the Byzantines lost the Battle of Yarmuk (636), Arab forces besieged Jerusalem, and Patriarch Sophronius surrendered it to Caliph Umar in 637 or 638. Christians kept their churches; Jews were again allowed to live in the city. The Dome of the Rock (691–692) rose on the Temple Mount (the Haram al-Sharif). Muslim rule lasted until the First Crusade (1099).
When and where
Jerusalem, 637/638, under Caliph Umar ibn al-Khattab and Patriarch Sophronius; the Dome of the Rock was built by Caliph Abd al-Malik.
Historical evidence
Christian chroniclers such as Theophanes (9th century) and Muslim historians record the surrender; the Dome of the Rock's dated inscription (692) survives.
Questions and debates
The exact year is debated, and so is the authenticity of the 'Covenant of Umar' guaranteeing Christians' rights; surviving texts are later.
▸Rise of Islam and the Arab conquests set the stage, centuries later, for The CrusadesMostly agreed by scholars
The connection
The Arab conquests of the 630s–640s took Jerusalem, Syria and Egypt from Christian rule, and North Africa followed by about 700. Centuries later, Seljuk Turkish victories over Byzantium, above all at Manzikert in 1071, prompted the Byzantine emperor's appeal that Pope Urban II turned into the First Crusade.
When and where
Jerusalem fell to Caliph Umar in 637/638; Manzikert, eastern Anatolia, 1071; Urban II's call at Clermont, France, November 1095.
How do we know?
The sequence is well documented. Chroniclers' versions of Urban's speech cite Turkish attacks on Eastern Christians and on pilgrims.
Questions and debates
Whether the crusades were a defensive response to Islamic expansion or Western aggression is a live debate; Eastern Christians had by then lived under Muslim rule for over 450 years.
▸Rise of Islam and the Arab conquests brought under Muslim rule Oriental Orthodox churches (Coptic, Armenian, Ethiopian, Syriac)Historical record
The connection
Arab armies took Syria (634–640), Egypt (639–642) and Armenia (from the 640s). Coptic and Syriac Christians, often pressured by Byzantium as non-Chalcedonians, became dhimmis: they kept their churches and paid the jizya tax, but faced restrictions. Over centuries they became minorities, and Arabic largely replaced Coptic and Syriac in daily life. Ethiopia stayed independent.
When and where
Egypt under the general Amr ibn al-As (639–642), Syria and Mesopotamia (630s–640s), and Armenia from the 640s.
Historical evidence
Coptic sources such as John of Nikiu's chronicle (late 7th century) and the History of the Patriarchs, and Syriac chronicles such as Michael the Syrian's (12th century).
Questions and debates
Whether Copts welcomed the Arabs, as an older story says, is debated, as is when Egypt became majority Muslim: estimates range from the 9th to the 14th century.