Byzantium and the Arabs

• Druk: 2015
• Redakcja naukowa: Paweł Filipczak, Teresa Wolińska
• Wydawca: Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Łódzkiego

This book is an attempt at a reconstruction of complex relations between Byzantium and the Arabs from the sixth to the eighth century. It discusses the religious and political situation in the Middle East on the eve of the Arab conquest, characterises the attitude adopted by the inhabitants of Byzantine provinces toward the Arab invaders, analyses the administrative structures of Byzantium and the Umayyad state, and presents the life of Christian Churches under the Arab rule. Written in a clear, direct style, free of scholarly jargon, this collection of essays is based on both Byzantine and Arab sources, as well as on a wide selection of scholarly literature, originating from both the Western and Middle Eastern cultural circles. The monograph has been prepared by the scholars associated with the Waldemar Ceran Research Centre for History and Culture of the Mediterranean Area and South-Eastern Europe of the University of Łódź (Ceraneum). One might note, with a considerable degree of satisfaction, the initiative of Łódź Byzantinists aimed at increasing the role of Polish historiography in the scholarly world. It has taken up the form of a work in English, devoted to an event of worldwide importance, a clash of the newly emergent Islam with the refined culture of the Roman Mediterranean.

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• Redakcja: Paweł Filipczak, Teresa Wolińska
• Język wydania: angielski
• ISBN: 978-83-7969-903-2
• ISBN druku: 978-83-7969-902-5
• Liczba stron: 628

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Introduction   10

Part I. Before the Conquest    16
1.	Geography and Environmental Conditions of Syro-Palestine. The Region’s Geopolitical Importance in Late Antiquity Paweł Filipczak   16
2.	Arabs, (H)agarenes, Ishmaelites, Saracens – a Few Remarks about Naming Teresa Wolińska   31
3.	The Arabs before Islam – the Birth of the New Religion Marek M. Dziekan   47
4.	The Goddesses of Pre-Islamic Arabia (Al-Lāt, Al-‘Uzzā, Manāt) Zofi A. Brzozowska   64
5.	Irfan Shahîd’s Theme System or John Haldon’s Myth of Themes. A Short Review of the Two Main Ideas of Themes in Syria Paweł Filipczak   92
6.	Byzantine Church before the Arab Conquest. Historical-Theological Aspects of Divisions in Churches of the East Sławomir Bralewski   101
7.	Difficult Neighbours. Enemies, Partners, Allies Teresa Wolińska   159

Part II. The Conquest   214
1.	Byzantium on the Eve of the Arab Expansion. Some Aspects of Government during the Reign of Heraclius I (610–641) Teresa Wolińska   214
2.	Arab Expansion on Byzantine Territory (632–718) Błażej Cecota   232
3.	The Character of the Invasion. A Discussion of the Causes and Immediate Effects of the Muslim Expansion Teresa Wolińska   279
4.	Resistance, Passivity or Collaboration? Christians in Syria and Egypt Facing the Arab Conquest Teresa Wolińska   297

Part III. After the Conquest   324
1.	Administration of the Arabic World: from Tribalism to the Umayyad Caliphate Hassan Badawy, Błażej Cecota   324
2.	Economic Institutions of Early Islam. The Creation of Bayt al-Māl ( ). From Tribal Treasury to the “Ministry of Finance” Hassan Badawy   347
3.	Christian Communities in the Territories Conquered by the Arabs (Seventh– Eighth Centuries) Marta Woźniak   365
4.	The Byzantines in the Context of the Ḳur’ān Marek M. Dziekan   399
5.	The Arabs and Islam in the Eyes of the Byzantines Teresa Wolińska   427
6.	A Byzantine Heritage? Outline of Art and Architecture of Early Islam (Seventh– Eighth Centuries) Marta Woźniak   448

Sources – a Brief Overview Błażej Cecota, Marek M. Dziekan, Teresa Wolińska   472
A Short Review of Arab Sources Marek M. Dziekan   472
Greek, Syrian and Coptic Sources for the History of Byzantine-Arabic Relations in Sixth–Eighth Century Błażej Cecota, Teresa Wolińska   480

Abbreviations   494

Bibliography   502

Indices   576

Illustrations   602