The period of the Umayyad dynasty is often considered a controversial one as its rulers had both positive and negative impacts on the Arabic state and its development. In general, the Umayyads were dedicated to the cause of Islam and played a crucial role in its successful transition from a local Arabian religion to world civilization. Historical documents and literary sources prove that the Umayyads transformed the caliphate from a religiously oriented state to a dynastic state. Still, The expansion of Islam remains one of the critical elements and turning points in world history.
The Umayyads made a great contribution to the territorial expansion of the Arabic state. The great expansion of Islam was always associated with the growing number of Islamic adherents and the expansion of Arabs that necessarily led to the expansion of Islamic religion in the Asian world. The truth however is that Islamic expansion did not necessarily lead to conversion to the Islamic faith. The concept of Islamic expansion is surrounded by numerous myths and historical misconceptions, and what was traditionally regarded as the rise of the new Islamic culture, in reality, was the expansion of the Islamic empire which did not deprive new Islamic states of religious freedom. In terms of Byzantium, Islamic expansion posed a serious competitive challenge to Byzantium; moreover, Islamic faith-inspired Arab peoples to conquer and siege the lands that had previously belonged to Byzantium. Nevertheless, Arab-Islamic conquests did not weaken, but on the contrary, strengthened the political and social order in new lands. In this context, it would be appropriate to suggest that Islamic contests have tested ability to withstand political and military oppression, and where Arab peoples sought to prove their religious and political superiority, the state used the benefits of its political stability as the means of restructuring and improving its social organization and economic prosperity (Kennedy 83; “Latter to Walid II”).
At this point of his literary revelations, “Letter of Walid II” actually sheds the light on one of the most serious issues in the history of the state. Given the richness of its geographical territories, and the attractiveness of the lands that historically belonged to the Umayyad caliphate, it is not surprising that the Arab opponents were seeking the means to expand their Islamic presence by conquering a part of new land. Certainly, the changes in the political and economic worldview were the inevitable consequence of these conquests, but beyond that, the caliphate succeeded not to surrender to the growing external dangers and did not fail to use its military collapse as the source of the new useful historic experience. This reorganization and restructuring readily covered all areas of political, social, and economic life, as well as the way it used to develop and implement its military strategies (Kennedy 85).
It should be noted, that over the course of the world history, military superiority and power was the central element of the Umayyad state’s economic and social, as well as political prosperity. Whenever a state sought to establish its political or cultural dominance, fulfilling this task was impossible without an extensive set of military tools at hand. Umayyad dynasty was not an exception, and while the country had previously been known for its sophisticated approaches to military operations, Arab-Islamic contests have strengthened the state’s military power even more. For the history of the Umayyad dynasty, the Arab conquests have become the driving force of social change, for subsequent military failures signified the empire’s inability to cope with external threats. Although the major portion of the Muslim conquests came with surprising ease, and the Muslim readily expanded their political and religious dominance over the formerly territory, Arab conquests have successfully proved the state’s ability to rule its territories, military forces, and work to develop effective military approaches at tactical and strategic levels (Kennedy 84).
It should be pointed out, however, that although the religious system is referred to as one of the major components of the empire’s survival during Islamic conquests, not all scholars support the direct relationship between themes and saving the rest of provinces from collapse. Nevertheless, religion came to signify the need for better administrative and military decentralization and more effective distribution of power. Not only did the implementation of themes create a new system of administrative thinking, but it redirected the economic and social development into fresh channels. The new organization of the army guaranteed more freedom of movement, and as a result, better protection from external threats. The so-called military estates were granted for high quality military service. Under the theme system, each administrative theme was put under the jurisdiction of a governor; as a result, themes have also become an effective tool of redistributing administrative responsibility between separate administrative; in this situation, although deprived of the major part of its territorial wealth, the state was more than prepared to defending itself from the subsequent external attacks (Kennedy 101).
Although military reorganization was the most important consequence of Arab conquests, the latter have also become the indirect sources of political, economic and social transformation in the caliphate. It would be fair to say that “though much reduced by the Islamic conquests, the caliphate after the eighth century was also more compact and manageable. More than that, the new lands was able to survive the force of Muslims due to the presence of the sound fiscal apparatus and a well-developed set of social policies. Historically, economy was strictly controlled, and the soundness of imperial currency was one of the beneficial features of Byzantine economic order. Severe restrictions on the export of gold, strict customs supervision, and favorable trade balance, as well as the economic and trade monopoly supplied Byzantium with extensive economic instruments which could be readily used to support the empire at times of military crises. How significant international changes and their impacts on other lands could have been, the caliphate was committed to positive economic change and used conflicts and military oppression as the source of the social and economic change.
In sum, the Umayyads brought novelty and established a new rule in caliphate in contrast to traditional religious structure of the state. In the center of the cultural diversity, the military have been the major source of cultural conglomeration; as a result, Islamic conquests brought in a new sense of cultural unification, where previously alien cultures were gradually becoming familiar for the majority. The state has slowly turned into the caliphate, where cultural diversity was the essential component of its social and political performance, and beyond native Arabs Normans shared the same land. The caliphate successfully utilized the benefits of its new territorial structure, making it more manageable and using the system of themes to decentralize administrative power and to increase the effectiveness of power distribution. Certainly, Arab conquests were violent and bloody and resulted in the loss of the substantial portion of army, but instead of recognizing its defeat, the state used Islamic conquests as the source of valuable knowledge, later used to maintain its economic and social prosperity. The caliphate was capable of restoring its strength and completely restructuring its political, economic, and social order.
Works Cited
Kennedy, H. The Prophet and the Age of the Caliphates Longman; 2 edition, 2004. “Latter to Walid II”.