Islamic History Podcast

2-7: Plague And Famine

In 639, a plague broke out, originating in Nicopolis, or Imwas, in the modern state of Israel. The city no longer exists as it was destroyed by Israeli army during Six Day war. It is estimated around 20000 people died from this plague. Among them were many prominent Sahabas. The most well-knonw of all was Abu Ubaidah, the general that succeeded KIW in Syria Another companion was Muadh ibn Jabal - most famous for these instructions he received from Prophet Muhammad before embarking to Syria Continue reading...

2-6: 636 and 637 CE

Battle of Qadisiyyah was more devastating for the Persians than the Battle of Yarmouk was for the Romans Their defeat at Qadisiyyah left the Persian capital exposed to Muslim forces However, the Roman capital was hundreds of miles away in Constantinople and very safe from Muslim forces The Romans still had the ability to wage war against the Muslims However, the Persians were now just trying to survive We'll look at the events in Syria after Yarmouk first, and then take a look at Persia after Qadisiyyah

2-5: Yarmouk And Qadisiyyah

- Where we are so far -- In 632 CE Prophet Muhammad died and Abu Bakr was chosen by the residents of Medina as the Caliph -- Soon after, several of the Arab tribes that were allied with the Prophet rebelled against Abu Bakr -- Abu Bakr and his general KIW led a successful campaign to bring these tribes back in line -- These were known as the Ridda, or Apostasy Wars -- Abu Bakr commanded KIW to begin an invasion of southern Persia. -- KIW was successful and conquered most of the area around the Euphrates River -- At the same time, Abu Bakr also ordered Abu Ubaidah to lead an invasion into Syria -- Abu Ubaidah ran into strong resistance so Abu Bakr had KIW come from Persia to assist -- KIW led the Muslims to conquer Syria all the way up to Damascus -- Back in Medina, Abu Bakr died and Umar ibn Al-Khattab became the Caliph -- Umar removed KIW as the leader of the Muslim armies and put Abu Ubaidah back in charge -- The Romans and Syrians got over their initial shock of the Muslim invasion and began a strong counterattack. - In the last episode we discussed how the Romans and Persians began to make a comeback - Now we'll go into the details of that comeback and the result - We will first discuss the events in Syria and then those in Persia

2-4: Umar and Syria

In many ways, it was more of an organized mob. There were no uniforms and no ranks. - Commanders were appointed at will, generally based on accomplishment or tribal position. - Their weapons was whatever they could find. Many of them came from defeated Persian and Roman soldiers - Most armies have to deal with supplies and feeding thousands of people. Many of the soldiers traveled with their families - The Arabs didn't have that problem as they carried their food with them and were used to living on very little - They could live for days, even weeks on just dates, water, and camel milk. - This allowed KIW and other commanders to travel long distances with no supply chain or base of operations - The desert itself was another advantage. Most of the Roman soldiers were not used to it. - Unless they were invading a city, the Muslims usually fought with their backs to the desert. - If they were ambushed or fought in the open country, they could slip into the desert where their enemey couldn't follow. - The four armies sent by Abu Bakr pushed into southern Syria (modern day Jordan) and conquered many small towns Continue Reading

2-3: Khalid And Persia

Two major empires in the area at this time: Persian and Byzantine - Persian culture and power goes far back into Biblical times, even before Cyrus the Great (islamiclearningmaterials.com/gogandmagog) - Once conquered by Alexander the Great - Went through several dynastic changes - Sassanid Empire was the last non-Muslim Persian dynasty - Came into power 400 years before Prophet's birth - By the time Prophet was in Medina, Sassanid Empire was going through political turmoil and very weak Continue reading...

2-2: Apostasy And War

Reasons for rebellion  - False prophets  - Unwilling to pay Zakah  - Dislike of central authority  - Not fully invested in Islam - Abu Bakr's five step plan  1. Protect Medina and hold out until Usamah returns with army  2. When Usamah returns divide the army and send them to different parts of Arabian Peninsula  3. Retake central-western Arabia creating a safe zone around Medina  4. Concentrate on the big players (false prophets) and then take on Musailamah  5. When the center's pacified, focus on smaller rebels in north and south Continue reading...

2-1: The Righteous Caliph - Abu Bakr And The Caliphate

Looking for Season 1? We have a separate podcast on the life of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) called: The Prophet Muhammad Podcast. Welcome to a new season of the Islamic History Podcast. In this season, we're going to cover the first 100 years of history after Prophet Muhammad's (pbuh) death. We will discuss the last days of the Prophet's life as well as the election of Abu Bakr to be his successor. Additionally, we will also see how the Wars of Apostasy began.