In 632 the Prophet of Islam died, leaving a group of Arabian tribes bound far more securely together by the faith he had taught them than they could have been by the succession of any royal house. ‘Though Mahomet is dead, yet is Mahomet’s God not dead.’
While Mahomet was still an exile at Medinah it is evident that he already contemplated the idea of gaining the world for Islam. ‘Let there be in you a nation summoning unto good,’ says the Koran, and in token of this mission the Prophet, in the years following his Arabian victories, sent letters to foreign rulers to announce his ambition. Here is one to the chief of the Copts, a Christian race living in Egypt:
‘In the name of Allah ... the Merciful.
‘From the Apostle of Allah to ..., Chief of the Copts. Peace be upon him who follows the guidance. Next I summon thee with the appeal to Islam: become a Moslem and thou shalt be safe. God shall give thee thy reward twofold. But if thou decline then on thee is the guilt of the Copts. O ye people of the Book come unto an equal arrangement between us and you that we should serve none save God, associating nothing with Him, and not taking one another for Lords besides God,—and if ye decline, then bear witness that we are Moslems.’
The Kingdom of Persia
Similar letters were sent to Chosroes, King of Persia, and to Heraclius, the Christian Emperor at Constantinople. The former tore the letter in pieces contemptuously, for at that time his kingdom extended over the greater part of Asia; Jerusalem, once the pride of the Eastern Empire, had fallen into his grasp; while his armies were besieging Constantinople itself. A letter that he himself penned to the Christian Emperor shows his overweening pride, and the depths into which Byzantium had fallen in the public regard:
‘Chosroes, Greatest of Gods, and Master of the whole earth, to Heraclius, his vile and insensate slave. Why do you still refuse to submit to our rule and call yourself a king? Have I not destroyed the Greeks? You say that you trust in your God. Why has he not delivered out of my hand Caesarea, Jerusalem, Alexandria? and shall I not also destroy Constantinople? But I will pardon your faults if you will submit to me, and come hither with your wife and children, and I will give you lands, vineyards, and olive groves, and look upon you with a kindly aspect. Do not deceive yourself with vain hope in that Christ, who was not even able to save himself from the Jews, who killed him by nailing him to a cross. Even if you take refuge in the depths of the sea I shall stretch out my hand and take you, so that you shall see me whether you will or no.’
Christendom was fortunate in Heraclius. Instead of contemplating either despair or surrender, he called upon the Church to summon all Christians to his aid, and by means of the gold and silver plate presented to him as a war loan by the bishops and clergy, and in command of a large army of volunteers, he beat back the Persians from the very gates of his capital. Not content with a policy of defence, he next invaded Asia, and at the battle of Nineveh utterly destroyed the hosts of Chosroes. The fallen King, deposed by his subjects, was forced to take refuge in the mountains, and later was thrown into a dungeon where he died of cold and starvation.
Had the reign of Heraclius ended at this date, it would be remembered as a glorious era in the history of Constantinople; but unfortunately for his fame another foe was to make more lasting inroads on his Empire, already weakened by the Persian occupation.
When the Emperor (610–41), like Chosroes, received Mahomet’s letter, he is said to have read it with polite interest. It seemed to him that this fanatic Arab, who hated the Jews as much as the Christians did, might turn his successful sword not only against them but against the Persians. In this surmise Heraclius was right, for under Abu Bakr, now Caliph, or ‘successor’, of Mahomet, since the Prophet had left no son, the Moslems invaded Persia.
Unfortunately for Heraclius, they were equally bent on an aggressive campaign against the Christian Empire. ‘There is but one God, Allah!’ With this test, by which they could distinguish friend from foe, the Arab hosts burst through the gate of Syria, and at Yermuk encountered the imperial army sent by Heraclius to oppose them. The Greeks fought so stubbornly that at first it seemed that their disciplined valour must win. ‘Is not Paradise before you?... Are not Hell and Satan behind?’ cried the Arab leader to his fanatical hordes, and in response to his words they rallied, broke the opposing lines by the sudden ferocity of their charge, and finally drove the imperial troops in headlong flight.