We now come to a remarkable chapter in European history,—the invasion of Europe, the land of the Aryans, by a Semitic race, the followers of the famous Mohammed. Connected with this is the rise of the new religion and of a vast dominion that played a great part in the history of the Middle Ages. The latter only can be touched on here.
THE “KORAN” BECAME THE BASIS OF
BOTH RELIGION AND EMPIRE
The doctrines of Mohammed, written down from time to time, received the name of the Koran,—that is, the “Reading”; and the religion itself was called Islam, or Mohammedanism—that is, “Salvation.”
THE HEGIRA OR FLIGHT OF
MOHAMMED
His wife and a few other immediate relatives were the prophet’s first disciples, and these did not increase very rapidly. The people of Mecca denounced him as a madman or an impostor, and in a little time he was forced to flee from Mecca to save his life. He betook himself, with his disciples, to what is now Medina. The date of this flight, or Hegira, as the Arabians call it,—July 15, 622 A.D.,—has been adopted ever since as the chronological era in Mohammedan countries. At Medina he was received with open arms,—his doctrines having already made a number of converts in that place; and here he built his first mosque.
HIS RELIGION SPREAD BY
THE SWORD
A complete change now came over Mohammed,—the dreamer became a red-handed soldier. “The sword,” cried he, “is the key of heaven and hell,” and by the sword Islam was to be forced upon all men. Tribe after tribe was subdued; and before the lapse of ten years the whole Arabian peninsula acknowledged the sovereignty of Mohammed, and could boast of an unmixed population of Moslems, or True Believers. The prophet was preparing to carry the new religion beyond the bounds of Arabia, when he was cut off by a fever at Medina in A.D. 632.
EMPIRE EXTENDED BY CONQUESTS
OF THE CALIPHS
Mohammed was succeeded in his power by rulers called his Caliphs, or Successors, the first of whom was his father-in-law, Abu-beker. They were at once spiritual and temporal rulers. The proselyting spirit of Mohammed had been communicated to his successors, and they began a long series of invasions, wars, and conquests. They everywhere gave men the choice of three things,—Koran, tribute, or sword. By these means the religion of Mohammed was spread over a large part of Asia and Africa, and made its way into Europe also.