4. Byzantium and Islam

By the end of the 7th century, a new superpower was applying pressure on the East Roman Empire. ‘Byzantium and Islam’ describes the rise of Arab power and the evolution of Islam. The Damascus-based Umayyad dynasty ruled over the Islamic empire from the late 7th to the middle of the 8th century and directed the jihad against Constantinople and gave greater definition to Islam. The priorities of the Abbasid caliphs of Baghdad in the 8th century lay to the east, easing pressure on Byzantium. The subsequent fragmentation of the Islamic world allowed Byzantium’s revival through the 9th and 10th centuries. By the early 11th century, Byzantium was once again the greatest power in Christendom.