The Thoughts of Wesley son of Cornelius

The division of the Roman Empire in the 4th century AD appears to establish the idea of the West and the East. The eastern half of the Roman Empire had its capital in Byzantium (renamed Constantinople) and would later become known as the Byzantine Empire. The West would have the Roman Catholic Church, and the East would have the Greek Orthodox Church. Where the West was facing the change due to Germanic kings, the East was still fighting the Roman Empire’s ancient foes—the Persians. But a powerful beast was maturing in the shadows. The Arab kingdom of the Lakhmids in southern Iraq allied with the Persians. The Arab kingdom of the Ghassanids in southern Syria allied with the Eastern Romans. In addition, the Arab kingdom of the Kindites in central Arabia (modern day Saudi Arabia) allied with the Himyarite Empire of South Arabia. The Arab kingdoms were polytheistic and overshadowed by the world powers. Nevertheless, in 630 a man by the name of Muhammad conquered his home city of Mecca in Arabia. He ushered in the new religion of Islam. His ambition was that all of Arabia would be unified and ruled by the laws of Islam. Under Muhammad and his successor and father-in-law, the Arab kingdoms would become a single state. Islam was successful because it established five tasks a man must accomplish in his lifetime to reach paradise. Furthermore, war under the title of jihad (holy war) brought wealth and prestige to a once ignored region. The Persian and Byzantine Empires were tired; therefore, the Arabs won quickly and often. By 720 AD the Arabs and their religion would stretch from Central Asia through North Africa and to Spain.

Middle Ages: Middle Eastern Jews

Oddly, this conquest was an improvement for Jews under Muslim rule. The Muslims saw Jews and Christians as fellow People of the Book. A few Jews even converted to Islam. But most Muslims did not want Jewish converts, primarily because non-Muslims paid a higher tax which enabled the finances of the many battles. Along with the Muslims, Jews saw great advancement in mathematics, astronomy, philosophy, and chemistry. Not to be mistaken, the Jews were not considered equals. They were prohibited from several social and legal rights and sometimes required to wear clothes that distinquished them from Muslims.

Political conflicts developed in the Islam world. Who should be the rightful successor? The group later to be known as the Shiites thought Muhammad’s grandson should rule. The Sunnites wanted someone else. The Jews would experience different changes in authority. The biggest change in authority is when the Mongolians under Genghis Khan in the beginning of the 13th century terrorized the regions around Iran. The Mongolians did not care if you were Muslim, Jew or nothing at all. You were just best dead. But as Attila the Hun in the 5th century came and went, so did the Khan family. The last Mongol conquerors would convert to Islam and take the religion with them as they retreated back home.

Therefore, three Islamic States would develop: the Ottoman Empire in the Middle East and the Balkans, the Safavid Empire in Persia, and the Mughal Empire in India. Jews would prosper in the Ottoman Empire, and an influx of Jews would enter the Empire due to the persecution of the West.