When Empires Weaken

CONTEXT

The Muslim conquests of the 7th Century marked the definitive end to the power of Rome. By the time of Muhammad, Rome had been engaged in a war with the Persian empire that had endured for more than a hundred years. Rome and Persia were worn out. They had exhausted their resources. The collapse of those empires gave rise to the Islamic age. The audio segment in this podcast of Dr. David Neiman was recorded in January of 2001. It is part of a larger series of classroom lectures on the history of the Jews of Spain –the country where the Muslim, Christian and Jewish worlds collide. Dr. Neiman explores the socio-political situation that existed in the Arabian Peninsula at the time of Muhammad – an environment that was evidently fertile ground for the creation of this powerful new religion.