In the 7th century, the world saw the rise of one of the most important religious and political forces in history,

Islam. Springing forth from the Arab Peninsula, within a matter of years the Islamic Caliphate had become one of the largest empires on earth.

Much of that growth was due to one man.

He wasn't a religious leader and he wasn't the head of the empire.

He was one of the greatest military leaders in history.

Learn more about Khalid Ibn al-Walid, the the sort of Allaha of Allaha on this episode of Allah on this episode of

everything everywhere daily. This episode is sponsored by audible.com.

My audiobook recommendation today is In God's Path,

The Arab Conquests and the Creation of an Islamic Empire

by Robert G. Hoyland.

In just over a hundred years, from the death of Muhammad to the beginning of the

Abbasid Caliphate, the followers of the Prophet swept across the whole of the

Middle East, North Africa, and Spain. Their armies threaten states as far-flung as Western Europe and China.

The conquered territory was larger than the Roman Empire at its greatest expansion, and it was

claimed for the Arabs in roughly half the time.

How this collection of Arab tribes was able to engulf so many empires, states, and armies

in such a short period of time has perplexed historians for centuries.

Robert Hoyland's groundbreaking new history assimilates not only the rich biographical information of the early

Muslim sources, but also the many non-Arabic sources, contemporaneous or near contemporaneous

with the conquest.

You can get a free one-month trial to Audible

and two free audio books

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