1. The rise of Islam
... of Tour-Poitiers near Paris in 732. In the east as well, Muslim armies pushed the boundaries of the Empire farther, reaching the Indus river by 750. As the Empire grew to include more urbanized, cosmopolitan parts of the middle east such as Syria and Iraq, the Arabian peninsula came to be thought of as a desert wasteland once again, and began to recede in importance. A new capital was ... constructed at Damascus. The reign of Abd al Malik, the fourth Umayyad caliph ... , marked a period of centralization of the Imperial government. Abd al Malik spent the first half of his reign putting ...
- Word Count: 1470
- Approx Pages: 6