How did the Muslim empire spread under the leadership of the Umayyad dynasty?

1 Answer
Jul 9, 2017

The Muslim empire spread by military force to become one of the largest empires in history.

Explanation:

The Umayyad Empire expanded the Islamic empire westward through North Africa. In 711 the Islamic armies crossed over into Spain conquering the Iberian Peninsula. This westward expansion was stopped in 1732. The Islamic armies had crossed over into France where their armies were defeated for the first time in 100 years, at the battle of Tours. ( also called Poiteries)

The Umayyad Empire also expanded eastward. The Umayyads incorporated the Caucasus, Transoxiana, Sindh and Maghred territories into the Muslim empire.

At its peak the Umayyad Empire included 5.70 square miles, ruled 62 million people 29% of the population of the world at that time.

This rapid expansion of the Muslim Empire was accomplished by force of arms. There were mass forced conversions of peoples regarded as pagans. infidels those of acceptable religions were taxed at a higher rate than those who converted to Islam to encourage them to convert.