ABSTRACT
In the period corresponding to the depths of the Dark Ages in Europe, the Arabian peninsula was also in disarray. The peoples of the area were divided by religion and by tribe, and dominated or exploited by the outside powers of Persia and the Greek empire of Constantinople. In many ways the factionalism might have resembled the divisions of modern Lebanon - not only were there different major religions such as Judaism and Christianity, there were also many different sects within these religions, and also many pagan and polytheistic faiths. It seems likely that one of the gods in Mecca who had popular support was called Allah, and indeed that among the polytheists Allah was becoming established as the leading God. But the greatest difference between modern Lebanon and Arabia in 570 AD was of course that there was as yet no Islam, and the Koran (Quran) had not yet been written.
