ABSTRACT
This chapter attempts to sketch the main outlines of the Byzantines' image as reflected in Arabic literature. It is mainly confined to the period between the sixth century A.D. i.e., the century that preceded the rise of Islam and the late eleventh century A.D. Arab-Byzantine relations have long attracted the interest of scholars. It is possible to talk of peaceable and informal contacts between Arabs and Byzantines as has been admirably brought out by Professor Marius Canard. The usual name applied to the Byzantines in Arabic sources is Rum, though there are also other appellations and nicknames. The image of the Byzantines in pre-Islamic poetry is a more realistic one. Historical traditions from the period of the Muslim conquest of Syria reflect a changing image of Byzantium. To the Muslim Arabs the rivalry between them and Byzantium was military, political, religious, cultural, and also economic.
