ABSTRACT
A brilliant people, capable of self-denial, with boundless selfreliance of individuals and tribes, was to be summoned to a new faith and to world hegemony in the name of this faith.
There was a great variety of religions in Arabia; paganism glittered in every hue, and side by side with it there existed an old belief in Allah; Jewish tribes and Christians of diverse origin were living in the country; in front of them the Byzantines were engaged in a dispute among one another about the natures in Christ; the Sassanids had their dualistic religion; both empires were shaken to their foundations politically and militarily.
