ABSTRACT
The Islamic conquests that are the focus of this chapter instantiate new empires in large parts of Europe, North Africa, and Asia. This chapter is concerned with the political manifestations of Islam, for rulers proclaiming the Islamic faith would come to power from Spain and Morocco in the west through to Indonesia in the east and from Central Asia in the north into sub-Saharan Africa in the south. It may then be the most important succession battle in world history. Islam would be the world leader in almost every area of science from 800 to 1300. Some historians argue that this institutional change is the primary reason why Islamic lands would gradually fall behind Europe both economically and politically over the next millennium. The Bhakti movement in the twelfth century came to seek harmonization of Islamic and Hindu beliefs but flowered briefly.
