Enter your mobile number or email address below and we'll send you a link to download the free Kindle App. Then you can start reading Kindle books on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required.

  • Apple
  • Android
  • Windows Phone
  • Android

To get the free app, enter your mobile phone number.
Download to your computer
Kindle Cloud Reader

In God's Path: The Arab Conquests and the Creation of an Islamic Empire (Ancient Warfare and Civilization) 1st Edition

by
Robert G. Hoyland (Author)
› Visit Amazon's Robert G. Hoyland Page
Find all the books, read about the author, and more.
See search results for this author
Are you an author? Learn about Author Central
Robert G. Hoyland (Author)
4.1 out of 5 stars 23 customer reviews
ISBN-13: 978-0199916368
ISBN-10: 0199916365
Why is ISBN important?
ISBN
This bar-code number lets you verify that you're getting exactly the right version or edition of a book. The 13-digit and 10-digit formats both work.
Scan an ISBN with your phone
Use the Amazon App to scan ISBNs and compare prices.
Trade in your item
Get a $3.19
Gift Card.
Trade in
Learn More
Have one to sell? Sell on Amazon

Sorry, there was a problem.

There was an error retrieving your Wish Lists. Please try again.

Sorry, there was a problem.

List unavailable.
Facebook Twitter Pinterest <Embed>
Buy used On clicking this link, a new layer will be open
$10.68 On clicking this link, a new layer will be open
Buy new On clicking this link, a new layer will be open
$21.74 On clicking this link, a new layer will be open
More Buying Choices
43 New from $15.88 27 Used from $10.68
70 used & new from $10.68
See All Buying Options
Free Two-Day Shipping for College Students with Prime Student Free%20Two-Day%20Shipping%20for%20College%20Students%20with%20Amazon%20Student

Wiley Summer Savings Event.
Wiley Summer Savings Event.
Save up to 40% during Wiley's Summer Savings Event. Learn more.
$21.74 FREE Shipping on orders with at least $25 of books. In Stock. Ships from and sold by Amazon.com. Gift-wrap available.
click to open popover

Frequently Bought Together

  • In God's Path: The Arab Conquests and the Creation of an Islamic Empire (Ancient Warfare and Civilization)
  • +
  • In the Shadow of the Sword: The Birth of Islam and the Rise of the Global Arab Empire
Total price: $33.18
Buy the selected items together
NO_CONTENT_IN_FEATURE
The latest book club pick from Oprah
"The Underground Railroad" by Colson Whitehead is a magnificent novel chronicling a young slave's adventures as she makes a desperate bid for freedom in the antebellum South. See more

Product Details

  • Series: Ancient Warfare and Civilization
  • Hardcover: 320 pages
  • Publisher: Oxford University Press; 1 edition (November 3, 2014)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0199916365
  • ISBN-13: 978-0199916368
  • Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 1.1 x 6.4 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #193,108 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

    •  Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?

Customer Reviews

Top Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 starsHistorically intriguing
By SLIMJIM on October 9, 2014
Format: Kindle Edition
I am glad that Oxford University Press published this book since works by Middle East historians on early Islamic conquest (seventh to ninth century AD) are rare as the author stated in the introduction and the end of the book. I thought this is a relevant book in light of the contemporary discussion about Islam, Islamic violence and the Middle East which lead some to ask the question of what the Islamic Arabic world was like shortly after Muhammad died. It is indirectly relevant to those discussions because this book touches on the early Islamic movement and warfare. The author has no intention of writing a book bashing Islam nor is he presenting an apologetics for Muslim. The book’ main thesis is to challenge the common assumption made by many people today including historians that the Islamic Arabic empire expanded rapidly at an unprecedented rate and that these military expansion are driven to convert people to Islam. Here the author points out that the Islamic expansion was at the same rate as those of other nomadic people such as the Mongols; the author also noted how few people converted to Islam during the military conquests during the early Caliphs as evidence that in the beginning the expansion was not about bringing about conversion of others to Islam per se. In fact, there were strong incentive in the beginning not to convert people into the Arabic community of faith, as that would mean the distinction between conqueror and conquered would be erased and the profit of invasion for the conqueror would disappear (in later period the issue of conversion was controversial because of what it would mean for the original Arabic party). I think the author’s citation of early Muslim political sources are solid in establishing this point.Read more ›
1 Comment 30 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Sending feedback...
Thank you for your feedback.
Sorry, we failed to record your vote. Please try again
Report abuse
5.0 out of 5 starsArabs - the Goths of the 7th century?
By Malleus Maleficarum on November 19, 2014
Format: Hardcover
Robert Hoyland's book on the Arab conquests is a must read for anyone who is looking to gain insight into a 'blind spot' of world history, namely the emergence of the Arabs as a dominant force on the world scene in the 7th century. The traditional narrative describes the Arab upsurge as a religiously motivated zeal that made short work of 2 superpower empires. The author of this book, relying on a number of sources both Muslim, but primarily non-Muslim, all but proves that the truth was far more prosaic.
The popular historian Peter Heather wrote a throwaway sentence in his book 'The Restoration of Rome' where he characterizes Muhammad as an Arab Attila the Hun, a warlord who led nomadic raiders into a declining Byzantine empire in much the same way Attila and the Huns in general preyed on the declining Western Roman empire, moving progressively from the Caspian to the Danubian plains and launched raids to extort wealth from the Romans. Robert Hoyland uses the same lens of secondary state formation theory to explain the rise of the Arabs as a military power in the wake of 2 dying and declining empires. He makes the following key points:
1. The Arabs of 7th century Arabia were not all isolated or semi-civilized nomads who emerged from the desert but were client states and vassals of the Roman (Byzantine) and Persian empires and had deep cultural and commercial ties with their powerful neighbours, especially along the fringes of the desert. These contacts were firmly cemented when 2 tribes, the Ghassanids and the Lakhmids, were made client states by the Romans and Persians respectively in order to fight proxy wars on their behalf.Read more ›
4 Comments 25 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Sending feedback...
Thank you for your feedback.
Sorry, we failed to record your vote. Please try again
Report abuse
4.0 out of 5 starsPiecing the puzzle
By David Wineberg TOP 500 REVIEWER on October 20, 2014
Format: Kindle Edition
To counter the almost universal impression that Arab armies swept over the Mediterranean and out to central Asia like a cloud and virtually overnight created an Islamic empire, Robert Hoyland has done yeoman research and presents facts. Using clues from coinage to letters, he has assembled a history that he delivers in bite-sized sections, some military, some religious and some societal.

The first millennium AD was a time of trading religions. Yemen and parts of today’s Caucasus and steppes converted to Judaism. Eastern Romans (Byzantium) converted to Christianity. The Persian Manichean religion was establishing itself, and Buddhism was the religion of the Uighur Turks. The game of the era was to pressure the leader/emperor to convert, and the whole territory would follow. Religions had come and gone for centuries, so this was nothing bizarre.

The entire area was simply never free of war. Invaders and raiders came and went. For decades, parts of the Arab empire still thought this a passing phase like any other, and continued to use the coinage of Byzantium or Persia, as appropriate. Mohammed’s forces took advantage of constant wars between Persia and Byzantium to hive off border areas. He leveraged raiding parties by declaring God automatically granted the victors wealth and slaves. It was all about the money. Mohammed welcomed all comers. Christians and Jews participated as equals. They all believed in the same original God, so technically they were all on the same side. Mohammed’s concept was an inclusive community. It was not till 150 years later that his successors started to officially distinguish among the races and creeds.

Progress was not lightning quick.Read more ›
Comment 24 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Sending feedback...
Thank you for your feedback.
Sorry, we failed to record your vote. Please try again
Report abuse

Most Recent Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 starsGood book for introduction of the Islamic civilization

As for me very good explanation of the Arabs sucess in conquering neighboors and installing an empire but it is lack of information on the relations between conquered elites and... Read more

Published 1 month ago by Amazon Customer
2.0 out of 5 starsPolitically correct revisionist history

This is a politically correct version of the early expansion of Islam. The author consistently uses the term "Arab" in place of "Muslim" or "Islam. Read more

Published 1 month ago by Rev. Jeremiah Caldon
5.0 out of 5 starsThe role of religion is never dismissed or downplayed but is held in a...

This well written and extremely insightful book deserves a wide readership. It places the Arab conquests in a historical context second to none and provides a clear and concise... Read more

Published 1 month ago by Bruce McClelland
5.0 out of 5 starsaudible book owners should be granted the right to view the maps and...

I looked for a way to give a feedback on audible books to amazon.com, and found no other way to do it other than leaving a feedback on this book... Read more

Published 2 months ago by Erdem Karaadam
4.0 out of 5 starsA lightning-quick and very interesting read

In an effort to gain a greater understanding of the history of Islam and the Middle East, I worked through several books and concluded with some of the most recent books on Islamic... Read more

Published 3 months ago by JustinHoca
3.0 out of 5 starsAllah is not Almighty God

This title must be In Allah's Path. Allah is not God.
In Arabic, the Qur'an and Sharia, Almighty God is Ilah and Allah is ‘the god’ in English. Read more

Published 3 months ago by Jennifer
4.0 out of 5 starsInteresting and relatively fast paced read.

Perhaps not as in depth as some might want, but for the casual reader with a passing interest it is entertaining and informative. Read more

Published 4 months ago by Tartan
5.0 out of 5 starsFive Stars

Great read.

Published 5 months ago by Alex Warshal Cohen
3.0 out of 5 starsAuthoritative but bone-dry

Very detailed and very dry. The author presents conclusions based on a good grasp of primary and secondary sources, but it takes some patience to wade through the various sections. Read more

Published 10 months ago by E.J. Kaye
4.0 out of 5 starsIn God’s Path does not meet expectations

Hoyland is among very few that approach the formation of the Islamic world as unbiased and systematic as one could in a subject matter that is inflamed with superstition and... Read more

Published 10 months ago by A.J. Deus

Set up an Amazon Giveaway

In God's Path: The Arab Conquests and the Creation of an Islamic Empire (Ancient Warfare and Civilization)
Amazon Giveaway allows you to run promotional giveaways in order to create buzz, reward your audience, and attract new followers and customers. Learn more about Amazon Giveaway
This item: In God's Path: The Arab Conquests and the Creation of an Islamic Empire (Ancient Warfare and Civilization)
Set up a giveaway

There's a problem loading this menu right now.

Learn more about Amazon Prime.