The Effects of Religious Oppressions in Byzantine and Iran on The Early Islamic Conquests

Abstract

During the period of Caliph Abubakr and Caliph Omar Islamic conquests expanded very rapidly. Researchers, based on the evidences, have concluded that in addition to military, political, religious and economic reasons, the oppression and cruelty of Byzantine and Persian emperors to their people contributed to this rapid expansion. As a result of the oppressions and cruelties the people rebelled against injustices and ill-treatments. The poor and the weak who did not rebel the oppressors contributed indirectly to expansion of Islam by remaining silent. There various examples of this phenomena in history as in Egypt, Syria and Iran. In this article we will focus on the contribution of the people oppressed by their rulers to the expansion of Islam.