A Source Book for Ancient Church History - Mirrors

714 A Source Book for Ancient Church History[654]and, placing himself at their head, to build up despotic authorityover the surrounding country. He steadily increased the territoryunder his sway, and by conquests and diplomacy was able togain Mecca in 629. Before his death in 632 he had conqueredall Arabia. His authority continued in his family after his death,and the course of conquest went on. Damascus was conqueredin 635; in 636 the Emperor Heraclius was driven to abandonSyria, which now fell into the hands of the Moslems. In 637 thePersians were forced back. In 640 Egypt was taken, and by 650all between Carthage and the eastern border of Persia had beenacquired for Islam. In 693, after a period of civil war, the workof conquest was resumed. In 709 all the African coast as faras the Straits of Gibraltar was gained, and in 711 the Moslemsentered Spain. They at once made themselves masters of thepeninsula with the exception of a small strip in the north in themountains of Asturias, the kingdom of Gallicia. Crossing thePyrenees, they attempted to possess Gaul, but were forced toretreat from central Gaul by Charles Martel at the battle at Toursand Poitiers in 732. They maintained themselves north of thePyrenees until 759 when they were driven out of Narbonne andacross the mountains.Additional source material: The Koran, standard translationby E. H. Palmer, in the Sacred Books of the East; Stanley Lane-Poole, Speeches and Table Talk of the Prophet Mohammed.(a) Mohammed, Koran (translation of E. H. Palmer).Surah CXII.The Unity of God.The following surah or chapter of the Koran, entitled “TheChapter of Unity,” Mohammed regarded as of value equal to