Cambridge Ancient Hi.. - Index of

mecca, muhammad and the rise of islam 695
days were gone forever and the Persian setback at Dhū Qār was but a hint
of things to come.
vi. mecca, muhammad and the rise of islam
In about 552 91 a boy named Muh · ammad ibn �Abd Allāh was born into a
minor clan of the tribe of Quraysh, which was settled in and around the
shrine centre of Mecca in the H · ijāz, about 900 km south of Syria. A trader
by profession, he participated in the caravan trade of Arabia and visited
Syria on several occasions. In about 610 he began to preach a monotheistic
faith called ‘submission to God’, or Islam, and summoned his fellow
Meccans to prepare for the Last Judgement. Difficulties in Mecca and the
erosion of vital support had by 622 reached the point where he was obliged
to move to Yathrib, 300 km to the north. This shift, the hijra, 92 proved to
be of crucial importance, for in Yathrib, henceforth called Medina (al-
Madīna, probably referring not to ‘the city’, but to the Prophet’s house), the
ranks of his followers increased dramatically. Raids on the caravans, camps
and villages of his enemies met with success and further expanded his
support. He returned to Mecca in triumph in 630, and by the time of his
death in 632 his authority extended over much of Arabia. The rest was
brought under control by the first caliph, Abū Bakr (reigned 632–4), and
Muslim forces went on to campaigns of conquest that in less than a century
created an empire extending from Spain to central Asia.
How all this occurred and why it focused on Muh · ammad, Mecca and the
late sixth century are questions that early Muslims took up themselves, 93
and that have comprised a major concern of modern historical research. In
the 1950s Watt proposed a socio-economic solution. Mecca was a major
centre for overland caravan trade, and its merchants and others grew
wealthy on the profits from commerce in such precious items as incense,
spices, gemstones, gold and so forth. This widened the gap between the
rich and the poor and led to social malaise as crass materialism eroded traditional
values. Muh · ammad’s message was essentially a response to this
crisis. 94 More recently, however, serious challenges have been made to the
notions of a lucrative Arabian trade in luxury items, of Mecca as an important
entrepôt, and hence of some serious crisis provoking a religious
response. 95 It may thus be useful to indicate the ways in which points made
above contribute to the discussion.
91 92 For the date, see Conrad (1987a). Crone (1994).
93 But not immediately; see Donner (1998) 75–85.
94 Watt (1953) 1–29 and in numerous publications of his thereafter. Cf. the review by Bousquet
(1954).
95 Simon (1975), trans. Simon (1989); Peters (1988); Crone (1987). Cf. the highly polemical review of
Crone in Serjeant (1990) and the reply in Crone (1992).
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