Emergence of Arab Islam and the end of Antiquity – in context

Review of In the Shadow of the Sword: The Birth of Islam and the Rise of the Global Arab Empire by Tom Holland

This book covers a seminal historical nexus, marking the death of classical civilization and the beginning of the medieval period. At the center of it is the rise of Islam, which would become the dominant cultural and military force for the next 800 years.

First, there were 2 classical empires about to be eclipsed: Byzantium and Persia. They were involve…