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In God's Path: The Arab Conquests and the Creation of an Islamic Empire Audible Audiobook – Unabridged

Robert G. Hoyland (Author), Peter Ganim (Narrator), Audible Studios (Publisher)
4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 208 ratings
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In just over a hundred years - from the death of Muhammad in 632 to the beginning of the Abbasid Caliphate in 750 - the followers of the Prophet swept across the whole of the Middle East, North Africa, and Spain. Their armies threatened states as far flung as the Franks in Western Europe and the Tang Empire in China. The conquered territory was larger than the Roman Empire at its greatest expansion, and it was claimed for the Arabs in roughly half the time. How this collection of Arabian tribes was able to engulf so many empires, states, and armies in such a short period has perplexed historians for centuries. Most accounts of the Arab invasions have been based almost solely on the early Muslim sources, which were composed centuries later to illustrate the divinely chosen status of the Arabs. Robert Hoyland's groundbreaking new history assimilates not only the rich biographical information of the early Muslim sources but also the many non-Arabic sources, contemporaneous or near-contemporaneous with the conquests.

In God's Path begins with a broad picture of the Late Antique world prior to the Prophet's arrival, a world dominated by two superpowers: Byzantium and Sasanian Persia. In between these empires, emerged a distinct Arabian identity, which helped forge the inhabitants of western Arabia into a formidable fighting force. The Arabs are the principal actors in this drama yet, as Hoyland shows, the peoples along the edges of Byzantium and Persia - the Khazars, Bulgars, Avars, and Turks - all played critical roles in the remaking of the old world order. The new faith propagated by Muhammad and his successors made it possible for many of the conquered peoples to join the Arabs in creating the first Islamic Empire.

Well-paced, comprehensive, and eminently readable, In God's Path presents a sweeping narrative of a transformational period in world history.

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  1. Part of series
    Ancient Warfare and Civilization
  2. Listening Length
    9 hours and 54 minutes
  3. Author
    Robert G. Hoyland
  4. Narrator
    Peter Ganim
  5. Audible release date
    December 8, 2014
  6. Language
    English
  7. Publisher
    Audible Studios
  8. ASIN
    B00QQRBNDO
  9. Version
    Unabridged
  10. Program Type
    Audiobook
  11. See all details
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Product details

Listening Length 9 hours and 54 minutes
Author Robert G. Hoyland
Narrator Peter Ganim
Whispersync for Voice Ready
Audible.com Release Date December 08, 2014
Publisher Audible Studios
Program Type Audiobook
Version Unabridged
Language English
ASIN B00QQRBNDO
Best Sellers Rank #104,726 in Audible Books & Originals (See Top 100 in Audible Books & Originals)
#90 in North Africa History
#95 in Medieval European History
#101 in Islam (Audible Books & Originals)

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4.4 out of 5 stars
208 global ratings

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Customers say

Customers find the book insightful and informative, with judicious summaries of events. They describe it as an excellent overview that is well-written and easy to read by both academics and lay readers.

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InsightReadability
22 customers mention "Insight"18 positive4 negative

Customers find the book insightful and informative. It provides an excellent overview with thoughtful and judicious summaries of events and their interpretation. Readers find it interesting, well-written, and a good research tool. However, some find it detailed and difficult to read without background knowledge.

"...I liked the book and found that is provided an interesting interpretation of this critical aspect of the history of the Middle East, Central Asia,..." Read more

"...of argument among specialists, but provides a much more nuanced picture of early Islamic history. Very recommended." Read more

"...in a historical context second to none and provides a clear and concise description of the peoples and events that transpired...." Read more

"Great book on the battles and politics of the Late Antiquity of the Muslim lands...." Read more

11 customers mention "Readability"11 positive0 negative

Customers find the book well-written and easy to read. They say it makes more historical sense than other descriptions and can be read by academics and lay readers alike.

"I found this book to be very interesting, informative and well written...." Read more

"This well written and extremely insightful book deserves a wide readership...." Read more

"...Great read." Read more

"...It is an excellent read for those who would like to make sense of what is happening in the middle east nowadays." Read more

Top reviews from the United States

  • Metallurgist
    5.0 out of 5 stars Interesting and informative
    Reviewed in the United States on September 16, 2016
    Verified Purchase
    I found this book to be very interesting, informative and well written. It covers the Arab Conquest of the Sasanian Persian Empire and part of the Byzantine Empire, covering the 7th and 8th centuries AD. It covers :
    · The military aspects of the invasion and some of the principal battles, with an emphasis on the idea that the conquest was not instantaneous, but rather took decades.

    · The Arab invasion is portrayed as not being motivated by religious factors, but more for plunder than for converting people. There was no initial impetus for converting the defeated people; in fact the opposite was the case, with a resistance to conversion.

    · The book discusses the nature of the Arab army and the fact that it was not solely composed of Moslems, but also contained Christian and Jewish tribes.

    · The book discusses the nature of the Islamic society that the invasion produced and the influence of Persia on the nature of Islam.

    I liked the book and found that is provided an interesting interpretation of this critical aspect of the history of the Middle East, Central Asia, the Caucuses and the West in general.
    13 people found this helpful
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  • lec
    4.0 out of 5 stars An excellent introduction
    Reviewed in the United States on May 17, 2017
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    Although relatively short, this book provides an excellent short history of the early expansion of the Arab/Muslim Empire. The author makes a number of valuable insights into the emergence of the Umayyad and Abassid empires. His use of available sources is admirable, and his conclusions flow logically from his sourcing. This is the sort of work that can create a lot of argument among specialists, but provides a much more nuanced picture of early Islamic history. Very recommended.
    4 people found this helpful
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  • Bruce McClelland
    5.0 out of 5 stars The role of religion is never dismissed or downplayed but is held in a perspective so that the events can be more easily underst
    Reviewed in the United States on June 20, 2016
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    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 description of the peoples and events that transpired. It fills an information void with regard to the Late Antique world as seen from the Arab side. The conquests and aftermaths are shown in human terms rather than from a strictly religious point of view. The role of religion is never dismissed or downplayed but is held in a perspective so that the events can be more easily understood in human terms. This is especially gratifying for those of us that are well versed in Byzantine and Persian history. Those tumultuous times can now be more readily viewed and understood on their own terms. There is something to be said for a balanced multi-perspective presentation and 'In God's Path' does just that-admirably so. The events may have occurred a long time ago but the repercussions are as recent as today's headlines. This should be a 'must read' book especially for Westerners that have a poor understanding of the histories of South West Asia in general and the Arabs in particular.
    18 people found this helpful
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  • WSV1975
    5.0 out of 5 stars This Book will Tell you how the Islamic world became the Islamic world.
    Reviewed in the United States on July 4, 2017
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    Great book on the battles and politics of the Late Antiquity of the Muslim lands. Everyone interested in the history of Islam or the Middle East should read this book. We are all so wrapped up in the Middle East, and we are affected by its history every day, we need to understand what that history was and how it has shaped our world. Great read.
    3 people found this helpful
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  • E.J. Kaye
    3.0 out of 5 stars Authoritative but bone-dry
    Reviewed in the United States on October 9, 2015
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    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. A good research tool, but difficult to read unless you have the background and a lot patience.
    3 people found this helpful
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  • ali darweesh
    5.0 out of 5 stars Fresh and non-biase view of the Arabs expansion from seventeen century onward.
    Reviewed in the United States on May 25, 2015
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    In God's Path explores the history of the Arabs from an independent and fresh lens utilizing both Muslem's and non-Muslem's resources. It certainly provides the readers with explaination of why the Arabs and Muslems were able to expand their influence into the region and successfully challenge the existing Persian and bezentinum empires in a relatively short time. It is an excellent read for those who would like to make sense of what is happening in the middle east nowadays.
    2 people found this helpful
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  • Dzhovid Dzhuraev
    4.0 out of 5 stars Opinionated
    Reviewed in the United States on November 30, 2023
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    I think the author is downplaying the role of Islam and the Prophet in the expansion of early Islamic state. He’s making great effort to attribute all conquests and successes to other factors. Highly opinionated work!
    One person found this helpful
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  • Erdem Karaadam
    5.0 out of 5 stars audible book owners should be granted the right to view the maps and figures
    Reviewed in the United States on May 27, 2016
    Verified Purchase
    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... I think audible book owners should be granted the right to view the maps and figures of the bought book online, or have an option to give a small fee to buy the kindle version completely. Especially history books without the maps are really hard to understand and from a customer point of view, bad purchases. Narration goes like "as seen in map 4.2, they turned eastwards then northwards and reached Samarkand" One needs to go home and see the map immediately... Also audible buyers miss out the plates, pictures of narrated cities, ruins of settings, artefacts etc...
    11 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

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  • Thorsten Heine
    5.0 out of 5 stars Entertaining and Educational
    Reviewed in Germany on September 16, 2022
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    Well written and as such an amazing read. This is not the book to give you intimate and detailed knowledge of every campaign and person involved, but you gain a good general understanding of an important development in history and have fun doing so.
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  • Bas
    5.0 out of 5 stars Hoyland is even handed with this exciting read. This ...
    Reviewed in Canada on May 22, 2016
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    Hoyland is even handed with this exciting read. This book will make you question everything you thought you knew about the rise of Islam and the early arab conquest.
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  • I S.
    5.0 out of 5 stars Authentic
    Reviewed in India on March 2, 2016
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    Very well written and gives a comprehensive and balanced account of the Islamic conquest.
    Hoyland mentions all the sources, Islamic, Christian and others and while covering a topic as contentious as this gives the reader a good idea about the authenticity of the references.
    The multiple maps of the islamic empire and photograps make this account extremely vivid for the lay reader.
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  • Strv 74
    5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent and very timely
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 10, 2016
    Verified Purchase
    This is a book that I have been looking for. After reading a number of books on how the Arabs managed to create their empire and the spread of Islam I was still looking for the answer to some fundamental questions. This book,short as it is, manages to describe this world changing process perfectly and in doing so addresses these questions probably as far as is possible today.

    Professor Hoyland has taken a different approach than most other writers in that he uses non-Muslim sources from the time that this expansion took place and up until the break-up of the Empire combined with available Muslim sources. This is necessary since there are almost no Muslim sources from the seventh century and most of them are from two hundred years after events took place. By bringing together information from all available sources the picture that emerges is far more complex than what is usually presented.

    He starts the book by describing the situation in the Middle East before the Arab expansion. It is clear that the Arabs did not burst out of the desert but were well established in all border areas and in contact with surrounding empires. It is quite surprising to read about Christian and Jewish Arabs (!) living in these border zones.

    When the expansion really starts it is also quite clear that what drove it was the ambition to conquer and create an empire like any other state. The spread if Islam came after this first wave of armed forces.

    Professor Hoyland also manages to explain how it was possible to conquer such a vast territory when the Arabs were outnumbered at least 50 to 1. The Capture of Egypt was a particular interesting story. By reading this one has to give credit to the Arabs for using a tactics that probably made their expansion far easier and also less costly for both them and the people they conquered.

    Finally the spread of Islam took far longer than at least I had been aware of. Egypt as an example did not have a majority of Muslims until four hundred years after the Arab invasion.

    While the text is excellent the book itself would have been worth a higher production quality. Maps and photos are all in black and white and the text itself has a font size that is from my point of view to small.

    But what I learned from this book was a great deal. Also a reflection that the people trying to spread Islam 1400 years ago were far less aggressive than some of those trying to do the same today. Remember that the Arab aggression was about creating an empire and not spreading Islam. This is an excellent book to put even today's events into perspective.
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  • Alexander Gaitzsch
    4.0 out of 5 stars Gelungenes Übersichtswerk
    Reviewed in Germany on August 3, 2023
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    Es bietet einen ersten guten Überblick über die Eroberungsfeldzüge der Araber.
    Der Einband fühlt sich etwas schmierig an. Inhaltlich fehlt mir ein (Teil-)Kapitel zur Militärorganisation und -technik. Aus dem historisch-politischen Blickwinkel aber durchaus gelungen.
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