How did the Muslim Empire establish itself so rapidly?
The rapid success and durability of the Islamic Empire rests in part on the swift development of a monumental Islamic art. The Muslims took over large urbanized societies and a rich legacy of intact artistic traditions. The first conquests, Byzantium and Persia, vyed for territory in Saudi Arabia, but instead, were defeated by the Arabs and formed the core of their Empire. Alexander the Great conquered these regions 800 years earlier. Subjugation to Greece unified them under the artistic traditions of Classical Greece. The Roman Empire created yet another cultural layer. This collective inheritance did much to unify the early Islamic kingdom.
