Is the Arab Conquest Inspired by Religion?

The traditional view was that this sismic phenomenon was inspired by religion. But was it? The irreversible desecation of the fertile lands of yemen pushed large populations in arabia northwards into syria and irac centuries of warfare between the romans and the persians had left both these empires exhausted, and they were unable to counter the arab advance. So economic and political factors were also at play. In 19 99, i published a long book based on mediaeval primary sources in arabic which told a very different story. That book has proved a wake up call to western historians,. encouraging them to investigate hitherto unexplored approaches to these religious wars as early examples of