Islam in the History of Early Europe
David Abulafia
Virtually every account of European history after the fall Roman Empire identifies ‘Europe’ with Christian civilisation, echoing, consciously or otherwise, universalist claims Byzantine emperors, popes and western emperors. Yet it is also case that Islam possessed a presence from eighth century onwards, first all in Spain Mediterranean islands, later, mid-fourteenth century, Balkans, where Turks were able rapidly to establish an empire which directly threatened Hungary Austria. The lands ruled by on land mass have tended be treated historians as only geographical identity, but human terms part victorious alien ‘oriental’ they provincial dependencies, medieval Spanish Christians modern Greeks Slavs had liberate themselves. this view fallacious for several reasons. In place, there valid question about our use term ‘civilisation’, Fred Halliday has expressed follows: ‘Civilisations’ are like nations, traditions, communities – claim reality authority itself open question, appeal tradition turns out, closer inspection, contemporary creation.
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