Судан и Большой Ближний Восток

350 IV. Ближний Восток и его соседи considered the citizens of Province Arabia 1 . This notion underlies Leo’s conception and he is more or less correct, in linking the Arab expansion with the devastation of these lands referred to by the Persians. 2 Furthermore, the refutation of the Muslim faith is essential for the Emperor Leo, since his main endeavor was to inspire Christian military morale: “As far as the divinity is concerned, they appear to show proper reverence, but their apparent reverence must be recognized as blasphemy”. 3 “They argue that God is the cause of every evil deed and they claim that God rejoices in war and scatters abroad the peoples that want to fight. They observe their own laws as inviolable, fattening their flesh and bringing dishonor on their souls. Fighting, therefore, against such impiety by means of our own piety and orthodox faith and observing divine and civil laws as all the more inviolate, we wage war against them”. 4 The points that Leo stresses reflect several elements of an established Christian polemic directed against Islam. Concerning Arab battle tactics and their campaign formation primarly the “use of camels, asses, and mules to bear their baggage, instead of wagons and pack animals” is stressed; “hordes of camels and pack animals are often used to give the impression of a great number”, when they are placed in the middle of the multitude. Drums and cymbals were in use in their battle formations; their horses became accustomed to these noises and the horses of their adversaries were 1 J. Haldon, and H. Kennedy, “Regional Identities and Military Power: Byzantium and Islam ca. 600–750“, in Visions of Community in the Post-Ro- man World , eds. W. Pohl, W., Cl. Gantner, and R. Payne, Farnham-Bur- lington (Ashgate) 2012, 317–353, here 325–327; R. G. Hoyland, In God’s path: The Arab conquests and the creation of an Islamic Empire , Oxford 2014, 26; Cf. E. Chrysos, “Arabia minor, Arabia magna in Theophanes. A Short Reflection on the Late Antique World-View” (in print). 2 Hoyland, In God’s path , 31–103; Donner, Fr., The Early Islamic Con- quests , Princeton 1981, 94–6, 101–10; W. E. Kaegi, Byzantium and the early Islamic conquests , Cambridge 1995. 3 Taktika , 18, 104, 501–2 (p. 474f.): “ Εἰσὶ δὲ περὶ μὲν τὸ θεῖον δοκοῦντες εὐσεβεῖν, βλασφημίαν δὲ τὴν αὐτῶν δοκοῦσαν εὐσέβειαν ἀποδεικνύντες ”. 4 Taktika , 18, 104, 501–507 (p. 474f.). Cf. below, footnote 87.