Presents a selection of the key studies in which scholars since the beginning of the 20th century attempt to explain the phenomenally rapid expansion of the early Islamic state during the 7th century CE. This work also debates the causes for the conquest movement or expansion, the reasons for its success, and the nature of the movement itself. 'All in all, this is a very useful volume which greatly aids our understanding not only of the nature of the early Islamic conquests, but also of the responses to them " and as we have indicated, these responses have echoes today.' The Muslim Word Book Review