Islamic Conquests · War Crimes & Atrocities
The early Islamic conquests were, by the standards of ancient warfare, often less destructive to civilian populations than many campaigns of the age: cities that surrendered on terms were generally spared, their inhabitants granted protected 'dhimmi' status and freedom of worship in return for tribute, and this leniency helped win over populations alienated by Byzantine and Persian rule. But this was still a war of conquest. Cities that resisted were stormed, sacked, and their people killed or enslaved; the long subjugation of North Africa was especially brutal; and the enslavement of captives was a routine feature of the age.
30,000+
deaths
Victims: The populations of cities that resisted the conquest(Casualty and enslavement figures for the storming of resisting cities are scattered and uncertain across a vast front; the total was substantial.)
40,000+
deaths
Victims: The Berber peoples of North Africa(The decades of warfare, reprisals, and mass enslavement in North Africa killed and displaced very large numbers; precise figures do not survive.)
Victims: Prisoners of war and the populations of conquered lands(This concerns enslavement rather than killing; the numbers enslaved across the conquests over more than a century ran to the hundreds of thousands.)