Questions

The Islamic armies built an empire stretching from Andalusia to Khorasan in a short period. The administration was Muslim, but what about the people? According to Western historians, jizya and kharaj taxes were collected from the non-Muslim subjects. These taxes were lighter than those under the rule of their co-religionist Roman Empire. On the other hand, jizya was not collected from those who converted to Islam. Although economic conditions made Islam attractive, Muslims consisted only of the army and the ruling elite in the first century. In the following centuries, even though the Islamic world declined politically and militarily and ended its conquests, commercial and cultural development continued. Four centuries later, by the time of the Crusades, Muslims had only reached half of the population.

So, what was the event that struck a blow to the Christian population? The Crusades. Although successes were achieved in the first crusade, the subsequent crusades dealt a blow to minor states like the Principality of Antioch and the Kingdom of Jerusalem, weakening them through plundering. SPolitical tension between religions forced many Christians to convert to Islam. The Christian ratio had dwindled to around 15–20% by the time of the Ottoman conquest, but it remained stable under Ottoman rule. The Ottomans truly brought prosperity to non-Muslims as well. The dramatic blow to Middle Eastern Christians was dealt by the collapse of the Ottoman Empire. Napoleon's era of nationalism arose, and minorities were generally adversely affected by this situation.