The Middle East has long been a crossroads of civilizations, religions, and empires. Yet much of what we are taught about the region focuses on simplified narratives: the rise of Islam, Arab contributions to science, or Western colonial interference.

What is often left out are the darker sides of conquest—periods of destruction, burning, and killings that reshaped the landscape.

One of the most enduring flashpoints is the fate of the ancient Jewish Temple in Jerusalem, later replaced by the Islamic shrine we know today as the Dome of the Rock and Al-Aqsa Mosque.

This article explores what is rarely taught: the violent transformations of the Middle East under Islamic expansion, the erasure of earlier cultures, and the contested sacred geography that still fuels tensions today.

1. The Middle East Before Islam

Before the rise of Islam in the 7th century, the Middle East was a patchwork of civilizations. The Byzantine Empire ruled large parts of the eastern Mediterranean, maintaining Christian dominance, while the Persian Sassanian Empire controlled much of Mesopotamia and Persia.

• Jerusalem had already been a holy city for centuries. The First Temple, built by King Solomon, was destroyed by the Babylonians in 586 BCE. The Second Temple, rebuilt under Persian patronage, stood for centuries until the Romans destroyed it in 70 CE. A small remnant, the Western Wall, became the holiest site for Jews.

• Early Christianity spread throughout the region, transforming the cultural and political fabric. Churches and monasteries were scattered across Egypt, Syria, and Palestine.

The Middle East was not only religiously diverse but also a center of global trade and intellectual activity. This world was forever altered by the rise of Islam.

2. The Rise of Islamic Conquest

In the early 7th century, Muhammad united the tribes of Arabia under the banner of Islam. After his death in 632 CE, his successors—the Caliphs—embarked on unprecedented military campaigns.

• Within a century, Islamic armies had conquered Syria, Egypt, North Africa, Persia, and parts of Central Asia.

• These campaigns were not merely religious but also political and economic, seeking new lands, resources, and strategic dominance.

The conquests often involved burning cities, massacring populations, and imposing new religious and political orders. Christian and Jewish communities were relegated to second-class status under the dhimmi system, forced to pay heavy taxes for protection. Pagan and Zoroastrian traditions were systematically erased.

3. Destruction of Ancient Civilizations

One of the most overlooked aspects of Islamic expansion is the destruction it brought upon ancient civilizations:

• Persia: The fall of the Sassanian Empire marked the decline of Zoroastrianism, with fire temples destroyed or converted into mosques.

• Egypt: Ancient temples were plundered, and the famous Library of Alexandria, already weakened under Roman rule, suffered further loss under Islamic governance.

• Mesopotamia: Cities like Ctesiphon were sacked, and ancient Babylonian heritage largely disappeared.

Much of this cultural destruction is underplayed in mainstream narratives, which instead highlight the Islamic Golden Age centuries later.

4. The Jewish Temple and the Islamic Mosques

One of the most enduring symbols of conquest lies in Jerusalem, at the site known as the Temple Mount to Jews and Haram al-Sharif to Muslims.

• After the destruction of the Second Temple by the Romans, the site remained desolate for centuries.

• In 691 CE, the Umayyad Caliph Abd al-Malik built the Dome of the Rock directly on the Temple Mount, marking the spot where Islamic tradition says Muhammad ascended to heaven during the Night Journey.

• Later, the Al-Aqsa Mosque was also constructed nearby.

For Jews, this was not merely construction but an erasure of their most sacred site. The Temple ruins were covered, and access to the mount itself became restricted.

This religious replacement—building a mosque over the ruins of the Jewish Temple—became a flashpoint of identity, resentment, and political conflict that persists today.

5. Terror and Suppression in the Islamic Era

The Islamic conquests were marked by terror in many forms:

• Massacres: Resistance was often met with wholesale slaughter. Cities that resisted Islamic armies faced execution of men, enslavement of women and children, and confiscation of property.

• Forced Conversions: While Islamic rulers allowed Jews and Christians to survive as dhimmis, non-monotheists like Zoroastrians, Hindus, and polytheistic groups often faced forced conversions.

• Burning and Plunder: Conquered cities were looted, libraries destroyed, and cultural treasures lost.

Jerusalem itself changed character repeatedly—passing from Byzantine to Islamic to Crusader to Ottoman hands, with each conquest bringing waves of killings and destruction.

6. The Temple Mount as a Flashpoint

The Temple Mount remains one of the world’s most dangerous flashpoints:

• For Jews, it represents the heart of their ancient covenant with God, the site of both Temples, and the dream of restoration.

• For Muslims, it is the third holiest site in Islam after Mecca and Medina. The Dome of the Rock and Al-Aqsa symbolize Islamic triumph over earlier faiths.

• For Christians, it is tied to Jesus’ ministry and prophecies.

The decision of early Islamic rulers to build their shrine on the ruins of the Jewish Temple was not a coincidence—it was a deliberate act of religious supremacy. This continues to fuel modern political battles between Israel and the Palestinian/Islamic world.

7. The Modern Legacy of Historical Erasure

Today, the legacy of Islamic conquest is often downplayed, while Western colonialism is more heavily critiqued. Yet both forces shaped the Middle East.

• Cultural Erasure: Ancient Persian, Assyrian, and Egyptian traditions were buried beneath layers of Islamic dominance.

• Sectarianism: The Sunni-Shia divide itself is rooted in violent struggles over leadership after Muhammad’s death, producing cycles of terror that persist in Iraq, Syria, and Yemen.

• The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict: At its core lies the unresolved tension over Jerusalem’s sacred geography.

The fact that the Jewish Temple was replaced by Islamic monuments is not just history—it is the heartbeat of today’s religious and political conflict.

8. What They Don’t Teach You

Schools and popular history often gloss over these realities for fear of stirring religious sensitivities. Instead, the focus is on:

• The achievements of the Islamic Golden Age.

• The Crusades framed as Western aggression.

• Colonialism as the main source of Middle Eastern problems.

While these perspectives are valid, they ignore the brutality of early Islamic conquests, the destruction of ancient heritage, and the deliberate replacement of Jewish and Christian holy sites with Islamic monuments.

Conclusion

The Middle East’s turmoil today cannot be understood without acknowledging its suppressed past. From the burning of cities and forced conversions to the transformation of Jerusalem’s holiest site, Islamic expansion left scars still visible. The destruction of the Jewish Temple and its replacement by the Dome of the Rock and Al-Aqsa Mosque symbolizes more than history—it is the living flashpoint of faith, memory, and identity.

What they don’t teach you is that the roots of conflict in the Middle East go back much further than modern politics: they lie in the ashes of temples, the ruins of civilizations, and the contested claim over sacred land.