Simple question. Is there a consensus here on whether an Arabia that was politically united by the early 7th century in a world without Islam would have either
1) A similar drive for conquest, and
2) Whether they would have been as successful without Islam, either in the short term (physically conquering as much land as the early Muslims did) or long term (preventing reconquest from the Byzantines and others over the centuries).
Would the answer be meaningfully different depending on whether one substitutes Islam with orthodox Christianity, a more off-brand version of Christianity, Judaism (say you spot the Himyarites a Great Man of the Julius Caesar caliber who staves off Axumite conquest and sets the stage for his kingdom conquering Arabia), or pre-Islamic Arabian paganism?
1) A similar drive for conquest, and
2) Whether they would have been as successful without Islam, either in the short term (physically conquering as much land as the early Muslims did) or long term (preventing reconquest from the Byzantines and others over the centuries).
Would the answer be meaningfully different depending on whether one substitutes Islam with orthodox Christianity, a more off-brand version of Christianity, Judaism (say you spot the Himyarites a Great Man of the Julius Caesar caliber who staves off Axumite conquest and sets the stage for his kingdom conquering Arabia), or pre-Islamic Arabian paganism?