The Roman Empire in the East could not help the West by the 600's. It was attacked first by Persians and then the new force represented by the Islamic world. Dr. John Rao discusses Islam, its military advances, and then the eighth century assault on icons--Iconoclasm--which troubled the Empire and its relations with the Popes in the wake of its territorial losses. Taken from: The Church in the Early Middle Ages - 1994 VonHildebrand Institute