Byzantine Empire[edit] Arab–Byzantine War: An Umayyad army under Maslamah ibn Abd al-Malik invades Asia Minor, and lays siege to Tyana (Cappadocia). The fortress city resists, dragging the siege through the winter and into 708.[1] Arabian Empire[edit] The Muslim-Arabs conquer the Balearic Islands in the Mediterranean Sea (approximate date). The first Islamic hospital (bimaristan) is founded in Damascus (approximate date).