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Jun 8, 632
Muhammad Dies
A few months after he returned from the Farewell Pilgrimage, Muhammad fell ill and died. This marked the end of the last and only Hajj pilgrimage of the prophet Muhammad. -
Jan 1, 661
First Muslim Civil War
Umayyad Caliphate forms after the end of the first Muslim civil war. It continues the conquests to spread Islam. It was founded by Muawiya ibn Abi Sufyan, the governor of Syria at the time. -
Jan 1, 711
Islam continues to spread
Conquests continue to spread Islam, taking large parts of the Byzantine Empire. The Persian Empire falls. They crossed the Strait of Gibraltar into Spain and continued to spread into France. -
Jan 1, 732
Defeat At Battle of Tours
The spread of Muslim influence came to a stop at the Battle of Tours. (Between the cities of Tours and Poitiers in France.) -
Jan 1, 750
End of Umayyad Dynasty's Rule. Beginning of Abbassid rule.
The Umayyad Dynasty from Syria had ruled the Islamic world from Damascus, the capital of Syria. Damascus is captured by Abu al-Abbas. Muslims began following Abu al-Abbas as their new leader, and one of his generals killed the remaining Umayyad family members. Under the Abbassids, the empire of the caliphs flourished. Muslim golden age. -
Jan 1, 1055
Seljuk sultan controls Baghdad
The Abbassid caliph becomes nothing more than a figurehead. The Seljuks press into Asia Minor and threaten the Byzantine empire. Baghdad had flourished under the Abbassids, since their caliph had chosen it as his capital and main military base. -
Jan 1, 1095
Pope Urban II calls for the First Crusade
As Seljuks interfered with Christian pilgrims traveling to Jerusalem, Pope Urban II ordered a crusade to take back Jerusalem. (Islam and Christianity fight over the holy site of Jerusalem.) -
Jan 1, 1099
Christian crusaders capture Jerusalem
Christian crusaders capture Jerusalem and temporarily ended the Seljuk's control over that area. Control over Jerusalem bounced back and forth between Muslims and Christians for the next 250 years. -
Jan 1, 1187
Christians kicked out of Jerusalem
Muslim general Salah al-Din lead muslims in the battle in which they recapture Jerusalem. -
Jan 1, 1216
Mongols attack areas controlled by Islam
Genghis Khan leads Mongol armies out of Central Asia to invade the Muslims again and again. -
Jan 1, 1258
Baghdad razed by Mongols
Genghis Khan's grandson, Hulagu, leads Mongols in a battle at Baghdad. Baghdad is burned and looted, and the last Abbassid caliph is killed. Later, the Mongols adopt Islam. -
Jan 1, 1300
Ottoman empire. Timur the Lame.
Throughout the 1300's, the Ottoman empire is formed and gains power. In the late 1300's, Timur the lame, another Mongol leader, takes over Persia and Mesopotamia before going to invade Russia and India. He was Muslim, but he aimed to conquer both Muslim and non-Muslim areas. -
Jan 1, 1492
Christians recapture Spain
Ever since the Battle of Tours, Spain had been Muslim property, and Christians fought to take it back. In this year, they finally succeeded. -
Jan 1, 1520
Ottoman empire reaches its peak
The Ottoman empire controls Syria, Egypt, Mecca, Medina, Hungary, and coastlines of Algeria. Many of these lands are important to Islam. -
Caliph's power begins to fade
Abbassid control over over the Arab empire begins to fragment. Independent dynasties rule over Muslim states in Egypt, Spain, and other areas. Civil wars popped up, Shiite rulers took over parts of the Arab empire. -
Seljuk Turks adopt Islam
Seljuk Turks move into the Middle East from Central Asia. They adopt Islam and build their empire in the Fertile Crescent in Egypt.
