Islam

Muhammad the Prophet's life

Period: 570 to Jun 8, 632

He is believed to have been born in the third month of the Islam calender, the sacred Rabi' al-awwal. He died of sickness.

Muhammad becomes a prophet of Allah

Jan 1, 610

The angel Gabriel visits Muhammad and reveals to him the first verses of the Quran. It is called the Night of Power and it will be celebrated in 2014 on July 24.

Muhammad starts to preach

Jan 1, 613

Muhammad starts to preach the part of the Quran he has received from Gabriel to the people of Mecca. He gathered all types of followers, but many people wanted him to stop preaching since he was teaching against many Meccan people's beliefs.

The Hijra

Jan 1, 622

Muhammad and his followers travel north of Mecca and emigrate to the city of Medina. There Muhammad and his followers prospered. This is marked as the first year of the Islam calendar.

Battle of Badr

Mar 13, 624

Meccans continued to persecute Muslims, so eventually they fought in a large battle, with the Muslims defeating the much bigger Meccan force. Many then converted to Islam because they perceived the result of the battle as a sign of God's protection for Muslims.

Muhammad takes Mecca

Jan 11, 630

Muhammad and the Muslims defeat the Meccans and take control of Mecca. Muhammad destroys shrines, statues and other religious objects for Arabic religions in Mecca.

Muslims Divide when Abu Bakr becomes the first caliph

Jan 1, 632

Muslims disagree about who should be the successor of Muhammad. Some believe it should be Muhammad's nephew, but some believe it should be a close friend of Muhammad's. Shiite Muslims believed his nephew should rule, while Sunni Muslims believed that Muhammad's friend Abu Bakr should rule. Abu ended up as the leader of Islam and took military action against the Shiites.

Muhammad the prophet dies

Jun 8, 632

Muhammad becomes ill and dies in his wife Aisha's house in Mecca.

Umar ibn al-Khattab becomes the second caliph

Aug 23, 634

Abu Bakr dies. The next leader, Umar ibn al-Khattab, used the large military Bakr had arranged to spread Islam to many other places.

Battle of Yarmouk

Aug 15, 636

Muslim armies conquer Syria, Palestine, and Lebanon.

Uthman ibn Affan becomes the third caliph

Nov 3, 644

After Umar ibn al-Khattab is killed, Uthman ibn Affan becomes the next caliph and greatly expands the empire.

Ali becomes fourth caliph

Jan 1, 656

He receives opposition and tries to convince the rebels of his rule. He is later killed.

First Fitna

Period: Jan 1, 656 to Jan 1, 661

The first Islamic Civil War was caused becasue of disagreement over if Ali was a good choice for caliph. He fought against the rebels, but they won, forcing him to flee the empire.

Umayyad caliphs take over

Jan 1, 661

After Ali, the Umayyad clan takes over as the leaders of Islam. They conquered Egypt, Syria, Persia, North Africa, Spain and parts of the Byzantine Empire. They were centered in Syria. They made the next caliph Muawiyah I.

Umayyad caliphs rule

Period: Jan 1, 661 to Jan 1, 750

All caliphs were from the Umayyad clan during this time period. During this time Islam spread very rapidly throughout the Middle East.

Abbasid Caliphate rules

Period: Jan 1, 750 to Jan 1, 1258

All rulers are from the Abbasid clan. Manufacturing, education, and standard of living increased during this time period. Also, Islam spread very quickly due to missonaries and the conquering of land.

Battle of Zab

Jan 25, 750

During this battle, Damascus falls and the Umayyad are no longer the ruling clan of Islam.

Abbasid Caliphate

Feb 1, 750

The Abbasid Caliphate takes over from the Umayyad and appoint as-Saffah as caliph.

The First Crusade

Period: Jan 1, 1096 to Jan 1, 1099

Some countries in Europe tried to reclaim land that was taken from them by Muslims by assembling soldiers to kill massive amounts of people in Jerusalem and reclaim the city. It worked and the Kingdom of Jerusalem was established.

The Second Crusade

Jul 24, 1148

The crusaders decided to attack Damascus, but Muslims attacked the advancing army and drove them back. It was a great victory and eventually influenced the fall of Jerusalem.

Siege of Jerusalem

Sep 20, 1187

The Muslims are able to reconquer the Kingdom of Jerusalem during the Third Crusade. Jerusalem was what the crusaders wanted most, but it was the only thing they couldn't get.

Jalal ad-Din Muhammad Rumi

Jan 1, 1250

Sometime in his life, Jalal ad-Din Muhammad Rumi traveled from Khorasan to Anatolia, which is from modern day Iran to Turkey to spread Islam through Sufism.

Mongols Invade

Jan 29, 1258

The Mongols lead the Siege of Baghdad, bringing down the city as well as the Abbasid Caliphate by killing the caliph. They killed many Muslims during this invasion, but they later embraced Islam, spreading it throughout the empire.

Creation of the Ottoman Empire

Jan 1, 1299

The Ottoman Empire is created by Osman I. Its main religion is Islam. The empire is united by Islam and its ideology.

Rise of Ottoman Empire

Period: Jan 1, 1299 to May 29, 1453

In 1453, the rise of the Ottoman Empire ends as Constantinople falls.

Mongols have converted

Jan 1, 1330

By this time, three out of the four major Mongol kingdoms were Muslim.

Fall of Constantinople

May 29, 1453

The Ottoman Empire captures Constantinople from the Byzantine Empire. This causes the Byzantine Empire to fall.