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The Umayyad family took powerful positions under the third caliph, Uthman ibn Affan. The Umayyad regime was founded by Muawiya ibn Abi Sufyan, long-time governor of Syria, after the end of the First Muslim Civil War in 661. He did not obey the fourth Caliph's rule and declared his own Caliphate in Damascus.
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A Berber force of about 7,000 soldiers under the Berber general Tariq ibn Ziyad, loyal to the Umayyad Emir of Damascus, Al-Walid I, enters the Iberian peninsula from North Africa.
At the Battle of Guadalete Tariq ibn Ziyad defeats King Roderic. -
The Battle of Tours was fought on October 10, 732 between forces under the Frankish leader Charles Martel and a massive invading Islamic army led by Emir Abdul Rahman Al Ghafiqi Abd al Rahman, near the city of Tours, France.
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The Abbasid dynasty descended from prophet Muhammad's (pbuh) youngest uncle, Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib, from whom the dynasty takes its name.They ruled as caliphs, for most of their period from their capital in Baghdad in modern-day Iraq, after assuming authority over the Muslim empire from the Umayyads.
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Muslim Spain was a medieval Muslim territory and cultural area occupying most of what we know today as, Spain and Portugal. At its greatest geographical extent in the eighth century, southern France was briefly under its control.
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The descended from Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib, the uncle of Prophet Muhammed (pbuh) uprised agaist Ummayad rule and finally toppled the regime in 751.
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The Battle of Talas was a military engagement between the Arab Abbasid Caliphate along with their ally the Tibetan Empire against the Chinese Tang dynasty, governed at the time by Emperor Xuanzong.
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Abd ar-Rahman I of the Umayyad dynasty flees to Iberia to escape the Abbasids.
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Abd ar-Rahman I proclaims himself Emir of Córdoba.v
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The newly founded city of Baghdad becomes the Abbasid capital.
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Abd al-Rahman III, faced with the threat of invasion by the Fatimids, proclaims himself Caliph of Córdoba, breaking all ties with the Abbasid Caliphate in Baghdad. Under the reign of Abd al-Rahman III Muslim Al-Andalus reaches its greatest height before its slow decline over the next four centuries.
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Ibn Sina was a philosopher and scientist of Persian origin who wrote the Canon of Medicine in 1025, an encyclopedia describing diseases and treatments that were far ahead of any medical work done in Europe. He is known to be one of the greatest doctors of all time. His books are still studied today.
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Seljuq Turks who had gradually moved into Abbasid territory took control of Baghdad. Their leader, Tugrul Bey, forced the Abbasid caliph to name him sultan. From that point, the empire was ruled in name by the Abbasids, but in practice by the Seljuq.
The Seljuq expanded westward, defeating the Byzantines in Turkey and even taking control of Jerusalem. -
The Seljuq expanded westward, defeating the Byzantines in Turkey and even taking control of Jerusalem. These challenges to Christian rule led the pope to call the first crusade.
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Mongol armies led by Hulagu Khan invaded the land controlled by Abbasid, destroyed capital Baghdad, and killed the Caliph.
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As Hussein, grandson of Prophet Mohammed (pbuh) traveled with his family and entourage toward the Iraqi city of Kufa, Yazid’s troops stopped the travelers and demanded that Hussein takes an oath of loyalty to Yazid and the Umayyad Dynasty. When Hussein refused to submit, Yazid’s general ordered his soldiers to attack, slaughtering women and children as well as Hussein. This event has changed the course of Islamic history and became a symbol of sectarian division in Islam.
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The Caliphate of Harun al-Rashid's rule begins. His rule will last until 809, and marks the period of greatest cultural and intellectual achievement under the Abbasid dynasty.
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Abs al-Malik ibn Marwan reigned for 20 years and transformed Muslim lands into a unified empire. He spread his grandfather’s administrative reforms across North Africa and Persia, made Arabic the common language, constructed mosques in all new lands, and perhaps most importantly, unified the coinage of the empire in 696. Abd al-Malik ensured that trade would flow smoothly across his lands.
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In 785 the construction of the Great Mosque of Cordoba began. This mosque, known in Spanish as La Mezquita, would become the architectural centerpiece of the capital, and of the kingdom. One of the building’s most distinctive features is the prayer hall. Its high ceiling is supported by a forest of columns and arcades, decorated in red and white.
