-
Period: 570 to Jun 8, 632
Muhammad the Prophet's life
He is believed to have been born in the third month of the Islam calender, the sacred Rabi' al-awwal. He died of sickness. -
Jan 1, 610
Muhammad becomes a prophet of Allah
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. -
Jan 1, 613
Muhammad starts to preach
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. -
Jan 1, 622
The Hijra
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. -
Mar 13, 624
Battle of Badr
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. -
Jan 11, 630
Muhammad takes Mecca
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. -
Jan 1, 632
Muslims Divide when Abu Bakr becomes the first caliph
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. -
Jun 8, 632
Muhammad the prophet dies
Muhammad becomes ill and dies in his wife Aisha's house in Mecca. -
Aug 23, 634
Umar ibn al-Khattab becomes the second caliph
Abu Bakr dies. The next leader, Umar ibn al-Khattab, used the large military Bakr had arranged to spread Islam to many other places. -
Aug 15, 636
Battle of Yarmouk
Muslim armies conquer Syria, Palestine, and Lebanon. -
Nov 3, 644
Uthman ibn Affan becomes the third caliph
After Umar ibn al-Khattab is killed, Uthman ibn Affan becomes the next caliph and greatly expands the empire. -
Jan 1, 656
Ali becomes fourth caliph
He receives opposition and tries to convince the rebels of his rule. He is later killed. -
Period: Jan 1, 656 to Jan 1, 661
First Fitna
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. -
Jan 1, 661
Umayyad caliphs take over
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. -
Period: Jan 1, 661 to Jan 1, 750
Umayyad caliphs rule
All caliphs were from the Umayyad clan during this time period. During this time Islam spread very rapidly throughout the Middle East. -
Period: Jan 1, 750 to Jan 1, 1258
Abbasid Caliphate rules
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. -
Jan 25, 750
Battle of Zab
During this battle, Damascus falls and the Umayyad are no longer the ruling clan of Islam. -
Feb 1, 750
Abbasid Caliphate
The Abbasid Caliphate takes over from the Umayyad and appoint as-Saffah as caliph. -
Period: Jan 1, 1096 to Jan 1, 1099
The First Crusade
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. -
Jul 24, 1148
The Second Crusade
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. -
Sep 20, 1187
Siege of Jerusalem
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. -
Jan 1, 1250
Jalal ad-Din Muhammad Rumi
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. -
Jan 29, 1258
Mongols Invade
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. -
Jan 1, 1299
Creation of the Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman Empire is created by Osman I. Its main religion is Islam. The empire is united by Islam and its ideology. -
Period: Jan 1, 1299 to May 29, 1453
Rise of Ottoman Empire
In 1453, the rise of the Ottoman Empire ends as Constantinople falls. -
Jan 1, 1330
Mongols have converted
By this time, three out of the four major Mongol kingdoms were Muslim. -
May 29, 1453
Fall of Constantinople
The Ottoman Empire captures Constantinople from the Byzantine Empire. This causes the Byzantine Empire to fall.
