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Muhammad dies, this causes worry that the Islamic religion will end. Instead it starts to spread more.
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Muhammad's son-in-law was assassinated in 661 after he became a caliph. This was part of the rivalry between the Sunni and the Shiites, and it did more to tear Islam apart than strengthen it.
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The Muslim armies had been moving and spreading their religion. At this time they crossed into Spain which furthered their territory.
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The Muslims had been spreading into western Europe, but at the battle of Tours in France their advance was stopped.
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There was a shift in power in the Islamic world at this time, the dynasty that followed the dynasty of Muhammad's descendants ended, which was an important change in leadership.
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Starting in this year the Arab empire fractured, which split the area into civil war between different Islamic states. This also caused caliphs to lose power.
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Seljuk Turks started to migrate into the area, and settle down. This helped the spread of Islam because the Turks adopted Islam when they arrived.
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One of the Seljuk Turks gained control of Baghdad, this helped Islam because he left a caliph as the figurehead.
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Since Seljuks were interfering with Christians the pope at the time decided to lead the first crusade against the Muslims. This caused Islam to decline because of opposing faiths.
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Christians captured Jerusalem after a bloody, long battle. Now Christianity was more prominent which declined Islam.
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A Muslim general forced Christians out of Jerusalem, which spread Islam because it took away other religions that can be alternatives to the Islamic faith.
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At this time Genghiz Khan was leading mongols across Persia and nearby regions. The deaths of Muslims in these attacks declined the spread of Islam.
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The mongols attacked Baghdad and killed an important caliph. The attack on that city backtracked some Muslim expansion.
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A new mongol who was a Muslim led his armies into the middle east. Although it was a violent way, it did help spread Islam.
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Muslim influence had been in Spain for a long time at this point, but in 1492 the last Muslim stronghold was taken back. This undid a lot of the progress that had been made in Europe in the past.
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The ottoman empire led my Suleiman (the magnificent) was at the height of its power at this time. This was significant for Islam because that was the religion of the ottomans. So when the empire grew or prospered, so did the Islamic religion.
