Muhammad

Muhammad’s Marriage and Family Life

Dec 5, 600

Impressed by Muhammad's honesty and character, Khadija eventually proposed marriage. They were wed in about 595. He was twenty-five. She was nearly forty.Six children were born to them, two sons who both died in infancy, and four daughters. Mecca prospered too, becoming a well–off trading center in the hands of an elite group of clan leaders who were mostly successful traders

Muhammad Receives First Revelation

Dec 5, 610

He began making long retreats to a mountain cave outside town. There, he fasted and meditated. On one occasion, Muhammad was visited by an overpowering presence and instructed to recite words of such beauty and force that he and others gradually attributed them to God.

Muhammad takes this Message Public

Dec 5, 613

After several similar experiences, Muhammad finally began to reveal the messages he was receiving to his tribe. These were gathered verse by verse and later would become the Qur'an, Islam's sacred scripture.

Muhammad and the Muslim migrate to Medina

Dec 5, 622

Muhammad and his few hundred followers left Mecca and traveled to Yathrib, the oasis town where his father was buried. The leaders there were suffering through a civil war, and they had invited this man well known for his wisdom to act as their mediator.

Military period

Dec 5, 626

The Meccans did not take Muhammad's new success lightly. In March, 628, a treaty was signed between Muhammad’s tribe and Madina, which recognized the Muslims as a new force in Arabia and gave them freedom to move throughout Arabia.

Battle Of Nineveh

Dec 5, 627

At the battle of Nineveh, the forces of Heraclius (the Byzantine Emperor), defeated the forces of the Sassanid Empire. The Persian forces were led by Khosrau II. The victory saved the Byzantine Empire from further Persian attack.

The Conquest for Mecca

Dec 5, 630

By now, the balance of power had shifted radically away from once-powerful Mecca, toward Muhammad and the Muslims. In January, 630, they marched on Mecca and were joined by tribe after tribe along the way. They entered Mecca without bloodshed.

Muhammad’s final Years

Dec 5, 631

Muhammad returned to live in Medina. In March, 632, he returned to Mecca one last time to perform a pilgrimage, and tens of thousands of Muslims joined him. After the pilgrimage, he returned to Medina. Three months later on June 8, 632 he died there, after a brief illness. He is buried in the mosque in Medina. Within a hundred years Muhammad's teaching and way of life had spread from the remote corners of Arabia as far east as Indo-China and as far west as Morocco, France and Spain.

First Islamic Caliphate

Dec 5, 632

Muhammed died in 632 A.D. Abu Bakr became the first Caliph or 'agent of the prophet'. He brings rebellious Arab tribes under control.

Omar I- Sword Of God

Dec 5, 634

Abu Bakr dies after ruling as Caliph for only two years. He is succeeded by Omar, who is given the name 'sword of God' for his many military exploits in expanding Muslim rule. His first target will be Syria.

Persians Defeated

Dec 5, 635

Under Omar, the Arabs begin a series of campaigns against the Persian Empire. They first lose to the Persians at the Battle of the Bridge, only to defeat the Persians in 635 at Tel Buwayb. Omar goes on to win a series of battles. The Battle of Nehawand in central Persia completed his conquest of the Persian Empire in 642.

Jerusalem Surrendered

Dec 5, 637

Omar began a campaign against the Byzantines. The Arab forces defeated the Byzantines at the Battle of Yarmuk. The Arabs took Damascus and Emessa. In 638 Jerusalem surrendered to Omar's forces. Ceasaria and Aleppo were soon taken as well.

Arabs Conquer Egypt

Dec 5, 642

Arab forces under the command of Amir ibn al-As attacked Egypt. In 642, under terms arranged by Cyrus, Patriarch of Alexandria, Egypt surrendered.

Death of Khadijah, Muhamad's wife.

Mar 2, 2022

In 619, both Muhammad's wife Khadijah and his uncle Abu Talib died. Relations between Muhammad's followers and Muhammad's own Quraysh tribe, worsened. Muhammad then tried to establish himself in Ta'if, but this failed and Muhammad had to return to Mecca

T'ang Dynasty Founded

Mar 2, 2022

The T'ang Dynasty was founded in 618 by Li Yuan and his son Li Shih-min. The T'angs dynasty used Loyang and Ch'ang-an as eastern and western capitals.

Rois Faineats

Mar 2, 2022

Dagobert was the last strong king of the Frankish Kingdom. With his death, royal power declined. In its place, arose a period of feudal decentralization.