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570
Muhammed's Early life
Born into powerful tribe, Father died before birth, Mother died when he was 6, raised by Uncle, later on he had 7 children, but only 1 daughter survived, who went on to marry Muhammad's cousin Ali, who some Muslims believe to be Muhammad's successor. -
Period: 570 to 1000 BCE
Before Muhammed
Makkah was the trade and religious center of Arabia, as it was home to the giant cube with about 300 religous idols, who the Quraysh protected for a fee and because of this, they became one of the more powerful tribes in the area. -
Period: 580 to 632
Muhammad's Life and Call to Prophethood
Muhammad, after realizing all the suffering in the world, went and fasted on a mountain, and after a while the angel Gabriel descended and spoke unto him the word of Allah (god). He returned, and after many years, started to teach it. He spread his teachings of peace and "the strong protect the weak", and as more people started to follow him, him and his followers became discriminated against and left Mecca and made the first muslim community, the first time tribes worked together for religion -
632
Arabia after Muhammad's Death
After Muhammad died, Islam began to fall apart and the tribes he had converted left and began fighting again -
Period: 632 to 634
Caliph Abu Bakr
Being one of Muhammad's closest friends, he succeeded him and in 633 led multiple military campaigns to re-unite the tribes. He died 2 years after Muhammad but had long-lasting effects on the Islamic empire -
Period: 634 to 656
Caliph Umar & Uthman
They realized that Arab unity was important, and continued to standardize the Quran, and after that was done Uthman destroyed all other versions of the book. Umar conquered the Byzantine empire, which included Mesopotamia and Syria, and started into Iran and Egypt. Uthman fully invaded Iran and spread through Northern Africa. -
Period: 656 to 661
Caliph Ali
Ali was Muhammad's son-in-law, and after widespread agreement on the first three Caliphs, Ali's caliphood spiked a split in Islam, spawning the branches Sunni and Shia, which became known as the First Fitnah -
Period: 661 to 750
Umayyad Dynasty
After the Rashidun Caliphate, the Umayyad succeeded them and through further conquest, added Spain and parts of Central Asia to the Islamic empire. They fell to rebels in 750 -
Period: 750 to 1258
Abbasid Dynasty
They took southern Europe, the Mediterranean, and more of Northern Africa. They were eventually taken down by the Mongols when they invaded Baghdad