Timeline of Islam

756 Baghdad Established as Capital of Abbasid Caliphate

The city of Baghdad is established as the capital of the growing Abbasid Caliphate. The city soon becomes a major trade and learning center. Establishes a centralized rule for the Islamic world.

800-1000 Emergence of Sulfism

Sulfism was a large scale divergence of Islam. Sulfists looked for direcet and personal experiences within the divine. They also challenged established Islamic government associations. Though seen by some as heretics many of their rituals and spiritual practices have entered mainstream Islam.

750-900 High Point of Abbasid Caliphate

1099 Crusaders Seize Jerusalem

Despite the size and immense power of the Islamic Caliphate the Christian crusaders from northern Europe not only managed to push their way to Jerusalem but managed to take the city. This not only showed that the Islamic empire was fallible but it further reinforced the divide between Christian Europe and the Islamic Middle East

1206 Delhi Sultanate established in India

The largest Islamic empire in India. The Delhi Sultanate also marked a sort of peace treaty between the Muslim and Hindu population, as religious differences meant that unlike in Europe and the Middle-east, the people under the Delhi Sultanate stayed Hindu, very few converted.

1258 Mongols Sack Baghdad

The sacking of Baghdad in 1258 marked the formal end of the Abbasid Caliphate, due to the last Abbasid caliph being killed in the raid. Though the largest Caliphate now in ruins, Islam itself was still spreading and the civilization of Islam still flourished.

Learning, Cultural, and Economic growth are at an all time high, centered on the emergence and rapid growth of the Abbasid Caliphate in northern Arabia. The Abbasid Caliphate soon becomes the largest Islamic Caliphate, expanding into southern Europe, northern Africa, Egypt, and into central Asia.

570 - 632 Life of Muhammad

711-718 Conquest of Spain

Muhammad Ibn Abdullah was born 570a.d in the trading city of Mecca. Muhammad founded Islam because of his disgust of the state of his hometown. This disgust lead him on a series of religious withdrawals where he came upon enlightenment and began to preach his new religion to the people of his hometown. After the founding of Islam Muhammad remained a key figure in government and religious affairs.

Spain was the main collision between Christian Europe and the Islamic world. The conquest of southern Spain lead to create a vast multi-cultural blending pot between European, Islamic, and African ideas. The majority of Spain converted to Islam creating lasting changes in the spanish people and language. The reconquest of Christianity in Spain further opened the door to Europe for Islamic ideas.

633 - 644 Islamic Conquest of Persia

After Muhammad's death in 632, the new caliphs lead many conquests to expand land and trade for the new Islamic state. This expansion helped stabilize Islam after the death of Muhammad by providing a common goal for the people. The conquest of Persia in particular lead to a mass conversion of the Persian people to Islam, it also meant that the growing Islamic state modeled itself off of the established Persian empire.

650 Quran Compiled

The Quran whilst initially conceived of and commissioned by Muhammad, was not completely compiled until 18 years after his death. This has to do with the tradition of information being passed down orally. Once completed the Quran became a great source of converts as it became widely available within the Islamic empire. The completion of the compiled Quran also was the lead up to a large split in Islam.

Timeline of Islam