TIMELINE OF ISLAM – [622 to 1354]
622
16th July - Traditional date of the Hijrah and beginning of Muslim
calendar
622-630
Muhammad's wars against Mecca and Medina – at the time, considerable
centres of commerce and culture, with marked Christian Greek and
Jewish influence
622
Pact of Medina between Muhammad and indigenous Ansar and Jewish tribes
of Medina
Muhammad's forces attack Meccan caravans
624
March - Battle of Badr, Muhammad's forces defeat Meccans and Banu
Quraysh, expel Banu Qaynuqa
625
Battle of Uhud, Meccans defeat Muhammad; in retaliation, Muhammad
expels the Banu Nadhir from Medina
627
Battle of Khandaq; Muhammad has 900 Jewish prisoners of the Banu
Qurayza beheaded and enslaves the women and children
628
Muhammad’s sham treaty with the Banu Quraysh
629
May - Battle of Khaybar; to raise his prestige after the hudna of
Hudaybiyya, Muhammad attacks the Khaybar Jews, massacres a peace
delegation led by Usayr ibn Zorim of the Banu Nahdir. Muhammad
massacres the Khaybar prisoners; orders the torture and murder of
Kinana ibn al-Rabi; marries Saffiya, the 17-year-old daughter of
Huyayy, the Banu Nahdir chief, and widow of Kinana ibn al-Rabi; takes
as a jarya (slave concubine) Kaihana, survivor of the massacre of the
Qurayza Jews. Muhammad allows the Khaybar survivors to remain on their
lands, so long as they pay him 50% of their produce. The battle
greatly raises Muhammad’s prestige; the beduin swear allegiance and
convert to Islam, the Jewish tribes of Fadattr, Tedma, and Magne
capitulate and are permitted to keep their religion and their lands in
exchange for 50% of their produce
630
Augmented by weapons won from the Khaybar Jews, Muhammad's forces
conquer Mecca; Muhammad dedicates the sacred pagan Black Rock, a
meteorite fragment housed in the eastern wall of Ka'aba, to Islam;
Meccans vow allegiance to Muhammad and convert to Islam
632
Death of Muhammad, supposedly poisoned by Saffiya bint Huyayy in
revenge for the massacre of the Khaybar Jews; Abdu'llah ibn Abi
Quhafah (Abu Bakr), first of the Rightly Guided Caliphs (khulafa ar-
rashidin), caliph
632-634
Wars of apostasy (riddah) begin: Muslims defeat "false prophets"
Tulayha and Musaylima, force capitulation of Jewish tribes of Fadattr,
Tedma, and Magne, laying the foundations for the future laws of the
dhimma
633
Muslim invasions and conquests outside Arabia begin; Muslim forces
under Khalid ibn al-Walid invade Syria
634
30th July, battle of Ajnadayn between Gaza and Jerusalem, Khalid ibn
al-Walid’s forces defeat Byzantine forces under Theodoros, the
emperor's brother
23rd August, death of Abu Bakr; 'Umar ibn al-Khattab, second of the
Khulafa ar-Rashidin, caliph 634-644.
[N.B.: 'Umar assumes the title Amir al-Mu'minin; imposes the primacy
of Arab Muslims over non-Arab Muslims, and permanent legal
disabilities on Jews and Christians ("People of the Book"); re-
appoints Shifa bint 'abd Allah, a woman whom Muhammad had appointed,
comptroller of the markets of Medina; eradicates the Christian and
Jewish communities of Arabia]
635-637
Muslims invade Mesopotamia and Iran (635-642)
635
Battle of Marj al Saffar near Damascus; Muslim forces under Khalid ibn
al-Walid defeat Byzantines
Battle of Buwayb, Muslims defeat Iranians
[N.B.: In shame over his failure to protect them from Muslim assault,
Khalid ibn al-Walid returned their taxes to the Christians of Homs]
636
20 August, Battle of the Yarmuk, Muslims under Khalid ibn al-Walid
rout Byzantine forces
Battle of Qadisiyah, Muslims under Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas defeat Iranian
forces
637
Battle of Jalula, Muslims defeat Iranians, seize Ctesiphon.
Muslims destroy Church of the Annunciation in Nazareth, Jerusalem
capitulates to Umar
638-650
Muslims ravage Iran, eradicate indigenous Zoroastrian religion;
Iranians request aid against the Muslims from T'ai Tsung, emperor of
China (d 649)
[N.B.: T'ai Tsung's military conquests had established contacts with
Iranian and Indian civilizations. He received Alopen, an Iranian
Christian (Nestorian) in 638, granting him the freedom of the empire
and leave to build an imperial church in the capital.
639
Muslim subjugation of Mesopotamia begins
Muslims invade Armenia
Muslim forces under Amr ibn al-'As invade Egypt
‘Umar expels all Jews and Christians from Arabia
640
Subjugation of Caesarea; code of Umar imposed on Palestinian Jews and
Christians [Jews and Christians enjoined to pray quietly; prohibition
on building new synagogues or churches, holding judicial or civil
posts, riding horses; Jews ordered to wear yellow badges on their
clothes]
Muslims take Pelusium, defeat Byzantines at Heliopolis
641
Muslims burn the Library of Alexandria
642
Cyrus, patriarch of Alexandria, tenders surrender and capitulation of
Egypt
Battle of Nehawand, Muslims defeat Iranians
642-643
Muslims invade and occupy Barqa and the Pentapolis
644
‘Umar assassinated by his Iranian slave, Abu-Luluah; Uthman ibn Affan
of the Banu Umayya of Mecca, third of the khulafa ar-rashidin, caliph
644-656
645
Muslim assault crushes Christian revolt in Alexandria, sarcophagus of
Alexander lost
649
Muslims conquer Cyprus and Aradus (650)
655
Muslim fleet annihilates Byzantine navy off Lycian coast at Dhat al-
Sawari
656
Egyptian rebels assassinate the caliph Uthman; succession of Ali ibn
Abi Talib, Muhammad's cousin and son-in-law, as caliph disputed,
igniting the:
FIRST ISLAMIC CIVIL WAR 656-661
Revolt against Ali launched by 'Aisha, Muhammad's favorite wife
Battle of the Camel (656) between the armies of Ali and 'Aisha; ‘Ali
defeats 'Aisha’s forces, captures ‘Aisha and sends her back to Medina
In revenge for the assassination of the caliph Uthman, his kinsman,
Mua'wiya ibn Sufyan, governor general of Syria, spearheads revolt
against the caliph Ali
[N.B.: 'Aisha bint Abu Bakr served as an imam during daily prayer, as
did other women in early Islam, lecturing men on their duties to the
Prophet. She authored many ahadith, and was considered a scholar]
657
Battle of Siffin, Mu'awiya ibn Sufyan proclaims himself caliph
658
Ali massacres the Khawarij. Egypt conquered for Mu'awiya ibn Sufyan
659
Ali opposes arbitration with Mu'awiya at Adruh
661
Ali stabbed to death by a Kharijis in revenge for his massacre of the
Khawarij. Buried in An Najaf, which becomes a shrine. Ali's son,
Husayn, proclaimed caliph, but declares his abdication when Mua'wiya's
forces
advance into Mesopotamia
UMAYYAD CALIPHATE OF DAMASCUS 661-750
664
Muslims invade Afghanistan, seize Kabul
669
Chalcedon taken; Muslims besiege of Constantinople
669-670
Conquest of North Africa begins under Oqba ibn Nafi (killed 683)
670
Muslims invade Sind and the lower Indus
673-678
Blockade of Constantinople
674
Conquest of Bukhara and Marakanda (676). Muslim forces advance to the
Jaxartes
680
Death of Mua'wiya; his son, Yazid, second Umayyad caliph 680-682.
Kufans in Iraq proclaim Husayn ibn Ali caliph, which ignites the:
SECOND ISLAMIC CIVIL WAR 680-682
Battle of Kerbela (680), Husayn killed and his army defeated [origin
of annual Shi'ite celebration of the martyrdom of Husayn, in the
month of Muharram). Mecca and Medina proclaim Abdallah ibn Zubayr,
'Aisha's nephew, caliph. Battle on the Harra near Medina, siege of
Mecca; Meccans and Medinans defeated, the Ka'aba shrine burned
682
Death of Yazid I, followed by death of Yazid's successor, Mua'wiya II.
Marwan ibn al Hakam proclaimed caliph in Syria, but rejected by
Muslims in Arabia, Mesopotamia, Egypt, and the Qais tribe in Syria,
who proclaim Abdallah ibn Zubayr caliph
684
Battle of Marj Rhait, north of Damascus; defeat and slaughter of the
Qais of Syria, beginning disastrous blood feud between "northern" and
"southern" Arabs, which contributes to the fall of the Umeya
685
Death of Marwan I; his son Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan caliph 685-705
Arabic established as Islam's official language, superseding Greek and
Persian
Shi'ites and Khawarij in Iran and Arabia revolt against rival caliph
Abdallah ibn Zubayr
690
Battle on the Tigris; Mus'ab, ibn Zubayr's brother and governor of
Mesopotamia, defeated and killed by Abd al-Malik
691-692
Siege and capture of Medina by abd al-Malik's general Hajaj, later
governor of Iraq
Abdallah ibn Zubayr assassinated
[Construction begins on the Qubbat As-Sakhrah shrine in Jerusalem, on
the site of the Jewish Temple destroyed by Rome, by Byzantine
craftsmen sent from Constantinople by the emperor at Abd al-Malik's
request. Abd al-Malik propagandizes Jerusalem as the Quranic Farthest
Mosque (al-Masjid al-Aqsa), site of Muhammad's ascent into Paradise
with the angel Gabriel and his magical mare al-Buraq, who had the face
of a woman, the body of a lion, and the tail of a peacock, and who
conveyed him in three leaps from Mecca to al-Masjid al-Aqsa, and back
again in one night. Hence, Jerusalem as the third holiest site in
Islam after Mecca and Medina, and the only place outside Mecca and
Medina where Muslims can make pilgrimage.
"Abd al-Malik, seeing the greatness of the martyrium [the Holy
Sepulchre]
and its magnificence, was moved lest it should dazzle the minds of the
Muslims and hence erected above the rock the Dome which is now seen
there."
Al-Muqaddasi
'The very first monument of the new faith, the Dome of the Rock in
Jerusalem, was a patently competitive enterprise. It rose on the
grounds
of the Jewish temple, over the rock of Mount Moriah that had been
variously identified in the past as the place of Adam's creation and
death, and of Isaac's sacrifice. In substance, the building was a
close
copy of the rotunda of the Holy Sepulchre.'
Spiro Kostof, A History of Architecture: Settings and
Rituals, p 286]
“These damned Syrians pretend that Allah put his foot
on the Rock in Jerusalem, though only one man ever
put his foot on the Rock, namely Ibrahim.”
Muhammad ibn al Hanafiyah (638-700)
693
Khariji revolts crushed in Iraq and Persia. Battle of Sebastopolis,
emperor Justinian II defeated
694
Iranian exiles introduce Manichaeism into China
The Visigothic king Ergica, on rumors that Jews are conspiring with
North African Muslims, forces Jews to give all land, slaves and
buildings bought from Christians, to his treasury, and declares that
all Jewish children over the age of seven should be taken from their
homes and raised as Christians. Forced conversions began under his
predecessor, King Earwig.
698
Muslims take Carthage
699
Ibn al Ash'ath proclaimed caliph in the east, rebellion crushed
705
Death of Abd al-Malik; his son, Walid, caliph 705-715
Under al-Walid, construction begins on the Al-Masjid Al-Aqsa (“the
Farthest Mosque”) in Jerusalem
708
Musa ibn Nusayr, Arab governor general of North Africa, begins
pacification and subjugation of the Berbers
Muslim forces under Muhammad ibn Qasim invade Sind and parts of the
Punjab
710
Muslims invade and subjugate Cilicia and (714) Galatia
Muslim forces under Tariq ibn Ziyad, freed Berber slave of Musa ibn
Nusayr, seize Tangiers and raid Baetica in Visigothic Hispania
711
Tariq ibn Ziyad lands in Spain at Jebel Tariq [Gibraltar] with a mixed
Berber-Arab force
July - Battle of Guadalete, Christian forces under the Visigoth king
Roderick defeated. Muslims take Ecija, Cordoba, and Toledo, the
Visigoth capital
712
Musa ibn Nusayr invades from Africa with a mixed army of Berbers,
Iranian, Yemenites, and Arabs, takes Medina Sidonia, Carmona, Seville,
Merida, and (713) Zaragoza
713
Muslims invade China as far as Kashgar
715
Death of Walid I; his brother, Suleiman ibn al-Malik, caliph 715-717
Most of southern Spain in the hands of Muslms. Musa ibn Nusayr,
governor general of North Afirca, appoints his son, Abd al-Aziz,
governor of Al-Andalus [The West] in Spain.
[N.B.: Abd al-Aziz married Egilona, widow of the Visigoth king
Roderick. When Egilona encouraged his conversion to Christianity, the
caliph Suleiman ordered his assassination and appointed Al-Samh ibn
Malik al-Khalani governor general of Al-Andalus]
716
Muslims under Yazid ibn Muhallib conquer Hyrcania and Tabaristan
717
Death of Suleiman; his cousin, Omar ibn Abd al-Aziz, caliph 717-720,
grants tax exemption to all Muslims
717-719
Second siege of Constantinople by forces under the caliph's brother,
Maslama
Muslims reach the Pyrenees, driving Christians of Hispania into the
northern and western mountains; invade Septimania and establish
themselves in Languedoc
Pelayo, successor (718-737) to the Visigothic king Roderick,
establishes the Christian kingdom of the Asturias, a theocratic
monarchy
Al-Samh ibn Malik al-Khalani invades France, attacks Narbonne,
Beziers, Agde, Lodeve, Montpellier, and Nimes
720
Death of Omar; Yazid II, Abd al-Malik's third son, caliph 720-724
Muslims capture Barcelona
[N.B.: The rapidity of the Islamic conquest of the Hispanic peninsula
was due partly to the strife between the Visigothic overlords, and
partly to the preference of the natives for the Muslims. For the
natives -- a conglomerate of Germanic Suevi, Vandals, Russian Alani,
Byzantines, Romans, Jews, Phoenicians, Celtiberians, and Basques --
the invading conglomerate of Muslim Berbers, Iranians, Yemenites, and
Arabs had more in common than their recent Visigothic rulers with the
faded civilization of the western Roman empire's richest province --
especially for the centuries-old Jewish communities, whom the
Visigoths persecuted., e.g., in 681, the Council of Toledo ordered the
burning of the Talmud, and in 682, the new Visigothic king, Earwig,
opened his reign by passing 28 laws against Jews and pressing for the
"utter
extirpation of the pest of the Jews"]
721
10th June, Battle of Toulouse. Aquitainians and Franks under duke Eudo
of Aquitainia annilihate al-Khalani's forces
722-724
Revolt of Yazid ibn Muhallib in Mesopotamia; battle of Akra, defeat
and death of Yazid
War between southern Arabs (Yememites) and northern Arabs (Qais)
throughout
Muslim lands, esp in Khorasan and Transoxania, where propaganda for
Abbasids begins
Battle of Covado, Pelayo of Asturias defeats Muslim forces, beginning
the Christian Reconquista of Spain
724
Death of Yazid II; his brother, Hisham, caliph 724-743
725
Muslims raid Gaul as far as Autun
727-733
Conquest of Georgia. Muslims defeat the Khazars
732
Muslim forces under Abd ar-Rahman al-Ghafiqi, governor-general of al-
Andalus, invade France, defeat Aquitainians near Bordeaux
China condemns Manichaeism as a perverse doctrine, but the emperor
HsuanTang permits it to Iranian exiles, as foreigners, for their
competency in astrology and astronomy
10th October, battle of Tours (Poitiers); Charles Martel defeats al-
Ghafiqi, halting the Muslim advance into western Europe
[N.B.: Chinese artists, borrowing freely from Iranian forms since the
arrival of Alopen, and adapting them, produce the first true porcelain
under the emperor Hsuan Tang 721-756]
737
Muslim forces seize Avignon
738
Khawarij revolt in Mesopotamia
Sogdians, supported by Turkomans of Transoxania, revolt in Khorasan;
crushed by Khalid ibn Abdallah al-Kasri, governor-general of Khorasan
739
Berber Muslims revolt in North Africa and Spain against the primacy of
Arab Muslims, defeat Muslim forces sent from Syria
Battle of Akroinon, Byzantines defeat Muslims in Anatolia
740
Shi'ites revolt in Mesopotamia; defeat and death of Zayd, grandson of
Husayn ibn Ali
Non-Arab Muslims revolt in Al-Andalus against the exclusivity of Arab
Muslims, refuse to pay taxes
741-742
Revolt of Khawarij and Berbers in North Africa, crushed by Hanzala,
governor general of North Africa
Muslim civil war in Spain between Muslim Syrian forces under Talaba
ibn Salama and non-Arab African and native Spanish Muslims (Musta’rib
- Mozarabe)
743-744
Death of Hisham; his nephew, Walid II, caliph 743, killed in a revolt
led by his cousin, Yazid III, who succeeds Walid II as caliph; Yazid
III dies a few months later and Marwan II, grandson of Marwan I,
becomes caliph
744
Syrian Muslims revolt (Homs)
745-747
Khawarij revolt in Mesopotamia. Revolt in Arabia, rebels seize Mecca
and Medina
Shi'ites and Khawarij revolt in Mesopotamia and Persia under Abdallah,
grandson of Ja'far, brother of the caliph Ali
Abbasid revolts in Khorasan, led by Abu Muslim. Nasir, Marwan's
governor of Khorsan, defeated at Nishapur and Jurjan by Abu Muslim's
general, Kahtaba, who routs Umayyad forces at Nehawand and Kerbela
Emperor Constantine V Copronymos carries war into Syria
[746 - epidemic of plague in the eastern Empire]
748
Byzantines destroy the Muslim fleet off Cyprus
ABBASID CALIPHATE 750-1258
750
Abu-l-Abbas proclaimed caliph; Umayyad revolts against the Abbasids in
Syria and Mesopotamia
Battle of the Zab, defeat of Marwan, who flees to Egypt and is
murdered at Busir
Slaughter of Umayyad princes begins
Abd ar-Rahman ibn Mu'awiya ibn Hisham (b 731), grandson of the caliph
Hisham, escapes the Abbasid slaughter of his kindred and flees to his
mother's Berber relatives in North Africa
751
Battle of Talis; Muslims defeat Chinese forces under Kao Hsien-chih
and seize Turkestan from China
751-790
Buddhist monk Wu-k'ung begins a pilgrimage throughout Central Asia to
India in protest of the suppression of Buddhism by Islam
754
Death of Abu-l-Abbas; his brother, Abu Ja'far Abdallah ibn Muhammad Al-
Mansur, caliph
Revolt of Abdallah, al-Mansur's uncle and governor general of Syria,
crushed by Abu Muslim
Al-Mansur orders Abu Muslim's assassination, moves the Islamic capital
from Damascus to Baghdad [Madinat al-Salaam = city of peace]
755
Revolt of Abu Muslim's adherents in Khorasan
Yusuf al-Fahri, governor-general of al-Andalus, attacks, and is
defeated in battle by, the Umayyad prince Abd ar-Rahman ibn Mu'awiya
756
Abd ar-Rahman captures Seville (March) and Cordoba (May); proclaims
himself Abd ar-Rahman I "al-Dakhil" (the Immigrant), first Umayyad
Amir-al Qurtubi. Christians and Jews tolerated in return for payment
of one gold dinar per annum
UMAYYAD EMIRATE OF CORDOBA 756-1031
758
Byzantine invasions repulsed with great slaughter. Muslims reoccupy
Cappadocia, Melitene, Mopsuestia, other cities rebuilt and refortified
against Byzantines
759
Muslims subjugate and annex Tabaristan. Pepin the Short drives Muslims
from Narbonne
762
Shi'ites revolt under the Hasanids in Mesopotamia and Medina. Khazar
invasion of Georgia repulsed. Al Mansur laid the foundations of his
Round City in Baghdad.
[N.B. A mile and a half in diameter, walled and moated, it contained
government offices, mosques, prisons, baths, houses for officials and
servants, and shops. At the centre of the circle was the Palace of the
Golden Gate, built of mud bricks and surmounted by the statue of a
mounted warrior. A later saying: "A poor man in Baghdad is like a
Quran in the house of an infidel."]
763, 769
Abbasids, Pepin, and (769) Charlemagne support uprisings of Muslim
Arabs in Cordoba against Abd ar-Rahman, over the emir's policies of
toleration of Jews and Christians. Both uprisings crushed by the emir
765
Shi'a Islam splits into two major sects, Imamiyya and the extremist
Ismailiya
767
Revolt of Ustad Sis in Khorastan and Sistan
768,776
Umayyad columns harassed in Cordoba by forces of the Miknasa Berber
Shakya; rebels occupy Merida
774
Abd ar-Rahman crushes revolt of Syrians in Cordoba
775
Death of Al-Mansur; his son, Muhammad ibn Mansur al-Mahdi, caliph
775-785
Al-Mahdi establishes a form of Inquisition to root out Muslim heretics
775-778
Revolt of Mokanna, the Veiled Prophet, in Khorasan. Persecution of
Iranian Manichaeans
Rise of the Zanadiqa [dualists] in Khorasan, western Iran, and
Mesopotamia
776-778
Zaragossa's Muslim governor conspires with Abbasids against Abd ar-
Rahman the emir. An appeal to Charlemagne results in Charlemagne's
invasion (777) of Spain, checked by the Muslims' heroic defence of
Zaragossa. Rebellion in Saxony forces Charlemagne to withdraw his
forces (778). Crossing the Pyrenees, the rear guard is cut up and the
baggage train looted by Basques (resulting in the epic Song of Roland)
778
Battle of Germanikeia, Byzantines defeat Muslims and expel them from
Anatolia (779)
781
Insurrection against Muslim rule in Zaragossa continues
c782
The Iranian Sufi Geber (Abu Musa Jabir ibn Hayyan) separates alchemy
from the study of chemistry and lays the foundations for study of the
latter
783-785
Muslim advances and attacks on Constantinople under the generalship of
al-Mahdi's younger son, later Haroun al-Rashid
The empress Irene sues the caliph al-Mahdi for peace, begins indemnity
payments to the caliph
785
Death of al-Mahdi; his son, Abu Abdallah Musa ibn Madi al-Hadi, son al-
Khayzuran, a Yemenite slave kidnapped by bedouin and sold to al-Mahdi,
caliph 785-786
Abd ar-Rahman of Cordoba purchases the Christian half of the church of
St Vincent, razes it, and begins construction begins on the Great
Mosque (originally the Aljama Mosque to honor his wife)
786
Death of al-Hadi; his younger brother, Haroun al-Rashid, also a son of
al-Khayzuran, caliph 786-809
[NB: The reigns of Haroun al-Rashid and al-Ma'mun, Haroun's son by a
Persian slave, famed in Persian tales which became the Thousand and
One Nights, were the greatest of the Abbasid caliphate. Baghdad became
a centre of education, attracting immigrants from all over the world,
including Jews and Christians; and, for a time, the largest city in
the world. While Haroun and Ma'mun fostered science, math, literature,
and poetry, Charlemagne's lords "were reportedly dabbling in the art
of writing their names."]
787
Haroun annexes Kabul and Sanhar
788
Death of Abd ar-Rahman I of Cordoba; his son Hisham I (b 756) emir of
Cordoba 788-796
Campaigns against the Christians of Asturias; introduction of liberal
doctrines, contested by Arab notables
791-809
War with the Byzantine empire
Battle of Heraclea (Dorylaeum), defeat of the emperor, peace concluded
(798). Khazar invasion of Armenia repulsed (799). Muslim invasion of
Asia Minor; Muslim fleet ravaged Cyprus (805) and Rhodes (807);
captured Tyana (806). Muslims advance to Ancyra, capture Iconium and
Ephesus in Lydia, reduce Sideropolis, Andrasus, and Nicaea; storm
Heraclea Pontica on the Black Sea
792
Hisham of Cordoba proclaims jihad against the Christians of Spain and
France
Muslim forces from North Africa and Syria arrive in Al-Andalus
794
Battle of Lutas; Muslims defeated by Asturians under Alfonso II,
grandson of Alfonso I by a Muslim Arab woman
796
Death of Hisham I; his son al-Hakam al-Rabdi (b 771) emir of Cordoba
796-822
[N.B.: Himself a poet, Hakam was interested in science and literature.
He continued the liberal doctrines of his father, but was troubled by
violence from non-Arab Muslims, who objected to the primacy of Arab
Muslims, as well as revolts by Arab notables in Cordoba (805, 817) and
Toledo (814) against the government's toleration of Christians and
Jews]
797
Day of the Ditch. Hakam I of Corboba invited leaders of the dissidents
to a banquet, had them seized, beheaded, and their heads thrown from
the walls
798
The empress Irene again buys peace from the caliph Haroun al-Rashid
799
Basques revolt and murder Muslim governor of Pamplona
Khazar invasion of Armenia repulsed
MEDIEVAL WARM PERIOD c800-1300
800
Charlemagne crowed Holy Roman Emperor in the west, proposes marriage
to Irene to re-united the Roman empire
Christian revolts against Muslim rule in Toledo, Merida, Lisbon
brutally suppressed after ten years
801
Charlemagne's forces take Barcelona from Muslims, establish frontier
between Christian France and Muslim Spain
Aghlabid dynasty of Tunis, founded by Ibraihim ibn Aghlab, Haroun's
governor of North Africa; conquered Sicily, took Malta and Sardinia,
invaded southern Italy (827-878); destroyed by the Fatimids of Egypt
(909)
802
Isaac the Jew, Charlemagne's emissary to Haroun, arrives in Aachen
with Haroun's ambassadors, the caliph's assurances that Christians in
the Holy Land will be well treated
[N.B.: presents from the caliph: silks, vials of rare perfume, jars of
costly salves, a vast tent with as many apartments as a palace and
curtains of "byssos silk dyed in many colours", a brass water clock
which dropped
bronze balls on a bowl beneath to mark the hours and twelve knights
who emerged from twelve windows whose motion caused the windows to
shut behind them, and an elephant named Abu l'Abbas after the founder
of the Abbasid dynasty. Abu l’Abbas was a great hit and accompanied
the emperor on all his travels]
803
Bani Qasi revolt in Tudela against Hakam I of Cordoba Nicephoros I,
who deposed Irene (802), refuses to pay tribute
[N.B.: By emissaries to to Haroun al-Rashid, his most dangerous enemy
after Charlemagne: "The queen considered you a rook and herself a
pawn. That pusillanimous female submitted to pay a tribute the double
of which she should have exacted from you barbarians. Restore,
therefore, the fruits of your injustice." Haroun smiled, drew his
famous scimitar, and 'cut asunder the feeble arms of the Greeks.' His
response: "In the name of the most merciful God, Haroun al-Rashid,
Commander of the Faithful, to Nicephoros the Roman dog: I have read
your letter, O son of an unbelieving mother. You shall not hear -- you
shall behold my reply." Whereupon Haroun's armies scourged Imperial
lands, and Nicephoros was forced to buy uneasy peace at a greater
price than the pusillanimous female Irene had paid]
805
Revolt of the Suburb in Cordoba and Merida, spearheaded by Muslim
religious leaders conspiring to assassinate the emir. Royal troops
surrounded the district; the leaders were captured and executed, the
inhabitants massacred, and the district razed; then rebuilding
commenced, with a new population
806
Franks take Pamplona. Christians revolt in Toledo against Muslim rule;
Muslims behead 700 men,
women, and children
808
Revolt in Khorasan; invasion of Byzantines under Nicephora
809
Death of Haroun; his son (by his cousin Zubayda bint Ja'far ibn
Mansur),
Muhammad ibn Haroun, Abbasid caliph 809-813. Al-Amin's brother, Abu
Jafar
al-Ma'mun ibn Harun, proclaimed caliph in Iran; revolt in Iran
810
Iranian mathematician Muhammad ibn Musa al-Khwarazmi begins study of
Hindu
equations, invents algebra
811
Charlemagne conquers Catalonia
Christians revolt in Toledo against Muslim rule
813
Siege of Baghdad by Tahir ibn Husayn, al-Ma'mun's general. Al-Amin
surrenders to his brother, al-Ma'mun, who has him beheaded
Abu Jafar al-Ma'mun ibn Harun, Haroun al-Rashid's by an Iranian slave,
caliph 83-833
[NB: Liberal religious attitudes flourish under al-Ma'mun.
Mu'tazilitism (which maintained the free will of man, and that justice
and reason control God's actions towards men) made the established
faith; orthodox Ash'arites reject the liberal Mu'tazilite doctrines.
Ma'mun establishes the House of Wisdom in Baghdad under the direction
of Hunayn ibn Ishaq, a Christian scholar. Greek, Syriac, Persian, and
Sanskrit philosophical, scientific, and literary works are translated
into Arabic. Hunayn ibn Ishaq (809-877) tr
works of Hippocrates, Galen, and some of Ptolemy; al-Farghani (d 850)
set up an astronomical observatory, his work was continued by al-
Battani (858-929) and Thabit ibn Qarra (826-901), who tr Greek
mathematical and physics texts of Apollonius, Ptolemy, and Euclid; the
Iranian mathematician al-Khwarizimi introduced Hindu numerals and
calculation methods; al-Rhazi (Razes, 865-925), chief physician of the
Baghdad hospital, and encyclopaedist, wrote texts on gynecology,
obstetrics, ophthalmic surgery, and was the first to
distinguish between smallpox and measles; the Iranian ibn Sina
(Avicenna, 980-1037) canon of medicine remained compulsory reading for
medical students in European universities until the 17th century]
817
Shi'a Muslims revolt in Mesopotamia and Arabia. Ali al-Ridha,
descendant of the caliph Ali, proclaimed al-Ma'mun's heir
818
Christians revolt in Cordoba. Hakam looses his troops for three days
of pillage and massacre, crucifies some 300 Christian notables, and
expels 20,000 Christians
819
Muslim revolt against Christian rule in Pamplona
820
Revolt of the Tahirids of Khorasan begins
822
Death of Hakam I of Cordoba; his son, Abd ar-Rahman II (b 792) al-
Mutawasit emir of Cordoba 822-852.
A patron of the arts and literature, Rahman II suppressed all
rebellion during his reign, warred against the Asturians and the
Franks, whom he drove back from Catalan
First appearance of Viking raiders along the coasts
824
Insurrection in Pamplona crushed. Basques annihilate a Frankish army
at Roncesvalles
825
Arabs expelled from Cordoba invade and seize Crete, plunder the Greek
islands
Muslims invade Christian territory from Coimbra and Viseu
827
Abd ar-Rahman II financed Christian revolt against Christian rule in
Barcelona
828
Major revolts of Berber Muslims and Spanish muwali ("neo-Muslims") in
Merida, brutally crushed by Abd ar-Rahman II
829-833
Byzantine invasions in support of Babek the Magian, leader of the
Kurramites of Azerbaijan
833
Death of al-Ma'mun; his brother, Abu Ishaq al-Mu'tasim ibn Haroun,
caliph 833-842
Formation under al-Mu'tasim of standing army composed of slave-
soldiers (ghilman) seized as children from conquered regions
834
Revolt of the Jat (Gypsies) on the lower Tigris against Muslim rule
supressed
837-838
Abd ar-Rahman II suppresses revolt of Christians and Jews in Toldeo
and sacks Marseilles
Babek the Magian defeated in Azerbaijan and put to death
837-842
War with the Byzantine empire. Battle of Anzen on the Halys,
Byzantines defeated. Muslims destroy Ankara. Amorium taken (838) and
preparations made for siege of Constantinople. Storm destroys Muslim
fleet
838
Bishop Bodo (823-786), palace deacon and confessor to Holy Roman
Emperor Louis the Pious, converts to Judaism while on a pilgrimage to
Rome, takes the Jewish name Eleazar, marries a Jewish lady, travels to
Umayyad Spain (839)
840
In Zaragoza, ex-bishop Bodo, now Eleazar, encourages Muslims and Jews
to resist Christians; begins correspondence with Pablo Alvaro, a
Christian knight of Cordoba. Bodo-Eleazar encourages Alvaro to return
to Judaism, while Alvaro, a Jewish convert, encourages Bodo-Eleazar to
return to Christianity
842
Death of al-Mu'tasim; his son, al-Wathiq ibn Mu'tasim, caliph 842-847
Byzantines and Muslims exchange prisoners
Under al-Wathiq, the Abbasid caliphate begins its decline
844
Vikings raid Galicia and Lisbon, plunder Seville, and are annihilated
by a combined Muslim-Jewish-Christian army from Cordoba
[Source of the legendary battle of Clavijo, where St James aids
Christians against Muslims]
846
Muslims sack Rome, vandalize the Vatican
847
Death of al-Wathiq; his brother, al-Mutawakkil 'Ala Allah Ja'far ibn
al-Mu'tasim, caliph 847-861. Byzantines retake Damietta and ravage
Cilicia.
[N.B.: Under al-Mutawakkil, liberal Mu'tazilite doctrines were abjured
and replaced by orthodox Muslim dogma. Persecution of Mu'tazilite
professors and scholars, Jews, Christians, and Shi'ites. Shi'ite
mausoleum of Husayn the Martyr destroyed]
850
Martyrs of Cordoba -- 48 Christians (Baeto-Romans, Visigoths,
Septimanians, Arabs, and Greeks -- executed for insults to Muhammad or
blasphemy against Islam
27 September - Adolphus and John, sons of a Christian woman by a
Muslim father, are beheaded for insults against Muhammad
Arabs invent coffee
851
18th April, Easter Sunday -- Perfectus refuses to retract the insults
he made against Muhammad and is beheaded
5th June -- Sanctius, a Septimanian prisoner of war, beheaded for
refusing to convert to Islam
7th June - Peter, Walabonsus, Sabinian, Wistremundus, and Habentius,
Spanish churchmen, are beheaded for publicly denouncing Muhammad;
Jeremiah, an old man, is beaten to death
16th July -- Sisenandus of Estremadura, deacon of church of St
Acisclus in Cordoba, beheaded
20th July -- Paul, deacon of St Zoilus, behaded
25th July -- Theodemir, a monk, beheaded
22 October-- Alodia and Nunilo, daughters of a Christian mother and a
Muslim father; their Muslim stepfather persecuted them, had them
imprisoned, and their were beheaded
24th November-- Flora and Maria, daughters of Christian-Muslim
marriages, denounced Islam in court; Flora, daughter of a Muslim
father, was executed for apostasy, and Maria, sister of the Walabonsus
executed in June, executed for blasphemy
852
13th January - Gusemindus, a priest, and Servusdei, a monk, executed
in Cordoba
3 June-- Isaac, a Muslim notary, resigns and becomes a monk; denounces
Islam and Muhammad, and is executed
27th July - Giorgias, a Palestinian monk, Aurelius and Felix and their
wives Natalia and Liliosa, denounced Islam and were executed
20th August-- Leovigild, a priest, and Christopher, a monk, executed
in Cordoba
15th September-- Emilas and Jeremiah imprisoned then beheaded for
insults to Muhammad
Death of Abd ar-Rahman II; his son, Muhammad I, emir of Cordoba
852-886; suppressed Christian (Mozarab) rebellion in Cordoba (852);
begins extensive military operations against the Christian kingdoms of
Leon, Galicia, and Navarre
Bishop Reccared of Corboda preaches tolerance of Islam and submission
to Muslim authorities
16th September-- Rogellus and Servus-Dei executed for entering a
mosque and denouncing Islam
853
13th June -- Fandilas abbot of Penalmaria near Cordoba beheaded for
insults to Muhammad
14th June -- Anastasius deacon of Acliscus, Felix a Berber convert,
and Digna, a nun, executed
15th June -- Benilidis, inpsired by Anastasius, denounces Islam, is
executed and her ashes thrown into the Guadalaquivir
17th September -- Columba, a nun, denounces the authorities for
closing her convent in 852, insults Muhammad, and is beheaded
19th September -- Pomposa, a nun from Penamelaria, insults Muhammad to
the court and is beheaded
854
11th July -- Abundius, parish priest of Ananelos, near Cordoba, is
beheaded and his body thrown to dogs
Rebellion of Muslims and Mozarabs in Toledo, aided by Ordono I of
Asturias, crushed by Muhammad I
855
30th April -- Amator, a priest, Peter, a monk, and Ludovicus executed
for blaspheming Islam
Witisind, a convert to Islam who recanted, executed for apostasy
3rd September -- Sandila
856
17th April -- Elias, a priest, and his two young students, Paul and
Isidore, executed
28th June -- Argymirus, the emir's censor, deprived of his office
because of his religion, becomes a monk; accused of publicly insulting
Muhammad and proclaiming the divinity of Jesus, offered mercy if he
recanted, refuses and is executed
19th July -- Aura, a Muslim, denounced by Muslims relatives for
becoming a Christian and a nun, forced to renounce Christianity,
continues to practice it in secret; brought by her family before the
court, refuses to recant again and is executed
857
13th March -- Solomon and Roderick, a priest, accused of apostasy by
his Muslim brother and executed
859
Vikings raid the Iberian coast, capture and ransom the king of
Pamplona
11 March -- Eulogius, a priest who encouraged the Martyrs of Cordoba,
executed for proselytizing Christianity and protecting Leocritia, a
Muslim girl who converted from Islam
18th March -- Leocritia, a girl converted from Islam by a Christian
relative, executed for apostasy
861
Al-Mutawakkil assassinated by his Turkoman guards; his son, al-
Muntasir, caliph 961-862
862-869
Al-Muntasir deposed by his Turkoman guards; his cousin, al-Musta'in,
grandson of al-Mu'tasim, caliph 866. Al-Mu'tasim forced to abdicate,
then murdered by al-Mu'tazz, caliph 866-869
863
Abdallah, second son of the Cordoban emir, is married to Oneca of
Navarre, daughter of Fortun Garces by his Muslim queen Aurea bint Lope
864
19th October -- Laura, a Muslim widow who converted to Christianity
and became a nun, executed for apostasy by being thrown into a vat of
molten lead
868
Revolt against Muslims in Merida. Southern Syria (Palestine) annexed
to Egypt
869
Al-Mu'tazz murdered by his troops; al-Muhtadi, son of al-Wathiq,
caliph 869-870
869-884
Revolts of the Zenj [black slaves] in Chaldaea, which devastated the
region, begin
870
Al-Muhtadi forced to abdicate by his Turkoman guards; al-Mu'tamid,
oldest surviving son of al-Mutawakkil, caliph 870-892
872
Samanids succeed the Tahirids in Transoxania; stamp out the Saffrids,
and rule the territory from Baghdad to India, from the Great Desert to
the Persian Gulf, until 999. Under the Samanids, Bokhara became the
intellectual centre of Islam. Their power was broken in 999 by the
Ilak khans of Turkestan, who ruled Transoxania, Kashar, and eastern
Tatary 999-1165
878
Aghlabids from North Africa invade Sicily and take Palermo (831);
Byzantines retain only Taormina and Syracuse
879
"Neo-Muslims" of Cordoba, headed by Umar ibn Hafsun, revolt against
the Arab elite and the primacy of Arab Muslims
879
Yaqub ibn Layth of the Saffrids drives the Tahirids from Khorasan,
establishes himself in Sistan, eventually masters all Iran
883
Byzantine forces invade Syria; driven back by the Tulunid governor of
Tarsus
886
Death of Muhammad I of Cordoba; his son, al Mundhir (b 842), emir
886-888; al Mundhir succeeded by brother, Abdallah I the Pious (b
848), emir 888-912, under whom repeated rebellions erupted.
[N.B. Scholar, poet, and linguist, Abdallah was the most pious of the
Umayyad emirs, hence the sobriquet. His wife was Oneca, daughter of
the Christian king of Navarre by his Muslim wife Aurea bint Lope ibn
Musa of the Banu Qasi. Their favorite grandson was Abd ar-Rahman,
greatest of the Umayyad caliphs, son of their son Muhammad (b 876) by
a Frankish or Basque jarya named Maria. Under Abdullah's reign,
rebellions erupted repeatedly. In legend, Abdallah had the plains
around Cordoba thickly planted with almond trees, so that their
flowering might appease his wife's homesickness by reminding her of
the mountain snows of her homeland]
[“Among the Abbasids only three Khulafa were sons of a hurra, and
among the Umayyads of Andalusia not a single son of a free woman
succeeded in becoming khalifa.” Ibn Hazm]
891-906
Carmathian revolt against Muslim rule; rebels overrun and ravage
Syria, Iraq, and Arabia; seize Mecca and carry off the sacred Black
Stone
892
Death of al-Mu'tamid; al-Mutadid, caliph 892-902. Wars with Islamic
Egypt begin
902
Death of al-Mu'tadid; al-Muqtafi, caliph 902-908. Egypt brought under
the caliph's direct control. Byzantines repulsed. Carmathian revolt
crushed (906)
908
Death of al-Muqtafi; his brother, al-Muqtadir, caliph 908-932
Conquest of North Africa by the Fatimid Ubayd Allah al-Mahdi Billah,
who drove the last Aghlabite, Ziyada-tullah, out of Egypt
909
Ubayd-Allah, son of the Ismailian (Shi'ite) Hidden Imam, founder of
the Fatimid dynasty, who claimed descent from the caliph Ali and
Fatima, proclaimed caliph, imam, and mahdi in Qairowan.
FATIMID CALIPHATE OF EGYPT 909-1256
912
Death of Abdallah the Pious of Cordoba; his favorite grandson, Abd ar-
Rahman III (b 7 Jan 891), first caliph of Islamic Spain, greatest and
most gifted of the Spanish Umayyads; Hasdai ben Isaac ibn Shaprut, the
emir’s physician and chief minister
[N.B.: Under Rahman III and his son, Cordoba reached its zenith as the
greatest capital of Islam, as well as of the Christian West; for a
time, it was the most populous city in the world, as well as the most
literate, and the first urban European economu since the Roman Empire.
The contributions of Abd ar-Rahman and his son to Europe can hardly be
over-estimated -- this in the face of continuing wars against
Christians as well as against fellow Muslims
Under Hakam II, the caliphate of Cordoba reached an apogee as a world
centre of science, culture, and the arts. A semi-invalid, one of his
major accomplishments was the amassing and annotating of 4,000 books
of his personal library; the great library of Cordoba he founded
contained almost half a million volumes. Widespread toleration of
Christians and Jews, industrial progress, agricultural advances,
development of huge paper mills. The aristocracy was almost
extinguished, and replaced by a large, well-to-do middle class.
Pacification of country, centralization of government, naval activity.
Cordoba the capital, whose population was appx 500,000, was the
greatest intellectual centre in the Islamic world, certainly of
Europe, and,
at the time, the largest city in the world; its schools of medicine,
mathematics, science, and philosophy were pre-eminent, as well as
poetry and music. Height of Islamic learning was achieved by Isn Rushd
(Averroes),
phiopsopher, physician, commentator on Plato and Aristotle, and master
of Christian, Muslim, and Jewish scholars who traveled from Europe and
the Middle East to study]
Sons of Abd ar Rahman: Hakam II (914 - 976), Abd al-Jabbar (b 916),
Suleiman (b 918), Abd al-Malik (b 920), Ubayd Allah (b 922)
916
Battle of Valdejunquera, Abd ar-Rahman defeats Ordono II of Leon
917
Battle of San Estevan de Gormaz, Ordono II of Leon defeats Abd ar-
Rahman
918
Battle of Talavera, Abd ar-Rahman defeats Ordono II of Leon
920
Aleppo Codex, oldest existing manuscript of the Jewish bible
923
Buwayhids -- Imad al-Dawla, Rukn al-Dawla, Mu'izz al-Dawla -- conquer
Iran and Iraq, divide the territory between them. Mu'izz al-Dawla
forces the Baghdadi caliph to grant him the title Amir al-Umara (945)
Owing largely to internal divisions, the Buwayhid territories are
eventually seized by the Ghaznavids, by the Kurdish Kakwayhids, and,
ultimately, by the Seljuks (1007-1057)
924
Abd ar-Rahman III defeats the Basque forces of his cousin Sancho
Garces, king of Navarre; sacks Pamplona
927
Battle of Melilla; Abd ar-Rahman III seizes the North African
stronghold as an advance base for operations against the Fatimids of
Egypt
928-1024
Zayarids established themselves as independent rulers in Tabaristan,
Jurjan, Isfahan, and Hamadan; patrons and supporters of the Iranian
Buwayhids
929
Abd ar-Rahman proclaims himself Khalifa, Amir al-Mu'minim, Amir al-
Quiturbi, asserting his supremacy over rival Fatimid caliphs in Cairo,
and especially over Baghdadi Abbasid caliphs, slaughters of his great-
grandfather's kindred
929
Hamdanids, descendants of the Arab clan of Taghlib, seize power in in
Mosul and Aleppo. Sayf al-Dawla takes Aleppo from the Ikhshidids of
Egypt (944); wara against the Byzantine empire. The court of Sayf
becomes a brilliant Islamic centre, residence of the great poet
Mutannabi. Hamdanid dominions are eventually seized by the Fatimids
and Buwayhids (1003)
931
Abd ar Rahman seizes the North African stronghold of Ceuta; begins
intrigues with Fernan Gonzalez, Count of Burgos, via which Burgos
expands at the expense of neighboring Christian kingdoms.
Subsequently, Burgos achieves autonomy as the kingdom of Castile
933
Battle of Osma, Fernan Gonzalez defeats the caliph’s forces
934
Death of Ubayd-Allah; his son, Abu Al-Qasim Muhammad al-Qaim, Fatimid
caliph 934-945
Al-Qaim continued Fatimid expansionism, but his forces were repeatedly
defeated, and he was ultimately besieged in his capital by Khariji
forces under Abu Yazid Makhlad
939
Battle of Alhandega, the caliph’s forces defeated. Battle of Shant
Markas, Ramiro II of Leon defeats the caliph. Christians recapture
Madrid
945
Death of Al-Qaim; his son, Ismail al-Mansur, Fatimid caliph and mahdi
945-952, defeated Abu Yazid Makhlad (947), conquered North Africa,
Sicily, and Calabria for the Fatimids, but lost Morocco to Abd ar
Rahman, caliph of Cordoba
950
Otto I the Great, Holy Roman Emperor, exchanges ambassadors with Abd
ar-Rahman, caliph of Cordoba
952
Death of al-Mansur; his son, Ma'ad al-Mu'izz li'ni Il'h, Abbasid
caliph 952-975
955
Treaty between Abd ar-Rahman of Cordoba and Ordono III of Leon. The
caliph recognizes the independence of Leon and Navarre, the latter
acknowledges the caliph's suzerainty and begins indemnity payments
957
Treaty of 955 between Abd ar-Rahman and Ordono of Leon broken by the
king's brother and successor, Sancho, who, after his defeat by Muslim
forces, is deposed and expelled from Leon
959
Abd ar-Rahman III executes one of his sons for conspiracy against him;
restores Sancho of Leon to check the expansion of Count Fernan
Gonzalez of Burgos (the kingdom of Castile since 946)
Hasdai ben Isaac ibn Shaprut, the caliph’s physician and foreign
affairs minister, corresponds with Joseph, ruler of the Jewish kingdom
of the Khazars
961
Death of Abd ar-Rahman III; his son, al Hakam II (b 914) al Mustansir
Cordoba caliph 961-976; al-Hakam continues his father's intrigues
against the Christian kingdoms, eventually forcing their rulers to sue
for peace. At the same time, his forces wage successful war against
the Fatimids in Morocco and North Africa
966
Riots in Jerusalem. Muslims torch the Church of the Holy Sepulchre
Ma'ad al-Mu'izz drives Byzantine forces out of Sicily
Vikings raid Galicia, routed by Bishop Rudesind of Santiago de
Compostela, who kills the Viking chief Gundred
968
Fatimids under Al-Mu'izz subdue Egypt, attack southern Syria
(Palestine) and the Hijaz. Fatimid seat of government transferred to
al-Mansureya (972), which al-Mu'izz renames Al-Qahira (The Subduer),
as it was founded in the month of Mars (Qahir). Foundation in al-
Qahira (Cairo) of Al-Azhar mosque
970
Hakam of Cordoba receives embassies from the king of Navarre, the
regent of Leon, and the counts of Burgos (later Castille), Galicia,
and Barcelona, who render formal homage and pay tribute
Death of Hasdai ben Isaac ibn Shaprut, court physician and chief
minister under Abd ar-Rahman III, patron of Jewish scholars under
Moses ben Enoch, rabbi of Cordoba, the centre of Talmudic study
971
Vikings raid Galicia
973
Hakam's forces defeat Fatimid forces in Morocco, and replace their
dynasts with Umayya rule
974
Ibn Tumlus rebels in Seville, crushed by the caliph’s forces from
Cordoba
975
Al-Mu'izz's successor, Abu al-Mansur Nizar al-Aziz, son of al-Mansur,
defeats Tayyids in southern Syria (Palestine) (982), invades northern
Syria and attacks the Hamdanids of Aleppo, Byzantine vassals, thereby
provoking war with the Byzantine empire.
[N.B.: Al-Aziz formed the first units of Mamelukes -- slave-soldiers,
kidnapped as children from Christian families in southern Russia and
the Black Sea area, and forcibly converted to Islam. Egyptian state
finances regularized by Yaqub ibn Yusuf ibn Killis (930-991), a
Baghdadi Jew, al-Aziz's Grand Vizer after 979, founder (988) of Al-
Azhar University in Cairo]
976
Death of Hakam II of Cordoba; his son (by his Basque wife Aura) Hisham
II al-Mu'ayyad (b 964) caliph 976-1008
[N.B.: As a boy of 12, Hisham was governed by regents, from whom the
hayib (chamberlain) Muhammad ibn Abi 'Amir, seized power. Under Hakam
II, the former law student became manager of Hisham's estates. From
this humble beginning ibn Abi 'Amir worked his way up the political
ladder and was instrumental in securing Hakam’s succession]
977
Subaktagin, Turkish slave of Alptagin, himself a slave and Samanid
commander in Khorasan, defeated the Rajputs, received Khorasan from
the Samanids, and founded the Ghaznivid (Yamini) dynasty (fl.
977-1186). He extended his rule from the Oxus to the Indus and broke
the power of a Hindu confederacy of Jaipal king of Bhatinda, the
Gurjara-Prathihara king of Kanagu, and the Chandella king of Dhanga
(997)
978
Muhammad ibn Abi 'Amir, manager of Hakam’s estates, becomes
chamberlain to the caliph Hisham II
981
Battle of Atienza, ibn Abi ‘Amir of Cordoba, with a force of Berbers,
Christians, and Zaragozans, and his chief rival and father-in-law,
Ghalib al-Nasiri, with a force of Andalusian Muslims and Christians
from Castile under Garcia Fernandez I
[Ibn Abi’Amir assumes the title Al-Mansur bi'Allah al-Hayib (Allah's
Victorious Chamberlain –Almanzor).
The brilliant reforming minister carried on successful campaigns
against the Christian kingdoms and the Fatimids in North Africa, and
tried to halt the ethno-religious separatism which would bring to an
end the Golden Age of Islamic Spain]
Battle of Rueda, Almanzor crushes Ramirez II of Leon and forces the
king to pay tribute to the caliph
985
Almanzor sacks Barcelona; burns the monastery of San Cugat de Valles
(986); wastes Coimbra (987); 997
sacks Santiago di Campostela in Galicia, steals the bells of the
sanctuary to humiliate Christians, and destroys the city (987); sacks
Leon, Zamaro and Sahagun (988) and Osma (989)
Abu Abdallah al-Muqaddasi writes the Ahsan al-Taqasim fi Ma’rifat al-
Aqalim (Best Divisions for Knowledge of the Climes)
990
Abu-l Ali ibn Marwan the Kurd establishes the Marwanid dynasty of
Diyar-Bakr, which rules over Aleppo, Amid, and Mayarfariquen until
1096; his domains eventually fell to the Seljuks
994
Muslims destroy the monastery of Monte Cassino
995
House of Science established in Cairo under the Fatimids. Al Hazen
(965-1038) worked on optics. Al Mushudi (d 957) compiled an
encyclopaedia of natural history. Ibn al Nafis (1210-1288) described
the lesser circulation of the blood
996
Hamza ibn Ali establishes the basis of Druze Islam
Death of al-Aziz; his son, Tariqu al-Hakim bi-Amr al-Lah, Fatimid
caliph 996-1021
[N.B.: Al-Hakim struggled with the Baghdadi Abbasids and the
Carmathians of Bahrain, both of whom opposed Ismailiyya Shia Islam,
which Hakim tried to make the official religion of Egypt. Persecution
of Jews, Christians, and non-Shia Muslims in Egypt and Syria. Laws
passed by Al-Hakim included proscription of chess, and preparing or
consuming the Egyptian vegetable dish Molokheya (Jew's Mallow); and
punished merchants who cheated by having them publicly sodomized by
his slaves. For proclaiming himself Allah, Al Hakim was known as the
Mad Caliph]
996
'Uquaylids of Mosul, of the Banu K'ab, succeeded the Hamdanids in
Mosul, expanded their dominions under Muslim ibn Quraysh, drove the
Mirdasids from Aleppo, and ruled from Baghdad to Aleppo. Their
territories were ultimately conquered and absorbed by the Seljuks
(1096)
998
Slavic general Wadih captures Fez for the caliph of Cordoba
Mahmud I of Ghazni "the Idol-Breaker", Subaktagin's successor,
mastered Khorasan and made 17 plundering raids of great destruction
into the Punjab (defeating king Jaipal 1001) to Kangra (1009),
Mathura, Kanaug (1018-1019), Gwalior (1022), and Somnath (1024-1026).
Pillage and destruction of immensely rich Hindu temples (including
Saiva temple of Somanatha) and wholesale slaughter of Hindus. His
court was reknowned for its scholars and poets. The Ghaznavids were
ultimately overthrown by the Seljuks (1930)
1002
Battle of Calatanazor, defeat of Almanzor, who dies from his wounds in
the village of Salem. Almanzor was succeeded by his son, Abd al-Malik
al-Mazaffar (1002-1008), who carried out several successful campaigns
against the Christian kingdoms. Al-Malik was succeeded by his half-
brother, Abd ar-Rahman (Shanjoul or Sanchuelo -- Little Sancho --
grandson of Sancho Garces, king of Navarre). When Little Sancho forced
the
caliph to proclaim him his heir, the Umayyad prince Muhammad al Mahdi,
cousin of the caliph, proclaimed himself caliph in 1008
1003
Muslims sack Leon
1004
Muslims sack Pisa
1008
Little Sancho forces the caliph to proclaim him his heir. The Umayyad
prince, Muhammad al-Mahdi, great-grandson of Abd ar-Rahman, proclaims
himself caliph, forces his cousin Hisham II to abdicate, executes
Little Sancho, and expels Berbers from Cordoba
1009
18th October -- Hakim the Mad orders the destruction of the Church of
the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem
1009-1027
Dynastic struggles amongst the Umeya of Cordoba and period of anarchy.
Berbers proclaim Suleiman al-Mustain, another great-grandson of Abd ar-
Rahman, caliph (1008-1010). Hisham II restored as caliph in 1010.
Suleiman seeks aid from Sancho Garces I of Castile. Muhammad II
defeated Sack of Cordoba by Berbers and Castilians. Muhammad II
obtains aid from the count of Barcelona; a Christian Catalan army
defeats Suleiman at Aqabat al-Baqar Guardio. Muhammad assassinatd
(1010), HIsham II restored as caliph by Berber troops under the Slavic
general Wadih
1010
Hakim the Mad abrogates Christian protectorate over Holy Places agreed
upon between Haroun al-Rashid and Charlemagne
1012
The Sedaqa, fourth ruler of the Hilla Mazaydids of the Banu Asid, one
of the great Arab heroes. His domains were absorbed by the Zangids
(1050)
Berbers seize Cordoba, massacre half the population, and restore
Suleiman II as khalifa al-Qurturbi (to 1017).
1013
Berbers assassinated the caliph Hisham II and expel Jews from the
caliphate. Shmuel haLevi flees to Malaga, becomes wazir to the emir of
Granada
1014
Hakim the Mad decrees the destruction of all churches and synagogues
in Egypt and Syria (Palestine)
Zahwi ibn Ziri of the Sanhaja Berbers, emir of Granada from 1016
onward
1016
Normans invade Galicia
Emir Ali ibn Hammud of Ceuta proclaims himself caliph of Cordoba.
Berbers execute Suleiman
1018
Ali ibn Hammud assassinated in Cordoba. Al-Qasim caliph 1018-1021.
Zirids of Granada defeat Abd ar Rahman IV, who proclaims himself
caliph (1021) of Cordoba
1021
Hakim the Mad disappears while on a journey. His son, Ali az-Zahir,
Fatimid caliph 1021-1036; first under the regency of his aunt, the
Sitt al-Mulk, after the Sitt's death, a group of her favorites ruled
1021
Yahya caliph of Cordoba to 1022
1022
Al Qasim restored as caliph of Cordoba 1022-1023. Abd ar-Rahman V
caliph 1023-1024. Muhammad III caliph 1024-1025. Yahya restored as
caliph 1025-1029. HIsham III restored as caliph 1027-1031
1023
Mirdasids of Aleppo, of the Banu Kilab, war with the Fatimids and
Buwayhids until overthrown and conquered by the 'Uquaylids (1079)
1024-1029
Revolt in Syria against the Fatimids. Persecution of Druze in Egypt
*1027 Shmuel haNasi, Jewish vizier of Granada
1030
Muslims defeat the emperor Romanus III in Syria
1031
Death of Hisham III, last caliph of Cordoba; end of the caliphate
[N.B.: As a result of the dynastic wars of the Umeya and their
successors, the petty Muluk al Tawa'if rise on the ruins of the
caliphate. Upon the death of Hisham III, the Yahwarids seized power in
Cordoba (1031), the Abbadids in Sevilla (1031), the Hudids in
Zaragossa, the Dhul-Nunids in Toledo (1035), the Hammudids of Malaga,
which they had ruled since 1016, in Algeciras (1039), the Zayrids of
Grenada*. Most of the petty kingdoms are absorbed by the Abbadids of
Sevilla, who summonto their aid the fanatic North African sect of the
Almoravids]
1032
Byzantine fleet under Harold Haadraade of Norway defeats Muslims off
the coast of Anatolia, ravages the North African coast
1036-1094
Ma'ad Abu Tamim al-Mustansir-billah, son of az-Zahir, Fatimid caliph.
Civil war between Turkish and Sudanese soldiers, lower Egypt ravaged
by Berbers
1037
Seljuks, a sept of the Ghazz Turks, invade Khorasan, defeat the
Ghaznavid armies, then conquer Balkh, Jurjan, Tabaristan, and
Khwarezem
1046
Nair i-Khusra, a Persian visiting Egypt, finds it the only haven of
peace and prosperity in eastern Islam. In Cairo, the sultan owned
20,000 brick houses and 20,000 shops, and his palace had 12,000
slaves. Some streets were light by lamps. Soldiers rode horses,
citizens had donkeys and asses, and crime was punished so severely
that merchants could secure their shops at night with only a cord
across the entrance
1047
Mecca and Medina disclaim allegiance to the Fatimid caliphs
1048
Battle of Stragna, the empress's armies defeat the Seljuks
1050
Castille and Aragon ally against Spanish Mulsim emirates
1053
Al Mutadid, emir of Seville, expels Berber Muslims from Arcos, Moron,
Ronda, Algeciras (1055) and Carmona (1957)
1054
Almoravid dynasty, founded by Abdallah ibn Tashfin, conquer Morocco
and parts of Algeria
1055
Seljuks under Tughril Bey seize Baghdad. Tughril Bey proclaimed sultan
and King of the East and the West. Suljuks invaded Cappadocia and
Phrygia. Al-Mutadid emir of Sevilla drives Berbers from Algeciras
1060
Almoravids crush “heretical” Berghouta Berbers and conquer their taifa
in Ceuta
1062
Ferdinand of Leon forces annual tribute from al-Muktadir ibn Hud, emir
of Zaragoza; invades Toledo and Badajoz, exacts tribute from emir al-
Ma'mun, who becomes a tributary of Castile, and al-Mutadid of Seville
1063
Death of the Seljuk Tughril, self-proclaimed Sultan and King of the
East and the West; succeeded by his nephew, Alp Arslan, who conquers
Georgia and Armenia
1065
Battle of Graus, emir Muktadir of Zaragoza, with aid from a Castilian
force, defeat Ramiro I of Aragon. The pope sends and international
force (Italians, Normans, French, Spaniards); Muslims defeated
Muslims take Barbastro, massacre French and Spanish garrison
1066
The pope blesses the Norman invasion of England
Yosef HaNagid, Jewish vizier of Granada, invites emir Mutasim of
Almeria to rule in Granada. Zirids of Sanhaja massacre 5,000 Jews of
Granada, crucify Yosef HaNagid, raze the Jewish quarter
1067
Zaragoza besieged by Sancho II of Castile and Rodrigo Diaz (El Cid –
Al Sayyid)
1070
Rashi completes his commentaries
1071
Battle of Malaz Kard (Manzikert). Seljuks under Arslan defeated the
Byzantine emperor, Romanus IV Diogenes, breaking Byzantine power in
Asia Minor
Robert Guiscard captures Bari, ending Byzantine rule in Italy
Emperor Michael VII Parapinakes appeals to pope Gregory VII for aid
against Seljuks
Seljuks capture Jerusalem
[In the 11th century, there had been 117 unidsturbed Christian
pilgrimages
to the Holy Land, until the advent of the Seljuks]
1072
Robert Guiscard takes Palermo, beginning the Norman conquest of Sicily
and southern Italy from Muslim rule
1073
Death of Arslan; his son, Malik Shah, succeeds. Malik Shah's vizier,
Nizam al Mulk was one of the ablest of the Seljuk administrators and a
patron of learning
1074
Treaty between Seljuks and Byzantines, so Michael VII can secure
military aid against his uncle; Seljuks defeat until, overrun Anatolia
1076
Almoravids sack Kumbi, capital of the Empire of Ghana
1077
Alfonso VI of Castile proclaims himself Emperor of All Spains
Seljuks seize Nicaea from Christians
1078
Revolt of Nicephoros Bataniates with Seljuk aid; forces Michael's
abdication
1079
Rodrigo Diaz Bivar, the Cid Campeador, fights for Sancho II of Castile
Battle of Cabra, defeats Abdallah emir of Granada and Count Garcia
Ordinez of Castile
Battle of Cora, Alfonso VI of Castile defeats al-Mutawakkil emir of
Badajoz, exiles El Cid (1081) who enters the service of emir al-
Mu’tamin of Zaragoza
1082
Battle of Pharsalus; Normans defeat Byzantines and seize Macedonia
Battle of Almenar; army of al-Mutamin of Zaragoza, led by El Cid,
defeats the armies of al-Mundahir of Valencia, al-Hayib of Lerida,
Sancho of Aragon, and Berenguer Ramon II of Barcelona
1083
Normans under Robert Guiscard expel the Holy Roman Emperor from Rome,
seize the pope, and sack the city
Almoravids take Ceuta and murder its ruler, al-Mu’izz ibn Suqut
1084
El Cid defeats Aragon. Alfonso begins the siege of Toledo
1085
Seljuks take Antioch from Christians
Alfonso VI of Castile captures Toledo from the Dhul-Nunids, alarming
the Abbasids of Sevilla, who appeal for aid to the fanatic Almoravids
under Yusuf ibn Tashfin. Alfonso appoints his physician, Joseph
Terruziel, Nasi of all the Jews in his kingdom
1085-1140 Yehuda HaLevi
1086
Almoravids under Yusuf ibn Tashfin (d 1106) land at Algeciras and
rampage through the south, slaughtering Christians, Jews, and
“decadent” Muslims. Alfonso calls off the siege of Zaragoza
23 October - Battle of Zallaka, Almoravids defeat Alfonso of Castile
1087
Genoese capture Mahdiya in North Africa and take command of the
western Mediterranean from Muslims
1090
Hassan Sabbah, a former schoolmate of the Seljuk vizier al-Mulk,
establishes the cult of the Hashshashin (Assassins) of the Nizari sect
of the Ismailiyya sect of Shi'a Islam
Almoravids sieze Oranda and Malaga. Emir al-Mutawakkil of Badajoz
cedes Lisbon, Sintra, and Santarem to Christians for protection
against the Almoravids
1091
After the failure of two expeditions against the Assassins, Nizam al-
Mulk is murdered by an emissary of his old schoolmate, Hassan Sabbah,
head of the Assassin cult
Almoravids sieze Cordoba, defeat Castilians allied with the emir of
Seville; seize Seville, Aledo, Almiraca and Ronda, Mertola; execute al-
Rodi, son of the emir of Seville
1094
Jan -Death of Al-Mustansir; civil war between his sons, Ahmad and
Nizar
Ahmad al-Musta'li defeats his brother, then executes him, and is
chosen caliph by the regent Malik al-Afdal
May - Rodrigo Diaz takes Valencia
Almoravids seize Badajoz and Lisvbon, lay siege to Valenica; take
Santarem (1095); Yusuf ibn Tashfin’s puritanical reforms strengthen
Spanish Muslims; Islamic Spain is brought into an integral relation
with his North African Empire (which, after his death in 1106, falls
apart). Jews, Christians, and Muslims leave Almoravid domains for
Toledo, and 40,000 Jews fight for Alfonso VI of Castile against the
Almoravids
Death of Malik Shah ends Muslim unity in Asia Minor. Civil war between
his son, Rukn al-Din (Barkyaruk), and his brother Muhammad over
control of Iranand Khorasan
1095
Synod of Clermont; pope receives plea from the Byzantine emperor
Alexius I Comnenus for aid against the Seljuks; proclaims first
crusade
FIRST CRUSADE 1096-1099
Pope Urban II, under a revived and regenerated papacy, transforms
military assistance to Constantinople into holy war, or ecclesiastical
imperialism.
- The People's (Paupers') Crusade - leaves Cologne April 1096; a
majority
are captured and sold into slavery by Balkan Slavs; a section under
Walter
the Penniless reaches Constantinople in July, lands in Anatolia in
August,
enter Seljuk territory and are massacred October 1096
- The German Crusade: pogroms begin in the Rhine Valley, massacring
thousands of Jews
"Just at that time, there appeared a certain soldier, Emico, Count of
the
lands around the Rhine, a man long of very ill repute on account of
his
tyrannical mode of life. Called by divine revelation, like another
Saul, as
he maintained, to the practice of religion of this kind, he usurped to
himself the command of almost twelve thousand cross bearers. As they
were
led through the cities of the Rhine and the Main and also the Danube,
they
either utterly destroyed the execrable race of the Jews wherever they
found
them (being even in this matter zealously devoted to the Christian
religion)" Ekkehard of Aura
"Emico and the rest of his band held a council and, after sunrise,
attacked
the Jews in the hall with arrows and lances. Breaking the bolts and
doors,
they killed the Jews, about seven hundred in number, who in vain
resisted
the force and attack of so many thousands. They killed the women,
also, and
with their swords pierced tender children of whatever age and sex. The
Jews,
seeing that their Christian enemies were attacking them and their
children,
and that they were sparing no age, likewise fell upon one another,
brother,
children, wives, and sisters, and thus they perished at each other's
hands.
Horrible to say, mothers cut the throats of nursing children with
knives
and stabbed others, preferring them to perish thus by their own hands
rather than to be killed by the weapons of the uncircumcised. From
this cruel slaughter of the Jews a few escaped" Albert of Aix
- The Barons' Crusade: French under Godfrey of Bouillon and his
brother
Baldwin, and Raymond of Toulouse, Normans under Bohemond of Otranto,
reach
Constantinople December 1096; the emperor withholds food and supplies
until
the leaders swear fealty to him
1097
July -- battle of Doryaleum, Crusaders defeat Seljuks, take Nicaea,
the Seljuk capital October -- siege of Antioch begins
Battle of Bairen, El Cid defeats the Almoravids
Battle of Consuegra, Almoravids defeat Alfonso of Castile, kill Diego,
son of El Cid
Battle of Cuenca, Almoravids defeat Castilians; Yusuf ibn Tashfin
proclaims himself Amir al-Muslimin
1098
May -- Fall of Antioch; Muslims reinvest the city, but are driven off
Fatimids seize Jerusalem from the Seljuks
1099
May - Crusaders reach Jerusalem
July -- Fall of Jerusalem, massacre of Jews and Muslims
"..from the archbishop of Pisa, duke Godfrey, now, by the grace of
God,
defender of the church of the Holy Sepuchre, Raymond, count of St.
Gilles,
and the whole army of God, which is in the land of Israel, greeting…
And
if you desire to know what was done with the enemy who were found
there,
know that in Solomon's Porch and in his temple our men rode in the
blood
of the Saracens up to the knees of their horses."
"Saracens, Arabs, and Ethiopians took refuge in the tower of David,
others
fled to the temples of the Lord and of Solomon. A great fight took
place in
the court and porch of the temples, where they were unable to escape
from
our gladiators. Many fled to the roof of the temple of Solomon, and
were
shot with arrows, so that they fell to the ground dead. In this temple
almost ten thousand were killed. Indeed, if you had been there you
would
have seen our feet colored to our ankles with the blood of the slain.
But
what more shall I relate? None of them were left alive; neither women
nor
children were spared." Fulk of Chartres
Death of the papal legate leaves organization to feudal magnates.
Godfrey
Of Bouillon elected king of Jerusalem, refuses the crown, is named
Defender of
the Holy Sepulchre; his brother Baldwin, Count of Edessa and King of
Jerusalem. Crusaders begin to re-establish Christian rule throughout
Syria
and Lebanon; Assizes of Jerusalem, most complete feudal code extant:
County of Edessa (Baldwin), Principality of Antioch (Bohemund), County
of Tripoli(Raymond of Toulouse) fiefs of Jerusalem. Genoa, Pisa, and
Venice profit by commerce through their ports; extend trading
influence
south to the Red Sea
1100
After the death of El Cid, the Almoravids attack Valencia, occupy
Spain as far as Zaragoza, seize Valencia (1102)
1101
Death of al-Musta'li; his son, Al-Amir, caliph 1101-1130
1106
Death of Yusuf ibn Tumart; his son, Ali, succeeds. The Almohades,
founded by ibn Tumart as a religious movement to purify Islam,
initiate riots and persecute Jews, Christians, and disagreeing Muslims
1108
Battle near Toledo, Almoravids defeat Castilians, incl Sancho, son and
heir of Alfonso of Castile by his Muslim wife, Zaida
2nd May - Solomon ibn Ferusal, Jewish wazir (nasi), murdered by
Muslims
1109
Caesarea, Tripoli Tyre, Sidon in Crusader hands; constant warfare
between Crusaders and Muslim Burids, Fatimids, Ortugids, and Zangids
1110-1113
War between Henry of Portugal and Alfonso I of Aragon against
Alfonso’s wife Urraca, queen of Castile. Teresa Countess of Portugal
seizes power and styles herself Queen of Portugal
Byzantines war against the Seljuks (to 1117)
1111
Almoravids occupy Lisbon and Santarem
1116
Teresa of Portugal wars against Urraca of Castile
Battle of Philomelion; Byzantines defeat Seljuks, forcing the latter
to make peace at Akroinon (1117) and abandon most of western Anatolia.
Burids and Ortugids overthrow the Seljuks in Syria
1120
Spanish Jews fleeing Muslim persecution settle in Byzantium
Successful Byzantine campaign against Seljuks, southwest Anatolia
recovered
1125
Rise of the Berber sect of the Almohades (al-Muwahhidun -- "the
monotheists), founded by the Abu Abd-Allah Muhammad ibn Tumart
(1080-1130) of the Moroccan Banu Masmuda
1130
Rise of the fanatic Almohades under Abd al-Mu'min, ibn Tumart's
successor, who expand their power across North Africa, annihilate the
Almoravid army (1144), conquer Morocco (1146), subjugate Algeria
(1152), drive the Normans from Tunis (1158)
Alfonso VII of Castile founds school for the sciences in Toledo
1135
Muslims riot against Jews in Cordoba, “stormed their houses, plundered
their possessions, and killed a number of them.”
John of Seville (1135-1153) translates Arabic texts on math,
astronomy, and philosophy into Latin and the vernacular
1144
Atabegs of Mosul complete Muslim reunification of Syria; capture
Edessa
Gerard of Cremona (1114-1187) studies under Ibn Ghalib, native
Christian scholar, translates Ptolemy's Almagest, Euclid, Galen, and
the Hippocratic corpus; his translation remained the standard text on
astronomy until Copernicus. Gerard and ibn Ezra introduce the use of
the zero, known in Baghdad since 770
1147-1149 SECOND CRUSADE
Triggered by the Seljuks' capture of Edessa, Bernard of Clairvaux,
persuaded by the pope, reluctantly preaches a new crusade. Normans of
Sicily seize the Greek islands and attack Athens, Thebes, and Corinth.
English crusaders capture Lisbon, Portugal
Crusaders massacre Jews in the Rhineland, Cologne, Mainz, Worms, and
Speyer, over the vehement opposition of the Archbishops of Mainz and
Cologne
1148
Almohades seize Cordoba and offer the Jewish community the choice
between conversion or death. The family of Maimonides (1135-1204),
like many Jews, choose exile. Jewish property is confiscated, women
and children sold as slaves, synagogues destroyed. Muslim as well as
Jewish scholars flee the Almohades to Toledo
1160-1173
Rabbi Benjamin of Tudela travels extensively through the Middle East,
central Asia, and China; his records have little influence on Europe
due to his religion. The same reasons hold for the great geographical
works of Yaqut, and, later, the Moroccan traveler ibn Battuta
1163
Asad ad-Din Shirkuh bin Shadhi Shirkuh (“Lion Mountain”), an Armenian
Kurd, general of the Zangid ruler Nur al-Din of Damascus, enters Egypt
to aid the penultimate Fatimid caliph, Al-Adid (1160-1171), in a civil
war over the Egyptian vizierate. Shirkuh was appointed vizier (1169),
but dies two months later, and is succeeded by his nephew, Salah ad-
Din
1165
Yemeni Jews are given the choice between conversion to Islam or death
1169-1193
Salah al-Din Yusuf ibn Ayyub, son of the Kurdi governor of Baalbek,
and nephew of the Zangid ruler of Damascus, vizer and sultan of Egypt,
founder of the Ayyub dynasty (1169-1250) of Egypt
1171
Saladin proclaimed al-Mustaddi, Abbasid caliph of Baghad, caliph in
Egypt. He ruled Egypt as Nur al-Din's viceroy until the latter's death
in 1173, then asserted his independence, and consolidated his power
over Egypt, Nubia, the Hejaz, Syria, and the Yemen
SECOND RESTORATION OF ISLAMIC UNITY - 1172
Islamic Spain declared a province of the Almohade empire, reducing
Arab influence to only Granada
Saladin drives the Normans out of Tripoli
1174
Saladin invades Syria (1174), seizes Damascus and Aleppo (1183), Mosul
(1185), and reduces Mesopotamia (1185-1186)
1175-1206
Muhammad of Ghor, Mu'izz-ud-Din, conquered Hindustan for his brother,
Ghiyas ud-Din Muhammad, whom he succeeded as ruler of Ghor (1203).
Battle of Tararori crushed a new Hindu uprising led by the king of
Ajmer and Delhi. Muslims occupied Delhi 1193; conquered Bihar and
massacred the Buddhist community (1197). Bengal taken 1199, and
Chandella state in Bundelkhand
1176
Battle of Myriocephalon; Seljuks defeat Byzantines
1177
Battle in Bithynia; Byzantines defeat Seljuks
1187
Saladin's jihad, provoked by Christian attack on caravan said to be
carrying his sister.
July 4th - Battle of the Horns of Hittin. Saladin destroys the army of
the kingdom of Jerusalem
October 2nd – Saladin’s entry into enters Jerusalem is a virtually
bloodless conquest in marked contrast to the massacres perpetrated by
crusaders
1188
Saladin attacks Tyre, Tripoli and Antioch
THIRD CRUSADE 1189- 1122
A completely royal affair, precipitated by the fall of Jerusalem to
Saladin, led by the Holy Roman Emperor Fredrick Barbarossa, Philip II
of France, and Richard the Lionheart. The latter financed his crusade
by inciting pogroms against the Jews of England and seizing their
property along with the property of Christians who protected them;
Jews were massacred in London and York on rumours that Richard I
instigated it, attacked in Lincoln, Stamford, Lynn, Norwich, Bury St
Edmunds, Thetford. En route to the Holy Land, Richard seized Christian
Cyprus, which he sold to Guy of Lusignan
1191
July - Fall of Akko
August - Richard executes 3,000 Saracen prisoners of war (actually
Christians) before Saladin's army
September -- battle of Arsluf, north of Jaffa; Richard defeats
Saladin, takes Jaffa
1192
Truce between Richard and Saladin; the coastal plain between Jaffa and
Akko returned to Christians, with an access corridor from the coast to
Jerusalem
1195
Battle of Alarcos. Almoravids defeat Alfonso VIII of Castille,
whereupon the kings of Leon and Navarre promptly invade Castile
Muhammad of Ghor appointed his Turkestan slave, Kutb-ud-din Aibak, as
his viceroy; Aibak, killed playing polo in 1210, founded a dynasty
which ruled from Delhi until 1526
Maimonides completes Guide to the Perplexed
FOURTH CRUSADE 1202 - 1204
Pope Innocent III issues call to European monarchs, ignored by the
kings of France and England
Venetians sack the Christian city of Zara
Pope excommunicates the Crusaders
1204
Crusaders sack Constantinople with unparalleled horrors, replace the
Byzantine emperor with the Latin Empire of the East (Romania). Assizes
of Romania copied from the Assizes of Jerusalem. Venice acquires
3/4ths of Constantinople, plus Adrianople, Gallipoli, Naxos, Andros,
Euboea, Crete, and Ionia
1211
French and English Jews settle in Palestine
1211-1236
Shams ud-Din Iltutmish, slave and son-in-law of Aibak, succeedes him
in the Ganges valley only, conquers the upper Punjab (1217), Bengal
(1225), lower Punjab and Sind (1228), Gwalior (1232), and sacked
Ujjain (1234). Shams was invested as sultan of India by Al-Mustansir,
the Baghdadi (Abbasid) caliph, in 1229
1212
Children's Crusade -- preached by Stephen of Vendome and Nicholas of
Cologne; reaches Marseilles, children sold as slaves to Muslims
Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa, defeat of Almohades. Their power
declined in Spain, and they were eventually expelled from Spain,
leaving only the Nasrid dynasty of Granada to stand against the
Reconquista
FIFTH CRUSADE 1218-1221
Preached at the Fourth Lateran Council, which adopted portions of the
Muslim Code of Umar against European Jews
1219
Crusaders capture Damietta; Sultan offers Jerusalem for Damietta, but
his offer rejected
Mongols overrun Azerbaijan, Georgia, and northern Persia; invade
Transoxania, take Bokhara, Marakanda (1220); devastate Khorasan,
destroy Merv and Mishapur, and capture Herat
1221
Crusaders march on Cairo fails; treaty between Sultan and Crusaders,
Egypt retakes Damietta
SIXTH CRUSADE 1228-1229
Emperor Frederick (the "Antichrist"), excommunicated by the pope, who
calls for a crusade against Frederick's Italian domains, negotiates a
treaty with Malik al-Kamil, Saladin's nephew; peace for ten years,
granted Jerusalem, Nazareth, Bethlehem, etc, with a corridor for
Christians from the coast to Jerusalem. Crowns himself king of
Jerusalem, as the Patriarch of Jerusalem refused to crown him; the
pope renews the sentence of excommuniciation
1230
Work on the Alhambra begun
1232
Muslims massacre the Jewish community of Marrakech
1235
Ziyanid dynasty takes Algeria from the Almohades, eventually absorbed
by the Marinids of Morocco (1339)
1236
Castillians take Cordoba from the Almohades
1240-1241
Crusade of Richard of Cornwall, brother of Henry III of England,
forbidden by the pope
1241
Mongols seize the Punjab from Muslims
1243
Battle of Kosedagh; Mongols defeat the Seljuks, overrun Anatolia
1244
Muslim mercenaries capture Jerusalem from Christians
1245-1253
Mongols ravage Mesopotamia, Azerbaijan, Armenia, and Georgia
SEVENTH CRUSADE 1248-1251
Louis IX of France takes Damietta, marches on Cairo (1249); army
routed, Louis captured, Muslims slaughter 30,000 prisoners, Damietta
lost. Louis ransomed, spends 1251-54 on pilgrimage to Jerusalem
1256
Hulugu, grandson of Jenghiz Khan, stamps out the cult of the Assassins
1258
Hafsids conquer Tunis from the Almohades
Mongols under Hulugu capture and sack Baghdad, execute the caliph,
Musta'im, massacre 80,000, put the city to the torch; then invade
Syria and seize Aleppo
[‘Among the Turks and the Tatars their wives enjoy a very high
position; indeed, when they issue an order they say in it, “By command
of the Sultan and the Khatun.”’ Ibn Battuta
Dokuz Khatan, Hulugu’s favorite wife, herself a Nestorian Christian,
favored Christians and influenced her husband to place them in posts
of responsibility.]
1260
Battle of Ain Jalut; Egyptian Mameluks under Baybars destroy Mongol
army
Baybars revives the caliphate, invites the Abbasid Ahmad Abu al-Qasim
to Caior, and knowledges him caliph as Mustansir l'Jlla
1261-1310
Ottoman Turks conquer the Aegean coast, drive out the Byzantines,
establish Turkish principalities
1263
Destruction of Christian churches, shrines, and monasteries throughout
Palestine, including the church of the Annunciation in Nazareth
(permission to rebuild the church not granted to Christians until
1730)
1269
The Polo brothers arrive in Akko with letters to the pope from Kublai
Khan. They set out again for the east in 1271 with their nephew, Marco
EIGHTH CRUSADE 1270
Louis IX of France and Edward I of England attack Tunis. Louis dies,
Crusade ends
1275
The (Nestorian Christian) patriarch of Baghdad creates the
archbishopric of Beijing
Moroccan Jews ordered to choose between conversion to Islam or death
1281
Mar Yabalaka, pilgrim from Beijing to Jerusalem, first patriarch of
Beijing; churches built in Chen-kiang, Yang-chou, and Hangchow; the
emperor creates a special bureau (1289) for Christian affairs in
Beijing; the patriarch of Beijing and the pope negotiate an entente
between the Nestorian and Roman Catholic faiths
1290
Edward I expels English Jews; Mameluks seize Akko, last Christian
stronghold in Palestine (1291)
1291
Akko falls to Muslim Mamluks of Egypt
1293
Decree issued ordering the destruction of synagogues in Egypt and
Syria
1296
Marinids of Morocco seize the Moroccan capital from the Almohades
(dynasty to 1470)
1297-1316
Ala ud-Din, nephew and murderer of Firuz, successor of Balban's son,
sultan; launched a surprise attack on Devagiri in Maharashtra,
counquered and despoiled Gujarat and its rich port of Cambay;
instituted a program of repression, which included espionage;
confiscation of Hindu wealth, endowments, and tax exempt lands;
prohibition of liquor and all Hindu social gatherings
[NB: From 1229 onward, Islamic architects introduced a tradition of
spacious, light and airy prayer chambers covered by arch, vault, and
dome, erected with concrete and mortar, and ornamented with colour and
flat,
linear, conventional decoration, a formula applied with recognition of
Hindu structural styles and the excellence of Hindu ornamentation;
e.g., Aibak's mosque at Delhi was an Islamic screen of arches framed
with Hindu carving and ornamented with the plunder of 27 Hindu
temples]
1301
Battle of Baphaeon. Ottoman Turks defeat the Greeks; seize Ephesus
(1304); destruction of synagogues in Egypt and Syria
1307
John of Montecorvino baptizes 5,000 Chinese and is named Roman
Catholic archbishop of Beijing
GREAT FAMINE IN EUROPE 1315-1317
1317
Siege of Bursa begins; Muslims starve town into submission 6th April
1326
1320
Tughluk dynasty, founded by Ghiyas ud-Din Tughluk, who encourages
agriculture and corrected abuses by tax collectors. Ghiyas murdered by
his son Muhammad, who succeeds him (1325-1351). Muhammad raises taxes
to exhorbitant levels to encourage rebellion, which he then put down
with great brutality and seizure of property. Tughluk dynasty survives
to 1413
1325
"I left Tangier, my birthplace, on Thursday, 2nd Rajab 725 [14th June
1325], being at that time [twenty-one] years of age, with the
intention of making the Pilgrimage to [ Mecca] and [Medina]. I set out
alone, finding no companion to cheer the way with friendly
intercourse, and no party of travellers with whom to associate myself.
Swayed by an overmastering impulse within me, and a long-cherished
desire to visit those glorious sanctuaries, I resolved to quit all my
friends and tear myself away from my home. As my parents were still
alive, it weighed grievously upon me to part from them, and both they
and I were afflicted with sorrow."
Abu Abdullah Muhammad Ibn Battuta of Morocco
1326
Orkhan I, sultan of the Ghazis (d 1362), expands his dominions from
Ankara to Thrace
July: "No one is allowed to pass into Syria without a passport from
Egypt, nor into Egypt without a passport from Syria, for the
protection of the property of the subjects and as a measure of
precaution against spies from Iraq. The responsibility of guarding
this road has been entrusted to the Badawin. At nightfall they smooth
down the sand so that no track is left on it, then in the morning the
governor comes and looks at the sand. If he finds any track on it he
commands the Arabs to bring the person who made it, and they set out
in pursuit and never fail to catch him. He is then brought to the
governor, who punishes him as he sees fit. The governor at the time of
my passage treated me as a guest and showed me great kindness, and
allowed all those who were with me to pass. From here we went on to
Gaza, which is the first city of Syria on the side next the Egyptian
frontier."
"From Gaza I travelled to the city of Abraham [Hebron], the mosque of
which is of elegant, but substantial construction, imposing and lofty,
and built of squared stones At one angle of it there is a stone, one
of whose faces measures twenty-seven spans. It is said that Solomon
commanded the jinn to build it. Inside it is the sacred cave
containing the graves of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, opposite which are
three graves, which are those of their wives. I questioned the imam, a
man of great piety and learning, on the authenticity of these graves,
and he replied: "All the scholars whom I have met hold these graves to
be the very graves of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and their wives. No one
questions this except introducers of false doctrines; i
is a tradition which has passed from father to son for generations and
admits of no doubt." Ibn Battuta
1329-1335
Battle of Palekanon, Ottomans defeat Byzantines under the emperor
Andonicus III. Nicaea taken 2nd march 1331. Ottomans defeat Greeks at
Pelekanon, seize Nicomedia (1335)
1330
"We went on to the town of Ta'izz, the capital of the king of Yemen,
and one of the finest and largest towns in that country. Its people
are overbearing, insolent, and rude, as is generally the case in towns
where
kings reside." Ibn Battuta
1333
Baghdadi Jews ordered to choose between conversion to Islam or death
1334
Madura revolts against Muslim rule
1340
Muslim invasion and conquest of Kashmir
1344
Destruction of Iraqi synagogues. The Tughluk sultan Muhammad ibn
Ghiyas massacres tax collectors for failure to meet tax quotas
1345
Ottomans cross into Europe at the invitation of the emperor John
Cantacuzene to support his claims against the empress Anna; again in
1352
------------------------------------------------
THE GREAT MORTALITY 1347-1353
Pandemic of bubonic, pneumonic, and septicaemic plague throughout Asia
Minor, the Middle East, Europe, North Africa, India, and China
“Plague attacked almost all the seacoasts of the world, and killed
most of the people. For it swept not only through Pontos and Thrace
and Macedonia, but even Greece, Italy and all the Islands, Egypt,
Libya, Judea, and Syria.” Emperor John Cantacuzenos
1347
Outbreaks of plague in the Crimea, Trebizond, Constantinople, Messina,
Genoa, Venice, and Alexandria
1348
April – in Tunis, Marinid rulers attempting to conquer Tunis were
defeated by the plague (ibn Khaldun). Plague in Gaza (10,000 reported
dead), Ashqelon, Jerusalem, Sidon, Damascus (1,000/day in September/
October), Homs, Aleppo, and Antioch. Half a million reported dead in
Syria, entire areas of Palestine depopulated. Plague in Pisa, Genoa,
Venice, Marseilles, Barcelona, Florence (April), England (June),
Spain, Portugal, France, England, the Low Countries
Arab armies in Spain considered adopting Christianity as a
preventative, until Christians, including Alfonso VIII, began dying
"Kinsfolk held aloof, brother was forsaken by brother, oftentimes
husband by wife; nay, what is more, and scarcely to be believed,
fathers and mothers were found to abandon their own children to their
fate, untended, unvisited, as if they had been strangers." Boccaccio
"And so they died. And no one could be found to bury the dead…I, Anolo
di Tura, buried my five children with my own hands, and so did many
likewise." Agnolo di Tura
"Men and women wandered around as if mad... no one had any inclination
to concern themselves with the future."
"Charity was dead." Guy de Chauliac, physician to Clement VI
"No one knew where to turn for help." Henry Knighton of Leicester
"God is deaf nowadays, and deigneth not to hear us;
And prayers have no power the Plague to stay." William Langland
1348
Ibn Battuta: "…July 1348. The viceroy Arghun Shah ordered a crier to
proclaim through Damascus that all the people should fast for three
days and that no one should cook anything eatable in the market during
the daytime. For most of the people there eat no food but what has
been prepared in the market. So the people fasted for three successive
days, the last of which was a Thursday, then they assembled in the
Great Mosque, amirs, sharifs, qadis, theologians, and all the other
classes of the people, until the place was filled to overflowing, and
there they spent the Thursday night in prayers and litanies. After the
dawn prayer next morning they all went out together on foot, holding
Korans in their hands, and the amirs barefooted. The procession was
joined by the entire population of the town, men and women, small and
large; the Jews came with their Book of the Law and the Christians
with their Gospel, all of them with their women and children. The
whole concourse, weeping and supplicating and seeking the favour of
God through His Books and His Prophets, made their way to the Mosque
of the Footprints, and there they remained in supplication and
invocation until near midday. They then returned to the city and held
the Friday service, and Allah lightened their affliction; for the
number of deaths in a single day at Damascus did not attain two
thousand, while in Cairo and Old Cairo it reached the figure of twenty-
four thousand a day."
1349
Plague in Mecca, Medina Mosul, Baghdad, Ireland, Scotland, Scandanavia
1350
Plague reaches Yemen and (in 1351) northwestern Russia, killing the
Grand Duke of Moscow and the Patriarch of the Russian Church
1353-54
Plague in the Chinese and Mongol empires kills an estimated 25
millions
Arab physicians of Cordoba and Granada concur with the verdict of the
University of Paris medical faculty, requested by the king to report
on the "great affliction", called the "black plague" in a Welsh lament
of the time; it's ascribed to a triple conjunction of Saturn, Jupiter,
and Mars in Aquarius on 20th March 1345, plus "effects whose cause is
hidden from even the most highly trained intellects."
Slaughter of European Jews, accused of collusion with Muslims in
conspiracy to destroy Christianity; thousands of Jews massacred, more
than 200 Jewish communities destroyed; survivors flee to Poland,
Russia, North Africa, Israel, and Ottoman lands
The estimated deaths of 70 million worldwide precipitate substantial
socio-economic changes
------------------------------------------------
[CONT'D]
Deborah