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Calligraphy of Khalid ibn al-Walid's name
Calligraphy of Muslim Arab general Khalid ibn al-Walid's (d. 642 CE) name.
Definition
Umayyad Dynasty
The Umayyad Dynasty (661-750 CE), the first dynasty to take the title of Caliphate, was established in 661 CE by Muawiya (l. c. 602-680 CE), who had served as the governor of Syria under the Rashidun Caliphate, after the death of the fourth...
Article
Early Muslim Conquests (622-656 CE)
Islam arose as a religious and socio-political force in Arabia in the 7th century CE (610 CE onwards). The Islamic Prophet Muhammad (l. 570-632 CE), despite facing resistance and persecution, amassed a huge following and started building...
Definition
Abu Bakr
Abu Bakr (l. 573-634 CE, r. 632-634 CE) was an early convert of Islam; he was a close friend and confidant of the Islamic Prophet Muhammad, and became the first caliph of the Islamic empire – a successor to Muhammad's temporal position but...
Video
The Genius of their Age: Ibn Sina, Biruni, and the Lost Enlightenment
A vibrant portrait of an age when Arabic enlightenment anticipated and inspired the European Renaissance, illuminated by its guiding figures and rivals, Ibn Sina and Biruni. In The Genius of their Age, S. Frederick Starr follows up his...
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Map of Ibn Battuta’s Travels, 1325-1354
Ibn Battuta (Abū Abd Allāh Muḥammad ibn Abd Allāh Al-Lawātī, 1304–c.1368 CE) was a 14th-century Maghrebi traveler, scholar, and judge whose journeys across the Islamic world and beyond remain among the most remarkable in history. Over a span...
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Khalid ibn a-Walid's Invasion of Syria
A map showing Khalid ibn al-Walid's (585 - 642 CE) advance from Iraq to Syria in 634 CE, during the Islamic invasion of the Levant.
Definition
Uthman
Uthman ibn Affan (l. 576/583-656 CE) was an early convert to Islam, a close friend and son-in-law of Prophet Muhammad (l. 570-632 CE), and the third caliph (r. 644-656 CE) of the Rashidun Caliphate (632-661 CE). His charitable acts and modesty...
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The Mosque of Ibn Tulun, Cairo Egypt
Minaret of the Mosque of Ibn Tulun in Cairo. Its helical outer staircase has been influenced by the minaret at the Great Mosque of Samarra, Iraq c. 851
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Ibn Battuta
A modern portrait of Ibn Battuta, (l. 1304-1368/69 CE). Battuta was a Moroccan explorer from Tangier whose expeditions took him further than any other known traveler of his time and resulted in the work which has made him famous, The Rihla...