Romaine Smith
History of Islam
The religion of Islam exploded from being a desert religion, to a major contender on the world stage, thanks to the weakening of Christianity by infighting between 700 and 1200. Videos and articles based on the Crusades, Iran, and the Ottoman Empire are found on separate pages.
AD 537 It's a Church, It's a Mosque, It's Hagia Sophia
The original main church of Constantinople was burned in rioting, so Justinian built a bigger church.
AD 601-661: Always the Bridesmaid - The Life and Times of Ali
Ali ibn Abi Talib was the son-in-law of the prophet Muhammad, and Shia Muslims followed him.
AD 636 The Battle of al-Qadisiyyah
The Sassanid Empire and the Byzantine Empire spent so much time fighting each other that they became vulnerable to a new threat.
AD 636 The Battle of Yarmouk
The Byzantines had just fought off the Sassanian Empire when they were attacked from the barren desert but Muslims.
AD 711 The Battle of Guadalete
After the Arab Muslim conquered Northern Africa, they turned their eyes north across the Straits of Gibralter at the Visigothic Kingdom.
AD 722 The Battle of Covadonga
After the conquest of the Visigothic Empire by Muslims, the Iberian peninsula came under the control of the sultan of Damascus. However, certain Visigoth nobles still resisted.
AD 732 The Battle of Tours
Muslim forces from Spain are invading the heartland of Europe, and it is up to Duke Odo and Charles Martel to stop them in the middle of France, but they are without any significant cavalry.
AD 993 - 1056 Samuel HaNagid
One of the Muslims who ruled in what is modern Spain made an unusual decision: he appointed as his vizier one of his closest allies, a Jewish poet named Samuel HaNagid.
AD 1071 Battle of Manzikert
Much of the Middle East had converted to Islam, including the nomadic Seljuk Turks, who started to attack Byzantine territory.
AD 1212 Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa
40,000 Christian troops from 5 Christian kingdoms and 3 knight orders unite in one army to counter a 70,000 strong Muslim Berber army that attempts to shatter the Christian hold on central Spain.
AD 1280-1337 Mansa Musa and Islam in Africa
Mansa Musa was the ruler of the kingdom of Mali, and the richest man in the world.
AD 1402 Battle of Anakara
After the Battle of Nicopolis, the Ottoman Empire was unable to capitalize on their victory due to an invasion by the warlord Timur in the Anatolia peninsula.
AD 1842: Dr. William Brydon and the Massacre of Elphinstone's Army
Major General William Elphinstone was the most incompetent soldier who ever became a general.
AD 1906-1979 Iran's Revolutions
The Shah of Iran was a tyrant who ruled the country with an iron fist. Many young protested about the lack of jobs, and the Shiite clergy supported them.
AD 1956 Suez Crisis Part 1
The new Egyptian president, Nassar, decided to forcibly take the Suez Canal from the United Kingdom, who fought back.
AD 1956 Suez Crisis Part 2
Britain and France teamed up to force a regime change in Egypt, but the Egyptians have some unusual allies.
AD 1979-1989 Soviet-Afghan War
The Afghan Prime Minister, a reformer who implemented many socialist policies, is assassinated in a coup, and the Soviet Union steps in.
AD 1979-2003 Saddam's Iraq
Saddam Hussein took formal control of Iraq in 1979, and he immediately executed any potential rivals and started a war with Iran. This war was not as easy as he had anticipated.
AD 1994-1999 Chechen Wars
Russia has a large amount of ethnic groups in their empire, many of which are Muslim. The Caucasus Mountains are filled with many Muslim groups that have actively resist Russian rule.
AD 1957-2011 Osama Bin Laden The World's Most Wanted Man
Osama Bin Laden is the infamous mastermind of the 2001 World Trade Center bombings.
AD 1994-1999 Iraq Explained: ISIS, Syria, and War
The civil war found in Syria and that spilled over to Iraq is an extreme extension of a rivalry between Shia and Sunni Muslims.