700 Muslims from Pamntelleria raid the island of Sicily.
700 Campaigns against the Berbers in North Africa.
700 Onset of Arab domination and the introduction of Islam. (Oman)
700 Sufism takes root as a sect of Islam; The beginning of the eighth century sees the rise of Islamic mysticism. Hasan Basri preaches virtue, mortification, prayer, purity of heart to attain knowledge of God
700 -720 Abd al-Malik singles out Christians for forced conversion to Islam or death – often by crucifixion.
702 Ashath’s rebellion in Iraq, battle of Deir ul Jamira.
702 Ethiopians attack Arab shipping in the Red Sea. Arabs in turn occupy Ethiopian seaports.
702 Ja’far al-Sadiq, the sixth Imam of shiites born. 17 Rabi-al-Awwal 83 AH10 Apr (Monday) Medinah25 Shawwal 148 AH13 Dec 765 (Fri) MedinahTaabai, Son of Imam Baqir. He was Imam of Fiqh Ja’fri (Jurisprudence)
705 – 715 Qutayba ibn Muslim leads the conquest of Transoxiana (modern day Uzbekistan and Southwest Kazakhstan).
705 Death of Abdul Malik. Accession of Walid I as Caliph and builds the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus.
707 Muslims capture Tangier.
708 Arabs led by Musa ibn Nusayr conquer Tangiers (Morocco) and subdue the Berbers 709 Qutayba ibn Muslim invades Central Asia (Merv, Bukhara, Samarkand)
709 Muslims capture Ceuta.
709 the Al-Aqsa mosque is built in Jerusalem
711 April 711 Tariq ibn Malik, a Berber officer, crosses the strait separating Africa and Europe with a group of Muslims and enters Spain (al-Andalus, as the Muslims called it, a word is etymologically linked to “Vandals”). The first stop in the Muslim conquest of Spain is at the foot of a mountain that comes to be called Jabel Tarik, the Mountain of Tarik. Today it is known as Gibraltar. At one time the Berbers had been Christians but they recently converted in large numbers to Islam after the Arab conquest of North Africa. Almost the entire Iberian peninsula is under Islamic control by 718 CE.
711 Umar II ibn Abd al-Aziz is appointed Khalifa.
711 July 19, 711 Tariq ibn Ziyad lands in Spain. Visigoth army under Rodriguez is defeated at the Battle of Buhayrah Battle of Guadalete Tariq ibn Ziyad kills King Rodrigo (or Roderic), Visigoth ruler of Spain, at the Guadalete River in the south of the Iberian peninsula. Tariq ibn Ziyad had landed at Gibraltar with 7,000 Muslims at the invitation of heirs of the late Visigoth King Witica (Witiza) who wanted to get rid of Rodrigo (this group includes Oppas, the bishop of Toledo and primate of all Spain, who happens to be the brother of the late king Witica). Ziyad, however, refuses to turn control of the region back over to the heirs of Witica. Almost the entire Iberian peninsula would come under Islamic control by 718.
711 Muhammed bin Qasim lands at Debal, subdues Baluchistan, Sindh, Multan and southern Punjab.
711 Muslims begin the conquest of Sindh in Afghanistan. Until 962 CE, Afghanistan witnesses different regional rules, periodically controlled by the Umayyad and the Abbasid caliphates and other locally-based rulers.
711 With the further conquest of Egypt, Spain and North Africa, Islam included all of the Persian empire and most of the old Roman world under Islamic rule. Muslims began the conquest of Sindh in Afghanistan.
712 Imam Maalik 93 AH712 Medinah179 AH795 MedinahTaba-Taabai, Compiler of Hadith & Scholar of Fiqh (Jurisprudence), student of Imam Ja’far Sadiq
713 Conquest of Multan.
712 the Arabs, led by Kutayba ben Muslim, conquer Transoxania and convert the Turks to Islam
712 The first mosque is built in Bukhara, which will become the second holiest city in Islam after Mecca
712 Conquest of Sind by Mohammad bin Qasim
712 The ascetic Abd Rustam founds a theocratic kingdom in central Algeria with capital in Tihert Tahert
713 Birth of Zaid bin Zain ul Abedin organizes resistance to the Omayyads. Beginning of the Zaidi branch. Muslim armies capture Lyons in France.
713 Ali ibn Husayn, the fourth Imamof shiite was poisoned and martyred. Muhammad al-Baqir becomes Imam.
714 Birth of Pippin III (Pippin the Short) in Jupille (Belgium). Son of Charles Martel and father of Charlemagne, in 759 Pippin would capture Narbonne, the last Muslim stronghold in France, and thereby drive Islam out of France.
714 Muhammed bin Qasim recalled from Sindh by Hajjaj bin Yusuf and imprisoned until death. Muslims capture Normandy in France.
715 Death of Walid I. Accession of Sulaiman. Sulaiman becomes Umayyad Caliph. Musa ibn Nusair recalled from Spain by Caliph Sulaiman, stripped of all power and banished into the desert.
715 Qutayba ibn Muslim leads the conquest of Transoxiana (modern day Uzbekistan and Southwest .
715 – By this year just about all of Spain is in Muslim hands. The Muslim conquest of Spain only took around three years but the Christian reconquest would require around 460 years. Musa’s son, Abd el-Aziz, is left in charge and makes his capital the city of Seville, where he married Egilona, widow of king Rodrigo. Caliph Suleiman, a paranoid ruler, would have el-Aziz assassinated and sends Musa into exile in his native Yemen village to live out his days as a beggar.
715 Caliph Sulaiman besieges Byzantium
716 Muslim armies reach Constantinople but are unsuccessful at conquering it, despite repeated attempts.
716 Lisbon is captured by Muslims.
717 Second Arab siege of Constantinople collapses in failure. Constantinople remains unconquered.
717 The Umayyads attempt to conquer the Byzantine capital and fail, resulting in the weakening of the Umayyad government.
717 August 15, 717 Second Siege of Constantinople Taking advantage of the civil unrest in the Byzantine Empire, Caliph Sulaiman sends 120,000 Muslims under the command of his brother, Moslemah, to launch the second siege of Constantinople. Another force of around 100,000 Muslims with 1,800 galleys soon arrives from Syria and Egypt to assist. Most of these reinforcements are quickly destroyed with Greek Fire. Eventually the Muslims outside Constantinople begin to starve and, in the winter, they also begin to freeze to death. Even the Bulgarians, usually hostile to the Byzantines, send a force to destroy Muslim reinforcements marching from Adrianopolis.
717 Cordova (Qurtuba) becomes the capital of Muslim holdings in Andalusia (Spain).
717 Death of Sulaiman. Omar bin Abdul Aziz becomes the Caliph and attempts reconciliation in the Islamic community. He lowers taxes on peasants in Persia and Egypt..
717 Leo the Isaurian, born along the Turkish-Syrian border in the Syrian province of Commagene, revolts against the usurper Theodosius III and assumes the throne of the Byzantine Empire.
718 August 15, 718 Muslims abandon their second siege of Constantinople. Their failure here leads to the weakening of the Umayyad government, in part because of the heavy losses. It is estimated that of the 200,000 soldiers who besieged Constantinople, only around 30,000 made it home. Although the Byzantine Empire also sustains heavily casualties and loses most its territory south of the Taurus Mountains, by holding the line here they prevent a disorganized and militarily inferior Europe from having to confront a Muslim invasion along the shortest possible route. Instead, the Arabic invasion of Europe must proceed along the longer path across northern Africa and into Spain, a route which prevents quick reinforcement and ultimately proves ineffective.
718 Conquest of Spain complete.
719 Cordova, Spain, becomes seat of Arab governorship.
719 Muslims attack Septimania in southern France (so named because it was the base of operations for Rome’s Seventh Legion) and become established in the region known as Languedoc, made famous several hundred years later as the center of the Cathar heresy.
720 Muslim armies cross the Pyrenees and occupy southern France.
720 9 Feb. Death of Umar b Abdul Aziz. Accession of Yazid II.
720 the Zayids do not recognize the imam Baqir and cause a split within the Shiites
721 July 09, 721 A Muslim army under the command of Al-Semah and that had crossed the Pyrenees is defeated by the Franks near Toulouse. Al-Semah is killed and his remaining forces, which had previously conquered Narbonne, are forced back across the Pyrenees into Spain.
722 Battle of Covadonga Pelayo, (690-737) Visigoth noble who had been elected the first King of Asturias (718-737), defeats a Muslim army at Alcama near Covadonga. This is generally regarded as the first real Christian victory over the Muslims in the Reconquista.
723 Al-Kharashi, massacred Turks and Sogdianrefugees in Khujand
724 – Under the command of Ambissa, Emir of Andalusia, Muslim forces raid southern France and capture the cities of Carcassone and Nimes. Primary targets in these and other raids are churches and monasteries where the Muslims take away holy objects and enslave or kill all the clerics.
724 26 Jan. Death of Yazid II. Accession of Hisham 724-743. Hisham becomes the 10th caliph of the Umayyad Dynasty. It is under Hisham that Muslim forces make their deepest incursions into Western Europe before being stopped by Charles Martel at the Battle of Poitiers in 732. Caliphate of Hisham, which saw the growth of Arabic prose writing. Power shifted from Damascus to Baghdad
725 The Muslims occupy Nimes in France.
728 Hasan al-Basri, Imam of Basra, dies. Noted for his asceticism and considered one of the earliest Sufis.
728 Caliph Hisham attacks the Franks at Tours and Poitiers
730 Muslim forces occupy the French cities of Narbonne and Avignon.
731 Birth of Imam Abu-Yusuf (Hanafi)113 AH731 Kufah, Iraq187 AH803 Baghdad, Scholar of Fiqh (Jurisprudence)
731 Death of Imam al Baqir.
732 October 10, Battle of Tours also called the Battle of Poitiers and, by Arab sources, the Battle of the Highway of the Martyrs was fought by Frankish and Burgundian forces under Charles Martel against an army of the Umayyad Caliphate led by Abdul Rahman Al Ghafiqi, Governor-General of al-Andalus. Charles Martel halts a Muslim force of around 40,000 to 60,000 cavalry under Abd el-Rahman Al Ghafiqi from moving farther into Europe. Many regard this battle as being decisive in that it saved Europe from Muslim control.
735 Muslim armies advance through southern France and occupy mountain passes in Switzerland. Muslim invaders capture the city of Arles.
737 the Arabs capture Provence.
737 Charles Martel sends his brother, Childebrand, to lay siege to Avignon and drive out the Muslim occupiers. Childebrand is successful and, according to records, has all the Muslims in the city killed.
739 Second Coptic rebellion in Egypt.
739 Already having retaken Narbonne, Beziers, Montpellier, and Nimes during the previous couple of years, Childebrand captures Marseille, one of the largest French cities still in Muslim hands.
740 Shia revolt under Zaid b Ali. Berber revolt in North Africa. Battle of the Nobles.
740 Death of Imam Zaid bin Zain ul Abedin.
740 The Shias of Yemen split from the main Shia tradition claiming that Zayd was the rightful fifth imam instead of Muhammad al Baqir
741 Death of Uqbah, son of Hajjaj bin Yusuf.
741 The Battle of Bagdoura in North Africa.
741 June 08, 741 Death of Leo III the Isaurian, Byzantine Emperor. Leo’s tactical skills were responsible for turning back the second Arab Muslim siege of Constantinople in 717, shortly after he was elected emperor
741 October 22,Death of Charles Martel (Charles the Hammer) in at Quierzy (today the Aisne county in the Picardy region of France). As Mayor of the Palace of the kingdom of the Franks, Charles had led a force of Christians that turned back a Muslim raiding party near Poitiers (or Tours) which, according to many historians, effectively halted the advance of Islam against Christianity in the West.
742 The Muslim rule restored in Qiarowan.
743 Shia revolt in Khurasan under Yahya b Zaid.
743 Death of Hisham, 10th caliph of the Umayyad Dynasty Accession of Walid II.. It was under Hisham that Muslim forces made their deepest incursions into Western Europe before being stopped by Charles Martel at the Battle of Poitiers in 732.
743 Yazid III ibn al-Walid ibn Abd becomes Khalifa for six months. Ibrahim ibn al-Walid rules for a short time before he abdicates the throne. Marwan II ibn Muhammad ibn Marwan inherits an unstable empire. Discontent with Umayyad rule was prevalent among Shi’is and non-Arabs.
744 Abu Muslim is appointed the chief dayee of Khorasan.Yazid III, Ibrahim and Marwan II become the Caliphs in rapid succession.
744 Deposition of Walid I1. Accession of Yazid III and his death. Accession of Ibrahim and his overthrow. Battle of Ain al Jurr. Accession of Marwan II.
744 Salih ibn Tarif proclaims himself a prophet, writes a religious book in Berber language, and founds a Berber kingdom in central Morocco for the Barghwata people
745 Imam Musa Kazim (7)7 Safar 129 AH27 Oct 745 (Thurs) near Medinah25 Rajab 183 AH1 Sep 799 (Sunday) Kadhimiya Son of Imam Ja’far Sadiq, born in Al-Abwa 7 miles from Medinah, died in prison
745 6 Death of Jahm ibn Ṣafwān
745 Kufa and Mosul occupied by the Khawarjites..
746 Battle of Rupar Thutha, Kufa and Mosul occupied by Marwan II. Beginning of the Abbasid revolution in Khorasan.
746 Greeks retake Cyprus from the Arabs.
747 Revolt of Abu Muslim in Khurasan. Descendants of Muhammad’s uncle, Al-Abbas, make claims to the Caliphate. Abu Muslim, backed by the Abbasids, leads the revolution against the Umayyads.748 – Battle of Rayy.
748 Death of Wāṣil ibn ‘Aṭā’
749 Abu ‘l’Abbas Saffah, whose army is led by the Persian general Abu Muslim Khorasani, replaces the Umayyad dynasty with the Abbasid dynasty Battles of lsfahan and Nihawand. Capture of Kufa by the Abbasids. Abu’l AbbasAs-Saffah 750 – 754 (132- 136 AH) becomes the Abbasid Caliph at Kufa.
750 – 850The Four Orthodox Schools of Islamic Law were established.
750 Khalifa Marwan II is defeated at the Battle of Zab. The end of Umayyad rule. Abu al-Abbas becomes the first Abbasid Khalifa. Abbasids rule the Islamic world except for Spain which falls under the rule of a descendant of the Omayyad family. They move the capital to Baghdad in Iraq. Their orientation resembles Persian absolutism. Abd al-Rahman of the Omayyad dynasty flees to Spain and creates the “Golden Caliphate” in Spain.
750 CE, 132 A.H Muslim Arabs have created a huge Islamic Empire in Middle East.
750 The Arabian Nights, a compilation of stories written under the reign of the Abbasids, became representative of the lifestyle and administration of this Persian influenced government.
750 The Arabian Nights, a compilation of stories written under the reign of the Abbasids, became representative of the lifestyle and administration of this Persian influenced government.
750 the Ibadis believe that that the most worthy person should be imam and found an imamate in Oman
750 The Abbasids assume control of the Islamic world (except Spain, which falls under the control of a descendant of the Umayyad family) and moved the capital to Baghdad in Iraq. The Abbasid Caliphate would last until 1258.
751 Battle of Talas River. Abbasids defeat the Chinese in Central Asia. A decisive battle which placed
751 1901 French forces occupy Morocco.
751 Arab forces in Central Asia defeat a Chinese Army at the Battle of Atlakh on the Talas. Of particular importance is that the Arabs learn about paper from the Chinese prisoners. Samarkand initially plays the role of the site of paper production in the Arab world.
751 Conquest of Wasit by the Abbasid. Murder of the Minister Abu Salama.
751 Conquest of Wasit by the Abbasid. Murder of the Minister Abu Salama.
751 Systematic development of Fiqh begins.
752 the Franks under Pippin expel the Arabs from Provence
754 Baghdad (Madinat al-Salam, “city of peace”) becomes the new capital of the Abbasid empire.
754 Death of As Saffah. Al Mansur becomes the Caliph754 – 775 (136-158 AH) , sends troops into China in response to a request for help from the Tang Emperor Tsung. Baghdad (Madinat al-Salam, “city of peace”) becomes the new capital of the Abbasid empire.
755 Revolt of Abdullah b Ali. MUrder of Abu Muslim. Sunbadh revolt in Khurasan.
755 Accession of the Caliph al-Mansur, Abu Muslim having been assassinated.
755 September 755 Abd al-Rahman of the Umayyad dynasty flees to Spain to escape the Abbasids and would be responsible for creating the “Golden Caliphate” in Spain.
756 Abd al-Rahman I ad-Dakhil defeats the governor of al-Andalus (southern part of Iberian Peninsula). Abdul Rahman founds the Umayyad state in Spain.
756 – The Emirate of Cordova is established by Umayyad refugee Abd al-Rahman I in order to revive the defeated Umayyad caliphate which had been destroyed in 750 by the Abbasids. Cordova would become independent of the Abbasid Empire and represents the first major political division within Islam. The political and geographic isolation of the Cordova Caliphate would make it easier for Christians to decisively conquer it despite their failures elsewhere, although this would not be completed until 1492.
759 The Franks recapture Narbonne from the Muslims. Arabs lose the city of Narbonne, France, their furthest and last conquest into Frankish territory. In capturing this city Pippin III (Pippin the Short) ends the Muslim incursions in France.
760 Death of Imam Ismail, son of Imam Ja’afar as Saadiq. Beginning of the Fatimid branch among Muslims. the Ismails do not recognize the seventh imam Musa Kazim and cause another split within the Shiites
762 Shia revolt under Muhammad (Nafs uz Zakia) and Ibrahim.
762 the Abbasid caliph AlMansur moves the capital from Damascus to Baghdad, built near the old Sassanid capital, Ctesiphon .The newly founded city of Baghdad becomes the Abbasid capital.
763 Defeat of the Abbasids in Spain.
763 Baghdad becomes the seat of the Caliphate and the cradle of Islamic civilization.
765 Caliph al Mansur establishes schools of translation in Baghdad. Muslims come into contact with Greek philosophy and Indian mathematics. A school of medicine is established in Baghdad.
765 Death of Imam Ja’afar as Saadiq. Division within Shi’ites – majority are the modern Imamiyya (Twelvers) who co-exist with Abbasid caliphs; minority are more extreme Isma’iliyaa (Seveners).
767 Khariji state set up by Ibn Madrar at Sijilmasa. Ustad Sees revolt in Khurasan.
767 Abu Hanifa al-Numan ibn Thabit, founder of the Hanafi School of Islamic law, dies. Known also as Hanafiyyah, Hanafi law is the first of four orthodox Sunni schools of law.
768 Oral histories of Mohammed are first recorded by the historian Ishaq ibn Yasar.
768 The Battle of Ravy.
77 Muslims capture Tangier.
772 Battle of Janbi in North Africa. Rustamid. state set up in Morocco. Third Coptic revolt in Egypt
772 Caliph al-Mansur visits Jerusalem and orders an identifying mark be stamped on the hands of all Christians and Jews.
775 Death or the Abbasid Caliph Mansur, Accession of Muhammad ibn Mansur al-Mahdi becomes Khalifa. His viziers (high-ranking advisors) are of the Barmakid family, which aid in his peaceful and prosperous reign.
776 Jabir ibn Haiyan becomes one of the leading scientists in Kufa while practicing medicine and alchemy. He is also known as the “father of chemistry” for his major works on classifying the elements and testing their properties.
777 Battle of Saragossa in Spain.
777 Ibadis form an imamate in western Algeria with capital in Tahart
778 Spain. Charlemagne leads an unsuccessful campaign against the Muslims.
778 Charlemagne, King of the Franks and soon-to-be Holy Roman Emperor, is invited by a group of Arab leaders in northeastern Spain to attack Abd al-Rahman I, ruler of the Emirate of Cordova. Charlemagne obliges them, but is forced to retreat after only getting as far as Saragossa. It is during his march back through the Pyrenees that his forces are set upon by Basques. Among the many who die is the war leader Roland from Breton, killed in Roncevalles, whose memory has been preserved in the “Chanson de Roland,” an important epic poem during the Middle Ages.
780 Al-Khwarizmiv Mathematician who gave his name to ‘algorithm’. Latin translations of his books introduced algebra (derived from al-jabr) to Europe. ( – c.840
781 Ibn Jabir invents the science of chemistry.
785 -786Brief Caliphate of al-Hadi, and erection of the Great Mosque at Cordoba.
785 Death of Jafar al-Sadiq, great great grandson of Ali. Shi’i Muslims are divided over which of his sons will continue the Imamate. A minority believe that the elder son, Ismail, is the heir, while the majority believe the line continues with the younger, Musa al-Kazim. They become known as Ismailis and Itha Ashari’s (or Twelvers), respectively.
785 Death of the Caliph Mahdi. Accession of Hadi.
786 -809 During the Caliphate of Harun al-Rashid, Christians and Jews are ordered to wear yellow identification patches on their clothing. Eventually yellow would be used to signify “Jew” and blue used to identify “Christian”. Neither Jews nor Christians were allowed to wear green – green was reserved for use by Muslims only.
786 Death of Hadi. Accession of Harun ur Rashid. He becomes the fifth Abbasid caliph, a protector of scientists and scholars His reign is at the height of Abbasid rule. Noted as a munificent patron of arts and letters. His rule will last until 809, and marks the period of greatest cultural and intellectual achievement under the Abbasid dynasty. It is during his reign that the first anthologies of Hadith (reported sayings of the Prophet) appear, compiled by al-Bukhari. He will later appear as a central character in many of the tales in the Thousand and One Nights .
788 Death of Abd al-Rahman I, founder of the Umayyad Emirate of Cordova. His successor is Hisham I.
789 foundation of Fez; Rise of Idrisid amirs in Morocco; Christoforos, a Muslim who converted to Christianity, is executed.
790 The manufacture of paper is introduced into Baghdad from China.
790 Death of Rābi’a al-‘Adawiyya
790 Idris, a descendant of Ali, conquers Morocco and founds the Idrisid dynasty, The first Shi’ite dynasty
792 Hisham I, emir of Cordova, calls for a Jihad against the infidels in Andalusia and France. Tens of thousands from as far away as Syria heed his call and cross the Pyrennes to subjugate France. Cities like Narbonne are destroyed, but the invasion is ultimately hated at Carcassone.
793 caliph Haroun elRaschid establishes paper factory in Baghdad
793 Sibawayh formalizes the Arabic language
795 Death of Imam Malik bin Anas, after whom the Maliki school of Fiqh is named.
796 The Ibadi imams seize control of Oman
796 Death of Hisham I, emir of Cordova. His successor is his son, al-Hakam, who would keep up the jihad against the Christians but would also be forced to contend with rebellion at home.
799 Zubaida, wife of Harun al Rashid performs the Hajj and builds rest houses for hajjis on the road. Death of Imam Musa al Kazim. Spread of Islam into Persia and Egypt picks up momentum.
799 Suppression of the revolt of the Khazars.
799 The Basques rise in revolt and kill the local Muslim governor of Pamplona.