A CONCISE HISTORY OF ISLAM
AND ITS EXPANSION IN THE KNOWN WORLD
   
ANNO DOMINI 613 Declaration at Mt. Sara inviting the general public to accept Islam.
  624 Battle of Badr. Expulsion of the Jews from Madina.
  627 Battle of the Trench. Expulsion of the Jews at Banu Quraiza.
  630 Conquest of Makkah. Battles of Hunsin, Auras, and Taif.
  634 Muslim armies stormed out of the Arabian Peninsula and began
their conquests.
  635 Siege and conquest of Damascus.
  638 Christian Jerusalem and Syria conquered by Muslim armies.
  641 Muslims conquer Persia.
  642 Conquest of Egypt from the Christians, followed by the rest of
North Africa.
  647 Conquest of the Island of Cyress.
648 Campaigns against the Christian Byzantium. The armies of islam
launch a series of attacks against the Christians in the east that
culminate in the seige of its capitol Constaninople in 673.
  651 Naval battle against the Byzantines.
  666 Raid of Sicily.
  672 Conquest of the island of Rhodes.
  673 Siege of Constantinople. Muslim armies lay seige to the Byzantine
Christian capitol, Constantinople. The seige lasts for five years,
until the final capture of the city in 678.
  688 Construction begins on the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem.
  711 Conquest of Spain begins.
  716 Invasion of Constaninople.
  725 Muslims occupy Nimes in France.
  732 The Battle of Poitiers in France. Charles Martel halts the advance
of Muslims into Central Europe in this decisive battle.
  737 The Muslims are defeated in Avignon, France.
  756 Founding of the Umayyad State in Spain.
  777 Battle of Saragossa in Spain.
  792 Invasion of Southern France.
  805 Campaigns against the Byzantines. Recapture of Rhodes and Cypress.
  818 Capture of the islands of Izira, Majorica, and Sardinia.
  831 Muslims capture Polermo, Italy.
839 Muslims occupy all of southern Italy. Capture of the city of Messina
in Sicily. This is the main assault on Europe before the First Crusades.
Th goal of Islam appeared to be the destruction of Christianity, hence
its thrust to attack the heart of Christendom, the Papal Seat in Rome.
846 Rome is attacked. The sack of Rome by the Muslims transcended in
intensity and horror of human carnage any that had occurred in the
past. The Basilicas of St. Peter and St. Paul, and all the surrounding
buildings, are razed. Thousands of priests, nuns, and innocents are
slaughtered. Although the city of Rome was not destroyed, the attack
focused on the sacred center of Christendom, in the hope of anihilating
the Christian faith.
  909 Sicily and Sardinia fall to the Muslims.
  937 The Church of the Resurrection (Church of the Holy Sepulchre) is
burned down by Muslims. Many more churches in Jerusalem are
attacked and burned.
  966 Anti-Christian riots in Jerusalem.
  970 Muslim Fatamids invade Palestine and destroy it through a century
of war, which devastated the Jewsih population.
  973 The Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem is burned to the
ground by Muslims.
  1003 Al-Hakim begins his persecutions by destroying the Church of
St. Mark in Fustat, Egypt. He continues his persecutions by destroying
the Church of the Resurrection in Jerusalem in 1009. And later in
1012, he issues many oppressive decrees against Jews and Christians.
  1019 Conquest of the Punjab.
  1054 Schism between the Eastern and Western Christian Churches.
1071 Believing the Eastern Church to be weak after the Schism, the Turks
attack Byzantium. Muslims eventually defeat the Christian army of the
Byzantine Empire at the Battle of Manzikert, Turkey. The Muslims
continue on to invade and conquer Palestine.
  1073 Conquest of Jerusalem by Turks.
  1076 Conquest of western Ghana.
  1082 Conquest of Algeria by the Al Moravids.
  1085 Toledo is retaken by Christian forces.
  1091 Normans recapture the island of Sicily, end of Muslim rule.
  1093 Henry of Burgundy comes to the aid of Castille, Spain, when it is
invaded by Muslims.
1094 Byzantine Emperor Alexius Comnenus I asks western Christendom
for help against Seljuk invasions of his territory, triggering the
First Crusade.
  1095 Pope Urban II preaches the The First Crusade to defend the eastern
Christians at the Council of Claremont.
  1099 The Christian Crusaders recapture Jerusalem.
  1118 Saragossa, Spain is recaptured by Christians.
  1119 The Order of the Knights Templar is founded to protect pilgrims in
the Holy Land.
  1147 Second Crusade.
  1181 Saladin becomes Sultan of Egypt. He is a brilliant military commander
who unites the Muslim armies.
  1187 Muslims recapture Jerusalem, triggering the Third Crusade.
  1189 The Third Crusade.
  1194 Capture and occupation of Delhi by Muslims.
  1199 Conquests of Northern India and Bengal.
  1204 The Fourth Crusade.
  1212 Muslims suffer defeat by the Christians in Spain at the Al-Uqba. The
Christians continue their recapture of Spain
  1217 The Fifth Crusade.
  1228 The Sixth Crusade.
  1229 Jerusalem falls back under Christian control.
  1245 Muslims recapture Jerusalem.
  1248 The Seventh Crusade.
  1266 The Eighth Crusade.
  1274 Ninth Crusade under Edward I of England.
1291 The Muslims conquer the city of Acre, the last Christian stronghold
in the Holy Lands. This is seen as the end of the Crusades. The
Templars move their headqaurters from Acre to Cypress, and the
Teutonic Knights move their headquarters from Acre to Venice. The
Muslims expel the Crusaders from the Middle East.
  1299 Ottoman Empire founded in Turkey.
  1327 Ottoman Turks capture the city of Nicaea.
  1361 Ottoman Turks conquer part of Thrace and establish a capitol there.
  1365 The Turks defeat the Christians at the battle of Matiza, the Byzantine
ruler becomes a vassal of the Turks.
  1347 The Black Plague kills 25 million people over the course of four years.
  1371 Invasion and conquest of Bulgaria.
  1404 Ottoman Turks annex Hungary.
  1456 Ottomans capture Athens.
  1473 Conquest of Persia by the Ottoman Empire.
  1475 Ottomans annex the Crimea, and go to war against Venice.
  1476 Turkey becomes the master of the Aegean Sea, and the Ottomans
dominate the Mediterranean Sea for almost a century.
  1478 Ottomans conquer Albania.
  1492 Muslims driven out of their last stronghold in Granada, Spain.
Reconquest of Spain by the Christians is complete.
  1517 Ottomans conquer Egypt and rule Arabia.
  1521 Mulsim Turks invade Hungary.
1526 Suleiman the Magnificaent orders the complete destruction of the
Hungarian Kingdom after the Battle of Mohacs.
1528 Conquest of Budapest in Hungary.
  1529 Turks lay siege to Vienna in Austria.
  1541 Ottoman Turks annex Hungary.
  1550 Conquest of Java, the Moluccas, and Borneo.
  1560 Ottoman Turks destroy the Spanish fleet.
  1571 The Ottomans are defeated in the naval Battle of Lepanto by the
Spanish and Italian fleets, and their domination of the Mediterranean
is brought to a close.
  1578 King Sebastian of Portugal is killed in the Battle of the Three
Kings in Morocco.
1683 The Battle of Vienna. The Battle of Vienna might be signaled as the battle
that finally stemmed the previously-unstoppable Turkish forces and
represented the farthest Westward advance into Central Europe of the
Ottoman Empire.
  1711 Ottoman Empire goes to war with Russia, who is defeated in the
Battle of Pruth.
  1718 The Turks once again wage war against Austria. When they lose, they
relinquish control of Hungary.
  1828 Russia declares war on Ottoman Turkey.
  1830 The French recapture Algeria, ending 313 years of Muslim occupation.
  1857 The British capture Delhi and end Mughal rule. This was the end of
1000 years of Muslim rule in India.
  1878 Britian wrests control of Cypress from the Turks.
1879 Treaty of Berlin, where the Ottomans gave up four-fifths of the
conquests in Europe.
1882 Egypt comes under British military occupation.
  1901 French forces occupy Morocco.
  1914 World War I begins, Ottoman Turks align with Germany.
  1916 Arabs revolt against Ottoman Caliphate.
  1918 Armistace signed with Ottomans on October 11. World War I ends.
  1924 The Turkish Caliphate is abolished.