endar. Where clarity is required, the abbreviation
b.c.e. is used for dates before the common era and
c.e. is used for common era dates. These temporal
demarcations are considered more suitable than the older ones used for dates in the Western cal- endar: b.c. (Before Christ) and a.d. (anno domini;
the year of Our Lord).
Statistical data given in entries for individual countries (for example, Afghanistan, Iraq, Saudi Arabia) are based on the latest 2007–2008 esti- mates provided by the Central Intelligence Agency of the United States in its World Fact Book (www. cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/index.html). Other statistics have been obtained from a variety of other sources. Although every effort has been made to provide the most current and accurate statistical information, the reader should be aware that often statistical data is either dated or affected by political, social, or religious biases and circum- stances. Care should be taken before making hard comparisons based on statistical data.
fourth–sixth century
¶ Arabia involved in conflicts between Rome/ Byzantium and Persia.
sixth–seventh century
¶ Quraysh tribe rises to prominence in Mecca.
570?
¶ Birth of Muhammad ibn Abd Allah in Mecca.
610
¶ Muhammad receives first revelation at Mt. Hira,
near Mecca, and begins career as a prophet.
622
¶ The year of the Hijra: Muhammad and the Mus- lims migrate from Mecca to Medina.
630
¶ Muhammad wins control of Mecca.
632
¶ Death of Muhammad; death of Fatima, his daughter; election of Abu Bakr as first caliph.
634
¶ Death of Abu Bakr.
635
¶ Conquest of Damascus.
636
¶ Battle of Qadisiyya: Arab army decisively defeats Persian army in Iraq
637
¶ Conquest of Syria and the fall of Jerusalem.
640
¶ Conquest of Persia.
642
¶ Conquest of Egypt; foundation of Fustat (later
part of Cairo).
644
¶ Death of Umar ibn al-Khattab, second caliph.
xxxvii
chronology
K xxxviii Encyclopedia of Islam 653
¶ Caliph Uthman authorizes collection and offi-
cial establishment of the text of the Quran.
655
¶ Assassination of Uthman, the third caliph.
659
¶ Muawiya, chief of the Umayyads, conquers Egypt.
661–80
¶ Damascus becomes new capital of Umayyad
dynasty under Muawiya.
¶ New wave of conquest begins.
661
¶ Death of Ali ibn Abi Talib, the fourth caliph and first Shii imam.
¶ Muawiya becomes caliph and founder of Umayyad dynasty.
662
¶ Revolt of the Khawarij.
680
¶ Death of Muawiya. Martyrdom of Husayn, third Shii imam, at Karbala, Iraq.
691
¶ Building of the Mosque of Umar (Dome of the Rock) in Jerusalem.
698
¶ Arabic becomes official language of government
in the Islamic Empire.
700
¶ Conquest and conversion of Berber tribes in North Africa.
711
¶ Tariq ibn Ziyad leads conquest of Andalusia
(southern Spain).
¶ Muhammad ibn Qasim initiates Arab conquest
of Sind (India).
712
¶ Muslim armies in Persia begin conquest of Bakhara and Samarqand in Central Asia.
719
¶ Cordoba becomes administrative capital of Andalusia.
728
¶ Death of Hasan al-Basri, Muslim ascetic and teacher.
732
¶ Battle of Tours, France.
749
¶ Beginning of Abbasid Caliphate.
750
¶ Abbasids capture Damascus, ending Umayyad rule in Syria; Abu al-Abbas al-Saffah founds Abbasid Caliphate.
754
¶ Death of al-Saffah; Abu Jaafar al-Mansur becomes second Abbasid caliph.
756
¶ Establishment of Umayyad rule in Spain.
762–63
¶ Baghdad founded by Caliph al-Mansur as the capital of the Abbasid Empire.
Chronology xxxix J
765
¶ Death of Jaafar al-Sadiq, sixth Shii imam.
767
¶ Death of Abu Hanifa, Iraqi jurist and eponym of the Hanafi Legal School.
785–86
¶ The building of the Great Mosque at Cordoba.
795
¶ Death of Malik ibn Anas, jurist of Medina and eponym of the Maliki Legal School.
798
¶ Death of Abu Yusuf, co-founder of Hanafi Legal School.
801
¶ Death of female mystic Rabia al-Adawiyya.
804
¶ Death of Shaybani, Kufan jurist and cofounder of Hanafi Legal School.
808
¶ Foundation of Fez in the Maghrib.
818
¶ Death of Ali al-Rida, the eighth Shii imam.
820
¶ Death of al-Shafii, founder of the Shafii Legal School.
827
¶ Abbasid caliph al-Mamun launches inquisition to impose the Mutazili doctrines as the state religious ideology.
839
¶ Muslims capture Sicily and southern Italy.
855
¶ Death of Ahmad ibn Hanbal, hadith scholar and eponym of the Hanbali Legal School.
866
¶ Death of al-Kindi, early Arab philosopher.
870
¶ Death of al-Bukhari, author of the most respected Sunni canonical collection of hadith.
874–939
¶ Period of Lesser Occultation of Muhammad al- Mahdi, the twelfth Shii imam.
909
¶ Foundation of Fatimid Ismaili Shii dynasty in North Africa.
910
¶ Death of the Sufi teacher al-Junayd.
912–61
¶ Golden age of Umayyad rule in Andalusia.
922
¶ Crucifixion of the Sufi al-Hallaj in Baghdad.
923
¶ Death of the Quran commentator and historian
al-Tabari in Iraq.
929
¶ Qarmati Shiis attack Mecca and remove the
K xl Encyclopedia of Islam 935
¶ Death of al-Ashari, Sunni theologian, in Bagh-
dad.
939
¶ Twelfth Imam enters Greater Occultation accord- ing to Twelve-Imam Shii doctrine.
941
¶ Death of al-Maturidi, Sunni theologian, in Samarqand.
950
¶ Death of the philosopher al-Farabi.
951
¶ Qarmati Shiis return the Black Stone to the Kaaba.
969
¶ Beginning of Fatimid Ismaili Caliphate in Egypt; Cairo founded.
970
¶ Fatimids found Al-Azhar mosque-university in Cairo.
997–1030
¶ Reign of Mahmud of Ghazna, who raids north- west India (Punjab, 1001–21) and puts the con- quered territories under Islamic authority in the name of the Abbasid caliph.
1021
¶ The Fatimid caliph al-Hakim disappears/dies;
Druze religion begins.
1037
¶ Death of Ibn Sina (Avicenna), philosopher and physician.
1062
¶ Almoravids conquer Morocco.
1064
¶ Death of Ibn Hazm, Andalusian jurist and scholar.
1067
¶ Nizam al-Mulk founds the Nizamiyya, a Shafii college, in Baghdad.
1071
¶ Battle of Manzikert, a decisive defeat of Byzan- tine armies by Seljuq Turks.
1086
¶ Almoravids conquer Andalusia.
1091
¶ Normans recapture Sicily and end Muslim rule there.
1096
¶ Pope Urban II launches the First Crusade to conquer Jerusalem.
1099
¶ Crusaders capture Jerusalem, ending the First Crusade.
1111
¶ Death of Abu Hamid al-Ghazali, philosopher and theologian.
1145
¶ Almohad dynasty establishes foothold in Anda- lusia.
Chronology xli J
1166
¶ Death of Sufi master Abd al-Qadir al-Jilani in
Baghdad.
1171
¶ End of the Fatimid dynasty; Salah al-Din founds the Ayyubid dynasty in Egypt.
1187
¶ Saladin retakes Jerusalem from crusaders.
1192
¶ Muhammad of Ghur leads Muslim conquest of northern and eastern India.
1193
¶ Death of Salah ad-Din, Ayyubid sultan.
1198
¶ Death of Ibn Rushd (Averroes), Andalusian phi- losopher and jurist.
1199
¶ Conquest of northern India and Bengal by Ghurids.
1203
¶ Founding of Mongol Empire by Genghis Khan.
1206
¶ Ghurids establish the Delhi Sultanate in India.
1209
¶ Death of Fakhr al-Din al-Razi, theologian.
1215
¶ Mongol invasion of the Middle East begins.
1230
¶ Death of Muin al-Din Chishti, leading Sufi saint
in India.
1234
¶ Death of Abu Hafs Umar al-Suhrawardi, Sufi
teacher and founder of the Suhrawardi Sufi order.
1240
¶ Death of Ibn al-Arabi, Sufi philosopher, in Damascus.
1250–1519
¶ Mamluk dynasties rule Egypt and Syria.
1258
¶ The Mongols sack Baghdad, ending Abbasid Caliphate.
1260
¶ Mongols are defeated by the Mamluks of Egypt at Ayn Jalut in Syria.
1273
¶ Death of Jalal al-Din Rumi, Sufi poet and teacher, in Konya.
1320?
¶ Death of Yunus Emre, Turkish mystic and
poet.
1325
¶ Death of Nizam al-Din Awliya of Delhi, Sufi saint of the Chishti order.
1328
K xlii Encyclopedia of Islam 1338
¶ Death of Hajji Bektash, Sufi saint.
1369
¶ Death of Ibn Battuta, famed traveler and Maliki jurist.
1370–1405
¶ Timur (Tamerlane) establishes Timurid Empire in Central Asia, the Middle East, and South Asia.
1380–1918
¶ Ottoman Empire rules much of the Middle East and eastern Europe.
1406
¶ Death of the historian Ibn Khaldun.
1453
¶ Constantinople (Istanbul) falls to Ottomans and
becomes the new Ottoman capital; Byzantine Empire ends.
1492
¶ Ferdinand of Aragon and Isabelle of Castile con-
quer Granada, ending Muslim rule in Andalusia.
1501
¶ Ismail I establishes the Safavid dynasty in Persia.
¶ Twelve-Imam Shiism becomes the state religion
of Iran.
1511
¶ The Saadi Sharifs establish Alid power in Morocco.
1517
¶ Ottomans conquer Egypt.
1520–66
¶ Reign of the Ottoman sultan Sulayman the Magnificent.
1526–1858
¶ Mughal dynasty rules India.
1529
¶ Ottomans lift first siege of Vienna and retreat.
1550
¶ Islam spreads to Sumatra, Java, the Moluccas, and Borneo.
1556–1605
¶ Reign of Akbar, Mughal emperor.
1571
¶ Christian fleet defeats Ottoman navy at Lep-
anto, marking the end of Ottoman dominance in the Mediterranean region.
1596
¶ Shah Abbas makes Isfahan the capital of the Safavid Empire.
1603
¶ Mughal emperor Jahangir begins rule in India.
1605
¶ Death of Akbar.
1609–14
¶ Expulsion of the Muslims from Spain.
1624
¶ Death of Ahmad Sirhindi, Indian mystic and reformer.
Chronology xliii J
1627
¶ Mughal emperor Shah Jahan begins reign.
1640
¶ Death of Mulla Sadra, Persian mystic and phi- losopher.
1654
¶ Shah Jahan completes construction of Taj
Mahal.
1658
¶ Aurangzeb deposes his father, Shah Jahan, and begins reign as Mughal ruler.
1683
¶ Ottomans lift the second siege of Vienna and retreat.
1699
¶ Death of Muhammad Baqir al-Majlisi, leading Shii scholar.
1707
¶ Death of Aurangzeb, inaugurating era of rapid Mughal decline.
1722
¶ Safavid rule in Iran effectively ended by Afghan invasion.
1750
¶ Wahhabi movement, led by Muhammad Abd al-Wahhab, arises in Arabia.
1757–65
¶ English East India Company wins control of
Bengal, India.
1762
¶ Death of Shah Wali Allah.
1798–1801
¶ French expedition under Napoleon Bonaparte to Egypt.
1792
¶ Death of Ibn Abd al-Wahhab, founder of the
Wahhabi movement.
1801
¶ Wahhabi raiders attack and plunder Karbala in Iraq.
1804
¶ Usman dan Fodio establishes Islamic state of Sokoto in central Sudan.
¶ Wahhabi forces capture Medina.
1805
¶ Muhammad Ali appointed viceroy of Egypt by Ottomans.
1806
¶ Wahhabi forces occupy Mecca.
1812–16
¶ Egyptian troops conduct successful campaign to end Wahhabi control of Arabia.
1816
¶ British withdraw from Indonesia, restoring it to Dutch rule.
1817
¶ Death of Usman dan Fodio, African religious
K xliv Encyclopedia of Islam 1818
¶ British rule extends throughout India.
1826
¶ Ottomans liquidate the Janissaries and abolish the Bektashi Sufi order.
1830
¶ French forces occupy Algeria, ending 313 years
of Ottoman rule.
1832–47
¶ Abd al-Qadir, Algerian religious scholar, leads unsuccessful war against French colonial forces.
1850
¶ Execution of Sayyid Ali Muhammad Shirazi, founder of Babi movement in Iran.
1857
¶ Sepoy Rebellion against English East India Company rule sweeps northern India.
1858
¶ British forces suppress Sepoy Rebellion and end Mughal dynasty; British Crown rule replaces English East India Company rule.
1863
¶ Bahaullah appears in Iraq claiming to be the manifestation of God’s will, founding the reli- gious community of the Bahais.
1869
¶ Suez Canal opened.
1870
¶ Muhammad Ahmad ibn Abd Allah appears as the Sudanese Mahdi.
1876
¶ Britain purchases shares of the Suez Canal and
becomes involved in Egyptian affairs.
1881
¶ Muhammad Ahmad declares himself Mahdi in northern Sudan.
¶ Death of the first Aga Khan, Ismaili leader in
India.
1882
¶ British forces occupy Egypt.
1885
¶ Death of the Sudanese Mahdi.
1891–92
¶ Tobacco revolts against British business interests in Iran.
1897
¶ Death of Jamal al-Din al-Afghani, Muslim reformer and activist.
1898
¶ Death of Sayyid Ahmad Khan, Muslim modern-
ist reformer.
¶ Death of Ghulam Ahmad, founder of the
Ahmadiyya movement.
1899
¶ Fall of Mahdist state in the Sudan and its occu- pation by Anglo-Egyptian troops.
1900–08
¶ Construction of the Hijaz railway to Mecca as a pan-Islamic project.
1901
Chronology xlv J
1901
¶ French forces occupy Morocco.
1905
¶ Death of Muhammad Abduh, Egyptian religious scholar and reformer.
¶ Massacre of Armenians in eastern Turkey.
1905–11
¶ Constitutional revolution in Iran.
1906
¶ All-India Muslim League founded in India.
1909
¶ Establishment of the Anglo-Persian Oil Com- pany.
1912
¶ The beginning of the Muhammadiyya reform movement in Indonesia.
1916
¶ Sykes-Picot agreement signed, defining British and French spheres of influence in the post– World War I Middle East.
1916–18
¶ Sharif Husayn of Mecca leads Arab Revolt against the Ottoman Empire.
1920
¶ Syria and Lebanon become French mandate territories.
1921
¶ Faysal ibn Husayn is made king of Iraq.
¶ Abd Allah ibn Husayn becomes king of Trans- jordan.
1922
¶ Mustafa Kemal Ataturk abolishes the Ottoman Turkish sultanate.
1922–32
¶ Conquest of Libya by Italy.
1924
¶ The Turkish caliphate is abolished.
¶ Abd al-Aziz and his Wahhabi army conquer Mecca and Medina.
1925
¶ End of the Qajar dynasty in Persia; Reza Khan
seizes power in Persia and establishes the Pahlavi dynasty.
1928
¶ Turkey is declared a secular state and adopts Latin alphabet.
¶ Hasan al-Banna founds the Muslim Brother- hood.
1932
¶ Iraq granted independence by League of Nations.
¶ Creation of Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
1935
¶ Iran becomes the official name of Persia.
¶ Death of Rashid Rida, Syrian religious
reformer.
1938
¶ Death of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, founder of modern Turkey.
¶ Standard Oil of California discovers oil in Saudi Arabia.
K xlvi Encyclopedia of Islam 1938
¶ Death of Muhammad Iqbal, Indian intellectual
and poet.
1941
¶ Iran invaded by British and Russian forces, and Reza Khan is forced to abdicate in favor of his son Muhammad Reza Shah in Iran.
¶ Jamaat-i Islami founded in India by Abu al-Ala Mawdudi.
1942–45
¶ Japanese occupy Indonesian territories and Malay Peninsula.
1943
¶ Lebanon becomes independent from France.
1945
¶ End of World War II. Foundation of the Arab League.
1946
¶ Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria obtain indepen- dence from Britain and France.
1947
¶ Partition of India results in creation of Paki- stan.
1948
¶ Establishment of the Jewish state of Israel; Arab-
Israeli war.
¶ Death of Muhammad Ali Jinnah, first leader of
Pakistan.
1949
¶ Assassination of Hasan al-Banna, leader of the Muslim Brotherhood.
¶ Indonesia becomes independent.
1950
¶ Emirate of Jordan officially renamed the Hashimite Kingdom of Jordan.
1951
¶ Libya becomes independent.
1953
¶ Egyptian Free Officers depose monarchy and establish a republic.
¶ Mossadeq government in Iran overthrown in
coup sponsored by the United States and Brit- ain.
1954
¶ Beginning of Algerian war of liberation against
France.
¶ Jamal Abd al-Nasir becomes president of Egypt.
1956
¶ Morocco and Tunisia become independent of France.
¶ Britain, France, and Israel precipitate Suez Cri- sis by attacking Egypt to control the canal.
1957
¶ Daawa Party of Iraq founded. Malay Federation wins independence from British rule.
1958
¶ Revolution in Iraq under Abd al-Karim Qasim overthrows Hashemite monarchy and estab- lishes the Republic of Iraq.
1962
¶ Algeria becomes independent from France. Muslim World League founded.
Chronology xlvii J
1963
¶ Islamic Society of North America founded in Plainfield, Indiana.
1965
¶ Malcolm X, leader of the Nation of Islam, assas- sinated.
1966
¶ Death of Sayyid Qutb, radical Islamic ideo- logue.
1967
¶ Israel defeats Egypt, Syria, and Jordan in the
Six-Day War.
1969
¶ Colonel Muammar Qadhdhafi overthrows King Idris of Libya and establishes Libyan Arab Republic.
¶ Organization of the Islamic Conference founded.
1970
¶ Egyptian President Jamal Abd al-Nasir dies and is succeeded by Anwar al-Sadat.
1971
¶ Bangladesh (former East Pakistan) becomes independent from Pakistan.
1973
¶ October War (Yom Kippur War) between Israel and a coalition of Arab states, led by Egypt and Syria.
1974
¶ Death of Amin al-Husayni, grand mufti of Jeru- salem and Palestinian nationalist.
1975–90
¶ Lebanese Civil War.
1975
¶ Death of Elijah Muhammad, leader of Nation of Islam among African Americans; Warith Deen Mohammad takes charge of the movement and renames it World Community of Islam in the West (changed to American Muslim Mission in 1978).
1977
¶ Death of Ali Shariati, Shii religious thinker.
1978
¶ Anwar al-Sadat, Egypt’s president, shares Nobel Peace Prize with Manachem Begin, Israel’s prime minister.
1979
¶ Iranian monarchy replaced by a revolutionary Islamic republic with Ayatollah Ruhallah Kho- meini as its supreme leader.
¶ Death of Abu al-Ala Mawdudi, founder of the
Jamaat-i Islami of India and Pakistan.
¶ Sacred Mosque in Mecca seized by Sunni reviv-
alists proclaiming arrival of the Mahdi.
¶ Soviet Union invades Afghanistan.
1980–89
¶ Iran-Iraq War.
1980
¶ Execution of Ayatollah Muhammad Baqir al- Sadr, leading Shii authority in Iraq.
1981
¶ Assassination of Egyptian president Anwar al- Sadat by radical Islamists.
K xlviii Encyclopedia of Islam 1982
¶ Israeli invasion of Lebanon; Hizbullah founded in Lebanon.
¶ Supreme Council for Islamic Revolution in Iraq founded with Iranian support.
1987–93
¶ First Palestinian intifada against Israeli occu- pation.
1987
¶ Hamas founded in Gaza.
1988
¶ Naguib Mahfouz, Egyptian author, wins the Nobel Prize for literature.
¶ Salman Rushdie publishes The Satanic Verses, sparking Muslim protests around the world.
¶ Al-Qaida founded in Afghanistan.
1989
¶ Death of Ayatollah Khomeini, Shii religious scholar and revolutionary leader; Ayatollah Ali Khamenei becomes supreme leader of Iran.
¶ Death of Fazlur Rahman, leading Islamic scholar in the United States.
¶ Soviets withdraw from Afghanistan.
1990
¶ Iraqi forces at the command of President Sad- dam Husayn invade and annex Kuwait, causing Gulf War I.
1991
¶ United States leads international coalition forces in a successful campaign to expel Iraqi forces from Kuwait.
1994
¶ Yasir Arafat, chairman of the Palestine Lib- eration Organization, shares Nobel Peace Prize with Yitzhak Rabin and Shimon Peres.
1996
¶ Taliban, a guerrilla force of Islamist Afghan stu- dents, seizes Kabul.
2000–
¶ Second Palestinian intifada (known as “al-Aqsa Intifada”) against Israeli occupation (ongoing).
2001
¶ Religious militants connected with al-Qaida fly hijacked airliners into the New York World Trade Center and Pentagon; U.S. and coalition forces invade Afghanistan and depose the Taliban.
2003
¶ U.S. and coalition forces launch Gulf War II by invading Iraq and deposing Saddam Husayn and the Baath Party.
¶ Shirin Ebadi, Iranian human rights advocate, wins Nobel Peace Prize.
2005
¶ Iraqi national elections bring Shii political coali- tion (United Iraqi Alliance) to power.
¶ Muhammad al-Baradei, director of the Interna- tional Atomic Energy Agency, wins Nobel Peace Prize.
2006
¶ Orhan Pamuk, Turkish author, wins Nobel Prize in literature.
¶ Muhammad Yunus, Bangladeshi banker and economist, wins Nobel Peace Prize.
¶ Saddam Husayn executed.
2007
¶ Supreme Council for Islamic Revolution in Iraq changes name to Supreme Iraqi Islamic Council.
¶ Benazir Ali Bhutto, Pakistan political leader, assassinated.
entries a to z
1