Islam is nearly 14 centuries old.

Highlights include:

570 Birth of Mohammed

610 Mohammed claims he has been shown many messages concerning life from the angel Gabriel, God’s messenger.

622 Mohammed’s preaching engenders opposition and he flees from Mecca to Medina, the “City of the Prophet.” This flight marks the beginning of the Islamic calendar. From Medina, Mohammed issues a holy war against Mecca.

630 Mohammed’s followers conquer Mecca. Pilgrimage to Mecca becomes important religious practice.

632 Death of Mohammed.

7^th-8^th Century Islam spreads throughout Arabia, Egypt, Palestine and Syria (632-634), Mesopotamia and Persia (634-644), Iran and North Africa (644-656), and reaches Europe (714).

1095 Pope Urban II preaches the Crusade to Jerusalem, a war to conquer the Holy Land from the Muslims. The following year sees the First Crusade, resulting in the conquest of Jerusalem in 1099.