Prophet Muhammad
Also called: Muhammad · Topic: The Roman Empire · NCERT: Class 11, Ch 2 "An Empire Across Three Continents"
Meaning
Prophet Muhammad founded Islam. He was born in Mecca, Arabia, in c. 570 CE. Facing attacks on his followers, he moved to Medina in 622, an event called the Hijra. There he built a community and a state. By his death in 632, the Arab tribes of the peninsula had been brought together under Islam. This unity was the main reason for the swift Arab conquests that followed.
Example
By 642, barely ten years after his death, Arab armies had taken Syria, Egypt and Iraq from the eastern Roman and Sasanian empires, along with large parts of Iran. Historians call this the greatest political revolution of the ancient world.
Don't confuse with
- The caliphs: the caliphs were Muhammad's successors as political leaders of the Muslim community. The great conquests outside Arabia were led by them, not by Muhammad himself.
Related concepts
- Diocletian
- Constantine
- Edict of Milan 313
- Christianisation of the Roman Empire
- Constantinople
- Post-Roman kingdoms
- Byzantine empire
- Justinian
- Late antiquity
- Hijra