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PersonAD 570 – AD 632

Muhammad

Also called: Mohammed, Prophet Muhammad

Prophet of Islam, who began preaching in Mecca around 610 after what he proclaimed were revelations from the one God, Allah; moving to Medina, he built a community of believers and united Arabia

Born into the Hashim clan of the Quraysh in Mecca, he lost his parents young and was raised by his uncle Abu Talib. Working in the caravan trade, he married the wealthy merchant Khadija, who became the first believer. Escaping persecution by the Meccan elite, he moved to Medina in 622 (the Hijra) and founded a community he led in religion, politics and war. He entered Mecca in 630, cleared the Kaaba of idols, and died in Medina in 632. Islamic tradition has generally avoided depicting him.

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2 related events

  1. 1
    AD 610Revelation to Muhammad and the Birth of Islamcreator

    Around 610 Muhammad, a merchant of Mecca, began preaching what he proclaimed were revelations from the one God, Allah. A new religion of the Arabs, Islam, was born.

  2. 2
    AD 630Conquest of Meccaleader

    After a long struggle, Muhammad and the Muslims of Medina entered Mecca with little resistance and cleared the idols from the Kaaba, which became the sanctuary of Islam.

People who appear alongside

  • Abu BakrAD 573 – AD 634

    First caliph (632–634), Muhammad’s close companion and father-in-law, chosen to lead the community after Muhammad’s death (the Shia hold that Ali should have succeeded); he reunited Arabia

  • UmarAD 584 – AD 644

    Second caliph (634–644), whose armies conquered Syria, Egypt, Iraq and Persia, and who fixed the Islamic calendar from the year of the Hijra

  • AliAD 600 – AD 661

    Fourth caliph (656–661), Muhammad’s cousin and son-in-law, whom the Shia revere — with his descendants — as the only rightful successors (imams); assassinated at Kufa

Themes this person appears in

  • The Rise of the Islamic WorldAD 570 – 1055

    From the revelation to Muhammad to the Seljuk entry into Baghdad — 450 years in which a new faith from Arabia built a civilisation stretching from Iberia to Central Asia and reached as far as Silla by sea