Timeline
Chronological progression of early revelations, treaties, battles, civil wars, and imperial decrees (610–1669 CE).
First Qur'anic Revelations (Cave of Hira)
بدء الوحي في غار حراء ونزول سورة العلق
Commencement of prophetic preaching in Mecca under hostility from Quraysh elites; early focus on strict monotheism, apocalyptic judgment, and denunciation of tribal polytheism.
The Hijra & Founding of the Medina State
الهجرة النبوية وتأسيس دولة المدينة ووثيقتها
Emigration of early Muslims from Mecca to Yathrib; enactment of the Constitution of Medina and establishment of sovereign administrative and military authority.
Battle of Badr
غزوة بدر الكبرى
First major engagement between the early Medinan Muslim state and the Meccan Quraysh; 70 polytheists killed and 70 taken captive, prompting the revelation of Qur'an 8:67 regarding captives.
Siege & Expulsion of Banu Qaynuqa
غزوة بني قينقاع وإجلاؤهم
The first Jewish tribe in Medina besieged for 15 days; their lives were spared following the intervention of Abd Allah ibn Ubayy, and they were expelled to Syria after forfeiting their arms and goldsmith property.
Battle of Uhud
غزوة أحد
Meccan offensive against Medina; 70 Muslim combatants killed including Hamzah ibn Abd al-Muttalib; the occasion for revelations on steadfastness and casting terror into disbelievers (Qur'an 3:151).
Siege & Expulsion of Banu al-Nadir
غزوة بني النضير وإجلاؤهم
Siege of the Jewish settlement of Banu al-Nadir, cutting and burning of date palms (al-Linah), and total expulsion; all abandoned properties appropriated as Fay' exclusively for the Prophet.
Battle of the Trench & Banu Qurayza
غزوة الخندق وبني قريظة
Following the lifting of the confederate siege of Medina, the Jewish fortress of Banu Qurayza was besieged for 25 days. Upon surrender, Sa'd ibn Mu'adh ruled that all fighting men (600–900) be beheaded and women and children enslaved.
Expedition of al-Muraysi' (Banu Mustaliq)
غزوة بني المصطلق (المريسيع)
Surprise dawn attack on the Banu Mustaliq camp at the well of al-Muraysi'; livestock seized and 200 women and children taken as slaves, leading to the practice of coitus interruptus ('Azl) with female captives and the marriage to Juwayriyah.
Siege & Conquest of Khaybar
غزوة خيبر وفرض الخراج
Assault on the fortified Jewish oasis of Khaybar; interrogation and execution of Kinanah ibn al-Rabi', marriage to Safiyyah bint Huyayy, and subjugation of Jewish farmers under a 50% agricultural sharecropping treaty.
Battle of Mu'tah
معركة مؤتة
First military clash between the early Muslim state and Byzantine allied forces; successive commanders Zayd ibn Harithah, Ja'far ibn Abi Talib, and Abd Allah ibn Rawahah were killed before Khalid ibn al-Walid led a tactical withdrawal.
Conquest of Mecca (Fath Makkah)
فتح مكة ودخول الحرم
Entry of 10,000 Muslim troops into Mecca; destruction of 360 idols around the Ka'bah; general amnesty for Quraysh, except for specified proscribed individuals and satirical singers who were executed.
Battle of Hunayn & Awtas
غزوة حنين وأوطاس وحصار الطائف
Major engagement against Hawazin and Thaqif; huge spoils of 6,000 captive women and children taken at Awtas, leading to the revelation of Qur'an 4:24 permitting intercourse with married captive women.
Siege & Surrender of Damascus
فتح دمشق وصلح خالد وأبي عبيدة
The capitulation of Byzantine Damascus; entry by force ('anwah) through the East Gate by Khalid ibn al-Walid while Abu Ubaydah entered peacefully through the Bab al-Jabiyah under treaty (sulh).
Battle of Yarmouk
معركة اليرموك
Decisive 6-day battle between the Rashidun Caliphate under Khalid ibn al-Walid and the Byzantine Empire; ended Byzantine rule in Syria and opened the Levant to Islamic annexation.
Battle of al-Qadisiyyah
معركة القادسية
Decisive battle between the Arab Muslim army under Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas and the Sasanian Persian army of Rostam Farrokhzad; resulted in the conquest of Ctesiphon (al-Mada'in) and the fall of Mesopotamia.
Capitulation of Jerusalem & Pact of Umar
فتح القدس والعهدة العمرية
Surrender of Byzantine Jerusalem by Patriarch Sophronius to Caliph Umar ibn al-Khattab; establishment of the Dhimmi treaty granting protection in exchange for payment of the Jizya and legal restrictions on churches and public displays.
Siege of Ctesiphon (al-Mada'in)
فتح المدائن وإيوان كسرى
The capture of the imperial Sasanian Persian capital by Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas following the crossing of the Tigris; vast spoils including the royal Crown of Khosrow seized.
Siege & Surrender of Alexandria
فتح الإسكندرية وسقوط مصر البيزنطية
Conquest of Byzantine Alexandria by Amr ibn al-'As following a 14-month siege; imposition of poll taxes (Jizya of 2 dinars per adult male) and integration of Egypt into the Caliphate.
Conquest of Rayy (Ancient Tehran)
فتح الري وبلاد الجبل
The military conquest of central Media/Persia under Nu'aym ibn Muqarrin; conclusion of an annual 500,000 dirham tribute treaty with local Zoroastrian dynasts.
The Baqt Treaty with Nubia
معاهدة البقط مع مملكة المقرة في النوبة
Peace treaty concluded between the Muslim governor of Egypt (Abd Allah ibn Sa'd) and the Christian kingdom of Makuria; stipulated an annual tribute of 360–400 slaves delivered to the Caliphate in exchange for peace, wheat, and textiles.
Battle of the Camel
وقعة الجمل
First civil war battle in Islamic history; Aisha, Talha, and al-Zubayr clashed with Caliph Ali ibn Abi Talib outside Basra; thousands killed including Talha and al-Zubayr.
Battle of Siffin & Arbitration
وقعة صفين والتحكيم
Massive battle between Caliph Ali and Syrian governor Mu'awiyah along the Euphrates; ended with Qur'ans raised on spears, controversial arbitration, and the birth of the Khawarij movement.
First Arab Siege of Constantinople
حصار القسطنطينية الأول ودفن أبي أيوب الأنصاري
The 4-year joint naval-land campaign against the Byzantine capital under Yazid ibn Mu'awiyah; death and burial of companion Abu Ayyub al-Ansari beneath the city walls.
Massacre of Karbala
موقعة كربلاء واستشهاد الحسين
The siege and slaughter of the Prophet's grandson al-Husayn ibn Ali and 72 members of his household by the Umayyad army of Yazid ibn Mu'awiyah.
Battle of al-Harrah & Sack of Medina
وقعة الحرة واستباحة المدينة
Pillaging of Medina for three days by the Umayyad army under Muslim ibn 'Uqbah; 700 Qur'an reciters killed and surviving citizens forced into pledges as chattel slaves of Yazid.
Conquest of Hispania & Battle of Guadalete
فتح الأندلس ومعركة وادي لكة
Decisive battle in southern Iberia where Tariq ibn Ziyad defeated the Visigothic King Roderic, inaugurating the Islamic conquest of the Iberian Peninsula (al-Andalus).
Conquest of Sindh & Siege of Debal
فتح السند وحصار ميناء الديبل
The Umayyad military campaign under Muhammad ibn al-Qasim; the seaport fortress of Debal was assaulted with heavy mangonels (al-'Arus), its central Hindu temple dismantled, and Jizya imposed on inhabitants.
Conquest of Samarkand & Sogdiana
فتح سمرقند وتكسير أصنام الصغد
The Umayyad military campaign across the Oxus under Qutaybah ibn Muslim; destruction of Sogdian pagan fire temples and imposition of annual tributes.
Conquest & Siege of Debal in Sindh
فتح ديبل ومذبحة الأيام الثلاثة بالسند
Umayyad conquest of the port fortress of Debal using catapults, followed by the destruction of the central temple and a 3-day general slaughter of garrison defenders.
Battle of Tours / Poitiers (Balat al-Shuhada')
معركة بلاط الشهداء (بواتييه)
The northernmost military campaign into Western Europe by the Umayyad governor Abd al-Rahman al-Ghafiqi against Frankish forces under Charles Martel, halting Umayyad expansion past the Pyrenees.
Battle of Talas (Arab-Tang Conflict)
معركة نهر طلاس بين العباسيين وإمبراطورية تانغ الصينية
The only major clash between an Islamic Caliphate (Abbasid under Ziyad ibn Salih) and the Chinese Tang Empire; established Islamic dominance in Transoxiana and Central Asia.
Raid on Rome & Ostia
غزوة روما ونهب كنيستي بطرس وبولس
Arab-Berber fleet expedition landing at Ostia and sacking the basilicas of Old St. Peter's and St. Paul Outside the Walls outside the Aurelian Walls of Rome.
Sack of Somnath Temple by Mahmud of Ghazni
غزوة معبد سومنات وتكسير الصنم الأعظم
Assault on the fortified temple complex of Somnath, shattering of the sacred Shiva lingam, and carriage of temple stones to Ghazni to serve as mosque thresholds.
Sack of Nalanda & Odantapuri Monasteries
غزوة بختيار الخلجي لنالاندا وإحراق خزائن الكتب
The assault by Muhammad Bakhtiyar Khilji on the fortified Buddhist universities of Bihar; slaughter of the resident monks and burning of the vast manuscript repositories.
Siege & Fall of Baghdad
سقوط بغداد ونهاية الخلافة العباسية
The siege and sack of Baghdad by the Mongol army of Hulagu Khan; execution of the last Abbasid Caliph al-Musta'sim Billah, and termination of the 500-year Abbasid Caliphate.
Timur's Sack of Delhi & Captive Massacre
اجتياح تيمورلنك لدلهي ومذبحة مائة ألف أسير
Timur's ordered execution of an estimated 100,000 non-Muslim captives outside Delhi prior to battle, followed by the multi-day sack of the capital.
Siege & Massacre of Chittorgarh
فتح حصن جيتور والقتل العام سنة ٩٧٥ هـ
The capture of the Rajput stronghold of Chittor followed by the imperial order for general massacre (Qatl-i 'Aam), resulting in the deaths of 25,000–30,000 inhabitants and temple demolitions.
Execution of Guru Arjan in Lahore
تعذيب وإعدام الغورو أرجان في لاهور بأمر جهانكير
Mughal Emperor Jahangir's direct order for the arrest, torture, and execution of the 5th Sikh Guru in Lahore to suppress his religious preaching.
Demolition of Kashi Vishwanath Temple in Varanasi
هدم معبد كاشي فيشواناث ببنارس وبناء مسجد غيانفابي
Execution of Emperor Aurangzeb's imperial decree ordering the demolition of the Kashi Vishwanath temple complex in Varanasi and erection of the Gyanvapi Mosque on its foundations.
Execution of Guru Tegh Bahadur at Chandni Chowk
إعدام الغورو تيغ بهادور في دلهي بأمر أورنكزيب
Public beheading of the 9th Sikh Guru and torturous execution of his disciples at Chandni Chowk under Aurangzeb for refusing conversion to Islam.