Some Important Events in the History of Islamic World

Compiled by: Syed Ali Shahbaz

The Battle of Yarmouk
On August 20, 636 AD, a series of 6-day military engagements, known as the Battle of Yarmouk started near the Yarmouk River between the neo-Muslim Arab forces and the armies of Byzantine or the Eastern Roman Empire, resulting in the decisive victory of Muslims and opening the way for the Islamicization of Syria.

The Battle of al-Husaid
On 10th of the Islamic month of Shabaan in 12AH, the Arab Muslim army under the command of Qa'qa Ibn Amr at-Tamimi defeated a combined force of Persians and Christian Arabs, under the command of Rouzbeh in the Battle of al-Husaid in Iraq that resulted in many Arabs and Iranians of Iraq embracing the truth of Islam.

The Battle of Khanafes
On 11th of the Islamic month of Sha’ban in 12 AH, the Battle of Khanafes (or Beatles) occurred between Arab Muslims and Arab Christians in al-Anbar in Iraq, resulting in the victory of Islam.

The Battle of the Bridge in Iraq
On 23rd of the Islamic month of Sha’ban in 13 AH, in the Battle of the Bridge in Iraq, the Sassanid forces led by Bahman Jaduyeh defeated the Arabs under the command of Abu Ubayd in the only major Persian victory against Muslims. The Arab Muslims had already taken Hira on the banks of the River Euphrates after defeating the Arab Christian allies of the Sassanids. Abu Ubaid encountered the main Persian force near what is nowt Kufa. The two forces faced each other on opposing banks of the Euphrates. As it was crossed by a bridge, the battle came to known as the Battle of the Bridge. Abu Ubaid took the initiative, and crossed the river. According to accounts, the sight of the elephants in the Persian army frightened the Arab horses. A white elephant apparently tore Abu Ubaid from his horse with its trunk, and trampled him under foot. At this, and the inability of their troops to push pack the Persians who had formed a rigged line close to the bridge, made the Arabs panic and fled. This was, however, a temporary setback. In the subsequent battles the Sassanids were defeated, and the Iranian people accepted Islam almost en masse.

The Islamic lunar calendar
On July 16, 622 AD, the Islamic lunar calendar began. It was actually fixed in 638 AD, 16 solar years after the passing away of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA), when confusion arose regarding the dates and years to be followed. During his caliphate Omar ibn Khattab, who had earlier banned the written compilation of the Prophet’s hadith and even rejected the gathering of the ayahs of the holy Qur’an in book form as Mus’haf, after having deprived the Prophet’s divinely-decreed successor, Imam Ali ibn Abi Taleb (AS) of the political rule of the Muslim state, received a letter from the governor of Basra that the absence of any years on the correspondence he receives from Medina, make it difficult for him to determine which instructions were most recent. He was clearly perplexed, and as usual the magnanimous Imam Ali (AS) came to his rescue by advising that the Islamic calendar should be dated according to the Hijra or migration of the Prophet from Mecca to Medina. Omar accepted the Imam’s advice, but as per the insinuation of Osman ibn Affan he fixed the date of the beginning of the Islamic year on the 1st of Moharram, in line with the pagan Arab custom of that time, even though the actual migration of the Prophet had taken place on the eve of Rabi al-Awwal.

The well-known poets and Islamic preachers, Abu at-Tufail Amer Kan’ani
On 15th of the Islamic month of Shawwal in 3 AH, one of the well-known poets and Islamic preachers, Abu at-Tufail Amer Kan’ani, was born. He was one of the steadfast followers of Imam Ali ibn Abi Taleb (AS), the First Infallible Successor of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA). Most of his poems are in praise of the Prophet.

Ibn Tabataba
On 29th of the Islamic month of Jamadi as-Sani in 199 AH, Mohammed Ibn Ibrahim Ibn Ismael Ibn Ibrahim Ibn Imam Hassan Mojtaba (AS), defeated the governor of Kufa, and established his short-lived Islamic state in Iraq. Known popularly as Ibn Tabataba, he died soon afterwards and Mamoun’s Abbasid forces re-occupied Kufa and its surroundings. His movement, however, continued after his death, especially in Yemen, where many members of the Tabatabai branch of the Prophet’s descendants ruled and rose to become scholars and jurisprudents.

Al-Malik al-Kamel, the 5th ruler of the Ayyubid Kurdish dynasty of Egypt
On 21st of the Islamic month of Rajab in 635AH, Sultan Abul-Ma'ali Mohammad al-Ayyubi, popularly known as al-Malik al-Kamel, the 5th ruler of the Ayyubid Kurdish dynasty of Egypt died after twenty years of rule. He was the son and successor Salah od-Din Ayyubi’s brother, Sultan al-Adel and defeated two invasions by the European Crusaders – the 5th and 6th Crusades. His most ignominious act was the handing over of the Islamic city of Bayt al-Moqaddas, Bethlehem and some other parts of Palestine to Fredrick Barbarossa of Germany, an act that infuriated the Muslims.

Sultan Mo'iz od-Din Ahmad Sanjar
On 25th of the Islamic month of Rajab in 479 AH, Sultan Mo'iz od-Din Ahmad Sanjar, the last great ruler of the Iran-based Seljuqid Empire that included Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan and parts of Turkey and Central Asia, was born. As son of Malik Shah I, he ruled for 36 years, initially as sultan of Khorasan until he gained the rest of the territory upon the death of his brother Mohammad I. His capital was Nayshabour, and in addition to internal revolts, he faced external invasions from beyond the River Jaxartes in Central Asia, especially from the Sultan of Kashghar in what is now China and the Qara Khitai Turks against whom he suffered a devastating defeat near Samarqand and lost all territory east of the Jaxartes. Oghuz Turks from Khuttal and Tukharistan captured Sanjar and held him prisoner for three years. A year after release he died in Merv which is presently in Turkmenistan and was buried there.

The Battle of Marj as-Saffar
On 2nd of the Islamic month of Ramadhan in 702 AH, the Battle of Marj as-Saffar took place in Syria between the Mamluks of Egypt led by the Qipchaq Turkic ruler, Sultan Nasser ad-Din Qalawun, and an army of Mongols and Armenians sent by the Iran-based Ilkhanid Emperor, Ghazan Khan, whose general Qutlugh-Shah suffered a disastrous defeat near Kiswe, south of Damascus, and pulled back to Iraq. The defeat ended Ghazan Khan's invasions to add Syria to his empire. It is interesting to note that Ghazan, the 7th Ilkhanid ruler, although born a Buddhist, and baptized and raised as a Christian, embraced the truth of Islam on ascending the throne.

Christian troops routed by Spanish Muslims
On July 26, 920 AD, an alliance of Christian troops from Navarre and Lأ©on was routed by Spanish Muslims at Pamplona in the Basque region. The Muslims, who had first arrived in this region over two centuries earlier in 716, continued to dominate Pamplona and its surroundings till 1083 when brutal Christian onslaughts forced them to lose territory.

Abdul-Latif “Pidarkushâ€‌, the Timurid ruler of Central Asia and Khorasan
On May 9 in 1450 AD, Abdul-Latif “Pidarkushâ€‌, the Timurid ruler of Central Asia and Khorasan, was assassinated after a reign of 6 months. The reason he is called “Pidarkushâ€‌ by the people of Central Asia, was because of his killing of his own father, the famous scientist-king, Ulugh Beg – the son of Shahrukh Mirza and grandson of Amir Timur.

The Battle of al-Qasr al- Kabir
On August 4, 1578 at the Battle of al-Qasr al- Kabir, the Moroccans defeated the Portuguese invaders. King Sebastian of Portugal was killed in the battle, and the country was saved from Christian occupation.

The Tartars Muslims, who for several centuries were a major power in the northern Black Sea region
On 10th of the Islamic month of Shabaan in 1100 AH, Tartar Muslim commander of Crimea, Spem Cray, who was an ally of the Ottoman Empire, defeated a huge Russian army 300,000 soldiers in what is now Ukraine. The Tartars, who for several centuries were a major power in the northern Black Sea region, were later conquered by the Russians, brutally suppressed and deported to other lands.

Admiral Mahmoud Shamseddin of China's Ming Dynasty
On July 11, 1405 AD, Admiral Zheng He of China's Ming Dynasty, who was a Muslim and whose actual name was Mahmoud Shamseddin, set sail to explore the world on the first of his seven voyages that took him to Southeast Asia, the Subcontinent, Arabia, Iran, and Africa.
He was a great-great-great-grandson of Sayyid Ajal Shamseddin, the Iranian statesman who served in the administration of the Mongol Empire, and was appointed governor of Yunnan Province.
He commanded a flotilla of several hundred galleys, including huge five-decked ships, on each of his voyages in the span of 28 years, and in addition to demonstrating the might of China through presents to the rulers of lands he visited, he brought back home exotic things and animals including zebras, giraffes and ostriches. He cleared the Malacca Straits of pirates and in some of the places he visited he built mosques.

Mo’iz ibn Badees, the 4th ruler of the Zirid dynasty of Morocco
On 4th of the Islamic month of Sha’ban in 454 AH, Mo’iz ibn Badees, the 4th ruler of the Zirid dynasty of Morocco died after a reign of 46 years during which he turned against his own benefactors the Fatemid Ismaili Shi’ite dynasty.
In the first year of his reign, during the regency of his aunt, as many 20,000 Shi'ite Muslims were massacred at the fall and destruction of Mansuriya, the former seat of government of the Fatemids near Kairouan, Tunisia. Ibn Badees earned notoriety for his persecution, suppression and killing of followers of the Prophet's Ahl al-Bayt.

The Battle of Ayn Jalout
On 25th of the Islamic month of Ramadhan in 685 AH, the Mongols were decisively defeated at the Battle of Ayn Jalout in Palestine by the Egyptian Mamluk Sultan Saif od-Din Qutuz and his able general, Baibars (the next Sultan). This victory over Hulagu Khan's famous Christian Turkish general, Kitbuqa Noyan, ended the threat to Egypt and North Africa, a few years after the Mongol sack of Baghdad and the subjugation of Syria, which included the turning of Omayyad Mosque of Damascus into a cathedral.

The self-styled al-Mohad caliph of Morocco and Islamic Spain
On October 4, 1227 AD, the self-styled al-Mohad caliph of Morocco and Islamic Spain, Abdullah al-Adel was assassinated. He had seized power though a coup three years earlier plunging the realm into instability that lasted well beyond his death. He is often regarded as one of the most disastrous rulers.
His coup divided the dynasty and set in motion the loss of Andalusia or Islamic Spain, and the eventual collapse of the al-Mohad state.

City of Taranto in southern Italy under Muslim rule
On August 15, 927 AD, Muslims from North Africa after bringing the island of Sicily under Islamic rule, take brief control of the city of Taranto in Apulia, southern Italy, before evacuating it.

Omani sailors who dominated Zanzibar and the eastern coast of Africa defeated the Portuguese
On 12th of the Islamic month of Rajab in 1110 AH, Omani sailors who dominated Zanzibar and the eastern coast of Africa defeated the Portuguese in the sea Battle of Mombasa, off the coast of what is now Kenya.

The devastating flood to hit the holy city of Makkah
On 9th of the Islamic month of Sha'ban in 1039 AH, a devastating flood hit the holy city of Mecca due to torrential rains that drowned over 4000 people and engulfed the holy Ka’ba for several days. Following the receding of waters, the walls of the holy Ka’ba including the place of the Hajar al-Aswad (the sacred Black Stone) were reinforced by the custodian of the Grand Sacred Mosque, Iran's Seyyed Aqa Zain al-Abedin Kashi, who has recorded it in his book "Mafraha al-Anaam fi Tasis Bayt-Allah al-Haraam." Kashi, a student of Mullah Mohammad Amin Astarabadi, was martyred in Mecca by the enemies of the Prophet's Ahl al-Bayt.

The Aswan High Dam in Egypt
On July 21, 1970 AD, the Aswan High Dam in Egypt was completed after 18 years of work. It is a huge rock-filled dam that lies just north of the border between Egypt and Sudan. It captures the world's longest river, the Nile, in the world's third largest reservoir, Lake Nasser. Built with Soviet aid at a cost of $1 billion, it now produces hydroelectricity meeting 50% of Egypt's power needs. It holds several years of irrigation reserves, assists multi-cropping, has increased productivity 20-50%, enormously increased Egypt's arable land, and overall, increased Egypt's agricultural income by 200%. The embankment is 111 meters high, with a width of near 1,000 meters. Lake Nasser is 480 long and up to 16 km wide.

Gaza Strip liberated from Zionist occupation
On August 15, 2005, because of Palestinian resistance, the Zionist regime was forced to withdraw from the Gaza Strip, which it had occupied in 1967. Israel continues to keep the West Bank under its control despite the 1993 agreement with the PLO to evacuate it. Gaza and its 1.5 million people are under siege for the past several years, and in 2008-2009 was subjected to the 22-day holocaust unleashed by Israel.