Mecca develops into a place of pilgrimage, with a famous collection of idols in the Ka'ba

Muhammad begins preaching in Mecca the message of Allah, dictated to him by the archangel Gabriel

Muhammad departs from Mecca and settles in Medina, in the event known as the Hegira

The year of the Hegira (Muhammad's move from Mecca to Medina) becomes Anno Hegirae or AH1, the first year in Muslim chronology

Mecca becomes the holy city of Islam and soon all Arabia accepts the new religion

The death of Muhammad at Medina is followed by the election of the first caliph, Abu Bakr, a father-in-law of the prophet

Omar, another father-in-law of Muhammad, is elected as the second Muslim caliph (the word means 'sucessor to the Messenger of God')

Within two years of the death of Muhammad, the Arabs surge north into the Syrian desert

The Arab capture of Jerusalem brings Palestine and Syria under Muslim control

The unopposed capture of Alexandria by the Arabs completes the Muslim conquest of Egypt

The Coptic Christians of Egypt become isolated after the Muslim conquest

After the assassination of Omar, Othman is elected as the third Muslim caliph

Under the caliph Othman, the revelations made to Muhammad are collected in their definitive form as the Qur'an

Jews and Christians, sharing with Muslims the status of 'people of the book', are promised religious tolerance in the Qur'an

Othman is assassinated, and Ali wins power as the fourth Muslim caliph - defeating Muhammad's widow Aisha at the 'battle of the camel' near Basra

Ali is assassinated and Mu'awiya becomes the fifth Muslim caliph, establishing the Umayyad dynasty

The emergence of the Shi'a party creates a major schism within Islam

The Arabs establish a garrison town at Kairouan, as a base for the conquest of northwest Africa

With the entire middle east under their control, the Arabs make Damascus the capital of the Umayyad caliphate

Husayn, the son of Ali, dies at Karbala in a battle against rival Muslims and becomes the most holy of Shi'ite martyrs

The Dome of the Rock is completed as a Muslim shrine on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem

Shortage of manpower in the Muslim armies causes a change of policy, with non-Arabs now allowed to convert to Islam

Muslim Arabs cross from north Africa into Spain and drive the Visigoths from Toledo

Muslims, arriving from Persia through Baluchistan, occupy the region of Sind in western India

The Muslim advance into France is halted when Charles Martel defeats the Arabs between Poitiers and Tours