Islamic world

Introduction
Prehistory (c. 3000 bce–500 ce)
- The rise of agrarian-based citied societies
- Cultural core areas of the settled world
  - The Nile-to-Oxus region
  - The Arabian Peninsula
Formation and orientation (c. 500–634)
- The city of Mecca: centre of trade and religion
  - Mecca under the Quraysh clans
  - New social patterns among the Meccans and their neighbours
- The Prophet Muhammad
  - Muhammad’s years in Mecca
    - Spiritual awakening
    - Public recitations
    - Efforts to reform Meccan society
  - Muhammad’s emigration to Yathrib (Medina)
    - The forging of Muhammad’s community
    - The ummah’s allies and enemies
    - Muhammad’s later recitations
- Islam at Muhammad’s death
- Abū Bakr’s succession
Conversion and crystallization (634–870)
- Social and cultural transformations
- ʿUmar I’s succession
  - The spirit of conquest under ʿUmar I
  - Forging the link of activism with faithfulness
- ʿUthmān’s succession and policies
  - Discontent in ʿUthmān’s reign
  - Intra-Muslim conflicts
- The four fitnahs
  - The first fitnah
  - The second fitnah
  - The emergent Islamic civilization
  - The third fitnah
  - Sunnis and Shīʿites
  - The ʿAbbāsids
  - Sharīʿah
  - The fourth fitnah
Fragmentation and florescence (870–1041)
- The rise of competitive regions
- Andalusia, the Maghrib, and sub-Saharan Africa
- Egypt, Syria, and the holy cities
- Iraq
  - Cultural flowering in Iraq
  - The Būyid dynasty
- Iran, Afghanistan, and India
  - The Sāmānids
  - The Ghaznavids
- The decline of the caliphate and rise of emirates
Migration and renewal (1041–1405)
- Turks
  - Seljuq Turks
  - Policies of Niẓām al-Mulk
  - Ṭarīqah fellowships
- Franks
  - The call for the Crusades
  - Effect of the Crusades in Syria
- Mongols
  - First Mongol incursions
  - Conversion of Mongols to Islam
  - Ascent of the Ottoman Turks
  - Timur’s efforts to restore Mongol power
- Arabs
- Imazighen
  - The Ṣanhājah confederation
  - The Almoravid dynasty
  - The Almohad dynasty
  - Continued spread of Islamic influence
Consolidation and expansion (1405–1683)
- Ottomans
  - Continuation of Ottoman rule
  - Reign of Süleyman I
  - The extent of Ottoman administration
- Ṣafavids
  - Expansion in Iran and beyond
  - Shah ʿAbbās I
  - Decline of central authority
- Indo-Timurids (Mughals)
  - Foundation by Bābur
  - Reign of Akbar
  - Continuation of the empire
- Trans-Saharan Islam
- Indian Ocean Islam
Islamic history from 1683 to the present: reform, dependency, and recovery
- Precolonial reform and experimentation from 1683 to 1818
- The rise of British colonialism to the end of the Ottoman Empire
- The early 20th century to the present
  - Reform and revival in the colonial period
  - Postcolonial states and Islam
  - Islamist movements from the 1960s
  - The mainstreaming of Islamist movements
  - Dimensions of the Islamic revival
  - Islam and globalization: the age of mobility

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Islamic world

Also known as: Islamdom, Muslim world

Written by

Malika ZeghalAll

Fact-checked by

Britannica Editors

Last updated

Mar. 13, 2026 •History

Islamic world, the complex of societies and cultures in which Muslims and their faith have been prevalent and socially dominant. Adherence to Islam is a global phenomenon: Muslims predominate in some 30 to 40 countries, from the Atlantic eastward to the Pacific and along a belt that stretches across northern Africa into Central Asia and south to the northern regions of the Indian subcontinent. Arabs account for fewer than one-fifth of all Muslims, more than...

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