Circa 610: Prompted by what he says are divine revelations, the prophet Muhammad begins espousing a new version of pure monotheism in pagan Mecca, a town located in what is now Saudi Arabia.

Circa 622: Muhammad migrates to Medina and establishes an Islamic community. The Muslim calendar begins.

Circa 632: Muhammad dies.

632-661: Islamic rule extends to North Africa, Persia (Iran), Jerusalem, Damascus and Central Asia.

732: A Muslim advance into Europe is halted in France by Christian armies.

750-925: Islam's "Golden Age." Under a unified empire, Islamic legal, religious, and political thought flowers.

1096: European Christians launch the first Crusade to take the Holy Land from Muslims.

1099: Crusaders conquer Jerusalem.

1258: Mongols conquer the Islamic center of Baghdad.

1291: Islamic forces defeat the last Crusader stronghold in Palestine.

1453: Constantinople (now Istanbul) becomes a Muslim city when it is conquered by the Ottoman Turks.

1492: With the fall of Grenada, Muslim rule ends in Spain.

1683: Muslim Turks, controlling much of southeastern Europe, attack Vienna.

1798: The French, under Napoleon, invade Egypt.

1832: French forces occupy Algeria.

1920: European colonial governments control ex-Ottoman lands of Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, and Transjordan.

1932: Saudi Arabia is established.

1947: The Muslim state of Pakistan established.

1948: Israel is established. The first Arab-Israeli war begins.

1967: The second Arab-Israeli war begins.

1973: The third Arab-Israeli war begins.

1979: Islamic government is established in Iran. The Soviet Union invades Afghanistan.

1989: The Soviets withdraw from Afghanistan. Islamic rebel forces overthrow the Communist government.

1990: Iraq invades Kuwait.

1991: Muslim-dominated former Soviet republics in Central Asia gain independence. U.S.-led forces push Iraq from Kuwait.

Source: Beliefnet