| Bedouins | arabic camel nomads |
| ka'ba | one of the most revered religious shrines |
| 610 a.d. | when muhammad recieved the first revelations of quran |
| 629 | when muhammad left mecca for medina |
| ridda wars | wars to defeat rival prophets and restore the unity of islam |
| caliph | the office of the political and religious successor of muhammad |
| shi'is | supporters of ali (most were fundamental) |
| Damascus, syria | where islam shifted to under umayyad rule |
| mawali | non-arab muslim |
| baghdad, iraq | where the abbasids moved political center to |
| ayan | a wealthy and deeply entrenched landed elite who emerged in the early decades of abbasid rule |
| ummayad clan of quraysh tribe | responsible for the foundation of mecca |