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