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The minaret of Vabkent (or Vobkent), 1196-7 CE. Location: Town of Vabkent north of Bukhar, Uzbekistan. Patron by Abd al-Aziz II. Embellished by wide bands with high relief carving and crowned by a lantern at the top.

The Sarban ('Camel-driver') minaret at Isfahan (Jubareh area), Iran (1130-1155 CE). The shafts are decorated with alternate bands of decorative brick and blue tile work in geometric patterns, and two girdles of stalactite...

An illustration by F.AlSulaiti of the Kirat Minaret, Khurasan, Iran (11th century CE). Seljuk era patron unknown. Balcony at the middle of the shaft missing which was supported on corbelled brick and decorated with Muqarnas...

The Gar Minaret, Gar (east of Isfahan), Iran. An inscription reveals its date as 1121 CE. Decorated with square Kufic inscriptions that are carved into the brick shaft.

A view of the Ka'ba in Medina.

The Songhai Empire (aka Songhay, c. 1460 - c. 1591) covered what is today southern Mauritania and Mali. It replaced the Mali Empire (1240-1645) as the most important state in West Africa. Originating as a smaller kingdom along...

Muhammad ibn Abdullah (l. 570-632 CE) is venerated today as the Prophet of Islam and the “seal of Prophets” by his followers – the Muslims. Muslims believe that Muhammad was the last – hence the “seal” – of many prophets before...

The Knights Templar were established c. 1119 and given papal recognition in 1129. It was a Catholic medieval military order whose members combined martial prowess with a monastic life to defend Christian holy sites and pilgrims...

Timur (1336-1405), also known as Tamerlane, Temür, or Timur Leng, was the founder of the Timurid Empire (1370-1507), which had its heartlands in modern-day Uzbekistan and capital at Samarkand. A Muslim Turkic...

Hausaland, sometimes referred to as the Hausa Kingdoms, was a group of small independent city-states in northern central Africa between the Niger River and Lake Chad which flourished from the 15th to 18th century CE. The origins of...