Images

A group of Maasai warriors. The Maasai people have occupied East Africa, particularly southern Kenya and northern Tanzania since the 16th-17th century CE. (Photograph taken in 1973, Wereld Museum Collection, Rotterdam)

The entrance to the Cave of Hira, a holy site for Muslims located in Jabal al-Nour, a mountain near Mecca. According to Islamic tradition, the Cave of Hira is where Prophet Muhammad received his first revelation in 610 CE.

A photo of the monument to Alp Arslan, part of the Independence Monument in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan. Alp Arslan was the Sultan of the Seljuk Empire from 1063 - 1072 CE.

Photo of the inscription on the gates of the Mosque of the Prophet (Arabic: Al-Masjid an-Nabawī) in Medina, Saudi Arabia. The inscription has the name of Prophet Muhammad, followed by his title "the apostle of God". A black vignette has...

A 19th Century CE drawing of the Mosque of the Prophet (Arabic: Al-Masjid an-Nabawī) in Medina, Saudi Arabia. The Mosque of the Prophet was originally founded in 622 CE by Prophet Muhammad, and underwent numerous expansions and renovations...

Early modern painting of Osman I (reigned c. 1299 ‒ 1323/4 CE), the founder of the Ottoman Empire. Unknown date and provenance.

A painting of the Battle of Karbala in 680 CE Iran. Iranian painting, oil on canvas, 19th century. From the Tropenmuseum, Amsterdam

Folio from a manuscript of the Tarikhnama (Persian: "Book of History") by Muhammad Bal'ami (10th Century CE). The folio depicts As-Saffah (r. 750 - 754 CE), founder of the Abbasid Caliphate, being proclaimed caliph. Likely made in Iraq...

A map showing the extent of the Byzantine Empire and the Sasanian Empire in the 7th century.

This map shows the expansion of the Islamic Caliphates in the 7th and 8th Centuries CE: 1. Dark Shade: Expansion under the Prophet Muhammad, 622-632 CE. 2. Medium Shade: Expansion under the Rashidun Caliphate, 632-661 CE. 3. Light Shade...