Inspired by the Prophet Mohammed, the founder of the Islamic religion, Muslim armies conquered vast territories during 7th and 8th centuries AD. At its height, the Islamic empire, or caliphate, stretched from Spain, through North Africa, the Arabian peninsula, the Middle East and across southern Asia as far as India. In the following centuries, the Islamic world experienced a Golden Age, when Muslim mathematicians, astronomers, inventors and doctors made great breakthroughs. Aboard their ships, known as dhows, Arab merchants traded goods around the Mediterranean Sea and between Africa and Asia.

Muslim warriors

By the late 7th century the Muslim army numbered up to 100,000 men, which was at least ten times larger than the largest European armies of the time. Warriors often travelled to the battlefield on horseback. They also used camels to cross dry and inhospitable desert regions where horses would not survive. However, on reaching the battlefield, most dismounted and fought on foot, armed with spears, bows and arrows, and swords. But from the 9th century, horse-mounted soldiers, known as cavalry, became an increasingly important part of the battle plan. These warriors could fire an arrow without stopping their horses, making them particularly dangerous. Muslim warriors bred highly prized horses for use in battle.

Umayyads and Abbasids

The first four caliphs after the death of the Prophet Mohammed ruled what was known as the Rashidun Caliphate. Rashidun comes from the Arabic for "rightly guided", because these caliphs were companions of the Prophet's. In 661, the first caliph of the Umayyad clan came to power as leader of the Islamic world. The Umayyad dynasty greatly expanded the territory of the Caliphate and held on to power until 750, when the Abbasid dynasty seized control.

Golden Age

It was under the Abbasids and science-loving caliphs like Al-Ma’mun (ruled 813–833) that the empire experienced what has become known as the Islamic Golden Age. Al-Ma'mun turned the library in his capital, Baghdad, into a public academy, known as the House of Wisdom (Bayt al-Hikma). By the middle of the 9th century, it contained 400,000 books.

​​​​​​​The Abbasid rule came to an end in 1258, when Baghdad was captured by the Mongols (a people from Central Asia) and the last Abbasid caliph, Al-Musta’sim, was killed. However, the Islamic faith continued to spread across North and Central Africa, and to Turkey, Central Asia and India.