1. The Islamic Civilization With the help of first leader and prophet, Muhammad, the Islamic civilization began in 532 AD. So, tradition has it that after Muhammad married a wealthy young woman named Kadijah, he often went up to the hills to pray and converse with himself about the problems with the people of Arabia. The problem was that Muhammad believed that the people of Arabia weren’t really going along with the Islamic religion in Mecca (or Makkah), where he lived. Then, one day when Muhammad came up to the hills again, he was visited by a beautiful angel of God, named Gabriel.Muhammad Gabriel had a proposition for Muhammad. It was to teach or preach the religion of Islam to the people of Arabia. And so he did. Muhammad went around preaching to everyone and acting like a Muslim, by praying and believing in praying at the Kaaba, which was built by Abraham and Ishmael. Muhammad gained some followers along the way and he gained some enemies also. The people who became his followers were mostly unfortunate and poor. And you can guess that his enemies became wealthy merchants and fortunate people. Muhammad’s enemies even stooped to the level of attempting to beat up some of Muhammad’s followers because they thought their power was being reduced and taken away by Muhammad. In 622 AD, Muhammad and his group of followers relocated to a place known as Medina (or Madinah) and this moving was called the Hijrah. There at Medina, they all followed the Islamic religion, especially the holy book, known as the Quaran (or Koran), which includes the 5 pillars of Islam: monotheism, a pilgrimage to Mecca at least once in your lifetime, pray towards Mecca (specifically towards the Kaaba) at least five times a day, fasting during Ramadan, and sharing with the poor. By 632 AD Muhammad was dead. Muhammad’s empty gap was filled with first group of rulers under Muhammad, the Rightly Guided Caliphs, from 632-661. Then came the Umyadds, from 661-750, followed by the Abbasids. The Islamic civilization is still continuing today. Kaaba

2. Muhammad Muhammad, the prophet was conceived in 570 AD in the city of Mecca. Muhammad’s name meant “highly praised.” He was raised by his uncle, Abu Talib. Muhammad’s parents died when he was very young. Muhammad started his first job as a caravan leader when he was a teenager. Then, he became a trader. After that, he made the decision to marry a wealthy young woman named Kadijah and both of them lived in Mecca together. Khadijah and Muhammad had six children together. Muhammad didn’t agree with his country’s (Arabia’s) religion, so he often went to the hills or the mountains and prayed or meditated. Then one day, in 610 AD, when he went up to the mountains, he was met by an angel, Gabriel, of God. Muhammad was too preach the Muslim religion and Muhammad agreed. So, Muhammad did as he was told and he preached to everyone. He gained some followers along the way. The majority of his followers were unfortunate and poor people, although he did also gain some enemies. His enemies were more of wealthy merchants and fortunate people. His enemies had the opinion that Muhammad was trying to take away all of their power. They felt so strongly about it that they beat up some of his followers! Soon, Muhammad and his followers went away and relocated to a place called Yathrib, which was soon after renamed Medina, meaning “the city.” Their traveling was later called the Hijrah. More and more people began to follow Muhammad and his follower’s religion that lived in the brand new Medina. Even though Muhammad and his people relocated, they still were able to conquer Mecca in 630 AD. That is when he and his followers got rid of all the idols placed by the Arabs in the Kaaba. After he got rid of the idols, Muhammad dedicated the whole Kaaba to one God to worship and pray to. Muhammad also highly believed in the Quaran and what was in it of course. This big book included the 5 Pillars of Islam: monotheism, praying 5 times a day, giving to the needy and the poor, fasting during the holy month of Ramadan, and a pilgrimage to Makkah at least once in your lifetime. In 632 AD, Muhammad died. The person who ruled after him were Ali, Abu Bakr, Umar, and Uthman. They were called the Rightly Guided Caliphs. Then came the Umayadd Caliphs: Mu’awiyah and his son Yazid the first. Then came the Abassid Caliphs. By: Maya

3. The Kaaba This old stone structure is known to be built by Abraham and son, Ishmael. The Kaaba was built for praying to and worshipping one god. It is cube like and very small compared to the building surrounding it: The Grand Mosque. So, the Kaaba is about 15 meters tall and about 10-12 meters in width. On this structure is beautiful dark cloth that is silk with imprinted verses from the holy book, Koran in gold. The interior of the Kaaba has golden hanging lamps and also has the Black Stone of Mecca, which, in the Islamic religion, goes way back to the period where Adam and Eve lived. By things I’ve researched, the Black Stone is beautiful. Before Muhammad and his followers came along, Arabs basically conquered the Kaaba and then they stuck their idols in the building and worshipped all of them instead of just one god. That definitely changed when Muhammad and his followers arrived. By 630 AD, Muhammad had conquered Mecca, where the Kaaba was located, and he destructed each and every idol and then dedicated the structure to one God. Muslims are serious about praying at least one time a day, if not, up to 5 times a day. Every day, regardless the location of Muslims, they all pray towards the Kaaba. The Kaaba has continuously been getting rebuilt and reconstructed. Every year, the building is opened to anyone for a traditional ceremony about 15 days prior to the holy month of Ramadan. Overall, the Kaaba is a place for monotheistic worship to one god for the Muslims: Allah!

4. Byzantine Empire This empire started in 330 AD in Rome along with Constantine(also known as Constantine the Great) as the ruler! Then, Constantine moved the empire to a city called Byzantium, which Constantine made the capital. Then, the capital was renamed Constantinople, of course after Constantine! In 337, In 395 AD, the Roman Empire was split into two parts: the Eastern and Western Empires by Diocletian who ruled after Theodosius I believe. The Eastern Empire was in Constantinople and the Western Empire was in Rome. In 476 AD, the Western Empire fell, the reason not very clear. Then, the Eastern Empire became the Byzantine Empire. Soon, the next ruler comes in 526 AD: Justinian, with wife Theodora. Theodora was a very wise woman and often gave him advice, and Justinian always followed what she said. He was the last leader to use the title, “ Caesar ”. Justinian secondly ruled some small parts of the broken Western Empire. Justinian also accomplished remaking the Roman Laws into one document. Soon, the Byzantine Empire became way different than it was when Constantine made it. Lots of people tried to take a shot at bringing the remains of the empire down, but all that attempted failed. An example would be the Arabs, or even the Muslims, but the real victors became the Seljuk Turks in I ’ m guessing a surprise attack and then they conquered the Eastern Empire. The Roman (or Byzantine empire) came to a permanent halt in 476 AD.