Introduction After the death of the prophet Muhammad in 632CE until the fall of the Abbasid Caliphate in 1258CE, there was a number of key events and characteristics that shaped the early Islamic world. Throughout Muhammad’s life as a prophet he lived a mostly peaceful life (with the exception of his final years), focusing his efforts on spreading the word of God and the religion of Islam. However during his time, he did not delve much into politics, and therefore never instructed what should happen in the occurrence of his death, and who shall succeed him. This essay will focus on the rulers and Caliphates that emerged after Muhammad’s death, most notably including the Umayyad Caliphate and the Abbasid Caliphate, along with the golden age of the Islamic Empire and finally the Christian crusades and Mongol invasions. Body Muhammad’s death caused an issue in deciding whom would lead, as Muhammad had not …show more content…
The first crusade began in 1099 and the Christian crusaders captured the holy city of Jerusalem. But this did not stop Islam from flourishing and spreading, mainly through trade, which was the livelihood of Muslims. By 1187, a Muslim named Saladin had recaptured Jerusalem after he managed to lure the Christians out of there and kill them. The crusades still continued but they did not have as damaging affects and eventually they came to an end. Then it became time for the East to attack. In an event known as the Mongol catastrophe, the Mongols came to the city of Baghdad in 1258 and they destroyed it. Burning libraries and mosques and killing around 10,000 people and ultimately burning the city to the ground. And this was the end of the Abbasid Caliphate. However, eventually most of the Mongol invaders became Muslims and rebuilt mosques and the empire and paving the way for the Ottoman