The Caliphate  


Islam: The Successors

999 to 1506 A.D.

The 9th and 10th centuries saw the break-up of the Muslim dominions into independent states or groupings, such as the Tahirids and Samanids in Persia and Fatimids in Egypt. Mahmud I (999 - 1030 AD) based in Ghazna in modern-day Afghanistan, carved out an empire in central Asia and made repeated raids into the India sub-continent. By 1186 AD this empire had been overrun by the Ghorids who completed the conquest of northern India.

In 1038 AD, Tugril Beg, leader of the Seljuks, a group of Turkish soldiers in the service of the Ghaznavids, seized the province of Khwarazm. His influence spread west towards Baghdad. This was continued by his nephew, Alp Arslan, who reached Asia Minor, Armenia and Georgia, defeating the Byzantines at the battle of Manzikert in 1071 AD.

It was a Turk, Yusuf bin Ayyub, who in 1174 AD began the Ayyubid dynasty, calling himself al-Malik al-Nasir Salah al-Din. Known by history as Saladin, he fought Richard I during the Third Crusade, re-taking Jerusalem in 1187.

In 1206 AD, a new threat appeared, the Mongols, with their leader Ghengis Khan. They exploded out of the central Asian steppes, their feared horsemen ranging across China, southern Russia, the Abbasid Caliphate and even as far as Hungary. The influence of the Mongols was short-lived, but they managed to destroy the greatness of the Muslim civilisation.

In 1453, Mehmed II, the Ottoman Sultan, captured Constantinople, finally putting an end to the Roman Empire.

Islam Bibliography List of rulers and dynasties

Click on image for more details and history
Ghaznavids
Mahmud I
390 - 422 AH (999 - 1030 AD)
Ghaznavids
Mahmud I
390 - 422 AH (999 - 1030 AD)
Great Seljuqs
Sanjar
490 - 491 AH (1097 - 1098 AD)
Ayyubid
Salah al-Din Yusuf I (Saladin)
564-589 AH (1169-1193 AD)
Ayyubid
Salah al-Din Yusuf I (Saladin)
564-589 AH (1169-1193 AD)
Qarakhanid
Mas'ud
557 - 567 AH (1161 - 1171 AD)
Ghorids
Ghiyath
559 - 600 AH (1163 - 1203 AD)
Zangids of Sinjar
Qutb al-Din Muhammad
594-616 AH (1197-1219 AD)
Khwarezm Shah
Muhammad
596-617 AH (1200 - 1220 AD)
Kurzuwan
Malik
618 AH (1221 AD)
France/Spain
copy of Muwahhid Dirhem
13th Century
Seljuks of Rum
Ghiyath al din Kai Khusru II
634-643 AH (1236-1245 AD)
Artuqids of Mardin
Husam al-Din Yuluq Arslan
580-597 AH (1184-1201 AD)
Artuqids of Mardin
Husam al-Din Yuluq Arslan
580-597 AH (1184-1201 AD)
Artuqids of Mardin
Najm al-Din Ghazi I
637-59 AH (1239-1261 AD)
Great Mongols (Chingizid)
Ghengis Khan
603-624 AH (1206-1227 AD)
Golden Horde (Jujid)
Muhammad Uzbek
712-742 AH (1312-1341 AD)
Ilkhans - Mongols of Persia
Ghazan Mahmud
694-703 AH (1295-1304 AD)
Ilkhans - Mongols of Persia
Sulayman
739-746 AH (1339-1346 AD)
Injuids (Mongols)
Abu Ishaq
743-758 AH (1342 - 1356 AD)
Muzaffarid (Mongols)
Sha Shuja
760-789 AH (1358 - 1386 AD)
Mamluq
Shaban II
765-778 AH (1363 - 1376 AD)
Jalayrids
Ahmad
785-812 AH (1382 - 1409 AD)
Mehrabanids
'Izz al-Din Karman
1352-1382 AD / 753-784 AH
Nasrids of Granada
temp. 'Ali b. Sa'd
1474-1489 AD / 879-894 AH
Timurids
Hosayn
874-912 AH (1469 - 1506 AD)
White Sheep Turks -Aq Qoyunlu
Ya'qub
1478 - 1490 AD
Qunduz
Khusraw
903-911 AH (1497 - 1505 AD)
Ottoman Empire
Mehmed II the conqueror 2nd reign
855-86 AH (1451-81 AD)
Ottoman Empire
Suleyman I, the Magificent
AH 926-974/ AD 1520-1566
Safavids -Shahs of Iran
Sultan Husayn
1105-1135 AH (1694-1722 AD)



Islam: Umayyads and Abbasids
Islam: The Successors