Islamic Conquest

The conquest of Jerusalem in 638 CE by Caliph Umar ibn al-Khattab marked the peaceful Islamic liberation of the holy city, establishing principles of religious tolerance and protection that would characterize Islamic rule in Jerusalem for centuries.

Egypt's transformation from Pharaonic civilization through Islamic conquest to become a center of Islamic learning and modern Arab leadership, with Al-Azhar's enduring religious authority and pivotal role in Islamic history.

Historically Persia, the one major region taken by the early Muslim armies that kept its own language and culture while reshaping Islamic civilisation. Its Shi'a identity dates from the Safavids of 1501, and its clerical leadership governs the present republic.

Sultan Mahmud of Ghazni (971–1030 CE) was the most powerful Ghaznavid ruler, leading seventeen campaigns into the Indian subcontinent while making Ghazni a major center of Persian culture and Islamic learning. A patron of al-Biruni and Ferdowsi, his legacy joins conquest and culture.