Muslims

Followers of Islam, a monothiestic religion preached by Mohammed (c. 570-632), an Arab merchant from Mecca. Mohammed had a series of divine revelations which began when he was about 40. His flight (the Hegira) from his enemies in Mecca to the security of Medina in 622 traditionally marks the foundation of the Muslim faith. Mohammed converted the people of Medina, and built a strong theorcratic state, gaining Mecca in 630. After his death --or assumption into heaven-- he was followed as head of the faith by a series of disciples known as the Caliphs, from an Arabic word meaning "successor." The early Caliphs spread Islam widely, mostly by the sword. Within a century of the Hegira Islam was the dominant religion --at least politically-- from Spain, through northern Africa, throughout the entire Middle East, and well into Central Asia. At its peak, Islamic culture, in part inspired by faith and in part building upon its Roman, Greek, Jewish, and Persian predecessors, was the most splendid in the world. However, the unity of the Islamic world did not long endure, due partially to dynastic quarrels which developed after the caliphate fell into the hands of various branches of Mohammed's family, in part due to doctrinal disputes, and in part to nationalistic tensions (Islam tended to impose an essentially Arabic culture on its converts).

Although the relationship between the Islamic world and Christendom, whether Western Europe or the Byzantine Empire, was usually hostile, punctuated by holy wars , pograms, forced conversions, and occasional expulsions on both sides, there was also considerable commerce between the adherents of the two great faiths, and a surprising amount of intellectual cross fertilization. European scholars would freely discuss (at least among themselves) the ideas of Islamic philosophers such as Al-Gaiizulli, Averoes, and Avicenna, a development which helped pave the way for the Renaissance.