By era
Caliphs & Capitals: places of Islamic history
Every researched 360° place from the Caliphs & Capitals era of Islamic history — each with its date, location, and Sunni-sourced background.
52 places
Rashidun
The Saqifa of Banu Sa'idah
11 AH / 632 CE
Saqifat Bani Sa'idah, the Khazraj quarter of Madinah
Rashidun
The Surrender of al-Hira
12 AH / 633 CE
al-Hira, on the lower Euphrates near later Kufa, southern Iraq
Rashidun
The First Collection of the Qur'an
12 AH / 633 CE
Madinah, near the Prophet's mosque
Rashidun
The Garden of Death at Yamama
12 AH / 633 CE
'Aqraba in al-Yamama, the oasis of Banu Hanifa, central Najd
Rashidun
Yarmouk, The Dust Storm
15 AH / 636 CE
Yarmouk River gorge, Hauran plateau
Rashidun
The Fall of Ctesiphon
16-21 AH / 637-642 CE
Ctesiphon (al-Mada'in), on the Tigris south of later Baghdad, Iraq
Rashidun
The Surrender of Jerusalem to 'Umar
16 AH / 637 CE
Jerusalem (Aelia / Iliya), the Temple esplanade
Rashidun
Umar's Diwan and the Hijri Calendar
c. 17 AH / 638 CE
Madinah, the administrative heart of the caliphate
Rashidun
The Founding of Kufa
17 AH / 638 CE
Kufa, west bank of the Euphrates, central Mesopotamia
Rashidun
The Founding of Fustat
21 AH / 641 CE
Fustat, east bank of the Nile opposite the Babylon fortress, Egypt
Rashidun
Nahavand, The Victory of Victories
c. 21 AH / 642 CE
Nahavand, the Zagros highlands of Media (al-Jibal)
Rashidun
The First Muslim Fleet off Cyprus
28 AH / 649 CE
East coast of Cyprus, off Byzantine Constantia (near modern Famagusta)
Rashidun
The Standardization of the Mushaf
c. 30 AH / c. 650 CE
Madinah, residence of the third caliph
Rashidun
The Battle of the Masts
c. 34 AH / 655 CE
Off the Lycian coast of southern Anatolia (near Phoenix, Finike)
Rashidun
The Battle of the Camel
10 Jumada al-Akhira 36 AH / 7 December 656 CE
Plain of Khurayba outside Basra, southern Iraq
Rashidun
The Arbitration at Dumat al-Jandal
Ramadan 37 AH / February 658 CE
Dumat al-Jandal oasis, on the Syrian-Arabian border
Umayyad
Damascus Becomes the Umayyad Capital
41 AH / 661 CE
Damascus, the Roman temenos at the heart of the new capital
Umayyad
Karbala, The Blocked Euphrates
61 AH / 680 CE
Plain of Karbala, west of the Euphrates
Umayyad
Ibn al-Zubayr Rebuilds the Kaaba
64 AH / 683 CE
The sanctuary at Makkah, around the Kaaba
Umayyad
The Construction of the Dome of the Rock
72 AH / 691-692 CE
The Haram al-Sharif (al-Aqsa precinct), al-Quds (Jerusalem)
Umayyad
Abd al-Malik's Coinage and Chancery Reform
c. 77 AH / 696 CE
Damascus, the Umayyad mint and central chancery
Umayyad
The Building of the Great Mosque of Damascus
87 AH / 706 CE
Damascus, capital of the Umayyad caliphate
Umayyad
Tariq Crosses to al-Andalus
92 AH / 711 CE
The Strait of Gibraltar at Jabal Tariq, the crossing into Iberia
Umayyad
The Conquest of Sindh at Daybul
92 AH / 711 CE
Daybul, the port at the mouth of the Indus (identified with Banbhore, Sindh)
Umayyad
The Renewal under Umar II
Umar II (99-101 AH / 717-720 CE)
A caliphal country estate in Umayyad Syria, near Damascus
Umayyad
The Battle of Balat al-Shuhada'
Ramadan 114 AH / October 732 CE
Between Poitiers and Tours, central Gaul (modern France)
Umayyad
The Great Berber Revolt
Berber Revolt (122-124 AH / 740-742 CE)
A Berber village in the Atlas, the Maghrib
Umayyad
The Desert Palace of Khirbat al-Mafjar
c. 125 AH / 743 CE
Khirbat al-Mafjar, near Jericho, in the Jordan valley
Abbasid
The Black Banners of Khurasan
Abbasid Revolution (129-132 AH / 747-750 CE)
The oasis of Merv, Khurasan (modern Turkmenistan)
Abbasid
The Battle of the Great Zab
Jumada II 132 AH / Jan 750 CE
The Great Zab river, near its confluence with the Tigris, northern Iraq
Abbasid
The Battle of Talas
Dhul Hijja 133 AH / July 751 CE
Upper Talas river valley, on the western marches of Transoxiana (modern Kazakhstan-Kyrgyzstan border)
Umayyad
The Founding of the Emirate of Cordoba
138 AH / 756 CE
Cordoba, the Guadalquivir quay by the Roman bridge
Abbasid
The Academy of Jundishapur
c. 143 AH / 760 CE
Jundishapur (Gundeshapur), in Khuzistan
Abbasid
The Paper-Makers of Samarqand
c. 143 AH / 760 CE
Samarqand, in Transoxiana, on the rivers of the Zarafshan
Abbasid
The Founding of the Round City of Baghdad
145 AH / 762 CE
The west bank of the Tigris, the site of the Round City (Madinat al-Salam)
Umayyad
The Great Mosque of Cordoba Begun
170 AH / 785 CE
The Great Mosque of Cordoba, on the Guadalquivir
Abbasid
The Stationers' Market of Baghdad
c. 215 AH / 830 CE
Suq al-Warraqin, Baghdad
Abbasid
The House of Wisdom
c. 215 AH / 830 CE
Baghdad, the round city of the Abbasids on the Tigris
Abbasid
The Mihna and the Stand of Imam Ahmad
The Mihna (218-234 AH / 833-848 CE)
Baghdad, the Abbasid capital
Abbasid
The Banu Musa and the Ingenious Devices
c. 236 AH / 850 CE
Baghdad, the Abbasid capital on the Tigris
Abbasid
The Malwiya at Samarra
241 AH / 855-856 CE
Samarra (Surra Man Ra'a), Abbasid capital on the Tigris
Abbasid
The Founding of al-Qarawiyyin
245 AH / 859 CE
Fes, capital of the Idrisid dynasty in al-Maghrib al-Aqsa
Abbasid
The Zanj Rebellion in the Marshes
Zanj Rebellion (255-270 AH / 869-883 CE)
The marshes of southern Iraq, near Basra
Abbasid
Ibn Fadlan among the Volga Bulgars
310 AH / 922 CE
The land of the Volga Bulgars, on the middle Volga
Abbasid
After the Qarmatian Raid on Makkah
Dhul Hijja 317 AH / 930 CE
The sanctuary at Makkah, around the Kaaba
Umayyad
Madinat al-Zahra
begun 324 AH / c. 936 CE
Madinat al-Zahra, west of Cordoba, in al-Andalus
Fatimid
The Founding of al-Azhar
24 Jumada al-Ula 359 AH / April 970 CE (foundation); first jumu'a Ramadan 361 AH / June 972 CE
al-Qahira (Cairo), the new royal city north of Fustat
Fatimid
Building Bab al-Futuh
480 AH / 1087 CE
Bab al-Futuh, in al-Qahira (Cairo), in Egypt
Fatimid
The First Crusade Siege of Jerusalem
22 Sha'ban 492 AH / 15 July 1099 CE
al-Quds (Jerusalem)
Fatimid
The Fall of Tripoli
502 AH / 1109 CE
Tripoli (Tarabulus), on the coast of the Levant
Abbasid
The Mustansiriyya Madrasa
631 AH / 1234 CE
The Mustansiriyya, on the Tigris, Baghdad
Abbasid
Tigris Shore After the Sack of Baghdad
656 AH / 1258 CE
Tigris riverbank, Baghdad