Chronology • 451813-833 Caliphate of al-Mamun, who courts Shi'i support, founds Bayt
al-Hikma, sponsors translation of ancient Greek writings, and
espouses Mu'tazilite doctrines
825 Arabs invade Sicily
833-842 Caliph Mu'tasim increases importation of Turkish slaves
874 Disappearance of Muhammad, the twelfth Shi'i imam
874-999 Samanid dynasty in Transoxiana and Khurasan
901-906 Qarmatians ravage Syria and Iraq; later sack Mecca
909 Fatimids seize power in Tunis and found Shi'i caliphate
932-1062 Buyid dynasty in western Persia and Iraq
945 Buyids occupy Baghdad
956 Turkic leader Seljuk converts to Islam
960-1302 Seljuk dynasty in Transoxiana, spreading to Persia, Iraq, and
Anatolia
962-1186 Ghaznavid dynasty in Khurasan, spreading to India
969-1171 Fatimid dynasty in Egypt, sometimes also Syria and Hijaz
971 Al-Azhar University founded in Cairo
996-1021 Reign of Fatimid Caliph al-Hakim, venerated by the Druze
998-1030 Reign of Ghaznavid Amir Mahmud, conqueror of India
1055 Seljuks take control of Baghdad
1061-1091 Normans take Sicily from the Arabs
1071 Seljuks defeat Byzantines at Manzikert and enter Anatolia
1085 Spanish Christians capture Toledo
1090s Rise of the Assassins in Persia and Syria
1092 Malikshah's death ends Seljuk unity
1096 First Crusade starts
1097-1098 Crusaders take Antioch after long siege
1099 Crusaders found Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem
1127 Zengi, a former Seljuk officer, takes over Mosul
1144 Zengi leads Muslim capture of Crusader County of Edessa
1146-1174 Reign of Zengi's son Nur al-Din in Syria
1147-1149 Second Crusade fails to recapture Edessa1171-1193 Reign of Salah al-Din ("Saladin") in Cairo