| * Boldface
titles indicate works in the anthology. |
TEXTS
|
CONTEXTS
|
510–622 The great age of Arabic oral heroic poetry
6th century The Sassanian court encourages
the collection of heroic and legendary tales about Iran's
kings and heroes |
570? Birth of Muhammad into the Quraysh tribe of Mecca
|
622–750 Invention of the love lyric (ghazal)
|
610–632 The period of Muhammad's prophesy from first revelation,
through the growth of his following, his flight (hijra) to
Medina, and his final pilgrimage to Mecca
|
653? The third caliph, 'Uthman, authorizes the collection and
establishment of the official text of the Koran
|
633–656 Muslim armies conquer as far as India to the east and as
far as Morocco to the west
|
| |
711–720 Extension of Muslim conquests into al-Andalus (Spain),
northwest India, and central Asia
|
|
750–1055 The Golden Age of Arabic letters
|
|
| 750
Ibn Ishaq composes the Biography of the Prophet,
the definitive biography of Muhammad |
|
| |
778 Defeat of Charlemagne in northern Spain by Muslim armies and
the fall of Roland at Roncesvalles
|
| |
786–809
Caliphate Haroun al-Rashid, who together with his vizier,
Ja'far the Barmakid, appears in stories of the Thousand
and One Nights |
|
810–850 Heyday of Al-Jahiz, the greatest master of Arabic prose
literature
|
|
| 813–833
Caliphate of al-Ma'mun, who promotes the translation
of Greek philosophy and science into Arabic • The
tales of the Thousand and One Nights
may have entered Arabic at about this time |
|
819–1005 The Samanid court encourages poets and writers in
Persian and sponsors a new version of the Sh’hn’me
912–961 The golden age of Islamic culture in Spain, which
includes the establishment of the first major centers of learning in
medieval Europe
|
819–1005 The Samanids, the first Persian Muslim dynasty, become
hereditary governors of eastern Iran and central Asia
950 The Turkish tribes of central Asia begin conversion to Islam
|
| |
998 Mahmud of Ghazna extends his rule over central Asia and
northern India and establishes a dynasty that endures until shortly
before the Mongol conquests
|
|
1010 Ferdowsi completes his poetic version of the
Sh’hn’me
|
|
| |
1036–1055 The Seljuqs conquer as far as the Mediterranean and
give new impetus to art, literature, and science
|
1177 Attar completes The Conference of the Birds.
1218? Jal’loddin Rumi composes both his great lyric works and
the Spiritual Couplets (1283)
|
1096–1290 The European crusades to regain Christian control of
the Holy Lands (little noted in the East)
1171–1193 Saladin (Sal’h al-Din), who expels the crusaders and
denies European traders access to India through the Red Sea route
1219–1260 The Mongols establish themselves as rulers of central
Asia, Iran, Iraq, eastern Turkey, and parts of Syria and the Caucasus
|
| |
1236 In Spain, Muslim Cordoba capitulates to the Christian
ruler, Ferdinand III
|
| |
1250–1517 The Turkish slave (mamluk) soldiers who served
Saladin and his successors in Egypt found their own dynasty, known as
the Mamluks
|
|
1257–1258 Sa'di composes the Bustan and
Golestan
|
1256–1353 The Il-Khanids rule over
the lands conquered by Hülegü |
1370–1405 Persian poetry enters a period of gradual
transformation and renewal
|
1281–1924 In post-Mongol Turkey, the Ottoman rulers gradually
establish the last great Islamic dynasty to rule in the Middle East.
They dominate the region until World War II
1370–1405 Timur the Lame, or Tamerlane, claiming descent from
Chinghis Khan, retakes most of the lands ruled by the Il-Khanids •
Timur and his successors are generous patrons of poetry and painting
and construct remarkable buildings
|
 |
|
