9 The Islamic World 600–1400

> How did Islamic civilization both build on and transform earlier civilizations? Chapter 9 examines the emergence and development of Islamic civilization. Around 610 in the city of Mecca in what is now Saudi Arabia, a merchant called Muhammad had a religious vision that inspired him to preach God’s revelations. By the time he died in 632, he had many followers in Arabia, and a century later his followers controlled what is now Syria, Palestine, Egypt, Iraq, Iran, northern India, northern Africa, Spain, and southern France. Within another century Muhammad’s beliefs had been carried across Central Asia to the borders of China and India. The brilliant civilization that grew out of Muhammad’s vision profoundly influenced the development of both Eastern and Western civilizations.