The Islamic World: 1000 Years in 18 Minutes

From the deserts of sixth-century Arabia to the fall of the last caliphate after World War I — a thousand years of Islamic history, told through its Middle Eastern heartland. In under 18 minutes, follow the empires, caliphs and sultans who shaped the medieval Middle East: the life of Muhammad, the Rashidun conquests, the Umayyad and Abbasid caliphates and the Golden Age of Baghdad, the fracturing into rival dynasties, the arrival of the Turks, the Crusades, the Mongol catastrophe, the Mamluks and steppe conquerors, and the rise of the Ottomans and the gunpowder empires. ⏱️ CHAPTERS 0:00 — Introduction 0:28 — Muhammad 2:02 — The Rashidun Caliphs 3:25 — The Umayyads 4:46 — The Abbasids & the Golden Age 6:51 — Fragmentation — Buyids & Fatimids 8:40 — The Turks & the Seljuks 10:17 — The Crusades — Ayyubids 11:41 — The Mongols 13:11 — Mamluks & the Steppe Rulers 15:13 — The Ottomans 16:43 — Legacy This video is an educational overview. Out of respect, it avoids figural depictions of the Prophet Muhammad, using Qur'anic manuscripts, calligraphy and holy sites instead. #IslamicHistory #History #MiddleEast #Ottomans #Abbasids #Caliphate #Documentary #Muhammad #Mongols #Crusades 📜 SOURCES & CREDITS Historical imagery: public-domain and Creative Commons manuscripts, paintings and photographs from Wikimedia Commons (the Blue Qur'an, al-Sufi's Book of Fixed Stars, the Maqamat al-Hariri, Ottoman and Persian miniatures, and more). Maps: rendered from Natural Earth (public domain). Music: "Arabic Islamic Muslim Music" by STAROSTIN (Pixabay Content License). IMAGE CREDITS (Wikimedia Commons) - File:Astrolabe, ca. 1697 (Persian Metalwork, Bronze) (15853656962).jpg — CC BY 2.0 - File:Al-Azhar Mosque (8590203917).jpg — CC BY 2.0 - File:Benjamin-Constant-The Entry of Mahomet II into Constantinople-1876.jpg — Public domain - File:Córdoba. La Mezquita LCCN2017660381.jpg — Public domain - File:Double-page spread of image in The Crusades.jpg — Public domain - File:Al-Nafud Desert, Saudi Arabia (MODIS 2026-01-17).jpg — public domain - File:Jerusalem Dome of the rock BW 14.JPG — Public domain - File:Genghis Khan（Ming dynasty）.jpg — Public domain - File:Hārūn al-Rashīd and the barber.png — Public domain - File:Battle of Cresson.jpg — Public domain - File:An obituary listing eight victims of the Nizari Ismaʿili assassins, Iran, Herat, early 15th century.jpg — Public domain - File:Ansicht de Moschee, während darin ein gemeinschaftliches Çalät abgehalten wird LCCN2013646214.jpg — Public domain - File:1021-Ridersonfight.jpg — CC BY-SA 3.0 - File:Khalili Collection Hajj and Arts of Pilgrimage arc.pp 0211.02.jpg — CC BY-SA 3.0 igo - File:Mongol Conquest of Baghdad.jpg — Public domain - File:Lascar Taj Mahal (4498302958).jpg — CC BY 2.0 - File:Arrival of Osman I on horse. Tadj al-Tawarikh (The Crown of the Chronicles), 1616, Ottoman (Musée Jacquemart-André, Ms 13141).jpg — Public domain - File:Israel in World War I - Ottoman soldiers in Israel H OP 049.JPG — Public domain - File:A Sultan and His Court Persian miniature from Shahnameh (Book of Kings) by Ferdowsi Around 1330 Topkapi museum, Istanbul.jpg — Public domain - File:12 Abu'l Hasan Jahangir Welcoming Shah 'Abbas, ca. 1618, Freer Gallery of Art, Washington DC.jpg — Public domain - File:Folio from The book of knowledge of ingenious mechanical devices (1354 copy). Part of a water clock.jpg — Public domain - File:Maqamat hariri.jpg — Public domain - File:Houghton EC7 T4922 734c (B) - Selim I.jpg — Public domain - File:Folio 230. The army petitions Timur to fight Tuqtamish Khan (British Library, I.O. Islamic 137).jpg — Public domain - File:BattleOfHoms1299.JPG — Public domain - File:Damascus, Syria, The Umayyad Mosque, Great Mosque of Banu Umayya.jpg — CC BY 4.0