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The Eras · 632 CE to today

Twelve stations on one long road

Fourteen centuries of Islamic history, read as a single caravan route: from the first caliphs in Madinah to the worldwide ummah of today. Each era is a station, and each opens as it is written.

Start at station one See the timeline
632 CE → todayfrom 11 AH 12 eras Being written

Key to the road

  • A station on the road
  • The route between eras
  • Coming soonBeing written
  • Open Template ready to explore

Twelve stations

One road, fourteen centuries

The eras overlap, as history does: al-Andalus runs alongside the Umayyads and the Abbasids, and the Ottomans outlast them all. Follow them in order, or jump to the one you came for.

Setting out · 632 CE · 11 AH

Where the seerah ends, the caravan begins

The road starts in Madinah, after the passing of the Prophet ﷺ. Walk the seerah first.

  1. Station 01 · Madinah632 – 661

    The Rightly Guided Caliphs

    Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman and Ali: the four caliphs who led the ummah after the Prophet ﷺ.

    Open the era Chapters soon
  2. Station 02 · Damascus661 – 750

    The Umayyads

    A caliphate ruled from Damascus that reached from Iberia in the west to the Indus in the east.

    Coming soonEra 2 of 12
  3. Station 03 · Baghdad750 – 1258

    The Abbasids & the Golden Age

    Baghdad becomes a great capital of learning, translation and trade.

    Coming soonEra 3 of 12
  4. Station 04 · Iberia711 – 1492

    Al-Andalus

    Nearly eight centuries of Muslim rule in Iberia, from Córdoba to the fall of Granada.

    Coming soonEra 4 of 12
  5. Station 05 · The Levant1095 – 1291

    The Crusades & Salahuddin

    Two centuries of crusades in the Levant. Salahuddin retakes Jerusalem in 1187.

    Coming soonEra 5 of 12
  6. Station 06 · Cairo1258 – 1517

    The Mongols & the Mamluks

    Baghdad falls to the Mongols in 1258; two years later the Mamluks of Egypt halt them at Ain Jalut.

    Coming soonEra 6 of 12
  7. Station 07 · The Sahelc. 1235 – 1591

    West Africa: Mali, Songhai & Timbuktu

    Empires of the gold and salt trade, and Timbuktu’s mosques, scholars and manuscripts.

    Coming soonEra 7 of 12
  8. Station 08 · Anatolia1299 – 1922

    The Ottomans

    From a small Anatolian principality to an empire across three continents.

    Coming soonEra 8 of 12
  9. Station 09 · Iran & India1501 – 1857

    The Safavids & the Mughals

    Great empires of Iran and South Asia, famed for their art, architecture and learning.

    Coming soonEra 9 of 12
  10. Station 10 · By seaFrom c. 13th century

    Islam in South-East Asia & China

    Islam travels the monsoon sea lanes and the Silk Road, carried largely by merchants and scholars.

    Coming soonEra 10 of 12
  11. Station 11 · Everywherec. 1800 – 1950

    Colonialism & Renewal

    European empires rule much of the Muslim world, while movements of reform and independence take shape.

    Coming soonEra 11 of 12
  12. Station 12 · Worldwide1924 – today

    The Modern Ummah

    After the abolition of the Ottoman caliphate: new nations, migration and a worldwide ummah.

    Coming soonEra 12 of 12

Today · 2026

The caravan is still moving

The twelfth station is the one we live in. New eras and chapters are added to the road as they are written.

Other ways to travel

Ride it by year, or play it as a journey

See all twelve eras side by side on the timeline, or take the first Rihla: six stops through the age of the Rightly Guided Caliphs, with a stamp at every station.

Open the timeline Take the Rihla