Early Islamic Empire--Umayyad Caliphate

From 613 CE to 630 CE the prophet Muhammad spread the Islam faith in the Arabian desert, culminating in his victory at Mecca. He then unified the idolatrous tribes into an Islamic Empire, ruled by a religious and political leader, the caliph. They would proceed to conquer the Sassanids, and modern-day Syria, Palestine, Egypt, and Libya.[12] An Arabic navy was created that soon dominated the Mediterranean, crippled the Byzantine Empire, and put it under siege for centuries to come.[13] Issues in deciding the caliphs to succeed Muhammad led to the Ridda wars and eventually the Sunni-Shia split, two different sects of Islam; the Sunni eventually became dominant and established the Umayyad Caliphate.[13]

The Umayyad were centered at their capital, Damascus in what's now Syria. With the Umayyad came more conquest, giving them rule over central Asia, most of northern Africa, and from there, the Iberian Peninsula (modern-day Spain and Portugal). Little conversion occurred at this time due to the disrespect non-Arab Muslims, or mawali (Arabic: موالي), received from the Umayyad. Christians and Jews were treated with more respect as dhimmi (Arabic: ذمي), specifically the Ahl al-Kitab (Arabic: أهل الكتاب) or "people of the book," referring to the Holy Bible which they all shared. During the Umayyad age, women's position also improved from that of pre-Islamic Arabia; Muhammad's teachings banned adultery, encouraged marriage and kindness to wives and daughters, and proclaimed equality of women and men "in the eyes of God."[14]