prev next front |1 |2 |3 |4 |5 |6 |7 |8 |9 |10 |11 |12 |13 |14 |15 |16 |17 |18 |19 |20 |21 |22 |23 |24 |25 |26 |27 |28 |29 |30 |31 |32 |33 |34 |35 |36 |37 |38 |39 |40 |41 |42 |43 |44 |45 |46 |47 |48 |49 |50 |51 |52 |53 |review

The next 3 centuries saw one of the most astonishing growths of an empire known to world history.    Starting from the small walled town of Medina, Moslem rule was extended some 4,000 miles: to the West over Egypt, north Africa, and most of Spain; to the north into Syria, Armenia, and the Caucasus; to the northeast the Islamic armies conquered Persia, Mesopotamia, and Afghanistan; and in the Far East it even made inroads into India.