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| 5062802928 | Bedouin | Nomadic pastoralists of the arabian peninsula; culture based on camel and goat nomadism; early converts to Islam. | 0 | |
| 5062811749 | Shaykhs | Leaders of tribes and clans within bedouin society; usually men with large herds; several wives, and many children | 1 | |
| 5062819245 | Mecca | City located in mountainous region along Red Sea in Arabian peninsula; founded by Umayyad clan of Quraysh; site of Ka'ba; original home of Muhammad; location of chief religious pilgrimage point in Islam. | 2 | |
| 5062829638 | Umayyad | Clan of Quraysh that dominated politics and commercial economy of Mecca; clan established a dynasty under this title as rulers of Islam, 661 to 750. | 3 | |
| 5062836130 | Quraysh | Tribe of bedouins that controlled Mecca in 7th century c.e. | 4 | |
| 5062839888 | Ka'ba | Most revered religious shrine in pre-Islamic Arabia; located in Mecca; focus of obligatory annual truce among bedouin tribes; later incorporated as important shrine in Islam. | 5 | |
| 5062850446 | Medina | Also known as Yathrib; town located northeast of Mecca; grew date palms whose fruit was sold to bedouins; became refuge for Muhammad following flight from Mecca (hijra). | 6 | |
| 5062860371 | Allah | The Arab term for the high god in pre-Islamic Arabia that was adopted by the followers of Muhammad and the Islamic faith. | 7 | |
| 5062871037 | Sasanian Empires | The dynasty that ruled Persia (contemporary Iran) in the centuries before the rise of Muhammad and the early decades of Islamic expansion. | 8 | |
| 5062876056 | Muhammad | Prophet of Islam; born c.570 to Banu Hashim clan of Quraysh tribe in Mecca; raised by father's family; received revelations from Allah in 610 c.e. and thereafter; died in 632. | 9 | |
| 5062885029 | Khadijah | First wife of the prophet Muhammad, who had worked for her as a trader. | 10 | |
| 5062889607 | Qur'an | Recitations of revelations received by Muhammad; holy book of Islam. | 11 | |
| 5062896003 | Ali | (c. 599-661) Cousin and son-in-law of Muhammad; one of orthodox caliphs; focus for Shi'a. | 12 | |
| 5062900322 | Umma | Community of the faithful within Islam; transcended old tribal boundaries to create degree of political unity. | 13 | |
| 5062906178 | Zakat | Tax for charity; obligatory for all Muslims. | 14 | |
| 5062910727 | Five Pillars | The obligatory religious duties of all Muslims; confession of faith, prayer, fasting during Ramadan, zakat, and hajj. | 15 | |
| 5062929904 | Ramadan | Islamic month of religious observance requiring fasting from dawn to sunset. | 16 | |
| 5062934323 | Hajj | A Muslim's pilgrimage to the holy city of Mecca, to worship Allah at the Ka'ba. | 17 | |
| 5062939977 | Caliph | The political and religious successor to Muhammad. | 18 | |
| 5062941400 | Abu Bakr | The first caliph or leader of the Muslim faithful elected after Muhammad's death in 632. Renown for his knowledge of the nomadic tribes who then dominated the Islamic community. | 19 | |
| 5062949710 | Ridda Wars | Wars that followed Muhammad's death in 632; resulted in defeat of rival prophets and some of larger clans; restored unity of Islam. | 20 | |
| 5062957737 | Jihads | Struggles; often used for wars in defense of the faith, but also a term to indicate personal quests for religious understanding. | 21 | |
| 5062967578 | Copts | Christian sect of Egypt; tended to support Islamic invasions of this area in preference to Byzantine rule. | 22 | |
| 5062971250 | Nestorians | A Christian sect found in Asia, tended to support Islamic invasions of this area in preference to Byzantine rule; cut off from Europe by Muslim invasions. | 23 | |
| 5063010674 | Uthman | Third caliph and member of Umayyad clan; murdered by mutinous warriors returning from Egypt; death set off civil war in Islam between followers of Ali and the Umayyad clan. | 24 | |
| 5063020611 | Battle of Stiffin | Fought in 657 between forces of Ali and Umayyads; settled by negotiation that led to fragmentation of Ali's party. | 25 | |
| 5063024677 | Mu'awiya | (602-680) Leader of Umayyad clan; first Umayyad caliph following civil war with Ali. | 26 | |
| 5063028998 | Sunnis | Political and theological division within Islam; supported the Umayyads. | 27 | |
| 5063031211 | Shi'a | Also known as Shi'ites; political and theological division within Islam; followers of Ali. | 28 | |
| 5063038822 | Karbala | Site of defeat and death of Husayn, son of Ali; marked beginning of Shi'a resistance to Umayyad caliphate. | 29 | |
| 5063047162 | Damascus | Syrian city that was capital of Umayyad caliphate. | 30 | |
| 5063048789 | Mawali | Non-Arab converts to Islam. | 31 | |
| 5063050075 | Jizya | Head tax paid by all non believers in Islamic territories/ | 32 | |
| 5063052570 | Dhimmi | Literally "people of the book"; applied as inclusive term to Jews and Christians in Islamic territories; later extended to Zoroastrians and even Hindus. | 33 | |
| 5063061130 | Hadiths | Traditions of the prophet Muhammad. | 34 | |
| 5063065322 | Abbasid | Dynasty that succeeded the Umayyads as caliphs within Islam; came to power in 750 c.e. | 35 | |
| 5063067685 | Battle of the River Zab | Victory of Abbasids over Umayyads; resulted in conquest of Syria and capture of Umayyad capital. | 36 | |
| 5063077066 | Baghdad | Capital of Abbasid dynasty located in Iraq near ancient Persian capital of Ctesiphon. | 37 | |
| 5063082368 | Wazir | Chief administrative official under the Abbasid caliphate; initially recruited from Persian provinces of empire. | 38 | |
| 5063088088 | Dhows | Arab sailing vessels with triangular of lateen sails; strongly influenced European ship design. | 39 | |
| 5063099425 | Ayan | The wealthy landed elite that emerged in the early decades of Abbasid rule. | 40 |
