644    Umar ibn al-Khattab, the second Muslim caliph, is martyred by a Persian slave in Medina.

680    Battle of Karbala: Hussain bin Ali, the grandson of the Prophet Muhammad, is decapitated by forces under Caliph Yazid I. This is commemorated by Muslims as Aashurah.

762    Baghdad is founded by caliph Al-Mansur.

786    Harun al-Rashid becomes the Abbasid caliph upon the death of his brother al-Hadi.

1009    The Church of the Holy Sepulchre, a Christian church in Jerusalem, is completely destroyed by the Fatimid caliph Al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah, who hacks the Church's foundations down to bedrock.