Myrrh and Frankincense

Basilica of Sant'Apollinare Nuovo in Ravenna, Italy

Everybody knows what gold is. But what about the other two gifts presented to Jesus at his birth (Mt 2:11): myrrh and frankincense? Those are less well-known in the modern world. Both are scented tree resins that, in ancient times, served multiple purposes.

Frankincense is gathered from small thorny trees by scraping them and collecting the resin that leaks out. The resin is then dried and hardened into flat round cakes and sold all around the world. When burned, it produced a sweet, woody-smelling smoke. In ancient times, it was burned ceremoniously by most of the predominant religious cults, including Greek, Roman, Babylonian, Jewish (Ex 30:34-38), Buddhist, and other local communities. Additional uses included perfumes, massage oils, cosmetics, and medicine. Its myriad of uses resulted in it being as expensive as gold.

Myrrh is very similar. It too is collected from small thorny trees by scraping them and drying the outpouring of resin. At the time, it was more expensive than frankincense, so its use during religious ceremonies was limited. However, like frankincense, it was used for embalming, in perfume (SS 1:12-13), in cosmetics (Est 2:12), as a painkiller (Mk 15:23), and as a medicinal cure-all.

Myrrh and frankincense grew and were collected solely in southern Arabia and parts of eastern Africa. From there, it was traded all across the Roman empire.

Sources:
The Bible (New International Version)
"And Man Created God" - Selina O'Grady

Stoicism, Briefly

About halfway through the second chapter of And Man Created God, the author gave a nice little overview of the school of thought called Stoicism.

Stoicism is a mode of thinking that encourages rationalism, autonomy, and mastery of the self over emotion. The goal was to detach from emotion and see the nature of the world itself, logos. Every single person, no matter their station, is a part of this natural world and can find solace in their own minds.

The philosophy was mostly popular with the elite of the Roman world. According to the author, they liked Stoicism's idea that they could be their own master, even as their own power was stripped away by imperial powers.

On the other hand, commoners preferred the other religious cults of Rome and its surrounding regions. Their cults focused more on emotional concepts of "ecstasy, comfort and a sense of belonging." They were seen as the opposite of Stoicism's ideas. They were less about the self, and more about praising the popular god of the week, hoping for favor.

Sources:
"And Man Created God" - Selina O'Grady

Deborah

In the time before Israel had a king (sometime between 1380 and 1050 BC), God brought forth a series of exceptional individuals, referred to as judges, to help steer the Israelites when they began to stray from their faith. One of these judges was Deborah. She was a prophetess and leader of a band of Israelites. She's interesting to me because she managed to bring together several tribes to fight and win against a more advanced Canaanite army.

So here's the situation: The Canaanites army consists of about 900 armoured chariot archers, basically the M1 Abrams of the day. They are led by a man named Sisera.

Meanwhile, the Israelites are a scattering of disparate tribal groups. Deborah managed to bring together enough groups for a 10,000-strong army of light infantry. This may sound like a large number, but they had little armour, and the chariot archers could easily out-maneuver and chew them up. That was probably the Canaanite plan, anyway. Deborah expected this and put together a strategy to counter it.

It went something like this. Her commander, Barak, would have one chunk of the army stationed on a mountaintop to lure out Sisera's force. Deborah's army would come from behind to pinch Sisera in a marshy riverbed, where his chariot archers would be mired.

Barak balked, and insisted that Deborah fight with his soldiers on the mountain. She agreed, but reminded him that in this situation, the victory would belong to her, a woman. No, really! The Bible quotes her saying, "I will go with you. But because of the way you are going about this, the honor will not be yours, for the Lord will hand Sisera over to a woman." (Judges 4:9)

The battle played out as predicted, with an added bonus. A thunderstorm, ostensibly sent by God, caused flooding in the river valley, further impeding the Canaanite chariots. Deborah's forces fell upon them and crushed them.

As an aside, Sisera actually managed to escape from this battle. He tried to hide in the tent of a woman named Jael. After feeling safe and dozing off, Jael proceeded to drive a tent stake into his head with a hammer. That was probably for the best. Imagine what his life would be like if everyone found out he was defeated by a girl!

With the opposing army and its leader dead, Deborah led the Israelites to overthrow the Canaanite king. The peace afterwards lasted for about another forty years, before the Israelites again did evil in the eyes of the Lord.

Sources:
The Bible (New International Version)
"4000 Years of Uppity Women" - Vicki León
"Battles of the Bible" - Chaim Herzog, Mordechai Gichon

Mohammed's First Wife

Mother of Believers - Robert Hunt

As I'm reading this book about Mohammed, I'm reminded of just how awesome his first wife, Khadija, really was. Mohammed's first biographer described her as "determined, noble, and intelligent". Twice a widow and single-mother, Khadija nevertheless became a wealthy, independent merchant in the trading hub of Mecca.

Side note: Khadija's name is often followed by the acronym RA. This is short for the Arabic phrase Radiallhu Anhu, or "May God be pleased with him/her."

Their meeting was interesting. Mohammed was hired by her to manage some caravans. He seemingly did such a good job that he caught Khadija's attention. He was already well-known in the community for his honesty and trustworthiness, and it was for these reasons, in spite of his low status in society, that Khadija extended her hand to him.

Mohammed was 25-years-old when they married, but I'm having a hard time finding any definitive source of how old Khadija was when she married Mohammed. The book I'm reading now suggests she was in her late thirties when she married. Further research (i.e. Googling for about fifteen minutes) shows that the most commonly accepted age was 40 at marriage, but the idea that she was closer to 28 is gaining ground in some small circles.

The marriage was described as one of mutual respect and love. Despite living in a polygamous society, Mohammed never married another while Khadija lived. Of his many political marriages after her death, this marriage to Khadija was the only one for which this was true.

When Mohammed received his first revelation from God, he was extremely shaken. He crawled down from the mountain and went immediately to his wife, who wrapped him in her arms until he was calm. She believed his story immediately, reasoning that God would not allow any demon to tell such a lie to a good, honest person. Because of this, she is described as "the first Muslim."

They were married 25 years until Khadija passed away. Even later with his younger wives, Mohammed would still speak highly of his first wife.

Sources:
"Muhammad: A Prophet For Our Time" - Karen Armstrong
“Destiny Disrupted: A History of the World Through Islamic Eyes” - Tamim Ansar
Google

Luther's Christianity

Around the time of the Renaissance, the Catholic Church believed that a man was saved based on how he acts while alive. Salvation is a justified reward for earthly actions that were considered good.

Martin Luther came to feel that this was the wrong way of seeing things. It was selfish. He thought it was wrong for a person to behave properly for the sole purpose of securing a place in Heaven. To put it in the author’s words, "it is God who saves us, not we who save ourselves."

Luther felt that it should be the other way around. God had already granted us salvation. As long as people have faith in this salvation, they'll be okay. Luther believed that if people truly believed in this salvation, they would willingly live a morally good life. They would accept this gracious gift from God, and try to do right by God purely out of goodwill. It is in the true believer's nature.

As one can imagine, this kind of thinking would raise serious eyebrows when it came to church indulgences. If a person was already saved, why would he need to pay the church more money to be more saved?

(Full disclaimer: The Reformation is a very deep subject. This was just one thing that stuck with me and marked a key theological difference between the Catholic Church and Martin Luther's worldview.)

Sources:
"The Reformation" - Patrick Collinson

The Safavids – Pre-Iran Iran

For those that don't realize, Persia and Iran are interchangeable words for the same place and have been for centuries. It's a interesting thing to think about. The Iran of today is a descendant of many great civilizations and empires, predating even Islam.

This post is about a specific period in Iranian history: the Safavid dynasty. This was a dynasty that grew out of the destruction wrought by the Mongols across Asia and Arabia, and essentially made Iran the Shi'a heartland it still is today.

It has its beginnings as a community that collected around a Sufi Sheikh named Safi al-Din. From the outset, Safi al-Din's Sufi order was similar to others. It was a spiritual community of like-minded individuals that followed the charismatic leader's teachings. The group did not have any particular political aspirations. However, as time went on, a pattern of hereditary leadership developed. After Safi al-Din's passing, his son inherited, followed by the son's son, then the son's son's son, &c.

As time continued, this Safavid order began to militarize and more resemble an insular cult. As the group began to interact more with anti-government groups, the local princes decided to put a stop to things. In 1488, the current head of the Safavid order was killed, along with his eldest son.

However, the younger son, Ismail, survived and was whisked away into a life of hiding for roughly a decade. At the age of twelve, he left his life of hiding, mobilized his Safavid military force, and overtook the prince that had his father and brother assassinated. Three years later, he was strong enough to declare himself Shahanshah, "the king of kings". This was an ancient Persian title that was intentionally chosen to distinguish himself from the Arab caliphs and sultans to the west.

Another major shift was Ismail's declaration of the state religion as Twelver Shi'ism (a Shi'a branch that would take a while to explain, so maybe I'll save it for another post). He declared that he had direct communication with the Shi'a's Hidden Imam (seriously, it's a long story), and directed missionaries to spread the word across the Ottoman Empire to the west. He even began persecuting the Sunnis living within his domain for not following the correct path.

Needless to say, the Ottoman sultan of the time was less than pleased with this attempted power grab and began executing Shi'i living within his own borders. This led to a polarization of Islamic sects, with Sunnis fleeing west to Ottoman lands and Shi'is fleeing east toward Safavid lands. Ismail pushed to blend Shi'ism with Persian culture and intertwine the two.

Tempers finally broke years later when the Ottoman army marched on Iran. The two armies met at a place called Chaldiran. With the use of their powerful firearms, the Ottomans defeated the Safavid army and ostensibly won the battle. However, they could not hold the city they conquered during the onset of winter and fell back. The Safavids retook the city, destroyed the land between the two empires, and ensured that neither army could cross over. The old dividing line, to this day, marks the border between the two modern successor states: Turkey and Iran.

The Iranian border solidified, and Ismail's remaining reign was relatively peaceful. Succeeding leaders oversaw a glorious growth in arts, architecture, industry, and technology.

For better or worse, time marched on, and the usual pattern of dynastic succession began to set in. After several great rulers, the Safavid dynasty began to devolve, preferring the decadent lifestyle over actual governance. Meanwhile, the Shi'a scholars began to draw power away from the monarchy. They gradually felt that the ruler did not really speak for the Hidden Imam; these ayatollahs actually spoke with that authority. Unfortunately for the ruling class, the merchants and the peasants believed them.

Now, monarchies don't like it when others question their authority. The Safavid rulers imported European military consultants to ensure that its armies were strong enough to keep the rabble in check.

This did little to slow the Safavid collapse during the late 18th century. Succession struggles allowed factions and provinces to break away, while Sunni neighbours were able to break in. Eventually, the Safavid dynasty completely dissolved. A new dynasty, the Qajars, filled the vacuum, but they were little more than puppets of the European powers. The Shi'a scholars continued to hold their religious authority, and felt nothing but disgust for this state of foreign control.

Sources:
“Destiny Disrupted: A History of the World Through Islamic Eyes” - Tamim Ansary

Sufism - The Mystical Side of Islam

[image source]

Sufism is the more mystical branch of Islam. It grew out of many Muslims' desires to have a more personal experience with God. They would look at the religious laws coming into existence and felt there must be more to Islamic spirituality than blindly obeying. To accomplish this, believers would collapse into themselves and not only fulfill God's laws, but also completely dedicate themselves.

These early Sufis would find all sorts of ways to express their love of God. Some would pray constantly. Some, known as dervishes, would voluntarily relinquish all of their wealth. Some would wear clothing made of rough-spun wool, also known as suf in Arabic. Making the etymological connection will be left as an exercise for the reader.

Generally, Sufis were pretty laid back, so to speak. They weren't trying to form a new religion, sect, branch, or fork. They just really loved God and wanted to do everything they could to get closer to Him.

Some Sufis, apparently, were better at getting close to God than others. These charismatic leaders would occasionally attract groups of followers, form little communities of their own, and earn the honorific "Sheikh", or "elder". These groups would start to form their own traditions, beliefs, and understandings, but would generally move on when they lose their leader. In rare cases, however, a Sufi group can grow into a powerful dynasty. Actually, I think I'll save that last bit for another post.

Believe it or not, one of the earliest Sufi stars was a woman. Rabia al-Basri was born in Basra during the early 700's. As a child, her parents died and she was sold to a rich household as a slave. One night, her master heard her praying and was so awestruck by her passion that he agreed to free her and arrange a marriage for her. However, she declined and declared that she was already in love. She was in love with God. From then on, she became an ascetic and a mystical poet. Many Muslims gravitated toward her message of love for God and hoped some of her spirituality would transfer to them.

Needless to say, traditional Muslim scholars did not appreciate these shenanigans. They began to drop the hammer when some Sufi Sheikhs began declaring themselves God. Executions and torture were put into effect, but did little to stop the growing popularity of Sufi mysticism.

Mind, not all Sufi Sheikhs were overtly heretical. Most were relatively tame. For example, a Baghdad Sufi named al-Junayd would go to work every day, but would then return home and devote himself to God. He would perform four-hundred units of Muslim prayer, read the Qu'ran constantly, and generally try to win the struggle with his own desires.

Sufism remained a big deal for centuries. The people's interest in establishing a more personal connection with God never really abated. Overtime, Sufism's more relaxed, pick-and-choose spirituality helped spread Islam to further nomadic people.

Sources:
“Destiny Disrupted: A History of the World Through Islamic Eyes” - Tamim Ansary

The Wheel of the Year

Fun fact: During my last semester of college, I was the token atheist (not an official title) of my school's Pagan organization. Then, as now, I was interested in studying religions, and Paganism was something I knew next to nothing about. So, I joined the group to learn a thing or two. It was  pretty cool.

One of the big things was the Wheel of the Year. In a nutshell, it's a series of eight, evenly spaced seasonal festivals. Half of them correspond to the equinoxes and solstices, while the other half fall in between.

While the dates, activities, and even existence of these festivals varies between various Pagan denominations*, I'm going to try and stick with the modern Wiccan tradition, if only because it's the only book I have about the subject at the moment.

The Wheel of the Year is meant to be a metaphor for the lives of the god and the goddess. Describing these entities would take more than a single paragraph. While I may write a proper article about the topic, for now it's enough to know that a lot of Wiccans see the world as maintained by a pair, god and goddess, whose form and name change throughout the year in relation to nature.

Yule (Winter Solstice)

December 22

This one should be familiar to most people. A lot of Christmas imagery originates from this holiday: white-red-green colours, mistletoe, "yule" logs, &c. During the solstice, the light of day is at its shortest. However, this also marks the turning point where the length of sunlight begins to increase.

Because of the coming of more sunlight, Yule is seen as the rebirth of the god from the goddess. However, the god is not yet strong enough to fight off the night, resulting in a continued season of cold, long nights, and death.

Imbolc

February 2 (pronounced "em-bolc")

At this point, the goddess has recovered from giving birth to the god. Both are gaining strength and the days are getting longer. On a more practical level, it is a celebration of light and fire encouraging spiritual and physical cleansing.

Ostara (Spring Equinox)

March 21

It's finally Spring! Sticking with the god-goddess metaphor, this is the point when the god is something of a preteen. The goddess takes on the role of virgin again, resulting in themes of fertility, with related symbols like rabbits and eggs.

Many of the modern Easter traditions come from this festival, particularly the Easter bunny and coloured eggs.

Beltane

April 30

The god is now of age and joins with the goddess (if you know what I mean). The maypole, a common pastime during this celebration, is symbolic of this union (wink wink). The happiness of this union spreads to the Earth and all people that walk upon it. This festival is meant to be fun and not at all somber.

Litha

June 22 (Summer Solstice)

The god and goddess are enjoying their marriage. However, the god is maturing and understanding that his upcoming sacrifice is necessary. This realization puts a damper on the mood, and the days begin to grow shorter.

This festival was particularly popular with the Celts. Stonehenge and other stone circles were raised and aligned with the day's summer sun.

Anime image is tangentially related

Lughnasadh

August 1 (pronunciation is inconsistent)

It is this festival when the god sacrifices himself for the harvest, as represented by the harvest of various grains. He doesn't go out without a fight, though. He leaps from grain to grain until the very last sheaf is cut.

Mabon (Autumn Equinox)

September 21

Mabon is a festival for giving thanks to the god and goddess for a bountiful harvest. The god is dead, granted, but he is just in the underworld awaiting his rebirth.

This is the first Pagan festival I, personally, got to celebrate. There wasn't any ritual or anything; it was fairly laid back. It felt very similar to the traditional American Thanksgiving with lots of food and friends.

Samhain

October 31 (pronounced "saoh-win")

This is Halloween, guys. The goddess is an old crone, the god is deep in the underworld, and the new(?) god is growing in the womb. The barriers between the worlds of the living and the dead are at their weakest, allowing communication between the two. As such, it is a festival ready made for giving thanks to passed ancestors.

If Mabon was my first festival, Samhain was my first ritual. Several of us gathered at the group leader's home after sunset. A circle was cast and everyone stood in the cardinal direction associated with their element (I was an earth element but cannot honestly remember what direction I was facing). We each took turns honouring deceased family and friends, calling them to join us for the occasion. Afterward, the circle was dispelled and that was that. The rest of the evening was spent chit-chatting as folks trickled home.

Regrettably, this was also my last festival. I graduated before the next one.

My time with the Pagan group was very fun and fascinating. I certainly learned a lot. The group was very respectful and open. They all clearly believed in their spirituality (not all were Wiccan, mind) but did nothing to force their beliefs on me. I am grateful to have been a part of it.

Sources:
Personal experience
"The Book of Wicca" – Lucy Summers
Aquarian Tabernacle Church

* It should be noted that "Paganism" isn't a single religion. Rather, it's an umbrella term for, well, any non-Abrahamic religion. While some of the larger religions have broken free from the term, not all have been so lucky: Wicca, Norse, Celtic, Greco-Roman, and many others all fall under the category of Pagan.

The Early Caliphate

Rashidun - The Rightly Guided Caliphs

In the year 632 CE, Mohammed passed away. Barely a moment passed before the expanding Muslim community began asking who would lead them. The first leader to step up took the title of "caliph", which modestly meant "deputy". This man, Abu Bakr, Mohammed's father-in-law, became the first of the four so-called Rightly Guided Caliphs, which, according to Sunni tradition, tried hardest to stay true to Mohammed's revelations.

Abu Bakr

Shortly after Mohammed's death, the Muslim community faced an existential crisis. Without a single leader, it was going to break apart into the separate communities that existed before. To prevent this, representatives gathered together and decided to elect someone that will hold everyone together. To fill this newly created role of caliph, they chose Abu Bakr, Mohammed's well-respected father-in-law.

This was one of many contentious moments of the early caliphate. There were those who saw Ali, Mohammed's son-in-law, as heir apparent. While the others were electing the new caliph, Ali respectfully stayed by Mohammed's side. This was the beginning of the well-known Shia-Sunni schism.

An aside: In an extreme oversimplification, Sunnis see reaching communal consensus as spiritual guidance, while the Shia see appointed leaders as the proper spiritual guides (i.e. Mohammed's chosen successor, Ali, and not the community-elected successor, Abu Bakr). As a result, the followers of Ali felt cheated and victims of the tyranny of the majority.

After some time, Ali accepted Abu Bakr, and Abu Bakr got to work dying. I don't mean clothes, I mean no longer living. Abu Bakr was caliph for only about two years before dying of a fever. During his short tenure, he managed to hold the community together, but to do so he established the idea linking apostasy with treason.

Omar

On his deathbed, Abu Bakr nominated Omar as his successor, and the community properly elected him. Omar was described as having a tough-guy exteriour. However, he was actually very frugal and humble.

At the time, Byzantium and Persia were moving to take advantage of young Arabia's weakness. The Byzantines were largely kept at bay, but Omar decided to face the Persian threat head on. This war against the Persians was the first physical battle to be declared a jihad. Meanwhile, the battle against Byzantium resulted in the capture of Jerusalem. Following all of these battles, Omar was not strict with the conquered. He did not force anyone to convert, so long as they agreed to pay a jizya, or religious tax.

Ten years following his election, Omar was assassinated by a crazed Persian slave. On his deathbed, instead of choosing a successor, he chose representatives from the community to elect the next caliph.

Othman

The company elected Othman, the old and rich fifth cousin of Mohammed. When I say rich, I mean exceptionally rich. He was a skilled businessman that maintained much of his wealth after moving to Medina with the rest of the community.

Nevertheless, Othman was very humble and charitable. He converted to Islam early and always had a nagging fear that he was not worthy of the heaven that awaited. At all times, he tried to do good for the community.

When Othman was elected as caliph, the Muslim community was no longer a small group that needed minimal governance. It had grown into its own entity, with its own taxes, courts, and infrastructure that was managed by the caliph. Othman was a very capable manager, but he had a habit of filling positions with friends and family of his own clan, the Umayyads. One name in particular was Mu'awiya, who Othman appointed as governor of Damascus. Remember that name, since it will be important later.

Meanwhile, the appointed governor of Egypt was collecting a much larger tax than his predecessor. If there's one thing the common folk dislike, it's a tax increase. A mass of petitioners marched on Othman's palace demanding the replacement of the governor. After some time, Othman relented and agreed. The mob was largely satisfied.

At least, they were satisfied until they received word of a "secret letter". On their way home, the group intercepted a messenger carrying a message that ordered the governor to arrest and physically punish the protestors. The letter did have Othman's seal, but, when confronted, he denied all knowledge of it.

The truth is not known, but Othman paid with his life. The mob eventually stormed his palace and assassinated the elderly caliph. Many believe someone's hand moved the mass to murder, but it is not agreed whose hand it was: Ali? Aisha? Mu'awiya?

Ali

Battle of Siffin

At last, it was Ali's turn to be elected caliph. His election succeeded largely to appease the mob that lingered following Othman's death, and he entered the leadership role with the cloud of death hanging above him. Making matters worse were separatists chipping away at his legitimacy from the inside. Mu'awiya was calling for punishment of the unknown assassins, the upper class politicians would not listen to him, and Aisha was raising her own army and denouncing Ali.

Mu'awiya was using symbolism to its fullest. He had and frequently waved around the supposed bloody shirt that Othman wore when he was killed. He demanded that the assassins receive just punishment for the death of the caliph. This was not simple, as no one knows who exactly killed Othman, and executing an entire mob was simply not practical.

In an effort to appease the mobs, Ali attempted to sack many of Othman's appointed governors and tried to reverse the economic reforms. Unfortunately for Ali, many of Othman's reforms had created a new upper class that refused to live the austere, religious life style. Most of the governors refused to step down.

Aisha, picking up on Mu'awiya's rabble-rousing, began a charismatic effort to denounce Ali. This came to a head when the armies of Aisha and Ali met. Before there could be any bloodshed, the two met and managed to clear the bad blood between them diplomatically. Unfortunately, some of Ali's men acted against orders and launched a surprise attack. This escalated into a full battle known as the Battle of the Camel. At the end of the bloodshed, Ali arguably won and settled things between Aisha, but a great deal of Muslim blood was spilled.

Shortly after this confrontation, Mu'awiya officially declared that the caliphate belonged to him. In 657 CE, the armies of Ali and Mu'awiya met at Siffin, Syria. The battle lasted for months. Mu'awiya's troops finally gained the upper hand by attaching pages of the Qu'ran to their weapons, which forced Ali's troops into talks for fear of defiling the holy text. At the end of the talks, Mu'awiya kept his hold on Syria and Egypt, while Ali kept his hold on everything else.

In 661 CE, a member of the radical Kharijites that disagreed with Ali's peace deal stabbed the caliph with a poison laced sword, resulting in Ali's death. The last of the Rightly Guided Caliphs was dead. Whether Mu'awiya had a hand in this or not continues to be debated, but he had won. He had become the caliph.

With Mu'awiya's ascension, the Arabs had ceased to be a solely a religious community. The Sunni-Shia split was all but assured. The Ummayyad Empire had begun.

 Sources:
“Destiny Disrupted: A History of the World Through Islamic Eyes” - Tamim Ansary
“After the Prophet: The Epic Story of the Shia-Sunni Split” - Lesley Hazleton

The Life and Times of Mohammed

Okay, this post is going to sum up what I've learned about Islam's prophet from two books (see below). I read After the Prophet some time ago, but decided to bring it back out since I'm currently reading Destiny Disrupted, which gives Mohammed only about a single chapter. I figure the two of them together should give me a good enough picture.

Mohammed was born sometime around 570 CE. He was born a member of the Quraysh tribe, which was basically the leading group in Mecca. Sadly, both of his parents died while he was young, and he was basically a nobody for quite some time.

At 25, Mohammed was hired by a well-to-do businesswoman, Khadija. In a relationship that would totally work nowadays, boss and employee fell in love and married. This turned out to be pretty handy. After Mohammed was first visited by the angel Gabriel, Khadija was the first person to believe him. Until Khadija's death he never married another woman.

After a while, Mohammed received more revelations. Things along the lines of: there is only one God, give up immoral vices, help the poor, &c. He started to take this message public and gathered some followers. Several of these followers will be important later: Abu Bakr, Omar, Othman, and Ali.

Mecca's leadership did not like this one bit. They had built up a big religious tourism industry around various idols and gods. They decided this loudmouth had to be eliminated. The assassination was set for an evening in September, 622 CE. Mohammed found out about the plot and evacuated to Yathrib (later named Medina).

This flee from Mecca, called the Hijra, was kind of a big deal. It marks year 0 on the Muslim calendar. It's so big because it's considered the start of the Umma, or the Muslim community. Members would abandon their tribes and clans and become one with the Umma. They would live together in peace and all would be cared for.

Mecca wasn't done with Mohammed yet, though. After the Hijra, there were several battles that tried to eliminate Mohammed. They didn't succeed and, after a while, they basically gave up. A few years later, after a dream, Mohammed decided it was time to return to Mecca. So he did. Eventually, the elders of Mecca gave up the city and it rolled into the Umma.

One of the first things Mohammed did in Mecca was rededicate the Kaaba. Originally, this big black box was a tourist attraction that housed various local idols. Not anymore. The idols were destroyed and Mohammed declared it the most sacred place (supposedly, it was built by Abraham himself). The tourism industry in Mecca is still doing fine to this day.

Twenty-five years after their marriage, Khadija died. Mohammed married nine times after this for political reasons, but his favourite wife was the young firebrand Aisha. That's another name to remember, since it will be important later and on the test.

It was in Aisha's company that Mohammed would die of illness at the age of 63.

Sources:

“Destiny Disrupted: A History of theWorld Through Islamic Eyes” - Tamim Ansary

“After the Prophet: The Epic Story ofthe Shia-Sunni Split” - Lesley Hazleton