In the 10th century, Cordoba was the largest and most advanced city in Europe, featuring paved streets, public lighting, and hundreds of libraries and bathhouses while the rest of Europe was in the 'Dark Ages'.

Originally composed of Christian youths recruited through the Devshirme system and converted to Islam, the Janissaries were the Sultan's personal guard and the backbone of Ottoman military power for centuries.

The treaty was so harsh that it sparked the Turkish Nationalist movement. It was eventually replaced by the more favorable Treaty of Lausanne after the Turkish victory in their War of Independence.

Ali (RA) moved the capital to Kufa to be closer to his support base and to more effectively manage the expanding and increasingly complex empire during the First Fitna.

Fatima al-Fihri, a wealthy immigrant, used her inheritance to build the mosque and school. It is recognized by UNESCO as the oldest continuously operating educational institution in the world.

Baibars was the brilliant field commander at Ayn Jalut. He later became Sultan and spent his reign driving the remaining Crusaders out of the Levant and defending against further Mongol attacks.

The 'Round City' reflected the Sassanid and cosmic models of kingship, where the ruler sat at the center of a perfectly ordered universe, with roads radiating out to the provinces.

Nizam al-Mulk served Sultan Alp Arslan and Malik Shah. His book provides advice on justice, intelligence gathering, and administrative ethics, reflecting the Turco-Persian model of statecraft.

Osman I founded the Ottoman principality in Bithynia. His successes against the Byzantines attracted 'Ghazis' (warriors for the faith) and laid the groundwork for a world-spanning empire.

Kairouan was the gateway for Maliki jurisprudence into North Africa and al-Andalus, producing legendary scholars like Sahnun, who wrote the 'Mudawwana'.