The death of the Prophet Muhammad. It was then decided that as a religious and community leader he should be succeeded, and such a religious successor was called a Caliph; the region and community he ruled over, a Caliphate. This immediately led to the first schism, namely between Shi'ite and Sunni Muslims. The Sunni Muslims considered Muhammad's father-in-law the rightful successor and first Caliph, the Shia Muslims considered his son-in-law the rightful successor.
APEX: Science and technology flourished in Islamic caliphates but declined in Western Europe.
Numerous empires such as the various Caliphates (Umayyad, Abbassid, Buyid, Idrissid, Fatimid, Samanid, Safavid, etc.) and modern States around the world have Islam as their major religion. These disparate places and empires are usually called "Islamic Civilization".
It was a central part of the Middle East and attracted various empires which absorbed it - Macedonian (Alexander the great), Macedonian Syria, Parthia, Sassanid, Islamic Caliphates. Finally, the discovery of large deposits of oil brought European and American developers.
Oversimplified, the major unifying force of Europe during the middle ages was universal Christianity (both Roman Catholic and Orthodox) providing an us-vs-them mentality in oppostion to their Islamic foes in the Ottoman Empire, the caliphates (abbasid, fatimid, etc.), the Emirate of Cordoba, and Al-Andulas.
Their Natural Resources
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The major causes of the development of agriculture include climate change leading to the end of the last Ice Age, which forced humans to settle in one place; population growth, which created a need for reliable food sources; and experimentation with wild plants that led to the domestication of crops.
The Dome of the Rock is the earliest major Islamic building that still exists today.
The MAJOR religion of the country is Islamic Republic. :)
The Umayyads established the Umayyad Caliphate, the second of the four major Arab caliphates established after the death of Muhammad.
Well I know these are: - Egypt - Saudi Arabia
The major Islamic event that takes place in Mecca every year is pilgrimage (or Hajj).