CALIPH OMAR

Mohammed's chief general, he conquered Jerusalem in 638 from the Byzantines.

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DOME OF THE ROCK

Built by Abdul Malik in 691, it is interesting to note that this gold structure is not a mosque. Instead, it is a shrine erected over the rock where Mohammed is said to have ascended to heaven. For the record: Most media-saavy people are aware that the Palestinians are trying to claim Jerusalem as the capital of the state they hope to establish, and they base this, among other things, on the fact that Jerusalem is the third holiest site in Islam. Interestingly enough, there is no mention of Jerusalem in the Koran. Instead, Al Asqa, which is the Arab name for Jerusalem, literally means "the farthest place."

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EXPULSION OF SPANISH JEWRY

In 1491, Spain was in the midst of the brutal oppression known as the Inquisition. Hundreds of thousands of Jews had been forced to convert to Christianity on pain of death, and it was in this year the Expulsion of Spanish Jewry was decreed, ending some 700 years of Jewish presence in Spain.

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MAMELUKES

This tribe of slave warriors rebelled against their Egyptian masters in 1250 and took control of Egypt. From the 1300s until the 1500s they controlled the land of Israel and were responsible for numerous building projects.

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MOHAMMED

Mohammed, the founder of Islam, rose to power in 622 and immediately
embarked on a campaign to conquer to world for Islam. Though his death in
632 touched off a power struggle within Islam that remains until this day,
the spread of Islam continued nearly unchecked.

Within a few decades,virtually the entire Jewish world was under Islamic
rule.

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RaMBaN

Rabbi Moshe ben Nachman: (1194-1270): One of the leading Torah scholars of the Middle Ages, the Ramban is the author of numerous fundamental works in all aspects of Torah learning.

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SALADIN

Saladin means "Successful in Judgment", and it is in fact Saladin who reconquered the holy land from the Crusaders in 1187. A Kurd who ruled out of Egypt, Saladin was generally favorable toward the Jewish community in Israel.

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