Middle Ages
After Muhammad’s death, Arab Muslims began to take over many Christian territories and convert them to Islam. Over time, they took control of what is now Iraq, Syria, Egypt, North Africa and Spain. (France and other European countries stayed under Christian rule.) Eventually, the Muslim Ottomans Empire conquered parts of Eastern Europe too. Many Muslim states held of vast areas of land, which made them superpowers of the Middle Ages.  Islam spread along the major trade routes of the Old World.  Many traders and travelers became Muslim.