Medieval World 600-1492 AD
The centuries between 600 and 1492 saw the entire cycle of several important civilizations. Shortly after 600 the Islamic community was founded in Medina, under the leadership of prophet Muhammad. For many centuries Islam and other civilizations farther east were the most dynamic cultures in the world. The year 1492, however, saw the discovery of the Antilles by Christopher Columbus, the prelude to the conquest and settlement of the New World by Europeans.
Ottoman Empire
Vast state founded in the late 13th cent. by Turkish tribes in Anatolia and ruled by the descendants of Osman I until its dissolution in 1918. Modern Turkey formed only part of the empire, but the terms "Turkey" and "Ottoman Empire" were often used interchangeably.
