Chronology

909 -
A rival caliphate is established in North Africa by the Fatimids, descended from the Prophet’s daughter, Fatimah, and her husband, ‘Ali.

945 -
The Abbasid caliph in Baghdad is reduced to a religious figurehead after the Buyid family gains control of Iraq and Iran.

969 -
A Fatimid army conquers Egypt, where Cairo is founded as the new capital.

1055 -
Seljuk Turks from Central Asia conquer Baghdad.

1071 -
The Seljuks defeat the Byzantines in Anatolia, and the Turks begin to occupy what is now Turkey.

1096 -
Christian forces on the First Crusade conquer Jerusalem and other cities. The Crusaders remain in the Middle East until 1291.

1171 -
Salah al-Din (Saladin) gains control of Egypt and replaces the Fatimid caliphate with his own Ayyubid dynasty. In 1187 he recaptures Jerusalem.

1250 -
The Ayyubids are replaced by sultans drawn from the dynasty’s own household troops, known as Mamluks, who rule from Cairo until 1517.

1258 -
Mongol invaders led by Hulagu Khan, grandson of Chinggis (Genghis) Khan, conquer Baghdad and kill the last Abbasid caliph. Hulagu’s descendants, the Ilkhanids, rule Iraq, Iran, and parts of Anatolia until 1335.

1307 -
Seljuk rule in Anatolia ends. The region is eventually reunited under the Ottoman Turks.

1370 -
Timur (Tamerlane) begins to create a vast empire in Central and Western Asia. He is the founder of the Timurid dynasty, which rules until 1507.

1453 -
Sultan Mehmet ii captures the Byzantine capital, Constantinople, which becomes the capital of the Ottoman empire under the name Istanbul.

1492 -
Granada, the last Muslim stronghold in Spain, is conquered by the armies of Aragon and Castile.

1500 -
Shah Isma‘il i, the founder of the Safavid dynasty, begins the unification of Iran.

1517 -
The Ottoman Turks conquer Syria and Egypt, paving the way for the great age of Ottoman art under Sultan Süleyman the Magnificent (1520 – 1566) and his immediate successors.

1587 -
The Safavid ruler Shah Abbas I ascends the throne, ushering in a period of artistic flowering. He moves his court to Isfahan in 1597.

1722 -
The Safavid state collapses in the face of an Afghan invasion. After a period of instability, unity is reestablished under the Qajar dynasty (1779 – 1924).

1922 -
The last Ottoman sultan is deposed by the new Turkish Republic.

General Information

The National Gallery of Art and its Sculpture Garden are at all times free to the public. They are located on the National Mall between 3rd and 9th Streets at Constitution Avenue NW, and are open Monday through Saturday from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and Sunday from 11:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. The Gallery is closed on December 25 and January 1. For information call (202) 737-4215 or the Telecommunications Device for the Deaf (TDD) at (202) 842-6176, or visit the Gallery's Web site at www.nga.gov.

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