Between the fall of Rome and the European voyages of discovery, no event was more significant than the rise of Islam. Within the span of a few centuries, the Islamic empires blossomed, projecting their power from Africa to the East Indies, and from Spain to India. Inspired by the words of a prophet, and led by Caliphs and Sultans, this political and religious expansion has not been equaled in speed, geographic size, and endurance before or since. Increasingly, scholars and historians are recognizing the profound impact that Islamic civilization has had on the face of Western culture and the course of world history. Islam was the conduit for the intellectual legacies of Greece, Egypt, and China-a crucible for man's cultural advancement. Its geographic and cultural breadth brought immeasurable advances in literature, the arts, science, and medicine to a Western world still ensconced in the Middle Ages. Islam was a defining force against which the West pushed-in war, trade, and religion.

Islam: Empire of Faith tells the spectacular story of the great sweep of Islamic power and faith during its first 1,000 years-from the birth of the prophet Muhammad to the peak of the Ottoman Empire under the reign of Suleiman the Magnificent. Evocative reenactments and a remarkable exposition of Islamic art, artifacts, and architecture are combined with interviews of scholars from around the world to recount the rise and glory of early Islamic civilization. It is the epic story of a cultural empire that dominated a millennium, encompassed half the world, and shaped history.