590-628
Khosrow II expands the Sassanid empire to its largest , stretching from Egypt to the borders of modern China.
He is murdered in 628 and the empire quickly unravels.
632_682
The prophet Mohammad dies and a year later Arab forces driven by religious zeal attack Persia. By 651 the last Sassanid king dead and the empire is history.
The Umayyad Caliphate take control of much of the lands of the former Sassanid empire, governing from Damascus and spreading Sunni Islam.
Imam Hosein, son of Imam Ali , is killed along with 72 partisans at Karbala. This becomes the defining event in the antagonism between Sunni and Shiite Muslims.