was different from the Arab practice of
worshipping many gods. He also told
people to be generous as a way of
expressing their appreciation to God.
His new religion came to be called
Islam, meaning “submission to God.”
Leaving Mecca
Many people in Mecca were against the
new religion. Those who believed in
several gods were afraid that their holy
places might be destroyed. Merchants
disliked Muhammad because he criticized
them for being greedy.
Muhammad worried that his enemies
might hurt him and his followers, so he
encouraged his followers to move to the
nearby city of Medina. Muhammad
himself reached Medina on September
24, 622, which is considered the starting
date for the history of Islam. Muhammad’s
trip to Medina is known as the
Hegira.
Uniting the Tribes
Most Arabs at the time were part of
large groups called tribes. Muhammad
was determined to join the many Arab
tribes together under Islam. He hoped
that by uniting they could use their military
strength to spread Islam to other
areas.
To achieve his goal, Muhammad had to
get the support of Mecca. From 622 on,
he and his followers fought several
battles with forces from Mecca. By the
time Muhammad and his forces entered
The Islamic statement of faith is written in
Arabic letters on a palace wall in Istanbul,
Turkey. The statement includes the name of
Muhammad.
Muslims are
not allowed to
make images,
or pictures, of
Muhammad.
Instead,
Islamic artists
write his name
in beautiful
script.
BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA Muhammad 203
Mecca in 630, many notable citizens
had already moved to Medina to
become Muslims. Mecca gave up with
little fight.
Muhammad died on June 8, 632, in
Medina. He left most of Arabia united
and ready to spread the faith. But after
his death, his followers could not agree
on who should lead them. This led to
the breakup of Islam into different
branches.
#More to explore
Arabs • Islam • Koran • Mecca
Mumbai
Population
(2001 estimate),
city,
11,914,400;
metropolitan
area,
16,368,100
Mumbai is the largest city in India, a
country in southern Asia. The city was
once called Bombay. It is one of the
most populated cities in the world. Its
millions of people are crowded onto an
island in the Arabian Sea. Bridges connect
the city to the nearby mainland of
India. Mumbai Island was once seven
separate islands, but engineers made
them into one island.
Mumbai is India’s center of banking,
business, and other services. It is also
home to the world’s largest motion picture
industry. The film industry is called
Bollywood, from the names Bombay
and Hollywood. The city is also a major
port for shipping India’s goods out for
sale to other countries. Engineering,
publishing, computers, communications,
and manufacturing also bring
money to Mumbai.
In ancient times the Mumbai area was
the site of small fishing villages of the
Koli people. Later the area fell under the
rule of Hindu and then Muslim powers.
In 1534 the Portuguese took over the
area. They founded the city as a trading
post, which became known as Bombay.
In 1661 the Portuguese gave Bombay to
the British. Great Britain eventually
ruled all of India as a colony. In the
An arch called Gateway of India is Mumbai’s most
famous monument.
204 Mumbai BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA
1800s Bombay grew along with its trade
and cloth-making industry. It later
became a center for the political movement
that worked to free India from
British rule. India became an independent
country in 1947. In 1995 Bombay
was renamed Mumbai, which is its name
in the local Marathi language.
#More to explore
India
Mummy
A dead body that has been preserved
with chemicals is called a mummy. The
Inca of Peru made mummies. Ancient
peoples in Australia and on some Pacific
islands did also. However, the ancient
Egyptians are the best-known makers of
mummies.
The Egyptians made mummies for more
than 3,000 years. The methods they
used changed over the centuries. During
the New Kingdom (1500s–1000s BC),
Egyptians mummified dead kings and
nobles in a process that took 70 days.
Funeral workers started the process by
removing the brain and all the inner
organs except for the heart. They packed
the organs in jars. Next, they soaked the
body in salt or chemicals to remove the
fat and the outer part of the skin. After
the body dried out, they treated both
the inside and the outside with spices
and preservatives. Then they wrapped
the body in linen bandages. Egyptians
often painted the wrappings with religious
symbols and a portrait of the dead
person’s face. Finally, they placed the
mummy in a carved and painted
wooden coffin.
The Egyptians did not use this process
for the bodies of poor people. They
merely dried them with salt and
wrapped them with coarse cloths. The
Egyptians also mummified certain animals,
especially cats.
Mummies had a religious purpose.
Ancient Egyptians believed that dead
people needed their bodies in order to
pass successfully into the next world.
They thought that as long as the body
was preserved, the soul could live.
#More to explore
Egypt, Ancient
Mumps
Mumps is a very contagious, or catching,
disease that causes swelling in the
