A.D. 635.--Gaza fell into the hands of Abu-Bekr, the general of the first Khalif, Omar, after a decisive battle with the Byzantine army. It was one of the first points of attack during this invasion, and about this date the city became Muslim. The city was regarded as an important place by the Muslims, because Hashim ibn Abd Manaf, Mohammed's grandfather was buried there. About this date we hear little more of Muslim Gaza, except as its being the birthplace of Mohammed ibn Idris ash-Shâfiy, the founder of a Muslim sect, and the Great Doctor of the Law. About the end of the sixth century, or the beginning of the seventh, Robinson (_Biblical Researches in Palestine_, vol. ii, p. 42) states that "Gaza was visited by Antoninus Martyr, who describes it as splendid and delicious; and its inhabitants as noble, liberal, and friendly to strangers." A.D. 672.--Gaza was visited by a great earthquake. A.D. 796.--The city was laid waste during a furious civil war among the various Arab tribes inhabiting the country. During the many wars between the Muslim rulers of Egypt and Syria, which preceded the Crusades, Gaza again suffered greatly. A.D. 867.--Bernard the Wise--a Breton monk--describes Gaza as "very rich in all things." A.D. 1149.--Baldwin III built a fortress at Gaza, in order to cut off the approach to Ascalon from the south. The defence of the castle was entrusted to the Knights Templars. The great buildings of Palestine are not to be ascribed to the Jews (for they were not a great building people), but to the Byzantine and Crusading Christian epochs. A.D. 1170.--The Crusading castle at Dârûm (Deir el Belâh), three hours south of Gaza, was unsuccessfully stormed by Saladin. A.D. 1170.--On December 20, Saladin made a dash on Gaza, but did not get possession of the citadel. He entered the city, and killed several of the inhabitants. A.D. 1177.---At this date there were many Knights Templars in Gaza. A.D. 1187.--Gaza passed into the hands of Saladin, after the Battle of Hattin on July 5. A.D. 1192.--During the Third Crusade King Richard destroyed the Castle of Dârûm at Whitsuntide. The walls of Gaza were dismantled after Richard Cœur de Lion's peace with Saladin in 1193. A.D. 1238.--Defeat of the Crusaders at Gaza. A.D. 1239.--Muslims were surprised in the neighbourhood of Gaza by Theobald, Count of Champagne and King of Navarre. A.D. 1242.--During May, the Knights Templars and their Muslim allies defeated the Egyptian army, who were driven back to Gaza. A.D. 1244.--The Christian and Saracen armies were annihilated by the Kharezmians in the valley of Gaza. A.D. 1250.--King Louis IX and the Mameluke Emirs released their prisoners at Gaza. A.D. 1260.--A garrison was stationed in Gaza by the Turkish invaders.