1 MUHAMMAD 570-532
My choice of Muhammad to lead the list of the world’s most influential persons may
surprise some readers and may be questioned by others, but he was the only man in history
who was supremely successful on both the religious and secular levels.
Of humble origins, Muhammad founded and promulgated one of the world’s great
religions, and became an immensely effective political leader. Today, thirteen centuries
after his death, his influence is still powerful and pervasive.
The majority of the persons in this book had the advantage of being born and raised in
centers of civilization, highly cultured or politically pivotal nations. Muhammad, however,
was born in the year 570, in the city of Mecca, in southern