632 (Common Era)

Calendar and numeric notes

In the Julian system, every fourth year is a leap year, so 632 was treated as such by contemporaries. As an integer, 632 is even and composite: its prime factorization is 2^3 × 79, and it is written DCXXXII in Roman numerals.

Major events

• The Prophet Muhammad died in 632 (commonly dated to June). His passing triggered the selection of Abu Bakr as the first caliph and the formation of the Rashidun Caliphate.
• Following Muhammad’s death, the Arabian Peninsula entered a period of consolidation and conflict—later called the Ridda (apostasy) wars—when the new Muslim leadership worked to bring Arabian tribes back under central authority.
• In the Sasanian Empire, a youthful Yazdegerd III became the ruler amid prior years of dynastic instability; the Byzantine Empire continued under Emperor Heraclius.

Other regions

Across Asia, the Tang dynasty in China was establishing the institutions that would define early Tang rule, while in western Europe various Germanic successor kingdoms—such as the Frankish realm—were consolidating power under regional kings. In the British Isles, Anglo-Saxon kingdoms maintained regional kingship structures.

Notable deaths and significance

• Death of Muhammad (religious leader) — pivotal for the emergence of an expanding Muslim polity.

The changes begun in 632 reshaped the political and religious map of the Near East and beyond. The immediate decades after this year saw rapid expansion of Muslim rule, prolonged conflict between Byzantium and the Sasanians, and the gradual transformation of power structures across Eurasia.