The spread of Islam, from its heartland in the Middle East and North Africa to India and Southeast Asia, revealed the power of the religion and its commercial and sometimes military attributes.
After Jesus' crucifixion, his followers called him <em>Christ, </em>meaning the anointed one. The anointed one is usually transliterated into English (since it is a Jewish word) as Messiah. He is called Christ because it was believed he is the awaited Messiah in Bible.