Umayyad

The Umayyad Dynasty (Arabic بنو أمية ban? umayya / الأمويون al-umawiyy?n); Persian امویان (Omaviyân), Turkish, Emevi, ) was the first dynasty of caliphs of the Prophet Muhammad who were not closely related to Muhammad himself, though they were of the same Meccan tribe, the Quraish. The first dynasty reigned from AD661 to AD750. Ironically, the Quraishi clan from which the Umayyads originated had originally been bitter enemies of Muhammad.

Umayyad rulers

Muawiyah had been the governor of Syria under the 3rd caliph and his kinsman, Uthman ibn Affan. After the assassination of Uthman, he was replaced by the new caliph, Ali ibn Abi Talib. Since the killers of Uthman had allied themselves with Ali, Muawiyah refused to accept his caliphate, and in 657 led an army against him. The two sides agreed to a conciliation procedure, resulting in an arbitration that many of Ali's partsans saw as unfair. The Muslim empire was partitioned. Later when Ali was assassinated in 661, his son Hasan pledged allegiance to Muawiyah and Muawiyah was declared caliph of all Muslim lands. This established the Umayyad dynasty, and the capital of the caliphate was moved to Damascus.

Related Topics:
Muawiyah - Syria - Caliph - Uthman ibn Affan - Ali ibn Abi Talib - 657 - 661 - Hasan - Damascus

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Great waves of expansion occurred under the reign of the Umayyads. Muslim armies pushed across North Africa and Iran, through the late 600s, expanding the borders of the empire from the Iberian peninsula, in the west, to India, in the east. Forces led by Tariq ibn-Ziyad crossed Gibraltar and established Muslim power in the Iberian peninsula, while other armies established power far away in Sind, on the Indian subcontinent. The Muslim empire under the Umayyads was now a vast domain that ruled a diverse array of peoples.

Related Topics:
North Africa - Iran - Iberian peninsula - India - Tariq ibn-Ziyad - Gibraltar - Muslim - Sind

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The Umayyads were overthrown in the east by the Abbasid dynasty after their defeat in the Battle of the Zab in 750, following which most of the clan was massacred by the Abbasids. An Umayyad prince, Abd-ar-rahman I, took over the Muslim territory in Al-Andalus (Hispania) and founded a new Umayyad dynasty there.

Related Topics:
Abbasid - Battle of the Zab - 750 - Abd-ar-rahman I - Al-Andalus - Hispania

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Umayyad Caliphs at Damascus

• Muawiyah I ibn Abu Sufyan, 661-680
• Yazid I ibn Muawiyah, 680-683
• Muawiya II ibn Yazid, 683-684
• Marwan I ibn Hakam, 684-685
• Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan, 685-705
• al-Walid I ibn Abd al-Malik, 705-715
• Suleiman ibn Abd al-Malik, 715-717
• Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz, 717-720
• Yazid II ibn Abd al-Malik, 720-724
• Hisham ibn Abd al-Malik, 724-743
• al-Walid II ibn Yazid II, 743-744
• Yazid III ibn al-Walid, 744
• Ibrahim ibn al-Walid, 744
• Marwan II ibn Muhammad (ruled from Harran in the Jazira) 744-750

Umayyad Emirs of Cordoba

• Abd ar-Rahman I, 756-788
• Hisham I, 788-796
• al-Hakam I, 796-822
• Abd ar-Rahman II, 822-852
• Muhammad I, 852-886
• al-Mundhir, 886-888
• Abdallah ibn Muhammad, 888-912
• Abd ar-Rahman III, 912-929

Umayyad Caliphs at Cordoba

• Abd ar-Rahman III, as caliph, 929-961
• Al-Hakam II, 961-976
• Hisham II, 976-1008
• Mohammed II, 1008-1009
• Suleiman, 1009-1010
• Hisham II, restored, 1010-1012
• Suleiman, restored, 1012-1017
• Abd ar-Rahman IV, 1021-1022
• Abd ar-Rahman V, 1022-1023
• Muhammad III, 1023-1024
• Hisham III, 1027-1031