The Islamic world was dominated by the Umayyad dynasty from 660 to 750 CE. It emerged from a powerful clan descended from the Quraysh tribe, to which the founder of Islam, Muhammad (570–632), belonged. Later, from 756 to 1031, the dynasty ruled over Moorish Spain.

Much of what historians know about this first Islamic dynasty is presented through negative depictions in the ‘Abbasid-era (750–1258) historiography that dominates the historian’s understanding of the early Islamic period.

The Umayyads are depicted as active opponents of Muhammad during Islam’s nascent period. Allegedly, the Umayyads were more interested in worldly power than upholding pious leadership of the community. These criticisms indicate that ideas about the caliph’s role had changed considerably by the time the Umayyads were being written about. Although the Umayyads initially opposed Islam, they converted and became a strong force within the religion, also claiming legitimacy as the defenders and promoters of Islam.

The early stage of the Umayyads following Muhammad’s death was embroiled in disputes over leadership. ʿUthmān ibn ʿAffān (l. 576–656; r. 644–656), a leading Umayyad, became caliph in 644 and incurred much resentment for appointing many of his own clan to positions of power. He was assassinated in 656, and Muhammad’s cousin, Alī ibn Abī Ṭālib (l. 600–661; r. 656–661), became caliph. After his murder in 661, Muʿāwiyah (l. 602–680; r. 661–680) gained control of the whole caliphate and founded the dynasty. Under his rule, he established unity and made Damascus, Syria, the capital. Despite these many difficulties, the Umayyads maintained their dominant position in the Islamic world, enabling them to embark upon further campaigns of Muslim expansion.

Under ʿAbd al-Malik (l. 646–705; r. 685–705), the fifth Umayyad caliph, further contributed to the successes of the dynasty by claiming new territories, when Muslim armies invaded Sindh and Mukrān in India and in Central Asia, where the Khorāsānian garrisons conquered Samarkand, Tashkent, Bukhara, Khwārezm, and Fergana.

North Africa, Spain, and Portugal were annexed and became part of the empire, and France was threatened before the Muslim army experienced defeat at the Battle of Tours in 732, although the Muslims retained the southern French city of Narbonne until 759. Muslim advances in the north brought Umayyad troops to the Byzantine capital of Constantinople. These armies besieged the city, suffering devastating losses, enabling the defenders to push them back.

Important transformations occurred through the Arabization of these territories, such as many non-Arabs converting to Islam, Arabic becoming the official state language, the reorganization of the financial administration of the empire, Arab officials replacing Persian and Greek ones, a new coinage replacing the former imitations of Byzantine and Sasanian coins, and changes in architecture.

Palaces and any country dwellings bearing rich decorations were built across Palestine, Syria, and Jordan by the dynasty’s rulers and aristocrats. ‘Abd al-Malik founded the Dome of the Rock on the Temple Mount, or Haram al-Sharif, in Jerusalem. The Dome of the Rock underwent subsequent changes during the ‘Abbasid (r. 750–1258) and Fatimid (r. 909–1171) dynasties.

Scholarship, poetry, and art thrived under Umayyad rule, as did architecture in the construction of roads and canals. The dynasty also supported charities for the poor and disabled, and trade flourished as caravan routes spread across the empire.

Despite positive progress, members of the small ruling class benefited from special privileges, such as paying fewer taxes than the rest of the population and sharing in the spoils of war. Non-Arab Muslims experienced discrimination, and Christians and Jews had a lower social status and faced a higher tax burden.

The resentment of minority groups boiled over into open rebellion. These factors made the dynasty ripe for encountering open rebellion, and the ‘Abbasids, descendants of Muhammad’s uncle ʿal-Abbās (l. 722–754; r. 749–754), raised an army of non-Arabs in northern Iran. In the 740s, the Umayyads were defeated in several battles, and after killing Umayyad leaders, the ‘Abbasids gained control of the caliphate. The ‘Abbasids changed the capital’s location by establishing it in Baghdad.

ʿAbd al-Raḥmān (891–961), a prominent Umayyad family member, survived and fled to Spain, where he successfully established an independent Islamic state, which the ‘Abbasids were unable to conquer. There, the Umayyads managed to hold power for almost three centuries while battling Christian kingdoms in the northern part of the country. However, internal disorder destroyed their government in 1031, although they left a lasting legacy in southern Spain with mosques, gardens, palaces, and libraries.

References

Esposito, John L. 2003. The Oxford Dictionary of Islam. Oxford University Press.

Esposito, John L. 2004. The Islamic World: Past and Present. Oxford University Press.

Clark, Nicola. The Oxford Dictionary of Late Antiquity. Oxford University Press.