The Umayyad dynasty or Umayyads ruled the Caliphate between 661 and 750. They were a notable dynasty of the Quraish of Makkah in the pre-Islamic duration. Despite their strong opposition to the Islamic prophet Hazrat Muhammad S.A.W., the Umayyads converted to Islam before Hazrat Muhammad S.A.W.’s death in 632. Hazrat Usman R.A., the third Caliph and an early follower of Muhammad S.A.W. from the Umayyad dynasty, reigned as the third Rashidun caliph from 644-656, with other members holding various governorships.
Mu’awiya I of Syria, the first Caliph of the Ummayad dynasty and one of the governors who rejected Caliph Hazrat Ali R.A. in the First Muslim Civil War (656-661) and later established the Umayyad Caliphate with its capital in Damascus. This marked the commencement of the Umayyad dynasty, Islam’s first inheritable dynasty and the only one that could rule over the complete Islamic world at the time.
Foundation of Umayyad Dynasty
They reigned over a huge territory, to which they combined vast conquered lands regions such as those of North Africa (beyond Egypt), Spain, Transoxiana, tracts of the Indian subcontinent, and multiple islands in the Mediterranean Sea. They were also responsible for the conquest of numerous islands in the Mediterranean Sea. Even though the empire reached its greatest size for a while during their rule, internal strife and civil wars undermined their grip on power, and in the year 750 CE, they were deposed by the Abbasids (750-1258), an opposing Arab faction that declared to be descended from the Hazrat Muhammad S.A.W’s uncle Hazrat Abbas R.A.
During the Rashidun period, Islamic armies introduced full-scale intrusion into Syria, the Levant, Egypt, parts of North Africa, the islands of the Greek archipelago, and the entirety of the Sassanian Empire. These conquests were begun by Hazrat Abu Bakr R.A. and were successfully carried on by his successors Hazrat Umar R.A. and Hazrat Usman R.A. Hazrat Usman R.A.’s assassination marked the splitting point in the history of Islam after him, his successor Hazrat Ali R.A. was fixed between managing a realm that has been unravelling and people continued to insist that justice be done to his dead forebear.
The First Fitna
Ali was challenged with opposition, the most notable of which came from Muawiya, the ruler of Syria (602-680 CE). Muawiya was Uthman’s cousin, and he would not accept anything less than the punishment of his kinsmen’s attackers as a satisfactory resolution to the conflict. Ali was murdered by a radical sect known as the Kharijites towards the conclusion of the First Fitna, which broke out between the years 656 and 661 CE and resulted in a civil war. These zealots had also attempted an attack on the life of Muawiya, however, the latter recovered with only a mild concussion.
Umayyad Dynasty Rulers (661-750)
Muawiya I (661-680)
The dynasty that descended from Muawiyya during his reign (661-680) is known as the Sufyanids (after his father Abu Sufyan), and it is also occasionally referred to as the Harbites (after his grandfather Harb). He was a smart politician and a talented negotiator who favoured bribery above fighting. He was also against the death penalty. In compensation for a large pension, he managed able to persuade Hasan (624-670), the son of Ali and the person who had replaced him as caliph of Kufa, to abdicate in his favour. On the other hand, whenever he had reason to believe that one of his subjects posed a danger to his reign, he would not hesitate to order that person’s execution. The death of Hassan in the year 670 CE, who is claimed to have been poisoned by his wife, is commonly linked with him by Muslim authors. This death, in addition to the deaths of many other allies of Ali, occurred about the same time.
His 20-year reign, which he conducted from Damascus as his capital, was indeed the most reliable one the Arabs had witnessed since the death of Umar, and his governmental reforms were just as outstanding. These included the use of a police system (Shurta), personal security officers for his protection, and several other innovations. He began military operations in regions that are now part of Pakistan and Afghanistan, as well as in western regions that extended to the coastline of Morocco on the Atlantic Ocean. He was successful in regaining lands that had been lost to the Byzantines; however, after his burial, the majority of his conquests were lost due to internal strife in the land.
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Yazid I (681-683) and the Second Fitna (680-692)
When Muawiya decided to appoint his son Yazid (680-683) as his successor, things quickly began to go wrong. Hasan R.A’s’s younger brother, Husayn ibn Ali R.A. (626-680), and Abdullah ibn Zubayr R.A. (624-692), who was the son of a close companion of Prophet Muhammad S.A.W., both resented Yazid’s succession to power because the Arabs were not used to dynastic rule. Yazid’s accession was met with a great deal of animosity.
After being persuaded by the inhabitants of Kufa in the year 680 CE, Husain R.A.marched to Iraq to gather his troops and then attack Damascus. Yazid, on the other hand, placed Kufa under a curfew and dispatched his army, with his cousin Ubaidullah ibn Ziyad serving as the commander, to prevent Husain R.A.’s force from reaching Kufa. Husain R.A.’s army, which consisted primarily of family members and close companions, staged a valiant stand in Karbala, which resulted in them all being cruelly killed and Husain R.A. being executed. The battle took place near the Euphrates River. Because of this, Islamic history experienced its second civil war, known as the Second Fitna (680-692 CE).
Yazid then gave the command for another army to fight the Medinans, who had revolted owing to their disdain for Yazid’s character and conduct; this culminated in the Battle of al-Harra (683 CE) when the opposition was destroyed. Yazid died in 683 CE. Following the conclusion of the conflict, some accounts claim that Medina was subjected to acts of plundering, pillaging, raping, and murder. After that, the Syrian army made its way to Mecca, which is where Abdullah had created his independent state. During the few weeks while the city was under siege, the cover of the Ka’aba, which is the holiest site in Islam, caught fire. The destruction caused by Yazid’s army left a permanent impact in the hearts of the Muslims, even though Yazid’s army fled to Syria after their king passed away unexpectedly in the year 683 CE. He earned the fealty of Hejaz, Egypt, and Iraq – while his adversaries were still hardly in control of Damascus after their decedent’s death. Abdullah proceeded with his revolt for another century, claiming the throne of Caliph (r. 683-692 CE) for himself.
Yazid is recognized as possibly the most villainous man in the annals of Islamic history today. After his passing, his sickly son Muawiya II (683-684 CE) was elected caliph, but the young man had no interest in continuing his father’s bad behaviour. After only a few short months, in the year 684 CE, he passed away, putting an end to the Sufyanid monarchs. The Umayyad country as a whole had descended into anarchy, except for the capital city of Damascus.
The Marwanids
Marwan ibn Hakam (684-685), a senior Umayyad clan member and Muawiya’s cousin, took over with the assurance that the throne would pass to Khalid (Yazid’s younger son) after his death. Marwan ibn Hakam reigned between 684 and 685. He had no intention of keeping his word; the Marwanids (house of Marwan), also known as Hakamites (after Marwan’s father Hakam), now ruled the empire. Before Marwan was able to reclaim the kingdom, Egypt rebelled and joined the Zubayrid party. However, he was unable to put an end to Abdullah’s insurrection before dying only nine months after seizing office (685 CE). At this time, his brilliant son, Abd al-Malik, was tasked with carrying out this obligation (685-705 CE).
In 685 CE, Al-Mukhtar, who lived between 622 and 687 CE, organised a rebellion in Kufa and joined forces with Abdullah to oppose the Umayyads. Al-Mukhtar launched a thorough inquiry to identify and apprehend all individuals guilty of Husayn’s death. The combined forces of the Kufans and Zubayrids defeated an army dispatched by Abd al-Malik and led by Ubaidullah, the commander from Karbala. The defeated general was killed by being hacked to death with a sword. Following that, he declared his ambition to establish an Alid Caliphate, which he intended to do by employing one of Ali R.A.’s sons, Muhammad ibn al-Hanaffiya R.A., although Muhammad was not Fatima’s son (l. 637-700 CE). As a result, he severed connections with Abdullah, who had by this time proclaimed his claim to the Caliphate from Mecca. Abd al-Malik then sat back and watched as his competitors undercut one another. Zubayrid forces were responsible for Al Mukhtar’s death during the siege of Kufa in 687 CE. Despite the death of Al-Mukhtar during the rebellion, it was ultimately effective in transforming Shiism from a political group to a religious sect.
When the threat in Kufa was neutralised, Abd al-Malik shifted his focus to Mecca. He dispatched his most loyal and brutal general, rebellious Iraq’s governor Hajjaj ibn Yusuf (l. 661-714 CE), to crush his rival. The fight ended in 692 CE when Abdullah, who had no chance of winning against Hajjaj’s powerful force, refused to capitulate and instead opted to die with his sword. Despite not escaping criticism for Hajjaj’s brutal deeds, Abd al-Malik is credited with restoring peace and centralising power to the empire. Most significantly, he Arabized his entire rulership, which helped spread Islam throughout time; he also created an official currency for his dominion. Abd al-Malik is also credited with the introduction of official coins into his dominion.
During his rule (691-692 CE), the Dome of the Rock was built in Jerusalem, and it is believed that he did so to gain an advantage over Abdullah, who was in control of the Ka’aba at the time. Furthermore, it was during his reign that North Africa, including Tunis, was ultimately conquered (by the year 693 CE). Islam would spread to Spain under his son’s leadership, and local Berbers who had converted to Islam would play a vital role in this process.
Al Walid and the Battle of Spain
After Abd al-death, Malik’s son Al Walid I (705-715 CE) took over and expanded his empire even further. Hajjaj’s authority over his monarch continued to grow; two of his acolytes, Muhammad ibn Qasim (695-715 CE) and Qutayba ibn Muslim (669-715 CE), were victorious in conquering areas of modern-day Pakistan and Transoxiana, respectfully.
Musa ibn Nusayr (640-716 CE), a ruler of Ifriqiya (North Africa beyond Egypt), reinforced Tariq with more warriors, and by 714 CE, the duo had captured the majority of Al Andalus (Arabic for Spain – the Vandals’ country). Musa was about to invade Europe across the Pyrenees when, for reasons unknown to the historian, the Caliph compelled both of them to retreat to Damascus.
Pause in further Expansion.
Walid had attempted to name his son as his successor rather than his brother Sulayman, who was inherited by their father’s covenant; Sulayman, however, refused to relinquish his claim. Walid expired without being able to bring his brother to heel, and Sulayman (715-717 CE) took over; his brief reign was a colossal failure. Sulayman possessed nothing but hatred for the late Hajjaj and freed numerous persons imprisoned in Hajjaj’s dungeons.
Sulayman assassinated many of the empire’s fearless generals and competent governors, most of whom had been chosen by the aforementioned. This venture was an expensive and embarrassing defeat; the damages were lasting and irrevocable, and it stopped growth; also, it was the Byzantines’ first big setback. Sulayman, nearing death, appointed his saintly cousin Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz to replace him because his boys were too young.
Umar II (717-720 CE) reigned for only three years before being murdered by his own family for his steadfast stand on fairness and Islamic beliefs. This trait, combined with a number of his excellent measures such as prohibiting public insulting of Ali, encouraging conversion, and restraining attacks on peaceful neighbouring empires, has gained him significant historical renown as the fifth Rashidun Caliph.
He halted all military missions, knowing that the empire’s integral controller needs to be changed before all else. He had also begun talks with non-Arab Muslims (Mawali – in Arabic), who had rejected and disliked Umayyad rule. Had he been granted additional time, he had a good chance of succeeding, and the Abbasids may never have secured sufficient support among Mawalis and Shia Muslims to defeat the Umayyads.
Umar’s successor, Yazid II (r. 720-724 CE), another son of Abd al-Malik, was no better ruler than his predecessor. His inept administrators had lost control of the empire while he was preoccupied pleasuring with his chosen slave girls in his harem. He died only four years after taking control, which was favourable for the Umayyads.
Restoration of Order
Hisham (724-743 CE), Yazid’s brother and successor had given an empire ripped apart through civil wars, and he would need all of his efforts and resources to lift the empire out of this instability. Hisham, a powerful and unyielding king, reinstated several changes initiated by Umar II but forsaken by Yazid II.
Some of his military excursions were successful, while others were not: a Hindu insurrection in Sindh (modern-day Pakistan) was subdued, but a Berber rebellion erupted in western North Africa (modern-day Morocco) in 739 CE. The Berbers had been roused by the extreme teachings of Kharijite zealots (a radical and rebellious sect of Islam) and caused extensive damage, most notably the killing of the majority of the Arab elites of Ifriqiya during the Battle of Nobles (around 740 CE) near Tangier. Attempts to defeat the uprising failed miserably, but the weak and divided Berbers soon collapsed (743 CE) after failing to conquer the core of Ifriqiya, the capital city of Qairouwan, but Morocco was lost to the Umayyads.
Hisham was successful in Al Andalus, which had likewise degenerated into disorder. The empire was rebuilt to order underneath an able general named Abd al-Rahman al-Ghafiqi, but further advance into Europe was halted following the defeat during the Battle of Tours (732 CE) against the Franks.
The Umayyads were defeated (750)
The Abbasids had no sympathy for the Umayyads; all male members were slaughtered, and the few survivors withdrew to their hiding places. Except for Umar II, whose burial was preserved due to his prestige, Umayyad graves in Damascus were dug up and their remains were ripped apart and burned. The Abbasids then summoned all of the remaining members to supper under the guise of reconciliation, but assassins came into the room and beat them to death at the command of the new Caliph. Abd al-Rahman I, a grandson of the great Hisham, escaped the Abbasids and conducted a treacherous journey from across the empire, landing in Al Andalus in 756 CE, where he established the Emirate of Cordoba, which matched the Abbasid kingdom in elegance and splendour.
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