umayyad islam

7/27/2019 Umayyad Islam

1/5

The Umayyad Caliphate (Arabic: trans. Banu Umayyah; "Sons of Umayyah") (c.661-750 CE/41132 AH) was the second of the four major Arab caliphates established after the death of Muhammad. It was ruled by the Umayyad dynasty, whose name derives from Umayya ibn Abd Shams, the great-grandfather of the first Umayyad caliph. Although the Umayyad family originally came from the city of Mecca, their capital was Damascus. At its greatest extent, it covered more than five million square miles (13,000,000 km2), making it one of the largest empires the world had yet seen, and the seventh largest contiguous empire ever to exist. After the Umayyads were overthrown by the Abbasid Caliphate, they fled across North Africa to Spain (Al-Andalus), where they established the Caliphate of Crdoba, which lasted until 1031.

According to tradition, the Umayyad family (also known as the Banu Abd-Shams) and Muhammad both descended from a common ancestor, Abd Manaf ibn Qusai and they are originally from the city of Mecca. Muhammad descended from Abd Manf via his sonHashim, while the Umayyads descended from Abd Manaf via a different son, Abd-Shams, whose son was Umayya. The two families are therefore considered to be different clans (those of Hashim and of Umayya, respectively) of the same tribe (thatof the Quraish). However Muslim Shia historians point out that Umayya was an adopted son of Abd Shams so he was not a blood relative of Abd Manaf ibn Qusai. Umayya was later discarded from the noble family.

While the Umayyads and the Hashimites may have had bitterness between the two clans before Muhammad, the rivalry turned into a severe case of tribal animosity a

fter the Battle of Badr. The battle saw three top leaders of the Umayyad clan (Utba ibn Rabi'ah, Walid ibn Utbah and Shaybah) killed by Hashmites (Ali, Hamza ibn Abd al-Muttalib and Ubaydah ibn al-Harith) in a three-on-three melee. This fueledthe opposition of Abu Sufyan ibn Harb, the grandson of Umayya, to Muhammad andto Islam. Abu Sufyan sought to exterminate the adherents of the new religion bywaging another battle with Muslims based in Medina only a year after the Battleof Badr. He did this to avenge the defeat at Badr. The Battle of Uhud is generally believed by scholars to be the first defeat for the Muslims, as they had incurred greater losses than the Meccans. After the battle, Abu Sufyan's wife Hind,who was also the daughter of Utba ibn Rabi'ah is reported to have cut open the corpse of Hamza, taking out his liver which she then attempted to eat. Within five years after his defeat in the Battle of Uhud however, Muhammad took control ofMecca and announced a general amnesty for all. Abu Sufyan and his wife Hind emb

raced Islam on the eve of the conquest of Mecca, as did their son (the future caliph Muawiyah I). The Conquest of Mecca while overwhelming for the Umayyads forthe time being, further fueled their hatred towards the Hashmites; this would later result in battles between Muawiyah I and Ali and then killing of Husayn ibnAli along with his family and a few friends on the orders of Yazid ibn Muawiyahat the Battle of Karbala.

Most historians consider Caliph Muawiyah (66180) to have been the second ruler of the Umayyad dynasty, even though he was the first to assert the Umayyads' right to rule on a dynastic principle. It was really the caliphate of Uthman Ibn Affan(644656), a member of Umayyad clan himself, that witnessed the revival and then theascendancy of the Umayyad clan to the corridors of power. Uthman, during his reign, placed some of the trusted members of his clan at prominent and strong posi

tions throughout the state. Most notable was the appointment of Marwan ibn al-Hakam, Uthman's first cousin, as his top advisor, which created a stir amongst theHashmite companions of Muhammad, as Marwan along with his father Al-Hakam ibn Abi al-'As had been permanently exiled from Medina by Muhammad during his lifetime. Uthman also appointed Walid ibn Uqba, Uthman's half-brother, as the governorof Kufah, who was accused, by Hashmites, of leading prayer while under the influence of alcohol. Uthman also consolidated Muawiyah's Governorship of Syria by granting him control over a larger area and appointed his foster brother Abdullahibn Saad as the Governor of Egypt. However, since Uthman never named an heir, hecannot be considered the founder of a dynasty.


2/5

After the assassination of Uthman in 656, Ali, a member of the Hashimite clan and a cousin of Muhammad, was elected as the caliph. He soon met with resistance from several factions, owing to his relative political inexperience. Fearing a danger to his life, Ali moved his capital from Medina to Kufa. The resulting conflict, which lasted from 656 until 661, is known as the First Fitna ("civil war").

Ali was first opposed by an alliance led by Aisha, the wife of Muhammad, and Talhah and Al-Zubayr, two of the companions of Muhammad. The two sides clashed at the Battle of the Camel in 656, where Ali won a decisive victory.

Following this battle, Ali fought a battle against Muawiyah, known as the Battleof Siffin. For reasons that remain obscure, the battle was stopped before either side had achieved victory, and the two parties agreed to arbitrate their dispute. Both the terms and the result of the arbitration, however, are subjects of contradictory and sometimes confused reports.

Following the battle, a large group of Ali's soldiers, who resented his decisionto submit the dispute to arbitration, broke away from Ali's force, rallying under the slogan, "arbitration belongs to God alone." This group came to be known as the Kharijites ("those who leave").

In 659 Ali's forces and the Kharijites met in the Battle of Nahrawan. Although Ali won the battle, the constant conflict had begun to affect his standing, and i

n the following years some Syrians seem to have acclaimed Muawiyah as a rival caliph.

Ali was assassinated in 661, apparently by a Kharijite partisan. Muawiyah marched to Kufa, where he persuaded a number of Ali's supporters to acclaim him as caliph instead of Ali's son, Hasan. Following his elevation, Muawiyah moved the capital of the caliphate to Damascus. Syria would remain the base of Umayyad poweruntil the end of the dynasty in 750 AD. However, this Dynasty became reborn in Cordoba (Al Andalus, today's Portugal and Spain) in the form of an Emirate and then a Caliphate, lasting until 1031 AD. Muslim rule continued in Iberia for another 500 years in several forms: Taifas, Berber kingdoms, and under the Kingdom ofGranada until the 16th century AD.

In the year 712, Muhammad bin Qasim, an Umayyad general sailed from the khaleejinto Sindh in India and conquered both the Sindh and the Punjab regions along the Indus river. The conquest of Sindh and Punjab, in modern day Pakistan, although costly, were major gains for the Umayyad Caliphate. However, further gains were halted by Hindu Kingdoms in North India in the battle of Rajasthan.

During the later period of its existence and particularly from 1031 AD under theTa'ifa system of Islamic Emirates (Princedoms) in the southern half of Iberia,the Emirate/Sultanate of Granada maintained its independence largely due to thepayment of Tributes to the northern Christian Kingdoms which began to graduallyexpand south at its expense from 1031.

Muslim rule in Iberia came to an end on January 2, 1492 with the conquest of the

Nasrid kingdom of Granada. The last Muslim ruler of Granada, Muhammad XII, better known as Boabdil, surrendered his kingdom to Ferdinand II of Aragon and Isabella I of Castile, the Catholic Monarchs, los Reyes Catlicos.

Umayyad AdministrationOne of Muawiya's first tasks was to create a stable administration for the empire. He followed the main ideas of the Byzantine Empire which had ruled the same region previously, and had three main governmental branches: political and military affairs; tax collection; and religious administration. Each of these was further subdivided into more branches, offices, and departments.


3/5

Provinces

Geographically, the empire was divided into several provinces, the borders of which changed numerous times during the Umayyad reign. Each province had a governor appointed by the khalifah. The governor was in charge of the religious officials, army leaders, police, and civil administrators in his province. Local expenses were paid for by taxes coming from that province, with the remainder each year being sent to the central government in Damascus. As the central power of theUmayyad rulers waned in the later years of the dynasty, some governors neglectedto send the extra tax revenue to Damascus and created great personal fortunes.Government workers

As the empire grew, the number of qualified Arab workers was too small to keep up with the rapid expansion of the empire. Therefore, Muawiya allowed many of thelocal government workers in conquered provinces to keep their jobs under the new Umayyad government. Thus, much of the local government's work was recorded inGreek, Coptic, and Persian. It was only during the reign of Abd al-Malik that government work began to be regularly recorded in Arabic.

CurrencyA coin weight from the Umayyad Dynasty, dating back to 743. Made of glass, it isone of the oldest Islamic objects in an American museum. It is owned by the Walters Art Museum.

The Byzantine and Sassanid Empires relied on money economies before the Muslim conquest, and that system remained in effect during the Umayyad period. Pre-existing coins remained in use, but with phrases from the Quran stamped on them. In addition to this, the Umayyad government began to mint its own coins in Damascus(which were similar to pre-existing coins), the first coins minted by a Muslim government in history. Gold coins were called dinars while silver coins were called dirhams.

Central diwansTo assist the Caliph in administration there were six Boards at the Centre: Diwan al-Kharaj (the Board of Revenue), Diwan al-Rasa'il (the Board of Correspondence), Diwan al-Khatam (the Board of Signet), Diwan al-Barid (the Board of Posts),Diwan al-Qudat (the Board of Justice) and Diwan al-Jund (the Military Board)

Diwan al-KharajThe Central Board of Revenue administered the entire finance of the empire, it also imposed and collected taxes and disbursed revenue.

Diwan al-Rasa'ilA regular Board of Correspondence was established under the Umayyads. It issuedstate missives and circulars to the Central and Provincial Officers. It co-ordinated the work of all Boards and dealt with all correspondence as the chief secretariat.

Diwan al-KhatamIn order to check forgery Diwan al-Khatam (Bureau of Registry) a kind of state c

hancellery was instituted by Mu'awiyah. It used to make and preserve a copy of each official document before sealing and despatching the original to its destination. Thus in the course of time a state archive developed in Damascus by the Umayyads under Abd al-Malik. This department survived till the middle of the Abbasid period.

Diwan al-BaridMu'awiyah introduced postal service. Abd al-Malik extended it throughout his empire and Walid made full use of it. The Umayyad Caliph Abd al-Malik developed a regular postal service. Umar bin Abdul-Aziz developed it further by building cara


4/5

vanserais at stages along the Khurasan highway. Relays of horses were used for the conveyance of dispatches between the caliph and his agents and officials posted in the provinces. The main highways were divided into stages of 12 miles (19km) each and each stage had horses, donkeys or camels ready to carry the post. Primarily the service met the needs of Government officials but travellers and their important dispatches were also benefitted by the system. For swift transportof troops also the postal carriages were used. They were able to carry fifty toa hundred men at a time. Under Governor Yusuf bin Umar, the postal department of Iraq cost 4,000,000 dirhams a year.

Diwan al-QudatIn the early period of Islam justice was administered by Muhammad and the orthodox Caliphs in person. After the expansion of the Islamic State Umar al-Faruq hadto separate judiciary from the general administration and appointed the first qadi in Egypt as early as 23H/643AD. After 661AD a series of judges succeeded oneafter another in Egypt under the Umayyad Caliphs, Hisham and Walid II.

Diwan al-JundThe Diwan of Umar(rali) assigning annuities to all Arabs and to the Muslim soldiers of other races underwent a change in the hands of the Umayyads. The Umayyadsmeddled with the register and the recipients regarded pensions as the subsistence allowance even without being in active service. Hisham reformed it and paid only to those who participated in battle. On the pattern of the Byzantine systemthe umayyads reformed their army organization in general and divided it into fiv

e corps: the centre, two wings, vanguards and rearguards while on march or in abattle field following the same formation. Marwan II (74050) abandoned the old division and introduced Kurdus (cohort) a small compact body. The Umayyad troops were divided into three divisions: infantry, cavalry and artillery. Arab troops were dressed and armed in Greek fashion. The Umayyad cavalry used plain and round saddles. The artillery used arradah (ballista), manjaniq (the mangonel) and dabbabah or kabsh (the battering ram). The heavy engines, siege machines and baggagewere carried on camels behind the army.

Social OrganizationThe Umayyad Caliphate exhibited four main social classes:

1.Muslim Arabs

2.Muslim non-Arabs (clients of the Muslim Arabs)

3.Non-Muslim free persons (Christians, Jews, Zoroastrians)

4.Slaves

The Muslim Arabs were at the top of the society, and saw it as their duty to rule over the conquered areas. Despite the fact that Islam teaches the equality ofall Muslims, the Arab Muslims held themselves in higher esteem than Muslim non-Arabs and generally did not mix with other Muslims.

The inequality of Muslims in the empire led to social unrest. As Islam spread, m

ore and more of the Muslim population became non-Arabs. This caused tension as the new converts were not given the same rights as Muslim Arabs. Also, as conversions increased, tax revenues off non-Muslims decreased to dangerous lows. Theseissues continued to grow until they helped cause the Abbasid Revolt in the 740s.

Non-MuslimsNon-Muslim groups in the Umayyad Caliphate, which included Christians, Jews, Zoroastrians, and pagan Berbers, were called dhimmis. They were given a legally protected status as second-class citizens as long as they accepted and acknowledgedthe political supremacy of the ruling Muslims. They were allowed to have their


5/5

own courts, and were given freedom of their religion within the empire. Althoughthey could not hold the highest public offices in the empire, they had many bureaucratic positions within the government. Christians and Jews still continued to produce great theological thinkers within their communities, but as time woreon, many of the intellectuals converted to Islam, leading to a lack of great thinkers in the non-Muslim communities.

The Umayyad caliphate was marked both by territorial expansion and by the administrative and cultural problems that such expansion created. Despite some notableexceptions, the Umayyads tended to favor the rights of the old Arab families, and in particular their own, over those of newly converted Muslims (mawali). Therefore they held to a less universalist conception of Islam than did many of their rivals. As G.R. Hawting has written, "Islam was in fact regarded as the property of the conquering aristocracy."

According to one common view, the Umayyads transformed the caliphate from a religious institution (during the rashidun) to a dynastic one. However, the Umayyadcaliphs do seem to have understood themselves as the representatives of God on earth, and to have been responsible for the "definition and elaboration of God'sordinances, or in other words the definition or elaboration of Islamic law."

During the period of the Umayyads, Arabic became the administrative language. State documents and currency were issued in the language. Mass conversions broughta large influx of Muslims to the caliphate. The Umayyads also constructed famou

s buildings such as the Dome of the Rock at Jerusalem, and the Umayyad Mosque atDamascus.

The Umayyads have met with a largely negative reception from later Islamic historians, who have accused them of promoting a kingship (mulk, a term with connotations of tyranny) instead of a true caliphate (khilafa). In this respect it is notable that the Umayyad caliphs referred to themselves, not as khalifat rasul Allah ("successor of the messenger of God", the title preferred by the tradition) but rather as khalifat Allah ("deputy of God"). The distinction seems to indicatethat the Umayyads "regarded themselves as God's representatives at the head ofthe community and saw no need to share their religious power with, or delegate it to, the emergent class of religious scholars."

In fact, it was precisely this class of scholars, based largely in Iraq, that was responsible for collecting and recording the traditions that form the primarysource material for the history of the Umayyad period. In reconstructing this history, therefore, it is necessary to rely mainly on sources, such as the histories of Tabari and Baladhuri, that were written in the Abbasid court at Baghdad.

Modern Arab nationalism regards the period of the Umayyads as part of the Arab Golden Age which it sought to emulate and restore. This is particularly true of Syrian nationalists and the present-day state of Syria, centered like that of theUmayyads on Damascus. White, one of the four Pan-Arab colors which appear in various combinations on the flags of most Arab countries, is considered as representing the Umayyads.

umayyad islam

Documents