The Umayyad Dynasty (661-750 CE), was established in 661 CE by Muawiya (l. c. 602-680 CE), who had served as the governor of Syria under the Rashidun Caliphate, after the death of the fourth caliph, Ali in 661 CE.

They ruled over a large empire, to which they added vast newly conquered areas such as that of North Africa (beyond Egypt), Spain, Transoxiana, parts of the Indian subcontinent, and multiple islands in the Mediterranean (but most of these were lost). Although the empire was at its ever largest size during their reign, internal divisions and civil wars weakened their hold over it, and in 750 CE, they were overthrown by the Abbasids.

The Umayyads continued the Muslim conquests, conquering Ifriqiya, Transoxiana, Sind, the Maghreb and Hispania (al-Andalus). At its greatest extent (661–750), the Umayyad Caliphate covered 11,100,000 km2 (4,300,000 sq mi),[1] making it one of the largest empires in history in terms of area.

Survivors of the dynasty established themselves in Córdoba which, in the form of an emirate and then a caliphate, became a world centre of science, medicine, philosophy and invention during the Islamic Golden Age.

Muawiya I

Muawiyya’s (r. 661-680 CE) lineage is referred to as the Sufyanids (after his father Abu Sufyan), or sometimes as Harbites (after his grandfather Harb). He was a shrewd politician and a strong diplomat who preferred bribery to warfare. He convinced Hasan (l. 624-670 CE), the son of Ali, who had succeeded him in Kufa, to abdicate in his favor in exchange for a high pension. However, when he felt that someone posed a threat to his rule, he would take no risk and have them killed.

His 20-year reign, from his capital at Damascus, was indeed the most stable one that the Arabs had seen since the death of Umar, and his administrative reforms were just as excellent, such as the use of a police network (Shurta), personal bodyguards for his safety, diwans (for local administration, just as Umar had established) among others. He initiated campaigns in parts of modern-day Pakistan and Afghanistan and, in the west, all the way to the Atlantic coast of Morocco. He managed to regain territories lost to the Byzantines, but most of his gains were reversed after his death, owing to internal unrest.

Yazid I & the Second Fitna

Problems started when Muawiya appointed his son Yazid (r. 680-683 CE) as his successor. The Arabs were not accustomed to dynastic rule and so Yazid’s accession was met with much resentment, most notably from Husayn ibn Ali (l. 626-680 CE), Hasan’s younger brother, and Abdullah ibn Zubayr (l. 624-692 CE), who was the son of a close companion of Prophet Muhammad.

In 680 CE, Husayn, convinced by the people of Kufa, marched to Iraq, intending to gather his forces and then attack Damascus. Yazid, however, put a lockdown on Kufa and sent his army, under the command of his cousin: Ubaidullah ibn Ziyad (d. 686 CE) to intercept Husayn’s force. The two parties met in Karbala, near the Euphrates, where Husayn’s army – some 70 combatants (mostly family members and close associates) made a heroic stand and were all brutally massacred and Husayn beheaded. This sparked the second civil war of Islamic history – the Second Fitna (680-692 CE).

Yazid then ordered another army to attack the Medinans, who had rebelled due to their disgust over Yazid’s character and actions; this culminated in the Battle of al-Harra (683 CE), where opposition was crushed.

The city was besieged for several weeks, during which the cover of the Ka’aba (Islamic holy site) caught on fire. Though Yazid’s army retreated to Syria after their leader’s sudden death (683 CE), the damage done by Yazid’s army left an indelible mark in the hearts of the Muslims. Today Yazid is remembered as perhaps the most negative figure in Islamic history.

The Marwanids

Marwan ibn Hakam (r. 684-685 CE), a senior member of the Umayyad clan and a cousin of Muawiya, took over, with the promise that the throne would pass on to Khalid (Yazid’s younger son) upon his death. He had no intention of keeping this promise.

Marwan recaptured Egypt – which had revolted and joined the Zubayrid faction. But he could not contain Abdullah’s revolt, as he died just nine months after assuming the office (685 CE). This task now fell upon the shoulders of his brilliant son, Abd al-Malik (r. 685-705 CE).

In 685 CE, Al Mukhtar (l. c. 622-687 CE), started a revolt in Kufa and joined hands with Abdullah against the Umayyads. He then declared his wish to establish an Alid Caliphate, using one of Ali’s sons (although not from Fatima), Muhammad ibn al-Hanaffiya (l. 637-700 CE). This led to his parting ways with Abdullah who had claimed the Caliphate for himself from Mecca. Abd al-Malik then waited as his rivals weakened each other. In 687 CE Al Mukhtar was killed by Zubayrid forces during the siege of Kufa. Although Al Mukhtar died there and then, his revolt ultimately led to the evolution of Shi’ism from a political group to a religious sect.

With the threat in Kufa neutralized, Abd al-Malik shifted his attention towards Mecca: he sent his most loyal and ruthless general, the governor of rebellious Iraq, Hajjaj ibn Yusuf (l. 661-714 CE) to subjugate his rival. Although Abdullah stood no chance against Hajjaj’s mighty army, he refused to surrender and died sword in hand in 692 CE; the war was over.

Although he has not escaped the criticism for Hajjaj’s cruel deeds, Abd al-Malik is credited for bringing stability and centralization to the empire, Most notably he Arabized the whole of his dominion, which in time helped the propagation of Islam; he also established official coins for his empire.

The construction of the Dome of Rock in Jerusalem took place under his canopy (691-692 CE); it is conceivable that this was to balance his position against Abdullah, who at that time was in control of the Ka’aba. It was also during his reign that all of North Africa, including Tunis, was conquered (by 693 CE) for good. The local Berbers, who accepted Islam, would become vital in carrying it all the way to Spain during the reign of his son.

Al Walid & Conquest of Spain

After Abd al-Malik’s death, his son Al Walid I (r. 705-715 CE) assumed the office who pushed the boundaries of his empire even farther. Hajjaj continued to extend his influence over his sovereign; two of his protégés – Muhammad ibn Qasim (l. c. 695-715 CE) and Qutayba ibn Muslim (l. c. 669-715 CE) were successful in subjugating parts of modern-day Pakistan and Transoxiana, respectively.

Muslim conquest of Spain started in 711 CE when a Berber named Tariq ibn Ziyad landed on the Iberian Peninsula on a mount that bears his name today: Gibral-Tar. He defeated a numerically superior army led by Gothic king Roderic (r. 710-712 CE) at the battle of Guadalete (711 CE), after which, the land simply lay still for him to take.

Musa ibn Nusayr (l. 640-716 CE), the governor of Ifriqiya (North Africa beyond Egypt) reinforced Tariq with more men and the duo had conquered most of Al Andalus (Arabic for Spain – the land of the Vandals) by 714 CE. Musa was on the verge of invading Europe through the Pyrenees, but at that fateful moment, for reasons not clear to historians, the Caliph ordered both of them to return to Damascus.

Expansion Halted

Walid had tried to nominate his own son as his successor, instead of his brother Sulayman, who was his successor by their father’s covenant; naturally, Sulayman refused to let go of his claim. Walid died before he could force his brother into submission, and Sulayman (r. 715-717 CE) assumed the office; his brief reign was an abject failure. Sulayman had nothing but contempt for the late Hajjaj and released many people who had been held captive in Hajjaj’s prisons.

However, the dead governor’s subordinates faced the full wrath of the new Caliph; Sulayman had many of the empire’s dauntless generals and talented governors killed, as most of them had been handpicked by the aforementioned. Sulayman then turned his attention towards Constantinople and sent a massive force to conquer the Byzantine capital in 717 CE. This venture was a costly and humiliating defeat, the damage was permanent and irreversible, halted expansion, moreover, it was the first major setback against the Byzantines. Nearing his death, Sulayman realized that his own sons were too young to succeed him, he nominated his pious cousin Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz.

Umar II (r. 717-720 CE) managed to rule for only three years as he was poisoned by his own family because of his unwavering stance on justice and on Islamic principles. Umar’s successor, Yazid II (r. 720-724 CE), another son of Abd al-Malik, proved to be no better a ruler than the first one to bear his name. Fortunately for the Umayyads, he died just four years after assuming control.

Restoration of Order

Yazid’s brother and successor, Hisham (r. 724-743 CE) had inherited an empire torn apart by civil wars and he would use all of his energies and resources to bring the kingdom out of this tumult. A strong and inflexible ruler, Hisham reinstated many reforms that had been introduced by Umar II but discontinued by Yazid II.

Some of his military expeditions were successful, others not so much: a Hindu revolt in Sindh (a province in modern-day Pakistan) was crushed, but a Berber revolt broke out in the western parts of North Africa (modern-day Morocco) in 739 CE. Attempts to crush the rebellion did not even come close to complete the objective, but the disunited Berbers soon disintegrated (743 CE) after they failed to take the core of Ifriqiya, the capital city of Qairouwan, but Morocco was lost for the Umayyads.

Al Andalus had also descended to anarchy, but Hisham was successful there. Under an able general named Abd al-Rahman al-Ghafiqi, the province was restored to order but further expansion into Europe was checked after the defeat at the Battle of Tours (732 CE) against the Franks under Charles Martel (r. 718-741 CE).

Third Fitna

After Hisham’s death in 743 CE, the empire was brought to a civil war. Walid II – a son of Yazid II ruled from 743-744 CE, before being overthrown and killed by Yazid III (d. 744 CE) – a son of Walid I. This sparked the Third Fitna (743-747 CE), the third civil war in Islamic history as many tribes had also started revolting against the establishment amidst the chaos. Yazid III died just six months later and was succeeded by his brother Ibrahim who only managed to rule for two months before being overthrown by the elderly Marwan II (r. 744-750 CE) – a grandson of Marwan I.

Marwan II was a strong military commander but lacked diplomatic skills, instead he crushed the uprisings with brute force and brought an end to the Third Fitna in 747 CE. However, the Abbasids (an Arabian faction that claimed to be descendants of the Prophet’s uncle: Abbas), had gained the support of the people of Khurasan (in Iran). His empire was not in a state to face a large scale uprising; his army was exhausted after years of warfare, the failing economy did not allow him to recruit more troops, and ineffective governors failed to realize the gravity of the Abbasid threat until it was simply too late.

By the end of 749 CE, most of the eastern states had displayed the black standards of the Abbasids and the resentful tribes that he had subjugated with force were also allying with them. He faced the bulk of the Abbasid army near the Zab River (750 CE), where his army was routed and he was forced to flee. He escaped to Egypt, intending to muster up his forces from western provinces, but the Abbasids caught up with him and killed him. Umayyad rule was over, and the first Abbasid ruler Abu Abbas (r. 750-754 CE) was declared the new Caliph in Kufa.

End of the Umayyads

The Abbasids showed no mercy to the Umayyads; all male members were slain, a surviving few retreated to their hideouts. Then the Abbasids invited all of the surviving members to dinner on the pretext of reconciliation but, when they were seated at the table, at the signal of the new Caliph, assassins entered the room and clubbed them to death. Abd al-Rahman I, a grandson of the able Hisham, survived the horrible fate of his kinsmen, he managed to escape the Abbasids and made a perilous journey across the empire and landed in Al Andalus, where he formed the Emirate of Cordoba in 756 CE, which rivaled the Abbasid realm in elegance and grandeur.

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