# Umayyad dynasty By [Sabitos](https://paragraph.com/@sabitos) · 2023-05-29 --- The **Umayyad dynasty** ([Arabic](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arabic_language): بَنُو أُمَيَّةَ, [romanized](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romanization_of_Arabic): _Banū Umayya_, [lit.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Literal_translation) 'Sons of Umayya') or **Umayyads** ([Arabic](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arabic_language): الأمويون, [romanized](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romanization_of_Arabic): _al-Umawiyyūn_) was an [Arab](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arabs) clan within the [Quraysh](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quraysh) tribe who were the ruling family of the [Caliphate](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Umayyad_Caliphate) between 661 and 750 and later of [al-Andalus](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Andalus) (Islamic Spain) between 756 and 1031. In the [pre-Islamic period](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pre-Islamic_Arabia), they were a prominent clan of the [Meccan](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mecca) tribe of [Quraysh](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quraysh), descended from [Umayya ibn Abd Shams](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Umayya_ibn_Abd_Shams). Despite staunch opposition to the [Islamic](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islam) prophet [Muhammad](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muhammad), the Umayyads embraced Islam before the latter's death in 632. [Uthman](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uthman), an early companion of Muhammad from the Umayyad clan, was the third [Rashidun](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rashidun_Caliphate) caliph, ruling in 644–656, while other members held various governorships. One of these governors, [Mu'awiya I](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mu%27awiyah_I) of [Syria](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bilad_al-Sham), opposed Caliph [Ali](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ali) in the [First Muslim Civil War](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Fitna) (656–661) and afterward founded the [Umayyad Caliphate](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Umayyad_Caliphate) with its capital in [Damascus](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Damascus). This marked the beginning of the Umayyad dynasty, the first hereditary dynasty in the [history of Islam](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Islam), and the only one to rule over the entire Islamic world of its time. Umayyad authority was challenged in the [Second Muslim Civil War](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Fitna), during which the Sufyanid line of Mu'awiya was replaced in 684 by [Marwan I](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marwan_I), who founded the Marwanid line of Umayyad caliphs, which restored the dynasty's rule over the Caliphate. The Umayyads drove on the [early Muslim conquests](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Early_Muslim_conquests), conquering [the Maghreb](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muslim_conquest_of_the_Maghreb), [Hispania](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muslim_conquest_of_Hispania), [Central Asia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muslim_conquest_of_Transoxiana), and [Sind](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muslim_conquest_of_Sindh), but the constant warfare exhausted the state's military resources, while [Alid](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alid) and [Kharijite](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kharijite) revolts and [tribal rivalries](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qays%E2%80%93Yaman_rivalry) weakened the state from within. Finally, in 750 the [Abbasids](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abbasid_dynasty) [overthrew](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abbasid_Revolution) Caliph [Marwan II](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marwan_II) and massacred most of the family. One of the survivors, [Abd al-Rahman](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abd_al-Rahman_I), a grandson of Caliph [Hisham ibn Abd al-Malik](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hisham_ibn_Abd_al-Malik), escaped to Muslim Spain, where he founded the [Emirate of Córdoba](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emirate_of_C%C3%B3rdoba), which his descendant, [Abd al-Rahman III](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abd_al-Rahman_III), elevated to the status of a caliphate in 929. After a relatively short golden age, the [Caliphate of Córdoba](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caliphate_of_C%C3%B3rdoba) disintegrated into several independent [_taifa_](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taifa) kingdoms in 1031, thus marking the political end of the Umayyad dynasty. History ------- ### Pre-Islamic origins The Umayyads, or Banu Umayya, were a clan of the larger [Quraysh](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quraysh) tribe, which dominated [Mecca](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mecca) in the [pre-Islamic era](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pre-Islamic_Arabia).[\[1\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Umayyad_dynasty#cite_note-FOOTNOTEWatt1986434-1) The Quraysh derived prestige among the Arab tribes through their protection and maintenance of the [Kaʿba](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ka%CA%BFba), which at the time was regarded by the largely [polytheistic Arabs](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religion_in_pre-Islamic_Arabia) across the Arabian Peninsula as their most sacred sanctuary.[\[1\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Umayyad_dynasty#cite_note-FOOTNOTEWatt1986434-1) A Qurayshite leader, [Abd Manaf ibn Qusayy](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abd_Manaf_ibn_Qusai), who based on his place in the genealogical tradition would have lived in the late 5th century, was charged with the maintenance and protection of the Kaʿba and its pilgrims.[\[2\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Umayyad_dynasty#cite_note-FOOTNOTEHawting2000a21%E2%80%9322-2) These roles passed to his sons [Abd Shams](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abd_Shams_ibn_Abd_Manaf), [Hashim](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hashim_ibn_Abd_Manaf) and others.[\[2\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Umayyad_dynasty#cite_note-FOOTNOTEHawting2000a21%E2%80%9322-2) Abd Shams was the father of [Umayya](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Umayya_ibn_Abd_Shams), the eponymous progenitor of the Umayyads.[\[3\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Umayyad_dynasty#cite_note-FOOTNOTEDella_Vida2000837-3) Umayya succeeded Abd Shams as the [_qa'id_](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qaid) (wartime commander) of the Meccans.[\[4\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Umayyad_dynasty#cite_note-FOOTNOTEDella_Vida2000838-4) This position was likely an occasional political post whose holder oversaw the direction of Mecca's military affairs in times of war, instead of an actual field command.[\[4\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Umayyad_dynasty#cite_note-FOOTNOTEDella_Vida2000838-4) This early experience in military leadership proved instructive, as later Umayyads were known for possessing considerable political and military organizational skills.[\[4\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Umayyad_dynasty#cite_note-FOOTNOTEDella_Vida2000838-4) The historian [Giorgio Levi Della Vida](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giorgio_Levi_Della_Vida) suggests that information in the early Arabic sources about Umayya, as with all the ancient progenitors of the [tribes of Arabia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tribes_of_Arabia), "be accepted with caution", but "that too great skepticism with regard to tradition would be as ill-advised as absolute faith in its statements".[\[3\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Umayyad_dynasty#cite_note-FOOTNOTEDella_Vida2000837-3) Della Vida asserts that since the Umayyads who appear at the beginning of Islamic history in the early 7th century were no later than third-generation descendants of Umayya, the latter's existence is highly plausible.[\[3\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Umayyad_dynasty#cite_note-FOOTNOTEDella_Vida2000837-3) By circa 600, the Quraysh had developed trans-Arabian trade networks, organizing caravans to [Syria](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Levant) in the north and [Yemen](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yemen) in the south.[\[1\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Umayyad_dynasty#cite_note-FOOTNOTEWatt1986434-1) The Banu Umayya and the [Banu Makhzum](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banu_Makhzum), another prominent Qurayshite clan, dominated these trade networks. They developed economic and military alliances with the [nomadic Arab](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bedouin) tribes that controlled the northern and central Arabian desert expanses, gaining them a degree of political power in Arabia.[\[5\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Umayyad_dynasty#cite_note-FOOTNOTEDonner198151-5) nft://137/0x47286586DBC58d4Dc699c52B894f906fd6cBb906/?showBuying=true&showMeta=true ### Opposition to Islam and adoption of Islam When the Islamic prophet [Muhammad](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muhammad), a member of the [Banu Hashim](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banu_Hashim), a Qurayshite clan related to the Banu Umayya through their shared ancestor, Abd Manaf, began his religious teachings in Mecca, he was opposed by most of the Quraysh.[\[6\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Umayyad_dynasty#cite_note-FOOTNOTEDonner198153-6)[\[7\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Umayyad_dynasty#cite_note-FOOTNOTEWellhausen192740%E2%80%9341-7) He found support from the inhabitants of [Medina](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medina) and relocated there with his followers in 622.[\[8\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Umayyad_dynasty#cite_note-FOOTNOTEDonner198154-8) The [descendants of Abd Shams](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banu_Abd_Shams), including the Umayyads, were among the principal leaders of Qurayshite opposition to Muhammad.[\[9\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Umayyad_dynasty#cite_note-FOOTNOTEHawting2000841-9) They superseded the Banu Makhzum, led by [Abu Jahl](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abu_Jahl), as a result of the heavy losses that the Banu Makhzum's leadership incurred fighting the Muslims at the [Battle of Badr](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Badr) in 624.[\[10\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Umayyad_dynasty#cite_note-FOOTNOTEWellhausen192741-10) An Umayyad chief, [Abu Sufyan](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abu_Sufyan_ibn_Harb), thereafter became the leader of the Meccan army that fought the Muslims under Muhammad at the battles of [Uhud](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Uhud) and [the Trench](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Trench).[\[9\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Umayyad_dynasty#cite_note-FOOTNOTEHawting2000841-9) --- *Originally published on [Sabitos](https://paragraph.com/@sabitos/umayyad-dynasty)*