Assalamu Alaikum [Peace be upon you],
Continuing the 'series' about the dynasties that ruled the Muslim World (or large parts of it) as Caliphs, the following is some brief information about the Umayyads.
The founder of this dynasty was Mu'aawiyah son of Abu Sufyaan [may Allah be pleased with him and his father]. He was a Companion of the Prophet [peace be upon him].
The capital of the Muslim Empire was Damascus. There was great expansion in the territory of the Muslim World in their time. For example, Al-Andalus (present day Spain and Portugal) was conquered.
They ruled from 41 to 132 AH (661 to 750 CE). Under their rule, the Muslim World had only one leader (in name and in real authority) and no Muslim state got out of their authority. [**Note: Please read my post #5 below about the phrase "and no Muslim state got out of their authority"**]
From the dates mentioned above, you'll notice that they only ruled for about ninety years. They were massacred by the Abbasid forces, and the last Umayyad Caliph (Marwan son of Muhammad) was killed in Egypt while trying to escape.
But there was one of the Umayyads who did manage to escape. His name was Abdur-Rahman son of Mu'aawiya son of Hisham. His grandfather (Hisham) was a Caliph. He eventually reached Al-Andalus (modern day Spain and Portugal) and -for the first time in the history of Muslims- managed to split a part of the Muslim world from the authority and control of the Caliph. He founded the Ummayyah State in Al-Andalus, which would exist for nearly three centuries and which kept this region united under one banner.
It should be noticed that Abdur-Rahman (known as Ad-Daakhil) did not claim to be the rightful Caliph. He only styled himslef as the Amir (prince) of Al-Andalus. One of his descendants, Adur-Rahman III, began calling himself a Caliph. This was partly in response for the Fatimids (an Isma'ili Shi'a dynasty) claiming that title. But the Abbasids were already Caliphs, and there could be no two legitimate Caliphs of the Muslim world at any one time.
As with every dynasty, there were some good characteristics and some bad ones. The famous pious Caliph, Umar son of Abdul-Aziz, belonged to this dynasty.
The following is a chart showing the genealogy of the Umayyad Caliphs. It's not the best one on the net (in terms of artistic style), but it's the most accurate I've managed to find. The only mistake I found was that it referred to Abu Sufyan's daughter (and sister of Mu'aawiyaa) as "Habiba". They should have written "Umm Habiba", because that was the popular name of Ramla daughter of Abu Sufyan [may Allah be pleased with her and her father]. She was also one of the Mothers of the Believers [i.e. a wife of Prophet Muhammad -peace be upon him-]
And the following is a map showing the conquests of the Umayyads. You can clearly see that these conquests are coloured light brown:
Best regards,
Bluegazer
Continuing the 'series' about the dynasties that ruled the Muslim World (or large parts of it) as Caliphs, the following is some brief information about the Umayyads.
The founder of this dynasty was Mu'aawiyah son of Abu Sufyaan [may Allah be pleased with him and his father]. He was a Companion of the Prophet [peace be upon him].
The capital of the Muslim Empire was Damascus. There was great expansion in the territory of the Muslim World in their time. For example, Al-Andalus (present day Spain and Portugal) was conquered.
They ruled from 41 to 132 AH (661 to 750 CE). Under their rule, the Muslim World had only one leader (in name and in real authority) and no Muslim state got out of their authority. [**Note: Please read my post #5 below about the phrase "and no Muslim state got out of their authority"**]
From the dates mentioned above, you'll notice that they only ruled for about ninety years. They were massacred by the Abbasid forces, and the last Umayyad Caliph (Marwan son of Muhammad) was killed in Egypt while trying to escape.
But there was one of the Umayyads who did manage to escape. His name was Abdur-Rahman son of Mu'aawiya son of Hisham. His grandfather (Hisham) was a Caliph. He eventually reached Al-Andalus (modern day Spain and Portugal) and -for the first time in the history of Muslims- managed to split a part of the Muslim world from the authority and control of the Caliph. He founded the Ummayyah State in Al-Andalus, which would exist for nearly three centuries and which kept this region united under one banner.
It should be noticed that Abdur-Rahman (known as Ad-Daakhil) did not claim to be the rightful Caliph. He only styled himslef as the Amir (prince) of Al-Andalus. One of his descendants, Adur-Rahman III, began calling himself a Caliph. This was partly in response for the Fatimids (an Isma'ili Shi'a dynasty) claiming that title. But the Abbasids were already Caliphs, and there could be no two legitimate Caliphs of the Muslim world at any one time.
As with every dynasty, there were some good characteristics and some bad ones. The famous pious Caliph, Umar son of Abdul-Aziz, belonged to this dynasty.
The following is a chart showing the genealogy of the Umayyad Caliphs. It's not the best one on the net (in terms of artistic style), but it's the most accurate I've managed to find. The only mistake I found was that it referred to Abu Sufyan's daughter (and sister of Mu'aawiyaa) as "Habiba". They should have written "Umm Habiba", because that was the popular name of Ramla daughter of Abu Sufyan [may Allah be pleased with her and her father]. She was also one of the Mothers of the Believers [i.e. a wife of Prophet Muhammad -peace be upon him-]
And the following is a map showing the conquests of the Umayyads. You can clearly see that these conquests are coloured light brown:
Best regards,
Bluegazer
