Umayyad dynasty

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(Redirected from
Banu Umayya
)
Umayyad dynasty
بَنُو أُمَيَّةَ
الأمويون
Parent familyBanu Abd-Shams of the Quraysh
CountryUmayyad Caliphate
(661–750)
Al-Andalus
(756–1031)
Place of originMecca, Arabia
Founded661
FounderMu'awiya I
TitlesCaliph (Umayyad Caliphate)
Emir (Emirate of Cordoba)
Caliph (Caliphate of Cordoba)

The Umayyad dynasty (

Mu'awiya I of Syria, opposed Caliph Ali in the First Muslim Civil War (656–661) and afterward founded the Umayyad Caliphate with its capital in Damascus. This marked the beginning of the Umayyad dynasty, the first hereditary dynasty in the history of Islam
, and the only one to rule over the entire Islamic world of its time.

Umayyad authority was challenged in the

Kharijite revolts and tribal rivalries weakened the state from within. Finally, in 750 the Abbasids overthrew Caliph Marwan II and massacred most of the family. One of the survivors, Abd al-Rahman, a grandson of Caliph Hisham ibn Abd al-Malik, escaped to Muslim Spain, where he founded the Emirate of Córdoba, which his descendant, Abd al-Rahman III, transformed into a caliphate in 929. Under the Umayyads, Al-Andalus became a centre of science, medicine, philosophy and invention during the Islamic Golden Age.[3][4] The Caliphate of Córdoba disintegrated into several independent 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

Kaʿba, which at the time was regarded by the largely polytheistic Arabs across the Arabian Peninsula as their most sacred sanctuary.[5] A Qurayshite leader, Abd Manaf ibn Qusayy, 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.[6] These roles passed to his sons Abd Shams, Hashim and others.[6] Abd Shams was the father of Umayya, the eponymous progenitor of the Umayyads.[7]

Umayya succeeded Abd Shams as the qa'id (wartime commander) of the Meccans.[8] 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.[8] This early experience in military leadership proved instructive, as later Umayyads were known for possessing considerable political and military organizational skills.[8] The historian 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, "be accepted with caution", but "that too great skepticism with regard to tradition would be as ill-advised as absolute faith in its statements".[7] 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.[7]

By circa 600, the Quraysh had developed trans-Arabian trade networks, organizing caravans to Syria in the north and Yemen in the south.[5] The Banu Umayya and the Banu Makhzum, another prominent Qurayshite clan, dominated these trade networks. They developed economic and military alliances with the nomadic Arab tribes that controlled the northern and central Arabian desert expanses, gaining them a degree of political power in Arabia.[9]

Opposition to Islam and adoption of Islam

When the Islamic prophet

Abu Jahl, as a result of the heavy losses that the Banu Makhzum's leadership incurred fighting the Muslims at the Battle of Badr in 624.[14] An Umayyad chief, Abu Sufyan, thereafter became the leader of the Meccan army that fought the Muslims under Muhammad at the battles of Uhud and the Trench.[13]

Abu Sufyan and his sons, along with most of the Umayyads, embraced Islam toward the end of Muhammad's life, following the Muslim conquest of Mecca.[13] To secure the loyalty of prominent Umayyad leaders, including Abu Sufyan, Muhammad offered them gifts and positions of importance in the nascent Muslim state.[13] He installed another Umayyad, Attab ibn Asid ibn Abi al-Is, as the first governor of Mecca.[15] Although Mecca retained its paramountcy as a religious center, Medina continued to serve as the political center of the Muslims. Abu Sufyan and the Banu Umayya relocated to the city to maintain their growing political influence.[16]

Muhammad's death in 632 created a succession crisis, while nomadic tribes throughout Arabia that had embraced Islam defected from Medina's authority.

Khalid ibn Sa'id ibn al-As, as commander of the expedition, but replaced him with other commanders, among whom was Abu Sufyan's son, Yazid. Abu Sufyan had already owned property and maintained trade networks in Syria.[19][20]

Abu Bakr's successor, Caliph

Himyarite tribes who entered the Hims district during the conquest, or the lack of a suitable candidate at the time, particularly amid the plague of Amwas, which had already killed Abu Ubayda and Yazid.[22]

Empowerment by Caliph Uthman

Caliph Umar died in 644 and was succeeded by Uthman ibn Affan, a wealthy Umayyad merchant, early convert to Islam, and son-in-law and close companion of Muhammad.[23] Uthman initially kept his predecessors' appointees in their provincial posts, but gradually replaced many with Umayyads or his maternal kinsmen from the Banu Umayya's parent clan, the Banu Abd Shams.[24] Mu'awiya, who had been appointed governor of Syria by Umar, retained his post. Two Umayyads, al-Walid ibn Uqba and Sa'id ibn al-As, were successively appointed to Kufa, one of the two main Arab garrisons and administrative centers in Iraq. Uthman's cousin, Marwan ibn al-Hakam, became his chief adviser.[24] Although a prominent member of the clan, Uthman is not considered part of the Umayyad dynasty because he was chosen by consensus (shura) among the inner circle of Muslim leadership and never attempted to nominate an Umayyad as his successor.[25] Nonetheless, as a result of Uthman's policies, the Umayyads regained a measure of the power they had lost after the Muslim conquest of Mecca.[25]

The

Talha ibn Ubayd Allah and Zubayr ibn al-Awwam, both potential contenders of the caliphate, died, the mantle of opposition to Ali was taken up chiefly by Mu'awiya.[26] Initially, he refrained from openly claiming the caliphate, focusing instead on undermining Ali's authority and consolidating his position in Syria, all in the name of avenging Uthman's death.[27] Mu'awiya and Ali, leading their respective Syrian and Iraqi supporters, fought to a stalemate at the Battle of Siffin in 657.[28] It led to an indecisive arbitration, which weakened Ali's command over his partisans, while raising the stature of Mu'awiya as Ali's equal.[29] As Ali was bogged down combating his former partisans, who became known as the Kharijites, Mu'awiya was recognized as caliph by his core supporters, the Syrian Arab tribes, in 659 or 660.[30] When Ali was assassinated by a Kharijite in 661, Mu'awiya marched on Kufa, where he compelled Ali's son, Hasan, to cede caliphal authority and gained recognition from the region's Arab tribal nobility.[30] As a result, Mu'awiya became widely recognized as caliph, though opposition by the Kharijites and some of Ali's loyalists persisted at a less consistent level.[31]

Dynastic rule over the Caliphate

Sufyanid period

The reunification of the Muslim community under Mu'awiya's leadership marked the establishment of the Umayyad Caliphate.[31] Based on the accounts of the traditional Muslim sources, Hawting writes that:

... the Umayyads, leading representatives of those who had opposed the Prophet [Muhammad] until the latest possible moment, had within thirty years of his death reestablished their position to the extent that they were now at the head of the community which he had founded.[31]

In contrast to Uthman's empowerment of the Umayyads, Mu'awiya's power did not rely on the clan and, with minor exceptions, he did not appoint Umayyads to the major provinces or his court in Damascus.[32][33] He largely limited their influence to Medina, where most of the Umayyads remained headquartered.[32][34] The loss of political power left the Umayyads of Medina resentful of Mu'awiya, who may have become wary of the political ambitions of the much larger Abu al-As branch of the clan—to which Uthman had belonged—under the leadership of Marwan ibn al-Hakam.[35] Mu'awiya attempted to weaken the clan by provoking internal divisions.[36] Among the measures taken was the replacement of Marwan from the governorship of Medina in 668 with another leading Umayyad, Sa'id ibn al-As. The latter was instructed to demolish Marwan's house, but refused. Marwan was restored in 674 and also refused Mu'awiya's order to demolish Sa'id's house.[37] Mu'awiya appointed his own nephew, al-Walid ibn Utba ibn Abi Sufyan, in Marwan's place in 678.[38]

In 676, Mu'awiya installed his son, Yazid I, as his successor. The move was unprecedented in Muslim politics—earlier caliphs had been elected by popular support in Medina or by the consultation of the senior companions of Muhammad.[39] Mu'awiya's Umayyad kinsmen in Medina, including Marwan and Sa'id, accepted Mu'awiya's decision, albeit disapprovingly.[40] The principle opposition emanated from Husayn ibn Ali, Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr, Abd Allah ibn Umar and Abd al-Rahman ibn Abi Bakr, all prominent Medina-based sons of earlier caliphs or close companions of Muhammad.[41]

Yazid acceded in 680 and three years later faced a revolt by the people of Medina and Ibn al-Zubayr in Mecca. Yazid's cousin, Uthman ibn Muhammad ibn Abi Sufyan, and the Umayyads residing in Medina, led by Marwan, were expelled.[42] Yazid dispatched his Syrian army to reassert his authority in the Hejaz and relieve his kinsmen.[43][44] The Umayyads of Medina joined the Syrians in the assault against the rebels in Medina and defeated them at the Battle of al-Harra.[43] The Syrians proceeded to besiege Mecca, but withdrew upon the death of Yazid.[45] Afterward, Ibn al-Zubayr declared himself caliph and expelled the Umayyads of the Hejaz a second time. They relocated to Palmyra or Damascus, where Yazid's son and successor, Mu'awiya II, ruled at a time when most provinces of the Caliphate discarded Umayyad authority.[43]

Early Marwanid period

After Mu'awiya II died in 684, the junds of Palestine, Homs and Qinnasrin recognized Ibn al-Zubayr, while loyalist tribes in Damascus and al-Urdunn scrambled to nominate an Umayyad as caliph. The Banu Kalb, lynchpins of Sufyanid rule, nominated Yazid's surviving sons

Amr al-Ashdaq, the son of Sa'id ibn al-As. Marwan and the allied tribes, led by the Kalb, defeated Ibn al-Zubayr's supporters in Syria, led by the Qurayshite governor of Damascus, al-Dahhak ibn Qays al-Fihri, and the Qays tribes of Qinnasrin, and afterward retook Egypt. Before his death in 685, Marwan voided the succession arrangement, appointing his sons Abd al-Malik and Abd al-Aziz, in that order, instead. Abd al-Aziz was made governor of Egypt and another son, Muhammad was appointed to defeat the Qays tribes of the Jazira
. Soon after Abd al-Malik acceded, while he was away on a military campaign, he faced an attempted coup in Damascus by Amr al-Ashdaq. Abd al-Malik suppressed the revolt and personally executed his kinsman.[46] By 692, he defeated Ibn al-Zubayr, who was killed, and restored Umayyad authority across the Caliphate.[47]

Abd al-Malik concentrated power into the hands of the Umayyad dynasty. At one point, his brothers or sons held nearly all governorships of the provinces and Syria's districts.

Atika, who became his favorite and most influential wife.[55]

After his brother Abd al-Aziz's death, Abd al-Malik designated his eldest son,

Umar II, the son of Abd al-Aziz ibn Marwan, as his successor. While the traditional sources present the choice as related to the persuasion of the court theologian, Raja ibn Haywa, it may have been related to Umar II's seniority and his father's previous position as Marwan I's second successor.[59] The family of Abd al-Malik protested the move, but were coerced into a compromise whereby Yazid II, the son of Abd al-Malik and Atika, would follow Umar II.[60]

Rule over al-Andalus

A survivor of the Abbasid massacres of the Umayyad family,

Emirate of Cordoba in 756, he invited other Marwanids, who were keeping a low profile under Abbasid rule, to settle in the Emirate.[61] He was quoted by al-Maqqari as stating, "among the many [favors] bestowed on us by the Almighty ... is his allowing us to collect in this country our kindred and relatives, and enabling us to give them a share in this empire".[61] Among those who heeded his call were his brother al-Walid and the latter's son al-Mughira, his first cousin Ubayd al-Salam ibn Yazid ibn Hisham, and his nephew Ubayd Allah ibn Aban ibn Mu'awiya. Others who arrived included Juzayy ibn Abd al-Aziz and Abd al-Malik ibn Umar (both grandsons of Marwan I) from Egypt, Bishr ibn Marwan's son Abd al-Malik from Iraq, and al-Walid I's grandson Habib ibn Abd al-Malik, who had escaped the massacre of Nahr Abi Futrus. All the Umayyad immigrants were granted estates, stipends, command roles in the army, and provincial offices. While all the emirs, and later caliphs, of al-Andalus were direct descendants of Abd al-Rahman I, the families of Abd al-Malik ibn Umar (the Marwani clan) and Habib ibn Abd al-Malik (the Habibi clan) both became prominent at the provincial, military, judicial and cultural levels into the 10th century.[62] The Umayyads longed for the Levant, and they established in al-Andalus the same trees, plants and food crops which their ancestors had cultivated in Syria, serving the same traditional foods. Wholesale importation of Syrian styles of living contributed to an extensive Syrianization of the entire countryside of al-Andalus.[63]

Branches

In the early 7th century, prior to their conversion to Islam, the main branches of the Umayyads were the A'yas and the Anabisa.

Harb, Abu Harb, Abu Sufyan Anbasa, Sufyan, Amr and Umayya's possibly adopted son, Abu Amr Dhakwan.[8]

Two of the sons of Abu al-As, Affan and al-Hakam, each fathered future caliphs, Uthman and Marwan I, respectively.[8] From the latter's descendants, known as the Marwanids, came the Umayyad caliphs of Damascus who reigned successively between 684 and 750, and then the Cordoba-based emirs and caliphs of Muslim Spain, who held office until 1031.[8] Other than those who had escaped to al-Andalus, most of the Marwanids were killed in the Abbasid purges of 750. However, a number of them settled in Egypt and Iran, where one of them, Abu al-Faraj al-Isfahani, authored the famous source of Arab history, the Kitab al-Aghani, in the 10th century.[8] Uthman, the third Rashidun caliph, who ruled between 644 and 656, left several descendants, some of whom served political posts under the Umayyad caliphs.[8] From the Abu al-Is line came the politically important family of Asid ibn Abi al-Is, whose members served military and gubernatorial posts under various Rashidun and Umayyad caliphs.[8] The al-As line produced Sa'id ibn al-As, who served as one of Uthman's governors in Kufa.[8]

The most well-known family of the Anabisa branch was that of Harb's son Abu Sufyan Sakhr.

Uqba ibn Abu Mu'ayt was captured and executed on Muhammad's orders during the Battle of Badr for his previously harsh incitement against the prophet.[65] Uqba's son, al-Walid, served as Uthman's governor in Kufa for a brief period.[65] The Banu Abi Mu'ayt made Iraq and Upper Mesopotamia their home.[65]

List of Umayyad rulers

Syria-based Umayyad caliphs

Umayyad Caliphate
Caliph Reign
Muʿāwiya I ibn Abī Sufyān
28 July 661 – 27 April 680
Yazīd I ibn Muʿāwiya 27 April 680 – 11 November 683
Muʿāwiya II ibn Yazīd
11 November 683– June 684
Marwān I ibn al-Ḥakam June 684– 12 April 685
ʿAbd al-Malik ibn Marwān 12 April 685 – 8 October 705
Al-Walīd I ibn ʿAbd al-Malik 8 October 705 – 23 February 715
Sulaymān ibn ʿAbd al-Malik 23 February 715 – 22 September 717
ʿUmar II ibn ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz 22 September 717 – 4 February 720
Yazīd II ibn ʿAbd al-Malik 4 February 720 – 26 January 724
Hishām ibn ʿAbd al-Malik 26 January 724 – 6 February 743
Al-Walīd II ibn Yazīd 6 February 743 – 17 April 744
Yazīd III ibn al-Walīd 17 April 744 – 4 October 744
Ibrāhīm ibn al-Walīd 4 October 744 – 4 December 744
Marwān II ibn Muḥammad 4 December 744 – 25 January 750
Dynasty ended in the Umayyad Caliphate after overthrow by the Abbasids

Umayyad emirs and caliphs of Córdoba

Rulers of al-Andalus
Emirate of Córdoba
Emir Reign
ʿAbd al-Raḥmān I ibn Muʿāwiya al-ʾUmawī 15 May 756 – 30 September 788
Hishām I ibn ʿAbd al-Rahmān al-ʾUmawī 6 October 788 – 16 April 796
Al-Ḥakam I ibn Hishām al-ʾUmawī 12 June 796 – 21 May 822
ʿAbd al-Raḥmān II ibn al-Ḥakam al-ʾUmawī
21 May 822 – 852
Muḥammad I ibn ʿAbd al-Raḥmān al-ʾUmawī 852–886
Al-Munḏhir ibn Muḥammad al-ʾUmawī 886–888
Abdullah ibn Muḥammad al-ʾUmawī
888 — 15 October 912
ʿAbd al-Raḥmān III ibn Muḥammad al-ʾUmawī 16 October 912 – 16 January 929
Name change after Abd al-Rahman III proclaimed himself Caliph of Córdoba
Caliphate of Córdoba
Caliph Reign
ʿAbd al-Raḥmān III al-Nāṣir li-Dīn Allāh 16 January 929 – 15 October 961
Al-Ḥakam II al-Mustanṣir bi-llāh 15 October 961 – 16 October 976
Hishām II al-Muʾayyad bi-llāh 16 October 976 – 1009
Muḥammad II al-Mahdī bi'llāh 1009
Sulaymān al-Mustaʿin bi'llāh 1009–1010
Hishām II al-Muʾayyad bi-llāh 1010 – 19 April 1013
Sulaymān al-Mustaʿin bi'llāh 1013–1016
ʿAbd al-Raḥmān IV al-Murtaḍā bi-llāh 1017
Dynasty ended by the Hammudid dynasty (1017–1023)
Caliphate of Córdoba (Restored)
ʿAbd al-Raḥmān V al-Mustaẓhir bi-llāh 1023–1024
Muhammad III al-Mustakfi bi-llāh 1024–1025
Interregnum of the Hammudid dynasty (1025–1026)
Caliphate of Córdoba (Restored)
Hisham III al-Muʿtad bi-llāh 1026–1031
Dynasty overthrown

Genealogical chart of Umayyad rulers

Family tree of Umayyad rulers, and relationship to the
Abbasid
caliphs
  Caliph Uthman (non-dynastic)
  
Umayyad emirs of Córdoba
  
Umayyad caliphs of Córdoba
Abd Manaf
Abd Shams
Hashim
UmayyaAbd al-Muttalib
Abdallah
Abu TalibAbbas
Abu Sufyan
AffanAl-HakamProphet MuhammadAli (r. 656–661)Abdallah
Abbasids
(r. 750–1258)
Yazid I (r. 680–683)Abd al-Malik (r. 685–705)Abd al-AzizMuhammad
Umar II (r. 717–720)
Marwan II (r. 744–750)
Yazid III (r. 744–744)Ibrahim (r. 744–744)Al-Walid II (r. 743–744)Mu'awiya
Abd al-Rahman I (r. 756–788)
Hisham I (r. 788–796)
Al-Hakam I (r. 796–822)
Abd al-Rahman II
(r. 822–852)
Muhammad I (r. 852–886)
Abdullah (r. 888–912)
Al-Mundhir (r. 886–888)
Muhammad
Abd al-Rahman III (r. 912–961)
Abd al-MalikSulaymanAl-Hakam II (r. 961–976)Abd al-JabbarUbayd Allah
MuhammadAl-HakamHisham II (r. 976–1009, 1010–1013)HishamAbd al-Rahman
Hisham III (r. 1026–1031)
Sulayman (r. 1009–1010)Muhammad II (r. 1009–1009)Abd al-Rahman V (r. 1023–1024)Muhammad III (r. 1024–1025)

See also

References

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  3. ]
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  24. ^ a b Ahmed 2010, p. 107.
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  34. ^ Wellhausen 1927, pp. 135–136.
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  38. ^ Madelung 1997, p. 346.
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  41. ^ Donner 2012, p. 177.
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  59. ^ Eisener 1997, p. 822.
  60. ^ Shaban 1971, pp. 130–131.
  61. ^ a b Scales 1994, p. 113.
  62. ^ Scales 1994, pp. 113–114.
  63. from the original on 2023-10-26. Retrieved 2023-10-26.
  64. ^ Della Vida 2000, pp. 838–839.
  65. ^ a b c d e f g h i Della Vida 2000, p. 839.

Sources

Imperial house —
Umayyad dynasty
Cadet branch of the Quraysh
Rashidun Caliphate as elective caliphate Caliphate dynasty
661 – 6 August 750
Succeeded by
Preceded by
Umayyad dynasty as
caliphal
dynasty
Ruling house of the Emirate of Córdoba
15 May 756 – 16 January 929
Emirate elevated to Caliphate
New title
Proclaimed as Caliphate
Ruling house of the Caliphate of Córdoba
16 January 929 – 1017
Succeeded by
Preceded by Ruling house of the Caliphate of Córdoba
1023–1025
Succeeded by
Preceded by Ruling house of the Caliphate of Córdoba
1026–1031
Caliphate dissolved
into Taifa kingdoms