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Continuity and Changes Over Time

Historical Causation

As the Arab Empire grew, its caliphs changed from Arab chiefs into absolute monarchs, complete with elaborate court rituals, a complex bureaucracy, a standing army, and centralized systems of taxation and coinage. The empire was common to the dynastic rivalries and succession disputes, similar to many other empires. Thus, the first dynasty in the Islamic state, came from the Umayyad family who lasted from 661-750 BCE.

The Umayyad Caliphate was established by Muawiyah ibn Abu Sufyan after the end of the First Muslim Civil War. Before Muawiya’s death in 680 CE, he had changed the capital from the city of Medina in the Arabian Peninsula to the city of Damascus in Syria, which had profound effects on the development of the caliphate and became the Umayyads’ main power base. The Umayyad Caliphate expanded the Islamic Empire in to one of the largest empires in the world, and at its greatest extent, covered 5.79 million square miles with control over the Middle East, parts of India, much of North Africa, and Spain. Eventually this expansion came to an end with the failure of the second Muslim siege of Constantinople and the defeat of an Arab army at the Battle of Tours. Despite its success, the Umayyad Caliphate rule caused growing criticism and rebellion from the Shi’a and non-Arab Muslims frequently.

Muslim

Muhammad

The Umayyad Caliphate

Dynasty

Damascus

"The first dynasty, following the era of the Rightly Guided Calips, came from the Umayyad family. Under its leadership, the Arab Empire expanded greatly, caliphs became hereditary rulers, and the capital moved from Media to the cosmopolitan Roman/Byzantine city of Damascus in Syria." -Ways of the World Textbook, pg 376

SPICE

The Umayyad caliphate was one of the most important Islamic caliphates established after the death of Muhammad, as it expanded the Islamic state immensely.

Comparison

Political

Social

Interaction with Environment

  • The Umayyad Caliphates modeled their government after the Byzantine empire, who had previously ruled much of the lands conquered by the Umayyads, and had similar administrative bureaucracies.
  • The empire was divided into different provinces that were each ruled by a governor appointed by the Caliph
  • Many rebellions and revolts by non-Arab Muslims was responsible for the political decline

  • The Umayyad Caliphate's ruling class was an Arab military aristocracy, drawn from various tribes.
  • They also exhibited four main social classes: Muslims at birth, converts to Islam, non-Muslims (Christians, Jews, Zoroastrians), and slaves.
  • The role and power of women during the Umayyad Dynasty was significant. They were treated with respect and enjoyed a high status in the society. Under the Umayyads, women had more freedom and pursued a wide range of occupations.

  • After the Umayyad dynasty rose, the dynasty’s geographic features helped to improve the society.
  • The Umayyad adopted political and economic systems from different empires, whose land they had conquered.
  • The capital of Umayyad was a central location that helped to maintain communication with other empires and states.
  • As the empire expanded to the Mediterranean, trade was easier to conduct
  • The fertile environment helped the Umayyad caliphate become more productive.

In 750, the Umayyad caliphate was overthrown and replaced by a new Arab dynasty, the Abbasid caliphate. The Abbasid caliphate lead a flourishing and prosperous Islamic civilization where non-Arabs, especially the Persians, played a prominent role. In comparison, the Umayyad caliphate had previously provoked growing criticism and unrest, due to the fact that non-Arab Muslims resented their second-class citizenship in the empire, and they were seen as illegitimate usurpers. Presiding over its new capital in Baghdad, the Abbasid caliphate ruled for 400 years more than the Umayyad caliphate. However, they were fractured politically into a series of "sultanates" over the years, many ruled by Persian or Turkish military dynasties before officially being conquered by the Mongols.

Cultural

Economic

  • The official language of the Umayyad Empire was Arabic and the official religion was Sunni Islam.
  • Architecture and art flourished, and significant buildings, such as the Dome of the Rock was built.

  • Established a centralized systems of taxation and coinage
  • Non-Muslims were required to pay a special tax called the jizya, that allowed them to practice their own religion and provided them with protection
  • Many Arabs protested the luxurious living and impiety of their rulers
  • The Umayyads faced an economic shortage due to the decline in tax collections and the decrease in captured wealth

Muawiya

Arab Kingdom

First

Historical Context

The Umayyads, headed by Abu Sufyan, were a family of the Quraysh tribe centered in Mecca, who had initially resisted Islam. Eventually, they had converted after Muhammad's conquest of Mecca, and subsequently, became prominent administers under Muhammad and his immediate successors. During the first Muslim Civil War- after the murder of the third caliph- Aby Sufyan's son, Muawiya, fought for the caliphhate and emerged victorious over Ali, Muhammad's son-in-law and fourth caliph. He then establised himself the first Umayyad caliph, and restored unity to the Muslim Empire.

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