Umayyad Dynasty

The Umayyad Dynasty presided over the Arab empire during a formative period in the development and expansion of Islamic religion and civilization (661–750). Later, Umayyad rule in Islamic Iberia (al-Andalus, 756–1031) fostered a flowering of Islamic and Jewish culture.

Civil war broke out within the Arab empire when the third caliph, ‘Uthmīn, was assassinated in 656. His successor, ‘Ali, faced several challengers, including Mu'āwiyah, the governor of Syria and a senior member of ‘Uthmān's family, the Umayyads. When ‘Ali was assassinated by the Kharijis in 661, Mu'āwiyah was acknowledged as caliph, with Damascus as his capital.

Under the Umayyads, Arab expansion continued westward through North Africa and, with the Berber troops, Iberia (it was checked near Poitiers in 732), as well as eastward to Central Asia and the Indus River. ‘Abd al-Malik (685–705) made Arabic the language of administration and coinage, while [Page 1318]his Dome of the Rock, with its anti-Trinitarian inscriptions, on the site of Abraham's sacrifice, the Jewish Temple, and Muhammad's ascension, demonstrated Islam's triumph over Judaism and Christianity. Though converts had to become clients (mawāalī) of the Arabs, the latter began to lose their privileged position as conquerors as a more integrated Islamic society evolved. Muslims, however, remained a small minority ruling over “protected” non-Muslims (dhimmis), while Umayyad authorities were reluctant to recognize converts because Muslims were taxed more lightly.

Although most Umayyads were therefore assessed harshly in Islamic scholarship, the pious ‘Umar II (717–720), who encouraged conversion while preventing the loss of the land tax, has been seen as the fifth “rightly guided” caliph after ‘Ali. Designating themselves as God's deputies (singular, khal?fat Allah, hence caliph), the Umayyads derogated from the authority of the Qur'an and the Prophet—according to the emerging class of scholars (ulema), who sought to make themselves the exclusive interpreters of divine revelation. The Umayyads’ introduction of hereditary rule (to promote political stability) reduced the elective caliphate to mere kingship, and gave charge to the Arab tribesmen, who had won the empire for God—and themselves. The Shi'i could not forgive the slaying of ‘Ali's son Husayn at Karbala (680) while making a stand for the authority of the Prophet's family.

Intra-Umayyad conflicts (744–750) enabled the ‘Abbāsids to seize the caliphate, but an Umayyad fugitive, ‘Abd al-Rahmān, established an emirate in Córdoba (756–788). His successors, faced with numerous revolts, ruled all or part of al-Andalus until 1031, calling themselves caliphs from 929. The formation of a new, Arabic-speaking, Islamic society in Spain was accelerated by the prosperity of the 9th and 10th centuries (resulting from improved agricultural techniques, new crops, and international commerce). Architecture, poetry, and scholarship—secular and religious—flourished. Chri stians adopted the language and customs of the Arabs, and, while a few sought martyrdom, most apparently embraced Islam. For Jews, Umayyad Andalusia was a golden age of Hebrew poetry and religious scholarship.