Civilization · Early Middle Ages · Umayyad Caliphate

Umayyad Caliphate

661–750

The Umayyad Caliphate was the first great Muslim empire, ruling from Spain to India within a century of Muhammad's death. Its capital Damascus became one of the world's great cities. The Abbasids overthrew it in 750.

Facts

Founded: 661 CE, Muawiya founded the dynasty at Damascus.; Source: Encyclopaedia Britannica, Umayyad Caliphate
Ended: 750 CE, overthrown by the Abbasid revolution.; Source: Encyclopaedia Britannica, Umayyad Caliphate
Heartland: The Middle East, capital Damascus.; Source: Encyclopaedia Britannica, Umayyad Caliphate
Major rulers: Muawiya I, the founder; Abd al Malik, who built the Dome of the Rock; Umar II, remembered for piety.; Source: Encyclopaedia Britannica, Umayyad Caliphate

Images

The Umayyad Mosque of Damascus, among the oldest monumental mosques. (Wikimedia Commons)

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