Empires and Civilizations

After beating back opposition for about 90 years, the Umayyad Caliphate finally perished in the aftermath of the Third Fitna and Abbasid Revolution.

The Battle of Tours significantly halted Umayyad expansion into western Europe, but was it the legendary victory for Christendom that some historians claimed it was?

The Umayyad Caliphate struggled to hold onto its possessions during the reigns of Sulayman, Umar II, Yazid II, and Hisham.  The Umayyads lost north Africa to the Berbers, began losing to the Byzantines, were holding steady against the Khazars, defeated Coptic revolts in Egypt, faced an Alid rebellion in Iraq, and were desperate to maintain their holdings in Transoxania.

In this episode, I provide a general but brief overview of the Umayyad Caliphate's geography, art and architecture, and society and religions.

After the Umayyads emerged victorious after the Second Fitna, their leaders, Abd al-Malik and al-Walid, would rule at the height of Umayyad power.

During the Second Fitna, the Umayyads, Zubayrids, Alids, and Kharijites battled for supremacy over the Islamic world.  (Spoiler alert: the Umayyads won.)  

Under the newly-established Umayyad Caliphate, the caliphs Mu'awiya I and Yazid I would take the Islamic world in an entirely new direction - for better or for worse.

Under Uthman and Ali, the unity that had characterized the early Islamic community broke down, leading to a civil war that would remake the political, social, and religious fabric of the Islamic world.

The Rashidun Caliphate's decisive victory at the Battle of Nahavand annihilated the Sassanid military.  The fall of the Sassanid Empire was now assured.  In the aftermath of Nahavand, however, a tragedy would befall the Muslim community.

With the Muslim conquest of Syria (and Khalid ibn al-Walid's life) drawing to a close, the ambitious Rashidun Caliphate expanded even further.  Northern Syria, Armenia, and the southern Caucasus fell under the caliphate's direct control, not to mention one of the most important lands of all: Egypt.