The Courtyard of the Omayyad Mosque in Damascus, one of the grandest architectural legacies of the Umayyads.

The Umayyad Dynasty (Arabic الأمويون / بنو أمية umawiyy; in Turkish, Emevi) was the first dynasty of caliphs of the Prophet Muhammad who were not closely related to Muhammad himself, though they were of the same Meccan tribe, the Quraish. The first dynasty reigned from 661 to 750. Ironically, the Quraishi clan from which the Umayyads originated had originally been bitter enemies of Muhammad.

Muawiyah had been the governor of Syria under the 3rd caliph and his kinsman, Uthman ibn Affan. After the assassination of Uthman, he was replaced by the new caliph, Ali Ben Abu Talib. Rather than relinquish his post, Muawiyah took up a rebellion against Ali. The two fought many battles, and eventually they agreed to partition the Muslim empire. However, Ali was assassinated in 661, and Muawiyah declared himself caliph of all Muslim lands. This established the Umayyad dynasty, the capital was moved to Damascus

The Umayyads were overthrown in the east by the Abbasid dynasty after their defeat in the Battle of the Zab in 750, following which most of the clan was massacred by the Abbasids. An Umayyad prince, Abd-ar-rahman I, took over the Muslim territory in Spain and founded a new Umayyad dynasty there.

Umayyad Rulers

Umayyad Caliphs of Damascus

• Muawiyah I ibn Abu Sufyan, 661-680
• Yazid I ibn Muawiyah, 680-683
• Muawiya II ibn Yazid, 683-684
• Marwan I ibn Hakam, 684-685
• Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan, 685-705
• al-Walid I ibn Abd al-Malik, 705-715
• Suleiman ibn Abd al-Malik, 715-717
• Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz, 717-720
• Yazid II ibn Abd al-Malik, 720-724
• Hisham ibn Abd al-Malik, 724-743
• al-Walid II ibn Yazid II, 743-744
• Yazid III ibn al-Walid, 744
• Ibrahim ibn al-Walid, 744
• Marwan II ibn Muhammad, 744-750

Umayyad Emirs of Cordoba

• Abd ar-Rahman I, 756-788
• Hisham I, 788-796
• al-Hakam I, 796-822
• Abd ar-Rahman II, 822-852
• Muhammad I, 852-886
• al-Mundhir, 886-888
• Abdallah ibn Muhammad, 888-912
• Abd ar-Rahman III, 912-929

Umayyad Caliphs of Cordoba

• Abd ar-Rahman III, as caliph, 929-961
• Al-Hakam II, 961-976
• Hisham II, 976-1008
• Mohammed II, 1008-1009
• Suleiman, 1009-1010
• Hisham II, restored, 1010-1012
• Suleiman, restored, 1012-1017
• Abd ar-Rahman IV, 1021-1022
• Abd ar-Rahman V, 1022-1023
• Muhammad III, 1023-1024
• Hisham III, 1027-1031

See also History of Islam, Caliphate

External links

• Ummayad Lineage Chart
• http://www.princeton.edu/~batke/itl/denise/umayyads.htm
• Umayyads - First caliphate dynasty