Umayyad Caliphate

Category
Caliphate
Capitals
Damascus
Begin
661
End
750
Region
Middle East
Reference
Excerpts from Books and Wikipedia
"Between 705 and 732, Arab armies destroy the Visigoths, fail to capture Constantinople, and are turned back from Frankish land by Odo of Aquitaine (and Charles Martel)." [Bauer: Medieval World, p. 341] "The Umayyads, the new dynasty that came to power, were both Arabs and Muslims, and they symbolized the original fusion of a culture—and especially a language—with a revelation, a fusion that was the very soul of a new religion and civilization. But they moved their capital from the provincial and dangerously factional Medina to the more open and friendly spaces of Damascus, and in coming out of the isolation of the Arabian desert and making Syria over into the new homeland, and in the conversions of people far removed from Mecca and Medina, the Umayyads’ Islam forged a new culture that added generously to the Arab foundation." [Menocal: Ornament of the World, p. 20-1] "The Umayyads continued the Muslim conquests, incorporating the Transoxiana, Sindh, the Maghreb and the Iberian Peninsula (Al-Andalus) into the Muslim world." It included 33 million people at its greatest extent, making it one of the largest empires in history. [Wikipedia]

This period is linked to the following events

Event Name
Category
Date
Islam schism (Sunni and Shi'a) after murder of Caliph Ali
Religion
661
Caliph Muawiya begins Umayyad dynasty after Ali's death & Hasan's resignation
Religion
661
Arabs begin seige of Constantinople and abandon it 4 years later
War
674
Martyrdom of Husayn and followers in Karbala by army of Caliph Yazid I
Religion
680
Al-Malik builds Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem
Religion
691
Byzantine and Arab armies meet south of Black Sea at Battle of Sebastopolis
War
694
Al-Malik conquers North Africa & makes Arabic official language of empire
Religion
702
Saracens (Arab/Berber army) led by Tariq invade the Visigothic kingdom of Spain
Religion
711
Moslem forces abandon Seige of Constantinople after defeat by Byzantines
War
717
Christian warriors defeat a Muslim army at the Battle of Covadonga
Religion
722
Iconoclast movement begins in the Byzantine Empire under Leo III
Religion
726
The Franks under Charles Martel defeat the Arabs at the Battle of Tours
War
732

This period is linked to the following movies

Movie title
Genre
Released
Islam: Empire of Faith
Documentary
2000