The Umayyad Regime

The Umayyad regime was characterised by its significant political and religious movements that helped to shape the history of the Middle East. This most notably occurred in the late seventh and early eighth centuries at the time of the Umayyad caliphate, though the Umayyad rule continued in Andalusia long after this period. This essay recognises the characteristics of the Umayyad regime by the factors that affected both its rise and its fall. Western scholarship into the Umayyads was instigated by Julius Wellhausen in 1902 with his work Das arabiche Reich und sein Sterz, in which he attempted to formulate an account of the Umayyad history based on the most reliable surviving resources. Furthermore, Wellhausen’s depiction of the Umayyad clan was sympathetic, illustrating reasons behind their pragmatism and focus on politics above religion. He also painted a representation of the Umayyads that represented an Arab national consciousness, what he termed Levi Delia Vida, which embodied the idea of Arab domination over non-Arabs. It is this image of the Umayyads that will be examined through this essay. The evidence that is used to draw any such conclusions is also investigated, as well as the varying methodologies employed to produce these works, based on events that occurred in the seventh and eighth centuries C.E.

The rise of this elite family from the Quraysh confederacy began following the close of the First Muslim Civil War (fitna) in 661 C.E. The Umayyad regime was founded by Muawiya ibn Abi Sufyan. Muawiya had been Governor in Syria, and thus the Umayyad rule was centred in Damascus. The Umayyads were the first Islamic dynasty, meaning they introduced hereditary succession to the governments of Islam. The Muslim community con...

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...l-Walid, accepting that he is unable to discern which exactly. This is crucial in understanding the process of creating a history for the Umayyad period in today’s context – that there is no certainty to any claim. Shamma states that the history of the Dome is much easier to decipher, attributing its construction to Abd al-Malik exclusively from inscriptions inside the monument with the date 72 Hijrl (692 C.E.). It is clear from Shamma’s dissertation that there is an inextricable link between the Dome and the Umayyads. The implication of this is significant, as already explained, the Umayyads have been viewed as largely unconcerned with religious matters. Shamma also examines the coins of the period, noting that the circle is the most prominent shape in the beliefs of Islam, which can also be seen in the “mandatory circumambulation” of the Kaaba during the hajj.