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Umayyad Dynasty
The Umayyad Dynasty (661-750 CE), the first dynasty to take the title of Caliphate, was established in 661 CE by Muawiya (l. c. 602-680 CE), who had served as the governor of Syria under the Rashidun Caliphate, after the death of the fourth...
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The Legacy of Charles Martel & the Battle of Tours
The Battle of Poitiers aka the Battle of Tours took place over roughly a week in early October of 732. The opposing sides consisted of a Frankish army led by Charles Martel (r. 718-741) against an invading Muslim army under the nominal sovereignty...
Definition
Hisham's Palace
Hisham's Palace at Khirbat Al Mafjar (the ruins of Mafjar) is an Umayyad structure that is listed among the last of the surviving antiquities of Romans and Byzantines. It was built by Walid Ibn Yazid in 734 CE near Jericho in the Jordan Valley...
Definition
Taifa
Taifas ("factions" or "camps") were small independent Muslim kingdoms and principalities that emerged after the fall of hegemonic Muslim caliphates in al-Andalus – the Muslim-controlled part of the Iberian peninsula – during the High Middle...
Definition
Abd al-Rahman I
Abd al-Rahman was the founder of the Emirate of Cordoba and ruled as Abd al-Rahman I from 756-788 CE. As one of the lone survivors of the Umayyad Dynasty after the Abbasids defeated the Umayyad Caliphate, Abd al-Rahman bridged the Umayyad...
Definition
Abbasid Dynasty
The Abbasids were an Arabic dynasty that initially ruled over most of the Islamic empire (save some western parts) after assuming the caliphate in 750 CE, later on, their empire fragmented, however, they retained spiritual supremacy as caliphs...
Definition
Islamic Caliphates
Caliphate (“Khilafat” in Arabic) was a semi-religious political system of governance in Islam, in which the territories of the Islamic empire in the Middle East and North Africa and the people within were ruled by a supreme leader called...
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Islam
Islam is an Abrahamic-monotheistic religion based upon the teachings of Prophet Muhammad ibn Abdullah (l. 570-632 CE, after whose name Muslims traditionally add “peace be upon him” or, in writing, PBUH). Alongside Christianity and Judaism...
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Umayyad Siege of Constantinople 717 CE
The Siege of Constantinople by the Umayyad Caliphate in 717 – 718 CE, as depicted in the 14th-century Bulgarian translation of the Constantine Manasses Chronicle. The image has been digitally retouched.
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Umayyad Palace at Anjar, Lebanon
The colonnades of the 8th century CE Umayyad palace at Anjar (Lebanon). The palace had a central courtyard surrounded by a peristyle and incorporated decorative or architectonic elements of the Roman era.