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Category Archives: Islam History B: the Umayyads
The Abbasid Family
If you recall, Muhammad had a number of uncles. Abu Talib raised him, then when Muhammad was married, he and another uncle, Abbas, each took one of Abu Talib’s younger sons to foster. Abbas’s wife became a believer very early, … Continue reading
Walid II and the Qusayr Amra Murals, 744
Walid II was the Caliph for only a year, but he had been a powerful prince for years before this, so he’s credited with some of the most sumptuous building in Syria. Walid was a party animal, though he also … Continue reading
Posted in Art, Islam History B: the Umayyads
Tagged Jordan, murals, Qusayr Amra, Umayyad
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Zayd’s Uprising, 740
I mentioned in the entry on Caliph al-Walid that he ordered a scholar descended from Ali to be poisoned, as his father had been also. This man, the fourth Shi’ite Imam, was known as al-Sajjad. He had many sons, but … Continue reading
Posted in Islam History B: the Umayyads
Tagged Houthis, Shi'ites, Yemen, Zaidis
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732: the Battle of Tours (or Poitiers)
In 730, the Land of the Franks appeared to be wide open for conquest. Al-Andalus was securely Muslim, apart from the tiny northern mountain kingdoms. In 721, Arab and Berber invaders had entered modern France in the south—then the Duchy … Continue reading
Posted in Islam History B: the Umayyads
Tagged Aquitaine, Charles Martel, Franks, Muslims, shield wall
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Abd al-Malik’s Four Sons and one Nephew, 715-43
Caliph al-Walid I was the son of Abd al-Malik, son of Marwan I, one of the generation that knew Muhammad but worked to found the Umayyad dynasty. He died in 715. In Arab tradition, rule is taken not by a … Continue reading
Posted in Islam History B: the Umayyads
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Crossing into Spain, 711-5
The Iberian Peninsula has a wide coastal plain facing the Atlantic Ocean sloping up to central plateau and some mountains. To the north, it’s very mountainous. Three major river systems come out of the central hills, draining into the Atlantic. … Continue reading
Posted in Islam History B: the Umayyads
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Gypsies from Sind?
Hugh Kennedy in Great Arab Conquests says that there’s one more ethnic footnote to the Muslim conquest of Sind. It may be the origin of some of Europe’s gypsies. The Zutt tribesmen, who joined Muhammad ibn Qasim’s upriver invasion, also … Continue reading
Posted in Islam History B: the Umayyads
Tagged Byzantine Empire, gypsies, Sind
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Buddhists and Hindus, 710-5
In 710, the Umayyad governor of Iraq, al-Hajjaj, heard that some Muslim women had been captured by pirates in Sind (modern Pakistan). He sent word to its Brahman Hindu king demanding their release, but when the king disavowed any control … Continue reading
Across the Oxus River, 705-750
Hugh Kennedy in his book The Great Arab Conquests notes that it’s at this point that we start to have real contemporary history that we can trust. Two Abbasid-era historians collected everything they could find from this wave of invasion, … Continue reading
Caliph al-Walid and al-Hajjaj, 705-715
Abd al-Malik handed off power to his son without difficulty. Walid (or al-Walid) had been leading military campaigns against the eastern Romans for some years while his father’s brother was the designated heir. But Abd al-Aziz died in Egypt around … Continue reading
Posted in Islam History B: the Umayyads
Tagged al-Aqsa Mosque, Basra, coins, Damascus, Dome of the Rock, Hajjaj, Iraq, Kharijites, Walid
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