-
Recent Posts
Recent Comments
- Ruth on Entering a guild
- Jagi Wright on Purses and pockets
- Ruth on Happy Medieval New Year!
- Janet Kasten Friedman on Happy Medieval New Year!
- Daniel Koolbeck on Putting “Christ” back in Christmas, 13th cent.
Archives
- June 2024
- May 2024
- April 2024
- March 2024
- February 2024
- January 2024
- November 2023
- October 2023
- August 2023
- June 2023
- May 2023
- April 2023
- March 2023
- February 2023
- January 2023
- December 2022
- September 2022
- July 2022
- June 2022
- May 2022
- April 2022
- March 2022
- December 2021
- November 2021
- October 2021
- September 2021
- August 2021
- June 2021
- May 2021
- April 2021
- March 2021
- February 2021
- January 2021
- December 2020
- November 2020
- October 2020
- September 2020
- August 2020
- July 2020
- February 2020
- December 2019
- November 2019
- October 2018
- September 2018
- August 2018
- May 2018
- April 2018
- March 2018
- February 2018
- January 2018
- December 2017
- November 2017
- October 2017
- September 2017
- August 2017
- July 2017
- June 2017
- May 2017
- April 2017
- March 2017
- December 2016
- August 2016
- July 2016
- June 2016
- May 2016
- April 2016
- September 2015
- July 2015
- June 2015
- December 2014
- November 2014
- July 2014
- June 2014
- May 2014
- April 2014
- March 2014
- February 2014
- January 2014
- December 2013
- November 2013
- October 2013
- September 2013
- July 2013
- June 2013
- May 2013
- April 2013
- March 2013
- February 2013
- January 2013
Categories
- Animals
- Art
- Black Death
- Castles
- Clothing
- Coins and Jewels
- Containers
- Crafts
- Crusades
- Food
- Holidays
- Islam History A: the Prophet
- Islam History B: the Umayyads
- Islam History C: the Abbasids
- Islam History D: Crusades
- Islam History E: the Mongols
- Islam History F: the Ottomans
- Literature
- Med. and Magic
- Medieval cycle of life
- Mongols
- Muslim Empire (old series)
- Theater
- Uncategorized
- Women
Meta
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
Comments Off on Walid II and the Qusayr Amra Murals, 744
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
Comments Off on Zayd’s Uprising, 740
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
Comments Off on 732: the Battle of Tours (or Poitiers)
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
Comments Off on Abd al-Malik’s Four Sons and one Nephew, 715-43
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
Comments Off on Crossing into Spain, 711-5
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
Comments Off on Gypsies from Sind?
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
Comments Off on Caliph al-Walid and al-Hajjaj, 705-715