Umayyad Caliphate

Umayyad Caliphate ٱلْخِلَافَة ٱلْأُمَوِيَّة  (Arabic) Al-Khilāfa al-Umawiyya
661–750
The Umayyad Caliphate at its greatest extent, under Caliph Umar II, c. 720
Status	Empire
Capital	Damascus (661–744) Harran (744–750)
Official languages	Arabic
Common languages	Middle Persian Coptic Medieval Greek Latin (official in certain regions until 700) various regional languages
Religion	Islam
Government	Hereditary caliphate
Caliph
• 661–680	Mu'awiya I (first)
• 744–750	Marwan II (last)
History
• Hasan–Muawiya treaty	661
• Abbasid Revolution	750
Area
720[1]	11,100,000 km2 (4,300,000 sq mi)
Currency	Dinar (gold coin) Dirham (silver coin) Fals (copper coin)
Preceded by Succeeded by Rashidun Caliphate Byzantine Empire under the Heraclian dynasty Visigothic Kingdom Exarchate of Africa Kingdom of the Aurès Kingdom of Altava Brahman dynasty of Sindh Hephthalite Empire Abbasid Caliphate Emirate of Córdoba Barghawata Emirate of Nekor Emirate of Tlemcen Bavand dynasty

The Umayyad Caliphate (Arabic: الخلافة الأموية) also known as the Umayyad Empire, was the second of the four major Islamic caliphates established after the death of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. It was founded by Mu'awiya I, a companion of Muhammad. It was ruled by the Umayyad dynasty (Arabic: بنو أمية, Banu Umayyah), an Arab dynasty who came from Mecca, in present-day Saudi Arabia. Damascus was their capital from 661–744, Harran from 744–750, and after the Abbasid revolution, Córdoba (756–1031) in Al-Andalus, where they established the Emirate of Córdoba (756-929) and then the Caliphate of Córdoba (929-1031), also known as the Second Umayyad Caliphate.^[2][3]

By the mid 8th century AD, the territories of the Umayyad Caliphate spanned across three continents (Asia, Africa, and Europe). The Umayyad Caliphate was the largest empire in the world at the time. It is the fifth largest empire in history.^[4] Some place the beginning of the Islamic Golden Age as early as the Umayyad Caliphate.^[5][6]

1. ↑ Cite error: The named reference Taagepera496 was used but no text was provided for refs named (see the help page).
2. ↑ AL-Ajmi, Abdulhadi, The Umayyads, in Muhammad in history, thought, and culture: an encyclopedia of the Prophet of God. 2 vols, edited by C. Fitzpatrick and A. Walker. Santa Barbara, ABC-CLIO, 2014. ISBN 1610691776
3. ↑ Bulliet, Richard W (2002). "The Second Umayyad Caliphate: The Articulation of Caliphal Legitimacy in al-Andalus (review)". Journal of Interdisciplinary History. 33 (2): 341–343. doi:10.1162/00221950260209156. S2CID 146340535. Project MUSE 16400.
4. ↑ It is the third largest contiguous empire and the third largest empire by percentage of world population (33.5%)
5. ↑ Rodríguez, Manuel Lozano (19 June 2023). Bioethics of Displacement and Its Implications. IGI Global. ISBN 9781668448090.
6. ↑ Haberl, Ferdinand J. (22 March 2023). Jihadi Intelligence and Counterintelligence: Ideological Foundations and Operational Methods. Springer. ISBN 9783031247446.