1.
Caliphate
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A caliphate is an area containing an Islamic steward known as a caliph —a person considered a religious successor to the Islamic prophet, Muhammad, and a leader of the entire Muslim community. During the history of Islam after the Rashidun period, many Muslim states, the Sunni branch of Islam stipulates that, as a head of state, a caliph should be elected by Muslims or their representatives. Followers of Shia Islam, however, believe a caliph should be an Imam chosen by God from the Ahl al-Bayt, before the advent of Islam, Arabian monarchs traditionally used the title malik, or another from the same root. The term caliph, derives from the Arabic word khalīfah, which means successor, steward, however, studies of pre-Islamic texts suggest that the original meaning of the phrase was successor selected by God. There was no specified procedure for this shura or consultation, candidates were usually, but not necessarily, from the same lineage as the deceased leader. Capable men who would lead well were preferred over an ineffectual heir, Sunni Muslims believe that Abu Bakr was chosen by the community and that this was the proper procedure. Sunnis further argue that a caliph should ideally be chosen by election or community consensus, the Shia believe that Ali, the son-in-law and cousin of Muhammad, was chosen by Muhammad as his spiritual and temporal successor as the Mawla of all Muslims in the event of Ghadir Khumm. The caliph was often known as Amir al-Muminin, Muhammad established his capital in Medina, after he died, it remained the capital during the Rashidun Caliphate, before Kufa was reportedly made the capital by Caliph Ali. At times there have been rival claimant caliphs in different parts of the Islamic world, according to Sunni Muslims, the first caliph to be called Amir al-Muminin was Abu Bakr, followed by Umar, the second of the Rashidun. Uthman and Ali also were called by the title, while the Shia consider Ali to have been the only truly legitimate caliph. After the collapse of the Ottoman Empire, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk officially abolished the system of Caliphate in Islam as part of his secular reforms, the Kings of Morocco still label themselves with the title Amir al-Muminin for the Moroccans, but lay no claim to the Caliphate. Some Muslim countries, including Somalia, Indonesia and Malaysia, were never subject to the authority of a Caliphate, with the exception of Aceh, consequently, these countries had their own, local, sultans or rulers who did not fully accept the authority of the Caliph. Abu Bakr, the first successor of Muhammad, nominated Umar as his successor on his deathbed, Umar, the second caliph, was killed by a Persian named Piruz Nahavandi. His successor, Uthman, was elected by a council of electors, Uthman was killed by members of a disaffected group. Ali then took control but was not universally accepted as caliph by the governors of Egypt and he faced two major rebellions and was assassinated by Abd-al-Rahman ibn Muljam, a Khawarij. Alis tumultuous rule lasted only five years and this period is known as the Fitna, or the first Islamic civil war. The followers of Ali later became the Shia minority sect of Islam, the followers of all four Rashidun Caliphs became the majority Sunni sect. Under the Rashidun each region of the Caliphate had its own governor, Muawiyah, a relative of Uthman and governor of Syria, succeeded Ali as Caliph
2.
Umayyad Caliphate
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The Umayyad Caliphate, also spelled Omayyad, was the second of the four major caliphates established after the death of Muhammad. This caliphate was centred on the Umayyad dynasty, hailing from Mecca, Syria remained the Umayyads main power base thereafter, and Damascus was their capital. The Umayyads continued the Muslim conquests, incorporating the Caucasus, Transoxiana, Sindh, the Maghreb and the Iberian Peninsula into the Muslim world. At its greatest extent, the Umayyad Caliphate covered 11,100,000 km2 and 62 million people, the Umayyad Caliphate was secular by nature. At the time, the Umayyad taxation and administrative practice were perceived as unjust by some Muslims, Muhammad had stated explicitly during his lifetime that Abrahamic religious groups, should be allowed to practice their own religion, provided that they paid the jizya taxation. The welfare state of both the Muslim and the poor started by Umar ibn al Khattab had also continued, financed by the zakat tax levied only on Muslims. Muawiyas wife Maysum was also a Christian, the relations between the Muslims and the Christians in the state were stable in this time. Prominent positions were held by Christians, some of whom belonged to families that had served in Byzantine governments, the employment of Christians was part of a broader policy of religious assimilation that was necessitated by the presence of large Christian populations in the conquered provinces, as in Syria. This policy also boosted Muawiyas popularity and solidified Syria as his power base, the rivalries between the Arab tribes had caused unrest in the provinces outside Syria, most notably in the Second Muslim Civil War of AD 680–692 and the Berber Revolt of 740–743. During the Second Civil War, leadership of the Umayyad clan shifted from the Sufyanid branch of the family to the Marwanid branch. A branch of the family fled across North Africa to Al-Andalus, where they established the Caliphate of Córdoba, according to tradition, the Umayyad family and Muhammad both descended from a common ancestor, Abd Manaf ibn Qusai, and they originally came from the city of Mecca. Muhammad descended from Abd Manāf via his son Hashim, while the Umayyads descended from Abd Manaf via a different son, Abd-Shams, the two families are therefore considered to be different clans of the same tribe. However Muslim Shia historians suspect that Umayya was a son of Abd Shams so he was not a blood relative of Abd Manaf ibn Qusai. Umayya was later discarded from the noble family, Sunni historians disagree with this and view Shia claims as nothing more than outright polemics due to their hostility to the Umayyad family in general. While the Umayyads and the Hashimites may have had bitterness between the two clans before Muhammad, the rivalry turned into a case of tribal animosity after the Battle of Badr. The battle saw three top leaders of the Umayyad clan killed by Hashimites in a three-on-three melee and this fueled the opposition of Abu Sufyan ibn Harb, the grandson of Umayya, to Muhammad and to Islam. Abu Sufyan sought to exterminate the adherents of the new religion by waging another battle with Muslims based in Medina only a year after the Battle of Badr and he did this to avenge the defeat at Badr. The Battle of Uhud is generally believed by scholars to be the first defeat for the Muslims, as they had incurred greater losses than the Meccans
3.
Umar II
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Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz was an Umayyad caliph who ruled from 717 to 720. He was also a cousin of the caliph, being the son of Abd al-Maliks younger brother. He was also a matrilineal great-grandson of the second caliph Umar ibn Al-Khattab Umar was born around 2 November 682 in Madina and his father ruled over Egypt as viceroy to the Caliph. He grew up and lived there until the death of his father, after which he was summoned to Damascus by Abd al-Malik and his father-in-law would die soon after, and he would serve as governor of Medina under his cousin Al-Walid I. Umar I had ordered that nobody should adulterate milk by mixing water into it, once, while wandering about at night to inquire into the condition of people, he heard a woman asker her daughter to mix water into the milk before the day-break. The girl refused by reminding her mother of the order given by the Caliph, when the mother retorted by saying that the Caliph was not present and he would not know of it, the daughter replied that God is Omniscient even if Caliph was not present. Umar I was so pleased with the reply that he asked his son Asim to marry the girl, Umar II was the son of Asims daughter from this marriage. Unlike most rulers of that era, Umar formed a council with which he administered the province and his time in Medina was so notable that official grievances sent to Damascus all but ceased. In addition, many emigrated to Medina from Iraq seeking refuge from their harsh governor. That angered Al-Hajjaj, and he pressed al-Walid to remove Umar, much to the dismay of the people of Medina, al-Walid bowed to Hajjajs pressure and dismissed Umar from his post. By this time, Umar had developed a reputation across the Islamic empire. Umar continued to live in Medina through the remainder of al-Walids reign, as Suleiman fell seriously ill and was unlikely to recover, he was anxious to leave the throne to one of his sons who were still minors, but was unable to do so because of their youth. His advisor Raja ibn Haywah then promptly proposed Umar as the successor to the throne, Suleiman accepted this suggestion and Umar reluctantly accepted the position after trying unsuccessfully to dissuade Suleiman. Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz was a scholar himself and surrounded himself with scholars like Muhammed bin Kaab. He offered stipends to teachers and encouraged education, through his personal example, he inculcated piety, steadfastness, business ethics and moral rectitude in the general population. His reforms included strict abolition of drinking, forbidding public nudity, elimination of mixed bathrooms for men and women and he undertook extensive public works in Persia, Khorasan and North Africa, including the construction of canals, roads, rest houses for travelers and medical dispensaries. He continued the programs of the last few Umayyad caliphs, expanding them and including special programs for orphans. He would also abolish the tax for converts to Islam, who were former dhimmis
4.
Hisham ibn Abd al-Malik
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Hisham ibn Abd al-Malik 10th Umayyad caliph who ruled from 724 until his death in 743. When he was born in 691 his mother named him after her father, inheriting the caliphate from his brother Yazid II, Hisham was ruling an empire with many different problems. He would, however, be effective in attending to these problems and his long rule was an effective one, and it saw a rebirth of reforms that were originated by Umar bin Abd al-Aziz. Like his brother al-Walid I, Hisham was a patron of the arts. He also encouraged the growth of education by building more schools and he returned to a stricter interpretation of the Sharia as Umar had, and enforced it, even upon his own family. His ability to stand up to the Umayyad clan may have been an important factor in his success, on the military front his empire suffered a series of setbacks, especially in the Caucasus against the Khazars and in Transoxiana against the Turgesh. Hisham sent armies to end the Hindu rebellion in Sindh, and was successful when the Hindu ruler Jai Singh was killed and this allowed the Umayyads to reassert their rule over some portions of their provinces in India. Under Hishams rule, regular raids against the Byzantine Empire continued, one regular commander of Arab forces was the redoubtable Maslama, Hishams half-brother. He fought the Byzantines in A. H.107 and the year captured Caesarea Mazaca. He also fought the Khazars in the Caucasus, in A. H.110 he fought for a month against the Khaqan there and defeated him. Hishams son Muawiyah ibn Hisham was another Arab commander in the almost annual raids against the Byzantine Empire, in A. H.110 he took the fort of Samalu in Cilicia. The next year Muawiyah thrust left and Said ibn Hisham right, in addition there was also a sea raid. In A. H.112 Muawiyah captured Kharsianon in Cappadocia, Muawiyah raided the Byzantine Empire in A. H.113. The next year he captured Aqrun, while Abdallah al-Battal took a Byzantine commander prisoner, Muawiyah raided Byzantium in A. H.115,116,117 and 118. In A. H.119 al Walid ibn al Qaqa al-Absi led the raid against the Byzantines, the next year Sulayman ibn Hisham captured Sindirah. In A. H.121 Maslama captured some of Cappadocia, theophanes the Confessor states that while some Arabs raided successfully in 739 and returned home safely, others were soundly defeated at the Battle of Akroinon. He records that internal Byzantine strife facilitated Arab raids by Sulayman ibn Hisham in 741-742 that resulted in many Byzantines made Arab captives, al-Tabari refers to the same raid. In North Africa, Kharijite teachings combined with local restlessness to produce a significant Berber revolt
5.
Dynasty
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A dynasty is a sequence of rulers from the same family, usually in the context of a feudal or monarchical system but sometimes also appearing in elective republics. The dynastic family or lineage may be known as a house, historians periodize the histories of many sovereign states, such as Ancient Egypt, the Carolingian Empire and Imperial China, using a framework of successive dynasties. As such, the dynasty may be used to delimit the era during which the family reigned and to describe events, trends. The word dynasty itself is often dropped from such adjectival references, until the 19th century, it was taken for granted that a legitimate function of a monarch was to aggrandize his dynasty, that is, to increase the territory, wealth, and power of his family members. The longest-surviving dynasty in the world is the Imperial House of Japan, dynasties throughout the world have traditionally been reckoned patrilineally, such as under the Frankish Salic law. Succession through a daughter when permitted was considered to establish a new dynasty in her husbands ruling house, however, some states in Africa, determined descent matrilineally, while rulers have at other times adopted the name of their mothers dynasty when coming into her inheritance. It is also extended to unrelated people such as poets of the same school or various rosters of a single sports team. The word dynasty derives via Latin dynastia from Greek dynastéia, where it referred to power, dominion and it was the abstract noun of dynástēs, the agent noun of dynamis, power or ability, from dýnamai, to be able. A ruler in a dynasty is referred to as a dynast. For example, following his abdication, Edward VIII of the United Kingdom ceased to be a member of the House of Windsor. A dynastic marriage is one that complies with monarchical house law restrictions, the marriage of Willem-Alexander, Prince of Orange, to Máxima Zorreguieta in 2002 was dynastic, for example, and their eldest child is expected to inherit the Dutch crown eventually. But the marriage of his younger brother Prince Friso to Mabel Wisse Smit in 2003 lacked government support, thus Friso forfeited his place in the order of succession, lost his title as a Prince of the Netherlands, and left his children without dynastic rights. In historical and monarchist references to formerly reigning families, a dynast is a member who would have had succession rights, were the monarchys rules still in force. Even since abolition of the Austrian monarchy, Max and his descendants have not been considered the rightful pretenders by Austrian monarchists, nor have they claimed that position. The term dynast is sometimes used only to refer to descendants of a realms monarchs. The term can therefore describe overlapping but distinct sets of people, yet he is not a male-line member of the royal family, and is therefore not a dynast of the House of Windsor. Thus, in 1999 he requested and obtained permission from Elizabeth II to marry the Roman Catholic Princess Caroline of Monaco. Yet a clause of the English Act of Settlement 1701 remained in effect at that time and that exclusion, too, ceased to apply on 26 March 2015, with retroactive effect for those who had been dynasts prior to triggering it by marriage to a Catholic
6.
Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan
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Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan was the 5th Umayyad caliph. He was born in Medina, Hejaz, Abd al-Malik was a well-educated man, the 14th-century Muslim historian Ibn Khaldun stated that Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan is one of the greatest Arab and Muslim Caliphs. He followed in the footsteps of Umar ibn al-Khattab, the Commander of the Believers, the Byzantines were led by Leontios at the Battle of Sebastopolis in 692 in Asia Minor and were decisively defeated by al-Malik after the defection of a large contingent of Slavs. The Islamic currency was made the only currency of exchange in the Muslim world. Also, many reforms happened in his time relating to agriculture, al-Malik extended and consolidated Muslim rule, made Arabic the state language and organised a regular postal service. Abd al-Malik spent most of his life in Medina with his father. There, he developed relationships with the religious circles of the city. He studied Islamic jurisprudence under Umm Darda as Sughra in Damascus, at 16, he was given limited responsibilities by Muawiya II. In 683, he and his father were out of Medina by local rebels. On the way to Damascus, he crossed paths with the Syrian army and he was responsible for the giving of useful advice and information that helped to end that problem. His father was appointed to be caliph in 684 but only created a feud between the northern and southern Arab tribes. Before his ascent to power, he was found in the Mosque praying or reading the Quran to the extent that he was known as the Dove of the Mosque. However, shortly after receiving the news that he was to succeed the caliphate, he closed the Quran and said Farewell, since it is now a question of government of the Muslims, I have no need for the din of Allah or the Quran. Abd al-Malik became caliph after the death of his father Marwan I in 685, within a few years, he dispatched armies on a campaign to reassert Umayyad control over the Islamic empire. He first defeated the governor of Basra, Musab ibn al-Zubayr, in Iraq, he was facing three distinct groups that were fighting amongst themselves and against Umayyad control. Al-Zubayr was the more dangerous of the three, as he had been named caliph in Mecca and other provinces were getting behind him, Abd al-Malik bided his time for three years while they weakened themselves. During this hiatus, al-Zubayrs brother, Musab, defeated the Shia in 687 and he was initially unsuccessful in 689, as he needed to return to Damascus to help quell a rebellion. Again, in 690, he met with failure, only after the northern tribes had finally capitulated in 691 did success start
7.
Arabic
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Arabic is a Central Semitic language that was first spoken in Iron Age northwestern Arabia and is now the lingua franca of the Arab world. Arabic is also the language of 1.7 billion Muslims. It is one of six languages of the United Nations. The modern written language is derived from the language of the Quran and it is widely taught in schools and universities, and is used to varying degrees in workplaces, government, and the media. The two formal varieties are grouped together as Literary Arabic, which is the language of 26 states. Modern Standard Arabic largely follows the standards of Quranic Arabic. Much of the new vocabulary is used to denote concepts that have arisen in the post-Quranic era, Arabic has influenced many languages around the globe throughout its history. During the Middle Ages, Literary Arabic was a vehicle of culture in Europe, especially in science, mathematics. As a result, many European languages have borrowed many words from it. Many words of Arabic origin are found in ancient languages like Latin. Balkan languages, including Greek, have acquired a significant number of Arabic words through contact with Ottoman Turkish. Arabic has also borrowed words from languages including Greek and Persian in medieval times. Arabic is a Central Semitic language, closely related to the Northwest Semitic languages, the Ancient South Arabian languages, the Semitic languages changed a great deal between Proto-Semitic and the establishment of the Central Semitic languages, particularly in grammar. Innovations of the Central Semitic languages—all maintained in Arabic—include, The conversion of the suffix-conjugated stative formation into a past tense, the conversion of the prefix-conjugated preterite-tense formation into a present tense. The elimination of other prefix-conjugated mood/aspect forms in favor of new moods formed by endings attached to the prefix-conjugation forms, the development of an internal passive. These features are evidence of descent from a hypothetical ancestor. In the southwest, various Central Semitic languages both belonging to and outside of the Ancient South Arabian family were spoken and it is also believed that the ancestors of the Modern South Arabian languages were also spoken in southern Arabia at this time. To the north, in the oases of northern Hijaz, Dadanitic and Taymanitic held some prestige as inscriptional languages, in Najd and parts of western Arabia, a language known to scholars as Thamudic C is attested
8.
Al-Hajjaj ibn Yusuf
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Al-Hajjaj was born in ca.661 in the city of Taif in the Hijaz, in modern-day Saudi Arabia. His ancestry was not particularly distinguished, he came of a poor family and his mother, al-Faria, had married, and been divorced by, al-Mughira ibn Shuba, appointed governor of Kufa by the first Umayyad caliph, Muawiya. As a boy, al-Hajjaj acquired the nickname Kulayb, with which he was derisively referred to. His early life is obscure, except for his having been a schoolmaster in his home town—another source of derision to his enemies and he participated in the Second Fitna, fighting in the battles of Harra near Medina and of al-Rabadha, but apparently without particular distinction. His first public post, as governor of Tabala in the Tihama region, was also unremarkable, soon after Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan assumed the throne, al-Hajjaj left his home town and went to the capital, Damascus, where he entered the security force of the Caliph. As a result, the Caliph entrusted him with command of the armys rear-guard, in late 691 he set out from Kufa at the head of 2,000 Syrian troops. Ibn al-Zubayr however rejected the Umayyad offers, and al-Hajjaj, after receiving reinforcements, the Umayyad troops bombarded the city with catapults from Mount Abu Qubays, not letting up even during the hajj, even the Kaaba was not spared, despite the presence of the assembled pilgrims. When a sudden thunderstorm broke out, which his soldiers interpreted as wrath, he was able to rally them. As a reward, Abd al-Malik gave al-Hajjaj the governorship of the Hijaz, Yemen, Al-Hajjaj was able to restore peace in the Hijaz, but his severity occasioned the frequent personal intervention of the Caliph. In early 694, Caliph Abd al-Malik sent al-Hajjaj to govern Iraq and this involved combining the governorships of Kufa and Basra, which had not been done since the days of Ziyad ibn Abi Sufyan twenty years earlier. e. Persia, Khurasan and the eastern provinces of the Caliphate. In addition, the post was of particular political sensitivity due to the history of Kharijism and political dissent in Iraq. This discontent was driven by various tribal, economic, and political factors, the population of Kufa contained people from almost all Arab tribes, but also many of those undesired elsewhere, such as the vanquished of the Ridda wars. Al-Hajjajs purview originally excluded Khurasan and Sistan, but in 697/8 he received these two provinces as well, expanding his rule over the eastern half of the Caliphate. Al-Hajjaj was, in the words of A. Dietrich, the most loyal servant that a dynasty could wish for and this close relationship is further evidenced by the many surviving letters exchanged between the two men. Al-Hajjajs relationship with Abd al-Malik was much different than with the successor, al-Walid. If his meddling in the succession had secured him the favour of al-Walid, Sulayman furthermore had championed the cause of Yazid ibn al-Muhallab, whom al-Hajjaj had imprisoned. The possibility of Sulaymans accession so frightened al-Hajjaj that he wished not to outlive al-Walid, arriving at Kufa, al-Hajjaj gave an inaugural sermon at the local mosque that has become famous and is often cited as an example of Arab eloquence
9.
Al-Tabari
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Today, he is best known for his expertise in tafsir, fiqh, and history, but he has been described as an impressively prolific polymath. He wrote on subjects as poetry, lexicography, grammar, ethics, mathematics. His most influential and best known works are his Quranic commentary known as Tafsir al-Tabari and his historical chronicle Tarikh al-Rusul wa al-Muluk, although it eventually became extinct, al-Tabaris madhhab flourished among Sunni ulama for two centuries after his death. It was usually designated by the name Jariri, Tabari was born in Amol, Tabaristan in the winter of 838–9. He memorized the Quran at seven, was a prayer leader at eight. He left home to study in 236AH when he was twelve and he retained close ties to his home town. He returned at least twice, the time in 290AH when his outspokenness caused some uneasiness. He first went to Rayy, where he remained for five years. A major teacher in Rayy was Abu Abdillah Muhammad ibn Humayd al-Razi, while in Ray, he also studied Muslim jurisprudence according to the Hanafi school. Among other material, ibn Humayd taught Jarir Tabari the historical works of ibn Ishaq, especially al-Sirah, Tabari was thus introduced in youth to pre-Islamic and early Islamic history. Tabari quotes ibn Humayd frequently, but little is known about Tabaris other teachers in Rayy, Tabari then travelled to study in Baghdad under ibn Hanbal, who, however, had recently died. Tabari possibly made a prior to his first arrival in Baghdad. He left Baghdad probably in 242 A. H. to travel through the cities of Basra, Kufah. There, he met a number of eminent and venerable scholars, in addition to his previous study of Hanafi law, Tabari also studied the Shafii, Maliki and Zahiri rites. Tabaris study of the school was with the founder, Dawud al-Zahiri. Tabari was, then, well-versed in four of the five remaining Sunni legal schools before founding his own independent, yet eventually extinct and his debates with his former teachers and classmates were known, and served as a demonstration of said independence. Notably missing from this list is the Hanbali school, the fourth largest legal school within Sunni Islam in the present era, Tabaris view of Ibn Hanbal, the schools founder, became decidedly negative later in life. On his return to Baghdad, he took a position from the vizier
10.
Maslama ibn Abd al-Malik
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Maslama was the son of the Umayyad caliph Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan and half-brother of the caliphs al-Walid I, Sulayman, Yazid II and Hisham. Maslama himself was excluded from the line of succession as his mother was a slave and he is first mentioned as leading, along with his nephew al-Abbas ibn al-Walid, the annual summer campaign against the Byzantine Empire in 705. The siege lasted through winter and the Arab army faced great hardship, but after the Arabs defeated a Byzantine relief force in spring 708, the city surrendered. A few months later, in the summer, Maslama led another expedition into Asia Minor and defeated a Byzantine army near Amorium, in the same year, Maslama was appointed military governor of Armenia and Azerbaijan, succeeding his uncle Muhammad ibn Marwan. This he added to the post of governor of Jund Qinnasrin in northern Syria, together, command of these provinces effectively gave him complete control of the Caliphates entire northwestern border. From this position he launched campaigns against the Byzantines, devastating Galatia and sacking Amaseia in 712. He was also the first to establish the Caliphates presence north of the Caucasus, in 710 and again in 714, he marched his army up to Bab al-Abwab, which he took and destroyed during the latter expedition. Maslama led an army, which sources report to have numbered 120,000 men and 1,800 ships. In late 715, the Arab vanguard crossed the Taurus Mountains into Byzantine territory, Maslama following in spring 716 with the main army, as a result, Maslama marched further west, to the coastlands of the Thracesian Theme. There he spent the winter, while Leo marched onto Constantinople, in early summer 717, Maslama with his army crossed from Asia into Europe over the Dardanelles, and proceeded to besiege Constantinople from land and sea. The Byzantines also defeated an Arab army marching to aid the besiegers through Asia Minor, while Maslamas men had to contend with attacks by the Bulgars as well, the siege had clearly failed, and the new Caliph, Umar II, ordered Maslama to retreat. On 15 August 718, after thirteen months of siege, the Arabs departed, the tales of the siege influenced similar episodes in Arabic epic literature, where Maslama appears associated with another legendary Arab hero of the wars against Byzantium, Abdallah al-Battal. In reality, the mosque near the praetorium was most likely erected in about 860, after his failure at Constantinople, Maslama was dispatched to Iraq to quell the Kharijites. Following Umars death and the accession of his brother Yazid II in 720, he was tasked with the suppression of the revolt of Yazid ibn al-Muhallab, whom he defeated and killed in August 720. Yazid soon recalled Maslama from his post, ostensibly because he had failed to deliver his provinces tax haul to Damascus, initially, however, Maslama was mostly active in the Byzantine front, and the war against the Khazars was delegated to al-Harith ibn Amr al-Tai. In winter 725, Maslama led an expedition against Asia Minor from Melitene, along with the capture of Gangra by Abdallah al-Battal in 727, this was one of the major successes of Arab arms against the Byzantines in the 720s. A few months later, he led the otherwise unremarkable northern summer expedition into Byzantine territory. In 727–728, his attention was diverted by Khazar attacks which reached deep into Azerbaijan, although Maslama was able to drive them back and recover control of the Darial Pass, his 728 campaign across the Caucasus was difficult, bloody and indecisive
11.
Al Andalus
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Al-Andalus, also known as Muslim Spain or Islamic Iberia, was a medieval Muslim territory and cultural domain occupying at its peak most of what are today Spain and Portugal. At its greatest geographical extent in the century, southern France—Septimania—was briefly under its control. Rule under these kingdoms led to a rise in cultural exchange, a number of achievements that advanced Islamic and Western science came from al-Andalus including major advances in trigonometry, astronomy, surgery, pharmacology, and other fields. Al-Andalus became an educational center for Europe and the lands around the Mediterranean Sea as well as a conduit for culture. For much of its history, al-Andalus existed in conflict with Christian kingdoms to the north, after the fall of the Umayyad caliphate, al-Andalus was fragmented into a number of minor states and principalities. Attacks from the Christians intensified, led by the Castilians under Alfonso VI, the Almoravid empire intervened and repelled the Christian attacks on the region, deposing the weak Andalusi Muslim princes and included al-Andalus under direct Berber rule. In the next century and a half, al-Andalus became a province of the Berber Muslim empires of the Almoravids and Almohads, ultimately, the Christian kingdoms in the north of the Iberian Peninsula overpowered the Muslim states to the south. In 1085, Alfonso VI captured Toledo, starting a gradual decline of Muslim power, with the fall of Córdoba in 1236, most of the south quickly fell under Christian rule and the Emirate of Granada became a tributary state of the Kingdom of Castile two years later. In 1249, the Portuguese Reconquista culminated with the conquest of the Algarve by Afonso III, finally, on January 2,1492, Emir Muhammad XII surrendered the Emirate of Granada to Queen Isabella I of Castile, completing the Christian Reconquista of the peninsula. The toponym al-Andalus is first attested to by inscriptions on coins minted by the new Muslim government in Iberia, the etymology of the name has traditionally been derived from the name of the Vandals. A number of proposals since the 1980s have contested this, Vallvé proposed a corruption of the name Atlantis, halm derives the name from a Gothic term *landahlauts. Bossong suggests derivation from a pre-Roman substrate and they crossed the Pyrenees and occupied Visigothic Septimania in southern France. Most of the Iberian peninsula became part of the expanding Umayyad Empire and it was organized as a province subordinate to Ifriqiya, so, for the first few decades, the governors of al-Andalus were appointed by the emir of Kairouan, rather than the Caliph in Damascus. Visigothic lords who agreed to recognize Muslim suzerainty were allowed to retain their fiefs, resistant Visigoths took refuge in the Cantabrian highlands, where they carved out a rump state, the Kingdom of Asturias. In the 720s, the al-Andalus governors launched several raids into Aquitaine. At the Battle of Poitiers in 732, the al-Andalus raiding army was defeated by Charles Martel, in 734, the Andalusi launched raids to the east, capturing Avignon and Arles and overran much of Provence. In 737, they climbed up the Rhône valley, reached as far as Burgundy, Charles Martel of the Franks, with the assistance of Liutprand of the Lombards, invaded Burgundy and Provence and expelled the raiders by 739. Relations between Arabs and Berbers in al-Andalus had been tense in the years after the conquest
12.
Iberian Peninsula
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The Iberian Peninsula /aɪˈbɪəriən pəˈnɪnsjᵿlə/, also known as Iberia /aɪˈbɪəriə/, is located in the southwest corner of Europe. The peninsula is divided between Portugal and Spain, comprising most of their territory. With an area of approximately 582,000 km2, it is the second largest European peninsula, at that time, the name did not describe a single political entity or a distinct population of people. Strabos Iberia was delineated from Keltikē by the Pyrenees and included the land mass southwest of there. The ancient Greeks reached the Iberian Peninsula, of which they had heard from the Phoenicians, hecataeus of Miletus was the first known to use the term Iberia, which he wrote about circa 500 BC. Herodotus of Halicarnassus says of the Phocaeans that it was they who made the Greeks acquainted with. According to Strabo, prior historians used Iberia to mean the country side of the Ἶβηρος as far north as the river Rhône in France. Polybius respects that limit, but identifies Iberia as the Mediterranean side as far south as Gibraltar, elsewhere he says that Saguntum is on the seaward foot of the range of hills connecting Iberia and Celtiberia. Strabo refers to the Carretanians as people of the Iberian stock living in the Pyrenees, according to Charles Ebel, the ancient sources in both Latin and Greek use Hispania and Hiberia as synonyms. The confusion of the words was because of an overlapping in political, the Latin word Hiberia, similar to the Greek Iberia, literally translates to land of the Hiberians. This word was derived from the river Ebro, which the Romans called Hiberus, hiber was thus used as a term for peoples living near the river Ebro. The first mention in Roman literature was by the annalist poet Ennius in 200 BC. Virgil refers to the Ipacatos Hiberos in his Georgics, the Roman geographers and other prose writers from the time of the late Roman Republic called the entire peninsula Hispania. As they became interested in the former Carthaginian territories, the Romans began to use the names Hispania Citerior. At the time Hispania was made up of three Roman provinces, Hispania Baetica, Hispania Tarraconensis, and Lusitania, Strabo says that the Romans use Hispania and Iberia synonymously, distinguishing between the near northern and the far southern provinces. Whatever language may generally have been spoken on the peninsula soon gave way to Latin, except for that of the Vascones, the Iberian Peninsula has always been associated with the Ebro, Ibēros in ancient Greek and Ibērus or Hibērus in Latin. The association was so known it was hardly necessary to state, for example. Pliny goes so far as to assert that the Greeks had called the whole of Spain Hiberia because of the Hiberus River, the river appears in the Ebro Treaty of 226 BC between Rome and Carthage, setting the limit of Carthaginian interest at the Ebro. The fullest description of the treaty, stated in Appian, uses Ibērus, with reference to this border, Polybius states that the native name is Ibēr, apparently the original word, stripped of its Greek or Latin -os or -us termination
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North Africa
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North Africa or Northern Africa is the northernmost region of Africa. The United Nationss definition of Northern Africa is, Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, Sudan, Tunisia, the countries of Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia, and Libya are often collectively referred to as the Maghreb, which is the Arabic word for sunset. Egypt lies to the northeast and encompasses part of West Asia, while Sudan is situated on the edge of the Sahel, Egypt is a transcontinental country because of the Sinai Peninsula, which geographically lies in Western Asia. North Africa also includes a number of Spanish possessions, the Canary Islands and Madeira in the North Atlantic Ocean northwest of the African mainland are included in considerations of the region. From 3500 BC, following the abrupt desertification of the Sahara due to changes in the Earths orbit. The Islamic influence in the area is significant, and North Africa is a major part of the Muslim world. Some researchers have postulated that North Africa rather than East Africa served as the point for the modern humans who first trekked out of the continent in the Out of Africa migration. The Atlas Mountains extend across much of Morocco, northern Algeria and Tunisia, are part of the mountain system that also runs through much of Southern Europe. They recede to the south and east, becoming a steppe landscape before meeting the Sahara desert, the sediments of the Sahara overlie an ancient plateau of crystalline rock, some of which is more than four billion years old. Sheltered valleys in the Atlas Mountains, the Nile Valley and Delta, a wide variety of valuable crops including cereals, rice and cotton, and woods such as cedar and cork, are grown. Typical Mediterranean crops, such as olives, figs, dates and citrus fruits, the Nile Valley is particularly fertile, and most of the population in Egypt and Sudan live close to the river. Elsewhere, irrigation is essential to improve yields on the desert margins. The inhabitants of Saharan Africa are generally divided in a manner corresponding to the principal geographic regions of North Africa, the Maghreb, the Nile valley. The edge of the Sahel, to the south of Egypt has mainly been inhabited by Nubians, Ancient Egyptians record extensive contact in their Western desert with people that appear to have been Berber or proto-Berber, as well as Nubians from the south. They have contributed to the Arabized Berber populations, the official language or one of the official languages in all of the countries in North Africa is Arabic. The people of the Maghreb and the Sahara regions speak Berber languages and several varieties of Arabic, the Arabic and Berber languages are distantly related, both being members of the Afroasiatic language family. The Tuareg Berber languages are more conservative than those of the coastal cities. Over the years, Berbers have been influenced by contact with cultures, Greeks, Phoenicians, Egyptians, Romans, Vandals, Arabs, Europeans
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Ifriqiyah
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The southern boundary of Ifriqiya was far more unchallenged as bounded by the semi-arid areas and the salt marshes called el-Djerid. The northern and western boundaries fluctuated, at times as far north as Sicily otherwise just along the coastline, the capital was briefly Carthage, then Qayrawan, then Mahdia, then Tunis. The Arabs generally settled on the ground while the native population settled in the mountains. The Aghlabids, from their base in Kairouan, initiated the invasion of Sicily beginning in 827 and establishing the Emirate of Sicily, zuhair ibn Qais al-Balawi, 683–689 — initially only Barqa, recovered Byzacena in 686. Hassan ibn al-Numan al-Ghassani, 692–703 — initially only Barqa, captured Carthage in 695, then again in 698. Permanent conquest of Ifriqiya, organized as new province, separately from Egypt, directly under Umayyad Caliph, kulthum ibn Iyad al-Qasi,741 Balj ibn Bishr al-Qushayri and Abd al-Rahman ibn Oqba al-Ghaffari, 741–42 Handhala ibn Safwan al-Kalbi, 742–44 Abd al-Rahman ibn Habib al-Fihri, 745–755. Torrey,1901, The Mohammedan Conquest of Egypt and North Africa, Historical and Critical Contributions to Biblical Science, histoire de lAfrique du Nord, vol.2 - De la conquête arabe à1830,1961 edition, Paris, Payot
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Al-Jarrah ibn Abdallah
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Abu ʿUqba al-Jarrah ibn ʿAbdallah al-Hakami was an Arab nobleman and general of the Hakami tribe. During the course of the early 8th century, he was at times governor of Basra, Sistan and Khurasan, Armenia. A legendary warrior already during his lifetime, he is best known for his campaigns against the Khazars on the Caucasus front, according to Baladhuri, al-Jarrah was born in Jordan, and probably followed Sufyan ibn al-Abrad al-Kalbi and Abd al-Rahman ibn Habib al-Hakami to Iraq in 696. In 701, he fought against the rebellion of Ibn al-Ashath and he was replaced by his deputy, Abd al-Rahman ibn Nuaym al-Ghamidi. The most notable event of his tenure was the beginning of the missionary activity by the agents of the Abbasids in Khurasan. After his return to Iraq, in 720, he seems to have fought alongside Maslamah ibn Abd al-Malik in the suppression of the rebellion of Yazid ibn al-Muhallab, in 721/2, the main phase of the Second Arab–Khazar War began on the Caucasus front. In response, Caliph Yazid II sent al-Jarrah with 25,000 Syrian troops to Armenia, the Khazars tried to defend the city by ringing the citadel with a laager of wagons, but the Arabs broke it apart and stormed the city on 21 August 722. Most of Balanjars inhabitants were killed or enslaved, but a few managed to flee north, the Arabs also took the town of Wabandar, and even approached Samandar. Despite these successes, the Arabs could not achieve a decisive result, the main Khazar army remained intact and a constant threat, since like all nomad forces it was not dependent on cities for supplies. Coupled with the fact that his rear was still insecure, al-Jarrah was forced to abandon any attempt at capturing Samandar as well, from there he asked for reinforcements from Yazid, but although the Caliph promised to send more troops, he failed to do so. The sources are obscure on al-Jarrahs activity in 723, but he seems to have led another campaign north. In response, the Khazars raided south of the Caucasus, but in February 724, al-Jarrah followed up his success by capturing Tiflis, whose inhabitants were obliged to pay the kharaj but received a charter of rights in return. This campaign brought Caucasian Iberia and the lands of the Alans under Muslim suzerainty and this expedition secured the Muslims own flank against a possible Khazar attack through the Darial, while conversely it gave the Muslim army a second invasion route into Khazar territory. In 725, however, the new Caliph Hisham ibn Abd al-Malik replaced al-Jarrah with his own brother Maslamah ibn Abd al-Malik, in 729, after a mixed performance against the Khazars, Maslamah was replaced yet again as governor of Armenia and Adharbayjan by al-Jarrah. In 730, al-Jarrah returned to the offensive through Tiflis and the Darial Pass, Arab sources report that he reached as far as the Khazar capital, al-Bayda, on the Volga, but modern historians such as Khalid Yahya Blankinship consider this improbable. Soon after, he was forced back to Bardhaa to defend Arran from invasion by the Khazar general Tharmach, news of this development forced al-Jarrah to hastily withdraw from Bardhaa and march south in a rapid march to Ardabils rescue. Outside the city walls, after a battle on 7–9 December 730, al-Jarrahs army of 25,000 was all but annihilated by the Khazars under Barjik. Command passed to al-Jarrahs brother al-Hajjaj, who was unable to prevent the sacking of Ardabil, the End of the Jihâd State, The Reign of Hishām ibn ʻAbd al-Malik and the Collapse of the Umayyads
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Arminiya
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The first Arab expedition reached Armenia in 639 AD. Dvin was captured and pillaged during this raid on 6 October 640, according to bishop Sebeos, in 641, the Arabs took the city of Tovin by storm, killing 12,000 Armenians and taking 35,000 as captives. A third invasion took place in 642–643 and a fourth in 650, Armenia however remained under Byzantine suzerainty until 653/654, when Theodore Rshtuni voluntarily conceded Arab suzerainty and was recognized as autonomous prince of Armenia in return. According to this agreement, Armenia was recognized as a state subject to an annual tribute. The outbreak of the Muslim Civil War in 657 led to the recall of the Arab troops to Syria, thereupon the Byzantines re-asserted their authority over the country, aided by Mamikonian. In 661 however, the victor of the Muslim civil war Muawiyah ordered the Armenian princes to re-submit to his authority, in order to avoid another war, the princes complied. The Arab policy of demanding that the tribute be paid in money had an effect on Armenian economy, the Armenians were forced to produce a surplus of food and manufactured goods for sale. A strong urban life was developed in Caucasia as the economy revived, for most of the second half of the 7th century, Arab presence and control in Armenia was minimal. Armenia was considered conquered land by the Arabs, but enjoyed de facto autonomy, the Armenian princes were submitted to—relatively low—taxation and the obligation to provide soldiers when requested, for which the princes were to be paid an annual subsidy of 100,000 dirhams. In exchange, no Arab garrison or official was installed in Armenian lands, the situation changed in the reign of the caliph Abd al-Malik. Beginning in 700, the Caliphs brother and governor of Adharbayjan, Muhammad ibn Marwan, although the Armenians rebelled in 703 and received Byzantine aid, Muhammad ibn Marwan defeated them and sealed the failure of the revolt by executing the rebel princes in 705. For much of the remaining Umayyad period, Arminiya was usually grouped together with Adharbayjan and the Jazira into a single super-province. Arminiya was governed by an emir or wali headquartered at Dvin, whose role however was limited to defence and the collection of taxes, the country was run by the local princes. The Emirate of Armenia was divided into four regions, Arminiya I, Arminiya II, Arminiya III, a census and survey of Arminiya was undertaken c. 725, followed by a significant increase in taxation so as to finance the Caliphates increasing military needs in the various fronts, the Armenians participated with troops in the hard-fought campaigns of the Arab–Khazar wars in the 720s and 730s. As a result, in 732, governor Marwan ibn Muhammad named Ashot III Bagratuni as the prince of Armenia. The revolt was suppressed in the Battle of Bagrevand in April 775, the failure of the rebellion saw the near-extinction, reduction to insignificance or exile to Byzantium of some of the most prominent nakharar families, most importantly the Mamikonian. At the same time, the vacuum left by the destruction of so many nakharar clans was filled by two other great families, the Artsruni in the south and the Bagratuni in the north
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Azerbaijan (Iran)
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Azerbaijan or Azarbaijan, also known as Iranian Azerbaijan, is a region in northwestern Iran that borders Iraq, Turkey, the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic, Armenia, and the Republic of Azerbaijan. Iranian Azerbaijan is administratively divided into West Azerbaijan, East Azerbaijan, Ardabil, the region is mostly populated by Azerbaijanis, with minority populations of Kurds, Armenians, Tats, Talysh, Assyrians and Persians. Historic Azerbaijan was called Atropatene in antiquity and Aturpatakan in the pre-Islamic Middle Ages, some refer to Iranian Azerbaijan as South Azerbaijan and the Republic of Azerbaijan as Northern Azerbaijan, although others believe that these terms are irredentist and politically motivated. Since then the Azerbaijani people have been partitioned between nations, the territories south of the Aras River, which comprised the region historically known as Azerbaijan, became the new north-west frontier of the Persian Empire and later Iran. The name Azerbaijan itself is derived from Atropates, the Persian Satrap of Medea in the Achaemenid empire, Atropates name is believed to be derived from the Old Persian roots meaning protected by fire. The name is mentioned in the Avestan Frawardin Yasht, âterepâtahe ashaonô fravashîm ýazamaide which translates literally to. The name Atropat in Middle Persian was transformed to Adharbad and is connected with Zoroastrianism, a famous Zoroastrian priest by the name Adarbad Mahraspandan is well known for his counsels. Thus, until 1918, when the Musavat regime decided to name the newly independent state Azerbaijan, the oldest kingdom known in Iranian Azerbaijan is that of the Mannea who ruled a region south-east of Lake Urmia centred around modern Saqqez. The Manneans were a confederation of Iranian and non-Iranian groups, according to Professor Zadok, it is unlikely that there was any ethnolinguistic unity in Mannea. Like other peoples of the Iranian plateau, the Manneans were subjected to an ever increasing Iranian penetration, the Mannaeans were conquered and absorbed by an Iranian people called Matieni, and the country was called Matiene, with Lake Urmia called Lake Matianus. Matiene was later conquered by the Medes and became a satrapy of the Median empire, after Alexander the Great conquered Persia, he appointed as governor the Persian general Atropates, who eventually established an independent dynasty. The region, which came to be known as Atropatene or Media Atropatene, was much disputed, in the 2nd century BC, it was liberated from Seleucid domination by Mithradates I of Arsacid dynasty, and was later made a province of the Sassanid Empire of Ardashir I. Under the Sassanids, Azerbaijan was ruled by a marzubān, and, towards the end of the period, large parts of the region were conquered by the Kingdom of Armenia. Large parts of the made up part of historical Armenia. The parts of historical Armenia within what is modern-day Azerbaijan comprise, Nor Shirakan, Vaspurakan, Vaspurakan, of which large parts were located in what is modern-day Iranian Azerbaijan is described as the cradle of Armenian civilization. On 26 May 451 AD, an important battle was fought that would prove immensely pivotal in Armenian history. On the Avarayr Plain, at what is modern-day Churs, the Armenian Army under Vardan Mamikonian clashed with Sassanid Persia, heraclius, the Byzantine emperor, briefly held the region in the 7th century until peace was made with the Sassanids. After the Islamic Conquest of Iran, Arab invaders converted most of its people to Islam, rustam himself was born in Azerbaijan and led the Sasanian army into battle
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Caucasus
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The Caucasus /ˈkɔːkəsəs/ or Caucasia /kɔːˈkeɪʒə/ is a region at the border of Europe and Asia, situated between the Black and the Caspian seas. It is home to the Caucasus Mountains, which contain Europes highest mountain, politically, the Caucasus region is separated between northern and southern parts. The southern parts consist of independent sovereign states, and the parts are under the jurisdiction of the Russian Federation. The region is known for its diversity, aside from Indo-European and Turkic languages, the Kartvelian, Northwest Caucasian. Pliny the Elders Natural History derives the name of the Caucasus from Scythian kroy-khasis, German linguist Paul Kretschmer notes that the Latvian word Kruvesis also means ice. According to German philologists Otto Schrader and Alfons A. Nehring, the South Caucasus region and southern Dagestan were the furthest points of Persian expansions, with areas to the north of Caucasus Mountains practically impregnable. The mythological mountain of Qaf, the worlds highest mountain that ancient lore shrouded in mystery, was said to be situated in this region, therefore, the Caucasus might be associated with the legendary mountain. The Ciscaucasus contains the majority of the Greater Caucasus Mountain range. It includes Southwestern Russia and northern parts of Georgia and Azerbaijan, the Transcaucasus is bordered on the north by Russia, on the west by the Black Sea and Turkey, on the east by the Caspian Sea, and on the south by Iran. It includes the Caucasus Mountains and surrounding lowlands, all of Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia are in South Caucasus. The main Greater Caucasus range is generally perceived to be the line between Asia and Europe. The highest peak in the Caucasus is Mount Elbrus in the western Ciscaucasus in Russia, the Caucasus is one of the most linguistically and culturally diverse regions on Earth. The nation states that comprise the Caucasus today are the post-Soviet states Georgia, Armenia, three territories in the region claim independence but are recognized as such by only a handful or by no independent states, Nagorno-Karabakh, Abkhazia and South Ossetia. Abkhazia and South Ossetia are recognised by the majority of independent states as part of Georgia, the Russian divisions include Krasnodar Krai, Stavropol Krai, and the autonomous republics of Adygea, Karachay–Cherkessia, Kabardino-Balkaria, North Ossetia, Ingushetia, Chechnya, and Dagestan. The region has many different languages and language families, there are more than 50 ethnic groups living in the region. Russian is used as a common language, today the peoples of the Northern and Southern Caucasus tend to be either Eastern Orthodox Christians, Oriental Orthodox Christians, or Sunni Muslims. Shia Islam has had many adherents historically in Azerbaijan, located in the part of the region. Located on the peripheries of Turkey, Iran, and Russia, the region has been an arena for political, military, religious, throughout its history, the Caucasus was usually incorporated into the Iranian world
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Balanjar
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Balanjar was a medieval city located in the North Caucasus region, between the cities of Derbent and Samandar, probably on the lower Sulak River. It flourished from the seventh to the tenth centuries CE, the legendary founder of Balanjar, according to the Arab chroniclers Ibn al-Faqih and Abu al-Fida, was named Balanjar ibn Japheth. In the 630s CE Balanjar was a capital of the Baranjar state, some scholars speculate that the name derives from the Turkic root Bala or Great, and the clan-name Endzhar. With the rest of the Baranjar domains the city part of the Khazar Khaganate around 650, until the early 720s. During the First Arab-Khazar War in the 650s, a Muslim army under Abd ar-Rahman ibn Rabiah was defeated outside the town, around 722 or 723, Umayyad soldiers under al-Djarrah ibn Abdullah crossed the Caucasus Mountains and attacked Balanjar. The inhabitants of Balanjar tried to defend their town by fastening 3,000 wagons together and circling them around the key fortress on high terrain, the Arabs massacred much of the towns population, survivors fled to other towns, including Samandar. The victorious Arab army stole much booty and the soldiers received large sums of money, the city was rebuilt after the war, but the capital of Khazaria was thereafter moved to Samandar and later to Atil. Nevertheless, Balanjar continued to be a city of importance within the Khaganate. After the fall of Khazaria, Balanjar lost much of its importance, the exact location of Balanjar has not yet been established precisely
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Medina
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Medina, also transliterated as Madīnah, is a city in the Hejaz region of Saudi Arabia that is also the capital of the Al Madinah Region. The city contains al-Masjid an-Nabawi, which is the place of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. It served as the base of Islam in its first century where the early Muslim community developed. Medina is home to the three oldest mosques, namely the Quba Mosque, al-Masjid an-Nabawi, and Masjid al-Qiblatayn, Muslims believe that the chronologically final surahs of the Quran were revealed to Muhammad in Medina, and are called Medinan surahs in contrast to the earlier Meccan surahs. Similar to Mecca, non-Muslims are forbidden from entering the core of Medina or the city centre by the national government. The Arabic word al-Madīnah simply means the city, before the advent of Islam, the city was known as Yathrib. The word Yathrib has been recorded in Surat al-Ahzab of the Quran, an alternative name is al-Madīnah an-Nabawīyah or al-Madīna-tu an-Nabī. As of 2010, the city of Medina has a population of 1,183,205, in addition to its Arab inhabitants, during the pre-Islamic era Yathrib was inhabited by Jewish tribes. Later the citys name was changed to al-Madīna-tu n-Nabī or al-Madīnatu l-Munawwarah, Medina is celebrated for containing al-Masjid an-Nabawi and also as the city which gave refuge to him and his followers, and so ranks as the second holiest city of Islam, after Mecca. Muhammad was buried in Medina, under the Green Dome, as were the first two Rashidun caliphs, Abu Bakr and Umar, who were buried next to him in what used to be Muhammads house. Medina is 210 miles north of Mecca and about 120 miles from the Red Sea coast and it is situated in the most fertile part of all the Hejaz territory, the streams of the vicinity tending to converge in this locality. An immense plain extends to the south, in every direction the view is bounded by hills and mountains. The historic city formed an oval, surrounded by a wall,30 to 40 feet high, dating from the 12th century CE. Of its four gates, the Bab-al-Salam, or Egyptian gate, was remarkable for its beauty, beyond the walls of the city, west and south were suburbs consisting of low houses, yards, gardens and plantations. These suburbs also had walls and gates, almost all of the historic city has been demolished in the Saudi era. The rebuilt city is centred on the vastly expanded al-Masjid an-Nabawi, the graves of Fatimah and Hasan, across from the mosque at Jannat al-Baqi, and Abu Bakr, and of Umar, the second caliph, are also here. The mosque dates back to the time of Muhammad, but has been twice reconstructed, because of the Saudi governments religious policy and concern that historic sites could become the focus for idolatry, much of Medinas Islamic physical heritage has been altered. Medinas importance as a religious site derives from the presence of al-Masjid an-Nabawi, the mosque was expanded by the Umayyad Caliph Al-Walid I
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Theophanes the Confessor
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Saint Theophanes the Confessor was a member of the Byzantine aristocracy, who became a monk and chronicler. He is venerated on March 12 in the Eastern Orthodox Church, Theophanes was born in Constantinople of wealthy and noble iconodule parents, Isaac, imperial governor of the islands of the Black Sea, and Theodora, of whose family nothing is known. His father died when Theophanes was three years old, and the Byzantine Emperor Constantine V Copronymus subsequently saw to the boys education, Theophanes would hold several offices under this patron. He was married at the age of twelve, but convinced his wife to lead a life of virginity, in 799, after the death of his father-in-law, they separated with mutual consent to embrace the religious life. She chose a convent on an island near Constantinople, while he entered the Polychronius Monastery, located in the district of Sigiane, later, he built a monastery on his own lands on the island of Calonymus. After six years he returned to Sigriano, where he founded an abbey known by the name of the great acre and governed it as abbot. In this position of leadership, he was present at the Second General Council of Nicaea in 787, when Emperor Leo V the Armenian resumed his iconoclastic warfare, he ordered Theophanes brought to Constantinople. The Emperor tried in vain to induce him to condemn the same veneration of icons that had been sanctioned by the council, Theophanes was cast into prison and for two years suffered cruel treatment. After his release, he was banished to Samothrace in 817 and he is credited with many miracles that occurred after his death, which most likely took place on 12 March, the day he is commemorated in the Roman Martyrology. The language occupies a place midway between the ecclesiastical and the vernacular Greek. The work consists of two parts, the first giving the history, arranged according to years, the other containing chronological tables, full of inaccuracies. It seems that Theophanes had only prepared the tables, leaving vacant spaces for the proper dates, attribution, This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain, Mershman, Francis. This article incorporates text from a now in the public domain, Chisholm, Hugh. Endnotes, Editions of the Chronicle, Editio princeps, Jacques Goar J. P. Migne, Patrologia Graeca, J. Classen in Bonn Corpus Scriptorum Hist. Editions of the Continuation in J. P. Migne, Pair, on both works and Theophanes generally, see, C. Der Wissenschaften, Gibbons Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, who Wrote the Chronicle of Theophanes. Byzantium and its Image, London 1984, — An editions of the Chronicle with annotations and corrections. The Chronicle of Theophanes Confessor, Byzantine and Near Eastern History AD 284–813, translated by Mango, Cyril, Scott, Roger
22.
Icon
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An icon is a religious work of art, most commonly a painting, from Eastern Christianity and certain Eastern Catholic churches. The most common subjects include Christ, Mary, saints and/or angels, icons may also be cast in metal, carved in stone, embroidered on cloth, painted on wood, done in mosaic or fresco work, printed on paper or metal, etc. Comparable images from Western Christianity are generally not described as icons, Eastern Orthodox tradition holds that the creation of Christian images dates back to the very early days of Christianity, and there is has been a continuous tradition since then. The icons of later centuries can be linked, often closely, to images from the 5th century onwards, there was enormous destruction of images during the Byzantine Iconoclasm of 726-842, although this did settle for good the question of the appropriateness of images. Since then icons have had a continuity of style and subject. At the same time there has been change and development, Christian tradition dating from the 8th century identifies Luke the Evangelist as the first icon painter. Aside from the legend that Pilate had made an image of Christ and he relates that King Abgar of Edessa sent a letter to Jesus at Jerusalem, asking Jesus to come and heal him of an illness. In this version there is no image, further legends relate that the cloth remained in Edessa until the 10th century, when it was taken to Constantinople. It went missing in 1204 when Crusaders sacked Constantinople, but by then numerous copies had firmly established its iconic type. They crown these images, and set them up along with the images of the philosophers of the world that is to say, with the images of Pythagoras, and Plato, and Aristotle, and the rest. They have also other modes of honouring these images, after the manner of the Gentiles. And he called him and said, Lycomedes, what do you mean by this matter of the portrait, can it be one of thy gods that is painted here. For I see that you are living in heathen fashion. Later in the passage John says, But this that you have now done is childish and imperfect, at least some of the hierarchy of the Christian churches still strictly opposed icons in the early 4th century. At the Spanish non-ecumenical Synod of Elvira bishops concluded, Pictures are not to be placed in churches, so that they do not become objects of worship and adoration. to our religion. After the emperor Constantine I extended official toleration of Christianity within the Roman Empire in 313 and this period of Christianization probably saw the use of Christian images became very widespread among the faithful, though with great differences from pagan habits. Robin Lane Fox states By the early century, we know of the ownership of private icons of saints. 480-500, we can be sure that the inside of a saints shrine would be adorned with images and votive portraits, when Constantine himself apparently converted to Christianity, the majority of his subjects remained pagans
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Leo III the Isaurian
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Leo III the Isaurian, also known as the Syrian (Greek, Λέων Γ΄ ὁ Ἴσαυρος, Leōn III ho Isauros, was Byzantine Emperor from 717 until his death in 741. He put an end to the Twenty Years Anarchy, a period of instability in the Byzantine Empire between 695 and 717, marked by the rapid succession of several emperors to the throne. He also successfully defended the Empire against the invading Umayyads and forbade the veneration of icons, Leo, whose original name was Konon, was born in Germanikeia in the Syrian province of Commagene. After the victory of Justinian II, Konon was dispatched on a mission to Alania. Konon was appointed commander of the Anatolic theme by Emperor Anastasius II, on his deposition, Konon joined with his colleague Artabasdus, the stratēgos of the Armeniac theme, in conspiring to overthrow the new Emperor Theodosius III. Artabasdus was betrothed to Anna, daughter of Leo as part of the agreement, Leo entered Constantinople on 25 March 717 and forced the abdication of Theodosios III, becoming emperor as Leo III. The new Emperor was immediately forced to attend to the Second Arab siege of Constantinople, the Arabs were Umayyad forces sent by Caliph Sulayman ibn Abd al-Malik and serving under his brother Maslama ibn Abd al-Malik. They had taken advantage of the discord in the Byzantine Empire to bring a force of 80,000 to 150,000 men. Careful preparations, begun three years earlier under Anastasius II, and the resistance put up by Leo wore out the invaders. An important factor in the victory of the Byzantines was their use of Greek fire, the Arab forces also fell victim to Bulgarian reinforcements arriving to aid the Byzantines. Leo was allied with the Bulgarians but the chronicler Theophanes the Confessor was uncertain if they were serving under Tervel of Bulgaria or his eventual successor Kormesiy of Bulgaria. Sulayman himself had died the year and his successor Umar II would not attempt another siege. The siege had lasted 12 months, having thus preserved the Empire from extinction, Leo proceeded to consolidate its administration, which in the previous years of anarchy had become completely disorganized. In 718 he suppressed a rebellion in Sicily and in 719 did the same on behalf of the deposed Emperor Anastasios II and his military efforts were supplemented by his alliances with the Khazars and the Georgians. The new measures, which were embodied in a new code called the Ecloga, published in 726, met some opposition on the part of the nobles. The Emperor also undertook some reorganization of the structure by creating new themata in the Aegean region. Leos most striking legislative reforms dealt with matters, especially iconoclasm. After an apparently successful attempt to enforce the baptism of all Jews and Montanists in the empire, a majority of the theologians and all the monks opposed these measures with uncompromising hostility, and in the western parts of the Empire the people refused to obey the edict
24.
The Story of Civilization
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The Story of Civilization, by husband and wife Will and Ariel Durant, is an eleven-volume set of books covering Western history for the general reader. The volumes sold well for years, and sets of them were frequently offered by book clubs. An unabridged audiobook production of all eleven volumes was produced by Books On Tape Inc. and was read by Alexander Adams, the series was written over a span of more than four decades. It totals four million words across nearly 10,000 pages, in the first volume, Will Durant stated that he wanted to include the history of the West through the early 20th century. However, the ends with The Age of Napoleon because the Durants both died – she in her 80s and he in his 90s – before they could complete additional volumes. The first six volumes of The Story of Civilization are credited to Will Durant alone, beginning with The Age of Reason Begins, Ariel is credited as a co-author. The series won a Pulitzer Prize for General Nonfiction in 1968 with the 10th volume in the series, Rousseau, in the preface to the first volume, Durant states his intention to make the series in 5 volumes, although this would not turn out to be the case. This volume covers Near Eastern history until the fall of the Persian Empire in the 330s BC, and the history of India, China, barbarism is like the jungle, it never admits its defeat, it waits patiently for centuries to recover the territory it has lost. A nation must love peace, but keep its powder dry. ”Japan The Makers of Japan The Political and Moral Foundations The Mind and Art of Old Japan The New Japan On Japan in 1935, By every historical precedent the next act will be war. This volume covers Ancient Greece and the Hellenistic Near East down to the Roman conquest. No great nation is ever conquered until it has destroyed itself. ”Epilogue, Our Greek Heritage The volume covers the history of Rome and of Christianity until the time of Constantine the Great. ”This volume covers the Middle Ages in both Europe and the Near East, from the time of Constantine I to that of Dante Alighieri. Epilogue, The Medieval Legacy This volume covers the history of Italy from c.1300 to the mid 16th century, and first of all it took money—smelly bourgeois money. Money is the root of all civilization, here, as in everything but artillery and theology, Italy led the way. The milk of human kindness flowed sluggishly in the days of Good Queen Bess, the Tentatives of Reason, 1558–1648 Science in the Age of Galileo, 1558–1648 Philosophy Reborn, 1564–1648 Is Christianity dying. If this is so, it is the event of modern times, for the soul of a civilization is its religion. This volume covers the period of Louis XIV of France in Europe and the Near East. ””Like the others, he came from the middle class and it received the Pulitzer Prize for General Non-Fiction in 1968. She entered upon a series of adventures, in one of which she was surprised with motherhood, finale, 1811–1815 To Moscow, 1811–12 To Elba, 1813–14 To Waterloo, 1814–15 To St. … Like philosophy, such a venture has no rational excuse, and is at best but a brave stupidity, editors on the series included M. Lincoln Schuster and Michael Korda
25.
International Standard Book Number
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The International Standard Book Number is a unique numeric commercial book identifier. An ISBN is assigned to each edition and variation of a book, for example, an e-book, a paperback and a hardcover edition of the same book would each have a different ISBN. The ISBN is 13 digits long if assigned on or after 1 January 2007, the method of assigning an ISBN is nation-based and varies from country to country, often depending on how large the publishing industry is within a country. The initial ISBN configuration of recognition was generated in 1967 based upon the 9-digit Standard Book Numbering created in 1966, the 10-digit ISBN format was developed by the International Organization for Standardization and was published in 1970 as international standard ISO2108. Occasionally, a book may appear without a printed ISBN if it is printed privately or the author does not follow the usual ISBN procedure, however, this can be rectified later. Another identifier, the International Standard Serial Number, identifies periodical publications such as magazines, the ISBN configuration of recognition was generated in 1967 in the United Kingdom by David Whitaker and in 1968 in the US by Emery Koltay. The 10-digit ISBN format was developed by the International Organization for Standardization and was published in 1970 as international standard ISO2108, the United Kingdom continued to use the 9-digit SBN code until 1974. The ISO on-line facility only refers back to 1978, an SBN may be converted to an ISBN by prefixing the digit 0. For example, the edition of Mr. J. G. Reeder Returns, published by Hodder in 1965, has SBN340013818 -340 indicating the publisher,01381 their serial number. This can be converted to ISBN 0-340-01381-8, the check digit does not need to be re-calculated, since 1 January 2007, ISBNs have contained 13 digits, a format that is compatible with Bookland European Article Number EAN-13s. An ISBN is assigned to each edition and variation of a book, for example, an ebook, a paperback, and a hardcover edition of the same book would each have a different ISBN. The ISBN is 13 digits long if assigned on or after 1 January 2007, a 13-digit ISBN can be separated into its parts, and when this is done it is customary to separate the parts with hyphens or spaces. Separating the parts of a 10-digit ISBN is also done with either hyphens or spaces, figuring out how to correctly separate a given ISBN number is complicated, because most of the parts do not use a fixed number of digits. ISBN issuance is country-specific, in that ISBNs are issued by the ISBN registration agency that is responsible for country or territory regardless of the publication language. Some ISBN registration agencies are based in national libraries or within ministries of culture, in other cases, the ISBN registration service is provided by organisations such as bibliographic data providers that are not government funded. In Canada, ISBNs are issued at no cost with the purpose of encouraging Canadian culture. In the United Kingdom, United States, and some countries, where the service is provided by non-government-funded organisations. Australia, ISBNs are issued by the library services agency Thorpe-Bowker
26.
Sunni Islam
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Sunni Islam is the largest group of Islam. Its name comes from the word Sunnah, referring to the behavior of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. According to Sunni tradition, Muhammad did not clearly designate a successor and this contrasts with the Shia view, which holds that Muhammad intended his son-in-law and cousin Ali ibn Abi Talib to succeed him. Political tensions between Sunnis and Shias continued with varying intensity throughout Islamic history and they have been exacerbated in recent times by ethnic conflicts, as of 2009, Sunni Muslims constituted between 87–90% of the worlds Muslim population. Sunni Islam is the worlds largest religious denomination, followed by Catholicism and its adherents are referred to in Arabic as ahl as-sunnah wa l-jamāʻah or ahl as-sunnah for short. In English, its doctrines and practices are sometimes called Sunnism, while adherents are known as Sunni Muslims, Sunnis, Sunnites, Sunni Islam is sometimes referred to as orthodox Islam. The Quran, together with hadith and binding juristic consensus form the basis of all traditional jurisprudence within Sunni Islam, sunnī, also commonly referred to as Sunnīism, is a term derived from sunnah meaning habit, usual practice, custom, tradition. The Muslim use of this term refers to the sayings and living habits of the prophet Muhammad, in Arabic, this branch of Islam is referred to as ahl as-sunnah wa l-jamāʻah, the people of the sunnah and the community, which is commonly shortened to ahl as-sunnah. One common mistake is to assume that Sunni Islam represents a normative Islam that emerged during the period after Muhammads death, and that Sufism and Shiism developed out of Sunni Islam. This perception is due to the reliance on highly ideological sources that have been accepted as reliable historical works. Both Sunnism and Shiaism are the end products of centuries of competition between ideologies. Both sects used each other to further cement their own identities and doctrines, the first four caliphs are known among Sunnis as the Rashidun or Rightly-Guided Ones. Sunni recognition includes the aforementioned Abu Bakr as the first, Umar who established the Islamic calendar as the second, Uthman as the third, Sunnis believe that the companions of Muhammad were the best of Muslims. Support for this view is found in the Quran, according to Sunnis. Sunnis also believe that the companions were true believers since it was the companions who were given the task of compiling the Quran, furthermore, narrations that were narrated by the companions are considered by Sunnis to be a second source of knowledge of the Muslim faith. A study conducted by the Pew Research Center in 2010 and released January 2011 found that there are 1.62 billion Muslims around the world, Islam does not have a formal hierarchy or clergy. Leaders are informal, and gain influence through study to become a scholar of Islamic law, according to the Islamic Center of Columbia, South Carolina, anyone with the intelligence and the will can become an Islamic scholar. During Midday Mosque services on Fridays, the congregation will choose a person to lead the service
27.
Damascus
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Damascus is the capital and likely the largest city of Syria, following the decline in population of Aleppo due to the ongoing battle for the city. It is commonly known in Syria as ash-Sham and nicknamed as the City of Jasmine, in addition to being one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, Damascus is a major cultural and religious centre of the Levant. The city has an population of 1,711,000 as of 2009. Located in south-western Syria, Damascus is the centre of a metropolitan area of 2.6 million people. The Barada River flows through Damascus, first settled in the second millennium BC, it was chosen as the capital of the Umayyad Caliphate from 661 to 750. After the victory of the Abbasid dynasty, the seat of Islamic power was moved to Baghdad, Damascus saw a political decline throughout the Abbasid era, only to regain significant importance in the Ayyubid and Mamluk periods. Today, it is the seat of the government and all of the government ministries. The name of Damascus first appeared in the geographical list of Thutmose III as T-m-ś-q in the 15th century BC, the etymology of the ancient name T-m-ś-q is uncertain, but it is suspected to be pre-Semitic. It is attested as Dimašqa in Akkadian, T-ms-ḳw in Egyptian, Dammaśq in Old Aramaic, the Akkadian spelling is found in the Amarna letters, from the 14th century BC. Later Aramaic spellings of the name include a intrusive resh, perhaps influenced by the root dr. Thus, the English and Latin name of the city is Damascus which was imported from originated from the Qumranic Darmeśeq, and Darmsûq in Syriac, meaning a well-watered land. In Arabic, the city is called Dimašqu š-Šāmi, although this is shortened to either Dimašq or aš-Šām by the citizens of Damascus, of Syria and other Arab neighbours. Aš-Šām is an Arabic term for Levant and for Syria, the latter, the Anti-Lebanon mountains mark the border between Syria and Lebanon. The range has peaks of over 10,000 ft. and blocks precipitation from the Mediterranean sea, however, in ancient times this was mitigated by the Barada River, which originates from mountain streams fed by melting snow. Damascus is surrounded by the Ghouta, irrigated farmland where many vegetables, cereals, maps of Roman Syria indicate that the Barada river emptied into a lake of some size east of Damascus. Today it is called Bahira Atayba, the hesitant lake, because in years of severe drought it does not even exist, the modern city has an area of 105 km2, out of which 77 km2 is urban, while Jabal Qasioun occupies the rest. The old city of Damascus, enclosed by the city walls, to the south-east, north and north-east it is surrounded by suburban areas whose history stretches back to the Middle Ages, Midan in the south-west, Sarouja and Imara in the north and north-west. These neighbourhoods originally arose on roads leading out of the city and these new neighbourhoods were initially settled by Kurdish soldiery and Muslim refugees from the European regions of the Ottoman Empire which had fallen under Christian rule
28.
Muawiyah I
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Muawiyah I established the Umayyad Dynasty of the caliphate, and was the second caliph from the Umayyad clan, the first being Uthman ibn Affan. During the first and second caliphates of Abu Bakr and Umar, to stop the Byzantine harassment from the sea, Muawiyah developed a navy in the Levant and used it to confront the Byzantine Empire in the Aegean Sea and the Sea of Marmara. The Caliphate conquered several territories including Cyzicus which were used as naval bases. Muawiyah bin Abi-Sufyan was born in Mecca to Abu Sufyan ibn Harb, the Quraysh controlled the city of Mecca and the Banu Abd-Shams were among the most influential of its citizens. The meaning of Muawiyah in Arabic is strength of the arms and his father Abu-Sufyan struggled against Islam until Muhammads army entered Mecca in 630. Muawiyah, Muhammad and Ali shared the same grandfather, ‘Abd Manaf bin Qusay, who had four sons, Hashim, Muttalib, Nawfal. Hashim was the grandfather of Ali and Muhammad. Umayyah bin Abdu Shams was the grandfather of Muawiyah. Muawiyah and remaining members of his family were opponents of the Muslims before the ascendancy of Muhammad, in 630, Muhammad and his followers entered Mecca, and most of the Meccans, including the Abd-Shams clan, formally submitted to Muhammad and accepted Islam. Muawiyah, along with his father Abu Sufyan ibn Harb, became Muslims at the conquest of Mecca, although Muawiyah had been a crypto-Muslim since the 628 Treaty of Hudaybiyyah. Ibn Kathir wrote in his book Al-Bidāya wa-n-nihāya, In terms of his appearance, he was fair and tall, bald with a white head and he was mild-tempered, dignified, dominant and noble amongst the people, generous, just and astute. Muawiyah worked as a scribe for Muhammad, according to al-Baladhuri, Urwa ibn az-Zubayr, relating from his father, Aisha said I went to the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, who was in a room with Umm Habiba on her day. Muawiya knocked on the door and he gave him permission to enter and he had a pen behind his ear which he had not used. The Prophet said, What is this on your ear and he said, A pen which I have made ready for Allah and His Messenger. May Allah repay you well on behalf of your Prophet, during the time of Abu Bakr, Muawiyah used to serve under his brother Yazid ibn Abi Sufyan. Muawiyah was one of the first to be sent into Syria, in May 636, Emperor Heraclius launched a major expedition against the Muslims, but his army was defeated decisively at the Battle of Yarmouk in August 636. In the battle, Muawiyahs brother Yazid ibn Abi Sufyan served under Khalid ibn al-Walid and Abu Ubaydah and was in command of one of the wings, Muawiyahs mother Hind also took part in the battle. Amr ibn al-As was sent to take on the Byzantine Army in Egypt, with limited resources his marriage to Maysum was politically motivated, as she was the daughter of the chief of the Kalb tribe, that was a large Jacobite Christian Arab tribe in Syria
29.
Yazid I
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Yazīd ibn Mu‘āwiya, commonly known as Yazid I, was the second Caliph of the Umayyad Caliphate. Yazid was the Caliph as appointed by his father Muawiyah I, according to some sources Muawiyah warned his son Yazid against mistreating Hussein ibn Ali, grandson of Muhammad. The appointment of Yazid was unpopular in Madina too, narrated by Yusuf bin Mahak, Marwan had been appointed as the governor of Hijaz by Muawiyah. He delivered a sermon and mentioned Yazid bin Muawiyah so that the people take the oath of allegiance to him as the successor of his father. Then Abdur Rahman bin Abu Bakr told him something whereupon Marwan ordered that he be arrested, but Abdur Rahman entered Aishas house and they could not arrest him. Marwan said, It is he about whom Allah revealed this Verse, And the one who says to his parents, do you hold out the promise to me. On that, Aisha said from behind a screen, Allah did not reveal anything from the Quran about us except what was connected with the declaration of my innocence, upon succession, Yazid asked Governors of all provinces to take an oath of allegiance to him. The necessary oath was secured from all parts of the country, hussain ibn Ali and Abdullah ibn Zubayr refused to declare allegiance. Yazid sent Marwan, a soldier in his army, to assist in this task, Muawiyah had summoned the people to give an oath of allegiance to him that Yazid would be his heir. Yazids concern was to bring their attitude to an end, Yazids paternal first cousin Waleed bin Utbah bin Abu Sufyan was the Governor of Madinah, where Husayn bin Ali and the Hashimite family resided as did Abdullah ibn Zubayr. Act so fiercely that they have no chance to do anything before giving the oath of allegiance, when summoned by the Governor of Madinah, Waleed bin Utbah, Husayn bin Ali answered the summons. However, Abdullah ibn Zubayr did not, when Husayn bin Ali met Waleed and Marwan in a semi-private meeting at night, he was informed of the late Caliph Muawiyahs passing and Yazids accession to the Caliphate. When asked for his pledge of allegiance to Yazid, Husayn responded that giving his allegiance in private would be insufficient, Waleed agreed to this, but Marwan interrupted demanding that Waleed imprison Husayn and not let him leave until he gives the pledge of allegiance to Yazid. At this interruption, Marwan was soundly upbraided by Husayn who then exited unharmed, Husayn bin Ali had his own retainer of armed supporters waiting nearby just in case a forcible attempt was made to apprehend him. As for Abdullah ibn Zubayr, he had left Medina at night heading for Mecca, in the morning Waleed sent men after him, a party of eighty horsemen under the command of a retainer of the Banu Umayyah. They pursued Ibn al-Zubayr but did not catch up with him, as for Husayn ibn Ali, Tabari records that he too left for Mecca shortly after, having not given an oath of allegiance to Yazid. Hussein-ibn-Ali, the grandson of Muhammad, along many other prominent Muslims, not only disapproved of Yazids nomination for caliph. However, before any significant work could be done, Muawiyah died, Kufa, a garrison town in Iraq, had been Alis capital, and many of his supporters lived there
30.
Al-Walid I
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Al-Walid ibn Abd al-Malik or Al-Walid I was an Umayyad Caliph who ruled from 705 until his death in 715. His reign saw the greatest expansion of the Caliphate, as successful campaigns were undertaken in Transoxiana in Central Asia, Sind, Hispania in far western Europe and he was born to Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan and his wife who was from the central Arabian region of Najd. Al-Walid was born in 668 and died in 715, Walid continued the expansion of the Islamic empire that was sparked by his father and was an effective ruler. His father Abd al-Malik had taken the oath of allegiance for Walid during his lifetime, as such the succession of Walid was not contested. His reign was marked by a number of conquests in both the east and west with historians considering his reign as the apex of Islamic power, Walid was married to his first cousin Umm Banin bint Abd al-Aziz ibn Marwan. Walid was succeeded by his brother Sulayman and was buried in Bab al-Saghir cemetery in Damascus and his grave is still present to this date. Walid continued his fathers policies of expanding Islamic power through conquests, in 711, Muslim armies crossed the Strait of Gibraltar and began to conquer the Iberian Peninsula using North African Berber troops. By 716, the Visigoths of Iberia had been defeated and Iberia was under Muslim control, in the east, Islamic armies made it as far as the Indus River in 712. Under Walid, the Caliphate stretched from the Iberian Peninsula to India, Al-Hajjaj ibn Yusuf continued to play a crucial role in the organization and selection of military commanders in the East, serving as effectively the viceroy there. Walid paid great attention to the development and expansion of a well-organized military and he built the strongest navy of the Umayyad era which was a key element in Caliphates expansion into Iberia. Like his father, Walid continued to allow Al-Hajjaj ibn Yusuf free rein, musa ibn Nusayr and his retainer Tariq ibn Ziyad conquered Al-Andalus, whilst Mohammad Bin Qasim Conquered Sindh. Hajjaj was responsible for picking the generals who led the eastern campaigns. Others, such as Walids brother Maslamah, advanced against the Byzantines, muhammad ibn Jarir al-Tabari describes how Qutayba ibn Muslim, Khurasans governor, led forces extending the Caliphate to the east. Qutayba conquered Samarkand, advanced into Farghana and sent envoys to China, al-Tabari records how Hajjaj tortured Yazid ibn al-Muhallab. Yazid escaped and made his way to Walids brother Sulayman ibn Abd al-Malik who granted him refuge, Hajjaj pressed Walid about this and Walid commanded Sulayman to send him Yazid in chains. Sulayman had his own son approach Walid chained to Yazid and spoke in favour of Yazids safety, Walid accepted this and told Hajjaj to desist. Walid began the first major building projects of Islam, the history of Islamic architecture can be said to have begun in earnest with Walid. Around 701, al-Walid ordered the building of Al-Aqsa Mosque, opposite his fathers Dome of the Rock on the Temple Mount, Walid repaired and refurbished Masjid al Nabawi in Medina
31.
Yazid III
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Yazid ibn al-Walid ibn Abd al-Malik or Yazid III was an Umayyad caliph. He reigned for six months, from April 15 to October 3 or 4,744, Yazid was the son of a Persian princess who had been given as a concubine to Caliph al-Walid I. Al-Tabari quotes a couplet of Yazids on his own ancestry, I am the son of Chosroes, my ancestor was Marwan, Caesar was my grandsire, tabari further records descriptions of Yazid as being tall and handsome. Yazid slipped into Damascus and deposed Walid in a coup, following this up with a disbursement of funds from the treasury, according to Yazids own account, Yazid sent Abd al-Aziz ibn al-Hajjaj to meet Walid at al-Bakhra. Abd al-Aziz offered to set up an assembly to decide the future of the realm. Walid rejected this offer and attacked, by which action he lost his life, Yazid had Walids head hoisted on a lance and paraded around Damascus, Yazid then imprisoned Walids sons Uthman and Hakam, whom Walid had designated as his heirs. On accession, Yazid explained that he had rebelled on behalf of the Book of Allah and the Sunna of His Prophet, and he promised abdication if he failed to meet these goals, and held in principle to al-amr shura - to an elected caliphate. Tabari records Yazids nickname the Diminisher, given because he reduced military annuities by 10%, according to Islamic popular tradition, recorded in an apocalyptic style, Yazid would go himself into the marketplace. The city of Hims refused allegiance to Yazid, and there were several other dissident movements against him, another cousin, Marwan ibn Muhammad ibn Marwan, governor of Armenia, had initially supported Walid and on Walids death entered Iraq to avenge him. Yazid appointed Mansur ibn Jumhur to replace Yusuf ibn Umar as governor of Iraq, on May 15, Yazid wrote a letter, preserved from oral sources in al-Madaini and in al-Baladhuri. It supports the Umayyad dynasty up to but not including the enemy of Allah al-Walid II, at the end, Tabaris rendition has Yazid exhorting the Iraqis to follow Mansur ibn Jumhur. Yusuf ibn Umar was subsequently imprisoned and later killed by the son of Khalid ibn Abdallah al-Qasri, Mansur attempted to dismiss the Khurasani governor Nasr ibn Sayyar, but Nasr refused to accept this. Facing opposition from Juday al-Kirmani, Nasr invited al-Harith ibn Surayj to return from his stay in Turgesh territory. Al-Harith arrived wearing a suit of armour the Khaqan had given him. Yazid named his brother Ibrahim as his successor, Yazid fell ill of a brain tumour and died on October 3 or 4,744. Muhammad ibn Jarir al-Tabari History, v.26 The Waning of the Umayyad Caliphate, carole Hillenbrand, SUNY, Albany,1989 Sir John Glubb, The Empire of the Arabs, Hodder and Stoughton, London,1963
32.
Marwan II
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Marwan ibn Muhammad ibn Marwan or Marwan II was an Umayyad caliph who ruled from 744 until 750 when he was killed. Much of his reign was dominated by the Third Fitna, Marwan ibn Muhammad was a member Marwanid household of the Umayyad Caliphate In A. H.114 Caliph Hisham appointed Marwan governor of Armenia and Azerbaijan. In A. H.117 Marwan invaded Georgia, devastated it, in A. H.121 he launched further raids and obtained tribute. In A. H.126 on hearing news of the plotting to overthrow al-Walid II Marwan wrote to his relatives from Armenia strongly discouraging such an act and he urged them to harmoniously preserve the stability and well being of the Umayyad house. When Yazid III persisted in overthrowing al-Walid II, Marwan at first opposed him, on Yazids early death, Marwan renewed his ambitions, ignored Yazids named successor Ibrahim and became caliph. Ibrahim initially hid, then requested Marwan give him assurances of personal safety and this Marwan granted and Ibrahim even accompanied the new caliph to Hishams residence of Rusafah. Marwan named his two sons Ubaydallah and Abdallah heirs and he appointed governors and proceeded to assert his authority by force. However, anti-Umayyad feeling was prevalent, especially in Iran. The Abbasids had gained much support, as such, Marwans reign as caliph was almost entirely devoted to trying to keep the Umayyad empire together. Marwan took Emesa after a bitter ten-month siege, al-Dahhak ibn Qays al-Shaybani led a Kharijite rebellion. He defeated the Syrian forces and took Kufa, Sulayman ibn Hisham turned against Marwan, but suffered a severe defeat. The Kharijites advanced on Mosul and were defeated, al-Dahhaks successor al-Khaybari was initially successful in pushing back Marwans centre and even took the caliphs camp and sat on his carpet. However, he and those with him fell in fighting in the camp, Marwan pursued him and Sulayman to Mosul and besieged them there for six months. Then reinforced the caliph drove them out, shayban fled to Bahrayn where he was killed, Sulayman sailed to India. In Khurasan there was internal discord with the Umayyad governor Nasr ibn Sayyar facing opposition from al-Harith, there had long been religious fervour and a kind of messianic expectation of Abbasid ascendency. During Ramadan 747, they unfurled the standards of their revolt, Nasr sent his retainer Yazid against them. Yazid, however, was bested, taken and held captive and he was impressed by the Abbasids and when released told Nasr he wanted to join them, but his obligations to Nasr brought him back. Fighting continued throughout Khurasan with the Abbasids gaining increasing ascendency, finally, Nasr fell sick and died at Rayy on November 9,748 at the age of eighty five
33.
Emir
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An Emir, sometimes transliterated Amir, Amier, or Ameer, is an aristocratic or noble title of high office used in a variety of places in the Arab countries and Afghanistan. It means commander, general, or prince, when translated as prince, the word emirate is analogous to a sovereign principality. Amir, meaning Lord or commander-in-chief, is derived from the Arabic root a-m-r, the word entered English in 1593, from the French émir. It was one of the titles or names of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, the monarchs of UAE, Qatar and Kuwait are currently titled Emirs. All members of the House of Saud have the title of Emir, the caliphs first used the title Amir al-Muminin or Commander of the Faithful, stressing their leadership over the Islamic Empire, especially over the militia. The title has been assumed by various other Muslim rulers, including Sultans, for Shia Muslims, they still give this title to the Caliph Ali as Amir al Muminin. Note that the title was held by Christians as well, the word Emir is also used less formally for leaders in certain contexts. For example, the leader of a group of pilgrims to Mecca is called an Emir hadji, where an adjectival form is necessary, Emiral suffices. Amirzade, the son of a prince, hence the Persian princely title Mirza, the temporal leader of the Yazidi people is known as an Emir or Prince. From the start, Emir has been a military title, in certain decimally-organized Muslim armies, Amir was an officer rank. For example, in Mughal India Amirs commanded 1000 horsemen, ten of them under one Malik, Muhammad Amin Bughra, Nur Ahmad Jan Bughra, and Abdullah Bughra declared themselves Emirs of the First East Turkestan Republic. Amir is a name in the Persian language and a prefix name for many masculine names such as Amir Ali. Amir-i-Iel designates the head of an Il in imperial Persia, in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the female name Emira, often interpreted as princess, is a derivative of the male name Emir. Abdul Abulbul Amir, both character and song, wat Tambor in Star Wars, Episode II – Attack of the Clones took the title of Emir. In the Star Wars universe the title may relate to Tambors military command, Emir Karim, a character in Wild At Heart, a Latin American drama. Specific emirates of note List of emirs of Harar List of emirs of Kuwait List of emirs of Qatar List of Emirs of Mosul Emirate of Afghanistan
34.
Abd al-Rahman I
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Abd al-Rahman I, more fully Abd al-Rahman ibn Muawiya ibn Hisham ibn Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan, was the founder of a Muslim dynasty that ruled the greater part of Iberia for nearly three centuries. At the time it was known by the Arabs as al-Andalus and he was also known by the surnames al-Dakhil, Saqr Quraish and the Falcon of Andalus. Variations of the spelling of his name include Abd ar-Rahman I, Abdul Rahman I, Abdar Rahman I, and Abderraman I. Born near Damascus in Syria, Abd al-Rahman was the son of the Umayyad prince Muawiya ibn Hisham and a Berber mother and he was twenty when his family, the ruling Umayyads, were overthrown by the Abbasid Revolution in 748–750. The family fled from Damascus to the River Euphrates, all along the way the path was filled with danger, as the Abbasids had dispatched horsemen across the region to try to find the Umayyad prince and kill him. The Abbasids were merciless with all Umayyads that they found, Abbasid agents closed in on Abd al-Rahman and his family while they were hiding in a small village. He left his son with his sisters and fled with Yahya. Accounts vary, but Bedr likely initially escaped with Abd ar-Rahman, some histories indicate that Bedr met up with Abd al-Rahman at a later date. Abd al-Rahman, Yahya and Bedr quit the village narrowly escaping the Abbasid assassins, later, on the way south, Abbasid horsemen again caught up with the trio, Abd al-Rahman and his companions then threw themselves into the River Euphrates. The horsemen begged the escapers to return, promising that no harm would come to them, the 17th-century historian Ahmed Mohammed al-Maqqari poignantly described Abd al-Rahmans reaction as he implored Yahya to keep going, O brother. Yahya returned to the shore, and was quickly dispatched by the horsemen. They cut the head off their prize, leaving Yahyas body to rot, al-Maqqari quotes prior Muslim historians as having recorded that Abd al-Rahman said he was so overcome with fear at that moment, that once he made the far shore he ran until exhaustion overcame him. Only he and Bedr were left to face the unknown, after barely escaping with their lives, Abd al-Rahman and Bedr continued south through Palestine, the Sinai, and then into Egypt. Abd al-Rahman had to keep a low profile as he traveled and it may be assumed that he intended to go at least as far as northwestern Africa, the land of his mother, which had been partly conquered by his Umayyad predecessors. The journey across Egypt would prove perilous, at the time, Abd al-Rahman ibn Habib al-Fihri was the semi-autonomous governor of Ifriqiya and a former Umayyad client. The ambitious Ibn Habib, a member of the illustrious Fihrid family, had sought to carve out Ifriqiya as a private dominion for himself. Abd al-Rahman was only one of several surviving Umayyad family members to make their way to Ifriqiya at this time, but Ibn Habib soon changed his mind. He feared the presence of prominent Umayyad exiles in Ifriqiya, a more illustrious than his own
