The Umayyad Caliphate in AD 750
A caliphate or khilāfah (Arabic: خِلَافَة, Arabic pronunciation: [xi'laːfat]) is an Islamic state under the leadership of an Islamic ruler with the title of caliph (/ˈkælɪf, ˈkeɪ-/; Arabic: خَلِيفَة Arabic pronunciation: [xæ'liː'fæt], About this soundpronunciation (help·info)), a person considered a politico-religious successor to the Islamic prophet Muhammad and a leader of the entire Muslim world. Historically, the caliphates were polities based on Islam which developed into multi-ethnic trans-national empires. During the medieval period, three major caliphates succeeded each other: the Rashidun Caliphate (632–661), the Umayyad Caliphate (661–750), and the Abbasid Caliphate (750–1517). In the fourth major caliphate, the Ottoman Caliphate, the rulers of the Ottoman Empire claimed caliphal authority from 1517. Throughout the history of Islam, a few other Muslim states, almost all hereditary monarchies such as the Abbasid caliphs under protection of Mamluk Sultanate (Cairo) and Ayyubid Caliphate, have claimed to be caliphates. The first caliph was Abu Bakr and the last caliph was Abdulmejid II.
Prior to the rise of Muhammad, Arab tribes followed a pre-Islamic Arab polytheism and lived as self-governing sedentary and nomadic tribal communities. Following the early Muslim conquests by Muhammad, the region became politically unified under Islam.
The first caliphate, the Rāshidun Caliphate, immediately succeeded Muhammad after his death in 632. The four Rāshidun caliphs were chosen through shura, a process of community consultation that some consider to be an early form of Islamic democracy. The fourth caliph, Ali, who, unlike the prior three, was from the same clan as Muhammad (Banu Hāshim), is considered by Shia Muslims to be the first rightful caliph and Imam after Muhammad. Ali reigned during the First Fitnā (656–661), a civil war between supporters of Ali and supporters of the assassinated previous caliph, Uthman, from Banu Umayya, as well as rebels in Egypt; the war led to the establishment of the Umayyad Caliphate under Muāwiyah I in 661.
The second caliphate, the Umayyad Caliphate, was ruled by Banu Umayya, a Meccan clan descended from Umayya ibn Abd Shams. The caliphate continued the Arab conquests, incorporating the Caucasus, Transoxiana, Sindh, the Maghreb and the Iberian Peninsula (Al-Andalus) into the Muslim world. The caliphate had considerable acceptance of the Christians within its territory, necessitated by their large numbers, especially in the region of Syria. Following the Abbasid Revolution from 746 to 750, which primarily arose from non-Arab Muslim disenfranchisement, the Abbāsid Caliphate was established in 750.
The third caliphate, the Abbāsid Caliphate was ruled by the Abbāsids, a dynasty of Meccan origin descended from Hāshim, a great-grandfather of Muhammad, via Abbās, an uncle of Muhammad. Caliph al-Mansur founded its second capital of Baghdād in 762, which became a major scientific, cultural and art centre, as did the territory as a whole, during the period known as the Islamic Golden Age. From the 10th century, Abbasid rule became confined to an area around Baghdad and saw several occupations from foreign powers. In 1258, the Mongol Empire sacked Baghdad, ending the Abbasid rule over Baghdad, but in 1261 the Mamluks in Egypt re-established the Abbasid Caliphate in Cairo. Though lacking in political power, the Abbasid dynasty continued to claim authority in religious matters until the Ottoman conquest of Mamluk Egypt in 1517, which saw the establishment of the Ottoman Caliphate.
(from Wikipedia)
Information about the author of the book "Umayyads and Abbasids, the fourth part of Jurji Zaydan's History of Islamic Civilization", available below, is provided here. This may help readers to better evaluate the contents of the book.
"Jurji Zaydan (Arabic: جرجي زيدان, ALA-LC: Jurjī Zaydān; December 14, 1861 – July 21, 1914) was a prolific Lebanese novelist, journalist, editor and teacher, most noted for his creation of the magazine Al-Hilal, which he used to serialize his twenty three historical novels.
His primary goal, as a writer and intellectual during the Nahda, was to make the common Arabic population know their own history through the entertaining medium of the novel. He has enjoyed a widespread popularity. He is also considered to have been one of the first thinkers to help formulate the theory of Arab nationalism."
"Zaydan's secular take on history was particularly controversial in Tarikh al-Tamaddun al-Islam (The History of the Islamic Civilization, 1901–1906), in which he offers a critical secular reading of Islamic history in at least five volumes. The experience embittered him until his unexpected death in 1914.
Leaving behind a legacy that includes 23 published novels, numerous scholarly works, and a magazine then circulated in Persia, India, Japan, Western Africa, Zanzibar, Australia, New Zealand, the West Indies, and North and South America, he was one of the most prolific and renowned Arab writers of the time. His impact left a lasting impression on the general Arab population as well as such literary giants as Taha Hussein, Naguib Mahfouz and poet Fadwa Tuqan."
(from Wikipedia)
Umayyads and Abbasids, the fourth part of Jurji Zaydan's History of Islamic Civilization