Umayyad Caliphate

The Umayyad Caliphate was the first hereditary Islamic dynasty, founded by Muawiya I after the assassination of Ali ibn Abi Talib. Ruling from Damascus, the Umayyads presided over the most rapid territorial expansion in Islamic history, stretching from the Iberian Peninsula in the west to the Indus Valley in the east within a century of the Prophet Muhammad's death. Despite their military achievements, the Umayyads faced persistent opposition from non-Arab Muslims and Shia partisans who considered their rule illegitimate. In 750, the Abbasid Revolution overthrew the dynasty, though a surviving branch escaped to establish the Emirate of Cordoba in Iberia, preserving Umayyad rule in the west for another three centuries.

• Existed: 661 CE – 750 CE
• Type: Empire
• Government: theocracy
• Capital: Damascus