Name: Jafaruddin Fadhil Ma’ruf

NIM:20311536

History and Origins of the Umayyad Dynasty

In 661-750 A.D. in the Arabian Peninsula, stood the Umayyad Dynasty, or
Umayyad caliphate, which was then the capital of Damascus. The reign of the
Umayyad dynasty, continued from 756 to 1031, with the capital of Cordoba, Spain,
as the Caliphate of Cordoba.

The origin of the name of the Umayyad dynasty, comes from the name of the
grandfather of the first caliph, namely: Muawiyah bin Abu Sufyan, or called Muawiyah
I. The Umayyad dynasty, began to form since the events of the takhin war in the battle
of Shiffin.

This war demanded revenge for the death of Caliph Uthman bin Affan, in the war of
Jamal. The battle of Jamal, took place between Ali bin Abi Talib, with the group of
Aisyiah RA, which was initially won by Ali bin Abi Talib.
However, it seems to be starting to make Said.agat defeat made Muawiyah propose to
Ali to return to the law of God. Muawiyah, indeed clever enough to deceive Ali bin Abi
Talib, with tactics and tactics, until finally, he suffered a political defeat.

After the battle of Shiffin, there was another event that was no less surprising, namely
the murder of Ali bin Abi Talib. After the death of Ali ibn Abi Talib, and the people of
Madinah, he then swore allegiance to Hasan ibn Ali. However, Hasan bin Ali rejected it,
and handed over the caliphate to Muawiyah bin Sufyan.

He had his own reason for entrusting the position of caliph to Muawiyah, which was to
reconcile the Muslims who at that time were being hit by various slanders. Starting
from the assassination of Uthman bin Affan, the battle of Shiffin, the battle of Jamal,
the assassination of Ali ibn Abi Talib, and the betrayal of the Kharijites.
 Umayyads, Dynasty Two Families

14 khallfahs consisting of two families, namely three people from the Harb family, and
11 people Dar Abi Al-Ash led the Umayyad government since 661-750 A.D. Muawiyah
bin Abu Sufyan was the first caliph of the Umayyad dynasty, from 661-679 M.

During Muawiyah's rule, expansion outside Tunisia, then expansion to the east included
Khurasan, Afghanistan to Kabul. After Muawiyah died he was replaced by Yazid bin
Muawiyah (Yazid I) 679-683 AD, who later died in 683 A.D. His successor Muawiayah II
was appointed by the people of Syria as caliph.

However, it only took 40 days for the health reasons, He resigned, and locked himself
up until his death. The resignation of Muawiyah II, as: the final sign of power from the
family line of Harb bin Umyyah. After Muawiyah II, there was a split among the
Umayyads, who almost abolished their power.

This was due to excessive tribal fanaticism, namely the North Arab group supporting
Abdulah bin Zubair, who rebelled during the reign of Yazid I, and gained widespread
recognition after his death.

Meanwhile, the group of South Arabs who supported the Umayyads, were divided into
2 groups, namely: the first group, who wanted Khalid bin Yazid to be the caliph, while
the second group, wanted Marwan bin Hakam, a distant cousin of Muawiyah II. Both
groups finally agreed to appoint Marwan bin Hakam as caliph, then continued Amr bin
Said.

However, what happened when Marwan I the position of caliph was handed over to his
son, Abdul Malik. Before the death of Marwan I, he did appoint his two sons to succeed
him successively Abdul Malik, and Abdul Aziz.
 The reign of Abi Al-Ash bin Umayyah ended, when Marwan II was killed in a small
battle, with the Abbasid forces in Egypt marking the end of the Umayyad dynasty.

During the reign of the Umayyads, although there was often a power struggle between
the two families. There are several caliphs who are very influential, namely: Al-Walid
bin Abdul Malik Umar bin Abdul Aziz. Under his rule the expansion of the territory was
carried out on a large scale, until the power of Islam extended to Spain.

A 10-year reign, he expanded from North Africa to the European continent in 711 A.D.
to Algeria, Morocco, and finally the Spanish territory of Cordoba. All of that, under the
leadership of Thoriq bin Ziyad.

In the time of Umar bin Abdul Aziz, the area of Islamic rule continued to be expanded to
the French region, through the Pyrenees, and the islands in the Mediterranean Sea, or
the Mediterranean also fell into the hands of Islam, during this time of the Umayyads.
Expansion continued into several regions making Islamic rule, very wide from Spain,
Africa to parts of Asia Minor and Afghanistan.

In addition to the rapid expansion of territory, this dynasty for the first time broke down
the system of election of leaders which was initially carried out by consensus into a
family system, or monarchy. Monarchical system, adopting the tradition of the pre-
Islamic system of government in the Middle East. Indications of successive leadership
succession to the Bani Umayyah, seen from the attitude of Muawiyah, required all his
people to be loyal to his son, Yazid. Muawiyah order, evidence as a form of
strengthening the hereditary system of government built by Muawiyah.

Changes in the family system rolled during the Umayyad Caliphate, then became the
beginning of the emergence of diverse understandings in theological issues, including
Shiites, Muawiyah, and Khawarji. These three theological streams have begun to
emerge since the end of the reign of Ali bin Abi Talib.
 TheUmayyad
89-year-oldperiod of 661-750 AD, the Umayyad dynasty recorded many advances in
various fields ranging from economy, science, art, architecture, and this was the time of
the success of the Umayyads. The development of literary art in this period is rapidly
increasing in several fields of art ranging from dance, fine arts, architecture, to
language.

The postal service, and places, by providing complete horses, and their equipment
along the road were built by the caliph Muawiyah bin Abu Sufwan. At this time the
special department of a qadhi developed into a profession of its own.

The Umayyads, during the reign of Abdul Malik bin Marwan The Umayyads, sought
to maintain the purity of the Arabs, they sought to elevate the ranks of the Arabs, as
the ruling nation. Such a basis of thought, then Arabic made, as the official language
of the country, and all official orders, as well as official regulations use Arabic.

From here, then grow the knowledge of Qawaid, and other sciences to learn Arabic.

This dynasty also had its own currency, by changing the Byzantine currency, and
Persia in 659 A.D. This currency used Arabic words and writings.

The field of architecture is one of the relics of the Umayyads, there are at least 3
architectural buildings, namely: First, the Stone Dome Mosque, is a building located in
the middle of the Al-Haram Asy-Syarif complex, Al-Aqsa Mosque. Construction of this
mosque began when Jerusalem fell into the hands of Islamic rule, in the era of Caliph
Umar bin Khattab.

Second, Istana Kusair Amra is an architectural relic of the Umayyad era, which was
once lost. However, in 1898 was rediscovered by Alois Musil.
 When the throne room is found, and the bath can still be found. The interior walls are
decorated with typical Greco-Roman frescoes, built during the reign of Al-Walid 712-715
A.D.

Third, the Umayyad Great Mosque, which features a combination of Roman and
Islamic culture, was built in 705-714 AD agricultural land collected by the Umayyad
dynasty government. The construction of the mosque involved artists, and builders
from various countries from Persia, India, Byzantium, to North Africa,

Three Special Features of Umayyad Dynasty Clothing

During the Umayyad Dynasty, there were at least 3 characteristics of women's clothing
used by the people at that time: First, the tiraz commonly worn by state officials sitting
in courts, and those close to the caliph.
Usually they, are: honorable people who get special escorts to be protected This

second, collar, and patterned cuffs, are referred to as features of the king's attire. This
garment forms part of the emblem of the caliphate. The plaster statue depicting the
ruler in dress, Sasanid immortalized the dress of the real Umayyad Caliph. The color of
the clothing of the Umayyad dynasty, is: white symbolizes purity equipped with a head
covering called Qalansuwa, so known to people.
 Economic Geliat in the Umayyad Period The
area of the capital of the Umayyad dynasty, located in Damascus was viewed
strategically economically. This district, is an important port in the Middle East. While
Baitul Mal is divided into two, namely: a common part for the whole community, and a
part for the sultan and his family. Practices in the distribution of Baitul Mal at that time,
often deviated, so that some funds were not allocated properly.

Economic development in the Umayyad era through the printing of special

currencies. Not until here, some positions were developed professional positions
such as judges, thus increasing employment to the Muslim community. Fixed
salaries to the army impacted the improved well-being of the Muslim army. Tax
collection and administration during the time of Muawiyah bin Abi Sufwan of
2.5%, from the income of every Muslim became a source of national income

Collapse of the Umayyad Dynasty

The progress achieved by the Umayyad dynasty, not liked by groups that are satisfied
with the Umayyad government, such as Khawarji, Shiites, and Mawali. There is no
clarity of the system. And the provisions of the caliphate are the cause of such
dissatisfaction.

Government families compete with each other unfairly, and fights in government trigger
conflict. In addition, the hedonistic, luxurious lifestyle of some families in the caliphate
made them unable to bear the heavy burden of the country. Inter-ethnic or tribal
conflicts (Bani Qays) and South Arabs (Bani Kalb) became a factor in the collapse of
the Umayyad dynasty.