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Jessica has taught junior high history and college seminar courses. She has a master's degree in education.
The name Mohammed is familiar to many. In fact, if you asked a bunch of people, I'm guessing a lot of them would be able to link Mohammed to Islam. However, I'm guessing just a few of them would be able to tell you what happened to the Islamic world after Mohammed's death. To shed some light on this topic, today's lesson will take a look at the Umayyad Dynasty.
However, before we get to the Umayyads, we should probably back up and explain what happened after Mohammed's death. After the death of Mohammed, his followers sought a leader for their newly founded Islamic faith. With this, they turned to Abu Bakr, Mohammed's father-in-law who also happened to be one of his very good friends. As their new leader, they bestowed on him the title of caliph. A caliph is an Islamic religious ruler whose name actually means successor. The first caliphs after Mohammed were known as the Rightly Guided Caliphs. Showing the importance of this position, a government under the rule of a caliph is called a caliphate.
Unfortunately, not all Muslims agreed that Mohammed's father-in-law should have been given power. With this, unrest plagued the rule of the Rightly Guided Caliphs. Eventually, they lost their power and a new caliph named Muawiyah moved the capital from Medina to Damascus. This began what has come to be known as the Umayyad Dynasty.
Unlike the Rightly Guided Caliphs, the caliphs of the Umayyad Dynasty were more interested in politics and economics than religion. They made Arabic the official language and were the first to mint Arabic money. Along with this, they worked to improve the infrastructure of their lands. They rebuilt ancient irrigation systems, constructed stunning places of worship, and even promoted the arts.
Despite their desire to grow economically, the Umayyad Dynasty was plagued with warfare. First, they found themselves continually fighting the Byzantine Empire over the city of Constantinople.
Going back to the issue of who should be caliph, the people of the dynasty continued the feud over who should be their rightful ruler. There were those known as the Shiites, who believed that all caliphs should be descendants of Ali, Mohammed's son-in-law. On the other side of the feud were the Sunni, who asserted that all caliphs should descend from Abu Bakr, the very first caliph.
After years upon years of off-and-on skirmishes, all-out war broke out between the Shiites and the Sunnis. Ironically, the Shiites, who were actually the minority, gained the upper hand in this conflict. In around the year 750, a group of Shiites known as Abbasids conquered the majority Umayyads and with this, their dynasty came to an end.
Abu Bakr, Mohammed's father-in-law was the first Islamic caliph after the death of Mohammed. A caliph is an Islamic religious ruler whose name actually means successor. A government under the rule of a caliph is known as a caliphate. The first caliphs after Mohammed were known as the Rightly Guided Caliphs.
Unrest encompassed the rule of the Rightly Guided Caliphs. With this, they lost their power to Muawiyah, the founder of the Umayyad Dynasty. The Umayyad caliphs were very interested in economic gain. They were the first to mint Arabic money and they also moved their capital to Damascus.
The reign of this dynasty was also marked by strife and war. On opposite sides of this conflict were the Shiites, who believe that all caliphs should be descendants of Ali, Mohammed's son-in-law, and the Sunni, who asserted that all caliphs should descend from Abu Bakr, the very first caliph.
Eventually, a group of Shiites known as Abbasids conquered the majority Umayyads and brought an end to their rule.
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