Brief History: After Mohammeds death, his upper-class father-in-law became his successor to lead the new religion,

Islam and the Arab tribes that Mohammed formed during his time. During Abu Bakrs regime, rebellions arose because the Tribes didnt want to send taxes over to Medina since Muhammed is no longer alive but they still acknowledged Muhammed as a prophet. These said rebellions were subdued until the end of 633. During his regime, he still continued Muhammads expansionist policy (practice of territorial expansion) and send Muslim troops over to Syria and Iraq. Abu Bakr died and appointed Umar to be his successor. The second caliph, Umar still pursued sending out Muslim troops. Umar lead the Muslim conquest into defeating the Persians and the Byzantines in Syria. Though the Byzantines gave up Egypt to the Muslims under a peace treaty. The peace treaties under Umar allowed the conquered people to retain their own land and religions and were given the status of protected people. Though they were required to pay a special tax (known as jizya). Umar was assassinated in 644 A.D. The third caliph, Uthman attempted to retain the unity of the empire by appointing members of his own clan, the Umayyads, to governorships (or elected head of states). An example would be Uthmans kinsman, Muawiya who was appointed governorship all over Syria and Northern Iraq. Uthman was accused of religious innovation because he authorized an official version of the Quran and had all other copies burned. The Quran reciters had a huge influence over the masses, with this they were able to show their leadership towards the caliphate in religious affairs and to further unify the empire. Uthman was murdered in 656 A.D by discontented Egyptians. The fourth caliph, Ali, was appointed by the notables of Medina. The people were outraged by his failure to punish the assassinators of Uthman. This lead to the break out of a civil war lead by Alis former supporters, Muhammads former wife and Abu bakrs daughter. Muawiya refused to offer his loyalty to Ali so they confronted each other with their armies. Muawiya called for an arbitration though it didnt serve as anything but it served to withdraw the authority of Ali in his supporters eyes and then deserted Ali and his army. They Syrians acknowledged Muawiya as a caliph and later on took over Egypt. In 658 A.D, the Kharijites were destroyed by Alis army. By this time, Alis rule reduced to central and southern Iraq and later on he was murdered by a Kharijite in 661 A.D. After his assassination, Muawiya became caliph of the entire Muslim empire and he began the period of the Umayyad Caliphate.

Rulers: The first four caliphs to rule after the death of Muhammed, known as the Righteous Caliphs (The only caliphs that preserved the true tradition of Muhammad) : 1st caliph: Abu Bakr 2nd caliph: Umar 3rd caliph: Uthman 4th caliph: Ali Umayyad Caliphs during the Empire Mu'awiyya I Yazid I Mu'awiyya II Marwan I Abd al-Malik al-Walid I Sulayman Umar II Yazid II 661-80 A.D 680-683 683-684 684-685 685-705 705-715 715-717 717-720 720-724

Hisham al-Walid II Yazid III Ibrahim Marwan II

724-743 743-744 744 744 744-750

Contributions: The Umayyads were the first to promote the development of Arab civilization. They collaborated the diverse racial and religious elements of Jews, Christians and Muslims. During the period of the Umayyad caliphate architecture, literature and the arts prospered. Where was the center of the caliphate transferred? The Umayyad Caliphate originated from the city of Mecca but the capital or center was moved to Damascus, Syria. What countries did the Umayyads invade and not invade? Syria, Persia; Central Asia, parts of Egypt, Spain, North Africa. Why did the Umayyad caliphate weaken? The Umayyad Caliphate was weakened due to the mass killings and was therefore overthrown by Abul-Abbas, the ruler of the Abbasid Caliphate.

http://harmonia.meccahosting.com/~a00052c7/contributionstocivilization.php http://www.mideastweb.org/Middle-East-Encyclopedia/umayyad.htm http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/History/Umayyad.html

http://www.princeton.edu/~batke/itl/denise/right.htm