The Umayyad Empire

Part I: The Formation of the Umayyad Empire -- Introduction -- 1. The Origins of Arabian Empire -- 2. The Seventh Century ‘World Crisis’ -- 3. The ‘Conquest Society’ and the Defeat of Rome and Iran -- 4. The Emergence of the Umayyad Empire -- 5. The Succession to Mu‘awiya and the Second Civil War -- Part II: The Marwanid Umayyad Empire, 692–750 -- Introduction -- 6. The Imperial Marwanid Caliphate -- 7. The Siege of Constantinople and the Short Caliphates of Sulayman, ‘Umar II, and Yazid II -- 8. Hisham b. ‘Abd al-Malik: Renewal and Defeat -- 9. The Collapse of Umayyad Power -- Part III: Ecology, Economy and Society in Umayyad Times -- Introduction -- 10. Resources, Settlement Patterns and Commerce -- 11. Christians, Zoroastrians, Jews and Others in the Umayyad Empire -- 12. The Provinces, Government and Taxation

"The Umayyad Empire (644–750 CE) was the first Islamic empire and one of the largest empires of ancient and medieval times, extending over 5,000 miles between the Atlantic Ocean in the West and the Indian Ocean in the East. This book traces the empire’s origins to the Arabian Peninsula and the Syrian Steppe in the centuries before Islam. It explores the dynamics that shaped this formative era for the history of the Mediterranean, North Africa, the Middle East and Central Asia. The century of Umayyad rule witnessed war with the Eastern Roman Empire, against whom the Umayyads defined their claims to rule as God’s deputies on Earth. This was the period in which the Qur’an was compiled, monuments such as the Dome of the Rock were built, and new Islamic and Arab identities developed." --Provided by publisher.