Umayyad Caliphate Timeline

(661 CE – 750 CE)

The Umayyad Caliphate was the second of the four major Islamic caliphates, established after the First Fitna in 661 CE. Centered in Damascus, it transformed the caliphate into a hereditary dynasty and oversaw rapid territorial expansion, making it one of the largest empires in history, stretching from Spain to Central Asia. The dynasty fell in 750 CE to the Abbasid Revolution, though a surviving branch continued in al-Andalus (Muslim Spain) as the Emirate and later Caliphate of Córdoba until 1031. More Less

Go to: Timeline | Event List | Key Facts | Directory

Rise and Expansion

Conquest of North Africa begins under Abdullah ibn Sa'd

647

Arab armies began their campaigns into Byzantine North Africa in 647, launching decades of expansion that would eventually bring Egypt, Libya, Tunisia, and Algeria under Islamic control during and after the rise of the Umayyads.

Image source: Muslim conquest of the Maghreb

Muawiyah I becomes caliph

661

Following the assassination of Ali, Muawiyah I, governor of Syria, established himself as the first caliph of the Umayyad dynasty. He moved the capital to Damascus and founded a hereditary system of succession, marking the formal beginning of the Umayyad Caliphate.

Image source: Mu'awiya I

Muslim conquest of Transoxiana begins

705 - 715

Under generals Qutayba ibn Muslim and al-Hajjaj's patronage, Arab forces pushed beyond the Oxus River into Central Asia, conquering Bukhara, Samarkand, and Khwarazm, extending Umayyad influence deep into Central Asia.

Image source: Muslim conquest of Transoxiana

Tariq ibn Ziyad invades Visigothic Spain

711

Berber commander Tariq ibn Ziyad crossed into Iberia and defeated the Visigothic king Roderic at the Battle of Guadalete, opening the conquest of most of the Iberian Peninsula within a few years.

Image source: Muslim conquest of Spain

Conquest of Sindh in South Asia

711

Muhammad bin Qasim led an Arab army that conquered the Indus Valley region of Sindh, bringing parts of modern Pakistan under Umayyad control and establishing the easternmost province of the caliphate.

Image source: Umayyad conquest of Sindh

Emirate of Córdoba established

756

Abd al-Rahman I defeated the Abbasid-appointed governor of al-Andalus and proclaimed himself emir of Córdoba, preserving Umayyad rule in Iberia for centuries after the dynasty's fall in the east.

Image source: Emirate of Córdoba

Conflicts and Rebellions

First Fitna ends with Muawiyah's victory

656 - 661

The First Fitna, a civil war within the early Islamic community, pitted Ali ibn Abi Talib against Muawiyah over the succession to Uthman. Its conclusion in 661 with Ali's death and Muawiyah's accession set the stage for Umayyad rule.

Image source: First Fitna

Muawiyah's naval attacks on Constantinople begin

674 - 678

Umayyad fleets launched annual assaults on Constantinople between 674 and 678. The siege ultimately failed, partly due to Byzantine use of Greek fire, marking one of the earliest major setbacks for Arab expansion into Anatolia.

Image source: Siege of Constantinople (674–678)

Battle of Karbala

Oct 10, 680

Husayn ibn Ali, grandson of the Prophet Muhammad, was killed along with his small band of followers by Umayyad forces at Karbala in Iraq. The event became a defining tragedy for Shi'a Islam and fueled lasting opposition to Umayyad legitimacy.

Image source: Battle of Karbala

Second Fitna civil war erupts

682 - 692

The Second Fitna was a prolonged period of internal conflict following Yazid's death, featuring rival claimants including Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr in Mecca and later anti-Umayyad movements in Iraq. It severely destabilized the caliphate.

Image source: Second Fitna

Siege of Constantinople (717–718)

717 - 718

A massive Umayyad land and naval assault on Constantinople ended in catastrophic failure due to Byzantine defenses, Greek fire, disease, and Bulgar attacks, halting further Arab advances toward Europe from Anatolia.

Image source: Siege of Constantinople (717–718)

Umayyad forces defeated at Battle of Toulouse

721

Aquitanian Duke Odo the Great routed an invading Umayyad army before the walls of Toulouse, inflicting heavy casualties and temporarily blunting the northward advance of Muslim forces from Spain into Francia.

Image source: Battle of Toulouse (721)

Battle of Tours

Oct 10, 732

Frankish leader Charles Martel decisively defeated an Umayyad raiding force led by Abdul Rahman Al Ghafiqi near Tours, checking further Arab expansion into Western Europe and cementing Frankish power.

Image source: Battle of Tours

Berber Revolt in North Africa

740 - 743

Inspired by Kharijite teachings and resentment over unequal treatment, Berber tribes rose against Umayyad rule in North Africa. The revolt devastated the region and permanently severed much of the Maghreb from effective caliphal control.

Third Fitna begins

744 - 750

The death of Caliph Walid II triggered a destructive civil war among competing Umayyad princes. Marwan II ultimately prevailed but exhausted the dynasty's strength just as the Abbasid movement gathered force in the east.

Image source: Third Fitna

Abbasid Revolution gains momentum in Khorasan

747 - 750

The Abbasid movement, drawing support from disaffected non-Arab converts and Shi'a sympathizers, launched open revolt in Khorasan under Abu Muslim. Its armies swept westward, decisively defeating Umayyad forces.

Image source: Abbasid Revolution

Battle of the Zab

Jan 25, 750

Abbasid forces under Abu Abbas al-Saffah annihilated the last major Umayyad army on the banks of the Great Zab River, sealing the fate of the dynasty and opening the road to Damascus.

Image source: Battle of the Zab

Governance and Society

Yazid I succeeds Muawiyah as caliph

680

Yazid I became caliph after his father Muawiyah's death, establishing hereditary succession in practice. His reign was immediately challenged by opposition from Husayn ibn Ali and Ibn al-Zubayr, leading to major crises.

Image source: Yazid I

Abd al-Malik becomes caliph

685 - 705

Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan acceded to the throne amid the Second Fitna and went on to reunify the caliphate, defeat rival claimants, and implement sweeping administrative reforms that centralized power in Damascus.

Image source: Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan

Al-Hajjaj ibn Yusuf appointed governor of Iraq

694 - 714

Al-Hajjaj ibn Yusuf governed Iraq and the east with notorious severity, crushing rebellions and restoring order for the Umayyad court. He also sponsored the standardization of the Quranic text and supported military expansion eastward.

Image source: Al-Hajjaj ibn Yusuf

Arabization of administration under Abd al-Malik

700

Abd al-Malik made Arabic the official language of government administration across the caliphate, replacing Greek and Persian in official records, and introduced an Islamic coinage bearing Arabic inscriptions, strengthening cultural cohesion.

Marwan II moves capital to Harran

744

Marwan II shifted the administrative center from Damascus to Harran in northern Mesopotamia, reflecting his military base of support but alienating Syrian loyalists who had long anchored Umayyad power.

Image source: Marwan II

Culture and Decline

Construction of the Dome of the Rock

688 - 691

Caliph Abd al-Malik commissioned the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem, completed around 691. One of the earliest surviving works of Islamic architecture, it symbolized the growing confidence and artistic achievement of the Umayyad state.

Image source: Dome of the Rock

Walid I's reign marks architectural flourishing

705 - 715

Al-Walid I presided over a golden age of Umayyad architecture, commissioning the Great Mosque of Damascus, expansions of the Prophet's Mosque in Medina, and the Al-Aqsa Mosque, showcasing imperial splendor.

Image source: Al-Walid I

Great Mosque of Damascus completed

706 - 715

Built on the site of a former church in Damascus, the Umayyad Mosque became a masterpiece of early Islamic art and architecture, adorned with mosaics that depicted paradisiacal landscapes across its vast courtyard.

Image source: Umayyad Mosque

Abd al-Rahman I escapes to al-Andalus

750

Surviving the Abbasid massacre of the Umayyad family, Abd al-Rahman I fled across North Africa to Iberia, where he would found a lasting Umayyad successor state in Cordoba.

Image source: Abd al-Rahman I

Key Facts

The Umayyad Caliphate was founded in 661 CE by Mu'awiya ibn Abi Sufyan after the end of the First Fitna, making it the first hereditary dynasty in Islamic history.
Its capital was Damascus, in modern-day Syria, which became a major political and cultural center of the Islamic world.
Under Umayyad rule, the caliphate expanded to become one of the largest empires in history, encompassing territory from the Iberian Peninsula in the west to the Indus River in the east.
The Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem was completed around 691–692 CE under Caliph Abd al-Malik, one of the most enduring architectural achievements of the era.
The Umayyad dynasty was overthrown in 750 CE by the Abbasid Revolution, but a surviving member, Abd al-Rahman I, established the Umayyad Emirate of Córdoba in al-Andalus (Spain) in 756 CE.

Source

This Umayyad Caliphate timeline was generated with the help of AI, using information found on the internet.

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