Muawiyyah and the Beginning of Umayyad Dynasty

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Mu'awiyah calligraphy

The Umayyads were a hereditary Muslim dynasty based in Damascus. From A.D. 661 to 750 they ruled an empire larger than the Roman empire, stretching from southern France to China. Under the Umayyads, Islamic art, science and literature prospered and masterpieces of Islamic architecture, the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem and the Omayyad Mosque in Damascus, were built.

Muawiyyah (Caliph from 661-80) became the recognized caliph after Hasan's retirement. The governor of Syria during the early Arab conquests, a kinsman of Uthman, and a member of the Quraysh lineage of the Prophet, he ruled from Damascus, Syria and established the Umayyad dynasty. The name Umayyad is derived from Bani Umayyah, My'awiyah's clan within Muhammad's Quraysh tribe. Muawiyyah was the son of Abu Sufyan, an old enemy of Muhammad, and was the Governor of Syria.

After Ali's death,Muawiyyah managed to restore unity to the Muslim empire. He was a good Muslim and able leader and kept order with an effective administration system and a strong government. The civil war that broke out after Ali became caliph triggered a face off between Ali's Iraq-based supporters and the Meccan- and Syrian-based supporters of Muawiyyah ibn Abi Sufyan, an Othman relative and the Muslim military governor of Syria. Muawiyyah had promised to avenge Othman's death and was supported by the wealthy Meccan clans and was regarded in Syria as an able leader. In 657, an effort was made to arbitrate the dispute between Ali and Muawiyyah. Muawiyyah used the doctrine of pre-destination to legitimize his rule. The decision went against Ali. Muawiyyah deposed him and was proclaimed the Caliph in Jerusalem.

The modern Syrian image of Muawiyah is that of a man with enormous amounts of hilm, a combination of magnanimity, tolerance, and self-discipline, and of duha, political expertise — qualities Syrians continue to expect of their leaders. By 732 the dynasty he founded had conquered Spain and Tours in France and stretched east to Samarkand and Kabul, far exceeding the greatest boundaries of the Roman Empire. Thus, Damascus achieved a glory unrivaled among cities of the eighth century. [Source: Library of Congress]

Yazd I (Caliph from 680-683) succeeded his father Muawiyyah as caliph. They was great resistance to the establishment of a dynasty. A civil war broke out that lasted from 680 to 692.

Websites on Islamic History: History of Islam: An encyclopedia of Islamic history historyofislam.com ; Oxford Encyclopedia of the Islamic World oxfordislamicstudies.com ; Sacred Footsetps sacredfootsteps.com ; Islamic History Resources uga.edu/islam/history ; Internet Islamic History Sourcebook fordham.edu/halsall/islam/islamsbook ; Islamic History friesian.com/islam ; Muslim Heritage muslimheritage.com ; Chronological history of Islam barkati.net

Mu'awiyah

Oleg Graber wrote in his PhD Dissertation: “Mu'awiyah can be truly considered as the one man who gave the new empire its shape. Under Uthman and Umar the cities of Iraq were remarkable examples of anarchy and of permanent revolt. The rule of Ali with his feeble attempt to transform al-Kufah into the capital of the empire was totally unsuccessful. To create an empire and to secure its bases, Mu'awiyah had to start almost anew. He had to assess his power among the Arabs and the conquered peoples, and, more than that, he also had to adopt mehtods and symbols which would enable the empire to be governed and to survive. One of the methods was the establishment of dynastic succession. In general he amplified and developed what had already been partly founded by his predecessors, especially Umar, that is, a sort of mulk, an abstract form of power, which was expressed in practice in the growing centralization of the empire, in the formation of a regular army, of a navy, and in the development of a royal way of life at the court of the caliphs. [Source: Oleg Graber, PhD Dissertation, Princeton University, 1955, Chapter I. The Umayyad Royal Idea and its Expression under Mu'awiyah I. Beginning with pg. 18. Oleg Grabar (1929-2011) was a French-born art historian and archeologist and professor at Harvard]

first Umayyad gold dinar

“There is no doubt that Mu'awiyah was unable -- and quite probably also unwilling -- to introduce suddenly and without preparation an absolutism on the type found in Byzantium, Ctesiphon, or, later, Baghdad. He may not ever have been very familiar with such practice. Yet it is often said that he read a great deal of history. And furthermore al-Tabari has preserved an interesting account: when Umar ibn-al-Khattab was once visiting his governor of Syria, he was shocked to see Mu'awiyah taking part in a procession, having guards, and in general living an un-Islamic, Chosroes-like way of life. Mu'awiyah's answer was that the Byzantine enemy had spies in Syria and that it was of great importance for the Arab ruler to appear as similar as possible to his Christian opponent. What was merely a strategic move of psychological warfare while he was governor may have become more formal after his accession to the caliphate. There is ample evidence that Mu'awiyah did introduce new habits at the caliphal court.

“The most concise account of Mu'awiyah's life is given by al-Mas'udi. It has the advantage over all other acocunts of being more ordered and thorough, in that it describes a whole day of Mu'awiyah's life, whereas other accounts relate specific, but unconnected stories.

Mu'awiyah Rule

Abul Hasan Ali Al-Masu'di (Masudi, Masoudi) (ca. 895?-957 CE) — "the Arab Suetonius" — wrote: "Mu'awiyah's custom was to give audience five times a day. As soon as he made the morning prayer, he received an aide who stayed until he had finished his reports. Then he went in, his Kuran was brought to him, and he read a section from it. Then he would enter his apartment (manzil), where he took care of various business. Next he would make a five rika'at prayer. Afterwards he would go back to the audience-hall (majlis), where he gave audience to his closest councilors. They exchanged views. Then his ministers would come in and give a report on what they had done from morning until night. A small collation was then brought to him, which consisted of leftovers from the preceding night's dinner, cold lamb, or chicken, or something else like it. He had a long conversation, after which he would enter his apartment and do as he pleased. Coming out he would ask a page (ghulam) to have his kursi ready and he would go to the mosque. After his ablutions he sat on the kursi, leaning back against the maqsurah, with his guards standing by. Anybody could come to him, poor people, Arabs from the desert, women, children, and whoever else was destitute. To the one who complained about an injustice, Mu'awiyah would order comfort. To the oppressed he sent guards. To the injured he would order an inquiry. And this continued until there was no one left.

“"Next he returned to his palace and, sitting on the throne (sarir), he let people in according to their rank, but forbade anyone to prevent him from answering salutations. The visitor would say: How is the Commander of the Faithful? May God give him long life. And Mu'awiyah answered: With the grace of God. Once they weer seated he would say: O ye who are called nobles, because, to the exclusion of others, you are honored with sitting in this audience-hall (majlis), tell us the needs of those who have no access to us. A man would stand up and say that so-and-so died for the faith and Mu'awiyah would give a pension to his children. Another would mention that so-and-so was away from his family; Mu'awiyah would give the family a pension according to their needs. Then food was brought in; Mu'awiyah's secretary was present and standing by his side. Should anybody come, Mu'awiyah would invite him to sit at the table and offer him two or three mouthfuls of food, while the secretary was reading his letters. And Mu'awiyah would give him orders. Then he owuld say to the visitor: O servant of God, leave. And he would do so. Then another one would come and so it went until all had come with their needs. Sometimes more or less forty people came with requests during a meal. Once the meal was taken away, the audience was told to leave. Mu'awiyah used then to go to his apartment and nobody was admitted there until the noon prayer was announced, when he would go out and pray. Coming back he used to make again four rika'at. Then he would sit down and receive his closest aides. In winter he used to give them sweets called pilgrim's delight,' such as ... [hee follows an enumeration of sweets]; in summer he used to serve fresh fruits. Then his viziers came to take the necessary orders for the day. This lasted until asr [ca. 3 p.m.].

Umayyad Dynasty

Then Mu'awiyah went and prayed. Going back to his apartment he would not receive anyone until, towards the end of the afternoon, he would give, sigging on the throne (sarir), a formal audience to people according to their rank. Supper was brought in to him and it was over by the time the evening prayer was announced. No requests were accepted during supper time. When supper had been taken out and prayer-time announced, Mu'awiyah went out and prayed. Then he made four extra rika'at, while reciting at every rak'ah fifty verses form the Kuran, some aloud, some silently. Then, going back to his apartment, he would not receive anyone until the night prayer was announced. He prayed and then received his favorites, his ministers, and his followers. The early part of the night was devoted to work with the ministers. A third of the night was spent in reading the history of the Arabs and of their Days; of the Ajam, of their kings and of their policies; of other kings of the world, of their wars, their strategems, their policies towards their subjects; in general of the history of past nations. Wonderful sweets were brought to him from his wives, halwa and other sweet food. Then Mu'awiyah slept for a third of the night. After he had awakened, he sat up and had archives brought to him with the lives of kings, their history, their wars, and their schemes. Special pages, who were intrusted with the keeping and reading of these records, used to read to him. So Mu'awiyah listened every night to several passages of history, of biography, of annals, and of political fragments. Then he went out to recite the morning prayer. Upon his return he would every day do again what we have described."

Under Mu'awiyah Rule: Switch from Patriarchal Rule to Royal Rule

Oleg Graber wrote in his PhD Dissertation: “We see in this text a patriarchal rulership transformed into a royal one. It is true that Mu'awiyah still goes to the mosque to listen to complaints. He receives personally petitions from various tribesmen. Other accounts give numerous examples of Bedouins from the desert being allowed to interrupt the caliph in the midst of a speech or of an official ceremony. Lammens has also interpreted as an Arabian custom the fact that the caliph used to serve food to his visitors. He goes to the mosque and prays in public, like any other Muslim. But there are already some new elements in the way of life of the caliph. First of all it is emphasized several times that only a selected gorup of courtiers or councilors is admitted to the caliph. They sit according to their rank, but the very existence of several ranks is a new element in Islamic civilization. A text from the Aghani even specifies the position, according to rank, of various leaders vis-a-vis Mu'awiyah, on the famous day when he made Yazid his successor. Then we have pages (ghulam), who sometimes have specified duties, such as reading and keeping archives and historical texts. [Source: Oleg Graber, PhD Dissertation, Princeton University, 1955, Chapter I. The Umayyad Royal Idea and its Expression under Mu'awiyah I. Beginning with pg. 18]

Muslim Caliphate Under the Umayyads in AD 750

“When in the mosque, the caliph is surrounded by his guard. Ibn-al-Faqih writes that there were two kinds of guards introduced by Mu'awiyah, the regular guards and the life-guards. He also attributes to Mu'awiyah the introduction of eunuchs, obviously in imitation of Byzantine courts. This latter innovation is also credited to Mu'awiyah byal-Ya'qubi, who writes: "Mu'awiyah was the first one to introduce into Islam eunuchs, guards, and doorkeepers; and he used to let a curtain down between him and the audience; ... and he used to walk with a spear in his hands...and he used to sit on a sarir with the people below him...and he used to say: I am the first king (anwal al-muluk)." This passage clearly shows the way in which later chroniclers simplfied earlier Islamic civilization. All the elements mentioned by al-Ya'qubi are, as well be seen, Umayyad innovations, but from different periods. However the chronicler simplified by attributing them all to the founder of the dynasty himself. The only new elements whose introduction by Mu'awiyah is confirmed by other texts are the guards, the doorkeepers, the chamberlains, and probably eunuchs. All of them will play a much greater role under Mu'awiyah's successors. Al-Mas'udi's text also mentions a throne. It clearly distinguishes a kursi from a sarir.

Mu'awiyah and the Maqsurah (Muslim Sermon)

Oleg Graber wrote in his PhD Dissertation: ““The innovations of which Mu'awiyah has been specifically accused, the maqsurah and the sitting of the caliph while preaching the khutbah, are much better known. Today the khutbah is a cultic institution, which traditionally goes back to the Prophet Muhyammad himself. Therefore we have a great wealth of traditions dealing with it. But the essential problem of the khutbah is its meaning in the early Islam of the orthodox caliphs and in the time of the Umayyads. [Source: Oleg Graber, PhD Dissertation, Princeton University, 1955, Chapter I. The Umayyad Royal Idea and its Expression under Mu'awiyah I. Beginning with pg. 18]

“In early Islam the meeting at the mosque known as salat jama'ah, "general prayer," which was to be the nucleus out of which the present day cult developed, was not a religious but a political meeting. Then the expression minbar al-mulk, which connects the seat of the preacher with royal attributes, takes its full meaning of throne, from which the ruler announces to the people new decisions and recent events. Then also the khatib is not simply a preacher, but a political leader or a king, who therefore cannot but sit while addressing his people. The minbar, on which he sits, together with the stick or spear he carries, are remnants from pre-Islamic days, when they were symbols of judicial power. Lammens has shown that Umar, Uthman, Ali, and probably the Prophet himself sat while addressing the assembly of the faithful. Mu'awiyah and the Umayyads are thus exonerated from the accusation of having been the first ones to sit while pronouncing the khutbah.

khutbah

“But more interesting to our purposes than the historical question of who originated the custom is that of how it came to play an important part in both religious and royal ceremonial. Admitting the political, or rather official, function of the mosque, the ceremonial may find its origin in the ceremonial of the royal court rather than in that of the church, as is generally believed. In the case of the preacher, the plausibility of the royal origin of the ceremony receives further support in the facts that the caliph's guard used to stand around him when he preached and that it was customary to burn incense around the imam during the khutbah. This latter fact has been taken by some for an imitation from Christian services. But others point out that the rite was not one that was part of the whole ceremony, but one that was directed exclusively to the khatib, when the latter was involved in a specific action and that, furthermore, it is mentioned by geographers especially in the case of al-Madinah, the most tradition-minded center of Islam. All this may explain why in the eleventh and tenth centuries, when the Psalms were translated into Arabic, thronos was translated as minbar. Considering all these royal elements, I am necessarily led to accept the fact that the khutbah was pronounced by a seated khatib, for it is a traditional prerogative of the chief in any civilization to be seated.

“The seated khutbah cannot be conceived of as an innovation, but was part of a more general pattern of royal symbolism, whether its sources are to be sought in pre-Islamic Arabia or in some other civilization. Although it may be troubling to see not only the tradition but preceptive scholars like Goldziher, fully convinced of the fact that the Umayyads introduced the custom into Islamic civilization, the evidence is clearly to the contrary. All one can add is that, in their attempts to centralize and to organize the newly created empire, Mu'awiyah and his successors emphasized the political importance of the salat jama'ah and attempted to increase the prestige of the dynasty by surrounding their persons with a greater ceremonial than was customary in preceding times. In the case of Mu'awiyah it appears quite clearly in such events as his organization of Yazid's election as his successor. Analysis of the seated khutbah shows also that one should not, in a study of royal or imperial elements in Umayyad civilization, overlook the customs and traditions issued from the jahiliyah, as it may not always be correct to imagine as perfectly democratic and simple a civilization that for centuries had been in contact with many kingdoms and empires on its southern as well as its northern frontier.

“The maqsurah poses a problem somewhat similar to that of the khutbah, except that here it is certain that the object was introduced by an Umayyad -- although again the tradition is not definite as to who exactly the innovator was. Following several attempts against his life, Mu'awiyah, or Uthman or Marwan, is supposed to have decided to build a fence which would allow him to direct prayers without fear of assassination. But if we keep in mind the political nature of the meeting of the mosque, the maqsurah becomes something different. And we must further keep in mind that the maqsurah was introduced, as a text of al-Ya'qubi indicates, in the year 44 A.H., that is, at a time when no security problem could have justified its introduction. The meaning of the word maqsurah is revealing. It is used to define other parts of the mosque or even a part of the mamam where the customer oculd be alone, and it means a "reserved, separated space." Sauvaget connects it with the curtain, which in imperial courts was used to separate the ruler from the audience and of which we shall find examples later in this study. It is a royal attribute.

“But there is no doubt that in many respects -- and in particular in the whole institution of the wafd -- the early Umayyads maintained the form, if not the spirit, of a certain pre-Islamic parliamentarianism. However we also know from Sauvaget's study and from the additional evidence of the text on Mu'awiyah, that there was even in the earliest time a strong royal streak in Umayyad government. We shall see that this latter tendency was the more dynamic, the more living one, and therefore the more logical one to which to attribute an innovation. It is within the context of a new force in Islamic civilization -- the mulk -- that we must also understand the throne and the more exclusive audiences introduced by Mu'awiyah. They were timid innovations no doubt, innovations which, because they were especially fitted to the early Islamic pattern, Lammens was led to interpret as symbols of the "democracy" of Mu'awiyah's regime. But they all belong to a new trend, which was to be amplified by the following generation, a trend sets the ruler apart from the ruled not only in prestige and in honors, but also in terms of the space in which the ruler moves. One may add, as an illustration, the well-known sentence of Ziyad ibn-Abihi, when he enlarged the mosque of al-Basrah and joined it to the palace: "It is not fitting that the imam pass across the people," when going to preach. Therefore he had a door pierced through the southern wall of the mosque, through which the imam appeared.

“Kursi, maqsurah, seated khutbah, and audiences according to rank where the participants sit in pre-designated places -- all these elements, in spite of variations in the tradition, can be traced back to Mu'awiyah himself or to his time. They all tend to emphasize the exclusiveness of the ruler in front of his subjects. IN the realm of practical politics, this exclusiveness finds its counterpart in the establishment of hereditary succession, as another symbol of the mulk so decried by later traditionists, but rightly recognized by them as part of the "sunnah of Kisra and Qaysar."

Image Sources: Wikimedia Commons

Text Sources: Internet Islamic History Sourcebook: sourcebooks.fordham.edu ; Arab News, Jeddah; “Islam, a Short History” by Karen Armstrong; “A History of the Arab Peoples” by Albert Hourani (Faber and Faber, 1991); Metropolitan Museum of Art, National Geographic, BBC, New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Smithsonian magazine, The Guardian, Al Jazeera, The New Yorker, Reuters, Associated Press, AFP, Library of Congress and various books and other publications.

Last updated April 2024