L’auteur

Gerard R. Hawting est professeur d’histoire du Proche-Orient médiéval à la School of Oriental and African Studies de l’Université de Londres. Il est spécialiste de la période de formation de l’Islam.

Presentation

The period 661-750 AD was a crucial one for the history of Islam and of the Middle East. The territories conquered by the Muslims in the Middle East, north Africa and Spain were ruled from Syria by a succession of caliphs belonging to the Umayyad family, the first caliphal dynasty to emerge in the history of Islam. Under their rule the region began a process of transformation which eventually led to the emergence of Islam, both as a religion and as a culture, in its classical form.
The First Dynasty of Islam provides a succinct and accessible introduction to the Umayyad period. An introductory chapter discusses the importance of the era as a whole, with further chapters examining · the Umayyad family and its rise to the Caliphate

• · the Sufyanids
• · the second civil war
• · ’Abd al-Malik and al-Hajjaj
• · the development of factionalism and the problems of Islamization
• · the third civil war and the caliphate of Marwan II
• · the overthrow of the Umayyad caliphate
  The first edition established itself as a balanced and approachable text for undergraduates and others interested in the early history of Islam. This second edition, with an expanded and up-to-date bibliography, will prove even more useful to its intended readership

Table des matières

Conventions vii
Abbreviations ix
Glossary xi
Figures and Maps xiii
Preface and Acknowledgements xix

Chapter 1 Introduction: The Importance of the Umayyad Period and its Place in Islamic History 1

Islamisation 1
Arabisation 9
The Umayyads in Muslim Tradition 11

Chapter 2 The Umayyad Family and its Rise to the Caliphate 21

The Background of the Umayyads 21
Mu’awiya’s Acquisition of the Caliphate 24

Chapter 3 The Sufyanids 34

Organisation and Administration of the Caliphate 34
Events and Personalities of the Sufyanid Period 40

Chapter 4 The Second Civil War 46

Chapter 5 ’Abd al-Malik and al-Hajjaj 58

Changes in Government and Administration 61
Al-Hajjaj in Iraq 66

Chapter 6 The Development of Factionalism and the Problems of Islamisation 72

The Family of al-Muhallab and the Development of Factionalism 73
’Umar II and the Mawali 76
Hisham and Khalid al-Qasri 81

Chapter 7 The Third Civil War and the Caliphate of Marwan II 90

Walid II 90
Yazid III 94
Marwan II 96

Chapter 8 The Overthrow of the Umayyad Caliphate 104

The Muslims of Khurasan 105
The Army 107
The ’Abbasids and the Hashimiyya 109
The Umayyad Collapse 115

Appendix 1 A Note on the Sources 120
Appendix 2 Modern Developments in the Study of and Attitudes to Umayyad History 123
Bibliography 129
Index