THE UMAYYAD CALIPHATE OF DAMASCUS (661 – 750 A.D.)
On the death of Hadhrat Ali, may Allah be pleased with him, his eldest son Hasan, may Allah be pleased with him, was elected as the Khalifah. As soon as Muawiah learned of this, he invaded Iraq and a battle ensued between Muawiah’s and Hasan’s armies. Hasan, may Allah be pleased with him, realised the seriousness of the situation and sent a letter of submission to Muawiah. Hasan, may Allah be pleased with him, agreed to abdicate his right to Khilafat in favour of Muawiah on the condition that after Muawiah’s death, Hasan’s younger brother Hussain, may Allah be pleased with him, will be made the Khalifah. After this agreement, Hasan retired with his family to Medina where he was poisoned to death at the instigation of Yazid, the son of Muawiah.
Muawiah, the new Khalifa moved his capital from Kufa ( Iraq) to Damascus and from that day on till the fall of the Umayyad Caliphate 89 years later, all the Khalifahs came from the House of Umayyad. In each case the reigning Khalifah nominated his successor from his own family. Thus the system of Khilafat that started with Hazrat Abu Bakr, may Allah be pleased with him, as a democratic institution became, under the Umayyads, a dynasty and a monarchy.
There were 14 Khalifahs in all in the Umayyad dynasty. Some of these only reigned for a year or so. During the reign of the Umayyad Caliphate, the borders of the Islamic State were further extended in all directions. With the rising power of the House of Abbas, the Umayyad Caliphate came to a close in the year 750 A.D. Some of its members went to Spain and there they founded first an Emirate and later on the Caliphate.
THE ABBASID CALIPHATE OF BAGHDAD (750 – 1258)
Towards the end of the Umayyad Caliphate, the people started raising charges of worldliness and neglect of Islamic principles against the Khalifahs. Meantime, the descendants of Abbas, an uncle of the Holy Prophet, started pressing claims to Khilafat. They united with the descendants of Hadhrat Ali to emphasise the rights of the house of Hashim. Finally, a coalition was formed by the Abbasids, the Shi’ites and the Khurasanians, which opposed the existing Khilafat of the Umayyads and promised a return to orthodox religion and the forming of a religious government.
With the murder of Marwan II, Abu Abbas Al-Saffah was proclaimed the new Khalifah and the system of Caliphate passed from the House of Umayyah to the House of Abbas. The first act of the new Abbasid Khalifah was to undertake wholesale killing of the members of the Umayyad clan. He also moved the capital of the empire from Damascus to Baghdad.
The Abbasid Caliphate lasted over five hundred years. Some notable figures in this period were: Al-Mansur, Harun al-Rashid and al-Mamun. Around the year 946 A.D., the Buwaihids came to power and dominated the Khilafat for the next hundred years. From this time on, the Abbasid Khalifahs were only figureheads and the real power was wielded first by the Buwaihids and later on by the Saljuqs. It was during the period of the Saljuqs that the Crusades were fought against the Christian empires of Europe.
THE UMAYYAD CALIPHATE OF SPAIN (929 – 1031 A.D.)
When the first Abbasid Khalifah started the massacre of Umayyad dynasty, a member of the House of Umayyah, Abdur Rahman, escaped to Spain. There he established himself as a ruler and founded the Umayyad dynasty in Spain.
For 173 years (756 – 929 A.D.), the Umayyads ruled in Spain under the titles Amirs and Sultans. Then, in the year 929 A.D., Abdur Rahman III assumed the titles of Khalifah and Amir al-Mu’mineen, and thus laid the foundation of the Umayyad Caliphate in Spain. Over the next 102 years, there were nine Khalifahs in this dynasty. By the year 1031 A.D., the Caliphate system ended in Spain and the country plunged into total anarchy. Out of this disorder emerged a number of small kingdoms. These petty kingdoms continued till Ferdinand conquered Cordova in 1236 A.D. and Seville in 1248 A.D.
The period of Umayyad Caliphate in Spain was one of the most glorious in the history of Islam. Both Abdur Rahman III and his son Hakam II, were great patrons of science and literature. Muslim Spain produced some great people in these fields including ibn Rushd (Averroes), Mohyuddin ibn al-Arabi and ibn Abdul Rabbi. Spanish women were not confined to housework either and contributed much to the greatness of the Muslim civilisation in Spain.
THE FATIMID CALIPHATE OF EGYPT (909 – 1171 A.D.)
The Fatimids claimed themselves to be the direct descendants of Ali and Fatimah. Ubaydullah used to be an Ismailite Imam in Syria and was invited to head the North African Ismailite movement. In 909 A.D. he reached Tunis, the capital of the Aghiabids and drove Ziaatullah out of the country and then proclaimed himself Imam under the title of Ubaydullah al-Mahdi and thus established the Fatimid Caliphate in North Africa. There were 14 Khalifahs who ruled for about 262 years before al-Azid was dethroned by Salahuddin the Great, the famous warrior of the Crusades. Generally speaking, the period of the Fatimid Caliphate was a period of prosperity for the country. They were liberal, considerate to their subjects, great warriors and good administrators.