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Umayyad

(Encyclopedia)Umayyad o͞omäˈyäd [key], the first Islamic dynasty (661–750). Their reign witnessed the return to leadership roles of the pre-Islamic Arab elite, and the rejuvenation of tribal loyalties. The Ba...

Marwan II

(Encyclopedia)Marwan II märˈwän [key], 684–750, last of the Umayyad caliphs. He served as governor of Armenia before his short-lived rule as caliph (744–50). Marwan reorganized his army, taking Syria by 746....

Abd ar-Rahman III, emir and caliph of Córdoba

(Encyclopedia)Abd ar-Rahman III, 891–961, Umayyad emir (912–29) and first caliph (929–61) of Córdoba. When he succeeded to the throne, the Spanish emirate was reduced to Córdoba and its environs and beset w...

Abd al-Malik

(Encyclopedia)Abd al-Malik äbˌdo͝ol-mälĭkˈ [key], c.646–705, 5th Umayyad caliph (685–705); son of Marwan I. At his accession, Islam was torn by dissension and threatened by the Byzantine Empire. With the ...

Abu Muslim

(Encyclopedia)Abu Muslim äˈbo͞o mo͝osˈlĭm [key], c.728–755, Persian leader of the Abbasid revolution. By political and religious agitation he raised (747) the black banners of the Abbasids against the rulin...

Abd ar-Rahman I, emir of Córdoba

(Encyclopedia)Abd ar-Rahman I, d. 788, first Umayyad emir of Córdoba (756–88). The only survivor of the Abbasid massacre (750) of his family in Damascus, he fled from Syria and eventually went to Spain. There he...

Muawiya

(Encyclopedia)Muawiya mo͞oäˈwēä [key], d. 680, 1st Umayyad caliph (661–80), one of the greatest Muslim statesmen; son of Abu Sufyan, a Koreish tribesman of Mecca. He submitted to Islam the year of the surren...

Abbasid

(Encyclopedia)Abbasid –sīd, –sĭd [key], Arab family descended from Abbas, the uncle of Muhammad. The Abbasids held the caliphate from 749 to 1258, but they were recognized neither in Spain nor (after 787) W o...

Uthman

(Encyclopedia)Uthman ōthˈ [key], c.574–656, 3d caliph (644–56), also known as Uthman ibn al-Affan; son-in-law of Muhammad. He belonged to the great Umayyad family and was selected as caliph after the murder o...

Córdoba, city, Spain

(Encyclopedia)Córdoba or Cordova both: kôrˈdōvä [key], city, capital of Córdoba prov., S Spain, i...

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