Table of Contents

1. Introduction: The importance of the Umayyad period and its place in Islamic history Islamisation Arabisation The Umayyads in Muslim tradition 2. The Umayyad family and its rise to the Caliphate The background of the Umayyads Mu'awiya's aquisition of the Caliphate 3. The Sufyanids Organisation and administration of the Caliphate events and prsonalities of the Sufyanid period 4. The Second Civil War 5. 'Abd al-Malik and al-Hajjaj Changes in government and administratioin Al-Hajjaj in Iraq 6. The Development of Factionalism and the problems of Islamisation The family of al-Muhallab and the development of factionalism 'Umar II and the Mawali Hisham and Kahlid al-Qasri 7. The Third Civil War and the Caliphate of Marwan II Walid II Yazid III Marwan II 8. The Overthrow of the Umayyad Caliphate The Muslims of Khurasan The Army The 'Abbasids and the `ashimiyya The Umayyad collapse

About the Author

G R Hawting (School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London)

Reviews

'Provides the best account now available in English' - - Journal of the American Oriental Society

'Anyone faced with the somewhat daunting task of teaching Umayyad history to undergraduates will greet Hawting's achievement with relief, gratitude and admiration.' - Journal of Semitic Studies