Syria MUSLIM EMPIRES
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Figure 3. Umayyad Empire, A.D. 661-750
Al Karak (Krak des Chevaliers)
Courtesy Embassy of Syria
Mosque of Sultan Sulayman I in Damascus
Courtesy Embassy of Syria
During the first decades of the seventh century, Muhammad, a
merchant from Mecca, converted many of his fellow Arabs to a new
religion, Islam, which was conceived as the continuation and
fulfillment of the Judeo-Christian tradition
(see Islam
, ch. 2).
By 629 the religious fervor and pressures of an expanding
population impelled Muslim Arab tribes to invade lands to the
north of the Arabian Peninsula. They called these lands bilad
al sham, the country or land of Sham--the name Arabs often
used to designate Damascus. The word sham derives from the
Arabic word for dignity, indicating the high regard most Arabs
have had for Damascus. Arabs, including Syrians, have referred to
Syria by this name ever since, and call Syrians Shammis.
In 635 Damascus surrendered to the great Muslim general,
Khalid ibn al Walid. Undermined by Persian incursions, religious
schisms, and rebellions in the provinces caused by harsh rule,
Byzantium could offer little resistance to Islam.
In succeeding centuries, Muslims extended and consolidated
their rule in many areas, and by 1200 they controlled lands from
the Atlantic to the Bay of Bengal, from central Russia to the
Gulf of Aden. Wherever they went, they built mosques, tombs,
forts, and beautiful cities. The ruins of such structures are
found widely in Greater Syria, a heartland of Islamic and Arab
culture.
Muhammad made Medina his first capital, and it was here that
he died. Leadership of the faithful fell to Abu Bakr (632-634),
Muhammad's father-in-law and the first of the four orthodox
caliphs, or temporal leaders of the Muslims. Umar followed him
(634-644) and organized the government of captured provinces. The
third caliph was Uthman (644-656) under whose administration the
compilation of the Quran was accomplished. Among the aspirants to
the caliphate was Ali, Muhammad's cousin and son-in-law, whose
supporters felt he should be the Prophet's successor
(see
fig. 3).
Upon the murder of Uthman, Ali became caliph (656-661). After a
civil war with other aspirants to the caliphate, Ali moved his
capital to Mesopotamia and was later assassinated at Al Kufah.
Ali's early followers established the first of Islam's dissident
sects, the Shia (from Shiat Ali, party of Ali). Those who had
accepted the before and after Ali successions remained the
orthodox of Islam; they are called Sunnis--from the word
sunnia meaning orthodox.
Data as of April 1987
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