Why did the Umayyad Caliphate Collapse?

On the morning of January 25, 750, the mighty  Umayyad Caliphate’s army gathered at the Great Zab River, in modern-day Iraq. Their leaders liked what they saw. The battle-hardened Umayyad  cavalry was about to go toe to toe with the vastly outnumbered Abbasid army.

But the Umayyads were in for a sickening shock… On paper, the Umayyads were expected  to waltz through the feeble Abbasid defenses and put an end to the increasingly  troublesome opponents of the Caliphate. The Abbasid army was a motley crew  of dissidents and rebellious Arabs, non-Arabs, and Christians. The  Caliphate cavalry was expected to slaughter the unruly rebels and quash  any further challenges or uprisings.

However, despite the huge numbers  of personnel, many of the Umayyad soldiers were having second thoughts… The Umayyads had recently been soundly defeated in decisive battles, and confidence  in the leadership was at an all-time low. The Abbasids, on the other hand,  couldn’t wait to rip into battle. They had amassed some experienced former  Umayyad fighters and assembled a tough and brutal army of men who were highly  motivated to bring an end to Umayyad rule.

By the end of the day, the Umayyad Caliphate  had all but collapsed in a shocking defeat. After a century of rule, the Umayyads were  no more. The rise of the Abbasids had begun… At the height of its powers, the Umayyad Caliphate  was one of the world’s biggest ever empires.

The Islamic dynasty was a true powerhouse, with its  reach stretching throughout three continents, amassing a huge area of over 11 million square  kilometers - a larger land mass than China or Canada - with the Umayyad rule spreading into  Africa, much of Asia and as far west as Spain. The Umayyads ruled over approximately 30 million  people, which at the time was almost a third of the world’s population. But in the mid-8th century, things came to a bloody end.

Almost all of  the Umayyad princes were put to the sword when the Umayyad armies were overpowered  and slaughtered by the Abbasids in 750. It brought the curtain down on a mighty reign  that had lasted over 100 years and set up the Abbasids as the next long-ruling Caliphate. In a century of rule, the Umayyad Caliphate was one of the most important  periods in Islamic history.

The Umayyads made numerous key  contributions to art, science, architecture, and politics. They brought  innovations to political administration and military operations and were renowned  for their meticulous management of an empire that included millions of people of  varying religious and cultural backgrounds. The Umayyads were the second of the major  caliphates that followed the death of the prophet Muhammad in 632.

Caliphates were essentially systems of Islamic governance, with caliphs  being the head of state. After Muhammad’s death, his long-time advisor Abu Bakr was announced as  the first of the caliphs to succeed Muhammad. The word “caliph” is loosely derived  from an Arabic term for “successor”.

Abu Bakr stepped up and the first of  the Caliphates began – known as the Rashidun. Over the next thirty years, four  caliphs ruled over the Rashidun Caliphate. Right from the outset, the Rashidun period  was embroiled in bitter political infighting, ongoing power struggles, and  frequent outbursts of bloodshed.

When the third Rashidun caliph  Uthman was murdered, everything started to boil over… Uthman’s cousin was  Mu’awiya, the powerful governor of Syria. Mu’awiya was enraged that his  cousin’s successor Ali had done nothing to avenge the murder. He saw Ali  as a weak link and civil war broke out… In 661, Ali was assassinated during his  morning prayer.

A former follower turned dissident pursued him to his place of prayer  and stabbed him with a sword soaked in poison. With Ali dead, a vacancy for a  new caliph suddenly opened up. Mu’awiya was quick to put up his hand.

Less than thirty years after Muhammad died, Mu'awiya the First seized power and  became the first Umayyad caliph in 661. . .

The Umayyads had inherited huge expanses  of land with a multicultural and diverse population that included Jews, non-Arab  Muslims, and millions of Christians. Almost from the get-go, the Umayyad  Caliphate was met with dissent. Mu'awiya was the first caliph not to  come from a direct lineage to Muhammad.

He had also come to Islam late, having been  opposed to some of Muhammad’s beliefs when he worked for the prophet as a scribe. Mu'awiya was acting as the Governor of Syria when he saw his chance to wrest  control from the previous caliphs, who had close family ties to Muhammad and  appointed their successors prior to dying. The Umayyad system was completely  different though – it was a dynasty.

This was a major sore point for many Muslims, who  saw the Umayyad’s hereditary form of governance, as going against tradition and  the natural order of things. Many argued that caliphs  should only have been direct descendants of Muhammad or from his lineage. Others were angered at the perceived lack of appropriate piety and improper Islamic practices. 

The Umayyads set up a centralized system of government that went against the traditional  nomad lifestyle of many Arabs in the empire. This centralized system’s center was based  in Damascus, Syria and this further led to grievances that preference was being  given to Syrian Arabs over other Muslims. Despite the protests, Mu’awiya  was quick to make his mark.

He immediately set about drawing on the immense  strength of his Syrian military to launch the expansion of the Umayyad empire. Mu’awiya had his  sights on extending the empire into North Africa, Central Asia, and through Europe. To make things clear to all concerned, any uprisings or even potential uprisings  were swiftly and brutally dealt with.

The message was clear – do not fool  around with the new caliphate… Mu’awiya realized the importance  of having a uniform and connected system of political administration. He  set up a police network throughout the empire to ensure law and order were  upheld. Governors were appointed to various regions and reported to the  center of the caliphate in Damascus.

Thus, the work of Mu’awiya laid the foundations for the next caliphs to continue  to expand the Umayyad territories. Under the rule of al-Walid the  First, from 705 to his death in 715, the Umayyad Caliphate was at its mightiest. The Umayyad armies were proving to be an unstoppable force and stormed across huge areas of  land, annihilating anyone who stood in their way.

At the peak of its greatness, the Umayyad  Caliphate ruled over modern-day Iraq, Iran, Egypt, North Africa, Spain, and Central Asia. Its borders  ran from the Atlantic in the far west, all the way down to the Indus River near Pakistan and India. However, time and time again, history has shown that when an empire is seemingly  invincible…it’s actually at its most vulnerable… Many of those living under Umayyad  rule were unhappy with what they saw as an unfair distribution of wealth  and limited opportunities for non-Arabs.

Arab Muslims, particularly those in Syria  were seen to be favored by the Caliphate. Even though the Umayyads were remarkably  tolerant of other religions and permitted religious freedom, the general feeling was  that a bias existed towards Syrian Muslims. The time was right for an uprising, and  it came in the form of the Abbasids… The Abbasids were initially family members related  to Muhammad, via his uncle al-ʿAbbās.

They took their uncle’s name to call themselves the Abbasids  and immediately went about rounding up support for their mission to overthrow the Umayyad Caliphate. Like many, the Abbasids were unhappy with being ruled by the Umayyads. They’d simply had enough  of the Umayyad system of hereditary rule, the favoritism shown to Syrian Arabs, and the  lack of rights and treatment shown towards non-Arab Muslims and other religions.

Non-Arabs  and non-Muslims were required to pay special taxes to the government, which was starting to grate -  the vast majority of people living under Umayyad rule were non-Muslims. Even the non-Arab Muslims  only accounted for around 10% of the population. The Abbasids declared that they wanted  a new caliph who was directly related to Muhammad and that when the time came, they  would nominate the most suitable candidate.

The Abbasids quickly gained support from the  disenchanted masses and began building an army. The Umayyads were watching on anxiously but were  reasonably confident that if push came to shove, their sheer weight of military numbers would  see off any threats or uprisings. But then, things took a turn for the worse for the Umayyads  when they were soundly defeated by the Byzantine army at the Siege of Constantinople in 717… It was the second attempt by Arab forces to take control of the famous city, which was a highly sought-after strategic stronghold, as it linked Asia with Europe.

The battle was fought in a bitterly unforgiving winter on the steps of Constantinople,  as Umayyad forces struggled against a lack of food and adequate protection against the harsh  cold. The Byzantines were led by the clever and tenacious Leo the Third. They employed  a devastating weapon known as “Greek fire”, which was a simple form of a petroleum-type  bomb.

This, aided by well-organized defensive tactics and a severe winter, saw the  Umayyads retreat in a humiliating defeat. Meanwhile, the Abbasids were building up  their armed forces and laying plans for when to launch a full-scale uprising. By now, there was a long list of people itching to have a crack at the Umayyad forces. 

In 747, the Abbasids decided to make their move by taking control of Persia – modern-day  Iran. This was the perfect place to start. Not only had Persian rights and culture  been repressed under the Umayyad rule, but there were ample numbers of Persian soldiers  very willing to bear arms with the Abbasids.

The Abbasids fought their way down through Persia, driving back the Umayyad  forces time and time again. By the autumn of 749, the Abbasids had marched  boldly into Mesopotamia – modern-day Iraq. The Umayyad army was not only exhausted but  fast losing interest.

Many of the soldiers were Christians or non-Arab Muslims, and they were  starting to identify with the Abbasid cause. Finally, in January 750, the Abbasids overpowered  the Umayyads at the Great Zab River. The Abbasids were simply more committed and better prepared. 

They weathered the Umayyad attack and then cut them to pieces in waves of counter-offensives. Umayyad generals and leaders fled but were hunted down and executed. The Abbasids appointed their first caliph, Abu al-ʿAbbas al-Saffah,  and a 500-year period of rule began.