For nearly a century, the Umayyad Caliphate controlled a vast amount of territory in the Mediterranean Basin stretching from the Levant, through northern Africa, and even most of the Iberian Peninsula. British scholar, Islamacist, and Emeritus Professor at SOAS, University of London, Dr Gerald Hawting, joins the show to discuss the Umayyad Caliphate’s hegemony in the basin.
Some topics explored
- Who the Umayyad Caliphate was and how they came into power
- Who their predecessor caliphate, the Rashiduns were
- The territories that the Umayyad’s inherited
- How they governed those territories including provinces and governs
- Their tax system
- How their territories in the basin would expand during their reign
- Their approach and interactions in northern Africa with Romans, Vandals and Imazighen (Berber) people
- The caliphate gaining hegemony in the Iberian peninsula
- The Umayyads being overthrown by the succeeding caliphate, the Abbasids
- Lasting influences that the Umayyads had on the Mediterranean Basin
Listen to the episode
The episode is available on major podcast apps: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and Amazon Music.
Show Notes
- Emeritus Professor Hawting is author of the monograph The First Dynasty of Islam: The Umayyad Caliphate AD 661-750 (Routledge, 2001)
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