Umayyads named after its founding father, Umayyad, a member of the Prophet's tribe. Founder of the dynasty was Muawiya ibn Abu Sufyan (661-680), as governor of Syria, emerged in 657 as an opponent of Caliph and following his murder, seized power which he made inheritable. There followed ongoing conflicts with various Arab tribes and religious movements in early Islam. Politic l successes were the rule of Abed  Al-Malik (685-705), who reorganized the state administration including monetary reform and developed Jerusalem as a religious center, and  s that of  Al-Walid the first (705-715), who advanced Islamic conquests in 711 as far as Spain in the west and AI-Andalus in the east, with Bukhara and Samarqand conquered in 715.

There then followed rulers whose reigns were short lived, as well as an increase in the number of rebellions among conquered populations protesting at the privileges enjoyed by the Arabs. Under Hisham (724-743) there was consolidation, but this was followed by political instability and uprisings by Kharijite and Shiite groups, who helped the Abbasids rise to power. These expelled the last Umayyad caliph, Marvan the 2nd (744-750) in 750 and removed the Umayyad family. One of Hisham's grandsons who had fled established the rule of the Spanish Umayyads in Cordoba in 756.

Spanish Umayyads - Emirs or caliphs (929) of Cordoba, rulers of Islamic Spain  Al-Andalus from 756 to 1031.

The Spanish Umayyads were founded by Abed  l-Rahman the 1st (756-788), a grandson of the Umayyad caliph Hisham, the only survivor of the Abbasid massacre of the Umayyads (750), who fled to Spain and seized power there. He and his successors, Hisham the 1st (788-796) and  l-Hakam the 1st (796-822), created a stable state structure, brought politic l conciliation to the country and conducted successful border battles against the Christians in the north. The first cultural flowering came under Abed  l-Rahman the 2nd (822-852) through the patronage of literature and science and the refinement of customs and traditions: AI-Andalus became the center of western Islam. Next, central power was relinquished in favor of region l government, which led to the successes of the Christian Reconquista. After government was recentralized and the politic l zenith achieved under the rule of Abed  l-Rahman (912-961), who assumed the title of caliph in 929 and restored sovereignty in Spain. He was able to expand the Umayyad territory towards the Fatimids in North Africa, becoming overlord of Fez and Mauritania in 932, and ruled over the state.

AI-Andalus experienced another period of culture l creativity under his learned son,  l-Hakam the 2nd (961-976), who was able to continue his father's policy. During the subsequent decline of the caliph's office under his young son Hisham the 2nd (976-1013), power was transferred to the victorious Amirids under the regent  Al-Mansor (978-1002). The period after 1009 saw civil war and anarchy in the warring between different pretenders and  is against the Hammudids of Mlaga. In 1031 the last caliph, Hisham the 3rd (1027-1031), resigned his position and  l-Andalus split into taifa kingdoms.