Umayyad Caliphate

High school (ages 12+)
History & Culture

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Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/umayyad-caliphate

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. What is the caliphate period?661 CE - 750 CE
2. What is the founding caliph?Mu'awiya I
3. What was the Umayyad Empire and where was its capital?The Umayyad Empire was a fast-growing Islamic state that began in 661 CE. Its capital was the city of Damascus.
4. How did the Umayyads expand their empire?They used powerful, well-organized armies and clever siege tactics. This allowed them to grow from the Iberian Peninsula all the way to India and Central Asia.

First Fitna: The first major civil war within the early Islamic community, preceding Umayyad rule.
Dhimmi: Non-Muslim protected subjects of a state governed by Islamic law, typically Christians and Jews.
Jizya: A per capita tax levied on non-Muslims living in a Muslim state.
Abbasid Revolution: The overthrow of the Umayyad Caliphate by the Abbasid dynasty in 750 CE.