Umayyad_Caliphate

qas: question: In what year CE did the Second Muslim Civil War end?
answers: text: 692

question: During what period did the Berber Revolt occur?
answers: text: 740–743 CE

question: What branch took over Umayyad leadership during the Second Civil War?
answers: text: Marwanid

question: What caused unrest in the provinces inside Syria?

question: In what years did the First Muslim Civil War occur?

question: When did leadership shift from the Marwanid branch to the Sufyanid branch?

question: What year was the Caliphate of Cordoba started?

question: What war strengthened the Umayyads?
context: The rivalries between the Arab tribes had caused unrest in the provinces outside Syria, most notably in the Second Muslim Civil War of 680–692 CE and the Berber Revolt of 740–743 CE. During the Second Civil War, leadership of the Umayyad clan shifted from the Sufyanid branch of the family to the Marwanid branch. As the constant campaigning exhausted the resources and manpower of the state, the Umayyads, weakened by the Third Muslim Civil War of 744–747 CE, were finally toppled by the Abbasid Revolution in 750 CE/132 AH. A branch of the family fled across North Africa to Al-Andalus, where they established the Caliphate of Córdoba, which lasted until 1031 before falling due to the Fitna of al-Ándalus.

qas: question: In what year was Ali killed?
answers: text: 661

question: Who killed Ali?
answers: text: Kharijite partisan

question: Who made peace with Muawiyah I?
answers: text: Hasan ibn Ali

question: Where was the capital of the Umayyad dynasty?
answers: text: Damascus

question: When was a Kharijite partisan killed?

question: Who was the First Imam for the Shias?

question: Who followed the conditions of the agreement?

question: Who refused to hand over power to Muawiyah?

question: Who was regarded as a fool?
context: Ali was assassinated in 661 by a Kharijite partisan. Six months later in the same year, in the interest of peace, Hasan ibn Ali, highly regarded for his wisdom and as a peacemaker, and the Second Imam for the Shias, and the grandson of Muhammad, made a peace treaty with Muawiyah I. In the Hasan-Muawiya treaty, Hasan ibn Ali handed over power to Muawiya on the condition that he be just to the people and keep them safe and secure, and after his death he not establish a dynasty. This brought to an end the era of the Rightly Guided Caliphs for the Sunnis, and Hasan ibn Ali was also the last Imam for the Shias to be a Caliph. Following this, Mu'awiyah broke the conditions of the agreement and began the Umayyad dynasty, with its capital in Damascus.

qas: question: What form of tax were Christians required to pay?
answers: text: jizya

question: Who was the mother of Yazid?
answers: text: Maysum

question: What was Maysum's religion?
answers: text: Christian

question: What populations did not have autonomy?

question: Who ended the Muslim welfare state?

question: What religion never held prominent positions in the Caliphate?

question: What caused Muawiya to become less popular?

question: What part of the empire remained largely Jewish?
context: At the time, the Umayyad taxation and administrative practice were perceived as unjust by some Muslims. The Christian and Jewish population had still autonomy; their judicial matters were dealt with in accordance with their own laws and by their own religious heads or their appointees, although they did pay a poll tax for policing to the central state. Muhammad had stated explicitly during his lifetime that abrahamic religious groups (still a majority in times of the Umayyad Caliphate), should be allowed to practice their own religion, provided that they paid the jizya taxation. The welfare state of both the Muslim and the non-Muslim poor started by Umar ibn al Khattab had also continued. Muawiya's wife Maysum (Yazid's mother) was also a Christian. The relations between the Muslims and the Christians in the state were stable in this time. The Umayyads were involved in frequent battles with the Christian Byzantines without being concerned with protecting themselves in Syria, which had remained largely Christian like many other parts of the empire. Prominent positions were held by Christians, some of whom belonged to families that had served in Byzantine governments. The employment of Christians was part of a broader policy of religious assimilation that was necessitated by the presence of large Christian populations in the conquered provinces, as in Syria. This policy also boosted Muawiya's popularity and solidified Syria as his power base.

qas: question: How many major Islamic caliphates existed after Muhammad's death?
answers: text: four

question: Who was the third caliph?
answers: text: Uthman ibn Affan

question: Who founded the Umayyad regime?
answers: text: Muawiya ibn Abi Sufyan

question: How many million square miles was the Umayyad caliphate at its largest size?
answers: text: 5.79

question: How many Islamic caliphates existed before the death of Muhammad?

question: Who was the first caliph?

question: When did the First Muslim Civil War begin?

question: What was the first major Islamic caliphate?

question: How many square miles big was the Umayyad Caliphate at it's smallest?
context: The Umayyad Caliphate (Arabic: الخلافة الأموية‎, trans. Al-Khilāfat al-ʾumawiyya) was the second of the four major Islamic caliphates established after the death of Muhammad. This caliphate was centered on the Umayyad dynasty (Arabic: الأمويون‎, al-ʾUmawiyyūn, or بنو أمية, Banū ʾUmayya, "Sons of Umayya"), hailing from Mecca. The Umayyad family had first come to power under the third caliph, Uthman ibn Affan (r. 644–656), but the Umayyad regime was founded by Muawiya ibn Abi Sufyan, long-time governor of Syria, after the end of the First Muslim Civil War in 661 CE/41 AH. Syria remained the Umayyads' main power base thereafter, and Damascus was their capital. The Umayyads continued the Muslim conquests, incorporating the Caucasus, Transoxiana, Sindh, the Maghreb and the Iberian Peninsula (Al-Andalus) into the Muslim world. At its greatest extent, the Umayyad Caliphate covered 15 million km2 (5.79 million square miles), making it the largest empire (in terms of area - not in terms of population) the world had yet seen, and the fifth largest ever to exist.

qas: question: When did Muawiyah become caliph?
answers: text: 661

question: When did the caliphate of Uthman Ibn Affan end?
answers: text: 656

question: Who was the son of Al-Hakam ibn Abi al-'As?
answers: text: Marwan ibn al-Hakam

question: Who was the second ruler to asset the Umayyads' right to rule on dynastic principal?

question: Who do most historians think was the first rules of the Umayyad dynasty?

question: Which caliphate witnessed the downfall of the Umayyad clan?

question: Who was Marwan ibn al-Hakam'a top advisor?

question: Why can Uthman be considered the founder of a dynasty?
context: Most historians[who?] consider Caliph Muawiyah (661–80) to have been the second ruler of the Umayyad dynasty, even though he was the first to assert the Umayyads' right to rule on a dynastic principle. It was really the caliphate of Uthman Ibn Affan (644–656), a member of Umayyad clan himself, that witnessed the revival and then the ascendancy of the Umayyad clan to the corridors of power. Uthman placed some of the trusted members of his clan at prominent and strong positions throughout the state. Most notable was the appointment of Marwan ibn al-Hakam, Uthman's first cousin, as his top advisor, which created a stir among the Hashimite companions of Muhammad, as Marwan along with his father Al-Hakam ibn Abi al-'As had been permanently exiled from Medina by Muhammad during his lifetime. Uthman also appointed as governor of Kufa his half-brother, Walid ibn Uqba, who was accused by Hashmites of leading prayer while under the influence of alcohol. Uthman also consolidated Muawiyah's governorship of Syria by granting him control over a larger area and appointed his foster brother Abdullah ibn Saad as the Governor of Egypt. However, since Uthman never named an heir, he cannot be considered the founder of a dynasty.

qas: question: What opposition movement was based in Arabia and Basra?
answers: text: Kharijites

question: Who sent an army in 683 to stop the opposition movements?
answers: text: Yazid

question: In what battle was the Medinese opposition movement defeated?
answers: text: Battle of al-Harrah

question: Where is the Kaaba located?
answers: text: Mecca

question: How many opposition movements was Husayn associated with?

question: What mosque in Medina was repaired?

question: What army laid siege to Arabia?

question: What became a cause for the celebration of the Umayyads in later histories?

question: Who dispatched an army to help the opposition movements?
context: Following the death of Husayn, Ibn al-Zubayr, although remaining in Mecca, was associated with two opposition movements, one centered in Medina and the other around Kharijites in Basra and Arabia. Because Medina had been home to Muhammad and his family, including Husayn, word of his death and the imprisonment of his family led to a large opposition movement. In 683, Yazid dispatched an army to subdue both movements. The army suppressed the Medinese opposition at the Battle of al-Harrah. The Grand Mosque in Medina was severely damaged and widespread pillaging caused deep-seated dissent. Yazid's army continued on and laid siege to Mecca. At some point during the siege, the Kaaba was badly damaged in a fire. The destruction of the Kaaba and Grand Mosque became a major cause for censure of the Umayyads in later histories of the period.

qas: question: What is another term for the Umayyads?
answers: text: Banu Abd-Shams

question: Traditionally, who did the Umayyads and Muhammad both descend from?
answers: text: Abd Manaf ibn Qusai

question: From what city did the Umayyads originate?
answers: text: Mecca

question: What son of Abd-Shams was the ancestor of the Umayyads?
answers: text: Umayya

question: Who did Abd Manaf ibn Qusai descend from?

question: Who suspects that Muhammad was an adopted son?

question: Which historians agree with the Muslim Shia historians?

question: Who was married to the grandson of Abdullah bin Amr bin Uthman?

question: Who was the grandson of Zaid bin amr bin uthman bin affan?
context: According to tradition, the Umayyad family (also known as the Banu Abd-Shams) and Muhammad both descended from a common ancestor, Abd Manaf ibn Qusai, and they originally came from the city of Mecca. Muhammad descended from Abd Manāf via his son Hashim, while the Umayyads descended from Abd Manaf via a different son, Abd-Shams, whose son was Umayya. The two families are therefore considered to be different clans (those of Hashim and of Umayya, respectively) of the same tribe (that of the Quraish). However Muslim Shia historians suspect that Umayya was an adopted son of Abd Shams so he was not a blood relative of Abd Manaf ibn Qusai. Umayya was later discarded from the noble family. Sunni historians disagree with this and view Shia claims as nothing more than outright polemics due to their hostility to the Umayyad family in general. They point to the fact that the grand sons of Uthman, Zaid bin amr bin uthman bin affan and Abdullah bin Amr bin Uthman got married to the Sukaina and Fatima the daughters of Hussein son of Ali to show closeness of Banu hashem and Bani Ummayah.

qas: question: Where did Muawiyah fight Ali?
answers: text: Battle of Siffin

question: Who was appointed arbitrator by Ali?
answers: text: Abu Musa Ashaari

question: In what battle did Ali fight the Kharjites?
answers: text: Battle of Nahrawan

question: What did the term Kharjites mean?
answers: text: those who leave

question: Who did Ali fight against before this battle?

question: Who was appointed as an arbitrator before the battle?

question: Who convinced the others that a new Caliph should not be elected?

question: What group's name means "those who stay"?

question: What was the slogan of those who stayed with Ali's force?
context: Following this battle, Ali fought a battle against Muawiyah, known as the Battle of Siffin. The battle was stopped before either side had achieved victory, and the two parties agreed to arbitrate their dispute. After the battle Amr ibn al-As was appointed by Muawiyah as an arbitrator, and Ali appointed Abu Musa Ashaari. Seven months later, in February 658, the two arbitrators met at Adhruh, about 10 miles north west of Maan in Jordon. Amr ibn al-As convinced Abu Musa Ashaari that both Ali and Muawiyah should step down and a new Caliph be elected. Ali and his supporters were stunned by the decision which had lowered the Caliph to the status of the rebellious Muawiyah I. Ali was therefore outwitted by Muawiyah and Amr. Ali refused to accept the verdict and found himself technically in breach of his pledge to abide by the arbitration. This put Ali in a weak position even amongst his own supporters. The most vociferous opponents in Ali's camp were the very same people who had forced Ali into the ceasefire. They broke away from Ali's force, rallying under the slogan, "arbitration belongs to God alone." This group came to be known as the Kharijites ("those who leave"). In 659 Ali's forces and the Kharijites met in the Battle of Nahrawan. Although Ali won the battle, the constant conflict had begun to affect his standing, and in the following years some Syrians seem to have acclaimed Muawiyah as a rival caliph.

qas: question: Who controlled Iraq before the Arabs?
answers: text: Persian Sassanid Empire

question: Who ruled Syria before it was conquered by the followers of Muhammad?
answers: text: Byzantine Empire

question: Who was the second caliph?
answers: text: Umar

question: What book never mentioned racial equality?

question: What was encouraged in the Quran?

question: What started to resurface before Muhammad's passing?

question: Who was soft on the governors?

question: What area wanted the capital of the Islamic State to be outside their area?
context: The Quran and Muhammad talked about racial equality and justice as in The Farewell Sermon. Tribal and nationalistic differences were discouraged. But after Muhammad's passing, the old tribal differences between the Arabs started to resurface. Following the Roman–Persian Wars and the Byzantine–Sassanid Wars, deep rooted differences between Iraq, formally under the Persian Sassanid Empire, and Syria, formally under the Byzantine Empire, also existed. Each wanted the capital of the newly established Islamic State to be in their area. Previously, the second caliph Umar was very firm on the governors and his spies kept an eye on them. If he felt that a governor or a commander was becoming attracted to wealth, he had him removed from his position.

qas: question: How many top leaders of the Umayyads were killed in the Battle of Badr?
answers: text: three

question: Who did the Umayyads fight in the Battle of Badr?
answers: text: Hashimites

question: What do historians see as the first military defeat of Islam?
answers: text: Battle of Uhud

question: Who was the spouse of Abu Sufyan?
answers: text: Hind

question: Who was the son of Abu Sufyan?
answers: text: Muawiyah I

question: How many top leaders of the Umayyads survived the Battle of Badr?

question: Who was the grandson of Abu Sufyan ibn Harb?

question: Who fought a battle only a year before the Battle of Badr?

question: What battle was the last defeat for the Muslims?

question: Who was the daughter of Hind?
context: While the Umayyads and the Hashimites may have had bitterness between the two clans before Muhammad, the rivalry turned into a severe case of tribal animosity after the Battle of Badr. The battle saw three top leaders of the Umayyad clan (Utba ibn Rabi'ah, Walid ibn Utbah and Shaybah) killed by Hashimites (Ali, Hamza ibn ‘Abd al-Muttalib and Ubaydah ibn al-Harith) in a three-on-three melee. This fueled the opposition of Abu Sufyan ibn Harb, the grandson of Umayya, to Muhammad and to Islam. Abu Sufyan sought to exterminate the adherents of the new religion by waging another battle with Muslims based in Medina only a year after the Battle of Badr. He did this to avenge the defeat at Badr. The Battle of Uhud is generally believed by scholars to be the first defeat for the Muslims, as they had incurred greater losses than the Meccans. After the battle, Abu Sufyan's wife Hind, who was also the daughter of Utba ibn Rabi'ah, is reported to have cut open the corpse of Hamza, taking out his liver which she then attempted to eat. Within five years after his defeat in the Battle of Uhud, however, Muhammad took control of Mecca and announced a general amnesty for all. Abu Sufyan and his wife Hind embraced Islam on the eve of the conquest of Mecca, as did their son (the future caliph Muawiyah I).

qas: question: What tax did non-Muslims pay in the Umayyad period?
answers: text: jizyah

question: What was another term for Muslims who were not Arab?
answers: text: mawali

question: Along with Christians and Jews, what was a major non-Muslim religious group under the Umayyads?
answers: text: Zoroastrian

question: What tax did Muslims pay in the Umayyad period?

question: What was a term for Arabs who were not Muslim?

question: Who encouraged conversions in order to make more revenue?

question: Who insisted on different treatment of Arab and non-Arab Muslims?

question: Who added more obstacles to conversion to Islam for non-Arabs?
context: Umar is honored for his attempt to resolve the fiscal problems attendant upon conversion to Islam. During the Umayyad period, the majority of people living within the caliphate were not Muslim, but Christian, Jewish, Zoroastrian, or members of other small groups. These religious communities were not forced to convert to Islam, but were subject to a tax (jizyah) which was not imposed upon Muslims. This situation may actually have made widespread conversion to Islam undesirable from the point of view of state revenue, and there are reports that provincial governors actively discouraged such conversions. It is not clear how Umar attempted to resolve this situation, but the sources portray him as having insisted on like treatment of Arab and non-Arab (mawali) Muslims, and on the removal of obstacles to the conversion of non-Arabs to Islam.

qas: question: When did Uthman die?
answers: text: 656

question: What tribe did Ali belong to?
answers: text: Quraysh

question: Along with being his cousin, what relationship did Ali have to Muhammad?
answers: text: son-in-law

question: Where was the capital before Ali changed it?
answers: text: Medina

question: What does Fitna mean?
answers: text: civil war

question: When was Uthman born?

question: Why did Ali meet with little resistance?

question: When did the Second Fitna occur?

question: Who was the wife of Marwan I?

question: Who did not want conflict?
context: After the assassination of Uthman in 656, Ali, a member of the Quraysh tribe and the cousin and son-in-law of Muhammad, was elected as the caliph. He soon met with resistance from several factions, owing to his relative political inexperience. Ali moved his capital from Medina to Kufa. The resulting conflict, which lasted from 656 until 661, is known as the First Fitna ("civil war"). Muawiyah I, the governor of Syria, a relative of Uthman ibn al-Affan and Marwan I, wanted the culprits arrested. Marwan I manipulated everyone and created conflict. Aisha, the wife of Muhammad, and Talhah and Al-Zubayr, two of the companions of Muhammad, went to Basra to tell Ali to arrest the culprits who murdered Uthman. Marwan I and other people who wanted conflict manipulated everyone to fight. The two sides clashed at the Battle of the Camel in 656, where Ali won a decisive victory.

qas: question: What group murdered Uthman ibn al-Affan?
answers: text: Egyptians

question: Who was Marwan I related to?
answers: text: Muawiyah I

question: Who adopted Muhammad ibn Abi Bakr?
answers: text: Ali ibn Abi Talib

question: Who was the great grandson of Muhammad ibn Ali Bakr?
answers: text: Ja'far al-Sadiq

question: Who feared that Muslim armies would turn away from wealth?

question: Why did early Muslim armies stay inside of cities?

question: Who murdered the Egyptians?

question: Who assumed power when Marwan I became very old?

question: Who was the son of Muhammad ibn Abi Bakr?
context: Early Muslim armies stayed in encampments away from cities because Umar feared that they might get attracted to wealth and luxury. In the process, they might turn away from the worship of God and start accumulating wealth and establishing dynasties. When Uthman ibn al-Affan became very old, Marwan I, a relative of Muawiyah I, slipped into the vacuum, became his secretary, slowly assumed more control and relaxed some of these restrictions. Marwan I had previously been excluded from positions of responsibility. In 656, Muhammad ibn Abi Bakr, the son of Abu Bakr, the adopted son of Ali ibn Abi Talib, and the great grandfather of Ja'far al-Sadiq, showed some Egyptians the house of Uthman ibn al-Affan. Later the Egyptians ended up killing Uthman ibn al-Affan.

qas: question: Where did Ibn al-Zubayr flee to in 680?
answers: text: Mecca

question: Who did Al-Husayn send to Kufa?
answers: text: Muslim bin Agail

question: What did Ubayd-Allah bin Ziyad rule?
answers: text: Basrah

question: Who did Ubayd-Allah bin Ziyad murder?
answers: text: Muslim bin Agail

question: When did Ibn al-Zubayr flee Mecca for Medina?

question: Who was the sole female survivor of the caravan?

question: Who was not able to disperse the crowd that had gathered?

question: Who requested a message be sent to Ubayd-Allah bin Ziyad to prevent his immigration to Kufa?

question: Who led Husayn's forces?
context: In 680 Ibn al-Zubayr fled Medina for Mecca. Hearing about Husayn's opposition to Yazid I, the people of Kufa sent to Husayn asking him to take over with their support. Al-Husayn sent his cousin Muslim bin Agail to verify if they would rally behind him. When the news reached Yazid I, he sent Ubayd-Allah bin Ziyad, ruler of Basrah, with the instruction to prevent the people of Kufa rallying behind Al-Husayn. Ubayd-Allah bin Ziyad managed to disperse the crowd that gathered around Muslim bin Agail and captured him. Realizing Ubayd-Allah bin Ziyad had been instructed to prevent Husayn from establishing support in Kufa, Muslim bin Agail requested a message to be sent to Husayn to prevent his immigration to Kufa. The request was denied and Ubayd-Allah bin Ziyad killed Muslim bin Agail. While Ibn al-Zubayr would stay in Mecca until his death, Husayn decided to travel on to Kufa with his family, unaware of the lack of support there. Husayn and his family were intercepted by Yazid I's forces led by Amru bin Saad, Shamar bin Thi Al-Joshan, and Hussain bin Tamim, who fought Al-Husayn and his male family members until they were killed. There were 200 people in Husayn's caravan, many of whom were women, including his sisters, wives, daughters and their children. The women and children from Husayn's camp were taken as prisoners of war and led back to Damascus to be presented to Yazid I. They remained imprisoned until public opinion turned against him as word of Husayn's death and his family's capture spread. They were then granted passage back to Medina. The sole adult male survivor from the caravan was Ali ibn Husayn who was with fever too ill to fight when the caravan was attacked.

qas: question: When did Muhammad bin Wasim sail to Pakistan?
answers: text: 712

question: Along with the Punjab, what did Muhammad bin Wasim conquer?
answers: text: Sindh

question: At what battle did the Hindus of India defeat the Umayyads?
answers: text: Rajasthan

question: To what dynasty did Vikramaditya II belong?
answers: text: Pratihara

question: Who was a notable king in this period from the Pratihara dynasty?
answers: text: Nagabhata

question: Who sailed away from Pakistan in 712?

question: What year did Muhammad bin Qasim leave Pakistan?

question: What conquests were easy for Umayyad Caliphate?

question: Who stopped India from invading the Arabs?

question: When did the south Indian Emperor give up conquering the Arabs?
context: In the year 712, Muhammad bin Qasim, an Umayyad general, sailed from the Persian Gulf into Sindh in Pakistan and conquered both the Sindh and the Punjab regions along the Indus river. The conquest of Sindh and Punjab, in modern-day Pakistan, although costly, were major gains for the Umayyad Caliphate. However, further gains were halted by Hindu kingdoms in India in the battle of Rajasthan. The Arabs tried to invade India but they were defeated by the north Indian king Nagabhata of the Pratihara Dynasty and by the south Indian Emperor Vikramaditya II of the Chalukya dynasty in the early 8th century. After this the Arab chroniclers admit that the Caliph Mahdi "gave up the project of conquering any part of India."

qas: question: Where was the Dome of the Rock built?
answers: text: Jerusalem

question: In what year was the Dome of the Rock finished?
answers: text: 692

question: During whose reign was the Dome of the Rock constructed?
answers: text: Abd al-Malik

question: What was the first major event of the early reign of Abd al-Mali?

question: What year did construction of the Dome of the Rock begin?

question: Why was the Kaaba built?

question: When was the Kaaba under construction?

question: What year was the Kaaba completed?
context: The second major event of the early reign of Abd al-Malik was the construction of the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem. Although the chronology remains somewhat uncertain, the building seems to have been completed in 692, which means that it was under construction during the conflict with Ibn al-Zubayr. This had led some historians, both medieval and modern, to suggest that the Dome of the Rock was built as a destination for pilgrimage to rival the Kaaba, which was under the control of Ibn al-Zubayr.

qas: question: Who was the son of Sarjun?
answers: text: John of Damascus

question: Along with Rhodes, what Byzantine possession did Muawiyah occupy?
answers: text: Crete

question: Who group of Christians rose up against Muawiyah?
answers: text: Mardaites

question: What did Muawiyah found in North Africa?
answers: text: Kairouan

question: Who discouraged peaceful coexistence with the Christians in Syria?

question: Who was Muawiyah's least close adviser?

question: When were Rhodes and Crete freed from occupation?

question: Who oversaw a military withdrawal in North Africa?

question: Where did Muawiya shrink military expansion in?
context: Muawiyah also encouraged peaceful coexistence with the Christian communities of Syria, granting his reign with "peace and prosperity for Christians and Arabs alike", and one of his closest advisers was Sarjun, the father of John of Damascus. At the same time, he waged unceasing war against the Byzantine Roman Empire. During his reign, Rhodes and Crete were occupied, and several assaults were launched against Constantinople. After their failure, and faced with a large-scale Christian uprising in the form of the Mardaites, Muawiyah concluded a peace with Byzantium. Muawiyah also oversaw military expansion in North Africa (the foundation of Kairouan) and in Central Asia (the conquest of Kabul, Bukhara, and Samarkand).

qas: question: Who was the son of Yazid?
answers: text: Muawiya II

question: When did Muawiya II's reign begin?
answers: text: 683

question: Who had the support of the Confederation of Qays?
answers: text: Ibn al-Zubayr

question: From whom was Marwan descended?
answers: text: Umayya via Wa'il ibn Umayyah

question: In what year did the battle of Marj Rahit occur?
answers: text: 684

question: What army left Damascus?

question: Who was recognized as caliph outside of Syria?

question: Who was a descendant of Marwan?

question: What year did the partisans of Marwan lose a battle?

question: What city did the partisans of Marwan lose a battle near?
context: Yazid died while the siege was still in progress, and the Umayyad army returned to Damascus, leaving Ibn al-Zubayr in control of Mecca. Yazid's son Muawiya II (683–84) initially succeeded him but seems to have never been recognized as caliph outside of Syria. Two factions developed within Syria: the Confederation of Qays, who supported Ibn al-Zubayr, and the Quda'a, who supported Marwan, a descendant of Umayya via Wa'il ibn Umayyah. The partisans of Marwan triumphed at a battle at Marj Rahit, near Damascus, in 684, and Marwan became caliph shortly thereafter.

qas: question: Who was the father of Abd al-Malik?
answers: text: Marwan

question: When did Abd al-Malik's rule begin?
answers: text: 685

question: Where was Al-Mukhtar based? 
answers: text: Kufa

question: Who was the father of Muhammad ibn al-Hanafiyyah?
answers: text: Ali

question: In what year did Ibn al-Zubayr die?
answers: text: 692

question: Who succeeded Abd al-Malik?

question: What span of years did Marwan rule?

question: Who was another son of Muhammad ibn al-Hanafiyyah?

question: When did the Umayyads defeat the troops of al-Mukhtar near Mosul?
context: Marwan was succeeded by his son, Abd al-Malik (685–705), who reconsolidated Umayyad control of the caliphate. The early reign of Abd al-Malik was marked by the revolt of Al-Mukhtar, which was based in Kufa. Al-Mukhtar hoped to elevate Muhammad ibn al-Hanafiyyah, another son of Ali, to the caliphate, although Ibn al-Hanafiyyah himself may have had no connection to the revolt. The troops of al-Mukhtar engaged in battles both with the Umayyads in 686, defeating them at the river Khazir near Mosul, and with Ibn al-Zubayr in 687, at which time the revolt of al-Mukhtar was crushed. In 691, Umayyad troops reconquered Iraq, and in 692 the same army captured Mecca. Ibn al-Zubayr was killed in the attack.

qas: question: Who appointed the governors in the Umayyad empire?
answers: text: khalifah

question: Where was the government of the Umayyads based?
answers: text: Damascus

question: Along with army leaders, police and civil administration, what did the governor control in his province?
answers: text: religious officials

question: What was not divided into several pieces?

question: What did the borders of the empire do before the Umayyad reign?

question: Who appointed the khalifah?

question: What did governors do with the extra tax revenue in the early years of the dynasty? 

question: When did the central power of the Umayyad rulers increase?
context: Geographically, the empire was divided into several provinces, the borders of which changed numerous times during the Umayyad reign. Each province had a governor appointed by the khalifah. The governor was in charge of the religious officials, army leaders, police, and civil administrators in his province. Local expenses were paid for by taxes coming from that province, with the remainder each year being sent to the central government in Damascus. As the central power of the Umayyad rulers waned in the later years of the dynasty, some governors neglected to send the extra tax revenue to Damascus and created great personal fortunes.

qas: question: What was the main city of Tokharistan?
answers: text: Balkh

question: What was the central part of Transoxiana called?
answers: text: Samarkand

question: In what year did the Day of Thirst occur?
answers: text: 724

question: What notable battle occurred in 731?
answers: text: Battle of the Defile

question: Who was the leader of the revolt of 734?
answers: text: al-Harith ibn Surayj

question: Who suffered worse defeats in the west?

question: What area was easy to govern?

question: What was the Umayyad victory in 724 called?

question: What governor stuck to his promise of tax relief to the Sogdians?

question: Who was able to capture Merv?
context: Hisham suffered still worse defeats in the east, where his armies attempted to subdue both Tokharistan, with its center at Balkh, and Transoxiana, with its center at Samarkand. Both areas had already been partially conquered, but remained difficult to govern. Once again, a particular difficulty concerned the question of the conversion of non-Arabs, especially the Sogdians of Transoxiana. Following the Umayyad defeat in the "Day of Thirst" in 724, Ashras ibn 'Abd Allah al-Sulami, governor of Khurasan, promised tax relief to those Sogdians who converted to Islam, but went back on his offer when it proved too popular and threatened to reduce tax revenues. Discontent among the Khurasani Arabs rose sharply after the losses suffered in the Battle of the Defile in 731, and in 734, al-Harith ibn Surayj led a revolt that received broad backing from Arabs and natives alike, capturing Balkh but failing to take Merv. After this defeat, al-Harith's movement seems to have been dissolved, but the problem of the rights of non-Arab Muslims would continue to plague the Umayyads.

qas: question: What group were the Hashimiyya a sect of?
answers: text: Kaysanites Shia

question: Who led the Hashimiyya movement?
answers: text: Abbasid family

question: Of what clan were the Abbasids members of?
answers: text: Hashim

question: What year saw the death of Abu Hashim?
answers: text: 717

question: Who was named successor by Abu Hashim?
answers: text: Muhammad ibn Ali

question: What was a sub-sect of the Hashimiyya movement?

question: Who led the Kaysanites Shia?

question: Who named Muhammad ibn al-Hanafiyya as his successor?

question: What failed to rally the supporters of the failed revolt?

question: Who represented themselves as the supporters of Ali?
context: The Hashimiyya movement (a sub-sect of the Kaysanites Shia), led by the Abbasid family, overthrew the Umayyad caliphate. The Abbasids were members of the Hashim clan, rivals of the Umayyads, but the word "Hashimiyya" seems to refer specifically to Abu Hashim, a grandson of Ali and son of Muhammad ibn al-Hanafiyya. According to certain traditions, Abu Hashim died in 717 in Humeima in the house of Muhammad ibn Ali, the head of the Abbasid family, and before dying named Muhammad ibn Ali as his successor. This tradition allowed the Abbasids to rally the supporters of the failed revolt of Mukhtar, who had represented themselves as the supporters of Muhammad ibn al-Hanafiyya.

qas: question: When did the Umayyads begin to occupy Iberia?
answers: text: 711

question: What was the final year that the Umayyads held Narbonne?
answers: text: 759

question: Who defeated the Arabs at the Battle of Tours?
answers: text: Franks

question: In what year did the Berber Revolt begin?
answers: text: 739

question: What was Marwan II's name before he became caliph?
answers: text: Marwan ibn Muhammad

question: What paved the way towards an occupation of the Umayyads by the Iberians?

question: When did the occupation of Iberia end?

question: What year did the caliphate's expansion in the west start?

question: At what battle did the Arabs defeat the Franks?

question: When did the Arab army win a major victory at the Battle of Marj Ardabil?
context: From the caliphate's north-western African bases, a series of raids on coastal areas of the Visigothic Kingdom paved the way to the permanent occupation of most of Iberia by the Umayyads (starting in 711), and on into south-eastern Gaul (last stronghold at Narbonne in 759). Hisham's reign witnessed the end of expansion in the west, following the defeat of the Arab army by the Franks at the Battle of Tours in 732. In 739 a major Berber Revolt broke out in North Africa, which was subdued only with difficulty, but it was followed by the collapse of Umayyad authority in al-Andalus. In India the Arab armies were defeated by the south Indian Chalukya dynasty and by the north Indian Pratiharas Dynasty in the 8th century and the Arabs were driven out of India. In the Caucasus, the confrontation with the Khazars peaked under Hisham: the Arabs established Derbent as a major military base and launched several invasions of the northern Caucasus, but failed to subdue the nomadic Khazars. The conflict was arduous and bloody, and the Arab army even suffered a major defeat at the Battle of Marj Ardabil in 730. Marwan ibn Muhammad, the future Marwan II, finally ended the war in 737 with a massive invasion that is reported to have reached as far as the Volga, but the Khazars remained unsubdued.

qas: question: Who was the father of Hisham?
answers: text: Abd al-Malik

question: When did Hisham's reign start?
answers: text: 724

question: Where did Hisham base his court?
answers: text: Resafa

question: What notable defeat was suffered by the Arabs under Hisham?
answers: text: Battle of Akroinon

question: In what part of Syria was Resafa located?
answers: text: northern

question: Who was the first son of Abd al-Malik to become caliph?

question: What years did the first son of Abd al-Malik rule?

question: Whose reign was marked by the acceleration of military expansion?

question: Who stopped hostilities against the Byzantines?

question: Who was the final son of Hirsham?
context: The final son of Abd al-Malik to become caliph was Hisham (724–43), whose long and eventful reign was above all marked by the curtailment of military expansion. Hisham established his court at Resafa in northern Syria, which was closer to the Byzantine border than Damascus, and resumed hostilities against the Byzantines, which had lapsed following the failure of the last siege of Constantinople. The new campaigns resulted in a number of successful raids into Anatolia, but also in a major defeat (the Battle of Akroinon), and did not lead to any significant territorial expansion.

qas: question: What was the name of Muawiyah's wife?
answers: text: Maysum

question: What tribe did Muawiyah's wife belong to?
answers: text: Kalb

question: What was the religion of Muawiyah's wife's tribe?
answers: text: Christian

question: What was the ethnicity of the Kalb tribe?
answers: text: Arab

question: Where was the Kalb tribe based?
answers: text: Syria

question: Who was the chief of the Kalb tribe?

question: Who did the chief of the Kalb tribe marry?

question: Whose marriage was motivated by love?

question: Who used the Jacobite Christians against the Muslims?

question: When did Muawiyah dissolve the navy?
context: With limited resources Muawiyah went about creating allies. Muawiyah married Maysum the daughter of the chief of the Kalb tribe, that was a large Jacobite Christian Arab tribe in Syria. His marriage to Maysum was politically motivated. The Kalb tribe had remained largely neutral when the Muslims first went into Syria. After the plague that killed much of the Muslim Army in Syria, by marrying Maysum, Muawiyah started to use the Jacobite Christians, against the Romans. Muawiya's wife Maysum (Yazid's mother) was also a Jacobite Christian. With limited resources and the Byzantine just over the border, Muawiyah worked in cooperation with the local Christian population. To stop Byzantine harassment from the sea during the Arab-Byzantine Wars, in 649 Muawiyah set up a navy; manned by Monophysitise Christians, Copts and Jacobite Syrian Christians sailors and Muslim troops.

qas: question: What Umayyad ruler is regarded as especially just and pious by Sunni scholars?
answers: text: Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz

question: For whom did Umar end the jizya?
answers: text: converts to Islam

question: In what year did Umar ibn Ad Al-Aziz die?
answers: text: 720

question: What was Umar ibn Ad al-Aziz's cause of death?
answers: text: poisoned

question: What group did Umar ibn Ad Al-Aziz grant liberties to?
answers: text: Mawali

question: What Umayyad ruler is hated by Sunni sources?

question: When was Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz born?

question: What happened when later governments tried to continue Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz's tax policies?

question: What unanimously praised most of the Umayyad rulers?

question: Who established the jizya tax?
context: Only Umayyad ruler (Caliphs of Damascus), Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz, is unanimously praised by Sunni sources for his devout piety and justice. In his efforts to spread Islam he established liberties for the Mawali by abolishing the jizya tax for converts to Islam. Imam Abu Muhammad Adbullah ibn Abdul Hakam stated that Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz also stopped the personal allowance offered to his relatives stating that he could only give them an allowance if he gave an allowance to everyone else in the empire. Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz was later poisoned in the year 720. When successive governments tried to reverse Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz's tax policies it created rebellion.

qas: question: Who became leader of the Khurasan Hashimiyya in approximately 746?
answers: text: Abu Muslim

question: What symbol did Abu Muslim use in his revolt against the Umayyads?
answers: text: black flag

question: Who was the Umayyad governor of Khurasan who was defeated by Abu Muslim?
answers: text: Nasr ibn Sayyar

question: When did the Hashimiyya conquer Kufa?
answers: text: 749

question: Where did Marwan die?
answers: text: Egypt

question: Who carried out a revolt under the sign of the white flag?

question: What year was control of Khurasan established?

question: What was the first Umayyad stronghold in Iraq?

question: When was Marwan recognized as the new caliph in the mosque at Kufa?

question: What month was Abu Muslim killed in Egypt?
context: Around 746, Abu Muslim assumed leadership of the Hashimiyya in Khurasan. In 747, he successfully initiated an open revolt against Umayyad rule, which was carried out under the sign of the black flag. He soon established control of Khurasan, expelling its Umayyad governor, Nasr ibn Sayyar, and dispatched an army westwards. Kufa fell to the Hashimiyya in 749, the last Umayyad stronghold in Iraq, Wasit, was placed under siege, and in November of the same year Abu al-Abbas was recognized as the new caliph in the mosque at Kufa.[citation needed] At this point Marwan mobilized his troops from Harran and advanced toward Iraq. In January 750 the two forces met in the Battle of the Zab, and the Umayyads were defeated. Damascus fell to the Abbasids in April, and in August, Marwan was killed in Egypt.

qas: question: In the later Abbasid era, what branch of Islam did Iran adhere to?
answers: text: Sunni

question: What notable work of Islamic history was written in Iran during the later Abbasid period?
answers: text: Al-Tabri

question: What group was notably disliked in Iran after the Persian Empire fell?
answers: text: Arab

question: What are the books written early in the Abbasid period like?

question: When was there not much anti Arab feeling in Iran?

question: What did this anti Arab feeling fail to influence?

question: What was a small collection of texts?

question: What was a collection meant only for current generations?
context: The books written later in the Abbasid period in Iran are more anti Umayyad. Iran was Sunni at the time. There was much anti Arab feeling in Iran after the fall of the Persian empire. This anti Arab feeling also influenced the books on Islamic history. Al-Tabri was also written in Iran during that period. Al-Tabri was a huge collection including all the text that he could find, from all the sources. It was a collection preserving everything for future generations to codify and for future generations to judge if it was true or false.

qas: question: What is the meaning of the term Kurdus in English?
answers: text: cohort

question: What caliph reigned from 740 to 750?
answers: text: Marwan II

question: What style of dress did Arab troops wear under Marwan II?
answers: text: Greek

question: Along with artillery and infantry, what was the third division of Umayyad troops under Marwan II?
answers: text: cavalry

question: What did the Umayyads call the mangonel?
answers: text: manjaniq

question: Who didn't change the Diwan of Umar?

question: What did the Byzantines pattern their army organization on?

question: How many corps did the Byzantines have?

question: Who reintroduced the old division?

question: In what fashion were Greek troops armed?
context: The Diwan of Umar, assigning annuities to all Arabs and to the Muslim soldiers of other races, underwent a change in the hands of the Umayyads. The Umayyads meddled with the register and the recipients regarded pensions as the subsistence allowance even without being in active service. Hisham reformed it and paid only to those who participated in battle. On the pattern of the Byzantine system the Umayyads reformed their army organization in general and divided it into five corps: the centre, two wings, vanguards and rearguards, following the same formation while on march or on a battle field. Marwan II (740–50) abandoned the old division and introduced Kurdus (cohort), a small compact body. The Umayyad troops were divided into three divisions: infantry, cavalry and artillery. Arab troops were dressed and armed in Greek fashion. The Umayyad cavalry used plain and round saddles. The artillery used arradah (ballista), manjaniq (the mangonel) and dabbabah or kabsh (the battering ram). The heavy engines, siege machines and baggage were carried on camels behind the army.

qas: question: Who first brought a postal service into Umayyad lands?
answers: text: Mu'awiyah

question: Along what highway did Umar bin Abdul-Aziz build caravanserais?
answers: text: Khurasan

question: Along with horses and camels, what animals were used by the postal service?
answers: text: donkeys

question: In dirhams, what was the yearly cost of the Iraqi postal service when Yusuf bin Umar was governor?
answers: text: 4,000,000

question: In kilometers, how far apart was each stage of the Umayyad highways?
answers: text: 19

question: Who ended the postal service?

question: Who shrunk the reach of the postal service throughout his empire?

question: Who stopped the use of horses in the postal service?

question: What service primarily met the needs of private citizens? 

question: What did the postal department of Iraq cost per year under Abd al-Malik?
context: Mu'awiyah introduced postal service, Abd al-Malik extended it throughout his empire, and Walid made full use of it. The Umayyad Caliph Abd al-Malik developed a regular postal service. Umar bin Abdul-Aziz developed it further by building caravanserais at stages along the Khurasan highway. Relays of horses were used for the conveyance of dispatches between the caliph and his agents and officials posted in the provinces. The main highways were divided into stages of 12 miles (19 km) each and each stage had horses, donkeys or camels ready to carry the post. Primarily the service met the needs of Government officials, but travellers and their important dispatches were also benefitted by the system. The postal carriages were also used for the swift transport of troops. They were able to carry fifty to a hundred men at a time. Under Governor Yusuf bin Umar, the postal department of Iraq cost 4,000,000 dirhams a year.

qas: question: What nation lost the Battle of Yarmouk?
answers: text: Byzantine

question: Who was the Byzantine leader at the Battle of Yarmouk?
answers: text: Heraclius

question: Along with Syria, where did the Muslims extend their control after the Battle of Yarmouk?
answers: text: Jerusalem

question: Who was the father of Yazid ibn Abi Sufyan?
answers: text: Abu Sufyan ibn Harb

question: Along with Muawiyah, Abu Sufyan ibn Harb and Yazid ibn Abi Sufyan, what notable Muslim participated in the Battle of Yarmouk?
answers: text: Hind bint Utbah

question: What is an example of a late history book?

question: What were Muawiyah's father and brothers appointed as before they converted to Islam?

question: Who appointed Muhammad as a commander?

question: Who never fought at the battle of Yarmouk?

question: What battle did the Byzantines win?
context: However many early history books like the Islamic Conquest of Syria Fatuhusham by al-Imam al-Waqidi state that after the conversion to Islam Muawiyah's father Abu Sufyan ibn Harb and his brothers Yazid ibn Abi Sufyan were appointed as commanders in the Muslim armies by Muhammad. Muawiyah, Abu Sufyan ibn Harb, Yazid ibn Abi Sufyan and Hind bint Utbah fought in the Battle of Yarmouk. The defeat of the Byzantine Emperor Heraclius at the Battle of Yarmouk opened the way for the Muslim expansion into Jerusalem and Syria.

qas: question: What were non-Muslim groups under the Umayyads called?
answers: text: dhimmis

question: Along with Berbers, Zoroastrians and Christians, what notable non-Muslim group existed in the Umayyad Caliphate?
answers: text: Jews

question: Along with Jews, what non-Muslim religion produced notable theological works under the Umayyads?
answers: text: Christians

question: What were Muslim groups in the Umayyad Caliphate called?

question: Who was given a legally protected status as first class citizens?

question: What were Muslims banned from holding in the empire?

question: What led to a lack of great thinkers in Muslim communities?

question: What were non-Muslims not required to acknowledge? 
context: Non-Muslim groups in the Umayyad Caliphate, which included Christians, Jews, Zoroastrians, and pagan Berbers, were called dhimmis. They were given a legally protected status as second-class citizens as long as they accepted and acknowledged the political supremacy of the ruling Muslims. They were allowed to have their own courts, and were given freedom of their religion within the empire.[citation needed] Although they could not hold the highest public offices in the empire, they had many bureaucratic positions within the government. Christians and Jews still continued to produce great theological thinkers within their communities, but as time wore on, many of the intellectuals converted to Islam, leading to a lack of great thinkers in the non-Muslim communities.

qas: question: What is another name for people who recently converted to Islam?
answers: text: mawali

question: Who argued that the Umayyads regarded Islam as a particularly aristocratic faith?
answers: text: G.R. Hawting

question: What sorts of families did the Umayyads show favor to?
answers: text: old Arab

question: Which caliphate was not marked by territorial expansion?

question: Who favored the rights of newly converted Muslims?

question: Who did the mawali show favor to?

question: Who had a more universalist conception of Islam than their rivals?
context: The Umayyad caliphate was marked both by territorial expansion and by the administrative and cultural problems that such expansion created. Despite some notable exceptions, the Umayyads tended to favor the rights of the old Arab families, and in particular their own, over those of newly converted Muslims (mawali). Therefore, they held to a less universalist conception of Islam than did many of their rivals. As G.R. Hawting has written, "Islam was in fact regarded as the property of the conquering aristocracy."

qas: question: What Christian saint was also an Umayyad administrator?
answers: text: John of Damascus

question: What tax collectors did the Umayyads often leave in place after they conquered regions?
answers: text: Roman

question: In addition to criticism received for employing non-Muslims, for what notable reason did some Muslims criticize the Umayyads?
answers: text: not reducing the taxes of the people who converted to Islam

question: What did many Muslims praise the Umayyads for?

question: Who removed the people's political representatives as they took over?

question: What was the Central government not paid for?

question: What did many Muslim cities use some of their taxes for?

question: Who reduced the taxes of the people who converted to Islam?
context: Many Muslims criticized the Umayyads for having too many non-Muslim, former Roman administrators in their government. St John of Damascus was also a high administrator in the Umayyad administration. As the Muslims took over cities, they left the peoples political representatives and the Roman tax collectors and the administrators. The taxes to the central government were calculated and negotiated by the peoples political representatives. The Central government got paid for the services it provided and the local government got the money for the services it provided. Many Christian cities also used some of the taxes on maintain their churches and run their own organizations. Later the Umayyads were criticized by some Muslims for not reducing the taxes of the people who converted to Islam. These new converts continues to pay the same taxes that were previously negotiated.

qas: question: What Arabic term did the Umayyad caliphs use to refer to themselves?
answers: text: khalifat Allah

question: Where was the Abbasid court based?
answers: text: Baghdad

question: What is the Arabic term for kingship?
answers: text: mulk

question: What was the tradition Arabic title used by caliphs?
answers: text: khalifat rasul Allah

question: What does khalifat Allah translate to in English?
answers: text: deputy of God

question: Who has a positive reception from later Islamic historians?

question: What is a term for kingship that has connotations of freedom?

question: Who calls the Umayyads a true caliphate?

question: Who saw a need to share religious power with the religious scholars?

question: What histories were written outside the Abbasid court?
context: The Umayyads have met with a largely negative reception from later Islamic historians, who have accused them of promoting a kingship (mulk, a term with connotations of tyranny) instead of a true caliphate (khilafa). In this respect it is notable that the Umayyad caliphs referred to themselves not as khalifat rasul Allah ("successor of the messenger of God", the title preferred by the tradition), but rather as khalifat Allah ("deputy of God"). The distinction seems to indicate that the Umayyads "regarded themselves as God's representatives at the head of the community and saw no need to share their religious power with, or delegate it to, the emergent class of religious scholars." In fact, it was precisely this class of scholars, based largely in Iraq, that was responsible for collecting and recording the traditions that form the primary source material for the history of the Umayyad period. In reconstructing this history, therefore, it is necessary to rely mainly on sources, such as the histories of Tabari and Baladhuri, that were written in the Abbasid court at Baghdad.