Syria's communities and civilizations – history, sites and heritage
Early Islamic caliphates and dynasties (Umayyads, Abbasids, Hamdanids)
الأمويون والعباسيون والحمدانيون
Civilizations and historical peopleshistorical
Damascus was the capital of the Umayyad caliphate (661–750), whose Great Mosque became one of the defining monuments of Islam. The Abbasid caliph Harun al-Rashid resided at Raqqa (796–809), and the Hamdanid Sayf al-Dawla ruled Aleppo in the 10th century. These are historical dynasties, not modern communities.
Mu'awiya, governor of Syria, became caliph in 661 and ruled from Damascus; al-Walid I built the Great Mosque on the site of the cathedral of St John, and Hisham held court at Resafa. The façade of the Umayyad palace of Qasr al-Hayr al-Gharbi forms the entrance of the National Museum of Damascus. The Umayyads fell to the Abbasids at the Zab in 750.
Sources and details
The Abbasid caliph al-Mansur founded the garrison city of al-Rafiqa beside Raqqa in 770–771; Harun al-Rashid made it his residence from 796, and the unfinished monument of Heraqla is attributed to him. The congregational mosque of al-Rafiqa was built to a planned layout.
The Hamdanids (905–1004) ruled northern Iraq and Syria; Sayf al-Dawla took Aleppo around 945 and defended the frontier against Byzantium, and the poet al-Mutanabbi lived at his court from 948 to 957.
Sites connected with this community 12
- Ancient City of AleppoAleppo · Castles & fortresses
Aleppo, taken by the Hamdanid Sayf al-Dawla around 945.
- Great Mosque of Aleppo (Umayyad Mosque of Aleppo)Aleppo, Aleppo · Islamic heritage
Great Mosque of Aleppo, founded under the Umayyads.
- Burial attributed to Mu'awiya ibn Abi Sufyan (Bab al-Saghir Cemetery)Damascus, Bab al-Saghir cemetery, Damascus · Islamic heritage
Burial attributed to the first Umayyad caliph Mu'awiya.
- National Museum of DamascusDamascus, Damascus · Museums
Entrance built from the Qasr al-Hayr al-Gharbi façade.
- Umayyad MosqueDamascus, Damascus · Islamic heritage
Great Mosque built by al-Walid I (706–715).
- Al-Omari Mosque (Bosra)Bosra, Daraa · Islamic heritage
Mosque of Omar at Bosra, completed in 721 according to the atlas data.
- Qasr al-Hayr al-GharbiHoms · Castles & fortresses
Umayyad palace whose façade forms the National Museum entrance.
- Tomb of Caliph Umar ibn Abd al-AzizDeir Sharqi (near Maarat al-Numan), Idlib · Islamic heritage
Tomb venerated as that of the Umayyad caliph Umar II.
- City walls of al-Rafiqah and Baghdad GateRaqqa · Historic architecture
Walls of Abbasid al-Rafiqa (the Baghdad Gate itself is 11th–12th c.).
- Great Mosque of RaqqaRaqqa, Raqqa · Islamic heritage
Abbasid congregational mosque of al-Rafiqa.
- HeraqlaRaqqa · Archaeological sites
Heraqla, Harun al-Rashid's unfinished monument.
- ResafaRaqqa · Archaeological sites
Resafa, residence of the Umayyad caliph Hisham.
Sources (7)
- UNESCO World Heritage Centre, Ancient City of Bosra
- UNESCO World Heritage Centre, Ancient City of Aleppo
- Encyclopaedia Britannica, Hamdanid dynasty
- Wikipedia, Raqqa (secondary pointer)
- Wikipedia, Resafa (secondary pointer)
- Wikipedia, Umayyad Caliphate (secondary pointer)
- Wikipedia, National Museum of Damascus (secondary pointer)
These categories describe history, language and faith – not exclusive identities. Many Syrians belong to several, and some names refer to civilizations of the past.