The Umayyad Caliphate (c. 661–750 CE / 41–132 AH) was the second of the four major Islamic caliphates. Though the family originally came from Makkah, their capital was Damascus.
At its greatest extent it covered more than five million square miles — one of the largest empires the world had yet seen, and the seventh largest contiguous empire ever to exist.
This volume covers that period in full, from the rule of Mu'awiyah bin Abi Sufyan in the forty-first year of the Hijrah to the reign of Marwan Al-Himar in the year 132.
Ibn Kathir traces the rise of Umayyad leadership after the Rashidun Caliphs and their consolidation of power across a rapidly expanding state, then works through the caliphs one by one: their governance, their military campaigns, and the administrative reforms that shaped the early Islamic state. He shows how they managed remarkably diverse populations, and how trade and scholarship developed under them.
The period is a contested one, and much of what circulates about it is polemic from one direction or another. Reading it from a scholar of Ibn Kathir's standing, working from the sources, is the sensible way to approach it.
About Al-Bidayah wan-Nihayah
Al-Bidayah wan-Nihayah — The Beginning and The End — by Abu Al-Fida 'Imad ad-Din Isma'il bin 'Umar Ibn Kathir is among the most authoritative sources on Islamic history ever written. Its distinctive feature is its range: it deals not only with past events but with the future events the Prophet ﷺ foretold, up to the Day of Judgment.
The Al-Bidayah wan-Nihayah Volumes
Darussalam's abridged English translation of Ibn Kathir's history is issued as separate volumes, each covering one period or theme. Seven have been translated so far, and the complete 7-book set can be bought together at a discount. The others:
The Book of the End also draws on the same work, covering the trials and events still to come.
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