Middle Ages

Umayyad Caliphate

Period
AD 656 – AD 756
Duration
approx. 100 years
Greatest extent
around AD 732
Area (max.)
approx. 9.9 million km²
Umayyad Caliphate at its greatest extent (around AD 732) · Borders: Cliopatria
▶ View on the interactive map

Profile

Strength

Arab cavalry armies and fleets stretched the empire from the Atlantic to the Indus.

Famous figures

  • Muawiya I
  • Abd al-Malik
  • al-Walid I
  • Tariq ibn Ziyad
  • Umar II

Wars & battles won

  • Conquest of Hispania (711)
  • Conquest of Sindh (711)

Wars & battles lost

  • Siege of Constantinople (717–18)
  • Battle of Tours (732)
  • Abbasid Revolution (750)

Languages

  • Arabic
  • Greek

Period and duration

Umayyad Caliphate — according to the map data from AD 656 to AD 756, roughly 100 years. The dates refer to the time the empire is drawn as its own territory on the world map; historians sometimes date its founding and end differently.

Greatest extent

Umayyad Caliphate — greatest extent around AD 732: the mapped borders then cover about 9.9 million km², roughly 6.6% of Earth's land area. The area is calculated from the border lines of the map and is therefore an approximation.

AD 656Area according to the map data (max. 9.9 million km²)AD 756

Predecessors and successors

States that ruled the same territory directly before and after:

Before (AD 655)

After

Neighbours around AD 732

The largest states in the region at the same time:

Learn more

Borders and dates: Cliopatria / Seshat Global History Databank (CC BY 4.0). Coastlines: Natural Earth. Text: Centaurian.