In large part, this was the result of the schismatic forces that had undermined the Umayyad regime, which relied on the assertion of the superiority of Arab culture as part of its claim to legitimacy, and the Abbasids ' welcoming of support from non-Arab Muslims.

Under the Umayyads, the city of Damascus was the capital of the Islamic Caliphate and Syria formed the Caliphate's " metropolitan " province ; likewise, the elite Syrian army, the ahl al-Sham, formed the main pillar of the Umayyad regime.

The tenth Umayyad caliph, Hisham ibn Abd al-Malik, built a palatial complex known as Khirbet al-Mafjar about one mile north of Tell as-Sultan in 743, and two mosques, a courtyard, mosaics, and other items from it can still be seen in situ today, despite its having been partially destroyed in an earthquake in 747.

* 730 – Battle of Marj Ardabil: the Khazars annihilate an Umayyad army and kill its commander, al-Djarrah ibn Abdullah.

In 712 CE an Arab Muslim general called Muhammad bin Qasim conquered most of the Indus region in modern day Pakistan, for the Umayyad empire, to be made the " As-Sindh " province with its capital at Al-Mansurah, north of modern Hyderabad in Sindh, Pakistan.

Barcelona, a major city, became a potential target for the Franks in 797, as its governor Zeid rebelled against the Umayyad emir of Córdoba.

The slaves were mostly captured by Venice from Dalmatia, the Holy Roman Empire from what is now Prussia and Poland, and the Byzantines from elsewhere in the Balkans, and were generally destined for other parts of the Byzantine Empire and ( most frequently ) the Muslim states surrounding the Mediterranean: the Abbasid Caliphate, the Umayyad Caliphate of Córdoba, the Emirate of Sicily, and the Fatimid Caliphate ( which relied on Slavs purchased at the Bari market for its legions of Sakalaba Mamluks ).

Khalid Yahya Blankinship argued that the military defeat at Tours was one of the failures that contributed to the decline of the Umayyad caliphate: " Stretching from Morocco to China, the Umayyad caliphate based its expansion and success on the doctrine of jihad — armed struggle to claim the whole earth for God's rule, a struggle that had brought much material success for a century but suddenly ground to a halt followed by the collapse of the ruling Umayyad dynasty in 750 AD.

The caliphs of the Umayyad Dynasty built one of its square-plan palaces on the waterfront to the north of Tiberias, at Khirbat al-Minya.

The latter two names refer to its position beyond the River Oxus when approached from the south, emphasizing Turkestan's long-standing relationship with Iran, the Persian Empires and the Umayyad and Abbasid Caliphates.

Byzantine workmen built the Umayyad Mosque of Damascus and its hemispherical dome for Sherif al Walid in 705.

The movement emerged in the Umayyad Era, and reached its height in the Abassid period.

* Das arabische Reich und sein Sturz, in its time the standard modern account of Umayyad history ( 1902 ), English translation The Arab Kingdom and its Fall ( 1927 )

The Spanish monarchy has its roots in the Visigothic Kingdom founded in Spain and Aquitainia in the 5th century, and its Christian successor states which fought the Reconquista following the Umayyad invasion of Hispania in the 8th century.

The Spanish monarchy has its roots in the Visigothic Kingdom and its Christian successor states of Navarra, Asturias and Aragon, which fought the Reconquista or Reconquest of the Iberian peninsula following the Umayyad invasion of Hispania in the 8th century.

Following its partial depopulation due to the Umayyad conquest of the peninsula, León received a fresh impulse as part of the Kingdom of Asturias.

Alongside the growth of the Umayyad empire, the major political development within Islam in this period was the sectarian split between Sunni and Shi ' ite Muslims ; this had its roots in a dispute over the succession of the Caliphate.

Under the early centuries of Muslim rule, especially during the Umayyad ( 650 – 750 ) and Abbasid ( 750 – 969 ) dynasties, the city prospered ; geographers Ibn Hawqal and al-Istakhri ( 10th century ) describe it as " the most fertile province of Palestine ", while its native son, the geographer al-Muqaddasi ( born 946 ) devoted many pages to its praises in his most famous work, The Best Divisions in the Knowledge of the Climes.

In 707, Umayyad Caliph Al-Walid ibn Abd al-Malik ( 705-715 ) replaced the old structure and built a larger one in its place, incorporating the tomb of Muhammad.

The origins of the taifas must be sought in the administrative division of the Umayyad Caliphate of Córdoba, as well in the ethnic division of the elite of this state, divided among Arabs, Berbers, Iberian Muslims ( known as Muladíes-the overwhelming majority ) and the Eastern European former slaves.

Decades later, the Islamic Caliphate came under the rule of the Umayyad dynasty, which chose Damascus to be the administrative capital of the Muslim world.

"( Charlemagne's ) army was enlisted to help the Muslim governors of Barcelona and Zaragoza against the Umayyad ( emir ) in Cordoba ..." Essentially Charlemagne was being hired as a mercenary, even though he likely had other plans of acquiring the area for his own empire.

The Umayyad army then moved to Bobastro, while the cavalry was sent to the castle of Sant Batir, which was abandoned by the defenders, allowing Abd ar-Rahman's troops to secure a large booty.

Following at the Battle of Uhud in 625, it is said that after killing Hamzah ibn Abdu l-Muṭṭalib, his liver was consumed by Hind bint ‘ Utbah ( the wife of Abû Sufyan ibn Harb one of the commanders of the Qurayš army ) who later reportedly converted to Islam and became the mother of Muawiyah I founder of the Islamic Umayyad Caliphate.

Indeed, 12 years later, when he had thrice rescued Gaul from Umayyad invasions, Antonio Santosuosso noted when he destroyed an Umayyad army sent to reinforce the invasion forces of the 735 campaigns, " Charles Martel again came to the rescue.

* 711 30 April – The Umayyad general Tariq ibn Ziyad, leading a Berber-dominated army, sailed across the Strait from Ceuta.

Leo secured the Empire's frontiers by inviting Slavic settlers into the depopulated districts and by restoring the army to efficiency ; when the Umayyad Caliphate renewed their invasions in 726 and 739, as part of the campaigns of Hisham ibn Abd al-Malik, the Arab forces were decisively beaten, particularly at Akroinon in 740.

* Battle of the Defile between the Umayyads and the Turgesh results in heavy casualties for the Umayyad army, halting Muslim expansion in Central Asia for almost two decades.

* After the defeat of his army in the Battle of the Zab the last Umayyad Caliph, Marwan II, is overthrown and killed.

* A large Umayyad army under Maslamah ibn Abd al-Malik invades Asia Minor and lays siege to Tyana.

* Battle of Avignon – The Frankish army under Charles Martel expels Umayyad forces from the city.

* Battle of Narbonne – The Frankish army under Charles Martel defeats the Umayyad forces but fails to retake the city.

* Battle of Nîmes – The Frankish army under Charles Martel expels Umayyad forces from the city and destroys it.

* July 19 – Battle of Guadalete: Umayyad Moors ' victory over the Visigothic army.

* Byzantine Empire: An Umayyad army under Maslamah ibn Abd al-Malik raids Isauria.

* Byzantine Empire: The Byzantine general Heraclius defeats and destroys an Umayyad army at Sisium.

* December 9 – Battle of Marj Ardabil: the Khazars defeat and destroy an Umayyad army of some 25, 000 men under al-Djarrah ibn Abdullah

The battle pitted Frankish and Burgundian forces under Austrasian Mayor of the Palace Charles Martel, against an army of the Umayyad Caliphate led by ‘ Abdul Rahman Al Ghafiqi, Governor-General of al-Andalus.

Writing in 1999, Paul K. Davis estimates the Umayyad forces at 80, 000 and the Franks at about 30, 000, while noting that modern historians have estimated the strength of the Umayyad army at Tours at between 20 – 80, 000.

In 732, the Umayyad advance force was proceeding north toward the River Loire having outpaced their supply train and a large part of their army.

At Bordeaux, and again at the Battle of the River Garonne, the Umayyad forces were cavalry, not infantry, and were not taken by surprise, and given a chance to mass for battle, which led to the devastation of Odo's army, almost all of whom were killed with minimal losses to the Muslims.

The battle was still in flux when — Frankish histories claim — a rumor went through the Umayyad army that Frankish scouts threatened the booty that they had taken from Bordeaux.

The Umayyad army retreated south over the Pyrenees.