Umayya

Umayya, also spelled Umayyah, is an Arabic given name and the name of the Banū Umayya, a Quraysh clan from Mecca. The clan traces its legendary ancestor to Umayya ibn Abd Shams, and the name Banū Umayya denotes “the people of Umayya.” In historical and literary usage, the term often refers to the ruling dynasty descended from this clan, the Umayyads.

The most prominent use of the name is the Umayyad Caliphate, the second major Islamic dynasty. After the First Fitna, Mu'awiya ibn Abi Sufyan established the caliphate in 661 with its capital at Damascus. The Umayyads consolidated a centralized administrative system, expanded political and military influence, and promoted Arabic as the administrative language and currency standard. Their realm stretched from the Iberian Peninsula in the west to parts of Central and South Asia at its height, and they oversaw notable architectural and cultural patronage, including monumental mosques and the early development of Islamic urbanism. The dynasty also faced opposition and internal challenges, culminating in its overthrow by the Abbasids in 750 CE.

A branch of the Umayyad family continued to rule in Iberia as the Umayyad Emirate, later Emirate-turned-Caliphate of Córdoba, from 756 to 1031, maintaining political independence from the Abbasid regime in the east and contributing to the cultural and scientific flourishing of Al-Andalus.

In modern usage, Umayya remains a given name in the Arab world, and Banū Umayya is studied as part of early Islamic genealogies. The term thus denotes both a historical dynasty and a broader family lineage within early Islam.