Episode 37: Walid bin Yazid

Yazid III’s successful coup against Walid II blew up the tribal feud. Syrian unity had long undergirded Umayyad power in Syria and from there, the entire caliphate; it had now been torn asunder in bloody warfare. Even when the clan finally had someone strong enough to make a play ...  Show more

While the Umayyads fought among themselves in distant Syria, dangerous developments were underway in Khurasan. The umma’s divisions in the Eastern province were deep enough to give the coming revolution its first foothold in the caliphate. Its final Umayyad governor, Nasr ibn Say ...  Show more

Basra is starting to slip out of control with rampant crime and too much rebellion. Muawiyyah is ready to bring in someone new; however, this new guy has a scandalous past. In this episode, we're introduced to Ziyad ibn Abihi, Muawiyyah's brutal governor of Basra. We'll see how Z ...  Show more

In this episode, we explore the fragile balance of power during the later years of the Umayyad Caliphate under Caliph Hisham ibn Abdul Malik. Between 112–114 AH (731–733 CE), the empire faced crushing defeats on nearly every frontier. Yet Hisham refused to abandon his policy of c ...  Show more

With the Sassanian Empire defeated and the Byzantine Empire exhausted, there is a power vacuum in the centre of the world. Both of these superpowers have drained their resources fighting each other over the past 30 years, consuming many of the great cities of antiquity. To the so ...  Show more

In this episode of the Umayyad Caliphate, we continue our exploration of Caliph Hisham ibn Abdul Malik’s reign as the Umayyad Caliphate faces mounting crises across its vast empire. The year is 110 AH (728 CE), and the empire’s edges are on fire. In the Caucasus, Maslamah ibn Abd ...  Show more