A Brief Journey Through Islamic History
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its center, but at the cost of converting the caliphate of the rāshidūn to a hereditary sultanate. The Umayyads were able to rule from Central Asia to Spain and France, establishing a system of communication, administration, and legal and military institutions, much of which survived over the centuries. They were faced with attempts to restore the power of the aristocracy of Mecca and bedouin rebellion against central authority, as well as Shī‘ite dissent. ‘Abd al-Malik (65/685-86/705) succeeded in securing the unity of the empire, but, increasingly, the pious saw religious principles sacrificed before worldly ends, although one of the caliphs, ‘Umar ibn ‘Abd al-‘Azīz, who sought to reform the existing economic system, was a model of piety and highly revered not only by the Sunni faithful, but even by Shī‘ites, whom he treated with kindness. The Umayyads strengthened the administrative and military foundations of the empire and Arabized coinage and the chancelleries. They completed the early conquests and permitted Islamic culture to establish itself from the Oxus to the Pyrenees. And yet they began to lose the support of many Muslims and therefore their “legitimacy.” Many considered them to be Arab rather than Islamic rulers, and resentment grew against them, especially among mawālī, that is, non-Arabs, who had embraced Islam in ever greater numbers, chief among whom were the Persians. Much of this protest took place under the banner of Shī‘ism and centered in Iraq, especially after the death of Husayn ibn ‘Alī . during the caliphate of Yazīd. The opposition, however, was kept at bay by strong governors, but it gradually spread farther east until in Khurasan,