A caliphate centered on Damascus
661 CE · Damascus
The historical record
The Met dates the beginning of Umayyad rule to 661, with power centered in Syria.
Keep the date’s precision
A political transition, not a claim that every region shared one culture or experience.
Century and half-century bounds are editorial filtering aids. They do not turn a broad source period into an exact date.
Follow the evidence
- The Metropolitan Museum of Art ↗Original concise summary; consult the institution for its full account.
Reports are summarized in our own words. This app does not republish modern English hadith translations.