Steven Judd, The Umayyad Problem in Arabic History/Historiography.

Steven Judd, The Umayyad Problem in Arabic History/Historiography. Centre for the Study of Islam. Online Monday Majlis on the 22nd of May.

Abstract
The Umayyad period is crucial for understanding the creation and spread of a new Arabo-Islamic political, economic, and religious society. Under the Umayyads, the unified Islamic empire reached its territorial peak, Arabic became the new lingua franca, and the basic religious tenets of Islam were articulated.
Despite its importance, the Umayyad period presents historians with seemingly insurmountable historiographical challenges. The Umayyads did not write their own history, their more prolific Abbasid successors present an often biased and distorted image of their Umayyad foes, and outside sources are sparse, offering little helpful corroboration or interpretation.
This talk examines how modern historians have confronted these difficulties and how their assorted approaches may have exacerbated the difficulties infusing the sources rather than providing clarity. I will ultimately consider whether or not our historiographical dilemmas are in fact exaggerated.

Bio
Steven Judd, Ph.D. (1997), University of Michigan, is Professor of Middle East History at Southern Connecticut State University. His publications include: Religious Scholars and the Umayyads: Piety-Minded Supporters of the Marwānid Caliphate (Routledge, 2013) and Abd al-Raḥmān b. ‘Amr al-Awzā‘ī, (Oneworld, 2019).

We’ll be happy to welcome you!

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Umayyad history starts at 18:00. Before that, it's Steven Judd's history. 😅

Joking aside, I'm from Saudi Arabia, and I want to thank both of you for highlighting the dilemma we face when dissecting any history before the Abbasids. There is no doubt about the Western over-fascination with Tabari, which is not the case among Arab historians and scholars. It's a similar phenomenon with Jalal ad-Din Rumi.

Having the privilege of understanding both Arabic and English, I am astonished by the vast difference in how Rumi is portrayed.

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It is important to note that describing the Umayyads as Syrians is inaccurate. Most of the Umayyad caliphs were born in the Hejaz, in what is now modern-day Saudi Arabia, specifically in Mecca and later in Medina. Those born in Medina were born into Islam. It wasn't until the 9th caliph, Yazeed bin Abdulmalik Ibn Marwan, that Umayyad caliphs were born in Damascus, and this occurred near the end of the Umayyad dynasty. Additionally, using the term "Syria" for this period is anachronistic, as the region was referred to as the Levant (Al-Sham) by the Arabians.

Furthermore, the Umayyads' roots were deeply embedded in Arabia, highlighting their strong connections to the region. At the time of the Umayyads, there were relatively few Arabians in what is now Syria, and the local populations had not yet fully assimilated with Arabian culture. This context fueled the Abbasids, who were also Meccan and Arabian, to overthrow the Umayyads while portraying themselves as progressives and against the "racist Umayyads that preferred peninsular Arabians over other Muslims." This preference for Arabians is an essential part of the Umayyad story, as it was a key reason for their eventual overthrow. Thus, terming the Umayyads as Syrians is a flawed perspective, as it overlooks their Arabian origins and the demographic context of that period.

I enjoyed the lecture, Thank you.

[willowbell]

Thank you, this is a very informative interview. You'll be glad to know the Umayyad era still inspires debate in Syria. I dislike the Abassids as much as it seems to disdain the Umayyad period. That is partly because it has inspired the current Syrian war and partly because winged it for most of the period.
You should be sceptical, if only in relation to the current war that is far from over. I'm talking in terms of the Islamic invasion that took place from 2006 to 2014. I call it the Sunni/Sunni split, there's more than one but that has allowed even Britain/America to get in on the act.
I still think it is important to standardise accounts and repeat the standardisation because of where it has led.
They made fantastic use of land as well.
The Sufyan prophecies imply they never left people's minds.
It ended with the Moors, I guess.
Well if the tribal aspects are true or not there were certainly lots of them around competing for trade and the control of the Ka'aba.
Greek influences? Pagan.
It's called head hunting, the appointing of admin workers I mean. Thanks