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The Umayyad Caliphate Trivia Questions

How much do you really know about The Umayyad Caliphate? Below are 8 true or false statements. Click each one to reveal the answer and explanation.

1.

The Umayyad Caliphate's capital was Baghdad.

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Easy
✗ FALSE

The Umayyad Caliphate's capital was Damascus, Syria. Baghdad was founded by the Abbasids in 762 and became their capital.

2.

The Umayyad Caliphate was the first caliphate after Muhammad's death.

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Easy
✗ FALSE

The Rashidun Caliphate, led by the first four caliphs, ruled from 632 to 661, predating the Umayyad Caliphate which began after.

3.

The Umayyad Caliphate was overthrown by the Abbasid dynasty in 750 CE.

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Easy
✓ TRUE

The Abbasid Revolution, a widespread uprising, defeated the Umayyad Caliphate in 750 CE, massacring most of the Umayyad family and seizing power.

4.

The Umayyad Caliphate made Arabic the official language of its administration.

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Medium
✓ TRUE

Under Caliph Abd al-Malik (685-705), the Umayyad Caliphate replaced Greek and Persian with Arabic in all official records, unifying the empire's administration.

5.

The Umayyad Caliphate began the Muslim conquest of the Iberian Peninsula.

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Medium
✓ TRUE

In 711, the Umayyad general Tariq ibn Ziyad led forces across the Strait of Gibraltar, conquering most of the Iberian Peninsula and establishing Al-Andalus.

6.

The Umayyad Caliphate conquered Constantinople in 717.

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Medium
✗ FALSE

The Umayyads besieged Constantinople twice (674-678 and 717-718) but never conquered it; the Byzantine Empire survived.

7.

The Umayyad Caliphate's army was composed entirely of Arab tribesmen.

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Hard
✗ FALSE

The Umayyad army included many non-Arab mawali (converts) and Berbers, especially in North Africa and Spain, as it expanded.

8.

The Umayyad Caliphate established the first hereditary dynasty in Islamic history.

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Hard
✓ TRUE

Muawiyah I, after the First Fitna, made the caliphate hereditary within his clan, breaking the earlier elective system of the Rashidun.

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