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THE EARLY ISLAMIC PERIOD

IN THE UAE
622-1258 AD
SOURCES
 Early Islamic Texts
 Arabic historians/geographers
 Archaeology
 Dibba (Fuj)
 Kush (RAK)
 Jazirat al Hulayla (RAK)
 Jumeirah (Dubai)
 Dalma (AUH)
 Shimal (RAK)
 Suhar (Oman)
EARLY ISLAMIC PERIODS IN THE UAE
 Transitional Period (630-661)
 Umayyad Dynasty (661-750)

 Abbasid Dynasty (750-1258)


SASANIAN PERIOD 240-635 CE
Event Date

TRANSITIONAL PERIOD
Birth of the Prophet 570
Hijra 622
The umma conquers Mecca 630
Abu Bakr becomes first caliph 632-634
Umar becomes caliph 634-644
Conquers Damascus 635
Conquers Jerusalem 637
Conquers Cteshiphon 637
Conquers Babylon 641
Conquers Alexandria 642
Uthman becomes caliph 644-656
compiled Qur’an
Ali declares himself caliph 656
Struggle between Ali and Mu’awiya 656-661
(Shia /Sunni split)
Assassination of Ali, beginning of 661
Umayyad Dynasty
EVENTS OF EARLY ISLAM IN THE UAE
(HISTORICAL SOURCES)
 Azd tribe in Oman peninsula ruled by Sassanians
 al-Julanda sub-tribe from Suhar in conflict with Al-`Atik
subtribe from Dibba.
 630: al-Julanda invited to join umma
 Azd converts to Islam
 Sassanians reject Islam
 Azd attack Sassanian administrators, expel them from Oman
(Mazun)
 632: Ridda (Apostasy)
 Several Azd subtribes rejected Islam, rebelled against al-
Julanda
 Abu Bakr sends army from Medina through central Arabia and
around Empty Quarter to support al-Julanda in Oman
 Battle at Dibba results in rout of rebels, and return of Azd to
Islam
DIBBA CEMETERY
Event Date

UMAYYAD DYNASTY (661-750)


Mu’awiyya 661-680
Second Civil War 680-694
‘Abd al-Malik regains authority over dar 685-705
al-Islam
Walid I 705-715
Event Date

ABBASID DYNASTY (750-1258)


Abu’l Abbas 750-754
Abu Ja'far al-Mansur 754-775
Al Ma’amun 813-833
Al Mu’tasim 833-842
Decline of Abbasid Ca. 900-1258
Dynasty
UMAYYAD PERIOD-ABBASID PERIOD
 705: Abd al Malik’s Umayyad force lands at Julfar to
bring Azd under Umayyad control with great
difficulty
 al-Julanda flee to east Africa
 750: Azd reassert independence during Umayyad
decline.
 Abbasid commander kills Julanda leadership and
10,000 supporters in battle at Julfar
 Texts refer to burning of Julanda homes (arish)
 From late 9th-13th Century Abbasid decline meant
semi-autonomy of Gulf
 10th C growth of towns in RAK
EARLY ISLAMIC SITES IN THE UAE
 Sir Bani Yas (AUH)
 Dalma (AUH)

 Kush (RAK)

 Jazirat al Hulayla (RAK)

 Dibba (Fuj)

 Shimal (RAK)

 Jumeirah (Dubai)

 Suhar (Oman)
SIR BANI YAS
 Continues into Umayyad period, abandoned before
Abbasid period.
DALMA
SITE
DESCRIPTION
CODE
DA1 Late Islamic period Mosque of Muhammad b. Jasim al-Muraykhi, Dalma town.
DA2 Late Islamic period House of Muhammad b. Jasim al-Muraykhi, Dalma town.
DA3 Late Islamic period Al Dawsari mosque (formerly known as the Sa'id Jum'a al-Qubaysi mosque), Dalma town.
DA4 Late Islamic period Al Muhannadi mosque (formerly known as the Sa'id 'Ali al-Qubaysi mosque), Dalma town.
DA5 Islamic period grave, Dalma town.
DA6 Old Dalma settlement, Dalma town.
Islamic graveyard with associated settlement debris, shell middens and pottery scatters, Ghassan al-Ghossain's farm
DA7
compound, NE of Dalma Motel roundabout.
DA8 Islamic graveyard surrounded by walled enclosure, Dalma town.
DA9 Islamic graveyard surrounded by rectangular walled compound, between old Dalma town and the southern peninsula.

DA10 Islamic graves (ca 12 graves) inside the compound of the former Abu Dhabi Women's Federation compound in Dalma town.
Ubaid-related settlement inside the compound of the former Abu Dhabi Women's Federation compound in Dalma town. This
DA11
site dates to the late 6th-early 5th millennium BC.
Continuation of the Ubaid-related site (DA11) outside the compound wall on the neighbouring traffic island. The same area
DA12
also has traces of Islamic graves.
DA13 Late Islamic period settlement on old shoreline NW of the Dalma Motel roundabout.
DA14 Islamic period cistern and enclosure, north eastern outskirts of Dalma town.
DA15 Large Islamic period well known locally as "al-Falaj", west Dalma.
DA16 Late Islamic period village known as al-Biyada, west Dalma.
DA17 Four ?Islamic period graves and pottery scatters, west Dalma.
Sassanian-Early Islamic period stone buildings (now destroyed). This site was excavated by an Iraqi team in 1973. Located
DA18
north of Dalma town.
Large ?Islamic period spring or well known as "al-Fahahil", with 3-4 Islamic graves nearby. Located on the NW coast of
DA19
Dalma.
DA20 Islamic period stone scatter, formerly the site of a simple mosque, and pottery scatters, located north of Dalma town.
DA21 ?Islamic period ore mining site located NE of Dalma town.
DA22 Four ?Islamic period wells, known locally as "falaj Hazim" after the nearby wadi Sha'ba Hazim.
KUSH (3RD CENTURIES TO 14TH
CENTURY)
LATE SASSANIAN/EARLY ISLAMIC
TOWER AT KUSH

 Small, simple tower


indicates small
community
ABBASID PERIOD OCCUPATION (9TH/10TH
C- 14TH C)
 Chinese/Indian/Islamic pottery
 13th C coffee bean (earliest in Arabia)

 Earliest Julfar?
JEZIRAT AL HULAYLA
 5th-11th C pottery from Iraq/Iran
JUMEIRAH
 Abbasid pottery/coins?
EARLY ISLAMIC COPPER MINING
 Mining sites in Hajar
 Slag in wadi surveys

 Smelting ovens (10th C/14th C)


UNDERSAMPLING OF EARLY ISLAMIC
SITES?
 Much probably lies beneath current occupation
 Evidence of irrigation systems in mountains difficult
to date.

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