Dictionary of islamic architecture

See also:
Abbasids: Atshan, Khan; Iraq;
Sassanians
Further reading:
G. Bell, 
Palace and Mosque at Ukhaidhir: A Study in Early
Muhammadan Architecture,
Oxford 1914.
U
Plan of Ukhaidhir Palace, Iraq (after Mehdi)

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295
B. Finnster and J. Schmidt, 
Sasaidische und fruhislamische
Ruinem im Iraq, Baghdader Mitteilungen
8, Berlin 1976.
ulu cami
Turkish term for a congregational or Friday mosque.
Umayyads
The dynasty of Umayyad caliphs was based in Syria and
ruled the Islamic world from 660 to 750
CE.
Under the Umayyads the Islamic state was
transformed from a theocracy to an Arab monarchy.
In 661 Ali, the last Orthodox caliph was murdered
and Mu
awiya, the governor of Syria, became the
first Umayyad caliph. Mu
awiya provided the cen-
tralization essential for the survival and continuing
expansion of the Arab Empire. At its height
Umayyad rule extended from the Atlantic coast of
North Africa to India and from Central Asia to the
Yemen. The administration of conquered provinces
was usually left intact, so that the tax accounts for
Syria, for example, continued to be kept in Greek.
Socially, however, Umayyad rule was characterized
by the domination of Arabs.
The success of the Umayyad caliphate carried
within it the seeds of its own destruction. Because
the economic and social structure of the empire was
dependent on the conquest of new lands, any
setbacks or reverses caused resentment and dissat-
isfaction throughout the regime. Similarly the secular
nature of the dynasty aroused opposition amongst
those in favour of a more theocratic state. In 747 a
revolution against the Umayyads began in
Khurassan and soon spread throughout the eastern