Bilad al-Sham
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
|
Related e |
|
Featured: |
Bilad al-Sham, often referred to as Islamic Syria or Syria in English-language sources, was a super-province of the Rashidun, Umayyad, Abbasid, and Fatimid caliphates. It roughly corresponded with the Byzantine Diocese of the East, conquered by the Muslims in 634–647. Under the Umayyads (661–750) Bilad al-Sham was the metropolitan province of the Caliphate and different localities throughout the province served as the seats of the Umayyad caliphs and princes.
Bilad al-Sham was first organized into the four junds (military districts) of Filastin, al-Urdunn, Dimashq, and Hims, between 637 and 640 by Caliph Umar following the Muslim conquest. The jund of Qinnasrin was created out of the northern part of Hims by caliphs Mu'awiya I (Template:Reign) or Yazid I (Template:Reign). The Jazira was made an independent province from the Mesopotamian part of Qinnasrin by Caliph Abd al-Malik in 692. In 786 the jund of al-Awasim and al-Thughur were established from the northern frontier region of Qinnasrin by Caliph Harun al-Rashid.
See also
