«Dynasty of Damascus and of Cordoba»
Caliphs of Damascus & Emirs and Caliphs of Cordoba
GENEALOGY OF THE UMAYYADS
* in blue the 3rd historical Caliph Othman
- in green the Caliphs of Damascus (Sufyanids and Marwanids)
- in yellow the Emirs of Cordoba
- in red the Caliphs of Cordoba
CALIPHS and CALIPHATES
The context
Immediately after the death of Muhammad, on 8 June 632, three different orientations for the succession took shape: the first, that of the Companions of the Prophet, wanted the successor to be chosen among his first followers; the second, that of the legitimists, which rejected the principle of the election of the successor and wanted the closest relative of the Prophet to be chosen and a dynastic-hereditary criterion to be followed in the future; and the third, that of the powerful of Mecca, that is the Umayyads, who claimed for themselves the right of succession.
The Companions of the Prophet, the so-called «Emigrants» who had come to Medina with the Hegira, managed to ensure that the chosen one was one of them, Abu Bakr who, for having been the best friend of Muhammad (of whom he was a contemporary) and probably the first man converted to Islam, was greatly appreciated by all and therefore guaranteed a line of conduct not dissimilar to that put into effect by the Prophet. The expression used to designate him was «khalifat rasul Allah».
Caliph (khalifa) is therefore the term employed to designate the «Vicar» or «Successor» of Muhammad at the political and spiritual head of the Islamic Community (Umma). It should be noted that the supreme Islamic magistracy, which has an eminently political relevance, is provided for neither in the Quran nor even in the Sunna of Muhammad.
The 4 elective Caliphs («orthodox»)
The first two elective Caliphs, Abu Bakr and Omar, belonged to the group of the Companions of the Prophet. Abu Bakr was succeeded by Omar who gave impetus to the conquests and laid the foundations of the Islamic State. He first attacked Syria, which belonged to the Semitic cultural area. The Byzantine emperor Heraclius tried to stop the Muslim advance by sending an army into Palestine, which suffered a defeat, in 636 AD on the river Yarmuk. The turbulent and aggressive Arab tribes then began the penetration into Sasanid Iraq.
The Muslim expansion toward the east continued with the conquest of Persia, of Baluchistan and of Armenia, stopping at the borders with India. Omar also conquered Egypt, and from here expanded in the direction of Cyprus, Crete and Rhodes, defeating the fleet of the Byzantine Emperor Constans II. Omar died in 664 AD.
The third elective Caliph, Othman (Uthman), was instead a member of the aristocratic Meccan family of the Umayyads. Othman was assassinated and Ali (cousin and son-in-law of Muhammad) obtained power by becoming the fourth elective Caliph. A part of the Muslim community, convinced that Ali himself had had the predecessor killed, immediately appointed an anti-Caliph, Muawiya (who belonged to the Umayyad family). A series of armed struggles began between the two groups until Muawiya managed to have himself recognised as the new Caliph. It was thus that the principal schism within Islam came about, that between Sunnis and Shiites (from shi’a, that is «party of Ali»).
The Caliphate of Damascus
The Umayyad dynasty (661-750) gave the start to a new era. The Caliph lived in luxury and continued the policy of expansion begun by the first Caliphs, until reaching to the west Spain (Andalusia) and to the east China. The expansion made it necessary to move the capital to a city less isolated from the rest of the empire: the choice fell on Damascus, a city where the Umayyads had many followers. But the dynasty was soon accused by the faithful of being too secular and worldly.
Umayyad, in Arabic Banu Omayya («descendants of Omayya»), is a Qurayshite clan of Mecca, formed of many great families. Among these, that of the descendants of Abu Sufyan (Sufyanids), and that of the descendants of Marwan (Marwanids), are the most famous and successively held the Caliphate (with capital at Damascus) from 661 to 750.
The first member of the dynasty and its founder was Muawiya I, a representative of the principal branch of the family of the Banu Omayya, the Sufyanids. His father, Abu Sufyan, had been one of the adversaries of Muhammad but had then converted to Islam, securing for the family new prestige and influence within the framework of the new state and of the new social organisation of Islam. Muawiya I governed for about twenty years, from 661 to 680, laying the foundations for dynastic power and securing as his successor his son Yazid I. Under Muawiya I, Islamic dominion expanded into eastern Iran and into North Africa.
In 683, power passed to another branch of the Umayyads, the Marwanids, and from this branch came all the other Caliphs of the dynasty. Abd al Malik (685-705), son of Marwan I, having defeated the Kharijites and the Shiites, re-established the unity of the State with the annexation of Khorasan and of Oman, consolidated the settlement in North Africa by stifling the indigenous resistance led valiantly by the Kahina and proclaimed Jerusalem «Holy City». Walid I (705-715) and Suleyman (715-717) pursued the policy of expansion: Transoxiana, banks of the Indus, invasion of Spain (711). Under the reign of Walid I the Great Umayyad Mosque was built in Damascus. The Caliphate of Omar II († 720), son of Abd al Aziz, distinguished for religious piety, marked the culmination of the expansion, and the beginning of the reaction of the subjugated peoples, then favoured by the mediocrity of the successors.
In short the Empire was in revolt, from Khorasan to North Africa, from Arabia to Mesopotamia (Kharijites), to Syria itself. Hisham (724-743) abandoned Damascus, settling in the desert, at Rusafa, while the anarchy, provoked by fiscal oppression, increased fearfully. Marwan II, the last of the Umayyads, did not manage to prevent the proclamation of the Abbasid Caliphate at Kufa (750) and was defeated (751) on the Great Zab, a tributary of the Tigris. The Abbasid victory was followed by the hunt and the massacre of all the members of the family.
The Caliphate of Baghdad (Abbasids)
The second great dynasty of Muslim history, that of the Abbasids, held power until 1258 (the year in which Baghdad was occupied by the Mongols). Under the Abbasids, the capital was transferred from Damascus to Baghdad. But the territory was too large to be controlled, and power was increasingly entrusted to small dynasties of princes (the emirs) who, while always depending on the central power, gained a greater independence. After 1258, Muslim history became the history of small (although sometimes important) dynasties.
The Emirate and the Caliphate of Cordoba
Abd al Rahman I († 788), a grandson of Hisham, having escaped his adversaries, took refuge in the Maghreb and, some years later, having landed in Spain, conquered Cordoba (756), founding there an Umayyad emirate. For long years he had to struggle against the Arab and Berber chiefs, and in the end his reign extended over all of Andalusia. Abd al Rahman III (912-961), having further consolidated and unified the State, proclaimed himself Caliph (929), thereby claiming before the Abbasids his spiritual authority and increasing before his subjects his own prestige.
Cordoba became a great capital, and the point of departure of every expedition against the meagre part of the Iberian peninsula (Navarre, León) that remained Christian. At the end of the 10th century, the Caliphate reached its apogee under the reign of Hisham II (976-1013), especially after the chamberlain (hagib) Muhammad Ibn Abu Amir, having defeated the coalition of the Christian sovereigns, seized Santiago de Compostela (997), for which he styled himself Al Mansur («the Victorious»). Islamic dominion then extended as far as the Douro, surrounded and protected by «marches», border territories governed by military chiefs.
The Arab population was a minority, but strongly concentrated in the cities with numerous fiefs and/or domains in the countryside.
More numerous the Berbers who were however diluted in the more abundant mass of autochthonous population (among whom the Mozarabs who remained Christian) and the «slaves», mercenaries, prisoners of war. All this governed by a court, typically oriental, sumptuous like that of Baghdad, and equally organised, as was the administration. Solemn the ceremonial, sumptuous the residences. Cordoba was adorned with a magnificent alcázar and with the Great Mosque. Splendid the poetic flowering, as much as that of the religious studies, favoured by the constitution of an immense library (by the will of Al-Hakam II, 961-976).
The decadence began with the death of Al-Mansur (1002). In the space of thirty years, Umayyad power foundered in the conspiracies, revolts and defections that prepared the great anarchy, known under the name of the period of the «Reyes de Taifas» from 1031.



Kinship of the Umayyads with Muhammad «the Prophet»
The Umayyads and Muhammad the Prophet share a common ancestor among the Qurayshites: Abd Al Mujira (b. c. 430). His two sons, Abd Shams and Hashim, are at the origin of the two lines.
Umayyad branch
From the common Qurayshite ancestor Abd Al Mujira, through the son Abd Shams, down to Omayyah, eponym of the Umayyad dynasty.
Umayyad branch (via Abd Shams)
- Abd Al Mujira Al Menâf Ibn Qusayy b. c. 430 of the Qurayshites, Governor of MeccaAtika b. c. 444 of the Banu Qays Aylan
- Abd Shams of the Qurayshites
- Omayyah Eponym of the Umayyad dynasty. The complete descent follows below.
Branch of Muhammad the Prophet
From the common Qurayshite ancestor Abd Al Mujira, through the son Hashim, down to Muhammad the Prophet, founder of Islam.
Branch of Muhammad the Prophet (via Hashim)
- Abd Al Mujira Al Menâf Ibn Qusayy b. c. 430 of the Qurayshites, Governor of MeccaAtika b. c. 444 of the Banu Qays Aylan
- Hashim of the Qurayshites (Banu Hashim)
- Abd Al Muttalib of the Banu Hashim
- Abd Allah of the Banu Hashim
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Chains of descent
Below, the three principal chains of descent of the Umayyads rendered in structured format. Branches A and B close on the points of internal convergence (Aisha bint Othman ∞ Marwan I for A; Walada bint Yazid ∞ Abd Al Malik for B), both belonging to branch C — the only one that continues down to the confluence with the Gallone line (Moncada × Gallone marriage, 1925).
Branch A — via Othman (3rd historical Caliph)
Sufyanids/Marwanids via Othman (3rd historical Caliph), then internal confluence with branch C through the marriage Aisha bint Othman ∞ Marwan I.
Branch A — Umayyads via Othman
- Abd Shams Ibn Abd Menaf b. c. 480 of the QurayshitesAblah Bint Ubayd
- Omayya (Umayya) (Al-Asghar) Ibn Abd Shams b. c. 533, † 569 of the UmayyadsAmina
- Abu Al As Ibn Omayya of the UmayyadsRuqayya
- Affan Ibn Abu Al As of the UmayyadsUrwa / Awra Bint Kariz of the Qurayshites (Banu Abd Shams)
- Othman Ibn Affan b. c. 579, † 656 of the Umayyads · 3rd historical Caliph 644–656Naylah Bint Fraizah
- Aisha bint Othman b. c. 623 of the Umayyads, of the historical CaliphsMarwan I b. c. 623, † 684 of the Umayyads (Marwanids) · 4th Caliph of Damascus 683–684 (abd.)
- Aisha bint Marwan b. c. 660 of the Umayyads (Marwanids), of the Caliphs of DamascusMusa Ibn Nusair «Al Bekir» Al Makkiyya b. c. 623, † 684 Emir of Ifriqiya 698–714, Conqueror of Spain, Wali (Governor) of Al-Andalus 712–716
Branch B — via Abu Sufyan / Muawiya I
Sufyanids via Abu Sufyan and Muawiya I (1st Caliph of Damascus), then internal confluence with branch C through the marriage Walada bint Yazid ∞ Abd Al Malik.
Branch B — Sufyanids
- Abd Shams Ibn Abd Menaf b. c. 480 of the QurayshitesAblah Bint Ubayd
- Omayya (Umayya) (Al-Asghar) Ibn Abd Shams b. c. 533, † 569 of the UmayyadsAmina
- Harb Al Anabis Ibn Omayya of the Umayyads
- Abu Sufyan Ibn Harb b. c. 564, † 652 of the Umayyads (Sufyanids)Hind Bint Utbah
- Muawiya I b. c. 603, † 680 of the Umayyads (Sufyanids) · 1st Caliph of Damascus 661–680Maysun Bint Vahadla of the Banu Haritha
- Yazid I b. 647, † 683 of the Umayyads (Sufyanids) · 2nd Caliph of Damascus 680–683Hayyat Bint Abu Hashim of the Banu Abd Shams
- Walada bint Yazid b. c. 665 of the Umayyads (Sufyanids), of the Caliphs of DamascusAbd Al Malik b. c. 646, † 705 of the Umayyads (Marwanids) · 5th Caliph of Damascus 684–705
Branch C — converging chain, from the Marwanids to the House of Gallone
Marwanids → Emirs / Caliphs of Cordoba → Asturias-León → da Cunha (Portugal) → Braganza, Noroña, Aragon, Moncada → confluence into the Gallone line with the marriage Giuseppina Moncada ∞ Gino Gallone (1925).
Branch C — Marwanids → Cordoba → Moncada → Gallone
- Abd Shams Ibn Abd Menaf b. c. 480 of the QurayshitesAblah Bint Ubayd
- Omayya (Umayya) (Al-Asghar) Ibn Abd Shams b. c. 533, † 569 of the UmayyadsAmina
- Abu Al As Ibn Omayya of the UmayyadsRuqayya
- Al Hakam Ibn Abu Al As of the UmayyadsAmina Bint Alkama Al Kinanayya
- Marwan I b. c. 623, † 684 of the Umayyads (Marwanids) · 4th Caliph of Damascus 683–684 (abd.)Aisha Bint Muawiya b. c. 630
- Abd Al Malik b. c. 646, † 705 of the Umayyads (Marwanids) · 5th Caliph of Damascus 684–705Walada bint Yazid b. c. 665 of the Umayyads (Sufyanids), of the Caliphs of Damascus
- Hisham I Mansourah b. c. 691, † 743 of the Umayyads (Marwanids) · 10th Caliph of Damascus 724–743
- Muawiya ibn Hisham b. c. 715, † 736 of the Umayyads (Marwanids), of the Caliphs of DamascusRah of the Nafza
- Abd Al Rahman I b. 731, † 788 of the Umayyads (Cordoba) · 1st Emir of Cordoba 756–788Khazraf (Zeibra) «the Berber» b. c. 735
- Hisham I b. 757, † 796 of the Umayyads (Cordoba) · 2nd Emir of Cordoba 788–796Zokhrouf
- Al Hakam I b. 770, † 822 of the Umayyads (Cordoba) · 3rd Emir of Cordoba 796–822Halawah (Adjab) b. c. 770
- Abd Al Rahman II b. 792, † 852 of the Umayyads (Cordoba) · 4th Emir of Cordoba 822–852Buhair b. c. 800
- Muhammad I b. 823, † 886 of the Umayyads (Cordoba) · 5th Emir of Cordoba 852–886Ishar b. c. 825
- Abd Allah (Aboail) b. 844, † 912 of the Umayyads (Cordoba) · 7th Emir of Cordoba 888–912Onecca of Navarre (Iñiguez) b. c. 855 of the Kings of Pamplona
- Zayd b. c. 870 of the Umayyads (Cordoba), of the Emirs of Cordoba
- Zaydan b. c. 890 of the Umayyads (Cordoba), of the Emirs of CordobaAragonta Fromariguez
- Zayra b. c. 915 of the Umayyads (Cordoba), of the Emirs of CordobaLovesendo Ramirez «El Cid de Leon» b. c. 920 natural son, of Asturias and León, of the Kings of León
- Abu Nazar Lovesendez b. c. 940 of Asturias and León, of the Kings of LeónUnisco Godinez b. c. 940
- Hermigio Abu Nazar b. c. 975 of the Kings of León, Lord of TavoraVivili Trutesendez de Paiva
- Adosinda Abu Nazar of the Kings of LeónPelayo da Silva b. c. 1070, † c. 1141 2nd Lord of Quinta da Silva, 2nd Lord of Alderete
- Ferdinando da Cunha (D'Acuña) † c. 1180 1st Lord of Acuña, 1st Lord of TaboaMayor Rendufez Soleima
- Lorenzo da Cunha (D'Acuña) b. c. 1180, † 1225 2nd Lord of Acuña, 2nd Lord of TaboaSancia de Maceira b. c. 1165
- Vasco da Cunha (D'Acuña) b. c. 1210 3rd Lord of Acuña, 3rd Lord of TaboaTeresa de Portel b. c. 1210, † 1291 of the Lords of Portel
- Martino I «il Vecchio» da Cunha (D'Acuña) b. c. 1235, † 1305 4th Lord of Acuña, 4th Lord of TaboaGiovanna de Nomães of the Lords of Silvaescura and of Revinhade
- Vasco «il Secco» da Cunha (D'Acuña) † 1325 5th Lord of Acuña, 5th Lord of TaboaGeronima Chancinho † 1330
- Martino II da Cunha (D'Acuña) b. c. 1265, † 1333 6th Lord of TaboaViolante Pacheco b. 1310, † 1365 Lady of Mafra and of Ericeira
- Vasco II «il Vecchio» da Cunha (D'Acuña) b. 1328, † 1407 7th Lord of Taboa, Alcalde Mayor of LisbonBeatrice Suarez de Albergaria of the Lords of Albergaria
- Martino III da Cunha (D'Acuña) b. 1357, † 1417 8th Lord of Taboa, Alcalde Mayor of Lisbon, 1st Count of Valencia de CamposTeresa Tellez Giron b. c. 1360, † 1397 Lady of El Frechoso
- Eleonora da Cunha (D'Acuña) b. 1357, † 1417 of the Lords of Taboa and Counts of Valencia de CamposGiovanni de Castro 2nd Lord of Cadaval
- Giovanna de Castro b. c. 1407, † 1479 3rd Lady of CadavalFerdinando I di Portogallo Braganza b. 1404, † 1478 2nd Duke of Braganza
- Alfonso di Portogallo Braganza b. c. 1435, † 1483 of the Dukes of Braganza, 1st Count of Faro, 2nd Count of OdemiraMaria Enriquez de Noroña b. 1440, † 1523 Heiress of the County of Odemira
- Sancio I di Portogallo Noroña b. c. 1470, † 1520 2nd Count of Faro, 3rd Count of OdemiraAngela de Fabra b. c. 1480, † 1533 of the Lords of Barrigadu
- Giovanna di Portogallo Noroña b. c. 1520, † 1568 of the Counts of Faro and of OdemiraGiovanni II de la Cerda † 1575 4th Duke of Medinaceli, Viceroy of Sicily, Governor of the Netherlands
- Maria de la Cerda b. 1542, † 1575 of the Dukes of MedinaceliAntonio II d'Aragona b. 1543, † 1583 4th Duke of Montalto, 5th Count of Collesano
- Maria d'Aragona b. c. 1560, † 1610 5th Duchess of Montalto, 6th Countess of CollesanoFrancesco II Moncada b. 1572, † 1595 3rd Prince of Paternò, 4th Duke of Bivona, 7th Count of Collesano
- Antonio Moncada b. 1589, † 1631 4th Prince of Paternò, 5th Duke of Bivona, 6th Duke of Montalto, 8th Count of Collesano, Knight of the Golden Fleece 1607Giovanna de la Cerda b. 1591 of the Dukes of Medinaceli
- Ignazio Moncada † 1689 of the Princes of Paternò, Governor of Flanders, Viceroy of SicilyAnna Gaetani 3rd Marchioness of Sortino, 3rd Princess of Cassaro
- Ferdinando (Ferrante) Moncada b. 1649, † 1710 of the Princes of Paternò, 6th Duke of San Giovanni, General of the galleys of Sicily, Viceroy of SardiniaGaetana Maria Branciforte † 1680 5th Duchess of San Giovanni
- Luigi Guglielmo Moncada b. 1670, † 1743 7th Prince of Paternò, 7th Duke of San GiovanniGiovanna di Ventimiglia † 1734 of the Marquises of Geraci and Princes of Castelbuono
- Francesco Rodrigo Moncada b. 1696, † 1763 8th Prince of Paternò, 8th Duke of San GiovanniGiovanna Giuseppa Ruffo di Calabria † 1786 of the Princes of la Scaletta
- Gianluigi Moncada b. 1745, † 1827 9th Prince of Paternò, 9th Duke of San GiovanniAgata Branciforte b. 1740, † 1782 of the Princes of Scordia
- Francesco Rodrigo Moncada b. 1762, † 1816 of the Princes of Paternò and Dukes of San Giovanni, Count of CaltanissettaMaria Giovanna Beccadelli di Bologna b. 1765, † 1814 of the Princes of Camporeale
- Pietro Moncada b. 1789, † 1861 10th Prince of Paternò, 10th Duke of San GiovanniGiuseppina Bajada b. 1794, † 1855 of the Marquises Bajada
- Corrado Moncada b. 1820, † 1895 11th Prince of Paternò, 11th Duke of San GiovanniStefania Starrabba b. 1835, † 1903 of the Marquises of Rudinì
- Giuseppina Moncada b. 1860, † 1946 of the Princes of Paternò and Dukes of San GiovanniPietro Giovanni Battista «Gino» Gallone b. 1855, † 1931 9th Prince of Tricase, 6th Prince of Moliterno, 8th Prince of Marsiconovo, Count of Nociglia
→ The continuation of the line after 1925 (Maria Bianca Gallone → Simonetta della Posta → Guido → Simon → Léon) is documented on the pages Maria Bianca Gallone, della Posta, Guido Guerri dall’Oro Gallone and Simon Guerri dall’Oro Gallone.
Archival documents
Historical genealogical tables of the Arab dynasties («Les Dynasties»), which situate the Umayyads within the broader framework of the Qurayshite houses — Umayyads, Alids, Abbasids and Fatimids. They refer to one another (Tableau N° 1 → 4).