Exhibition Lecture

This lecture will take place in person at ISAW.

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Islam’s first dynasty is usually presented as two separate phenomena: the Umayyads of Syria (r. 661-750), ruling from Damascus, and, later, a “second” Umayyad dynasty that flourished in Spain (756-1031), centered around Cordoba and Madinat al-Zahra. Such a deep division between East and West - between the Umayyads of the Near East and the Umayyads of al-Andalus - deprives us of a more comprehensive view of Umayyad history. It also reinforces the perception of dramatically different Umayyad memories: to this day, the Umayyads of Syria are often remembered in a rather dark light, while early Islamic Spain has been memorialized by some as a lost paradise. Thinking about the Umayyads from Damascus to Cordoba offers new ways to reflect on the competing memories surrounding the first dynasty of Islam and to restore Umayyad worldviews while acknowledging the polycentrism of the early Islamic empire.

Antoine Borrut is an Associate Professor of History at the University of Maryland, College Park. His publications include: Between Memory and Power: The Syrian Space under the Late Umayyads and Early Abbasids (c. 72-193/692-809) (Leiden: Brill, 2023); with P. M. Cobb (eds.), Umayyad Legacies: Medieval Memories from Syria to Spain (Leiden: Brill, 2010); with Fred M. Donner (eds.), Christians and Others in the Umayyad State (Chicago: The Oriental Institute, 2016); with Manuela Ceballos and Alison Vacca (eds.), Navigating Language in the Early Islamic World: Multilingualism and Language Change in the First Centuries of Islam (Turnhout: Brepols, 2024).

This lecture is given in conjunction with ISAW's exhibition Madinat al-Zahra: The Radiant Capital of Islamic Spain. Madinat al-Zahra is curated by Antonio Vallejo Triano, director of the Conjunto Arqueológico Madinat al-Zahra, and Eduardo Manzano Moreno, Research Professor at the Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas in Madrid. The loans are generously granted from the Conjunto Arqueológico Madinat al-Zahra, Museo Arqueológico y Etnológico de Córdoba, Museo de Jaén, Museo Arqueológico Municipal de Jerez de la Frontera, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Brooklyn Museum, the American Numismatic Society, and the Hispanic Society Museum & Library.

This exhibition and its accompanying catalogue were made possible by generous support from the Achelis and Bodman Foundation, the Gladys Krieble Delmas Foundation, and the Leon Levy Foundation. Additional funding provided by Liz and Iris Fernandez Zimick.

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