The geography of the Umayyad Caliphate

The Umayyad Caliphate was the second dynastic caliphate and was the largest; it ruled the last united Islamic caliphate. This empire covered the Middle East, parts of Asia as far as India, North Africa, and most of Spain. It controlled a vast network of trade routes, allowing wealth and knowledge to spread throughout Islamic civilisation. Muslim control of the trade routes from Southern Europe to East Asia, known as the Silk Roads, was very lucrative.