Investigating the Administrative Position of Ahl ul-ḏimmah in the Umayyad Era (A Case study of Iraq and the Levant's Ahl ul-ḏimmah)

The Umayyads' getting to power in the Levant provided them with the basis to develop their relations with the people of Damascus who made up a large part of the Levant's (Shām) inhabitants. The inhabitants of Damascus were under the Roman rule until the Islamic conquest, and were to accept the new Muslim rule. Therefore, the Ahl ul-ḏimmah had to maintain the social and administrative position they held during the Roman domination, and the Umayyad Caliphs also needed the expertise and experience of the Ahl ul-ḏimmah to govern their vast territory. This study seeks to answer the question of how the people of Dhimma maintained their social status in the social structure of the Umayyad government and were able to dominate the Umayyad administrative structure.