Tarikh Islam

Very little interest has been showm to the subject of the economic institutions of the Umayyad government, probably because the dramatic political situation of that period sounds more appealing to the researchers. In order to have a clear idea of the Umnayads we had better first get familiar with the adminstrative - economic conditions of the early caliphs period and of such regions like Persia and Rome. Among the distinctive features of the Umayyad economic system is that the whole affairs of government budget were entrusted to the caliph. Besides, there was no firm supervision over the financial policy of the government. The Umayyad caliphs in general led a kind of luxurious life and were fond in spending great amounts of money on their private affairs and merry- making gatherings , So, the income of the government budget came from different kinds of taxes, such as the tax on land, jiziyah (poll-tax), the booties in additoon to the gifts. The system of taxation and tax-inspectors' conduct in this period was different from that of the previous times. Therefore, the people of the regions which came within the control of Muslims always complained of the taxation conducted at that thme. They even thought of revolting against the government. The situation in the eastern regions of the lands which were under the Umayyad's control was different from the other regions. Exploring the economic situation of the eastern regions can contribute to illustrating some aspects of the history of the Umayyads. The present article is mainly concerned with the last part of this discussion.