Umayya ibn Abd-Shams (Arabic: أمية بن عبد شمس) is the progenitor of the line of the Umayyad caliphs.
Anti-Umayyad polemic says that his name is derived from 'ama', a diminutive of the word for slave-girl,[2] and instead of being the legitimate son of Abd Shams, Ibn al-Kalbi claims that he was adopted by him.
This position was likely an occasional political post whose holder oversaw the direction of Mecca's military affairs in times of war instead of an actual field command.
This proved instructive as later Umayyads were known for possessing considerable political and military organizational skills.
This biographical article about a person notable in connection with Islam is a stub.