Mu'awiya I.

About Mu'awiya I

Mu'awiya ibn Abi Sufyan, commonly known as Mu'awiya I, was the founder of the Umayyad Caliphate, ruling as the first caliph of the Umayyad dynasty from 661 until his death in 680. He became caliph less than thirty years after the death of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and immediately after the four Rashidun ('rightly-guided') caliphs. Unlike his predecessors, who had been close, early companions of Muhammad, Mu'awiya was a relatively late follower of Muhammad.