The Banu Umayya (Arabic: بَنُو أُمَيَّة‎, romanized: Banū Umayya, lit. 'Sons of Umayya') or Umayyads (الأمويون), were the ruling family of the caliphate between 661 and 750 and later of Islamic Spain between 756 and 1031. In the pre-Islamic period, they were a prominent clan of the Quraysh tribe descended from Umayya ibn Abd Shams.