The Umayyad Caliphate was the second of the four major Islamic caliphates. It was ruled by the Umayyad dynasty, whose name derives from Umayyad Ibn Abd Shams, the great-grandfather of the first Umayyad caliph. Although the Umayyad family originally came from the city of Mecca, their capital was Damascus, Syria. At its largest, the Umayyad caliphate covered more than five million square miles, making it one histories largest empires and home to 28.8% of the world's population. After the Umayyad dynasty was overthrown, they fled to North Africa where they established the Caliphate of Cordoba.