Abd al-Malik b. Marwan: Difference between revisions

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'''ʿAbd al-Malik b. Marwān''' (Arabic:{{ia|عبدالملک بن مروان}}) (b. [[26]]/646 - [[86]]/705) was the fifth [[Umayyad]] [[caliph]] who came to power in 65/685, after the death of his father, [[Marwan b. al-Hakam]]; he ruled for 21 years. In that time Muslims were suffering from a lot of internal issues, also Rome was a constant threat to Muslims. As 'Abd al-Malik was a capable ruler, he managed to overcome the issues and he suppressed the oppositions by force, tricks and violence. [[Ka'ba]] was partly destroyed in that time due to local conflicts. He appointed [[Hajjaj b. Yusuf al-Thaqafi]] as the governor of [[Kufa]] who put [[Shi'as]] under severe pressure. [[Imam al-Sajjad (a)]] was living in the time of 'Abd al-Malik's [[caliphate]]. Imam (a) suggested him to mint coins which became the first currency for Muslims. 'Abd al-Malik passed away at the age of 60 or 61, he is buried in [[Damascus]].

Abu l-Walid 'Abd al-Malik b. Marwan b. Hakam b. Abi al-Waqqas b. Umayya b. 'Abd al-Shams, the fifth Umayyad caliph was born in [[26]]/646 in [[Medina]], [[Hijaz]]. [[Marwan b. al-Hakam]], his father, was an Umayyad caliph and 'Aisha, his mother, was the daughter of [[Mu'awiya b. Mughira b. Abi l-'As]]. 'Abd al-Malik had 17 sons; four of them, Walid, Sulayman, Yazid and Hisham, later became caliph as well.<ref>Ibn Ḥazm, ''Jamhara ansāb al-ʿarab'', p.82-89.</ref>

'Abd al-Malik memorized the [[Holy Quran]] and he was interested in religious teachings before he become the caliph. He had discussions and a close relationship with [[hadith]] scholars and [[faqihs]] in [[Medina]]. He was regarded as a vitreous and religious man among people. 'Abd al-Malik was also called "Hamama al-Masjid" (the pigeon of mosque). However, when he came to power, he refused to obey Islamic and ethical values. It is said, he was reciting the Quran when he was told that he became the caliph. Then he left immediately and said: "Now you (Quran) and I are departed and it will be the last time I see you."

'Abd al-Malik was a stingy and violent man, he was not afraid to kill his oppositions. His close supporters and representatives were treating just like him including: [[Hajjaj b. Yusuf al-Thaqafi]] (his agent in [[Iraq]]), Al-Muhallab b. Abi Sufra (his agent in [[Khorasan]]), Hisham b. Isma'il (his agent in [[Medina]]), his son 'Abd Allah b. 'Abd al-Malik in [[Egypt]], Muhammad b. Yusuf al-Thaqafi (Hajjaj's brother in [[Yemen]]) and Muhammad b. Marwan in Al-Jazira.

==Rule==

When [[Marwan b. al-Hakam]] set out for [[Egypt]] in 65/685 to suppress the riots, he appointed 'Abd al-Malik to be a caliph. Marwan passed away in [[Ramadan]] it that year, and people of [[Damascus]] took oath of allegiance to 'Abd al-Malik.<ref>Ibn Kathīr al-Damishqī, ''Al-Bidāya wa al-nihāya'', vol.8, p.260.</ref> When he came to power, Muslims' territory was in chaos and Umayyad dynasty was in decline.

In 65/685 'Abd al-Malik faced different internal and external threats:

===Syria===

'Abd al-Malik faced two groups of oppositions in [[Syria]] (Levant):

# A number of governors in Syria were supporting [[Ibn Zubayr]] such as Zufar b. al-Harith al-Kilabi in Al-Qarqisiya and Natil b. Qays al-Judami in [[Palestine]]; both were suppressed by 'Abd al-Malik.

# A group of [[Banu Umayyad]] who disagreed with [[caliphate]] of 'Abd al-Malik and considered themselves worthy of caliphate. 'Amr b. Sa'id b. al-'As known as [['Amr b. Sa'id b. al-Ashdaq]] was the most important one, who was promised to be appointed as the Crown Prince by 'Abd all-Malik and then he was killed after a while.

'Abd al-Malik also managed to suppress the movement of Mardaites with similar strategy.<ref>Ibn Athīr, ''Al-Kāmil fī al-tārīkh'', vol.2, p.304. </ref>

===Romans===

===Shi'a Uprisings in Iraq===

After the martyrdom of [[Imam al-Husayn (a)]], the [[Tawwabun Uprising|Uprising of Tawwābūn]] and the [[Uprising of al-Mukhtar|Uprising of Mukhtar al-Thaqafi]] took place in [[Iraq]]. The rise of Tawwābūn was defeated by [['Ubay Allah b. Ziyad]] in the time of [[Marwan b. al-Hakam]],<ref>Yaʿqūbī, ''Tārīkh al-Yaʿqūbī'', vol.2, p.257.</ref> but [[Mukhtar al-Thaqafi]] was suppressed in the time of 'Abd al-Malik.<ref>Ibn Muskuwayh, ''Tajārub al-umam'', vol.2, p.95-110; Yaʿqūbī, ''Tārīkh al-Yaʿqūbī'', vol.2, p.257; Ṭabarī, ''Tārīkh al-umam wa al-mulūk'', vol.7, p.557-560.</ref> However, 'Abd al-Malik himself did not act directly but he let [[Banu Zubayr]] do the job. Banu Zubayr were fighting against both Mukhtar al-Thaqafi and Umayyads.

Banu Zubayr became influential in different Islamic territories. [[Iraq]] was ruled by [[Mus'ab b. Zubayr]] and [[Hijaz]] was ruled by [['Abd Allah b. Zubayr]]. Before 'Abd al-Malik take any military action against Banu Zubayr he applied other strategies:

* 'Abd al-Malik sent letters to commanders of Mus'ab b. Zubayr's army in Iraq and encouraged them to join him. As a result in the battle near the Tigris River in 72/691 'Abd al-Malik managed to defeat Mus'ab easier. Mus'ab was killed and his army was scattered over the place. Consequently Banu Zubayr were not able to stand against 'Abd al-Malik any more in [[Iraq]].

* 'Abd al-Malik also did not allow people of Syria to travel to [[Mecca]] to perform [[hajj]] rituals, as they were influenced by propaganda spread by Banu Zubayr. According to [[Al-Ya'qubi]]: "People complained about prohibition of performing hajj rituals, and 'Abd al-Malik replied, as Ibn Shihab al-Zuhri narrated from [[Prophet Muhammad (s)]], you should go on a pilgrimage on three mosques, [[Masjid al-Haram]], [[al-Masjid al-Nabawi]] and [[Masjid al-Aqsa]]. Today Masjid al-Aqsa is equally important as Masjid al-Haram. [[Ibn Shihab al-Zuhri]] also narrated: "The rock were Jews sacrificed on, is rock were Prophet Muhammad (s) ascended to [[heaven]] in the night of [[Mi'raj]]." 'Abd al-Malik also ordered to build a dome on that rock and they provided curtains on it and assigned servants for the place. They told people to perform hajj rituals there, which continued in Umayyad era.

In addition, 'Abd al-Malik sent [[Hajjaj b. Yusuf al-Thaqafi]] to suppress [[Banu Zubayr]] and take control of [[Hijaz]]. Then Hajjaj set out for [[Ta'if]] with twelve thousand men to negotiate with [['Abd Allah b. Zubayr]], which led to failure as he disagreed with Hajjaj. Later, Hajjaj surrounded [[Mecca]] and he even damaged [[Ka'ba]] by throwing heavy rock by catapults.<ref>Ibn Saʿd, ''al-Ṭabaqāt al-kubrā'', vol.5, p.177.</ref>

Mecca was under siege for seven months. Gradually people left 'Abd Allah b. Zubayr, ten thousands of people asked for mercy including two sons of 'Abd Allah b. Zubayr, Habib and Hamza who ran away. But one of his sons named Zubayr was killed alongside his father. 'Abd Allah b. Zubayr and few of his supporters resisted until their last breath and they fought bravely. Eventually Ibn Zubayr was killed in Masjid al-Haram.

===Kharijites===

[[Kharijites]] were divided into different groups based on their perspectives on political action and faith. [[Azariqa]], [[Sufriyya]] and [[Ibadiyya]] were the most notable ones.

Azariqa, led by [[Nafi' b. Azraq]] used the weak condition of Umayyads and took control of [[Basra]] but people refused to take oath of allegiance to him. Then he moved to [[Ahvaz]] with his supporters and attacked a number of cities. Eventually he was killed in his attack to Basra in 65/685.<ref>Ibn Athīr, ''Al-Kāmil'', vol.4,p.194.</ref>

Sufriyya Kharijites, led by [[Salih b. Masrah]] attacked [[Kufa]] from north of [[Mosul]]. After years of conflicts and battles they were defeated and suppressed by Hajjaj b. Yusuf al-Thaqafi.<ref>Balādhurī, ''Ansāb al-ashrāf'', vol.8, p.8.</ref>

Najd b. 'Amir al-Hanafi also led a group of Kharijites, they moved to [[Bahrain]] and its neighboring regions in 65/685 where they started to attack [['Abd Allah b. Zubayr]] and 'Abd al-Malik. They were eventually surrounded and suppressed by 'Abd al-Malik.<ref>Ṭabarī, ''Tārīkh al-umam wa al-mulūk'', vol.7, p.462.</ref>

===Borderlines===

'Abd al-Rahman b. Muhammad b. Ash'ath was chosen as the governor of [[Khorasan]] by Hajjaj b. Yusuf, but after some time he launched an uprising which was suppressed by Hajjaj b. Yusuf himself.

In the early days of 'Abd al-Malik's [[caliphate]], the king of Roma broke the peace treaty with Muslims and attacked Muslims' territory.<ref>Ṭabarī, ''Tārīkh al-umam wa al-mulūk'', vol.6, p.150.</ref> 'Abd al-Malik realized the danger of Romans and decided to pay tax to them; he promised to pay a thousand Dinar every week.<ref>Ṭabarī, ''Tārīkh al-umam wa al-mulūk'', vol.6, p.150.</ref> However, when 'Abd al-Malik managed to suppress internal disputes and uprisings, he launched an attack to Roman Empire and conquered large parts of their territories, as a result the peace treaty was violated.<ref>Balādhurī, ''Futūḥ al-buldān'', p.188.</ref>

Expanding Muslims territory in Africa became a political strategy in the time of 'Abd al-Malik's rule. In 65/685 'Abd al-Malik sent an army led by Zuhayr b. Qays al-Balawi to Africa. Zuhayr managed to break the alliance between Berbers and Roman Emperor but he was killed in the battle against Romans.

In 74/693 'Abd al-Malik appointed Hasan b. al-Nu'man al-Ghassani as the governor of Muslims' territory in Africa. He conquered northern regions of Africa and defeated the Romans who took control of those regions. Ibn Nu'man recaptured Qartaj, today known as Carthage in [[Tunisia]] from Romans and Berber and expanded his territory up to Atlas Mountains.

But Romans brought new enforcements and conquered Carthage again when Ibn Nu'man was not there. But [[Hasan b. Nu'man]] returned and defeated Brisance (Tiberius III) which accordingly all Romans left Africa except for Ceuta.

Meanwhile Zenata and Urasi tribes led by a woman named Kahina (or Dihya) brought serious problems for Hasan b. Nu'man. Muslims army was at first severely defeated by Berbers, but later Ibn Nu'man attacked Kahina and kill her; as a result all of her supporters accepted to obey him.

According to one narration, Romans tried to capture Carthage back from Muslims by means of navy soldiers which was resisted and defeated by Hasan. After some time he ordered to demolish the whole city to end their aspiration to recapture it. However they built a new city called Tunisia in eastern region.<ref>Al-Yāqūt al-Ḥimawī, ''Muʿjam al-Buldān'', vol.2, p.61.</ref>

==Expanding Islamic Civilization==

 

===Arabization of Courts===

As all Umayyad caliphs emphasized on Arabization and humiliation of other languages and races, 'Abd al-Malik made huge efforts to appoint Arab administrators so that non-Arabs were dismissed from administrations.<ref>Balādhurī, ''Ansāb al-ashrāf'', p.192.</ref> In the first step, 'Abd al-Malik changed administrations system and then he Arabized them. Then he changed the currency of Muslim territory; these actions were called the movement of Arabization.<ref>Ibn al-Ṭiqṭaqī, ''Al-Fakhrī'', p.123.</ref>

In his rule, 'Abd al-Malik ordered to train Arab office employees to replace Roman and Iranian ones. One of the problems of the time was presence of different languages between different classes of society which brought difficulties in sending letters, registering trades as they needed a common language.<ref>Ibn Khaldūn, ''Tārīkh Ibn Khaldūn'', vol.1, p.467.</ref> This problem brought contradictions and disorder in administration of caliphate. As a result, 'Abd al-Malik ordered to Arabize all the administrations and he himself supervised the process.<ref>Ibn Khaldūn, ''Tārīkh Ibn Khaldūn'', vol.1, p.303.</ref> After some years Arabic became the official language in Muslim territory replacing other languages in administrations.

===Mintage of Coin===

'Abd al-Malik realized lack of independent currency in Islamic territory which was subsequent monetary system of other systems including Roman's; he considered it as a disadvantage.<ref>Balādhurī, ''Futūḥ al-buldān'', p.237.</ref> In addition, having different currencies plus Iranian and Roman currencies brought disorder in commercial trades. Therefore, he ordered to mint coins in 74/693-4. Also Islamic Dirham and Dinar were minted since 84/703 which was the first independent currency in Islamic world.<ref>Ibn Qutayba al-Dīnawarī, ''Al-Imāma wa al-sīyāsa'', p.316.</ref>

Before the caliphate of 'Abd al-Malik, Muslims used Romans and Sassanid coins for their commercial trades; commonly Roman's. It is said, 'Abd al-Malik was the first one who ordered to mint Islamic coins. As it is narrated, when 'Abd al-Malik wrote letters to Roman kings, he started the letters with the names of [[Allah]] and [[Prophet Muhammad (s)]] which was criticized by the Roman king, he wrote back to 'Abd Allah and warned him if he continues staring his letters with those names, he would order to mint coins with curse words on Prophet (s) on them. [[Imam al-Sajjad (a)]] suggested 'Abd al-Malik to mint Islamic coins, then he ordered to build mints in 84/703 to coin Islamic Dirham and Dinar. According to ''[[A'yan al-Shi'a]]'' [[Imam al-Baqir (a)]] suggested 'Abd al-Malik to mint coins.<ref>Amīn, ''Aʿyān al-Shīʿa'', vol.1, p.654.</ref>

In the time of revolution of Medina, people banished all the Banu Umayyad members, but [[Imam al-Sajjad (a)]] provided shelter for the wife of [[Marwan b. al-Hakam]], the daughter of [['Uthman b. 'Affan]], in his house and welcomed her as well. It made Marwan to have an optimistic attitude toward Imam al-Sajjad (a). He also consulted with Imam (a); mintage of coin was one of the suggestions introduced by Imam (a). However, later 'Abd al-Malik treated Imam al-Sajjad (a) differently. He ordered to imprison Imam (a) and bring him to the capital of his caliphate.

Appointing [[Hajjaj al-Yusuf]] as the governor of [[Iraq]] is regarded among the most important political and military actions 'Abd al-Malik taken; he was a fierce enemy of [[Ahl al-Bayt (a)]]. Defeating [[Banu Zubayr]] and conquering [[Medina]] made Hajjaj a key person to 'Abd al-Malik. Consequently he was ruling over [[Hijaz]] and later took control over [[Iraq]] and [[Khorasan]] as well. He treated his oppositions and people severely and violently in Iraq which made him notoriously known in historical proverbs and stories.

Hajjaj b. Yusuf ruled over [[Kufa]], the capital of Shi'a revolutions, for almost twenty years and killed or imprisoned ten thousands of Shi'as. According to historical reports, When Hajjaj wanted to deliver a speech in mosque, he sat for a while and suddenly stood and said: "People of Iraq, By God I see heads like ripe fruits which are ready to be cut, and I will cut them; I see blood flouting from turbans and beards."<ref>Ibn al-ʿIbrī, ''Tārīkh mukhtaṣar al-duwal'', p.112.</ref> He treated people of Iraq and Iran so harshly that the whole area went to silence and all the uprisings were severely punished and suppressed.

'Abd al-Malik followed his fathers' steps in appointment of Crown Prince. He decided to release his brother, 'Abd al-'Aziz b. Marwan from Crown Prince and asked people to take oath of allegiance to his sons Walid b. 'Abd al-Malik and Sulayman b. 'Abd al-Malik as the Crown Princes.

Qubaysa b. Duwayb prevented him and said: "Do not take an action which starts a disturbance. Maybe 'Abd al-'Aziz dies and you will get rid of him." One night he informed 'Abd al-Malik of his brother's death. Then 'Abd al-Malik appointed his son, 'Abd Allah b. 'Abd al-Malik as the governor of [[Egypt]] and his other sons Walid and Sulayman as the Crown Princes. He sent letters to all the cities and accordingly people took oath of allegiance to them.<ref>Ibn Saʿd, ''al-Ṭabaqāt al-kubrā'', vol.5, p.183.</ref>

'Abd al-Malik b. Marwan eventually died in [[Damascus]] in [[Shawwal]] 86/705 at the age of 60 or 65.<ref>Ibn Saʿd, ''al-Ṭabaqāt al-kubrā'', vol.5, p.182.</ref> He ruled for 21 years.

* Ibn Ḥazm al-Andulīsī, ʿAlī b. Aḥmad b. Saʿīd. ''Jamharat ansāb al-ʿarab''. Edited by A committee of scholars. Beirut: Dār al-Kutub al-ʿIlmīyya, 1403AH-1983.

* Ibn Kathīr al-Damishqī, Ismāʿīl b. ʿUmar. ''Al-Bidāya wa l-nihāya''. Beirut: Dār al-Fikr, 1407AH-1986.

* Ibn Muskuwayh, Aḥmad b. Muḥammad. ''Tajārub al-umam''. Edited by Abu l-Qāsim Imāmī. 2ned edition. Tehran: Dār Surūsh li-l-Ṭibāʿa wa l-Nashr, 1366Sh-1407AH-1987.

* Yāqūt al-Ḥamawī. ''Muʿjam al-Buldān''. 2ned edition. Beirut: Dār al-Ṣādir, 1995.