Lesson 6: Golden Age of the Umayyads Flashcards
Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan ibn al-Hakam
was the fifth Umayyad caliph, ruling from April 685 until his death. A member of the first generation of born Muslims, his early life in Medina was occupied with pious pursuits. He held administrative and military posts under Caliph Mu’awiya I (r. 661–680), founder of the Umayyad Caliphate, and his own father, Caliph Marwan I (r. 684–685). By the time of Abd al-Malik’s accession, Umayyad authority had collapsed across the Caliphate as a result of the Second Muslim Civil War and had been reconstituted in Syria and Egypt during his father’s reign. Following a failed invasion of Iraq in 686, Abd al-Malik focused on securing Syria before making further attempts to conquer the greater part of the Caliphate from his principal rival, the Mecca-based caliph Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr. To that end, he concluded an unfavorable truce with the reinvigorated Byzantine Empire in 689, quashed a coup attempt in Damascus by his kinsman, al-Ashdaq, the following year, and reincorporated into the army the rebellious Qaysi tribes of the Jazira (Upper Mesopotamia) in 691. He then conquered Zubayrid Iraq and dispatched his general, al-Hajjaj ibn Yusuf, to Mecca where he killed Ibn al-Zubayr in late 692, thereby reuniting the Caliphate under Abd al-Malik’s rule. The war with Byzantium resumed, resulting in Umayyad advances into Anatolia and Armenia, the destruction of Carthage and the recapture of Kairouan, the launchpad for the later conquests of western North Africa and the Iberian Peninsula, in 698. In the east, Abd al-Malik’s viceroy, al-Hajjaj, firmly established the caliph’s authority in Iraq and Khurasan, stamping out opposition by the Kharijites and the Arab tribal nobility by 702. Abd al-Malik’s final years were marked by a domestically peaceful and prosperous consolidation of power.
In a significant departure from his predecessors, rule over the Caliphate’s provinces was centralized under Abd al-Malik, following the elimination of his rivals. Gradually, loyalist Arab troops from Syria were tasked with maintaining order in the provinces as dependence on less reliable, local Arab garrisons receded. Tax surpluses from the provinces were forwarded to Damascus and the traditional military stipends to veterans of the early Muslim conquests and their descendants were abolished, salaries being restricted to those in active service. The most consequential of Abd al-Malik’s reforms were the introduction of a single Islamic currency in place of Byzantine and Sasanian coinage and the establishment of Arabic as the language of the bureaucracy in place of Greek and Persian in Syria and Iraq, respectively. His Muslim upbringing, the conflicts with external and local Christian forces and rival claimants to Islamic leadership all influenced Abd al-Malik’s efforts to prescribe a distinctly Islamic character to the Umayyad state. Another manifestation of this initiative was his founding of the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem, the earliest archaeologically attested religious monument built by a Muslim ruler and the possessor of the earliest epigraphic proclamations of Islam and the prophet Muhammad. The foundations established by Abd al-Malik enabled his son and successor, al-Walid I (r. 705–715), who largely maintained his father’s policies, to oversee the Umayyad Caliphate’s territorial and economic zenith. Abd al-Malik’s centralized government became the prototype of later medieval Muslim states.
Barid
often translated as “the postal service” was the state-run courier service of the Umayyad and later Abbasid Caliphates. A major institution in the early Islamic states, the Barid was not only responsible for the overland delivery of official correspondence throughout the empire, but it additionally functioned as a domestic intelligence agency, which informed the caliphs on events in the provinces and the activities of government officials.
Dinar (gold), Durham (silver)
traditional coins from before the time of Abd al-Malik. Currency is the symbol of government, expressing power. In 696 a uniform currency is issued with an Arabic inscription, bringing uniformity throughout the expanding nation. Was also a religious symbol, by denouncing heretical faith. Also the sign of a strong ruler.
Dome of the Rock
was built by the order of the Umayyad caliph Abd al-Malik (r. 685–705). Construction started in 685-88, completed in 692A dedicatory inscription in Kufic script is preserved inside the dome. Narratives by the medieval sources about Abd al-Malik’s motivations in building the Dome of the Rock vary. At the time of its construction, the caliph was engaged in war with Christian Byzantium and its Syrian Christian allies on the one hand and with the rival caliph Ibn al-Zubayr, who controlled Mecca, the annual destination of Muslim pilgrimage, on the other hand. Thus, one series of explanations was that Abd al-Malik intended for the Dome of the Rock to be a religious monument of victory over the Christians that would distinguish Islam’s uniqueness within the common Abrahamic religious setting of Jerusalem, home of the two older Abrahamic faiths, Judaism and Christianity The other main explanation holds that Abd al-Malik, in the heat of the war with Ibn al-Zubayr, sought to build the structure to divert the focus of the Muslims in his realm from the Ka’aba in Mecca, where Ibn al-Zubayr would publicly condemn the Umayyads during the annual pilgrimage to the sanctuary.
Al-Masjid al-Aqsa
translates from Arabic into English as “the farthest mosque”. The name refers to a chapter of the Quran called Al-Isrā’ “The Night Journey”, in which it is said that Muhammad travelled from Mecca to “the farthest mosque”, and then up to Heaven on a heavenly creature called al-Burāq ash-Sharīf.
Abū Muhammad al-Ḥajjāj ibn Yūsuf ibn al-Ḥakam ibn ʿAqīl al-Thaqafī Ta’if
known simply as al-Hajjaj ibn Yusuf was perhaps the most notable governor who served the Umayyad Caliphate. A highly capable though ruthless statesman, strict in character, a harsh and demanding master, he was widely feared by his contemporaries and became a deeply controversial figure and an object of deep-seated enmity among later, pro-Abbasid writers, who ascribed to him persecutions and mass executions.
Soon after Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan (r. 685–705) acceded to the caliphate, al-Hajjaj left his hometown and went to the Umayyad capital, Damascus, where he entered the security force (shurta) of the Caliph. After the defeat of Mus’ab at the Battle of Maskin, Abd al-Malik decided to entrust him with the expedition to subdue Mus’ab’s brother, Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr, in Mecca. In late 691 he set out from Kufa at the head of 2,000 Syrian troops. After taking over Ta’if unopposed, he halted there as Abd al-Malik had charged him to try to secure Ibn al-Zubayr’s capitulation by diplomatic means if possible, and to avoid the shedding of blood in Mecca. Ibn al-Zubayr rejected the Umayyad offers, and al-Hajjaj, after receiving reinforcements and the Caliph’s permission, moved to attack Mecca. The Umayyad troops bombarded the city with catapults from Mount Abu Qubays, not letting up even during the hajj; even the Ka’aba was not spared, despite the presence of the assembled pilgrims. When a sudden thunderstorm broke out, which his soldiers interpreted as divine wrath, he was able to rally them and convince them that it was actually a sign of victory. Finally, in October 692, after seven months of siege and the defection of several thousand of his supporters, including two of his sons, Ibn al-Zubayr was killed alongside his last remaining loyal followers, fighting around the Ka’aba.
As a reward, Abd al-Malik gave al-Hajjaj the governorship of the Hijaz, Yemen, and al-Yamama. Was appointed governor of both Basra and Kufa then became governor of Khurasan virtually becoming viceroy of the east which he held competently.
Wasit
The city was built by al-Hajjaj ibn Yusuf in c. 702 CE on the west bank of the Tigris across from the historical city of Kashkar. Al-Hajjaj died in Wasit in 714. It was a garrison town, half way between Al-Kufah and Al-Basrah, hence its name.
Omar ibn Abd al-Aziz
commonly known as Umar II, was the eighth Umayyad caliph, ruling from 22 September 717 until his death in 720. He was also a cousin of the former caliph, being the son of Abd al-Malik’s younger brother, Abd al-Aziz. He was also a matrilineal great-grandson of the second caliph, Umar ibn Al-Khattab. According to the traditional Muslim sources, when Sulayman was on his deathbed in Dabiq, he was persuaded by Raja to designate Umar as his successor. He was unanimously seen as a good Caliph, the only Umayyad worthy of the title. Under his reign, expansion was put on hold, and raised the Mawali to equal status. Appointed officeship based on meritocracy. Traditionally was the one who collected the first official Hadiths. Was poisoned by the Umayyads.
Hisham ibn Abd al-Malik
was the 10th Umayyad caliph who ruled from 724 until his death in 743. When he was born in 691. Inheriting the caliphate from his brother Yazid II, Hisham was ruling an empire with many different problems. He would, however, be effective in attending to these problems, and in allowing the Umayyad empire to continue as an entity. His long rule was an effective one, and it saw a rebirth of reforms that were originated by Umar bin Abd al-Aziz.
Like his brother al-Walid I, Hisham was a great patron of the arts, and he again encouraged arts in the empire. He also encouraged the growth of education by building more schools, and perhaps most importantly, by overseeing the translation of numerous literary and scientific masterpieces into Arabic. He returned to a stricter interpretation of the Sharia as Umar had, and enforced it, even upon his own family. His ability to stand up to the Umayyad clan may have been an important factor in his success and may point to why his brother Yazid was ineffective. Under his reign, there were revolts of the Turgesh in Transoxiana and Berbers in North Africa. Hisham puts down both rebellions successful.
