Muhammad ibn Marwan | |
|---|---|
| Governor ofMesopotamia, Armenia andAdharbayjan | |
| In office Unknown–709/10 | |
| Succeeded by | Maslama ibn Abd al-Malik |
| Personal details | |
| Died | 719 or 720 |
| Spouses |
|
| Children | Marwan II |
| Parents |
|
| Military service | |
| Allegiance | Umayyad Caliphate |
| Years of service | 690–710 |
| Battles/wars | |
Abū ʿAbd al-Raḥmān[1] Muḥammad ibn Marwān ibn al-Ḥakam (Arabic:محمد بن مروان) (died 719/720) was anUmayyad prince and one of the most important generals of theUmayyad Caliphate in the period 690–710, and the one who completed theArab conquest of Armenia. He defeated the Byzantines and conquered their Armenian territories, crushed an Armenian rebellion in 704–705 and made the country into an Umayyad province. His sonMarwan II (r. 744–750) was the last Umayyad caliph.
Muhammad was the son of CaliphMarwan I (r. 684–685) by a slave girl named Zaynab, and hence half-brother to CaliphAbd al-Malik ibn Marwan (r. 685–705).[1][2]
During thesecond Fitna, Muhammad commanded his brother's advance guard at theBattle of Maskin againstMus'ab ibn al-Zubayr (brother of theMecca-based rival caliphAbdallah ibn al-Zubayr) in 691.[1] With the help of aristocratic Persian Christian physician Mardanshāh, he was able to retakeNisibis and entrusted Mardanshāh as governor.[3] In 692, following the victory over al-Zubayr, he was appointed governor ofBēt Nahrīn (North Mesopotamia) and theTur Abdin while holding authority inHarran.[4] According to theLife ofSimeon of the Olives, who becamebishop of Harran during Muhammad's governorship, he established amadrasa there.[5]
In 692/3, he defeated aByzantine army in theBattle of Sebastopolis, by persuading the largeSlavic contingent of the imperial army to defect to him. In the next year, he invaded ByzantineAsia Minor with the assistance of the same Slavs, and scored a success against a Byzantine army nearGermanikeia, while in 695, he raided the province ofFourth Armenia.[1][6][7]
In 699–701, along with his nephew,Abdallah ibn Abd al-Malik, he was dispatched toIraq to assist the governoral-Hajjaj ibn Yusuf in the suppression of the rebellion ofAbd al-Rahman ibn Muhammad ibn al-Ash'ath.[1] In 701 Muhammad campaigned against the Byzantine-controlled Armenian territory east of theEuphrates, and forced its population and the local governor, Baanes, to submit to the Caliphate. Soon after his departure, however, the Armenians rebelled and called for Byzantine aid. Repeated campaigns in 703 and 704 by Muhammad and Abdallah ibn Abd al-Malik crushed the revolt, and Muhammad further secured Muslim control by organizing a large-scale massacre of the Armenian princelynakharar families in 705.[1][6][8]
Whenal-Walid I acceded to the throne in 705, Muhammad began to be eclipsed by his nephewMaslama ibn Abd al-Malik, who like him was also born to a slave-girl. Maslama assumed the leadership of the campaigns against Byzantium, and finally replaced Muhammad completely in his capacity as governor of Mesopotamia, Armenia andAzerbaijan in 709/10. Muhammad died in 719/20.[1][6]
Muhammad was the father of the last Umayyad caliph,Marwan II (r. 744–750) through an unnamed woman, most likely of non-Arab origin (aKurd according to some accounts). Some sources report that Muhammad had taken her captive during the suppression of Ibn al-Zubayr's revolt.[9]
Muhammad was also wed to twoQurayshite women, Umm Jumayl bint Abd al-Rahman, the granddaughter ofZayd ibn al-Khattab of theBanu Adi clan, and Bint Yazid ibn Abd Allah, the granddaughter ofShaybah ibn Rabi'ah of theBanu Abd Shams, the parent clan of theUmayyads.[10]