| Hisham ibn Abd al-Malik هِشَام ابْن عَبْد الْمَلِك | |||||
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| Amir al-Mu'minin Khalifat Allah | |||||
.jpg) Dirham minted during the rule of Hisham | |||||
| 10thCaliph of theUmayyad Caliphate | |||||
| Reign | 26 January 724 – 6 February 743 | ||||
| Predecessor | Yazid II | ||||
| Successor | Al-Walid II | ||||
| Born | 691 Damascus,Syria, Umayyad Caliphate | ||||
| Died | 6 February 743 (aged 52) (6 Rabiʽ al-Thani 125 AH) Damascus, Syria, Umayyad Caliphate | ||||
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| Dynasty | Umayyad | ||||
| Father | Abd al-Malik | ||||
| Mother | A'isha, daughter ofHisham al-Makhzumi | ||||
| Religion | Islam | ||||
Hisham ibn Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan (Arabic:هِشَام ابْن عَبْد الْمَلِك ٱبْن مَرْوَان,romanized: Hishām ibn ʿAbd al-Malik ibn Marwān;c. 691 – 6 February 743) was the tenthUmayyadcaliph, ruling from 724 until his death in 743.
Hisham was born inDamascus, the administrative capital of theUmayyad Caliphate, in AH 72 (691–692 CE). His father was the UmayyadcaliphAbd al-Malik (r. 685–705). His mother, A'isha, was a daughter ofHisham ibn Isma'il of theBanu Makhzum, a prominent family of theQuraysh, and Abd al-Malik's longtime governor of the Islamic holy cities ofMecca andMedina.[1][a] According to the history ofal-Tabari (d. 923), Hisham was given thekunya (patronymic) of Abu al-Walid.[3]
There is little information about Hisham's early life. He was too young to play any political or military role during his father's reign. He supposedly led theHajj pilgrimage to Mecca once during his brotheral-Walid I's reign (r. 705–715) and while there, met a respected descendant of CaliphAli (r. 656–661),Zayn al-Abidin.[2] Hisham is credited by al-Tabari for leading an expedition against theByzantines across theCaliphate's frontier in 706 and capturing a number of their fortified positions.[4]
Hisham began to demonstrate aspirations for the caliphate at the death of his brother, CaliphSulayman (r. 715–717) in 717. On his deathbed, Sulayman had nominated as his successor their paternal first cousin,Umar II, but kept the order secret, entrusting the revelation to his chief adviserRaja ibn Haywa. When Raja informed theUmayyad family of the decision, Hisham protested that the caliphal office was the preserve of Abd al-Malik's direct descendants and only relented from his opposition when threatened by force.[5] He played no political or military role under Umar (r. 717–720) but is mentioned in a 10th-century biography of Umar as having issued a letter to the caliph complaining of his and his brothers' treatment under the caliph's rule. Hisham also held no posts under his brother, CaliphYazid II (r. 720–724).[6]
Upon the counsel of their brother, the prominent generalMaslama ibn Abd al-Malik, Yazid nominated Hisham as his successor over his own sonal-Walid II, whom he had originally intended to designate as first-in-line. Hisham acceded after Yazid died in January 724.[7] He received the news while at his Syrian desert estate, al-Zaytuna, which is identified asQasr al-Hayr al-Gharbi, near Hisham's favored residence, al-Rusafa,[8] which is identified asQasr al-Hayr al-Sharqi. He was given the caliphal ring and staff by a postal messenger, after which he rode to Damascus,[3] where he was publicly acclaimed as caliph.[9]
Hisham inherited 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 byUmar bin Abd al-Aziz.
Like a-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 intoArabic. He returned to a stricter interpretation of theSharia 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.
According to tradition, Hisham ordered thehadith scholarIbn Shihab al-Zuhri (d.742) to commit the hadith he had memorized to writing.
On the military front his empire suffered a series of setbacks, especially in theCaucasus against theKhazars (theBattle of Marj Ardabil) and inTransoxiana against theTurgesh (the "Day of Thirst" and theBattle of the Pass). Hisham sent armies to end theHindu rebellion inSind, and was successful when the Hindu ruler Jai Singh was killed. This allowed the Umayyads to reassert their rule over some portions of their provinces inIndia. Some invasions of Indian kingdoms were led by the Arab governors of Sind but they were unsuccessful.
Under Hisham's rule, regular raids against theByzantine Empire continued. One regular commander of Arab forces was the redoubtable Maslama, Hisham's half-brother. He fought the Byzantines in 725–726 CE (A.H. 107) and the next year capturedCaesarea Mazaca. He also fought the Khazars in the Caucasus. In 728, he fought for a month against the Khaqan there and defeated him. Hisham's sonMu'awiya was another Arab commander in the almost-annual raids against the Byzantine Empire. In 728, he took the fort of Samalu inCilicia. The next year Mu'awiya thrust left andSa'id ibn Hisham right, in addition to a sea raid. In 731, Mu'awiya capturedKharsianon in Cappadocia.
Mu'awiya raided the Byzantine Empire in 731–732 (A.H. 113). The next year he captured Aqrun (Akroinos), whileAbdallah al-Battal took a Byzantine commander prisoner. Mu'awiya raided Byzantium from 734–737. In 737, al Walid ibn al Qa'qa al-Absi led the raid against the Byzantines. The next yearSulayman ibn Hisham captured Sindira (Sideroun). In 738–739, Maslama captured some ofCappadocia and also raided theAvars.Theophanes the Confessor (p. 103) states that while some Arabs raided successfully in 739 and returned home safely, others were soundly defeated at theBattle of Akroinon. He records that internal Byzantine strife (the struggle betweenConstantine V and the usurperArtabasdos) facilitated Arab raids by Sulayman ibn Hisham in 741–742 (p. 106) that made many Byzantines Arab captives. Al-Tabari refers to the same raid.[11]
In North Africa, Kharijite teachings combined with natural local restlessness to produce a significantBerber revolt. In 740, a large Berber force surrounded a loyal army at Wadi Sherif, where the loyalists fought to the death. Hisham dispatched a force of 27,000 Syrians, which was destroyed in 741. In 742Handhala ibn Safwan began successfully, but soon was besieged inQairawan. He led a desperate sortie from the city that scattered the Berbers, killing thousands and re-establishing Umayyad rule.
Hisham also faced a revolt by the armies ofZayd ibn Ali, grandson ofHusayn bin Ali, which was put down because of the betrayal of the Kufans. The Kufans encouraged Zayd to revolt. Zayd was ordered to leaveKufa and though he appeared to set out for Mecca, he returned and dwelt secretly in Kufa moving from house to house and receiving the allegiance of many people.Yusuf ibn Umar al-Thaqafi, Iraq's governor, learned of the plot, commanded the people to gather at the great mosque, locked them inside and began a search for Zayd. Zayd with some troops fought his way to the mosque and called on people to come out. He then pushed back Yusuf's troops, but was felled by an arrow. Although his body was initially buried, the spot was pointed out and it was extracted, beheaded and the head sent to Hisham and later to Medina.
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InSpain, the internal conflicts of the years past were ended, and Hisham's governor,Abd al-Rahman ibn Abdallah, assembled a large army that went intoFrance. He besieged Bordeaux and pushed to theLoire. This marked the limit of Arabic conquest in Western Europe. The wave was halted at theBattle of Tours byCharles Martel who ruled the kingdom of the Franks, with exception of theFraxinetum enclave which lasted until the 10th century.
Hisham died on 6 February 743 (6Rabiʽ al-Thani 125 AH).[1] His son,Maslama, led the funeral prayers.[12] Hisham had attempted to secure Maslama as his successor in place of Yazid II's son, al-Walid II.[13] Hisham's initial attempts, after the Hajj of 735, to persuade al-Walid II to step down in favor of Maslama or, alternatively, to make Maslama al-Walid II's successor were rejected.[14][15][16] Afterward, Hisham undermine al-Walid II by secretly gathering support for Maslama.[14] The latter's nomination was supported by Maslama ibn Abd al-Malik and Hisham's maternal grandfather, Hisham ibn Isma'il,[17] the latter's sonsIbrahim andMuhammad, as well as the sons of the tribal chiefal-Qa'qa' ibn Khulayd, who were an influential family innorthern Syria.[14] Maslama's mother, Umm Hakim, also lobbied for him.[18] Opposed to Maslama's proposed succession wasKhalid al-Qasri, the governor of Iraq, to which Maslama responded by insulting him and his dead brotherAsad.[19] Maslama ibn Abd al-Malik's death in the late 730s was a major setback to Hisham's succession plans, as it represented the loss of the plan's key supporter in the Umayyad dynasty.[17]
Al-Walid II acceded and immediately ordered his cousin, the veteran commanderal-Abbas ibn al-Walid, to arrest Hisham's sons atRusafa, nearPalmyra, but expressly forbade that Maslama or his household be disturbed in deference to their old companionship and Maslama's defense of al-Walid II from Hisham.[16][20]
In general, Hisham is viewed by modern historians and the early Islamic tradition to have overseen a successful reign,[21] on par with the similarly long reigns of the Umayyad Caliphate's founderMu'awiya I (r. 661–680) and Abd al-Malik.[1] In the summation of the historianFrancesco Gabrieli, Hisham's rule "on the whole was glorious for the Arabs and fruitful in the development of Islamic faith andculture" and "marks the final period of prosperity and splendour of the Umayyad caliphate".[22] By dint of his sobriety, austerity and work ethic, Hisham is held by most modern historians to have kept the Caliphate in good-standing. They largely assign blame to his successor al-Walid II and longer-standing internal factors, which Hisham could not resolve, for the Umayyad dynasty's unraveling in the few years after Hisham's death.[23] Similarly, the Islamic tradition portrays Hisham as "a conscientious and efficient, if severe and tightfisted, administrator", according to Blankinship.[21] In the view of the historianHugh N. Kennedy, the Umayyad state "had never been as strong as it had been under Hisham only a decade before thefinal collapse" in 750.[24]
Blankinship, on the other hand, concludes that the military disasters of Hisham's reign brought about the Umayyad dynasty's demise.[25] According to him, the state struggled to absorb the significant losses incurred by these defeats. Its treasury was dependent on war booty and it lacked efficient means to collect tax revenue from its subjects. An unprecedented economic crisis ensued, precipitating stringent taxation efforts and a substantial reduction in spending. This caused widespread discontent throughout the Caliphate, while also failing to remedy state finances. Meanwhile, the harshness and diminishing material returns from campaigning along the frontiers sapped the enthusiasm of the provincial garrisons and further increased Hisham's dependence on the Syrian army, the bedrock of the dynasty, to the chagrin of the locally-established troops. As Syrian troops were dispatched both to fight on the frontiers and quell major rebellions throughout the Caliphate they suffered the brunt of these wars. The Syrians were mostly Yamani and their dispersal and heavy losses disrupted the factional balance upon which the Umayyad state depended in favor of the Qays/Mudar of the Jazira. The Qays/Mudar became the main component of the army underMarwan II (r. 744–750) and their rout by the Khurasani troops of the Abbasids marked the end of the Umayyad dynasty.[26]
Hisham's favored wife wasUmm Hakim, the daughter ofYahya ibn al-Hakam, brother of Hisham's grandfather caliphMarwan I (r. 684–685).[27] Her mother was Zaynab bint Abd al-Rahman, the granddaughter of theSyrian conquest commanderal-Harith ibn Hisham of the Banu Makhzum.[28] Umm Hakim, like her mother, was well-known for her beauty and love for wine.[29] She gave Hisham five sons,[30] including Sulayman,[31] Maslama,[32]Yazid al-Afqam,[16] andMu'awiya.[33]
Hisham was also married to Umm Uthman, a daughter of Sa'id ibn Khalid. The latter was a grandson of the third caliphUthman (r. 644–656) and one of the wealthiest people of his day, who used to divide his time between Syria and Medina. Umm Uthman gave birth to Hisham's sonSa'id.[34] His other sons were Muhammad, Abd Allah, Marwan, Abd al-Rahman and Quraysh.[35] He had a daughter, A'isha, to whom he granted an estate at Ras Kayfa.[36]
Hisham ibn Abd al-Malik Born: 691 Died: 6 February 743 | ||
| Preceded by | Caliph of Islam Umayyad Caliph 26 January 724 – 6 February 743 | Succeeded by |
| Caliphs of Damascus (661–750) |  | |
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| Emirs of Córdoba (756–929) | ||
| Caliphs of Córdoba (929–1031) | ||
[H] indicatesHammudid usurpers | ||
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