Abd al-Malik ibn Umar ibn Marwan

Abd al-Malik ibn Umar ibn Marwan ibn al-Hakam (Arabic: عبد الملك ابن عمر بن مروان بن الحكم‎, romanized: ʿAbd al-Malik ibn ʿUmar ibn Marwān ibn al-Ḥakam; c. 718–c. 778), also known as al-Marwani, was an Umayyad prince, vizier, general and governor of Seville of the first Umayyad emir of al-Andalus (Islamic Spain) Abd al-Rahman I (r. 756–788). He led two major campaigns in 758 and 774, the first against the previous ruler of al-Andalus Yusuf ibn Abd al-Rahman al-Fihri and the second against the rebellious troops of Seville and Beja. His victories solidified the Umayyad emirate's control of western al-Andalus. His descendants continued to play important political and military roles in the Emirate well into the 10th century.

Origins

Abd al-Malik ibn Umar was born c. 718.[1] He was a grandson of the Umayyad caliph Marwan I (r. 684–685). His father Umar was the caliph's only son by Zaynab bint Umar, a paternal granddaughter of Abu Salama from the prominent Banu Makhzum clan of the Quraysh tribe and a daughter of the Islamic prophet Muhammad's stepson.[2] Umar resided in a house in Fustat bestowed on him by his half-brother, the governor of Egypt Abd al-Aziz ibn Marwan (r. 685–705).[3] A certain "Umar ibn Marwan" mentioned in two Greek papyri from Egypt may be identified with Abd al-Malik's father.[4] Abd al-Malik was initially established in Egypt.[5]

Career

Abd al-Malik was one of the surviving, mostly less eminent, Umayyads to arrive in al-Andalus (Islamic Spain) in the aftermath of the Abbasid Revolution in 750, which brought an end to the Syria-based Umayyad Caliphate and the succession of the Abbasids, who ordered mass executions of members of the Umayyad dynasty.[6] The medieval Islamic tradition holds that he left Egypt and arrived in al-Andalus in May 757–May 758, though according to the modern historian Alejandro Garcia Sanjuan, Abd al-Malik most likely arrived in 754–755.[1] He was accompanied by his cousin Juzayy ibn Abd al-Aziz ibn Marwan (d. 757) and their respective children.[7] His distant Umayyad kinsman, a great-great-grandson of Marwan I Abd al-Rahman I,[1] established himself in the peninsula in 755–756 with the support of local Umayyad mawali (non-Arab Muslim freedmen or clients) and friendly Syrian troops in the region and proclaimed himself emir (governor or ruler) in Cordoba.[8] Abd al-Malik was the eldest of the Marwanids in al-Andalus.[1] He is generally credited for counseling Abd al-Rahman to drop the name of the Abbasid caliph al-Mansur (r. 754–775) from the Friday prayer, a traditional acknowledgement of Islamic sovereignty, in 757.[9]

Abd al-Malik gained the confidence of Abd al-Rahman and became one of the Emir's top generals and a strongman of the nascent Umayyad emirate as it expanded its control over the chiefs of the practically autonomous Arab junds (armies or garrisons) and older-established elites across al-Andalus.[1][9] To assert his authority over the junds of Egypt and Homs based in Beja and Seville, respectively, Abd al-Rahman appointed Abd al-Malik the governor of Seville and the western part of the peninsula,[10] and his son Abd Allah the governor of Morón.[1] Although permanent command of the Emir's army was given to his mawali Badr and Abu Uthman Ubayd Allah ibn Uthman, Abd al-Malik was given command of expeditions in 758 and 774.[11] In the first campaign, Abd al-Malik mobilized the jund of Homs and subdued an attempt by the previous ruler of al-Andalus, the Quryashite emir Yusuf ibn Abd al-Rahman al-Fihri, to regain power.[1]

At some point, Abd al-Malik had been replaced by a leader of the Seville jund, Abu al-Sabbah al-Yahsubi, but the latter rebelled against Abd al-Rahman and was dismissed from the post.[5] Abd al-Malik was the only member of Abd al-Rahman's court to advocate for Abu al-Sabbah's execution,[12] reportedly telling the Emir:

Don't let him get away: for he will bring us calamity
Take a firm hand and rid yourself of this sickness.[13]

Afterward, Abd al-Rahman apparently informed his court that he had already had Abu al-Sabbah executed.[13] The historian Eduardo Manzala Moreno relates the episode to a probable rivalry between Abd al-Malik and his family and Abu al-Sabbah for control of Seville and the jund of Hims.[5] Moreno holds that the ambitions of Abd al-Malik and his family was likely the main cause for the disaffection of the junds in Seville and Beja.[14] In the campaign of 774, Abd al-Malik decisively defeated a wide-scale revolt by the junds, which were led by Abu al-Sabbah's cousins and supporters and who attempted a surprise capture of Cordoba.[15][14] During the campaign, Abd al-Malik condemned and ordered the execution of his son Umayya, the commander of his vanguard, for retreating before the rebels in battle.[1][14] Abd al-Malik's victory sealed the submission of western al-Andalus to the Umayyad emirate.[16] Abd al-Rahman's confidence in Abd al-Malik was also strengthened and consecrated by the marriage of his son and chosen successor Hisham I (r. 788–796) to Abd al-Malik's daughter Kanza.[1]

Death and legacy

Abd al-Malik died c. 778.[1] His decisive victories on behalf of Abd al-Rahman were key to the establishment of the Umayyad emirate in al-Andalus.[17] His sons Abd Allah, Ibrahim and al-Hakam all served as viziers of Abd al-Rahman.[1] Abd al-Malik left numerous descendants recorded by the sources, including several who served as viziers or qa'ids (army leaders).[18] A branch of the family settled in Seville and the western areas of the peninsula.[14] As Umayyads, members of Abd al-Malik's family viewed themselves as equals to the ruling emirs in Cordoba.[17]

Abd al-Malik's grandson served as the governor of Beja under Hisham I.[14] A fifth-generation direct descendant, Ahmad ibn al-Bara ibn Malik, served as the governor of Zaragoza, but was suspected of disloyalty and assassinated by order of Emir Abdallah (r. 888–912).[17] The wider family in Seville joined the rebellion against Abdallah but relocated to Cordoba when the troops of Seville surrendered to Emir Abd al-Rahman III in 913.[17] Thereafter, several served as governors, generals and viziers.[17] Another of his descendants was a pretender to the Umayyad Caliphate in al-Andalus in the 10th century.[18]

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References
  1. Sanjuán, Alejandro García. "'Abd al-Malik b. 'Umar b. Marwan". Real Academia de la Historia. Retrieved 27 March 2020.
  2. Ahmed 2010, p. 90.
  3. Hilloowala 1998, p. 208.
  4. Morelli 1998, pp. 220–221.
  5. Moreno 1998, p. 102.
  6. Kennedy 1996, pp. 30–32.
  7. James 2012, p. 97.
  8. Kennedy 1996, p. 31.
  9. Kennedy 1996, p. 32.
  10. Kennedy 1996, p. 35.
  11. Hernández 1998, p. 68.
  12. Moreno 1998, pp. 102–103.
  13. James 2012, p. 104.
  14. Moreno 1998, p. 103.
  15. Kennedy 1996, pp. 35–36.
  16. Kennedy 1996, p. 36.
  17. Fierro 2011, p. 109.
  18. Moreno 1998, p. 103, note 48.

Bibliography
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