the caliphate of muawiya
TRANSCRIPT
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The Caliphate of Mu`awiya
Islamic History: the First 150 Years
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Essays and Assignments
Essay titles
Text based assignment
Deadline: 14th
August 2006
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Session Plan
1. A Brief Recap
2. Mu`awiya Triumphant3. The Rule of Mu`awiya
4. Arranging the Succession
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Section I: A Brief Recap
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Recap As these are arguably the most important years in Islamic history,
a short recap is in order
Muhammad left no unequivocal instructions regarding leadershipof the Muslim community after his death
Abu Bakr: Khilafat Rasul Allah
Umar:Amir al-Mumineen
Uthman: Khilafat Allah ?
Ali: Amir & Imam This historical order valorised by Sunni tradition as the period of
the Rightly Guided Caliphs
Seen very differently by the Shia as repeated attempts to deny Alihis rightful place
In some senses, the debate regarding the nature of leadership isthe key issue
The debate turns increasingly violent as we reach the end of theperiod
Umar, Uthman and Ali all die violent deaths
The impact of the conquests
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Section II: Mu`awiya Triumphant
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Mu`awiyah Triumphant With Alis assassination in 40AH (661CE) at Kufa, Mu`awiya
becomes the most significant political force
His forces proceed towards Iraq and encamp at Maskin Hasan ibn Ali is elected caliph/imam in Kufa
Hasan said to have made the following stipulation:You must be totally obedient, make peace with whom I makepeace, and fight whom I fight (Tab. 2.5)
Felt to be equivocal and an indication that he intended to give in A force from Kufa is sent to meet Mu`awiya (or else is already
present in the region)
There are several divergent accounts of the subsequent eventsin the sources
Tabari (in his usual manner) offers several different reports:1. al-Zuhri (an important early historian): Hasan intended to makepeace with Mu`awiya and one commander who did not agreewas dismissed; the other (Abdullah ibn Abbas) wrote toMu`awiya asking for safe conduct and money (Tab. 2.1)
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Mu`awiyah Triumphant2.Uthman ibn Abd al-Hamid al-Khuzai: Hasans commander
rumoured dead, causing panic; Hasans tent plundered; al-
Mukhtar ibn Abi Ubayd al-Thaqafi intended to sell Hasan toMu`awiya (Tab. 2.2-3)
3. `Awanah: similar to 2; Hasan reveals his peace plan to hisclose relatives and there is an argument about it; Hasanscommander resigns and they accept Mu`awiya (Tab. 2. 3-4)
4. al-Yaqubi: Hasans force commanded by Ubaidallah ibnAbbas, who then joins Mu`awiya for a large bribe; Hasanstent ransacked when news of his peace initiatives becomesknown (Yaqubi 2.254f.)
Differences important
al-Zuhri said to have been an Umayyad supporter Yaqubi a Shiite sympathiser
Abdullah ibn Abbas and the Abbasids
This may well account for the differences in their respective
accounts
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Mu`awiyah Triumphant Forming an opinion about what actually happened thus
difficult
At any rate, Hasan sues for peace and comes to anarrangement with Mu`awiya
In 41AH (661CE), Mu`awiya enters Kufa
His opponents are either bribed or threatened into
accepting his rule He thus becomes the caliph
Hasan holds to his agreement until his death in 49AH
Shia sources believe that Mu`awiya had Hasan poisoned
Leadership of the Bani Hashim then passed to Husaynibn Ali
Although we will encounter Husayn again in the nextsession, during this period he holds to his brothers treaty
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Section III: The Rule of Mu`awiya
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Source Perspectives
As we have seen, when exploring the sources for earlyIslamic history, we have to account for a wide range of
perspectives Thus far, we have looked at the impact of the Sunni-Shia
divide upon our sources
However, this is only one aspect
Our sources focus mostly on Iraq, Medina and relatedmatters
Other matters, considered somewhat peripheral to oursources, receive much less treatment
Reasons?
Many of our key writers from Iraq During the Abbasid period, when most of these sources
written, Iraq was the capital (Baghdad)
The Shia impact at Kufa
This is particularly prominent during Mu`awiyas reign
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Mu`awiyas Powerbase
Wealth
As we saw last week, the Umayyad family owned vast wealth
This was primarily based upon land and as such, the Umayyadclan held wide estates throughout Muslim territory
They were also arguably the most mercantile clan of the Qurayshtribe and even before Mu`awiyas reign they had wide businesscontacts
The Syrian Army (ahl al-Sham) For the entire Umayyad period (some 100 years), the army of the
Syrian provinces was the most powerful and well equippedmilitary force in the entire Muslim empire
Furthermore, given their closeness to the Byzantine border, the
Syrian army was both fully trained and generally, expertly led Under Mu`awiya the Syrianjundwere also very well paid
Mu`awiya had been governor of Syria for a long time, since beingappointed by Umar
He had thus had ample opportunity to ensure the provinces firmloyalty
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Mu`awiyas Powerbase
The Hilmof Mu`awiya
Mu`awiya was renowned for the quality ofhilm
This term means approximately forbearance, tact, orperhaps even skill
Hilm is the quality of the successful traditional Arab Sheikh:someone who could get their own way through acombination of diplomacy, tact, shrewdness and argument
In a very broad sense, comparisons with Julius Caesarsclemency (clementia) are perhaps not too wide of the mark
Mu`awiya is reported to have made the following statement:
I apply not the lash where my tongue suffices, nor my
sword where my whip is enough. But if there be one hairbinding me to my fellow men I let it not break. If they pull Iloosen, and if they loosen I pull
Mu`awiya was thus able to perform a delicate balancing actbetween the different power groups in the emerging Muslimempire
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Mu`awiyas Powerbase
Tribal Support
The picture of Mu`awiya that emerges from thesources is one of a master diplomat
He certainly made extensive use of these skills inhis dealings with the various Arab tribes
A full account would be too detailed for ourpurposes
However, Mu`awiya used monetary support andother means to ensure that he received and kept thesupport of most of the large Arab confederations
He also used arranged marriages as a means ofcementing important tribes to his regime
He thus married an important member of the largetribe of Kalb
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Mu`awiyas PowerbaseBureaucratic Infrastructure
Upon his accession, Mu`awiya moved the capital to Damascus (where it
remained throughout the Umayyad dynasty) His control of Syria also brought him the services of a large number of
former Byzantine and Sassanid civilservants
These officials allowed him to draw on the vast experience of Roman andPersian bureaucracy
He was thus able to develop and effective bureaucratic structure very
quickly Greek remained the language of government in the former Roman lands
throughout his reign
Similarly, Persian was the lingua franca of the eastern half of the Muslimempire
This can be seen in the production of very early Muslim coinage
As we saw previously, the earliest coins were either copies or re-usedByzantine and Sassanid issues
Using this coinage allowed him to create a degree of much neededeconomic stability
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Iraq Given this emphasis, our sources concentrate mostly upon Mu`awiyas
governors of Iraq
Two main personalities Mughira ibn Shuba
A colourful character; companion of Muhammad and something of adiplomat
Ziyad ibn Abihi
Another colourful character
His name is interesting and means Ziyad the son of his father
In other words, his father was not clearly known as his mother was aprostitute in Mecca
Despite this, Ziyad seems to have been an intelligent and resourcefulperson
Had a particular renown for public speaking and eloquence Mu`awiya later adopted him into his own family, declaring that they
both shared the same father (Abu Sufyan) (Tab. 2.69)
This elevated Ziyad into the higher echelons of the Umayyad family
However, it has to be said that he was not universally accepted by thewider Umayyad clan
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Ziyads Opening Speech
A famous speech
Beware of night-prowling too, for no prowler will be broughtto me but I shall shed his bloodBeware also of thesummoning of the Jahiliyyah, for I shall cut out the tongueof anyone I find appealing to itWhoever drowns folk, Ishall drown; whoever burns folk, we shall burn; whoever
breaks into a house, we shall break into his heart; andwhoever breaks up a grave, I shall bury him aliveTherehave been hatreds between me and some folks, but I put allthat behind meIndeed, if I should know that one of youwas overcome with incurable hatred toward me, I would not
expose him nor disclose him unless he shows [it] to meopenly. If he does, I shall not argue with himI swear byGod that I have many [potential] victims among you, so letevery man among you beware lest he be among them(Tab. 2.76)
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Discontent As is perhaps to be expected, Mu`awiyas ascendancy did not meet with
universal approval
Much of Iraq still supported the Alid family, whilst there were a numberof Kharijite groups scattered throughout the province
Thus in 51AH (672CE), one ofAlis closest supporters, Hujr ibn `Adi,attempted to revolt
The rebellion was small and easily overwhelmed
Hujr was executed and was thus later viewed as an early Shiite martyr
This is perhaps why, presumably underMu`awiyas order, Ziyad alteredthe Kufan political structure
Previously, each tribe at Kufa had appointed its own leaders
Ziyad arranged the tribes into 4 quarters and appointed its leadershimself
He undertook a similar measure at Basra (though here they weredivided into fifths)
This measure had two effects
The government could appoint (and thus remove) local tribal leaders atwill
The tribal nobility had to confirm to Muawiyas government in order to
retain their position
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Iraq Under Ziyad
Furthermore, the most rebellious elements of Kufa and Basrawere sent east to aid in the conquest and settlement of
Khurasan (Tab. 2.81) Khurasan is broadly speaking eastern Iran and western
Afghanistan
Khurasan was the eastern most province of Sassanid Persiaand was the effective border
Beyond this, there were a number of small principalities, suchas at Bukhara
Then, beyond them, lay the Turkish empire and the Tangdynasty of China
Ziyad also undertook a renovation of the main mosque of Kufa
(Tab. 1.2492) Generally speaking, Ziyads approach was effective and
despite some discontent, the province remained relativelyquiet
AfterZiyads death, his son Ubaydullah ibn Ziyad is appointed
governor of Iraq
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The Byzantine Wars Mu`awiya continued to war against Byzantium
Although conflict had not really ceased since the early
conquests, under Mu`awiya we see the emergence ofregular campaigns
The last remaining stronghold on the mainland at Arwad fell
Cyprus, Rhodes and Crete were also attacked
Regular annual attacks into eastern Anatolia (modernTurkey)
In 668, Yazid ibn Mu`awiya laid siege to Constantinople
In 674, Mu`awiya again laid siege to the city, which this timealso included a naval blockade
Constantinople remained under siege for approximately 7years
Byzantine North Africa was also attacked from Egypt
Uqbah ibn Nafi overran modern Libya and Tunisia, foundinghis provincial capital near Carthage (al-Qayrawan)
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Questions?
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Section IV: Arranging the Succession
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The Succession As Mu`awiya grew older, he began to arrange for the succession
The sources almost universally report that he had long planned
to appoint his son Yazid To this end, he first consulted with the venerable elite of Medina
They approved of his attempt to ensure a smooth transfer ofpower
However, they did not approve of his son and rioted
Although we will look more closely at Yazid in the next session,the sources almost universally portray him as a dissolute playboy
Indeed, he is said to have had a particular penchant for dancinggirls and pet monkeys!
Mu`awiya is then said to have invited deputations from theprovinces to Damascus and to have praised his sons virtues infront of them
Taking the hint, these provincial leaders then demanded to payhomage to Yazid
Mu`awiya then attempted to secure Medinan acquiescence bytravelling to the city in person, at the head of 1,000 horsemen
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The Succession His main targets were as follows:
Husain ibn Ali
Abdullah ibn al-Zubayr Abdullah ibn Umar
Abd al-Rahman ibn Abu Bakr
In other words, the sons of the most important companions
of Muhammad All four men again repudiated Mu`awiyas idea
At which, he is reported to have saidAt other times, when I speak in the pulpit, I permit everyone to sayagainst my speech what he will; but him who contradicts me today asword shall silence (quoted in Wellhausen, 143)
The men were then marched directly to the mosqueThese four men, without whom no decision can be made, have paidhomage to Yazid; so do ye also pay homage! (ibid)
All four are thus said to have remained silent through fear
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The Succession Mu`awiya died in 60AH (680CE) and Yazid became caliph
Although Mu`awiya was in many ways a successful ruler,his attempts to appoint his son Yazid as his successor weredeeply unpopular
Generally speaking, our sources feel that this act marked aradical break with previous practice
From this point onwards, so our sources argue, the Muslimstate descends into hereditary kingship (ormulkin Arabic)
Moreover, this act also brought barely latent tensions to thesurface
And, in many ways, Yazids accession marks the effectivebeginning of the second civil war
However, we will explore this in greater detail in the nextsession