Download Abd al-Malik & Hisham - The Islamic History Corner

Islamic History: the First 150 Years
From Abd al-Malik to Hisham
Session Plan
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Unity Restored
Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz
Hisham and the End of Expansion
Rumblings of Thunder
Readings
Section I: Unity Restored
Unity Lost
• During the first 3 sessions, we looked at the
evolution of the early Muslim community
• We saw that the central question facing the Muslim
state was that of leadership
• In sessions one and two we looked at the differing
responses to these questions under Abu Bakr,
Umar, Uthman and Ali
• We then looked at the break down of the
patriarchal caliphate
• The first fitna: Ali & Mu’awiya
• The second fitna: Umayyads, Husayn and Abdullah
ibn al-Zubayr
• We also saw the emergence of a fourth trend, if
you will, that of the ‘neutrals’
Unity Restored
• As we saw last week, with the death of Ibn alZubayr, Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan became the
undisputed caliph
• The reign of Abd al-Malik is an important one for a
number of reasons
• Firstly, it is with him that the Umayyad empire takes
its concrete form
• Secondly, his twenty year rule allowed relative
peace and stability to return
• Thirdly, a number of important religious
developments occur in his reign
• Fourthly, his reign (and that of his son Hisham)
mark the effective zenith of the Umayyad empire
Unity Restored
• However, despite his importance, we will not
be exploring his reign in fine detail
• I intend to explore a number of key
elements, which, it is hoped, will paint a
representative picture
• These include:
• Relationships with Religious Notables
• Iraq
• Jerusalem
• Further reading: C.F. Robinson Abd al-Malik
Relationships
• Abd al-Malik’s relations with the religious elite are marked by ambiguity
• Unlike earlier caliphs, Abd al-Malik had grown up in Islam
• As a young man, he had shown a particular interest in the study of
Prophetic Traditions and in the biography of Muhammad
• Some reports also state that he had memorised the entire Quran (hafiz
al-Quran)
• Tradition, however, relates that his accession brought about a change
• He is said to have subordinated everything to policy
• That is, he seems to have taken the running of the empire seriously
• Raja ibn Haiwa al-Kindi, an early religious figure, seems to have been
influential under him
• Moreover, he also patronised ibn Shihab al-Zuhri, the early hadith
scholar and historian (whom we met last week)
• Despite this, it is from his reign onwards that we begin to see learned
Muslims effectively staying away from involvement with the government
• In other words, it was considered somewhat disreputable for a religious
scholar to be associated with the state
• This may well be due to the increasingly negative view of the Umayyad
dynasty
Iraq
• In Iraq, Abd al-Malik’s drive for stability and order
effectively meant the repression of rebellious
elements
• His governor, al-Hajjaj ibn Yusuf al-Thaqafi, was
infamous for his use of naked force
• His command began with what Hodgson describes
as ‘terrifying violence’ in which 1000s are said to
have died
• A major Kharijite revolt was also defeated
• However, his harsh measures eventually prompted
sections of the army itself to revolt under ibn alAsh’ath
• Al-Hajjaj also built a number of canals and
irrigation channels
Other Measures
• Abd al-Malik also reformed the coinage
• The earlier method of using existing Byzantine and
Sassanid coinage was replaced
• A new Islamic coinage was introduced
• They were of a standard weight and metal
standard and helped stabilise the economy
• They also carried ideological/religious messages
• They were aniconic
• Contained passages from the Quran and
statements of Islamic belief
• They were so successful that they quickly became
the standard form of Muslim coinage
Post-Reform Coinage
Mecca & Jerusalem
• The Ka’ba at Mecca the central shrine of Islam
• Islamic tradition describes the sanctuary as being built by
Abraham and Ishmael
• The Arab tribes who inherit the site eventually fall into
paganism
• Key idols of Mecca:
• Manat: literally meaning ‘fate’, this ‘deity’ was widely
worshipped throughout Arabia
• Al-`Uzza: literally meaning ‘the mighty one’ (feminine)
• Al-Lat: ‘the Goddess’
• These three goddesses are the ‘deities’ named in the
Satanic Verses story
• Believed to have power of intercession with Allah
Mecca & Jerusalem
• Islamic tradition holds that Allah was recognised by
the pagan Arabs as a ‘High God’
• Hubal: an imported ‘deity’ originally from Palestine
• The tradition holds that on the conquest of Mecca,
Muhammad cleared the Kaba of some 360 idols
• A suspiciously round number
• Not impossible of course, but seems to represent a
‘god’ for every day of the solar year
• The Meccan shrine, according to the tradition, was
thus the ritual centre of Islam from the beginning
Mecca & Jerusalem
• Indeed there are numerous references to the ‘House’ in the
Quran
• Some modern authorities, however, understand this
development differently
• Crone and Cook – Hagarism
• Within the Islamic framework, Mecca holds a particular
importance
• During the early period of Islam (and indeed the whole of
Islamic history) control of the Meccan shrine was politically
important
• Within our context, Abdullah in al-Zubayr’s control of Mecca
enabled him to claim a large degree of legitimacy
• That is, God Himself, the ‘Lord of this House’ (surah
quraysh), had given control of his sanctuary to ibn al-Zubayr
• Important propaganda value
Mecca and Jerusalem
• Once in control of Umayyad Syria, Abd al-Malik began to
develop the Temple Mount area of Jerusalem
• The Temple Mount had been empty for quite some time
• Abd al-Malik built the Dome of the Rock
• This is a deeply fascinating building
• It is not a traditional mosque: it’s a hexagonal building built
around a central mount
• This is believed to be the spot where Muhammad ascended
to heaven
• Al-Zuhri cites a report in which Abd al-Malik allegedly built
the Dome of the Rock to compete with Mecca (then under
Zubayrid control)
• A somewhat defaced inscription on the Dome of the Rock
reads: ‘The servant of God, Abd al-Malik, the Amir alMumineen, built this Qubba in the year 72 hijri’
• Al-Ma’mun (an Abbasid Caliph) had Abd al-Malik’s name
removed and his own put in its place
Mecca and Jerusalem
• The most interesting question regarding the Dome of the
Rock is why?
• Why build such an unusual sanctuary there, at this time?
• The Dome is also adorned with Quranic calligraphy and is
one of the earliest uses of the Quran on architecture
• The Quranic texts used on the Dome are also interesting
and probably point towards Abd al-Malik’s actual intentions
• They quote passages from the Quran which refer to the
Islamic understanding of Jesus Christ
• Specifically, they refer to Islam’s understanding that he was
not divine, but a human prophet
• In other words, the Dome is thus part of a wider theological
debate
• It was also probably meant to physically assert Islam’s
religious, theological and political superiority over both
Judaism and Christianity
The Dome of the Rock
The Dome of the Rock
The Dome of the Rock
The Dome of the Rock
Questions?
Section II: Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz
Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz
• Abd al-Malik had a large family and because of this four of his
children became caliphs after him
• However, the most famous ruler after him was not actually his
son, but his nephew Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz
• Umar is an interesting character and is the only Umayyad caliph
to be viewed positively by later Muslim tradition
• Indeed, some even felt that he was the fifth ‘rightly guided caliph’
after Muhammad
• Although there are a number of reasons for this, perhaps the most
significant of them is the perception of Umar’s motives
• In other words, Umar is perceived to ruled through adherence to
Islamic norms
• Or, again, he ruled in accordance with what our sources felt were
Islamic norms
• In assessing Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz, we must therefore take our
sources’ biases into account
• Nevertheless, it does seem that Umar was personally committed
to his religious principles and seems to have attempted to rule by
them
Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz
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Wellhausen, an early 20th century writer, has this to say:
‘Sulaiman was a luxurious profligate, Umar almost an ascetic; to the
former the ruling power offered unlimited means of enjoyment; upon the
latter it imposed a a weight of responsibility. In everything he did
judgement loomed before his eyes, and he was always afraid of coming
up short of the requirements of God’ (p. 268)
Umar’s Policies…
Almost all outward expansion stopped and most advanced outposts
withdrawn
However, the Narbonne region of southern France was fortified under Umar
Although he used existing men, Umar seems to have appointed provincial
governors for their ability and honesty (Tab. 3. 1383)
Thus Abd al-Hamid ibn Abd al-Rahman of Umar I’s family became governor
of Kufa
He also brought the emerging Islamic religious scholarly elite into the
business of government
In a letter to his provincial governors, he is said to have named the pillars of
government as:
The Wali (Executive Governor)
The Judge (or Qadi, i.e. someone learned in Islamic law)
The Tax Administrator
The Caliph
Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz
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He appointed the famous Hasan al-Basri Qadi (judge) of Basra
Hasan is an important early ascetic and ‘mystic’
Umar also reformed the tax system
Although his changes were rather complex, in essence we can say that
he attempted to make taxation conform to Islamic ideals
Thus the mawali were given automatic entitlement to their Quranically
allotted privileges
Land use was also reformed: common land was to be used for the
communities to which it was originally intended
The sources report that Umar was an eager ‘missionary’
He is said to have invited the rulers of Sind (in modern Pakistan) and
various Berber tribes (in Morocco and Algeria) to accept Islam
Umar also wrote to the Byzantine emperor Leo II, in an apparent attempt
to convert him
He prohibited the cursing of Ali, which Mu’awiya had introduced
He is also said to have ordered the collation of Prophetic Traditions, in
order to ensure their authenticity
This last measure presumably sprang from two motives…
A desire to preserve/record Muhammad’s words
A desire to preserve a key source of Islamic law (the Shariah)
Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz
• However, despite all of these energetic reforms,
Umar’s reign was a short one
• He died after a mere 2 years in office (715-717CE)
• In some senses, this is another important factor in
his enduring popularity
• That is, had he ruled for longer, he may not have
been able to maintain his momentum
• Hisham, Umar’s effective (but not actual
successor), undid all of these reforms and restored
Umayyad dominance on its pre-existing lines
• And, as we shall see, although he reigned for a
long time in relative peace, his caliphate saw the
beginnings of the end for the Umayyad dynasty
Questions?
Section III: Hisham and the End of Expansion
Hisham ibn Abd al-Malik
• As his name suggests, Hisham was a son of
Abd al-Malik
• He ruled the Muslim empire from 105-125AH
(or 724-743CE)
• His 20 year rule thus brought stability after
another period of turmoil after Umar II’s
death
• Essential Readings for Hisham
• K. Y. Blankinship The End of the Jihad State
• J. Wellhausen The Arab Kingdom and its Fall
Internal Opposition
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Kharijite groups, spread to North Africa
Shiite discontent continued to manifest itself
In 740CE, Zayd ibn Ali revolted at Kufa against Hisham
Zayd ibn Ali (Zayn al-Abidin) ibn Husayn ibn Ali
Brother of Muhammad ibn Ali al-Baqir
Despite popular support, the revolt was soon crushed
However, despite its failure, Zayd’s revolt was significant in
a number of ways
Firstly, it underlines continuing opposition to Umayyad rule
from the Alid family and its supporters
Secondly, Zayd became another martyr to the Shiite cause
Thirdly, his rising marks the emergence of a new trend in
Shiite thought regarding the nature of the imamate (more on
this in a moment)
Fourthly, the Abbasid revolution (which we will come to in
the next session) styled itself as vengeance for Zayd (and
all other Shiite martyrs)
Zayd’s Refrom Manifesto
1. Apply the Quran and Sunnah
2. Wage jihad against oppressors
3. Defend the weak
4. Provide for the deprived
5. Equally divide the income from Muslim
property by right of conquest (fay’) among
those deserving it
6. Satisfy complaints
7. Bring back those held in the field
campaigning for more than one year
8. Support the Alids against those resisting or
denying their rights
The Concept of Imamate in Early Shii Thought
• As you might expect, during the century of Umayyad rule,
the Shiite concept of Imamate underwent some
development
• Although charting the development in detail would take too
long here, we can look at some key features
• Those interested in this subject should consult…
• S. H. Jafri The History and Early Development of Shia Islam
• A. Lalani Early Shii Thought: the Teachings of Muhammad
al-Baqir
• M. Hodgson ‘How did the Shia become sectarian?’ (This is
a journal article; I own a copy)
• Ali as Imam and Amir al-Muminin
• In other words, temporal and religious functions combined
• The fact that his descendents did not hold power was
problematic at first
• However, probably first under Zayn al-Abidin, Shii thinkers
began to separate these two aspect
• That is, the authority of the imam did not depend on his
The Concept of Imamate in Early Shii Thought
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Muhammad al-Baqir and later his son, Ja’far al-Sadiq, began to
articulate this idea clearly
Thus although they were not involved in politics they still seem to
have understood themselves to be the rightful imams of the Muslim
community
They put forward two main arguments
Firstly, after Hasan’s death, the imamate could only run through
Husayn’s line
Secondly, an imam could only be appointed by the explicit
designation (known as nass in Arabic) of the incumbent
Essentially, this stabilised the charismatic leadership of the Alid
house
As we saw last week, moreover, there were some within the Shia
milieu that believed the imam to be more than human (we will look
more at this in the next session)
However, this was not the only viewpoint
Zayd (Muhammad’s brother) seems to have strongly disagreed with
this idea
He argued, in common with al-Baqir, that an imam can only come
from the house of Ali
The Concept of Imamate in Early Shii Thought
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However, he did not restrict this to the line of Husayn
Rather, any suitably qualified Alid could be a potential imam
Two things were required to actualise this
Religious Knowledge
Public Declaration of Imamate
According to Zayd, the Imam had to arise ‘sword in hand’
These differences eventually led to the development of two
different schools of thought within Shia Islam
Those who followed Muhammad al-Baqir’s ideas became known
as the Imami Shia
From the Imami school of thought later emerged the Twelver
Shia of Iran, as well as the Ismaili (and thus Druze) Shia – i.e.
those who follow the Aga Khan
Those who followed Zayd became known as Zaydi Shia
Because they did not accept ‘designation’ as such, there were
many small groups of independent Zaydis
During the course of time, Zaydi Shiites established imamates in
northern Persia (on the shores of the Caspian Sea) in the
Daylam region and in Yemen
The Twelver Shia Line
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Ali ibn Abi Talib
Hasan ibn Ali
Hussein ibn Ali
Ali ibn Hussein
Muhammad ibn Ali (known as al-Baqir, or ‘He who splits
open [religious knowledge]’ and Zayd’s brother)
6. Ja’far ibn Muhammad (known as al-Sadiq, ‘the Truthful’)
7. Musa ibn Ja’far (al-Kazim)
8. Ali ibn Musa (al-Rida, or the ‘Chosen’)
9. Muhammad ibn Ali (al-Taqi, ‘the Godfearing’)
10. Ali ibn Muhammad (al-Naqi)
11. Hasan ibn Ali (al-`Askari)
12. Muhammad ibn Ali (al-Mahdi, the ‘Rightly Guided One’
or the Messiah)
External Opposition
• Hisham’s rule was also challenged by a number of external
foes
• As we saw, Hisham reversed Umar’s policy of
disengagement and initiated an aggressive expansionist
policy
• At first this appeared to be largely successful
• However, the strains caused by this expansionism soon
began to show
• Muslim armies met with a number of serious defeats in
many of its main theatres of war
• Moreover, new fronts also opened up
• The effect of all of this was to place a serious burden on the
Muslim empire’s available manpower
• A brief glance at a map will help make this clear…
The Muslim World
External Opposition
• Anatolia: war against the Byzantines continued throughout
this period
• Caucasus: Muslim forces suffer a number of serious
setbacks against the Khazar confederation (in alliance with
Byzantium)
• Khazar forces manage to raid Armenia and threaten Mosul
(northern Iraq)
• Central Asia: the Turgesh confederation inflicted a number
of defeats on Muslim forces
• Sijistan: a number of expensive campaigns against the
Zunbil
• Sind/India: Muslim forces faced a number of resurgent
Hindu kingdoms and were effectively driven back
• Khurasan: at the Battle of the Defile, Muslim casualties are
reported to have been approximately 20,000 dead
• Mediterranean Area: Sicily and Sardinia attacked
• Spanish Frontier: Frankish attacks drive Muslims out of
southern France (Narbonne)
External Opposition
• These defeats swallowed up much of the available
manpower
• Moreover, they also placed a great strain on the Syrian
forces
• Because these were, in some senses, ‘crack’ troops they
had been used to keep the peace in Iraq and other places
• With these defeats, more Syrian contingents began to be
sent to different frontiers
• This weakened the internal hold of the Umayyad dynasty
significantly
• Indeed, this only exacerbated the problem as Syrian troops
became too thinly spread to prevent further revolts
• The Great Berber Revolt: 122-125AH (740-743CE)
• Excessive taxation and the illegal removal of Muslim
Berbers as slaves seem to have been the immediate causes
• In any case, an enormous rebellion eventually proved
successful and Umayyad control of the Maghreb region was
lost
External Opposition
• This also considerably weakened the government’s hold of
Spain
• However, a fugitive Umayyad eventually took control of the
province in the aftermath of the Abbasid revolution
• Hisham dies in 125AH (743CE)
• Yazid III
• His revolt soon crushed, but, his apparent programme is
interesting
• A self-conscious return to the past?
• Main points include…
• Not to build any buildings of brick or stone, nor to dig any
new canals
• Not to hoard wealth
• Not to give wealth to wives or children
• To transfer wealth to other provinces only after first is fully
taken care of
• Spend any surplus in nearest province
External Opposition
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Not to keep troops in the field for more than 1 year
Not to lock out petitioners
To reduce non-Muslim taxation
To give all Muslim troops equal stipends
To acknowledge the right of Muslims to reproach
the Caliph should he stray
• In some senses, this is reminiscent of Zayd ibn Ali’s
programme
• And, is probably best seen as an attempt to
address the perceived social ills of the day via a
return to Islamic norms
• As Blankinship says, ‘This program is redolent of
irritation with the policies of Hisham…’ (p.227)
Section IV: Rumblings of Thunder
Rumblings of Thunder
• As we have seen, by the time of Hisham’s death the
Muslim empire had reached something of an impasse
• It had suffered several important military defeats
• Moreover, these defeats meant a significant drop in the
level and amount of booty
• In many ways, it was this drop in income which caused
the most significant problems for the Umayyad regime
• Large scale war booty had effectively masked the
underlying difficulties of the period and with their
removal, they began to surface
• Firstly, Hisham’s death saw another return to civil war,
as a number of factions fought for control
• This resulted in the accession and death of a number
of candidates
• This led to military revolts and provincial insecurities,
further exacerbating the economic situation
Rumblings of Thunder
• Secondly, this period again saw the re-emergence of a
number of Shia uprisings
• However we will look more closely at that in the
following session
• Thirdly, this political instability was made worse by the
continuing feud between the Quda’a and Qays tribal
groupings
• Fourthly, during Hisham’s reign, the scholarly class
(ulama) had once again begun to withdraw from public
office
• This effectively removed an important support for the
Umayyad regime
• And, indeed, became the breeding ground for active
opposition
• There were, furthermore, a number of Kharijite revolts
Section V: Readings
Readings
• Your reading packs contain a number of
readings
• P. Crone Meccan Trade and the Rise of
Islam
• Oleg Grabar Ceremonial and Art at the
Umayyad Court
• Oleg Grabar The Formation of Islamic Art
• Pre-Islamic Poetry (The Hanged Poems)
• A short passage attributed to Hasan al-Basri