From Abd alMalik to Hisham

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From Abd al-Malik to Hisham

• Islamic History the First 150 Years

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Session Plan

• Unity Restored
• Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz
• Hisham and the End of Expansion
• Rumblings of Thunder
• Readings

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Section I Unity Restored
4
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 Muawiya
• 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

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Unity Restored

• As we saw last week, with the death of Ibn
  al-Zubayr, 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

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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

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Relationships

• Abd al-Maliks 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

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Iraq

• In Iraq, Abd al-Maliks 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
  al-Ashath
• Al-Hajjaj also built a number of canals and
  irrigation channels

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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

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Post-Reform Coinage
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Mecca Jerusalem

• The Kaba 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

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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

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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-Zubayrs
  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

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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 its 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 al-Mumineen, built this Qubba in the
  year 72 hijri
• Al-Mamun (an Abbasid Caliph) had Abd al-Maliks
  name removed and his own put in its place

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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-Maliks actual intentions
• They quote passages from the Quran which refer to
  the Islamic understanding of Jesus Christ
• Specifically, they refer to Islams 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
  Islams religious, theological and political
  superiority over both Judaism and Christianity

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The Dome of the Rock
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The Dome of the Rock
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The Dome of the Rock
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The Dome of the Rock
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• Questions?

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Section II Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz
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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 Umars 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

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Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz

• 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)
• Umars 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 Is
  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

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Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz

• 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 Muawiya
  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 Muhammads words
• A desire to preserve a key source of Islamic law
  (the Shariah)

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Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz

• However, despite all of these energetic reforms,
  Umars 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, Umars 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

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• Questions?

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Section III Hisham and the End of Expansion
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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 IIs death
• Essential Readings for Hisham
• K. Y. Blankinship The End of the Jihad State
• J. Wellhausen The Arab Kingdom and its Fall

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Internal Opposition

• 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, Zayds 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)

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Zayds Refrom Manifesto

• Apply the Quran and Sunnah
• Wage jihad against oppressors
• Defend the weak
• Provide for the deprived
• Equally divide the income from Muslim property by
  right of conquest (fay) among those deserving it
• Satisfy complaints
• Bring back those held in the field campaigning
  for more than one year
• Support the Alids against those resisting or
  denying their rights

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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 holding power

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The Concept of Imamate in Early Shii Thought

• Muhammad al-Baqir and later his son, Jafar
  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 Hasans death, the imamate could
  only run through Husayns 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 (Muhammads 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

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The Concept of Imamate in Early Shii Thought

• 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-Baqirs 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

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The Twelver Shia Line

• 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 Zayds
  brother)
• Jafar ibn Muhammad (known as al-Sadiq, the
  Truthful)
• Musa ibn Jafar (al-Kazim)
• Ali ibn Musa (al-Rida, or the Chosen)
• Muhammad ibn Ali (al-Taqi, the Godfearing)
• Ali ibn Muhammad (al-Naqi)
• Hasan ibn Ali (al-Askari)
• Muhammad ibn Ali (al-Mahdi, the Rightly Guided
  One or the Messiah)

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External Opposition

• Hishams rule was also challenged by a number of
  external foes
• As we saw, Hisham reversed Umars 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 empires available manpower
• A brief glance at a map will help make this
  clear

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The Muslim World
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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)

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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

39
External Opposition

• This also considerably weakened the governments
  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

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External Opposition

• 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
  Alis 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)

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Section IV Rumblings of Thunder
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Rumblings of Thunder

• As we have seen, by the time of Hishams 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, Hishams 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

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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 Qudaa
  and Qays tribal groupings
• Fourthly, during Hishams 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

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Section V Readings
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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