Episode 21: Yazid bin Mu’awiya

Mu’awiya’s thorough preparations before his death left little doubt as to who would succeed him. His mastery over the umma’s various social forces must have made his job look easy when it was anything but, and Yazid made it his first priority to snuff out all resistance in order to emulate the total control his father had maintained. It didn’t really work out. 

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Glossary

• Adnani and Qahtani: I’m using the names of the descendants of Abraham for the two tribal coalitions the Arabs will organize themselves behind, but they went by other names as well. The most used for this upcoming period are Yamani instead of Qahtani, and Qaysi instead of Adnani, for reasons too irrelevant to get into here.
• Abdulrahman ibn Abu Bakr: the eldest son of Abu Bakr was still around, and his battle record casts him as someone who was strongly pro-Qurayshi power. He fought against Ali when he thought the Hashemites were going to monopolize the leadership, then turned against Mu’awiya when he tried passing his position on to Yazid.
• Abdullah ibn Omar: the pious son of the highly venerated second caliph was still considered a model muslim by most, so his opinion was highly regarded within the umma. He was horrified by the first fitna and Mu’awiya was right to predict that he would not show any resistance in order to avoid a reprise.
• Abdullah ibn il Zubayr: the son of al Zubayr bin Awwam really came into his element during this rebellion against Umayyad authority. Maybe it was his clan’s experience given his father’s role in the failed rebellion against Ali bin Abu Talib, but in no time ibn il Zubayr managed to galvanize all his tribe’s support behind him, or rather his plan to hold an election council after they unseated Yazid.
• Al Hussain ibn Ali: second son of Ali bin Abi Talib and as such leader of the Hashemites. The tragic killing of the prophet’s grandson and his clan at Karbala’ near Kufa would go on to have serious long term consequences for the umma, although it would take the clan a while to regain its vigor.
• Muslim ibn Aqil: al Hussain’s cousin and confidant was also his emissary to Kufa. It is difficult to explain how the city turned against him, and the narration I quoted doesn’t make much sense but is one of the few which addresses the question in some detail, others just make it seem like Ubaydallah had firm control of the city soon after his appointment as its governor, though they similarly stress the role of the tribal elders he used to maintain control over its people.
• Ubaydallah ibn Ziyad: the eldest son of the dahiya governor of Iraq and the East, Ubaydallah was placed in charge of Khurasan for a couple years before Mu’awiya tried using it to get rid of Sa’id ibn Othman. He was given Basra to govern by Mu’awiya a few years before the caliph’s death. He and his brothers held various positions of authority in the East, and all gained considerable experience battling foes along the caliphate’s borders.
• Munthir ibn il Zubayr: a brother of Abdullah’s who went with a delegation of other Hejazi Arabs to meet with Yazid. Having capable brothers was a real asset for ibn il Zubayr on his quest for leadership. He could rely upon them to lead armies or govern territories without having to share any ensuing glory with leaders from some other clan.
• Abdulmalik ibn Marwan: the son of Marwan is often singled out for praise in our sources, and he comes across as a precocious and natural leader. It’s not clear whether this was due to the good PR he would get later on or because our narrators knew how impressive he would eventually come to be and so just assumed he was full of these leadership qualities throughout his journey. Anyway, take note of this one.
• Ibn Bahdal: Hassan ibn Malik ibn Bahdal il Kalbi was the leader of the Kalb, who were the main Qahtani tribe in Palestine, Jordan, and the South of Syria. His tribal alliance was the one which Mu’awiya relied upon the most after he became governor of Syria. His grandfather had been chief when Mu’awiya first came around, and he wed his daughter to the Umayyad. Ibn Bahdal was a little older than his cousin Yazid, and worked indefatigably to keep his kin in power.