Episode 31: Omar bin Abdulaziz

Sulayman’s underwhelming time in charge ended with a twist, and Omar ibn Abdulaziz proved to be a real surprise. The famously pious Umayyad had a vision for the umma, and he used his new position to impose an order unseen since the early, predynastic days of the caliphate. Although he is not covered in much detail, our sources roundly praise him for his courageous reforms and religious character courageous reforms.

Glossary

• Ali ibn il Husayn ibn Ali bin Abi Talib: Ali Zainulabidin was the only (adult) male survivor of the Hashemite massacre at Karbala. He was too ill to take part in the fighting and the 21 year old was spared, as was his 4 year old son Mohammad. Many pro-Umayyad accounts exaggerate the grace with which Yazid received them in Damascus, trying to blame Ubaydallah ibn Ziyad for the travesty and portray the caliph as having been respectful of the prophet’s clan. Zainulabidin was the first Hashemite who returned to his clan’s clerical roots. He delved into religious studies deeper than any around him, earning his moniker, best of the worshippers. He died aged 53, and was succeeded by his son Mohammad as leader of the Hashemite clan. 
• “Constantine”: by this point the emperor of Byzantium was a Leo III, a leader who would come to be known as a restorer of Byzantine power. He rose to power in a coup just before Sulayman’s siege of Constantinople, and his defense of the capital against Sulayman’s bungling invasion came just in time to save the empire from what would have surely been a mortal blow. While the caliphate was the more powerful of the two powers in terms military might and overall resources, Leo did well to keep his armies together, mainly by keeping them in fortifications and avoiding pitched battles. Still, it worked, and the Byzantines weren’t the pushovers they were back in Abdulmalik and Walid’s time.