Although Abdulmalik was an incredibly tough act to follow, his successor was bequeathed an unassailably powerful position. The caliphate was ascendant, and its frontier armies were so capable and efficient that they expanded its domain to unmatched extents practically autonomously. Narrations about these years are filled with raids, conquests, and […]
Having exhausted the many rebellions against his unpopular governor, we can finally turn our attention to assessing Abdulmalik’s leadership and the results of his many deeply influential policy changes. He’s remembered overwhelmingly positively in our sources despite these many upheavals, and we’ll try and get into why that was before […]
Having securely established his position in Syria, Abdulmalik relied on his dependable governor al Hajjaj to keep the Iraqis in line. Ruling them with an iron fist unsurprisingly led to more rebellions than calm, and despite the many thwarted movements we discussed last time it seems like the East remained […]
Abdulmalik’s adept handling of the second fitna revealed him to be a shrewd mover and shaker with a disposition suitable for leadership. He did more than emulate those who came before him, he enacted changes that pushed the caliphate further into statehood and away from its roots as a tribal […]
The second fitna revealed the unprecedented level of division within the umma, divisions which only grew as the civil conflict ground on for a decade. Under Abdulmalik’s leadership, the Umayyads managed to slowly grow their power until they found themselves in a position to challenge for the umma’s leadership once […]
Before we can continue our discussion of the struggle between Abdulmalik and Ibn il Zubayr, we need to step back and survey the complicated situation in Iraq. Deep divisions made its cities difficult for either leader to claim, especially considering the significant Hashemite sympathies in Kufa which now had no […]
The umma spiraled further into disorder and civil war after the sudden death of the caliph and the subsequent collapse of Umayyad authority. Ibn il Zubayr’s candidacy was transformed from an unlikely proposition to a victory by default as he became the last man standing. Despite being the only Qurayshi […]
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 […]
Just because Mu’awiya held supreme power within the caliphate didn’t mean he thought his will was absolute. He had displayed a keen understanding of tribal politics during his rise to power, painstakingly building a strong network of support to challenge for and win the title of caliph. He deployed all […]
