Abu al-A'war

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Abu al-A'war
Other name(s)Amr ibn Sufyan ibn Abd Shams al-Sulami
BornHejaz
Allegiance
Battles/wars
ChildrenSufyan
Relations
  • Sufyan ibn Abd Shams (father)
  • Ubayda ibn Abd al-Rahman (nephew or great-grandson)
Other workGovernor of Jund al-Urdunn (c. 650s–death)

Abu al-A'war Amr ibn Sufyan ibn Abd Shams al-Sulami (

Arab admiral and general, serving in the armies of the Rashidun caliphs Abu Bakr (r. 632–634), Umar (r. 634–644) and Uthman (r. 644–656) rejecting the fourth Rashidun caliph Ali (r. 656–661), instead serving Umayyad caliph Mu'awiya I
(r. 661–680).

He was one of the last prominent members of the Banu Sulaym tribe to convert to Islam, and fought against Muhammad at the Battle of Hunayn in 630. After becoming a Muslim, he took part in the conquest of Syria in the 630s and fought at the Yarmuk. Later, he commanded the Arab navy during the campaigns against the Byzantines in the eastern Mediterranean, including the decisive Muslim victory at the Battle of the Masts in 654. His army was also responsible for the destruction of the colossus of Rhodes. From the First Fitna until his disappearance from the historical record in the 660s, Abu al-A'war served Mu'awiya in a number of capacities, including as a commander and negotiator at the Battle of Siffin, an operative of Amr ibn al-As in Egypt, a tax administrator in Palestine and the governor of Jordan; he had held the latter post since the reign of Uthman.

Early life and career

Abu al-A'war's given name was Amr. His father was Sufyan ibn Abd Shams, a chieftain of the prominent Dhakwan clan of the

Arab tribe that dominated the Harra region in the north-central Hejaz (in present-day western Saudi Arabia) and had strong links to Medina and Mecca.[1][2] Abu al-A'war's mother and grandmother both belonged to the Quraysh tribe of Mecca.[3] His father Sufyan commanded the Sulaym when they fought alongside the Quraysh against Muhammad and the early Muslims at the Battle of the Trench in 627 CE.[4]

Although most of the Sulaym converted to Islam by 629, Abu al-A'war, who was a confederate of the Qurayshi leader

ṣaḥāba (companion of Muhammad) is disputed by Muslim scholars.[3] Indeed, the highly authoritative Muslim scholar Muhammad al-Bukhari does not mention Abu al-A'war in his list of ṣaḥāba.[2]

Campaigns against the Byzantines

Abu al-A'war was likely part of the army of

Umayyad clan throughout his career.[5] Under the direction of Mu'awiya ibn Abi Sufyan, Yazid's brother and the governor of Syria, Abu al-A'war and Wahb ibn Umayr, led a raid against the Byzantine city of Amorion in 644; this marked the start of both strategic and marauding Muslim military campaigns into Byzantine Anatolia.[6]

He commanded the second Arab raid against

First Arab Siege of Constantinople. Abu al-A'war seems to have commanded this garrison for some time, since the 10th-century Byzantine emperor Constantine VII records that the Arab "Aboubacharos"—who is likely to be identified with Abu al-A'war—erected a tomb for his daughter, who died there, which survived to Constantine's day.[7]

According to Michael the Syrian, shortly after this, in 653/654, Abu al-A'war commanded an expedition against Kos, which was captured and plundered due to the treason of the local bishop.[7] He proceeded to pillage Crete and Rhodes.[8] The latter was a major commercial island and its capture was a major loss to the Byzantines.[8] During the pillaging of Rhodes, Abu al-A'war's troops leveled the Colossus of Rhodes, a well-known statue of the Greek god Helios.[8][dubious – discuss] Finally in 654 he commanded the Arab fleet in the great Battle of the Masts, where the Byzantine navy under Emperor Constans II was annihilated.[9][7] According to Armenian and Byzantine sources, his fleet continued onward to besiege Constantinople but a storm destroyed the ships carrying siege engines.[10] This loss is absent from Arabic chronicles.

Service with Mu'awiya

Caliph Uthman (r. 644–656), who belonged to the Umayyad clan, appointed Abu al-A'war as governor of Jund al-Urdunn (military district of Jordan) with its capital in Tiberias.[11] During the First Fitna, which followed the assassination of Uthman, Abu al-A'war served as one of Mu'awiya's generals in the battles against Caliph Ali (r. 656–661).[3] He commanded a Sulaymi contingent at the Battle of Siffin in 657.[2] Following the fighting at Siffin, Abu al-A'war was one Mu'awiya's representatives in the settlement negotiations with Ali, and he prepared the preliminary draft for the caliphal succession conference in Adhruh, a town in the Sharat highlands.[5] In 658/59, Mu'awiya confirmed Abu al-A'war in his post in Jordan.[12]

Later, Abu al-A'war assisted Amr ibn al-As with asserting Mu'awiya's authority over Egypt.[2][5] After Mu'awiya succeeded Ali in 661 and established the Umayyad Caliphate, he intended to replace Amr, his independent-minded governor in Egypt, with Abu al-A'war, but this plan never came to fruition.[5] Instead, Abu al-A'war was kept as governor of Jordan.[3][5] According to Michael the Syrian, in 669,[13] Abu al-A'war oversaw the census of the fellāḥīn (peasantry) of Jund Filastin (military district of Palestine),[5] and thereby introduced the system of taxation imposed on the Christian villages of Palestine.[13]

Legacy

On account of his services for Mu'awiya, medieval Muslim historians regarded Abu al-A'war as one of Mu'awiya's senior lieutenants and part of the latter's biṭāna (inner circle).

Umar II (r. 717–720) Hisham (r. 724–743) and al-Walid II (r. 743–744), respectively.[3]

References

  1. ^ Lecker 1997, p. 817–818.
  2. ^ a b c d e Blankinship 1993, p. 91, note 502.
  3. ^ a b c d e f Lecker 1997, p. 818.
  4. ^ Lecker 1997, p. 817.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Lammens 1960, p. 108.
  6. ^ Kaegi 1992, p. 246.
  7. ^ a b c PmbZ, Abū l-A'war (#71).
  8. ^ a b c "Rise of Moslem Sea Power Under Uthman". Arab Observer (289–301). National Publications House: 49. 1966.
  9. ^ Blankinship 1993, p. 91, note 502..
  10. ISBN 9780199916368
    .
  11. ^ Gil 1997, p. 116.
  12. ^ Gil 1997, p. 117.
  13. ^ a b c Gil 1997, p. 76.

Sources

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