Al-Ashdaq
Abu Umayya Amr ibn Sa'id ibn al-As al-Umawi (
Life
Amr was the son of the Umayyad statesman Sa'id ibn al-As and Umm al-Banin bint al-Hakam, the sister of another Umayyad statesman, Marwan ibn al-Hakam.[1] He was nicknamed "al-Ashdaq" (the Widemouthed).[2] When Sa'id died in 679, al-Ashdaq became the leader of this branch of the Umayyad clan.[3] At the end of the reign of Caliph Mu'awiya I (r. 661–680), he was governor of Mecca but was then appointed the governor of Medina at the accession of Caliph Yazid I (r. 680–683). When the Umayyads were driven out of Mecca during the revolt of Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr in 682, al-Ashdaq was ordered by Yazid to send an army against the Zubayrids in the city. Al-Ashdaq appointed Ibn al-Zubayr's brother, Amr, to lead the expedition, but the force was defeated and Amr was executed by Ibn al-Zubayr. Toward the end of 683, al-Ashdaq was dismissed.[4] Yazid died and was succeeded by his son Mu'awiya II. The latter was ill and died a few months later, causing a leadership crisis in the Umayyad Caliphate, during which most of its provinces recognized Ibn al-Zubayr as caliph.
When the pro-Umayyad
Abd al-Malik succeeded his father in late 685 but remained suspicious of al-Ashdaq. The latter did not relinquish his claims and viewed Abd al-Malik's accession as a violation of the arrangements reached in Jabiya. When the caliph left Damascus on a military campaign against Zubayrid-held Iraq in 689, al-Ashdaq took advantage of his absence to launch a revolt, seize the city and declare his right as sovereign. This compelled Abd al-Malik to abandon his campaign and address al-Ashdaq's rebellion. In the ensuing standoff in Damascus between their supporters, Abd al-Malik offered al-Ashdaq amnesty in return for his surrender, to which al-Ashdaq obliged. Abd al-Malik remained distrustful of al-Ashdaq and had him summoned to his palace in Damascus, where he executed him in 689/90.[4]
Family
Al-Ashdaq's sons Umayya, Sa'id, Isma'il and Muhammad, all born to al-Ashdaq's wife Umm Habib bint Hurayth
From his wife Sawda bint al-Zubayr ibn al-Awwam, the sister of Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr, al-Ashdaq had his sons Abd al-Malik and Abd al-Aziz and daughter Ramla. He was also married to A'isha bint Muti, the sister of
References
- ^ Bewley 2000, p. 289.
- ^ Hillenbrand 1989, p. 195, note 987.
- ^ Bosworth 1995, p. 853.
- ^ a b c d e Zetterstéen 1960, p. 453.
- ^ Hawting 1989, p. 59.
- ^ a b c d Hawting 1989, p. 64.
- ^ a b c d Bewley 2000, p. 154.
- ^ Fishbein 1990, p. 166.
- ^ a b c d Blankinship 1989, p. 174, note 599.
- ^ Landau-Tasseron 1998, p. 334, note 1564.
- ^ Bewley 2000, pp. 289–290.
- ^ Robinson 2020, p. 144.
Bibliography
- Bewley, Aisha (2000). The Men of Madina, Volume 2. Ta-Ha Publishers. ISBN 9781897940907.
- ISBN 978-0-88706-569-9.
- ISBN 978-90-04-09834-3.
- Fishbein, Michael, ed. (1990). The History of al-Ṭabarī, Volume XXI: The Victory of the Marwānids, A.D. 685–693/A.H. 66–73. SUNY Series in Near Eastern Studies. Albany, New York: State University of New York Press. ISBN 978-0-7914-0221-4.
- ISBN 978-0-88706-855-3.
- ISBN 978-0-88706-810-2.[dead link]
- Landau-Tasseron, Ella, ed. (1998). The History of al-Ṭabarī, Volume XXXIX: Biographies of the Prophet's Companions and their Successors: al-Ṭabarī's Supplement to his History. SUNY Series in Near Eastern Studies. Albany, New York: State University of New York Press. ISBN 978-0-7914-2819-1.[dead link]
- Robinson, Majied (2020). Marriage in the Tribe of Muhammad: A Statistical Study of Early Arabic Genealogical Literature. Berlin: Walter de Gruyter. ISBN 978-3-11-062416-8.
- OCLC 495469456.
