Transcript the Second Civil War - The Islamic History Corner

Islamic History: the First 150 Years
The Second Civil War
Session Plan
1. Marwan & the Emergence of Abd alMalik
2. The Revolt of al-Mukhtar
3. Abd al-Malik Victorious
Section I: Marwan & the Emergence of Abd alMalik
Marwan
• We have encountered Marwan ibn al-Hakam during
previous sessions
• He was a senior member of the Umayyad clan and had
been particularly influential during the caliphate of Uthman
• By the time he became caliph, Marwan was an old man
(aged 63)
• Unsurprisingly therefore, perhaps, he died after a few
months in office
• No doubt mindful of Yazid’s difficulties, Marwan appointed
his son Abd al-Malik as heir and his brother Abd al-Aziz as
heir after him
• Marwan’s aim here was presumably to provide stability
• With Marwan’s death, Abd al-Malik became the caliph in
63AH
• Abd al-Malik is one of the most important Umayyad rulers
and thus we will look at his reign in more detail next week
Umayyad Resurgence
• With the resolution of ‘internal’ difficulties, Marwan and
Abd al-Malik were able to turn their full attention to the
war against Ibn al-Zubayr
• After Marj Rahit, Emessa, Palestine and Qinnasrin
quickly joined Marwan
• Egypt was also taken by Marwanid forces shortly after
this point
• However, in Iraq the situation was somewhat more
complicated
• Ubaydullah ibn Ziyad was sent by Marwan to attack Iraq
• As an incentive, Ubaydullah was promised the
governorship and allowed to sack Kufa
• Syrian factionalism
• Quda’a (‘southerners’) & Qays (‘northerners’)
• This became immensely important later on
Revolt in Iraq
• Iraq at this time was in a state of complete turmoil
• Mus’ab ibn al-Zubayr was the nominal governor of the
province, holding it for his brother
• Despite this, Kufa was on the point of rebellion
• There were also a number of Kharijite groups in the area
• In short, navigating our way through this maze will take us off
track
• As such, I propose to only look at the main events
• Those interested in understanding this period in more detail
should consult the following works…
• J. Wellhausen The Arab Kingdom and its Fall (old and dated,
but still useful)
• G. Hawting The First Dynasty of Islam (a useful introduction
and in the Lifelong Learning Library)
• A.A.A. Dixon The Umayyad Caliphate 65-86/684-705: a
Political Study (very detailed, good account of Mukhtar’s
revolt, but not for the faint hearted)
Section II: The Revolt of al-Mukhtar
Al-Mukhtar
• Al-Muktar ibn Abi Ubayd al-Thaqafi (to give him his full title)
from the large and important Thaqif tribe
• The Thaqif tribe based primarily at Ta’if in the southern Hijaz
• Generally speaking, al-Mukhtar has had a very negative press,
both then and now
• Despite this, his family were committed supporters of Ali
• His father was killed at the Battle of the Bridge during the
conquest of Iraq, whilst his uncle had been governor of alMadain for Ali
• Al-Mukhtar’s house was used as Muslim ibn Aqil’s base in his
brief sojourn in Kufa
• Mukhtar’s revolt was an important episode for a number of
reasons
• However, the details are very uncertain and too complex for
our purposes here
• So, here is a very potted history…
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‘Ya Li Tharat Husayn’
The Tawwabun (or the ‘Penitents’)
Those people in Kufa who felt they had
abandoned Husayn in his hour of need
Led by Sulaiman ibn Surad
Battle of Ain al-Warda
The Penitents slain, almost to a man
However, their ideas are important and
thus it is worth looking at some of
these briefly
‘Ya Li Tharat Husayn’
‘Now we have been afflicted by the length of our lives
and by exposure to all types of trials. We ask of our
Lord that He does not make us one of those to whom
He will one day say, “Did We not give you long life so
that whoever would be admonished might be
admonished therein? And the warner came to you?’
[35:34] Also, the Commander of the Faithful [Ali] said,
“The life in which God grants forgiveness to the son of
Adam is sixty years”, and there is not a man among
us who has not reached that term. We were
enamoured of self-justification and praising our party
until God put our best men to the test and found us
sham on two of the battlefields of the son of our
Prophet’s daughter. Before that, we had received his
letters and his messengers had come to us offering
forgiveness, asking us to help him again in public and
in private. But we withheld ourselves from him until he
was killed…
‘Ya Li Tharat Husayn’
‘…We did not help him with our hands, argue on
his behalf with our tongues, strengthen him with
our wealth or seek help for him from our clans.
What will be our excuse for our Lord and at the
meeting with our Prophet when his descendent, is
loved one, his offspring and his issue has been
slain among us? No, by God, there is no excuse
unless you kill his murderer and those who
assisted him or unless you are killed while
seeking that. Perhaps our Lord will be satisfied
with that, for I have no security against His
punishment after meeting Him…This is what I
have to say. I ask God’s forgiveness for me and
for you’
(Tab. 2.498)
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‘Ya Li Tharat Husayn’
Mukhtar’s main claim was twofold
Revenge for Husayn
Deputy of Imam Muhammad ibn al-Hanafiyya
His revolt was at first successful, taking control of
Kufa, Basra and much of Iraq
He was then joined by Ibrahim ibn Malik al-Ashtar,
a committed follower of Ali
At the Battle of the Khazir, Ubaydullah ibn Ziyad is
defeated and killed, thus Mukhtar was able to
publicly claim he had avenged Husayn
Internal revolts in Kufa, coupled with invasions by
Umayyads and Zubayrids soon end Mukhtar’s
revolt and he is eventually killed
This results in yet more oppression at Kufa,
particularly this time of the mawali
Al-Mukhtar & the Mawali
• Al-Mukhtar’s treatment of the mawali was one of the most significant
aspects of his political programme
• To understand his ideas a little better, it is worth looking at the mawali
more closely
• The word mawla (mawali is the plural) is a varied term, which for our
purposes here means ‘freedman’, ‘associate’ or ‘retainer’
• Originally, the term was used to describe ex-slaves who were still tied
to their former masters
• A mawla would thus be affiliated to the tribe of his master
• During the course of the conquests, mawla came to mean non-Arab
Muslim – who would be affiliated upon conversion to an Arab tribe
• The mawali were often treated differently by Arab Muslims in a
number ways
• They were often still made to pay the jizyah (poll tax) and other taxes
which, according to the Quran, they should not have paid
• This caused discontent and al-Mukhtar consciously played to this,
offering complete equality
Mukhtar and the Mahdi
• Consequently, the mawali of Kufa (and Iraq in general) joined Mukhtar
on mass
• After he began to lose, he relied on the mawali to an ever greater extent
• This exacerbated his difficulties with the ashraf (or tribal elite)
• The sources also report a number of unusual religious activities
associated with Mukhtar’s mawali
• Some of them are said to have carried an empty chair into battle and
called it ‘the Throne of Ali’
• They are also said to have used it like the Israelites used the Ark of the
Covenant
‘Al-Mukhtar said, “Nothing has existed among past communities but that its
like will exist in this community. Among the Children of Israel there was the
Ark, in which there was a remnant of what the family of Moses and the family
of Aaron left behind. Among us, this is lie the Ark. Uncover it!” When they
removed its draperies, the Saba’iyyah [followers of Abdullah ibn Saba’, or
‘extremists’] stood up, raised their hands and shouted “God is great” three
times…Presently, someone said, “Behold, Ubaydullah ibn Ziyad is
encamped with the Syrians at Bajumayra.” So they took the Chair out on a
mule. It was covered; seven men held it on its right and seven on its left…’
(Tab. 2.704)
Mukhtar and the Mahdi
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This provoked sharp criticism
A`sha Hamdan’s critical verse
‘I bear witness against you that you are Saba’iyyah;
O picked troops of polytheism [shirk], I know you well!
I swear that your Chair is no Sakinah [cf. Quran 2:248],
even if cloths have been draped over it;
And that it is not like the Ark among us, even if
Shibam, Nahd and Kharif walk around it…’
(Quoted in Tab. 2.704-705)
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Sakinah means ‘tranquillity’; Shekinah is the cognate Hebrew term, denoting
the divine presence on earth
Although the sources are uniformly hostile, it is also reported that Mukhtar
claimed to receive divine inspiration himself
It is claimed that he saw the Archangel Gabriel (though it is also said that he
did not hear him speak)
Hard to know what to make of such claims
That the newly converted mawali (and Yemeni Arabs) brought their own
religious traditions with them seems uncontroversial
But the claim for Mukhtar could merely be malicious slander, or else it could
reveal an authentic piece of information
Mukhtar and the Mahdi
• Although these things are certainly interesting, perhaps the
most important aspect of Mukhtar’s religious ideas was that of
the Mahdi
• Mahdi simply means ‘rightly guided’
• However, it came to refer to the messianic deliverer, who would
restore justice to the world immediately prior to the Apocalypse
• Although the term is used prior to this point, it does not seem to
have this usage
• Mukhtar claimed that he had revolted in the name of
Muhammad ibn al-Hanafiyya (Ali’s third son, but not by Fatima)
• He claimed that ibn al-Hanafiyya was the messianic deliverer
who would avenge the Shia and restore their rightful place
• Although, as the passage I have given you from Ibn Sa’d
shows, ibn al-Hanafiyya himself was lukewarm in his support of
Mukhtar, this claim was to be repeated throughout Shiite
history
Mukhtar and the Mahdi
• Furthermore, after the deaths of Ibn al-Hanafiyya and Mukhtar, their
followers began to claim that Muhammad had not died
• He was said to be alive, in a miraculous sense [cf. the Quranic idea of
Jesus]
• He was believed to be in a state of ‘occultation’ (ghayba) on a mountain
near Medina
• The partisans of Ibn al-Hanafiyya later became known as the
Kaysaniyya
• This are said to have been named after one Kaysan, the mawla leader of
Mukhtar’s guard
• Leadership of this group passed to Muhammad’s son, Abu Hashim, who
we will meet again
• This concept of ghayba later became a key doctrine of a wide number of
other Shii groups; generally considered ‘extreme’ (ghulat)
• The main Twelver Shia branch (of Iran) believe that their last Imam,
Muhammad ibn Ali al-`Askari, is in occultation and will return as the
Mahdi
• Political defeat; hopes for restitution, vengeance and victory are
transferred to eschatological time
Questions?
Section III: Abd al-Malik Victorious
Assault on Mecca
• Although he had initially been widely recognised, with Abd
al-Malik’s accession and Mukhtar’s revolt, Ibn al-Zubayr’s
authority began to fade away
• With Mukhtar’s revolt crushed, Abd al-Malik marched into
Iraq and defeated Mus`ab ibn al-Zubayr
• Abd al-Malik then sent his general Hajjaj ibn Yusuf alThaqafi to lay siege to Mecca once again
• al-Hajjaj is a famous character from this period, whom we
will meet again next week
• He bombarded Mecca, again damaging the Ka’ba
• And, in 692 CE Mecca fell to his direct assault
• Ibn al-Zubayr, at this point aged 70, died in the fighting
• His death thus left Abd al-Malik in control of the Muslim
empire
• However, the Muslim state had been thrown into turmoil
through these events and badly needed stability
Abd al-Malik Victorious
• Abd al-Malik was able to provide the necessary
stability
• He ruled for 20 years (685-705CE)
• His reign saw crucial religious, political, social and
economic developments
• As such, we will look more closely at his reign next
week
• However, to prepare, I suggest you read through
Ibn Sa’d’s biography, which I have given you
• Also, read I. Lapdius’ summary of Abd al-Malik’s
period in the first reading pack I gave you
• As his reign is important in a number of ways, so
we will look more closely at it next week
Consequences
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The Second Civil War, or fitna, was a critical period in early Islamic
history
This was for a number of reasons
Umayyad dominance, though reasserted by Abd al-Malik, had been
shown to be challengeable; the later Umayyad dynasty thus has to
face numerous revolts against its authority; Abd al-Malik thus had to
walk a very narrow path
Mecca and Medina had both been eclipsed politically; thus although
both were important religious centres, they ceased to be decisive in
political matters after this point
The Shiat Ali had begun to develop into a particular religious
movement, despite its origins as a ‘political faction’; the later
Umayyad period would see this development go still further
The Mawali had begun to become a force to be reckoned with in
Muslim life; during the later Umayyad period, calls for their fair
treatment grew increasingly loud
This period saw a number of important religious developments; the
death of Husayn, Mukhtar, the ‘neutral’ group and others all grew out
of this period
Tribal factionalism; the Quda’a and Qays divide began to spread
throughout the Muslim empire, creating division