Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz
Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz, called Abu Hafs, was the fifth caliph of the Marwanid branch of the Umayyads and reigned from 99/717 to 101/720. Probably born in Medina around 60/680, he governed Medina from 87/706, was named heir by Sulayman ibn Abd al-Malik, and died at Dayr Sim'an near Ma'arrat al-Nu'man. The Encyclopaedia of Islam says his fiscal policies remain unclear and his later image is complex.
Reign · Umayyad Caliphate · no. 8 in the chain · 717–720 CE
Ruled the caliphate
Events of the reign
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Battle of Adrianople (718)
Draft card for the Battle of Adrianople in 718, the clash between the Umayyad army besieging Constantinople and the Bulgars; its sources are not yet checked on the page.
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Death of Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz
Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz died at Dayr Sim'an in the district of Homs in Rajab year 101, aged thirty-nine and a half, poisoned — the Umayyads having wearied of his strictness against them and his seizure of much they had usurped, while he had let slip all self-protection; asked what people said of him, he told Mujahid they thought him bewitched but he knew the very hour the poison was given, and when his servant confessed to having taken a thousand dinars to administer it, he threw the sum into the treasury and sent him where no one would see him.
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Al-Jarrah ibn Abdallah's Governorship of Armenia
In al-Baladhuri: Sulayman ibn Abd al-Malik gave Armenia to Adi ibn Adi ibn Amira al-Kindi — Adi ibn Amira being one of those who settled al-Raqqa having parted with Ali ibn Abi Talib — then Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz appointed him, he being the owner of the Nahr Adi at al-Baylaqan, though some say Umar's governor was Hatim ibn al-Nu'man, which is unsound; then Yazid ibn Abd al-Malik appointed Mi'laq ibn Saffar al-Bahrani, removed him for al-Harith ibn Amr al-Ta'i, who raided the Lakz and took Rustaq Hamsadan; and al-Jarrah ibn Abdallah al-Hakami of Mudhhij governed Armenia, settling at Bardha'a, where its conflicting measures and weights were laid before him and he set them on justice and fulness, making a measure called al-Jarrahi which its people deal by to this day; then he crossed the Kurr and marched until he passed the river called al-Samur, reaching the Khazars and killing them in a great slaughter, and fought the people of Bilad Hamzin, then compounded with them to transfer them to a rustaq.
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Pelayo's Uprising in Asturias
Pelayo's revolt in Asturias: the hostage who fled Cordoba in 98 AH and rallied the Christians of Galicia-Asturias, and al-Razi's account of the rock where thirty men and ten women survived on wild honey until the Muslims despaired — 'what can thirty infidels do?' — the seed from which the northern kingdoms grew.
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The revolt of Yazid ibn al-Muhallab and the Day of al-'Aqr
In 101 Yazid ibn al-Muhallab rose and came to Basra, where 'Ali ibn Artat, its governor, had gathered its people and dug a trench around the city. Muhammad ibn al-Muhallab gathered men of his household and clients and came on in a column so terrifying to see that it charged the people of Basra. Al-Mughira ibn 'Abd Allah al-Thaqafi met it with horsemen, meaning to charge at it, but opened the way for it. Yazid kept on, and no horsemen or tribe of theirs came against him without making way, until he reached his house, and people came and went to him. He sent to 'Ali ibn Artat: hand me over to my brothers, and I will make terms with you over Basra until I take for myself what I want from Yazid ibn 'Abd al-Malik. He refused. Yazid then went out and camped at the open ground of the Banu Yashkur, midway between him and the palace. He fought, and 'Ali's men were routed. Yazid's brothers were held in 'Ali's custody, and 'Abd al-Malik ibn al-Muhallab said: I see arrows falling on the palace, and I fear they will come for us and kill us before Yazid reaches us, so throw garments over him. 'Abd Allah ibn Dinar, mawla of Ibn 'Amir, who commanded 'Ali's guard, rushed to the door, but the sons of al-Muhallab piled goods against the door, leaned on them, and stopped him. Yazid took Basra. He then marched to Wasit, leaving Mu'adh ibn Sa'id as his deputy there, and marched on until he camped at al-'Aqr. Maslama ibn 'Abd al-Malik came along the bank of the Euphrates until he camped at al-Anbar and crossed. Al-'Abbas ibn al-Walid met Yazid at Sawad, and they lined up and fought. The people of Basra had charged the Syrians so hard that they routed them, but the Syrians came back and routed them in turn. Yazid was on a grey mule and made for Maslama, wanting no one else. When he drew near, Maslama called for his horse to mount, and the Syrian horsemen wheeled upon Yazid. Yazid ibn al-Muhallab was killed, with his son al-Sumaydi, and his brother Muhammad ibn al-Muhallab was killed too. Al-Fadl ibn 'Ayyash of the Banu Jabir ibn Zuhayr al-Kalbi, of Mahlab, had told the Syrians: 'This is Yazid; by God, I will kill him or he will kill me.' He charged at him, they struggled for a while, and when the dust cleared Yazid was dead and al-Fadl was at his last breath. He signalled to his companions that he had killed him, and gestured at himself to show that Yazid had killed him. Yazid's head was washed, wrapped in a turban and sent to Yazid ibn 'Abd al-Malik. His killing was in Safar 102.
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Siege of Narbonne (719)
Draft card for the Siege of Narbonne in 719, the Umayyad capture of the city in the conquest of Septimania; its sources are not yet checked on the page.